Ultimate Thread: 4890 in Mac Pro

[Cindori]

The old post have now been removed.



Instructions for flashing ATI 4890 with ATI Flashing Tool

First backup the rom with GPU-Z in windows. its good if your card is not compatible with the roms in the zip

If you have Nvidia cards in your Mac Pro at the moment:


1. read http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=811768
2. download zip, unzip it
3. launch tool
4. browse for rom (ROM folder is included in zip)
5. click flash
6. install qe_ci pkg for your OS
7. reboot
8. done.


If you have ATI cards in your Mac Pro at the moment:

1. read http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=811768
2. download zip, unzip it
3. launch tool
4. go to injector and install Natit
5. shut down mac pro
6. remove all ati cards, put only your 4890 inside
7. boot again
8. launch tool
9. browse for rom (ROM folder is included in zip)
10. click flash
11. go to injector again, now Remove Natit
12. install qe_ci pkg for your OS
13. reboot
17. done.


WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T

Dual Dvi (two displays) work in Snow Leopard ONLY. Second DVI only gets Single Link resolution in OSX (dual link in Windows).

Vga does not work (VGA monitor using VGA-DVI adapter) in OSX, Windows should be ok



Questions:


Why do I need to remove my ATI cards?
Because the app will try to flash all ATI cards it finds.

Why do I need Natit when I'm currently using ATI cards?
Since you need to remove other ATI cards, you need something to run the display when you boot and flash.
Natit enables you to boot and use 4890 for display without flashing it.

Why can't I just use Natit then?
You can, but you won't get Apple's grey bootloader screen. You also can't boot OSX dvd's, or use the card in another computer / OS disk without first installing Natit on it. With flashing, your card can do all these things. So now we only use Natit to be able to remove ATI cards and still boot, or to run cards that not yet have a modified ROM that is working.

Can I donate to you?
Yes, and it makes me very happy.
http://www.groths.se/atiflashingtool/donate.html


Unsure of what card to buy?
Here are the cards that have Mac Modified roms at the moment.
(Your card can look the same but still be incompatible, so first you should backup ROM with GPU-Z in Windows, if it doesnt work maybe someone will write a new rom for you)





HOW TO GET HELP

Have you followed instructions, but something is not working?

To provide complete information of your system, increases the chance of solving your problem, and also speeds things up.

When asking questions regarding errors, provide:

Mac Pro model (1,1 / 2,1 / 3,1 and so on, not processor speed)

Graphic card model number

Does the card work in Windows?

Picture of your graphic card

Name of rom you flashed with



and if possible:

Picture of System Info --> GPU with card connected

Original rom from your card




Good links:

ATI Flashing Tool

How to power GPU from Superdrive

[snouter]

Great write-up.

As an aside, the 4890 also uses less power and runs cooler at idle than the 4870 as well... for the slight price difference, I would think that the 4890 is the way to go at this point if you are going to flash your own card...

[mac88]

Very interesting. Thanks for the post.

[Sumimasen]

Nice thread!

Would this be the cable that I need?:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=48&subcat=

[slicecom]

Great write up!

I'm curious, would this work with a Rev. A Mac Pro too?

[Cindori]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

Nice thread!

Would this be the cable that I need?:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=48&subcat=

Yes. You might need two, depending on how long it is.

The cabling will go like this:

Originally Posted by slicecom

Great write up!

I'm curious, would this work with a Rev. A Mac Pro too?

Im guessing you mean the first model aka 1,1 aka 2006. If so, that is the one I am using. Anyway, this will work on any Mac Pro ever made.

[slicecom]

Originally Posted by Cindori

Im guessing you mean the first model aka 1,1 aka 2006. If so, that is the one I am using. Anyway, this will work on any Mac Pro ever made.

Awesome! Thanks for the quick response.

[netkas]

the insruction is good for 4870x2 too, to get one core working in osx.

[mmulin]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

Nice thread!

Would this be the cable that I need?:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=48&subcat=

Uneducated curiosity, why is the regular GPU power cable provided in the MP not suitable?

