Nvidia GTX 285 - What's going on?

[c4ff]

A couple of months ago we heard about the Nvidia GTX 285 coming to the mac pro which i personally loved the idea of (I have a 1TB drive for mac and a 1TB drive for windows vista 64 for some general gaming).

But it seems word on this illustrious card has fallen silent. Does anyone know what's happened to the card? Has it been released? Will it be released by BFG, EVGA, Apple etc?

Thanks in advance for any info, I've been looking but couldn't find anything.

C4.

[Tallest Skil]

Apple won't carry it, nor will it be BTO.

What was said when we first heard of it is all that we know. What was said then holds still.

It wasn't even supposed to be released yet. Keep your pants on. ;)

[netkas]

who cant wait, can try it without flashing, just like 4890

[c4ff]

Apple won't carry it, nor will it be BTO.

What was said when we first heard of it is all that we know. What was said then holds still.

It wasn't even supposed to be released yet. Keep your pants on. ;)

Thanks Tallest.

So Apple won't be carrying it, but the drivers for the card will be in OSX?

If that's the case then what's the situation with warranty going to be like? Interesting stuff but I'm glad I haven't missed the release anyway.

So to sum up... Wait for it :P

[Tallest Skil]

Thanks Tallest.

So Apple won't be carrying it, but the drivers for the card will be in OSX?

If that's the case then what's the situation with warranty going to be like? Interesting stuff but I'm glad I haven't missed the release anyway.

So to sum up... Wait for it :P

Nope. The drivers won't be part of OS X; they'll be on a disk that comes with the card itself.

Meaning, if you ever need to reinstall OS X, you'll have to keep whatever card came with your computer to be able to boot the darn thing.

Warranty will be entirely third-party.

[c4ff]

Nope. The drivers won't be part of OS X; they'll be on a disk that comes with the card itself.

Meaning, if you ever need to reinstall OS X, you'll have to keep whatever card came with your computer to be able to boot the darn thing.

Warranty will be entirely third-party.

that makes more sense to me now, thanks again!

[Topper]

.
It will probably be released somewhere between June 3rd and June 11th.
.

[10THzMac]

Some of us reckless folk have pre-ordered from provantage or other world computing. I sort of expect mine to show up by mid June. I see no signs of BTO. The drivers are indeed not in 10.5.7 as standard. If you look at other posts you can see various discussions of drivers for both 10.5.7 and 10.6.

[Infrared]

Meaning, if you ever need to reinstall OS X, you'll have to keep whatever card came with your computer to be able to boot the darn thing.

Apple should address that. It's a serious OS flaw.

[grue]

Apple should address that. It's a serious OS flaw.



It's not Apple's problem.

In any case, it can be fairly easily avoided by just keeping an image of your HDD around for rapid reinstalls.

[MrRage]

I noticed some suppliers said they would have them in stock on June 3rd. So thats less than a week away.

[Infrared]

It's not Apple's problem.

It is. Windows doesn't suffer similarly given the same hardware.

Apple have contrived to produce a situation where it can be
easier to boot Windows on an Apple Mac than OS X.

[Tallest Skil]

It is.

It isn't. It's an EFI problem.

[Infrared]

It isn't. It's an EFI problem.

Read up on UGA/GOP and come back to us when you have a clue
what you're talking about.

It's perfectly possible to boot an (U)EFI system without having
installed drivers for the graphics card.

Windows on UEFI 2.1 can do this. OS X on EFI 1.1 cannot. That
is Apple's fault.

[10THzMac]

Read up on UGA/GOP and come back to us when you have a clue
what you're talking about.

It's perfectly possible to boot an (U)EFI system without having
installed drivers for the graphics card.

....

I think this is even more muddled. You need to distinguish between (1) booting with a card, (2) loading it into the system at some stage, and (3) driving it properly.

Under OS X (1) is about whether the card has EFI support (2) can be accomplished by a variety of methods including the EFI boot but also there are post-boot injectors that also do the trick. (3) is a matter of having the right drivers to put the graphics on the screen , e.g. via OpenGL, given the hardware on the card. These are all different issues. For example, my Mac Pro has one 8800Gt and one GTX 285 (not the Mac version, which is not quite here yet)..

1. The 8800 boots under EFI, the 285 does not;
2. The 285 is loaded later with an injector;
3. Whether or not my 285 then works properly is a matter of drivers. They are just appearing for 10.5.7 and seem to exist in recent versions of Snow Leopard.

Others may have a different view as to the meaning of "boot", "load" and "driver" but I was only able to get a PC 285 working on my Mac Pro once I had got 1-3 above clear in my own head.

[netkas]

I think this is even more muddled. You need to distinguish between (1) booting with a card, (2) loading it into the system at some stage, and (3) driving it properly.

Under OS X (1) is about whether the card has EFI support (2) can be accomplished by a variety of methods including the EFI boot but also there are post-boot injectors that also do the trick. (3) is a matter of having the right drivers to put the graphics on the screen , e.g. via OpenGL, given the hardware on the card. These are all different issues. For example, my Mac Pro has one 8800Gt and one GTX 285 (not the Mac version, which is not quite here yet)..

1. The 8800 boots under EFI, the 285 does not;
2. The 285 is loaded later with an injector;
3. Whether or not my 285 then works properly is a matter of drivers. They are just appearing for 10.5.7 and seem to exist in recent versions of Snow Leopard.

Others may have a different view as to the meaning of "boot", "load" and "driver" but I was only able to get a PC 285 working on my Mac Pro once I had got 1-3 above clear in my own head.

so, you got it working or not ?

[10THzMac]

so, you got it working or not ?
Not yet under 10.5.7, but I have not tried all your suggestions with your new injector and other permutations. I am going to wait till my Mac version comes as I cannot take my Pro to bits right now!

[Infrared]

I think this is even more muddled. You need to distinguish between (1) booting with a card, (2) loading it into the system at some stage, and (3) driving it properly.

The practical issue is this: can you boot the operating system
so that it is running in some sort of usable state?

From what I have read you cannot unless the drivers have been
installed first[1]. But you may not be able to install them without
getting the system running as above. Catch 22.

E.g., suppose your graphics card dies and you buy a 285 as a
replacement. So, you can't boot the system with your old card
to install the drivers (it's broken). And, if what has been said is
true, you can't boot it with the new card either.

Assuming you're using OS X that is.

For years on Windows you've been able to bung almost any new
card in a machine and get the OS to boot in VGA mode. Once up
and running you can install drivers to get full functionality. Does
Apple not provide a fallback mechanism similar to VGA?

The UEFI and EFI specifications do not exclude such a possibility.

[1] Please do correct me if I'm wrong about this. And also, I'm
excluding unsupported hacks provided by third parties. It's Apple's
job to make this work.

[10THzMac]

....

E.g., suppose your graphics card dies and you buy a 285 as a
replacement. So, you can't boot the system with your old card
to install the drivers (it's broken). And, if what has been said is
true, you can't boot it with the new card either.
.....

My apologies - I did not realize your were talking about this scenario, where it is indeed hard to get going. All my experiments were with Mac Pros where I already had a working 8800GT or ATI card up to do the initial boot, and therefore had a working system in which to then fiddle with the config of a PC 260 or 285.

