Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

BFG 8800GTX NOT working for me in my mac pro.

W

wsgroves

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 19, 2006
59
0
Sorry for a new 8800 Topic but I figured it deserving seeing how many people would like to try this.

Well Da**it guys. I can NOT get the BFG 8800GTX to work in my mac pro.

The machine will boot but you do not hear the apple chime.

After that it just sits there and makes the cd rom drive click and the hard drives click and spinup as well.

It is NOT a power problem. I even tried an external 550 watt PS and that will not work either.
I even tried the other pcie slots and its a no go...
 
It's not going to work in OSX but probably will in Windows, have you used Boot Camp to allow you to install Windows?

EDIT - missed that last line.

It's most likely just not outputting video because the card isn't supported by OSX. If you can boot into Windows then you can download the drivers for it and use it there.

The three cards supported for use in the Mac Pro under Mac OSX are the 7300GT, the X1900XT and the Quadro 4500.
 
I know it will not work in OSX.
It will not even get that far. Soon as you turn the machine on it does nothing, not even chime.

Yea it has plenty of power thats not the issue. Its gotta be something with the EFI I would guess.
 
Jeebus. Talk about the bleeding edge...

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but have you confirmed that the '88 works in a PC?

Have you tried different PCIe slots and combinations of slots (I'm assuming you have a 7300GT or X1900Xt in there too)?
 
Yea your right. Thats what happens when you buy the latest and greatest I guess. I didnt however in my wildest dreams believe it would not work. Heck all the old cards do, you would think it wouldnt have any problems with efi.
As for working in a regular pc; no I have not. I sold my gaming pc recently so im kinda screwed in that regard as well.
I have tried all the slots to no avail. Currently i run the stock 7300 for OSX and a 7900GTX for windows.
I called bfg to let them know of the problem and they do not support on the mac platform.

Lord Blackadder said:
Jeebus. Talk about the bleeding edge...

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but have you confirmed that the '88 works in a PC?

Have you tried different PCIe slots and combinations of slots (I'm assuming you have a 7300GT or X1900Xt in there too)?
Click to expand...
 
how are you powering it up in the Mac Pro?

hav eyou tried setting your default boot up into Windows that way you dont' need to press alt?

is your pci express slots set to 16x?

also isn't there something about some vid cards from early shipments have bad resistors or something?
 
I tried the power connector that comes with the mac pro and I also tried an external Thermaltake 550 watt PS as well.
I cant even get to the screen to press alt, it never turns gray. It just comes on, does not chime and sits there spinning the cdrom up and down even without a disk in the drive.
Yea there were some but I believe they were recalled. And I also believe BFG was not affected.


aiongiant said:
how are you powering it up in the Mac Pro?

hav eyou tried setting your default boot up into Windows that way you dont' need to press alt?

is your pci express slots set to 16x?

also isn't there something about some vid cards from early shipments have bad resistors or something?
Click to expand...
 
Just a suggestion to try. I'd assume you are running Boot Camp, for a beefy gaming card like that, I'd cry if it was to play Mac games. There's just too many awesome games coming out that will support DirectX10 that this card will make proud of.

If you do have Boot Camp running, first put in a card that works so you can set your startup disk to boot to the Windows partition. Shutdown the computer and put the 6600 back in. Reboot and see if the Mac Pro gets past post to get into Windows or to see if it's a complete lock from the very beginning.

Curious to hear the results! Good luck...
 
damn yea right now trying to see if i can use thoese 2 6pin connectors for the mac pro for the 8800gtx before i buy it

yea i'm curious if it works caus enow i'm kinda iffy i thought it would work right off the bat to under windows ...
can't wait to hear your results if you can get it to work!
 
I run OSX on a HD and windows on a second HD. Windows is the default boot drive.

Prob is, I cant even get to the screen to choose.
The machine turns on, powers up, does not chime and go to the gray screen it just sits there at a black screen.
I dont think it makes a difference if you have a OS installed or not.
I even removed the 2 Mac drives I have in the machine and no go.
 
wsgroves said:
I run OSX on a HD and windows on a second HD. Windows is the default boot drive.

