6870 in Macpro1,1 - Still Working without flash???

Dadioh · Oct 2, 2011, 02:51 PM

I have tried searching and googling this but most posts seem to be back in March. At that time Lion beta was working with a 6870 unflashed. Now that Lion is out has anyone been using an unflashed 6870 on their Macpro1,1? 3 displays working?

I currently have a flashed 5770 card working in my machine but wanted to look at 6870 upgrade.

Any pointers appreciated.

lewdvig · Oct 2, 2011, 03:20 PM

The 6870 is actually slower than the 5870. They can be found cheap on local craigslist so that is what I would get if I were you.

Dadioh · Oct 2, 2011, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdvig

The 6870 is actually slower than the 5870. They can be found cheap on local craigslist so that is what I would get if I were you.

Well I have a 5870 in my main PC gaming rig. The main reasons I want 6870 in the Mac pro is the lower power and the hope that they work "out of the box" without flashing. I would gladly trade a few FPS in games for those benefits.

lewdvig · Oct 2, 2011, 07:21 PM

OK. Good luck then. Someone is going to have to figure out how to make the 6870 work on the 1,1 - it might as well be you.

Dadioh · Oct 2, 2011, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdvig

OK. Good luck then. Someone is going to have to figure out how to make the 6870 work on the 1,1 - it might as well be you.

I hope I am not the first

But thanks.

Cindori · Oct 3, 2011, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdvig

OK. Good luck then. Someone is going to have to figure out how to make the 6870 work on the 1,1 - it might as well be you.

it already works out of the box.

still

Dadioh · Oct 3, 2011, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindori

it already works out of the box.

still

Excellent! Thanks. I just picked up one cheap off eBay so I will try it later this week. Hopefully it will run 3 displays like my 5770 currently does.

haken · 12:26 PM

Well, DVD-Player and Steam won't work, though. No way to fix this yet in a 1,1 as far as I know.

Edit: at least I can confirm QE/CI is working on a MacPro 3,1 after EFI-Flash, DVD-Player and Steam is fixed, too.

Dadioh · Oct 3, 2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haken

Well, DVD-Player and Steam won't work, though. Now way to fix this yet in a 1,1 as far as I know.

hmmm... I had read that this was the case but I thought there was a fix. But maybe the fix is the 64bit EFI firmware? (which won't work with my 32bit EFI (Thanks Apple :-(

I don't use DVD Player on my Mac Pro and I don't use Steam so that shouldn't affect me. But I thought I read that the reason DVD Player did not work had to do with QE/CI not working. So there might be some other disadvantages if this is the case.

Time for some Googling. Thanks for the info.

ORTOX · Oct 7, 2011, 09:32 AM

I have a Mac Pro 1,1 too and I'm thinking about a 6870. Did you find a fix to the DVD and steam issues?

Dadioh · Oct 7, 2011, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ORTOX

I have a Mac Pro 1,1 too and I'm thinking about a 6870. Did you find a fix to the DVD and steam issues?

After ordering a 6870 to try this I then noticed that the 6870 uses mini display ports rather than the full size display port on my 5770. So that means buying an active miniDP to DVI adapter. And it sounds like I would still have the QE/CI issues since I can not use a 64bit EFI. So I think I will just stick with my working 5770 and put the 6870 in crossfire with my 6850 in my PC gaming machine. Probably a better use for the 6870 anyways.

I would probably be better off upgrading to a 2008 MP rather than continue tinkering with the macpro1,1.

ActionableMango · Oct 7, 2011, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dadioh

I would probably be better off upgrading to a 2008 MP rather than continue tinkering with the macpro1,1.

2009 would be even better. Much cheaper RAM and only a firmware flash away from being the latest MP.

lewdvig · Oct 8, 2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ORTOX

I have a Mac Pro 1,1 too and I'm thinking about a 6870. Did you find a fix to the DVD and steam issues?

Cindori says it works and he is the authority on this. I would PM and email him incessantly until he walk you through it.

