OS X 10.8.3 Beta Contains Drivers for AMD Radeon 7000-Series Graphics Cards

MacRumors · Nov 27, 2012, 04:01 PM

As noted by netkas.org and in our forums, the initial beta release of OS X 10.8.3 seeded to developers yesterday contains drivers supporting AMD's latest 7000-series graphics cards, including the high-end "Tahiti" options. The development has naturally sparked speculation that Apple is starting to build in support for graphics cards to be used in the all-new Mac Pro coming in 2013.

Testing has revealed that the low-end "Cape Verde" Radeon HD 7770 graphics cards will work under the first OS X 10.8.3 beta and that support is also likely for the high-end Tahiti cards, but forum user MacVidCards cautions that compatibility for certain cards has come and gone in the past, so users should wait until the public release of OS X 10.8.3 before getting their hopes up too much, and even then compatibility could disappear in the future.

This is not the first time that evidence of Tahiti support has shown up in OS X either, as other drivers surfaced nearly a year ago in OS X 10.7.3. Consequently, it is difficult to reach any conclusions regarding Apple's product plans based on the appearance of new drivers in OS X 10.8.3, but it certainly seems to be positive progress toward support of new hardware.

Article Link: OS X 10.8.3 Beta Contains Drivers for AMD Radeon 7000-Series Graphics Cards

daneoni · Nov 27, 2012, 04:04 PM

Hurray for Mac Pro users

thedeejay · Nov 27, 2012, 04:07 PM

Kool beans

MacRumorUser · Nov 27, 2012, 04:08 PM

OK so my 2008 MacPro might get another year out of this...

I am however looking forward to the 2013 MacPro's hopefully they will have been worth waiting for.

Blackberryroid · 04:18 PM

It's about time.

Now, how about a lower price? $1400, please.

PowerPCMacMan · Nov 27, 2012, 04:11 PM

This is encouraging news, but I will wait on it until I see it personally myself. January 2013 is almost here, and still nothing new about the Mac Pro.. Really, with all due respect since I use my Mac Pro 6-core as a file and print server to host my other 10+ macs, I really don't have a need for the 2013 Mac Pro, but you never know.

Proof is the eye of the beholder.

Schizoid · Nov 27, 2012, 04:12 PM

as long as it's actually powerful and not thin, we're in with a chance!

skate71290 · Nov 27, 2012, 04:13 PM

3gb vram?

antster94 · Nov 27, 2012, 04:15 PM

Bit late, 8000-Series is looming.

jamesryanbell · Nov 27, 2012, 04:17 PM

It is completely insane that they've waited so long to update the Mac Pro.

MacRumorUser · Nov 27, 2012, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antster94

Bit late, 8000-Series is looming.

As is the case with Apple. Always late to the party and normally the first to leave!

markbarthel · Nov 27, 2012, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schizoid

as long as it's actually powerful and not thin, we're in with a chance!

Agreed. Apple needs to serioulsy focus on power in this instance, instead of pushing the limits on how small they can make things... Maybe change the form factor to a rack-mountable 3-4U? That'd be sweet.

Other than that, I'm assuming new Haswell processors will blow away all these i series processors.

Maybe we'll see 27-inch LED cinema displays similar to the new iMac displays... RETINA?!? fingers crossed.

nagromme · Nov 27, 2012, 04:26 PM

Now give me a Thunderbolt chassis to plug my MacBook Air into a card like this (or as good as is possible) when I’m not on the road. Seriously, any year now would be fine....

gotluck · Nov 27, 2012, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schizoid

as long as it's actually powerful and not thin, we're in with a chance!

Cheers!

Larry-K · Nov 27, 2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schizoid

as long as it's actually powerful and not thin, we're in with a chance!

Maybe "Flatter"

pgiguere1 · Nov 27, 2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skate71290

3gb vram?

Yup, both Tahiti (HD 7950 and HD 7970) have 3 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Wild-Bill · Nov 27, 2012, 04:33 PM

Yawn.

The AMD HD 7000 series came out in FEBRUARY.