Without a friendly dealer or another mac to use to talk to a Mac Pro without a card at all I would not have a clue how to solve this one. Maybe we should pose it as a challenge:

You are alone in a room with a Mac Pro with no video card and a PC 285 card. The room has power and internet. You have no friends, no other Macs and no dealer to help you. Get it working.....:confused:

[netkas]

you can boot it with mac's gtx285, without installed drivers
boot to single user mode, mount -uw /

copy updated Nvidia kexts for gtx285 to /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 , chown -R 0:0 them, reboot and enjoy

[10THzMac]

you can boot it with mac's gtx285, without installed drivers
boot to single user mode, mount -uw /

copy updated Nvidia kexts for gtx285 to /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 , chown -R 0:0 them, reboot and enjoy

OK - point taken. Can we have a more explicit version for mere mortals? I do now understand how to properly set kext permissions but this is only a very recent upgrade in my brain.

[turtlebud]

i'm going to preface this by admitting that I don't know a lot (or anything at all) about the details of how to get a non-apple branded mac version of a video card to work on a Mac.

it seems like the initial install is pretty straightforward, but subsequent changes (such as a new OS) or problems (such as your system crashing and needing re-installation) are a little more complicated with these 3rd party mac version cards.

I'm curious:
1. are the mac versions of the cards simply the same as the PC version except they include the drivers for it to run on the mac or are there also substantial (or subtle) differences in the hardware too?
2. have the people that are running the ATI 3870 run into any problems after doing an OS upgrade/update (ie, from 10.4 to 10.5) or after a clean install (before they are able to install the drivers for the video card)?

[netkas]

i'm going to preface this by admitting that I don't know a lot (or anything at all) about the details of how to get a non-apple branded mac version of a video card to work on a Mac.

it seems like the initial install is pretty straightforward, but subsequent changes (such as a new OS) or problems (such as your system crashing and needing re-installation) are a little more complicated with these 3rd party mac version cards.

I'm curious:
1. are the mac versions of the cards simply the same as the PC version except they include the drivers for it to run on the mac or are there also substantial (or subtle) differences in the hardware too?
2. have the people that are running the ATI 3870 run into any problems after doing an OS upgrade/update (ie, from 10.4 to 10.5) or after a clean install (before they are able to install the drivers for the video card)?

1) mac cards simply has two roms - pc vga bios + efi uga/gop module

2) ati users have no problems, if drivers missing in os (they appeared in 10.5.2 first time, for 3870) - they will have no resolution change and no qe/ci, but rest will work fine.

[POLOgt]

.
It will probably be released somewhere between June 3rd and June 11th.
.

Any credit to that claim? or just a guess :confused:

[Spanky Deluxe]

Any credit to that claim? or just a guess :confused:

WWDC is June 8th to June 12th. Its likely that they'll release it before WWDC finishes if they're planning on releasing it any time soon.

[justflie]

Hey guys, any thoughts on the next gen Nvidia and ATI cards rumored for the end of the summer? Do you expect Nvidia to continue these types of releases in some sort of sensible time frame (ie not 1 year after the same pc card has been released)?

I'm thinking I might pull back on the reins, I'm starting to feel on the fence.

[Spanky Deluxe]

Hey guys, any thoughts on the next gen Nvidia and ATI cards rumored for the end of the summer? Do you expect Nvidia to continue these types of releases in some sort of sensible time frame (ie not 1 year after the same pc card has been released)?

I'm thinking I might pull back on the reins, I'm starting to feel on the fence.

I'd expect them to release new OS X cards roughly every year. They seem to be getting faster though so who knows. At the very least, there'll be new cards when the next Mac Pros come out but that likely won't be until early next year.

[Topper]

Any credit to that claim? or just a guess :confused:
.
http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/OWC.jpg
.
.
http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/Bottom.jpg
.

[justflie]

Provantage originally showed June 3rd as the estimated shipping date.

OWC shows shipping 10 days from now.

What's with the massive price difference between Provantage and OWC? Aren't they the same card? And by massive, I mean about $40 which really isn't that bad, just surprising.

[Topper]

What's with the massive price difference between Provantage and OWC? Aren't they the same card? And by massive, I mean about $40 which really isn't that bad, just surprising.

Just like any shopping on the internet, you've got to do your homework.
Next time around OWC may be cheaper than Provantage.
.

[Infrared]

you can boot it with mac's gtx285, without installed drivers
boot to single user mode, mount -uw /

copy updated Nvidia kexts for gtx285 to /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 , chown -R 0:0 them, reboot and enjoy

Really? Oh, that's cool :)

Thanks for the tip!

ps

I think one might be able to do it from an EFI firmware console,
too, using rEFIt.

[justflie]

Just a heads up guys: My order for the 285 from Provantage is now in processing. The information has been sent to a regional (Massachusetts) warehouse so I expect it to ship this afternoon or tomorrow morning. :)

[gotzero]

I assume the answer is "no", but will this card work in a 2008 Mac Pro with 2600s alongside? I run at least three monitors.

If "no", will it work with a 120?

I would like to get a better graphics card, but also skip the MDP bs, and the difference between the 4870 and the 285 is not that big in price.

[Tallest Skil]

I assume the answer is "no", but will this card work in a 2008 Mac Pro with 2600s alongside? I run at least three monitors.

With just one 2600, I believe, but yes, it will work.

[turtlebud]

Just a heads up guys: My order for the 285 from Provantage is now in processing. The information has been sent to a regional (Massachusetts) warehouse so I expect it to ship this afternoon or tomorrow morning. :)

exciting! let us know how it runs once you get it in and installed.

[Topper]

Just a heads up guys: My order for the 285 from Provantage is now in processing. The information has been sent to a regional (Massachusetts) warehouse so I expect it to ship this afternoon or tomorrow morning. :)

Sorry, I hope you are right but I don't think so.
My Provantage order shows the same thing.
But it also says, "The supplier has not provided us with a firm shipping date."

I was one of the first to order the 285 from Provantage.
So if you get yours, mine should be on the way also.
p.s. I am from Massachusetts also.
.

[justflie]

Here's the wording from the site:

Your order has been placed with one of our suppliers. They will ship it to our Ohio distribution center, where it will immediately be forwarded to you.
Note: Your order has been forwarded to a regional warehouse for processing. We will issue an invoice once we have confirmation.

The part before the note was updated recently so maybe it's not shipping as soon as I had hoped.

Anyone that ordered from OWC have any input?

:edit: ha! We just posted at the same time. I agree, it doesn't look like it's happening today/tomorrow :(

[Topper]

:edit: ha! We just posted at the same time. I agree, it doesn't look like it's happening today/tomorrow :(

Oh well, we'll just keep drawing interest on the $448 until they send it. http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/smile.gif
.

[xgman]

I placed one just now on Provantage. Said 8 left in stock prior to my order. We'll see what happens . . .

[justflie]

Nice. That's the first stock number I've heard. When I placed it on 1 or 2 June, it just showed as "backordered."

[xgman]

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Shipment Status: COMPLETED

Ship via: Ground Delivery

Tracking number:
Awaiting tracking number. We are now waiting for our distribution partner to supply us with a tracking number. As soon as this number becomes available, we will email it to

[justflie]

lol, what the crap, my order is still "in progress!"

*edit* just called up provantage and the guy changed it around so I don't have to wait for it to show up at a warehouse. I guess that means it's shipping soon. Thanks for the heads up, xgman :)

[xgman]

after my ship receipt, stock went from 8 to 7, so I guess it is correct.

[justflie]

after my ship receipt, stock went from 8 to 7, so I guess it is correct.

Yeah, I noticed that. I like that realtime availability checker. I just got my shipment notice :)

[Dzokayi]

Any of you guys running a 2006 Mac Pro? I know the system requirements don't officially support it, but...