[Cindori]

Because those cables come with Apple Cards and this is a PC card.


You can buy them separately on ATI but they are way more expensive.

[Sumimasen]

So, there's no way to hook up the GPU to the existing power socket that my (now dead) 8800GT was connected to?

Bit of a shame, as I was planning on buying a BD drive at some point to go in the second bay...

Also, I can't really see what's going on in that wiring pic. Any chance I could be a pain and request something a bit more obvious? I do tend to need things spelling out for me...

I'm gonna defo do this upgrade next month. This time I will keep a spare card in case of emergencies though... We live and learn I suppose...

[Cindori]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

So, there's no way to hook up the GPU to the existing power socket that my (now dead) 8800GT was connected to?

Originally Posted by Cindori

You can buy those cables separately on ATI but they are way more expensive.

And 4890 requires two.

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

Also, I can't really see what's going on in that wiring pic. Any chance I could be a pain and request something a bit more obvious? I do tend to need things spelling out for me...

In this?
http://www.krull.se/DSC02196.jpg


Basically I have dragged out the superdrive unit, and first connected one of these

https://www.linuxappliance.net/catal...x_splitter.jpg

To the second part of the Superdrive power cable. Then connected a second one to the first, dragged trough the hole in the lower left. This is simply because they were too short. After doing that I basically had 2x of these female molex coming out next to the PCI slots.

These are then converted by the two Molex>6pin cables (included with graphic card) and connected to the 4890.

[Sumimasen]

I guess it will be pretty obvious when I actually get in there and remove the superdrive.

Have you noticed any drawbacks with using this card, or do you get full functionality?

My temporary card (ATI HD2600 XT) will hopefully be delivered today. Once I am finally 100% sure that the graphics card was the only reason for my mac failure, I will get one of these ordered.

I was planning on getting the XFX version - would this be ok, or would I need to get the same version as you? The XFX card is cheaper...

Also, there are overclocked versions available too. Would these run ok if I decided to spend a little extra?

Thanks again for all your help with this! I wouldn't know where to start if I had to do this alone. Once again, top thread!

[Pressure]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

I guess it will be pretty obvious when I actually get in there and remove the superdrive.

Have you noticed any drawbacks with using this card, or do you get full functionality?

My temporary card (ATI HD2600 XT) will hopefully be delivered today. Once I am finally 100% sure that the graphics card was the only reason for my mac failure, I will get one of these ordered.

I was planning on getting the XFX version - would this be ok, or would I need to get the same version as you? The XFX card is cheaper...

Also, there are overclocked versions available too. Would these run ok if I decided to spend a little extra?

Thanks again for all your help with this! I wouldn't know where to start if I had to do this alone. Once again, top thread!

I have been using the Radeon HD 4890 in my Mac Pro for the last two months with no major issues. For all intents and purposes it functions just as the Apple supplied Radeon HD 4870, only with twice the framebuffer.

[Sumimasen]

Sorry for all the questions - it's just a bit daunting for someone with little experience with stuff like this. (Don't know why - I flashed an old 3DFX Voodoo 3 pc card to use in my old G3 desktop, and that worked like a charm!)

Last one (for now ) - Am I right in thinking that I'd need to disable the password login for this to work, as the screen will stay black until after OSX has started up properly?

[Pressure]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

Sorry for all the questions - it's just a bit daunting for someone with little experience with stuff like this. (Don't know why - I flashed an old 3DFX Voodoo 3 pc card to use in my old G3 desktop, and that worked like a charm!)

Last one (for now ) - Am I right in thinking that I'd need to disable the password login for this to work, as the screen will stay black until after OSX has started up properly?

Firmware password or the login screen?

[Sumimasen]

User login.

[ThrillSeeker81]

Hi,

My 8800gt stopped working.
So i bought a Sapphire 4890 mentioned in this thread.

Currently i have no means of booting in to OSX, nor windows as i have no working Mac card in my posession.