Apple is ALWAYS a day late and a dollar short with video card support. It's embarrassing.

Like antster94 pointed out, the 8000's are on the horizon. So.... one can reasonably assume it will take Apple at least 10 months to add support for those new cards.

Oh...... and the icing on the cake should be when Apple offers an AMD Radeon HD 7970 for something outrageous like $599.00.

sk8ordie · Nov 27, 2012, 04:33 PM

I'm thinking they will do away with the optical drive and this will be a headless macbook pro retina. My guess is:

Multi SSD configuration
Higher end graphics options (that everyone will still be disappointed with)
High end Intel chip options
Multi thunderbolt
Multi USB

But no way at $1400, more like $2000.

Patrick J · Nov 27, 2012, 04:35 PM

It's sad when the largest and most successful computer company in the world gets headlines at the hint its next computer might support current generation components.

Unfortunately, more and more Apple sells only appliances.

A professional machine like the Mac Pro should be updated much more often than Apple's dreary trod has allowed.

sputnikv · Nov 27, 2012, 04:37 PM

that's lovely news

NewtonAurelius · Nov 27, 2012, 04:37 PM

Does this mean that older MacPros can possibly upgrade to this card?

Badagri · Nov 27, 2012, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antster94

Bit late, 8000-Series is looming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

As is the case with Apple. Always late to the party and normally the first to leave!

This is laughable. £377 for a card from late 09. http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC...2009)?fnode=53

Could buy a 7970 for the PC right now for that with plenty left over.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-x...cores-hdmi-mdp

Jeans89 · Nov 27, 2012, 04:45 PM

Any impacts to Safari?

Penn Jennings · Nov 27, 2012, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackberryroid

It's about time.

Now, how about a lower price? $1400, please.

That would be nice we all know the odds that that occurring.

topmounter · Nov 27, 2012, 04:47 PM

I'm looking forward to the new ultrathin Mac Pro.

Nov 27, 2012, 04:01 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	OS X 10.8.3 Beta Contains Drivers for AMD Radeon 7000-Series Graphics Cards As noted by netkas.org and in our forums, the initial beta release of OS X 10.8.3 seeded to developers yesterday contains drivers supporting AMD's latest 7000-series graphics cards, including the high-end "Tahiti" options. The development has naturally sparked speculation that Apple is starting to build in support for graphics cards to be used in the all-new Mac Pro coming in 2013. Testing has revealed that the low-end "Cape Verde" Radeon HD 7770 graphics cards will work under the first OS X 10.8.3 beta and that support is also likely for the high-end Tahiti cards, but forum user MacVidCards cautions that compatibility for certain cards has come and gone in the past, so users should wait until the public release of OS X 10.8.3 before getting their hopes up too much, and even then compatibility could disappear in the future. This is not the first time that evidence of Tahiti support has shown up in OS X either, as other drivers surfaced nearly a year ago in OS X 10.7.3. Consequently, it is difficult to reach any conclusions regarding Apple's product plans based on the appearance of new drivers in OS X 10.8.3, but it certainly seems to be positive progress toward support of new hardware. Article Link: OS X 10.8.3 Beta Contains Drivers for AMD Radeon 7000-Series Graphics Cards
	3

Nov 27, 2012, 04:04 PM	#2
daneoni macrumors G4 Join Date: Mar 2006	Hurray for Mac Pro users __________________ 15" MBP Core i7 \| 27" ACD \| AEBS \| 5G iPod \| iPhone 5 \| 3G Apple TV \| iPad mini
	11

Nov 27, 2012, 04:08 PM	#4
MacRumorUser macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ireland	OK so my 2008 MacPro might get another year out of this... I am however looking forward to the 2013 MacPro's hopefully they will have been worth waiting for. __________________ A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally. MacRumor:User Microsoft MVP : Macintosh
	3

Nov 27, 2012, 04:09 PM	#5
Blackberryroid Banned Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: /private/var/vm/	It's about time. Now, how about a lower price? $1400, please. Last edited by Blackberryroid; Nov 27, 2012 at 04:18 PM.
	3

