New Video Card, Should I wait?

[SolidShadow]

Hi again everyone. It's been a while.

I really want to upgrade my video card.
I'm wondering what are the odds we will have a purchasable upgrade for our mac pro video cards besides the x1900?
Should I wait or just go for the x1900 upgrade kit now?

[MacRumorUser]

Surely at this stage it can't be long before we see the X2900XT making it's way into the mac pro ? I'd wait for as long as you can, but if you do decide to get the X1900XT check around to get the cheapest you can (maybe consider a cheap PC version that can be made into a mac version with a firmware flash)...

[MacsRgr8]

Considering Apple's usual poor grfx card upgrades.... I assume the GeForce 8800 might come around the Apple Expo Paris, and maybe... hopefully the Radeon X2900 XT around X-mas

But at the moment I would wait. The X1900 XT has been around for so long, that an update must be inevitable. Don't ever expect the best grfx cards to arrive for the Mac once they're launched for the PC, but they do come... eventually... sometimes... surely....

[SolidShadow]

I'm not really expecting the latest and greatest or anything. I'm mostly worried that the new cards won't be sold as upgrade kits for the current MacPro.

[Eidorian]

Originally Posted by SolidShadow

I'm not really expecting the latest and greatest or anything. I'm mostly worried that the new cards won't be sold as upgrade kits for the current MacPro.

There isn't any way to make it incompatible.

[vohdoun]

Why do they not give users much to play with when it comes to graphic card upgrades? I mean seriously, its their flagship product.

9 out of 10 times the new ones are BTO only. Why for such a fully upgradable machine the graphic cards hold you back in upgrading them... or you're forced to buy a new tower.

[SDAVE]

The more support for different graphics cards, the worse it is for them. They have to do alot of Q and A.

It's easier for Apple to support 3 graphics cards max, then 5-10.

[SolidShadow]

Originally Posted by Eidorian

There isn't any way to make it incompatible.

It is possible that they will make specialized Mac cards and then not sell them as upgrades. I mean the only upgrade card they sell now is the x1900. They don't give a quatro upgrade option.

It doesn't have to be a matter of compatibility, it might just be a matter of what is offered.

[Eidorian]

Originally Posted by SolidShadow

It is possible that they will make specialized Mac cards and then not sell them as upgrades. I mean the only upgrade card they sell now is the x1900. They don't give a quatro upgrade option.

It doesn't have to be a matter of compatibility, it might just be a matter of what is offered.

Quite true from that point. Still, it doesn't mean you can't buy one off of an ASP.

[SolidShadow]

Regardless I will wait until the Pros are upgraded in hopes that a new upgrade option becomes available. If not, hopefully the X1900 will still be available so I'm not stuck without any upgrade option.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by SDAVE

The more support for different graphics cards, the worse it is for them. They have to do alot of Q and A.

It's easier for Apple to support 3 graphics cards max, then 5-10.

QA Testing is probably the root cause of the delay, although not for the reason you suggest. My guess is that we haven't seen new graphics cards yet because Apple doesn't want to commit to both Tiger and Leopard support for the new cards. Postponing Leopard's release has prevented Apple from pushing out updated graphics cards and I'll bet that when we do see them released they'll be Leopard-only. If that's the real reason it means we'll be waiting until October at least.

[vohdoun]

Originally Posted by SDAVE

The more support for different graphics cards, the worse it is for them. They have to do alot of Q and A.

It's easier for Apple to support 3 graphics cards max, then 5-10.

The thing that really gets me though is why they are allowed to sell old cards at for the same prices you can get a new model at. I can see why from what you say, but they should not be ripping off people at those prices for 2 year old graphic card(s).

The ATI Radeon X1900 XT Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro on Apple/UK is priced at £270.00. For arguments sake if you want to buy a 512MB Gigabyte HD 2900 XT PCI-E(x16) 512Bit GDDR3, it'll cost you £243.21. There's even a 2900HD XT listed at £240.

A X1950XT that is slightly faster than a X1900 is £136.

ATI's latest card is cheaper than a 2 year old card, seriously what the hell Apple... why are they allowed to rip off people?

[Cromulent]

Originally Posted by vohdoun

The thing that really gets me though is why they are allowed to sell old cards at for the same prices you can get a new model at. I can see why from what you say, but they should not be ripping off people at those prices for 2 year old graphic card(s).

The ATI Radeon X1900 XT Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro on Apple/UK is priced at £270.00. For arguments sake if you want to buy a 512MB Gigabyte HD 2900 XT PCI-E(x16) 512Bit GDDR3, it'll cost you £243.21. There's even a 2900HD XT listed at £240.

ATI's latest card is cheaper than a 2 year old card, seriously what the hell Apple... why are they allowed to rip off people?

