Only one 16x and rest 4x PCI ports? (2010 MacPro)

[studiox]

Alright,

Might have been discussed here earlier but I just noticed on the macpro spec page the following:

One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
Two PCI Express 2.0 x4 slots

Is that really true? I got two 5770 cards and where hoping to get some SLI magic going but running the extra card at 4x seems to set me back at least 5 years. Could it be the case that it hasn't been updated with the new mac pro specs or are the new mac pro that slow?

[Vylen]

there are 4 PCIe slots in the Mac Pro.. the specification page lists the free unoccupied slots (that's why it says open) in a single GPU configuration. Your second 5770 should be in the free x16 slot.

[Ryan P]

Yes two 16x slots, but there is still no SLI support in OS X and no confirmation that the two 5770's will SLI in Windows.

[studiox]

there are 4 PCIe slots in the Mac Pro.. the specification page lists the free unoccupied slots (that's why it says open) in a single GPU configuration. Your second 5770 should be in the free x16 slot.

Well, in my case there are two free slots then so using the Term "Free" is misleading as it actually means the system has two 16x slots.

Also, can you (as you have been able to do in the past) to change the speed of the rest of the slots? For example if I want to have one 16x slot and two 8x slots?

[studiox]

Yes two 16x slots, but there is still no SLI support in OS X and no confirmation that the two 5770's will SLI in Windows.

I don't care about the mac of course, but they will run SLI in Windows, if not Apple has "convinced" ATI otherwise.

[alphaod]

SLI is inherently impossible with ATi cards ;)

I should also point out if you put 2 5770s in the machine, you will only have one free x4 slot remaining as the 5770 takes up two slots. The second card will cover the third slot.

[sboerup]

Yes, there are 5 slots total. Just look at the pics of the back of the case . . .

[dknightd]

If you don't care about the mac, then my advice is to buy something else.
Or maybe buy both. A mac mini will run OSX and you could use it for some stuff, buy the PC that suits your needs. Just a thought.

[SuperJudge]

Yes, there are 5 slots total. Just look at the pics of the back of the case . . .

No.

Four slots total. The 16x slot that comes filled from the factory is a double-wide slot to accommodate a double-wide video card.

[Vylen]

Yes, there are 5 slots total. Just look at the pics of the back of the case . . .

No, 4. The bottom one is doublewide. The 2nd slot on the back above the first is for the ventilation.

4 PCIe slots - 5 external bracket slot thingies.

[EDIT] Damn.. beaten by a few seconds *shakes fist at SuperJudge*

[KrrSplat]

Alright,

Might have been discussed here earlier but I just noticed on the macpro spec page the following:

One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
Two PCI Express 2.0 x4 slots

Is that really true? I got two 5770 cards and where hoping to get some SLI magic going but running the extra card at 4x seems to set me back at least 5 years. Could it be the case that it hasn't been updated with the new mac pro specs or are the new mac pro that slow?

Read this article, you will feel better about the lane speed.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696.html

[Mackilroy]

Also, can you (as you have been able to do in the past) to change the speed of the rest of the slots? For example if I want to have one 16x slot and two 8x slots?
That was only possible with the 2006 Mac Pro.

[studiox]

SLI is inherently impossible with ATi cards ;)


Have you tried that yourself? If not I would like a source for that.
I know that 3DGuru did have modified drivers to enable SLI on MacPro before.

[studiox]

If you don't care about the mac, then my advice is to buy something else.
Or maybe buy both. A mac mini will run OSX and you could use it for some stuff, buy the PC that suits your needs. Just a thought.

I think you misunderstood me. :D I don't care about SLI (Or in this case Crossfire) in OSX (as it has no support for it)

[studiox]

That was only possible with the 2006 Mac Pro.

That's why I know about it, as Im running the 1.1 :)

[SuperJudge]

[EDIT] Damn.. beaten by a few seconds *shakes fist at SuperJudge*
Too slow! ;)

Have you tried that yourself? If not I would like a source for that.
I know that 3DGuru did have modified drivers to enable SLI on MacPro before.
Well, SLI is NVIDIA only. :p ;)

[TheLOGICalone]

Wow I thought I was confused before that article, so WTF will be the fastest best possible graphics config for a 2010 mac pro gaming in windows? A stock 5870? Are we getting 480 drivers? Can we or can't we use sli or xfire with mac pro in windows? And what about modded single gpus and 1gb limit, can we use ASUS mod 5870 with 2gb? Baaaaa