Cindori · Oct 8, 2011, 03:30 PM

Steam / DVD Player do not work out of the box, however they do work with netkas's ATY_Init.kext which I believe initializes the 6870 better in OSX then what the new Lion drivers mysteriously do. It's all described at my website a few posts back.

Renderz · Oct 12, 2011, 11:37 AM

I chucked in a XFX 6870 into my Mac Pro 1,1 and it works as described (no boot screen, issues with Steam). However, there is also an issue with StarCraft 2 which I was unaware of. So I'm dissapointed about that :-(

Check this out - http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/3341764496

Quote:

The Mac Pro, as with other Mac platforms, requires Mac OS X firmware. That is to say, a PCIe video card designed exclusively for other operating systems will not work properly under Mac OS X without appropriate drivers and/or firmware; however, they will work under the operating systems they were designed for, if installed via Boot Camp or other means. Some video cards and other hardware accessories not marketed for Macs can nonetheless be tricked into compatibility through flashing drivers from either similar Mac hardware or with a custom firmware onto non-supported hardware. Also, AMD released the ATI Radeon HD 3870, which is compatible with both Mac Pros and PCs from other manufacturers. The Radeon HD 6XXX series of Graphics Processors (excluding 69XX), also released by AMD in 2010, will work without being flashed under Mac OS X if the user has installed drivers from Mac OS X Lion.

slughead · Oct 16, 2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renderz

I chucked in a XFX 6870 into my Mac Pro 1,1 and it works as described (no boot screen, issues with Steam). However, there is also an issue with StarCraft 2 which I was unaware of. So I'm dissapointed about that :-(

Check this out - http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/3341764496

That's odd. I've been playing SC2 with my unflashed 6870 and it works great. I'm playing it on my other monitor right now!

EDIT: OH YES I DID have that issue. It took 2 minutes (including googling time) to fix. I totally forgot about it.

MacVidCards · Oct 16, 2011, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slughead

That's odd. I've been playing SC2 with my unflashed 6870 and it works great. I'm playing it on my other monitor right now!

EDIT: OH YES I DID have that issue. It took 2 minutes (including googling time) to fix. I totally forgot about it.

How long would it take to type it here?

slughead · Oct 29, 2011, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacVidCards

How long would it take to type it here?

The problem is with the system survey--not even a video issue.

Apparently you can "opt out" of this one by creating the file "/Users/(user)/Library/Preferences/com.blizzard.StarCraft II Retail.survey.prefs" as a text file with the contents "443".

audio_inside · Nov 7, 2011, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindori

Steam / DVD Player do not work out of the box, however they do work with netkas's ATY_Init.kext which I believe initializes the 6870 better in OSX then what the new Lion drivers mysteriously do. It's all described at my website a few posts back.

On a MacPro1,1, as the ORTOX inquired? I've scoured your site - where's it "all described"?

qzyphus · 04:53 AM

hi all,

i've gone ahead and grabbed a 6870 for my 1,1 just waiting on a pair of 6 pin power cables off ebay.

will report what happens when I can give it a whirl... even if i can play sc2 and have to go windows for steam (like i always end up doing anyway) i'll still be happy... then for some 5300s ;-)

hopefully i'll have some good news soon...

cheers
-q

skyline r34 · Nov 13, 2011, 06:03 PM

I want to upgrade my video card in my 2010 Mac Pro, currently have the ATi 5870 but I don't think there's any more options I can take and I don't think the 6870 is worth getting unless I get two of them, I guess i'll wait for Apple release the 2012 Mac Pro if they do not decide to discontinued it

qzyphus · Nov 21, 2011, 05:43 PM

OK, went with the Gigabyte 1GB 'Ultra Durable OC' (NOT the super over clock, but they're basically the same card.)

No boot screen and no QE/CI (i.e. no DVD player, most Steam games won't run). Not too much of a concern because I don't own a single DVD and I use Windows for Steam. By far the best part of the story is the card is almost silent - an absolute requirement which stopped me from upgrading to the X1900 a while back.

If I really want to play games in OSX I'll set up Chameleon and run in legacy mode... For now though I'm very happy ;-).