Since the card is supposed to work with windows, and i have a bootcamp setup, i thought i would be able to hold the option button, choose my boot disk (even if i do not have any image on screen), and hope to boot windows like this.

but i can only hear a repeating chime sound (it stutters).

so i was wondering if there is any other way for me to boot either windows or osx?


In the weekend i'll head over to a friend, who has a Macpro like mine, and we can swap harddrives so i can patch my osx, and install the necessary drivers in both osx and windows.


btw thx for this thread, and let's hope i can get mine working too.


Cheers,
TS

[bozz2006]

I'm very interested in doing this, as I have only the 7300 nvidia card in my mac pro classic. I too am a bit wary of this. I did a cpu upgrade in my mac pro so it's not like I don't know how to do anything, but i've never flashed a card before. Do I need bootcamp set up for this, or can i do all of this in OSX? I have a parallels XP VM set up, but don't have a bootcamp partition. Any help (encouragement) you could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Sumimasen]

I think the attraction of this card is that it doesn't need to be flashed - you just install some extensions in OSX to bypass the need for an EFI.

With regard to not being able to boot, I think you may need another card handy so you can install the required extensions and be able to actually see what you are doing. Until then you will get a black screen in OSX, and no way to specify windows as a boot disk. well, as far as I know anyway.

I could be wrong.

I just got a cheap ATI HD2600 off eBay so I can get up and running again, and I'll be keeping this card as a spare from now on, just in case I get any other GPU related failures!

I'm quite shocked at the amount of 8800GT's that I have discovered to have failed since I started looking into this. It's getting into Xbox 360 RROD territory!

[bozz2006]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

I think the attraction of this card is that it doesn't need to be flashed - you just install some extensions in OSX to bypass the need for an EFI.

With regard to not being able to boot, I think you may need another card handy so you can install the required extensions and be able to actually see what you are doing. Until then you will get a black screen in OSX, and no way to specify windows as a boot disk. well, as far as I know anyway.

I could be wrong.

I just got a cheap ATI HD2600 off eBay so I can get up and running again, and I'll be keeping this card as a spare from now on, just in case I get any other GPU related failures!

I'm quite shocked at the amount of 8800GT's that I have discovered to have failed since I started looking into this. It's getting into Xbox 360 RROD territory!

My current card is working, so I could set up all the extensions, etc. before installing the 4890, is that right?

[Sumimasen]

Yeah, in fact you'll NEED to do it with another card in, otherwise you'll have the same problem as the guy above.

This is what I have gathered while researching it anyway. I have yet to do it myself, but will be getting the card very soon.

[bozz2006]

Does anyone with knowledge of Snow Leopard's Open CL know if this card will be able to utilize this technology?

And I've heard that the Sapphire Radeon 4890 Vapor-X is a more "pimped out" version of the card. Does this work? Would it be beneficial to me? It's only like $20 more than the regular version on newegg. If i can get more card for only $20, seems worth it.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Cindori

Yes. You might need two, depending on how long it is.

The cabling will go like this:







Im guessing you mean the first model aka 1,1 aka 2006. If so, that is the one I am using. Anyway, this will work on any Mac Pro ever made.

can i use this route with mac pro 3,1

[bozz2006]

Originally Posted by Sumimasen

I think the attraction of this card is that it doesn't need to be flashed - you just install some extensions in OSX to bypass the need for an EFI.

With regard to not being able to boot, I think you may need another card handy so you can install the required extensions and be able to actually see what you are doing. Until then you will get a black screen in OSX, and no way to specify windows as a boot disk. well, as far as I know anyway.

I could be wrong.

I just got a cheap ATI HD2600 off eBay so I can get up and running again, and I'll be keeping this card as a spare from now on, just in case I get any other GPU related failures!

I'm quite shocked at the amount of 8800GT's that I have discovered to have failed since I started looking into this. It's getting into Xbox 360 RROD territory!

Do you have any resources that may help me understand how it can be that the EFI can be bypassed? It just doesn't make sense to me at all. I mean is it some kind of emulator, like how with Rosetta you can run PowerPC software on an Intel Mac? If so, is there any kind of lag while using a graphics card with BIOS on a mac?