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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?
- Thread starter Fezzy
- Start date
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Unclear from Apple direct. There might be a ROM flashing procedure if you bought one stock, however.
I just called them and apparently, they are not sold as standalone.
The 1900s weren't sold separetly at first either. i would imagine the 8800s will be eventually. Why wouldn't they?
Hmmm... true. Lets hope they are sold separately soon and at a decent price. Been waiting for a long time.
why wouldn't they?
Because most people using a Mac Pro right now who want an upgrade want a graphics upgrade and BluRay, not 4 more cores, so the incentive to buy a new Mac Pro is small if you can just get a modern graphics card to pop in your old one.
the flashing possibilities are very interesting to think about with this card out there now, though...
If they sell a stand-alone 8800, they will have to release 10.4 support for it as well...which would be great because the new mac pro will probably not work on 10.4 and I'm not going to deal with 10.5 again until it is fixed.
Because most people using a Mac Pro right now who want an upgrade want a graphics upgrade and BluRay, not 4 more cores, so the incentive to buy a new Mac Pro is small if you can just get a modern graphics card to pop in your old one.
the flashing possibilities are very interesting to think about with this card out there now, though...
If they sell a stand-alone 8800, they will have to release 10.4 support for it as well...which would be great because the new mac pro will probably not work on 10.4 and I'm not going to deal with 10.5 again until it is fixed.
They are still selling the ATI card for 399$! If they continue to sell that card they need to drop that price.. or just drop it and add the new cards. I am not paying 399$ for that old card to upgrade the card in my Mac Pro. I am really hoping for options to buy the new cards or a cheaper ATI. 399 is ridiculous.. especially if it holds much longer at this point. But.. we will see.
So you think that Apple thinks by not selling a $3-400 graphics card as an upgrade to old mac pros, they will instead sell brand new ones for $3k to current mac pro owners just for the graphics card???????
Agreed!
All I want for my rig is a card that will be DX10 compatible. Have they ever had a situation where they did not sell the cards directly?
It's got to come available at some point, if only for nVidia's sales. And so many mac pro users have been complaining about the lack of decent up-to-date cards. When I bought my 8-core in the summer I naively thought I could stick any card in there as it had standard architecture. How wrong I was.
I'd buy it today if it were available, I've been waiting 8 months for this to happen. I wonder if I get my work to buy a new 8-core with a 8800GT I can swap the card out for my home 7300
*waits*
I'd buy it today if it were available, I've been waiting 8 months for this to happen. I wonder if I get my work to buy a new 8-core with a 8800GT I can swap the card out for my home 7300
*waits*
PCIe v2 is backwards compatible (the difference is extra bandwidth, 32x lanes). 8800GT uses 16x lanes anyway so there's no benefit to PCIe 2.
Hope either Apple offers it at a reasonable price or someone flashes them soon...
edit: I double checked the specs. It is actually PCIe v2 compatible but doesn't require it. We're OK with older MPs.
Hope either Apple offers it at a reasonable price or someone flashes them soon...
edit: I double checked the specs. It is actually PCIe v2 compatible but doesn't require it. We're OK with older MPs.
I'm going to be pretty upset if I can't just get one of these 8800 GT's and drop it in my current Mac Pro. I already have 8GB of FB-DIMMS that aren't compatible with the new Mac Pro's, theres no way I want to upgrade to a new Mac Pro just to get better graphics. Frankly I'm very satisfied with my current Mac Pro, if I can just get a better graphics card. I'm worried about the 8800 GT not being compatible for some reason. I don't care if the card costs $399, $399 is a hell of a lot cheaper than $2799 for the machine plus the costs of another 6GB of 800mhz FB-DIMMS.
(copy/paste of my post in another thread that nobody care )
I was wondering... if I take a MacPro with a Radeon HD2600, could I buy a less expensive "PC" 8800GT later, flash it and use it in the MacPro ?
Taking a 8800gt now add a delay of 3-5 weeks before shipping... can't wait
)I was wondering... if I take a MacPro with a Radeon HD2600, could I buy a less expensive "PC" 8800GT later, flash it and use it in the MacPro ?
Taking a 8800gt now add a delay of 3-5 weeks before shipping... can't wait
That's good news!
Yes, that's my hope too. We will find out soon which 8800GT (or even GTX) will be flashable, will work with our Macs ... can't wait!
It's in the UK Apple Online Store as an upgrade shipping in 8 days time for £220.
http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?find=nvidia+8800
Price is horrific - third party with flash to EFI sounds like a plan. Anybody know how much better it is than an ATI1900XT in real life (i.e. not much gaming)?
http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?find=nvidia+8800
Price is horrific - third party with flash to EFI sounds like a plan. Anybody know how much better it is than an ATI1900XT in real life (i.e. not much gaming)?
OK - too impatient and twitchy trigger finger. Got it through Employee Purchase Programme for £202 against cheapest third party card £175.
ATI 1900XT soon to be on eBay!!
ATI 1900XT soon to be on eBay!!
just called the apple store
Im not really sure how smart this dude at the apple store was, but he said i could just buy an off the shelf 8800gt and put it in and it would work...... i guess we will have to see....
Im not really sure how smart this dude at the apple store was, but he said i could just buy an off the shelf 8800gt and put it in and it would work...... i guess we will have to see....
better in real life and game life. lot's quieter, less power, better performance.
comparison HERE.
can't wait to buy or flash.
yeah....
They need to get this up as an upgrade.. my piece of crap x1900 died 30 days out of warranty (of course) and I need this card. NOW. PLEASE.
They need to get this up as an upgrade.. my piece of crap x1900 died 30 days out of warranty (of course) and I need this card. NOW. PLEASE.