Nov 27, 2012, 04:13 PM	#8
skate71290 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: UK	3gb vram? __________________ Too many Apple products
	0

Nov 27, 2012, 04:07 PM	#3
thedeejay macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Canada	Kool beans
	1

Nov 27, 2012, 04:11 PM	#6
PowerPCMacMan Banned Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: PowerPC land	This is encouraging news, but I will wait on it until I see it personally myself. January 2013 is almost here, and still nothing new about the Mac Pro.. Really, with all due respect since I use my Mac Pro 6-core as a file and print server to host my other 10+ macs, I really don't have a need for the 2013 Mac Pro, but you never know. Proof is the eye of the beholder.
	0

Nov 27, 2012, 04:12 PM	#7
Schizoid macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2008 Location: UK	as long as it's actually powerful and not thin, we're in with a chance!
	18

Nov 27, 2012, 04:15 PM	#9
antster94 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2010 Location: London, UK	Bit late, 8000-Series is looming. __________________ - Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina. - Apple iPhone 5 64GB.
	5

Nov 27, 2012, 04:17 PM	#10
jamesryanbell macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2009	It is completely insane that they've waited so long to update the Mac Pro. __________________ Mac Mini Quad-Core i7 Server 8GB RAM MBA 11.6" w/OWC 240GB SSD 27" Cinema Display iPhone 4S 64GB, Apple TV3
	5

Nov 27, 2012, 04:26 PM	#13
nagromme macrumors G4 Join Date: May 2002	Now give me a Thunderbolt chassis to plug my MacBook Air into a card like this (or as good as is possible) when I’m not on the road. Seriously, any year now would be fine.... __________________ nagromme What happens when corporations buy the government? Americans have returned to receiving 1960s wages, despite being twice as productive.
	3

Nov 27, 2012, 04:33 PM	#17
Wild-Bill macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: ?	yawn... Yawn. The AMD HD 7000 series came out in FEBRUARY. Apple is ALWAYS a day late and a dollar short with video card support. It's embarrassing. Like antster94 pointed out, the 8000's are on the horizon. So.... one can reasonably assume it will take Apple at least 10 months to add support for those new cards. Oh...... and the icing on the cake should be when Apple offers an AMD Radeon HD 7970 for something outrageous like $599.00. __________________ --> WWDC 2013 ...... they did WHAT to the Mac Pro ??!!??!?? <-- http://www.apple.com/feedback/macpro.html
	12

Nov 27, 2012, 04:33 PM	#18
sk8ordie macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: California	I'm thinking they will do away with the optical drive and this will be a headless macbook pro retina. My guess is: Multi SSD configuration Higher end graphics options (that everyone will still be disappointed with) High end Intel chip options Multi thunderbolt Multi USB But no way at $1400, more like $2000. __________________ Dual 1.8ghz PPC G5 - 2.5GB RAM - Nov '03 2.4ghz Macbook - 2GB RAM - July '08 iPhone 4S 32GB - Oct '11
	0

Nov 27, 2012, 04:35 PM	#19
Patrick J macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oporto, Portugal	It's sad when the largest and most successful computer company in the world gets headlines at the hint its next computer might support current generation components. Unfortunately, more and more Apple sells only appliances. A professional machine like the Mac Pro should be updated much more often than Apple's dreary trod has allowed.
	12

Nov 27, 2012, 04:37 PM	#20
sputnikv macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2009	that's lovely news
	1

Nov 27, 2012, 04:37 PM	#21
NewtonAurelius macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Orlando, Florida	Does this mean that older MacPros can possibly upgrade to this card?
	2

Nov 27, 2012, 04:45 PM	#23
Jeans89 macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Helsinki, Finland	Any impacts to Safari?
	0

Nov 27, 2012, 04:47 PM	#25
topmounter macrumors 65832 Join Date: Jun 2009	I'm looking forward to the new ultrathin Mac Pro. __________________ iLoveDrones.com
	0

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