[xgman]

I'm not even sure of exactly how it is supposed to work on the early 2008 mac pro. I assume 10.5.7 will drive it? One power plug like the 8800 or 2? or an adapter? Is there even 2 vid power connectors in the 2008 mac pro? I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[nanofrog]

I'm not even sure of exactly how it is supposed to work on the early 2008 mac pro. I assume 10.5.7 will drive it? One power plug like the 8800 or 2? or an adapter? Is there even 2 vid power connectors in the 2008 mac pro? I guess I'll find out soon enough.
1. It would contain a driver disk, as it's a 3rd party developed product.

2. The GTX285 uses 2x 6 pin PCIe power connectors.

3. There are 2x of the graphics power connectors on the logic board, so you can get power to it. :) If you don't have a pair, you might want to go ahead and order the extra cable(s) you need from here (http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3280778) (US). Svideo.com (http://www.svideo.com/x1900.html) ships internationally, for those interested.

Hope this helps. :)

[xgman]

I'll have to open up and look later, but are you saying that the Mac pro early 2008 has only a plug on the motherboard and no 2nd power cable? or are there 2 vid power cables stuffed in there somewhere? I wonder if the evga mac box comes with whatever is needed? I'm thinking it should already be in the box, but who knows.

Actually I called EVGA to ask about this and they said they were still under nda and wanted to know who was shipping it. I didn't tell them since I didn't want the card not to ship.

[nanofrog]

I'll have to open up and look later, but are you saying that the Mac pro early 2008 has only a plug on the motherboard and no 2nd power cable?
Yup. ;) One cable, two connectors. They didn't want to spend the cash on additional cables I guess. :rolleyes:

I wonder if the evga mac box comes with whatever is needed? I'm thinking it should already be in the box, but who knows.
I don't know. PC cards may come with the cables, and hopefully, this version will as well. But if EVGA can't tell you, I don't know where else except perhaps a forum (leak) would have the answer.

Actually I called EVGA to ask about this and they said they were still under nda and wanted to know who was shipping it. I didn't tell them since I didn't want the card not to ship.
I don't think they'd not ship the cards overall, but the retailer might get in some hot water. Good call, as multiple vendors can help tame pricing to some extent. It's for a Mac afterall. ;) :p

[Infrared]

I'll have to open up and look later, but are you saying that the Mac pro early 2008 has only a plug on the motherboard and no 2nd power cable? or are there 2 vid power cables stuffed in there somewhere?

No cables come with the default configuration (with 2600XT).

You get one or more cables when you buy a graphics card, or
you buy the cables yourself.

One such cable:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Mackilroy/6-pininmotherboard.jpg

You can see how it connects to the upper of two slots.

[nanofrog]

No cables come with the default configuration (with 2600XT).

You get one or more cables when you buy a graphics card, or
you buy the cables yourself.

You can see one such cable in this picture:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/Mackilroy/6-pininmotherboard.jpg

You can see how it connects to the upper of two slots.
I would have thought any upgrade bought through Apple would have the cable. But as this is 3rd party, it's unknown, as it's their (EVGA) option. If they want to be cheap, then definitely not. :(

Personally, I'd assume the cable isn't included, and would go ahead and pick up what's needed. But that's me. ;) I like having spares on hand, as I've avoided needing to find something in desparation for a repair. :) Helps diagnose bad cables as well. :D

[Spanky Deluxe]

I would have thought any upgrade bought through Apple would have the cable. But as this is 3rd party, it's unknown, as it's their (EVGA) option. If they want to be cheap, then definitely not. :(

Personally, I'd assume the cable isn't included, and would go ahead and pick up what's needed. But that's me. ;) I like having spares on hand, as I've avoided needing to find something in desparation for a repair. :) Helps diagnose bad cables as well. :D

There's no way it won't come with cables. Every graphics card I've ever purchased that has needed extra power has come with the necessary cables. My third party 3870 Mac Addition came with the power cable. The fact that these power cables are only sold by ATI direct in North America or by people diying them and selling them means that Hell would freeze over before they ship their card without the cables.

[nanofrog]

There's no way it won't come with cables. Every graphics card I've ever purchased that has needed extra power has come with the necessary cables. My third party 3870 Mac Addition came with the power cable. The fact that these power cables are only sold by ATI direct in North America or by people diying them and selling them means that Hell would freeze over before they ship their card without the cables.
ATI already has access to them for the 3870 Mac & PC ed., and did the development themselves. It's the EVGA aspect that I'm not sure of, as they're not nVidia. They just buy nVidia's GPU's. :p

Unfortunately, I've seen a few too many items ship without all the necessary odds and ends (cables) lately, and I don't put much past corporations these days in the desire to save every cent they can. Especially if they can sell them for an additional profit. :( Remind you of anything lately, or even any specific company(ies)?

Hint: :apple: :D

That said, I truly hope they do have the decency to include them. :)

[MrRage]

The 4800 came with a cable and that was a 3rd party card. The apple 4870 came with 2 cables. If the 285 did not come with cables I would be shocked.

Not including the two specialized cables for the Mac Pro with a $400 graphics card would not only be silly, but stupid.

[turtlebud]

provantage, bottom line telecommunications, and cost central all show 33 in stock - wonder if they are shipping from that same southern cal warehouse.

http://www.provantage.com/evga-01g-p3-1080-tr~AEVGA0EC.htm

http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/EVGA_GEFORCE_GTX_285_MAC_PCIE_1GB_2PORT_DVI_I/01GP31080TR/10770930/froogle/

http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=enter&thispage=011004001506_BBD0860P.shtml&order_id=!ORDERID!#Availability

[10THzMac]

I'll have to open up and look later, but are you saying that the Mac pro early 2008 has only a plug on the motherboard and no 2nd power cable? or are there 2 vid power cables stuffed in there somewhere? I wonder if the evga mac box comes with whatever is needed? I'm thinking it should already be in the box, but who knows.
...

The 08 Mac Pro has two connectors on the mother board for a special type of PCI power cable. In the case of the 8800 that card shipped with the one cable it needed and I expect the EVGA card to ship with two. If by some stupidity it does not you can source them elsewhere - those of us that have already installed PC versions do this, or route power from the optical bay, which is also an option if you need three or more cables - I do this to power an 8800+PC 285. I will be furious if my Mac 285 does not ship with the two needed cables.

My card is on back order with OWC and their web site says it expects to ship in 7 days.

[netkas]

10THzMac

looks like cuda pkg from 4800 quadro disk fixed cude for guys with gt2xx

[justflie]

provantage, bottom line telecommunications, and cost central all show 33 in stock - wonder if they are shipping from that same southern cal warehouse.

http://www.provantage.com/evga-01g-p3-1080-tr~AEVGA0EC.htm

http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/EVGA_GEFORCE_GTX_285_MAC_PCIE_1GB_2PORT_DVI_I/01GP31080TR/10770930/froogle/

http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=enter&thispage=011004001506_BBD0860P.shtml&order_id=!ORDERID!#Availability

It looks like that's the case. My card shipped this morning from Bloomington, CA last night and is on its way to a warehouse in North Canton, OH. From there, it will ship to my house in Massachusetts. I kind of wish I had sprung for the 2-Day shipping, but it was an extra $40 so no way in hell!