Prob is, I cant even get to the screen to choose.
The machine turns on, powers up, does not chime and go to the gray screen it just sits there at a black screen.
I dont think it makes a difference if you have a OS installed or not.
I even removed the 2 Mac drives I have in the machine and no go.
Click to expand...


sorry to keep asking as you fail to clarify, but did you remove the 2 other nvidia cards and then try it ?
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
This may sound a little stupid but isnt that a DX10 card? therefor doesnt it need Vista to run since xp has no idea what to do with dx10?
Click to expand...

but arent they all backwards compatible to other DX versions just as every other GFX card is...

http://www.nvidia.com/page/8800_tech_specs.html
in fact from nvdia

Operating Systems
Built for Microsoft Windows Vista
Windows XP/Windows XP 64
Linux
 
I dont really know but I do know DX10 is a Vista technology So I would think that in Vista you can go backwards to run DX9 stuff etc but I just went to Toms hardware and they tested this in XP2 it appears so what do I know. Im a little confused at this point. Have you been able to boot up that Mac in windows using the 7300? If so did the new card come with new drivers for Xp?
 
Actually there are no vista drivers for the 8800 yet. Only XP. It is 110% backwards compatible. Thats why im not too sure what is going on. DX10 is just a feature and is not needed for the card to run. DX10 isnt even available yet.

I will try to run it by itself and take out the 7300
 
My last silly question for the night and I promise not to ask any more (for now:) )

So Mac PRo is default to boot up which OS? OSX or Windows XP? I only ask this assuming the system is not in a complete lockup during boot up, I'd hope that it would continue to boot into windows if it were selected as default. When you select your windows partition under Startup Disk and reboot, it should not go to the grey screen at all so you would have no need to select your partitions at the screen selection.

If you are defaulted to boot into OSX, then naturaly it makes sense not being able to see the grey screen. Change your startup disk option to point to your windows partition, remove any extra video cards and let's see if that gets you any further (of course you will need to remove the 8800 before booting into OSX to change this and then put it back in once the startup disk is selected to Windows:p )
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
I dont really know but I do know DX10 is a Vista technology So I would think that in Vista you can go backwards to run DX9 stuff etc but I just went to Toms hardware and they tested this in XP2 it appears so what do I know. Im a little confused at this point. Have you been able to boot up that Mac in windows using the 7300? If so did the new card come with new drivers for Xp?
Click to expand...

Direct X is a feature set. it is in addition to other features. Just like Open GL the card supports both feature sets and is backwards compatable with older versions. DX10 only comes into play when a app or game is programed to use any of its feature set. It has no baring on this issue.
 
so ive decided to buy a new powersupply just to power up the 8800 GTX
or is there a better way of doing this? without having to cutting wires inside the mac pro?

althought i lack the knowledge about voltage etc etc
heres the specs of this power supply

Type: ATX12V Version 2.0
Maximum Power: 500W
Dual 12V: Yes
Fan: 140mm Dual Ball Long Life
Noise Level: <25dBA
Efficiency: >80%
Hold-up Time: 16ms Min
Power Good Signal: 100 ~ 500mS
Input Voltage: 115/230 V
Input Frequency Range: 50Hz ~ 60Hz
MTBF: > 80,000 hours at 25c

Power Rails:
+3.3V@35A
+5V@40A
+12V1@16A
+12V2@18A
+5VSB@2A

Connectors:
1 x Main connector (20+4 pin)
1 x 12V (P4)
2 x SATA
1 x PCI Express
7 x molex peripheral
1 x Floppy

how many of these +12V lines do i need? casue i see some have 2 other have 4?
planning to mod it to work without a motherboard... and hook it up externally just for the 8800GTX
that would solve all my power problems and is cheaper than buying that 6pin to 6pin cable

requirement for the 8800 GTX is..
450W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 30A or more*
Two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors -or- Four 4-pin Molex supplementary power connectors

will this be enough to power up the 8800 GTX??

now to solve why its not working grrr
i want this vid card! =)
 
I Got It

Guys I got it. You were right. Take out the 7300gt and run the 8800 by itself and its working just perfect IN WINDOWS. No point trying OSX so im not worried about that for now but it IS working in windows running off the internal powersupply off the cdrom cables.

Update:
Just tested fear since the time of the last post, mabe 45mins. Running it at 2560x1600 max detail and it never skips a beat and is perfectly stable.
 
Cool! Can you try boot OS X with the Titan kext:

Titan

3D is not supposed to work with Titan and neither is CoreImage and a host of other things, right?

We should start a petition to get NVidia to port these things to Macs.
 
aiongiant said:
requirement for the 8800 GTX is..
450W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 30A or more*
Two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors -or- Four 4-pin Molex supplementary power connectors

will this be enough to power up the 8800 GTX??

now to solve why its not working grrr
i want this vid card! =)
Click to expand...

The Mac Pro PCI Power Supply should get you about 225W for the card -- 75W PCI slot + 150W (2x75W 6 pin aux cables)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back