Because people still pay for it. If people still pay the price you charge then why should you lower it?

[vohdoun]

Originally Posted by Cromulent

Because people still pay for it. If people still pay the price you charge then why should you lower it?

Some people only do that because they don't do their research or don't know any better. So they would just cough it up no matter what the price was at. Granted those cards I listed work only on the PC because the ROM is PC only, but its just an example of how crazy the price differences are for a X1900 from Apple that was released in 2005.

As some have done around here, went and gotten a PC X1900 and flashed it so it would work on the Mac Pro.

[product26]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

maybe consider a cheap PC version that can be made into a mac version with a firmware flash

Originally Posted by vohdoun

As some have done around here, went and gotten a PC X1900 and flashed it so it would work on the Mac Pro.

the best way to go... i got mine for a total of $190

$160 for the card, an $30 for the power cable...

[Tracer]

Are there any Mac OS X Games out there that really require more than an X1900XT? I know it's old and it wasn't top of the line when it was released, but

Do You

A) Boot XP/Vista to play games?

B) All have 30" Displays and can't drive such high resolutions?

Kinda Curious.

Tracer

[Nugget]

"Yes" to A and B for me. I boot to XP to play Microsoft Flight Simulator and the X1900 can't drive anything even close to 2560x1600 for that game.

2560x1600 in World of Warcraft on an X1900 is totally workable, though, even at high quality with all the fancy stuff turned on.

[vohdoun]

Originally Posted by Tracer

Are there any Mac OS X Games out there that really require more than an X1900XT? I know it's old and it wasn't top of the line when it was released, but

Do You

A) Boot XP/Vista to play games?

I do wonder if there would be less demands for that if Apple wasn't on Intel. I just can't remember that far back before the Intel switch if we suffer the same problems today for lack of graphic card upgrades.

It seems to be the worst of two evil's:

1: Apple has to support more drivers and cards.
2: If they don't people moan they don't have good upgrade paths and stuck with older technology.

How do you win...

Though when you think of it, over time the old cards will pile up. So really they should just let new cards flow. I just hope Apple doesn't ditch older peoples systems that has like GeForce 4/FX cards and older to make room for the newer. I just do not know. As I have seen ATI and NVIDIA do this with their older cards. You end up having forced to use older drivers and are no longer supported, but its cards as old as GeForce2 etc

B) All have 30" Displays and can't drive such high resolutions?

I doubt that very much, but even still you don't need a X1900 to run a 30". The stock card will do it, but need to make sure you're on the correct DVI port.

Then it comes down to for which individuals make use of 3D applications, modeling and so on... I'm sure they'll need the oomph for the X1900 and better cards.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by vohdoun

I doubt that very much, but even still you don't need a X1900 to run a 30". The stock card will do it, but need to make sure you're on the correct DVI port.

This is only true if you're not doing anything graphically demanding.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by Tracer

Are there any Mac OS X Games out there that really require more than an X1900XT? I know it's old and it wasn't top of the line when it was released, but

Do You

A) Boot XP/Vista to play games?

B) All have 30" Displays and can't drive such high resolutions?

Tracer

X-Plane, the X1900 XT can't come close to running X-Plane at it's highest renderings.

A - no
B - no

Originally Posted by Nugget

"Yes" to A and B for me. I boot to XP to play Microsoft Flight Simulator and the X1900 can't drive anything even close to 2560x1600 for that game.

2560x1600 in World of Warcraft on an X1900 is totally workable, though, even at high quality with all the fancy stuff turned on.

I hate to do it but I may get MS Flt Simulator.

[vohdoun]

Originally Posted by Nugget

This is only true if you're not doing anything graphically demanding.

Which comes back to...

Originally Posted by vohdoun

Then it comes down to for which individuals make use of 3D applications, modeling and so on... I'm sure they'll need the oomph for the X1900 and better cards.

[Nugget]

Now with 50% more "oomph"

[sblasl]

They usually end up as a kit, Apple's history reflects that if they would introduce a new Mac Pro, the new card usually is not available in a kit until 30 - 60 days after the intro of the new system.

Originally Posted by SolidShadow

I'm not really expecting the latest and greatest or anything. I'm mostly worried that the new cards won't be sold as upgrade kits for the current MacPro.

[darthraige]

Yea I could care less about graphics at this point... Bring on the speeeeeeeeed.... and the graphics if they can.

[thagomizer]

Originally Posted by Topper

X-Plane, the X1900 XT can't come close to running X-Plane at it's highest renderings.

A - no
B - no



I hate to do it but I may get MS Flt Simulator.

The latest version of Google Earth (4.2 Beta) has a flight sim built in. Type Cmd-Option A.