[Topper]

It looks like that's the case. My card shipped this morning from Bloomington, CA last night and is on its way to a warehouse in North Canton, OH. From there, it will ship to my house in Massachusetts. I kind of wish I had sprung for the 2-Day shipping, but it was an extra $40 so no way in hell!

Yep, I think we are all getting them from Southern California.
I'm a little surprised to see OWC still showing 7 days before they will be shipping.
Although our 285's are on a slow boat from China so 7 days may still be correct.

Here is GTX 285 Mac warehouse information from BLT:

http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/285.jpg
.

[grue]

Very excited for someone to try these in a 2006 or 2007 Mac Pro… not expecting it to work, but it'd be nice if I didn't have to buy a 4870 for my upgrade card :(

[10THzMac]

I only went with OWC as provantage was funny about credit cards for overseas orders. It's a bit annoying to see them taking longer to ship as well as charging more, but maybe they are just conforming to an embargo when others are not.

We are not well served in the UK. The PNY Quadro card is not on UK Apple Store despite being on US for a while (not that I would buy it). Novatech are usually excellent but want £437.60!!! (that's POUNDS) for the "Apple" 285 and claim they will have ONE tomorrow. I cannot see the card on Scan though there is a mysteriously expensive 1G card for just over £400. I can wait.

[Topper]

I only went with OWC as provantage was funny about credit cards for overseas orders.

When it comes to credit cards, Provantage is strange.
They told me that my credit card was declined because the telephone number I gave them was different than my phone number with my credit card company.
My credit card company had my old phone number. I just changed it.
I do all my shopping (except for food) on the internet but that was first time any vendor ever compared phone numbers.
I wouldn't be surprised but next time Provantage will ask for an iris recognition and identification scan.
.

[justflie]

lol, annoying, but at least they seem to be somewhat conscious of security. I had "request ID" on my signature line for my card and I was never ONCE asked for my ID at a retail store. They didn't even check the signature...:eek:

If any of you guys are decent with iweb or web publishing, please answer my cry for help here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=7724593#post7724593).

[Spanky Deluxe]

I only went with OWC as provantage was funny about credit cards for overseas orders. It's a bit annoying to see them taking longer to ship as well as charging more, but maybe they are just conforming to an embargo when others are not.

We are not well served in the UK. The PNY Quadro card is not on UK Apple Store despite being on US for a while (not that I would buy it). Novatech are usually excellent but want £437.60!!! (that's POUNDS) for the "Apple" 285 and claim they will have ONE tomorrow. I cannot see the card on Scan though there is a mysteriously expensive 1G card for just over £400. I can wait.

You do realise that OWC charge $521.29 for delivery to the UK minimum, which is $683 after VAT (15%) and Import Duty (14%), i.e. £425. The extra £12.60 doesn't sound that bad to likely get it far quicker from Novatech.

[10THzMac]

You do realise that OWC charge $521.29 for delivery to the UK minimum, which is $683 after VAT (15%) and Import Duty (14%), i.e. £425. The extra £12.60 doesn't sound that bad to likely get it far quicker from Novatech.
10/10 for arithmetic. These little extras also have a certain binary random quality about them. :cool:

[Infrared]

The 08 Mac Pro has two connectors on the mother board for a special type of PCI power cable.

What sort of PCI cables are used in typical PCs?

And why didn't Apple choose sockets that would allow them to be used?

Thanks!

[Spanky Deluxe]

10/10 for arithmetic. These little extras also have a certain binary random quality about them. :cool:

I got the impression that you'd forgotten about VAT and Import Duty because you were complaining that Novatech's price was so high when you're actually paying pretty much the same. I guess if saving £12.60 is worth waiting weeks for it to be shipped over then go for it.

[xgman]

My provantage order shipped yesterday and I spoke today with EVGA sales and they did say that the 285 mac card should come with the power cable.

[justflie]

sweet. shipped to your house or the warehouse then your house?

[nanofrog]

What sort of PCI cables are used in typical PCs?

And why didn't Apple choose sockets that would allow them to be used?

Thanks!
In PC's, it's taken directly from the PSU. Either from PCIe power wires already comming out of it (hardwired), from a modular connection system, or off the Molex power connectors (smaller or older PSU's) using the cables that come in retail packaged graphics cards.

The latter isn't very neat, but it does work. For a neat installation, the modular cable connections work best. :)

[xgman]

sweet. shipped to your house or the warehouse then your house?

Shipped to me with tracking #, but not to arrive till Wed. I left it at ground delivery for $5.

[Infrared]

In PC's, it's taken directly from the PSU. Either from PCIe power wires already comming out of it (hardwired), from a modular connection system, or off the Molex power connectors (smaller or older PSU's) using the cables that come in retail packaged graphics cards.

The latter isn't very neat, but it does work. For a neat installation, the modular cable connections work best. :)

Ah, ok, thanks.

Hmm... I found this crazy site:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

I mean, wow. Cablemania! :)

[nanofrog]

Ah, ok, thanks.

Hmm... I found this crazy site:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

I mean, wow. Cablemania! :)
:eek: I lost the link to this site some time ago! :cool: Thanks. :D

It's a great site for showing people the connectors. Far easier than some of my descriptions anyway. ;)

[c4ff]

Good to see some great discussion in this thread. Does anyone here know somewhere I can pre-order the card in the UK?

[10THzMac]

Good to see some great discussion in this thread. Does anyone here know somewhere I can pre-order the card in the UK?

Here is the Novatech link

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?EVG-285A

To answer the other question about Apple's cables - I have no idea why they went for custom PCI power connectors. It has driven us nuts, but at least so far the Apple versions of cards ship with them. It's only us reckless folk who try to get PC cards working who have to source them elsewhere, coz the PC cards ship with standard 4-pin molex to PCI cables - these are fine for routing extra power from the optical bay (look for a post by Cindori with piccies), where there are standard 4-pin molex outputs! For PCI power Apple have these very annoying mini-connectors in an awkward corner of the logic board.

It you go for a heavily customized Pro - e.g. with a Mac 285 and eg a PC 295 it is probably easier to get a piggy back PSU - I have a ToughPower supply with oodles of 6pin and 8pin cables, and while it means an open case the power and cabling issues are then trivial. I will be rigging this up for my intended twin 285 setup later this month as I do not want to stress the system with four 6pin outputs (though it would probably be OK to take two off the board and two off the optical - I just do not want to risk it). Power lust like this is one reason I hope Apple do a bigger model with oodles of power and slots for 4 BIG GPUs.

[grue]

To answer the other question about Apple's cables - I have no idea why they went for custom PCI power connectors.

Because if they build a major component that doesn't have some stupid proprietary piece of crap on it, their collective heads would explode.

[nanofrog]

Because if they build a major component that doesn't have some stupid proprietary piece of crap on it, their collective heads would explode.
LMAO! :D

[grue]

Do any of you who ordered the 285 have access to a 2006 or 2007 Mac Pro to see if it'll work in there once the drivers are installed?

[The Rominator]

Do any of you who ordered the 285 have access to a 2006 or 2007 Mac Pro to see if it'll work in there once the drivers are installed?

would LOVE to be wrong....but look at track record

1. ALL ATI cards work in ALL Mac Pros

2. ALL NVIDIA cards are EFI bound (32 OR 64 Mac Pro)

As I have a 1st Gen, REALLY hope the Unicorns win this time

[grue]

would LOVE to be wrong....but look at track record

1. ALL ATI cards work in ALL Mac Pros

2. ALL NVIDIA cards are EFI bound (32 OR 64 Mac Pro)

As I have a 1st Gen, REALLY hope the Unicorns win this time

Oh don't get me wrong, I really don't expect it to work. But I'll be in the US in two weeks and need to pick up a video card while I'm there.