Neodym · Nov 22, 2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qzyphus

No boot screen and no QE/CI (i.e. no DVD player, most Steam games won't run).

Are you sure you have no QE/CI? DVD Player and Steam games crash independently from that. Afaik QE/CI should work. What OSX are you using?

Oct 2, 2011, 02:51 PM	#1
Dadioh macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Canada Eh?	6870 in Macpro1,1 - Still Working without flash??? I have tried searching and googling this but most posts seem to be back in March. At that time Lion beta was working with a 6870 unflashed. Now that Lion is out has anyone been using an unflashed 6870 on their Macpro1,1? 3 displays working? I currently have a flashed 5770 card working in my machine but wanted to look at 6870 upgrade. Any pointers appreciated. __________________ iMac 27" i7 2.8GHz 16GB-1333 180GB Intel 330 SSD
	0

Oct 2, 2011, 03:20 PM	#2
lewdvig macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: South Pole	The 6870 is actually slower than the 5870. They can be found cheap on local craigslist so that is what I would get if I were you. __________________ Zealot without a cause. I run an orchard.
	0

Oct 2, 2011, 07:21 PM	#4
lewdvig macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: South Pole	OK. Good luck then. Someone is going to have to figure out how to make the 6870 work on the 1,1 - it might as well be you. __________________ Zealot without a cause. I run an orchard.
	0

Oct 3, 2011, 08:46 AM	#8
haken macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2010	Well, DVD-Player and Steam won't work, though. No way to fix this yet in a 1,1 as far as I know. Edit: at least I can confirm QE/CI is working on a MacPro 3,1 after EFI-Flash, DVD-Player and Steam is fixed, too. Last edited by haken; Oct 3, 2011 at 12:26 PM.
	0

Oct 8, 2011, 03:30 PM	#14
Cindori macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jan 2008	Steam / DVD Player do not work out of the box, however they do work with netkas's ATY_Init.kext which I believe initializes the 6870 better in OSX then what the new Lion drivers mysteriously do. It's all described at my website a few posts back. __________________ Groths.org - new website! Mac Pro Graphics Mac hacks and news! Home of Trim Enabler, Zeus Flashing Tool and Kext Drop!
	0

Oct 7, 2011, 09:32 AM	#10
ORTOX macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2011	I have a Mac Pro 1,1 too and I'm thinking about a 6870. Did you find a fix to the DVD and steam issues?
	0

Nov 13, 2011, 04:27 AM	#20
qzyphus macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2011	hi all, i've gone ahead and grabbed a 6870 for my 1,1 just waiting on a pair of 6 pin power cables off ebay. will report what happens when I can give it a whirl... even if i can play sc2 and have to go windows for steam (like i always end up doing anyway) i'll still be happy... then for some 5300s ;-) hopefully i'll have some good news soon... cheers -q Last edited by qzyphus; Nov 13, 2011 at 04:53 AM.
	0

Nov 13, 2011, 06:03 PM	#21
skyline r34 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: San Diego	I want to upgrade my video card in my 2010 Mac Pro, currently have the ATi 5870 but I don't think there's any more options I can take and I don't think the 6870 is worth getting unless I get two of them, I guess i'll wait for Apple release the 2012 Mac Pro if they do not decide to discontinued it __________________ Mac Pro Mid 2010 2.93Ghz 12-Core/ATi 5870/32GB/2TB/Dual 27" Cinema Display
	0

Nov 21, 2011, 05:43 PM	#22
qzyphus macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2011	OK, went with the Gigabyte 1GB 'Ultra Durable OC' (NOT the super over clock, but they're basically the same card.) No boot screen and no QE/CI (i.e. no DVD player, most Steam games won't run). Not too much of a concern because I don't own a single DVD and I use Windows for Steam. By far the best part of the story is the card is almost silent - an absolute requirement which stopped me from upgrading to the X1900 a while back. If I really want to play games in OSX I'll set up Chameleon and run in legacy mode... For now though I'm very happy ;-).
	0

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