Hoping it'll be this, otherwise I'll be buying a 1GB 4870 to reflash. Ironically, I don't give a damn about the mini displayport or the price of the Apple unit, it's the fact that it's 512MB that pisses me off.

All this having been said, I was under the impression the GT120 works in *.Mac Pro?

[SirAvalon]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW387ZM/A

[Cindori]

"Requires: Mac Pro (Early 2009 with 1066Mhz DDR3) or Mac Pro (Early 2008 with 800Mhz DDR2 FB-DIMM memory)"


Sorry guys :/


http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=713428

[24usedtorock]

Anyone got any gaming benchmarks yet?

[Spikeanator6982]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW387ZM/A

Wow..that's the cheapest place to get it now isnt it? and we thought apple wouldnt carry it.

[pilotError]

Have you seen the EVGA website? They have a big EVGA for Mac on their front page...

http://www.evga.com/articles/00479/

[Topper]

Wow..that's the cheapest place to get it now isnt it? and we thought apple wouldnt carry it.

Nope, it costs $442.61 including shipping at Provantage.
It is priced at $438.81 including shipping at VallySeek.

With the Apple Store, you'll have to pay state taxes.

Have you seen the EVGA website? They have a big EVGA for Mac on their front page...

http://www.evga.com/articles/00479/

Very nice, thank you!

[juice]

Also noticed on the website that it comes with 2 6-pin power cables. I guess we can put that discussion to bed now.

[macuserx86]

I you look on the SL specs site, it makes no mention of OpenCL working with the GTX.

OpenCL
NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GTS, Geforce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130.
ATI Radeon 4850, Radeon 4870

Maybe since Apple doesn't offer it as BTO, but it's still kind of worrying. Any thoughts on this matter?

[justflie]

I you look on the SL specs site, it makes no mention of OpenCL working with the GTX.



Maybe since Apple doesn't offer it as BTO, but it's still kind of worrying. Any thoughts on this matter?

Nvidia is onboard with the OpenCL spec so I would be EXTREMELY surprised if the GTX doesn't support it. Even if it doesn't right now, I'm assuming support (through drivers) could be added in the future. There isn't all that much that would be able to take advantage of OpenCL yet anyways (well, at least as I assume).

*edit* I just registered this screenname on the EVGA forums and asked this question. I'll report back with the results.

[irishgrizzly]

Any guess if it would be cheaper getting this card direct from Apple in Europe or importing through OWC in the states?

[macuserx86]

Nvidia is onboard with the OpenCL spec so I would be EXTREMELY surprised if the GTX doesn't support it. Even if it doesn't right now, I'm assuming support (through drivers) could be added in the future. There isn't all that much that would be able to take advantage of OpenCL yet anyways (well, at least as I assume).

*edit* I just registered this screenname on the EVGA forums and asked this question. I'll report back with the results.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaanks!
http://www.hybridcars.com/files/imagecache/article_lead_image/files/graphics/south-park-smug-313.gif

[grue]

"Requires: Mac Pro (Early 2009 with 1066Mhz DDR3) or Mac Pro (Early 2008 with 800Mhz DDR2 FB-DIMM memory)"


Sorry guys :/


http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=713428

Doesn't really mean anything. Apple says the 4870 only works in those machines as well, which we all know is BS.

[justflie]

Thaaaaaaaaaaaanks!


lol. nice. I might just have to watch that episode now :)

Anyways, I got a really quick response from a moderator over at the EVGA forums. Hurray for that.

Hi,

The Mac edition supports CUDA for now, and the upcoming OpenCL later that will be utilized with Snow Leopard.

I'm guessing it wasn't specified because SL isn't actually released yet. But peace of mind is always good.

[macuserx86]

lol. nice. I might just have to watch that episode now :)

Anyways, I got a really quick response from a moderator over at the EVGA forums. Hurray for that.



I'm guessing it wasn't specified because SL isn't actually released yet. But peace of mind is always good.

Sounds reasonable. Could you go ahead and ask them to make the mac version cost the same as the PC version? ;)

[justflie]

Sounds reasonable. Could you go ahead and ask them to make the mac version cost the same as the PC version? ;)

Haha. I think there's the same chance of that as AT&T reducing their upgrade pricing on the iPhone 3G S...

[Topper]

Could you go ahead and ask them to make the mac version cost the same as the PC version? ;)

OMG!

Soon you will be able to flash a PC GTX 285. Unfortunately it will only have a 2.5 GT/s Link Speed.

[Shrapnel]

Just ordered from eVGA's web site. Their overnight is a bit more expensive, but they have it in stock. With any luck I should have one Wed. I can't wait! :) I had flashed a 4870, but between iffy support for my second 23" ACD and the GPU frying up after only a month; I decided to go for a legit supported one even though it is unfortunately more expensive.

Happy with my second monitor as well. I had got one of the 23" ones last summer before getting my Mac Pro. I started WoW'ing recently which pushed me into a huge want for a second monitor. Looked far and wide for the discontinued 23's even looked at used ones on Ebay. When all hope had failed I stumbled into my local (50+ miles away) BestBuy a week and a half ago and they still had 2 brand new and sealed by their Mac section! :eek: I was polite and asked if they wanted to make a deal on one of them as they had been discontinued for close to a year now. After about 20 minutes, the manager came back... $599! Sold! :cool:

[TheStrudel]

I'm hoping this heralds the entrance of other companies into the mac graphics card market, but that's a little optimistic right now. Still, the market is already more open and full than it has been for the last ~6 years. Good news all around.

[macuserx86]

After about 20 minutes, the manager came back... $599! Sold! :cool:

You lucky bastard! Let us know how that GTX treats you, my Mac Pro is begging me for it, it's really quite pathetic. *pats Mac Pro* there there girl, it'll be all right, you'll have your precious soon enough.

[pilotError]

I wonder if the Drivers would work with a GTX 260?

I don't see any Mac OS X drivers available on their site yet...

[turtlebud]

From EVGA's website: "...your performance is maximized with graphics-intensive applications like 3D gaming, motion graphics, 3D modeling, rendering and animation."

Do Aperture and Final Cut Express fall into any of these above mentioned categories? I suspect the answer is no, which means it might be a better decision to go with the 4870 (but I will probably wait for benchmarks to be sure).

[Topper]

Do Aperture and Final Cut Express fall into any of these above mentioned categories?

The answer is yes. Apple calls both applications "graphics-intensive professional applications."

Apple's exact quote is, "...running graphics-intensive professional applications such as Final Cut Studio or Aperture on a Mac Pro system." (http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW386LL/A)

[macuserx86]

Hopefully the next version of Aperture will be all SL optimised, as of now, it's a bit of a power hog :/
Plus, exporting RAW using the GTX and all 8 cores would be intense! :D

[StanD]

Since I had received a few E-mails from people who didn't believe that they were shipping, my cards arrived today. I have attached a pic of both of the boxes as well as a piece of paper so people don't call it a fake :) Yes, there are two because my wife and I have Mac Pro's.

Tomorrow they get installed!


- Stan

P.S. Driver CD and 2x 6-pin PCI-E power cables in the box...

[grue]

Since I had received a few E-mails from people who didn't believe that they were shipping, my cards arrived today. I have attached a pic of both of the boxes as well as a piece of paper so people don't call it a fake :) Yes, there are two because my wife and I have Mac Pro's.

Tomorrow they get installed!


- Stan

P.S. Driver CD and 2x 6-pin PCI-E power cables in the box...

Don't suppose you have a 2006 or 2007 model you can test in? :D

[Spikeanator6982]

Since I had received a few E-mails from people who didn't believe that they were shipping, my cards arrived today. I have attached a pic of both of the boxes as well as a piece of paper so people don't call it a fake :) Yes, there are two because my wife and I have Mac Pro's.

Tomorrow they get installed!


- Stan

P.S. Driver CD and 2x 6-pin PCI-E power cables in the box...

any chance of some fps readings from games? or a cinebench 10?

[StanD]

Not too many (Mac) games kicking around but I can do Cinebench. My Mac Pro's are both 2008's 2.8 & 3.0 GHz. Sorry :(


- Stan

[Pili]

awesome, can't wait until some benchmarks start coming out.

[macuserx86]

Since I had received a few E-mails from people who didn't believe that they were shipping, my cards arrived today. I have attached a pic of both of the boxes as well as a piece of paper so people don't call it a fake :) Yes, there are two because my wife and I have Mac Pro's.

Tomorrow they get installed!


- Stan

P.S. Driver CD and 2x 6-pin PCI-E power cables in the box...

:eek: you lucky dog! have fun with those beasts! :)

[grue]

Not too many (Mac) games kicking around but I can do Cinebench. My Mac Pro's are both 2008's 2.8 & 3.0 GHz. Sorry :(


- Stan

C'est la vie :)

[skyline r34]

There was alot of people here stating that Apple will never sale 285 GTX on apple.com but they are

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW387ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=NjcxMjczOQ

I wrote to CinemaView like T.Skil said there coming out with and will offer an DVI-D Dual Link to Mini Displayport adapter that will allow older Mac Pro/PowerMac and MacBook Pro/Powerbook models with DVI-D Dual Link jacks to work with our Mini Displayport displays but is CinemaView Technology will be the same as Apple's Mini displayport Tech? I hope so because I really want to use Apple's new LED 30 inch with the 285 GTX but i'm kinda disappointed that Apple didn't announced LED Cinema displays for desktops today and what will be the connections will it be only Mini Display-Port, will Apple include adapters like CinemaView with their look alike LED Displays?

[Cindori]

There was alot of people here stating that Apple will never sale 285 GTX on apple.com but they are


Well Apple store do carry third party accessories... What they DONT do is to use third party parts @ configuration when buying mac pro

[Gymnut]

I wonder if eventually the cards will make it into the Apple retail stores. I haven't seen GFX cards on shelves, although admittedly I've never looked for them, having been only a Powerbook and MBP owner, but does Apple carry these parts in their stores?

[justflie]

congrats, Stan!

I know this is a slightly lame question, but does anyone have/know where to find instructions on replacing a video card in the 2009 MP? I'm very comfortable messing around in a typical PC case, but this MP looks to be a different beast. I just want to be sure that I don't break anything... :o

That being said, my card is being delivered today...to the provantage warehouse in OH. lol. I assume that I'll have the card by the end of the week, Monday the latest.

[10THzMac]

Well Apple store do carry third party accessories... What they DONT do is to use third party parts @ configuration when buying mac pro

What are you trying to say? The Mac Pro already comes BTO with Nvidia Gt120 and ATI 4870 options. There are no Apple graphics cards. We just do not know if the 285 and Quadro will be added to existing 3rd party options.

[shroud]

Not too many (Mac) games kicking around but I can do Cinebench. My Mac Pro's are both 2008's 2.8 & 3.0 GHz. Sorry :(


- Stan

I am in Raleigh and just happen to have a 2006 Mac Pro. I am willing to haul the monstrosity over to you with a clean leopard HDD so that you can test it if you want.

It may help a lot of people with their questions (me included). Just a thought.

[Topper]

My card shipped this morning from Bloomington, CA last night and is on its way to a warehouse in North Canton, OH.

My card just arrived in Grove City, OH.
It's getting here albeit just very slowly.http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/frown.jpg
.

[Spanky Deluxe]

What are you trying to say? The Mac Pro already comes BTO with Nvidia Gt120 and ATI 4870 options. There are no Apple graphics cards. We just do not know if the 285 and Quadro will be added to existing 3rd party options.

Apple's BTO cards are Apple branded cards. Like EVGA sell EVGA branded nVidia cards. Unless Apple follows EVGA's lead and make their own Apple branded GTX 285s (unlikely since its too close in performance to their 4870) then there will not be a GTX 285 as a BTO. 3rd party = any manufacturer other than Apple.

[nasabaer]

Cannot wait for EFI and Drivers to be released :)

[Infrared]

Apple's BTO cards are Apple branded cards. Unless Apple follows EVGA's lead and make their own Apple branded GTX 285s (unlikely since its too close in performance to their 4870) then there will not be a GTX 285 as a BTO. 3rd party = any manufacturer other than Apple.

They won't do it as BTO because it hasn't got that silly
miniport nonsense on it ;)

How are you defining Apple branded, by the way? I don't
see Apple's name on the BTO 8800GT, for example.

[justflie]

My card just arrived in Grove City, OH.
It's getting here albeit just very slowly.http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/frown.jpg
.

Oh cute, our cards are travel buddies. :D

[Cuda]

Since I had received a few E-mails from people who didn't believe that they were shipping, my cards arrived today. I have attached a pic of both of the boxes as well as a piece of paper so people don't call it a fake :) Yes, there are two because my wife and I have Mac Pro's.

Tomorrow they get installed!


- Stan

P.S. Driver CD and 2x 6-pin PCI-E power cables in the box...

StanD, if you have a chance, while installing the cards, check next to the Power Connectors(on the card), and see if there is a S/PDIF two pin connector.

From the Photos I've seen, YES, but I just wanted to know if Shipping cards got it or not. ( Not that it does much good unless you have a 3rd party Sound card with 2 pin S/PIDF and you want to connect to DVI->HDMI->TV and only use one external cable(DVI to HDMI).

Or snap some close-ups of the area around the Power Connectors.

[justflie]

Do the cards come with installation instructions? I don't want to break anything inside my pretty MP!

[StanD]

Wow,

All kinds of feedback since I posted last night before bed. Am currently at work so will follow-up more from home. I will snap some macro shots tonight of the card so folks can look it over.

@justflie:
Yes there is an installation doc. Oh boy is it ever brief though. If you aren't very familiar with installing stuff and/or have never taken the from fan assembly off (assuming this is not a 2009 MP) then you might be a bit daunted. Having 2x PCI-E connectors is very nice as well. But you will still need to plug one in if you don't have them installed already.

@shroud:
Interesting. I will see what I can manage and PM you as work is pretty hectic at the moment. According to the docs you need 10.5.7 before you even install the drivers. That tells me my 8800GT isn't going anywhere in case I want to wipe and do a clean install.

If you keep an eye on:

http://www.evga.com/support/drivers

You should see the drivers show up there soon too :)

I am particularly interested in seeing if the link speed is 5GT/s as that will tell a lot. I am very excited to go back to one card in my system from the two I had (8800GT + GTX280) which will mean it will be QUIET again.

More shots tonight and hopefully a benchmark, work depending!


- Stan

[brendon2020]

nice to see this come out, price isn't too bad compared to the pc version;

[Spanky Deluxe]

They won't do it as BTO because it hasn't got that silly
miniport nonsense on it ;)

How are you defining Apple branded, by the way? I don't
see Apple's name on the BTO 8800GT, for example.

As in they're sold by Apple and manufactured by Apple (or a direct Apple supplier). They're basically stock nVidia cards but with a BIOS and EFI written by (it would seem) Apple. Think of it like all the stock cards that third party PC manufacturers make. They're basically identical except they have a different sticker on the cooling unit. If Apple were to have a GTX 285 as a BTO, it would be their own modified version with a mini display port.

[turtlebud]

xlr8yourmac has put together the first review of the GTX 285 that I've seen. They say it's a work in progress, so there may be more to come, but from what I've seen, the gist is that with the current drivers, the GTX 285 doesn't perform that impressively overall (though it does do considerably better in gaming in Windows).

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/mac_EVGA_GTX285_review/index.html

[tinycg]

This is interesting, I just placed an order and I'm pretty shocked to see the drivers doing so poorly esp against the stock GT120.

[macuserx86]

This is interesting, I just placed an order and I'm pretty shocked to see the drivers doing so poorly esp against the stock GT120.

Ya, it's more than a little disconcerting. I think I'm going to sit this one out for now and see if the drivers get any better.

[tinycg]

Yeah, part of me wants to cancel and ride it out with my new mac for a little bit longer, I'm just kinda in shock I thought this should be smoking the benchmarks for the most part.

[macuserx86]

Yeah, part of me wants to cancel and ride it out with my new mac for a little bit longer, I'm just kinda in shock I thought this should be smoking the benchmarks for the most part.

I'm sure the drivers will get better, but for now, the stock GT120 is faster :eek:

[imacdaddy]

I'm sure the drivers will get better, but for now, the stock GT120 is faster :eek:

:eek: I hope we see new drivers soon not later (Sep) when Snow Leopard comes out. What a bummer!

[justflie]

I'm sure the drivers will get better, but for now, the stock GT120 is faster :eek:

That's not ridiculous at all. Oh, wait... :mad:

[Topper]

.
The GTX 285 will work just fine for me.
I especially need the 1GB of vram.
And it will have 5.0 GT/s Link Speed.
I will also be using it in Boot Camp so the Window's drivers can kick in.
I do hope they keep improving the drivers though.
.
p.s. I am looking forward to Barefeats test of the GTX 285.
.

[10THzMac]

There is something very odd about those benchmarks. I have a PC 285 loaded and its OpenGL scores are very good indeed and it is running CUDA calculations more than twice as fast as an 8800, despite a link speed of 2.5, not 5.

[Cuda]

Same old sad tale, 285GTX + $100 "Mac Tax".

Drivers are crap, No FSAA past 4x( Is this a Geforce2?), No way to control the card( From EVGA ), Lacks Advanced feature set API's( Pure Video ).

Dump the Rom, Send it back, Flash a PC card.

At $100 less, You'll get the "Support" you are paying for.

Shame on EVGA:apple:

On the bright side, at least you did not Pay for a Quadro, and get a GeForce with Din port for Stereo 3D.

Really, if you buy this card, your just supporting this same old crap. If you already got one( See Dump the Rom), if you ordered one, Cancel Your Order( And tell them(EVGA) Why)

I don't think $100 is overpriced, if they had spent some time, or any at all, to offer value for it.

We all know the "PC" EVGA 285GTX will be <$250 in 5 weeks, while the "Mac" card will still be $400+.

Only Apple Gets to Milk this "Cash Cow".

[macuserx86]

This so called "GTX" is turning out to be a real piece of crap. I know a lot of it is drivers, but as Apple's always banging on about, great hardware needs great software!

Let's
http://www.asseenontvguys.com/Productimages/simoniz_fix_it.jpg
Please EVGA?

[justflie]

From a Mod at the EVGA forums:

If you own a MAC and you are experiencing performance issues with the GTX 285 for mAC please telephone our EVGA customer support at the phone number located in the support section at the top of this page and let them know.

[xgman]

If you keep an eye on:

http://www.evga.com/support/drivers

You should see the drivers show up there soon too :)

- Stan

You think they will ever post mac drivers there? I doubt it. I would think that would only come from Apple software update, no?

[xgman]

From a Mod at the EVGA forums:
They aren't going to do anything. It's a Nvidia reference design and nvidia/apple drivers. It's either Nvidia or Apple that will end up having to address this if at all. EVGA just packages the products more or less. And by the way, do yourself a favor and avoid that evga forum thread. It's the usual mac bashing mac vs pc crap.

[justflie]

haha. xg, i didnt realize that was you over there :) Well, I'm assuming that EVGA passes our concerns onto Nvidia if they can't solve an issue themselves. I'll be sure to report the immature OS X drivers. It can't hurt.

[barefeats]

Posted my first set of GeForce GTX 285 benchmarks (3D) using max settings, 4X AA, and 2560x1600 rez:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html

Conclusion: Pricey but effective.

[justflie]

Posted my first set of GeForce GTX 285 benchmarks (3D) using max settings, 4X AA, and 2560x1600 rez:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html

Conclusion: Pricey but effective.

Thanks for the work, bare.

[Topper]

Posted my first set of GeForce GTX 285 benchmarks (3D) using max settings, 4X AA, and 2560x1600 rez:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html

Conclusion: Pricey but effective.

I've got X-Plane for both Windows XP (Boot Camp) and OS X.
I am using a Mac 8800 GT.
Under the exact same conditions and rendering, X-Plane gets 3 times better frame rates under Boot Camp than it does under OS X.
That tells me that NVIDIA has better drivers for Windows than they do for OS X.
Well, of course it could be that X-Plane just plain works better with Windows.
.
Thanks for the work, bare.

That should make you feel better. http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/laugh.gif
.

[justflie]

That should make you feel better. http://homepage.mac.com/ctopper/.Pictures/laugh.gif
.
lol, a little :p

[xgman]

That proves to me that NVIDIA has better drivers for Windows than they do for OS X.
.


I think that that is pretty much always the case though even with ati cards. And drivers come out almost monthly on the windows side. What, maybe 2 mac updates per year at most if Apple even bothers? Just the way it is.

[Topper]

I think that that is pretty much always the case though even with ati cards. And drivers come out almost monthly on the windows side. What, maybe 2 mac updates per year at most if Apple even bothers? Just the way it is.

Hey! Are you trying to say that I'm a second-class citizen?

On my gaming forum, the PC people seem to have more problems with ATI than they do with NVIDIA especially with OpenGL.
.

[grue]

Posted my first set of GeForce GTX 285 benchmarks (3D) using max settings, 4X AA, and 2560x1600 rez:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html

Conclusion: Pricey but effective.


Have you guys had a chance to try it in a 2006/2007 Mac Pro, or are we taking their word that it doesn't work?

[Cuda]

Posted my first set of GeForce GTX 285 benchmarks (3D) using max settings, 4X AA, and 2560x1600 rez:
http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html

Conclusion: Pricey but effective.

Nice job, at higher rez the 285GTX does show some good numbers.

Rob, I think a few people have 1 GB 4870's, it would be nice to see how it stacks up in those tables.

Goog work none the less.

[barefeats]

Rob, I think a few people have 1 GB 4870's, it would be nice to see how it stacks up in those tables.

AppleMacanix.com has agreed to send me one for testing. So stay tuned.

[noushy]

My card arrived today (pre-ordered it almost 6 weeks ago) and just finished installing it (replaced the Radeon 4870), along with the Apple Raid Card for Mac Pro 2009. It seems to work fine, display turned right on (ACD 30), and it ran through xbench without a problem. In the about this mac system profiler, it shows up properly, and works like an apple product. The driver is generic from nVidia, about 30mb. Let me know if anyone has questions about the card itself. Kind of busy for the next two days, Sunday will be my first free day to really play with it.

Peace,
Noushy

[ventro]

So is it fast? And how is the image quality compared to the 4870?

[Dzokayi]

...and not just marketingspeak from Apple / EVGA on whether or not the card will work in 2006 Mac Pro. Perhaps Barefeats has an 06 box for testing?

[24usedtorock]

My card arrived today (pre-ordered it almost 6 weeks ago) and just finished installing it (replaced the Radeon 4870), along with the Apple Raid Card for Mac Pro 2009. It seems to work fine, display turned right on (ACD 30), and it ran through xbench without a problem. In the about this mac system profiler, it shows up properly, and works like an apple product. The driver is generic from nVidia, about 30mb. Let me know if anyone has questions about the card itself. Kind of busy for the next two days, Sunday will be my first free day to really play with it.

Peace,
Noushy
Can you please describe the installation process? I know how to put one into a Mac Pro but just wondering if the size of the card caused any extra adjustments or if there was something you had to do with the card itself that was non-standard.

[skyline r34]

Good news on the 285 GTX, EVGA is developing an adaptor so that you can use Apple's LED Cinema display with the 285 GTX, i'm going to wait it out until EVGA makes this adapter because I do want to use the 285 GTX with a 30-inch LED display when ever Apple's gets around to it hopefully by the October or about the same time that Apple released the 24-inch last year, I heard that CinemaView is also making adapters but don't know if it will work on Apples LED Displays and that adapter is going to be released in September, Do you guys think when Apple release the desktop LED they will include adapters or it's gonna cost us extra $$$

[skyline r34]

Good news on the 285 GTX, EVGA is developing an adaptor so that you can use Apple's LED Cinema display with the 285 GTX, i'm going to wait it out until EVGA makes this adapter because I do want to use the 285 GTX with a 30-inch LED display when ever Apple's gets around to it hopefully by the October or about the same time that Apple released the 24-inch last year, I heard that CinemaView is also making adapters but don't know if it will work on Apples LED Displays and that adapter is going to be released in September, Do you guys think when Apple release the desktop LED they will include adapters or it's gonna cost us extra $$$

here's the email

[Spanky Deluxe]

here's the email

That email doesn't say anything about them working on a DVI to display port adapter.

Edit: Barefeats has posted benchmarks (http://www.barefeats.com/nehal11.html).

Its pretty impressive. Although, Apple's 512MB 4870 is going to be memory limited at 2560x1600, especially with 4xAA.

[AdvocateUK]

Confirmation whether it works or not in an 06 Mac Pro would be nice.....or an updated EFI Firmware from Apple to make it work (like THAT's gonna happen)

[noushy]

Sorry for the late reply been working all day. The card is really easy to install, especially if you have an existing radeon 4870 since the same power requirements work for the new card. The apple card is full length, so on the new 2009 mac pro, need to release the card cage lock (the older 2008 have card slots at the fan, no locking mechanism), so that the card can be lifted up, and removed. I originally did not know about this mechanism until I installed the Apple Raid Card. Then just remove the two pci express power connectors (6 pin standard), unscrew the pci card locking bracket (two thumb screws) and remove bracket. Then just push the release mechanism that catches the little lock by the card edge connector (it is a metal rod that goes from slot one through slot 4), and lift up the card. The new GTX 285 is not full length so it is even easier to install. The Apple cards go all the way to the end so they have a catch mechanism by the fan that has to be released. If I was home I would send you guys pix.

As for performance, you need to install the driver before shutting down the computer and changing cards. When you reboot all works perfectly. My ACD 30 comes right back up just like an Apple video card. Everything works well, the appearance is the same as my radeon 4870. Under system profiler it shows the new card, nVidia GTX 285, 1gb ram. The true test will be Snow Leopard, something using Open CL, or gaming.

One final note, my system runs great with both the Apple Raid Card and the Highpoint 4322 with battery. The bad thing is the Highpoint battery takes up a second pci slot, unlike the caldigit battery which fits on the card. Once installed the Apple raid card shows up as Xserve Raid card, and turns the 4 bays into raid card bays. The system profiler still shows bays 1-4 but they are marked as empty now.

Noushy

PS: 24usedtorock, the card looks exactly like an EVGA Geforce 285 GTX for the PC, other than decal differences it is exactly the same physically. In fact you almost cannot tell it is a mac card other than the macos decal. The Apple Radeon 4870, and Quadra 5600 are full length cards and much harder to install because you have no wiggle room, the cards must go down straight. This is like installing the 8800GT other than it takes up two slots with a larger cooler.

[justflie]

Just put my 285 in here. Working well so far in OS X. I'm going to go "test" it in Windows (ie play games). I must say that it's much quieter during POST and waking from sleep. My 4870 used to run at full bore for a few seconds. When my alarm clock (Awaken from Embraceware) would wake the computer before setting off the alarm, I would actually wake up due to the 4870's fan being super loud. The alarm itself was superfluous :)

[StanD]

Seems like Barefeats already did all the wonderful testing that is needed so I figured there was no need for me to do it :)

I am posting just to let folks know that there is ALREADY a new driver for the card available here:

ftp://ftp.evga.com/Driver/MAC285_2F16.dmg

I just saw this on the EVGA forums and figured some folks don't check there as often as here :)


- Stan

[10THzMac]

Watch out on the benchmarks - this card has multiple speed modes. I have put another thread up on the specifics. Probably explains the GT120 comparison. Some calcs go ten times faster in awake mode than in throttle back mode.

[justflie]

Seems like Barefeats already did all the wonderful testing that is needed so I figured there was no need for me to do it :)

I am posting just to let folks know that there is ALREADY a new driver for the card available here:

ftp://ftp.evga.com/Driver/MAC285_2F16.dmg

I just saw this on the EVGA forums and figured some folks don't check there as often as here :)


- Stan
Wow. That's very encouraging :)

[imetz]

I want to buy the card but apple.com and amazon dont want to ship it to the Nederlands.

So i just called the Dutch apple store but they dont know when they are going to sell them. :(

Does anyone has a tip for me?

[justflie]

Barefeats, can you compare the results of the new drivers to the old? I've been trying to find OS X video benchmarking tools but haven't been able to do so :(. Anyways, interesting that EVGA put out a driver update so quickly. I've got it installed so hopefully it's better.

[10THzMac]

OpenGL numbers were moderately better under last night's driver update - a few %. More to the point it removed some other minor glitches with multiple monitors connected to other GPU. Still trying to figure out how to control the throttling - no difference with new drivers.

[justflie]

OpenGL numbers were moderately better under last night's driver update - a few %. More to the point it removed some other minor glitches with multiple monitors connected to other GPU. Still trying to figure out how to control the throttling - no difference with new drivers.

Does the throttling seem arbitrary or is idling the card when not used by a 3D app?

[10THzMac]

Does the throttling seem arbitrary or is idling the card when not used by a 3D app?
So far I have only fiddled with the benchmarks under OpenGL extension manager, and noted performance with CUDA before and after. So that particular 3D app (OGLEM) wakes it up. CUDA itself does not. As soon as the pressure is off it goes into slow mode. So it is not arbitrary, but I would kinda like a control panel to regulate its thresholds.