Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Pro (Early 2008) video card upgrade options
- Thread starter radiohead1075
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Please will someone clarify for me?
I have an HD2600 (slot 1). Let's say I add a GTX650 (slot 2) and connect my display to it (DVI).
Will the two run in parallel, with the HD2600 automagically feeding boot screen display through the GTX650?
Or are we saying that for instances where I need bootscreen I actually reconnect the display to the HD2600? (I'm guessing this is the correct answer...)
And if it's the latter, once the system has booted can I safely swap the display connection back to the GTX650 while the system is up? Or would I have to shutdown, swap ports, then boot blind again?
I've been following these Mac Pro graphic card threads for awhile now, but missed if this has been explicitly answered already. Thanks!
The HD2600 is only needed if you have problems that require seeing the bootscreen, it will only display if that card has a port directly attached to the screen by a cable. If both your cards are connected to the same screen you should be able to switch between them with the monitor's controls.
AMD and Nvidia cards do not "play nice" together so they cannot be run in combination as a single GFX engine, this requires a Crossfire or SLI connection which is unavailable under OS X.
AMD and Nvidia cards do not "play nice" together so they cannot be run in combination as a single GFX engine, this requires a Crossfire or SLI connection which is unavailable under OS X.
Last edited:
Thanks for that, it makes sense.
I'm currently running an Apple Cinema Display which only supports a single DVI connection, so using the monitor to detect/switch between cards isn't a feature I have.
Sounds like I would do what most people here are doing -- store the HD2600 and simply reinstall it on the (hopefully rare) occasion when a boot screen is needed. And I suppose the GTX650 (or whatever I end up getting) will run a bit cooler if the unused HD2600 isn't perched in the slot beneath it.
Thanks again.
I have the early 2008 Mac Pro with the orig. video card. Would like better performance for Adobe CC and plugins like OnOne Perfect Suite that don't run so well on my current card.
Probably won't be able to afford the new Mac Pro, so thinking of upgrading the video card to extend the life of my system.
I see from the thread that the GTX 570 and the ATI 5770 would be safe choices. Is it pretty easy to install a video card? (I've done memory and HD upgrades, but not sure about video card)
Probably won't be able to afford the new Mac Pro, so thinking of upgrading the video card to extend the life of my system.
I see from the thread that the GTX 570 and the ATI 5770 would be safe choices. Is it pretty easy to install a video card? (I've done memory and HD upgrades, but not sure about video card)
Upgrading GT8800 to MSI R7950
Favourite son (actually only son) provided his father on Father's Day with a new GPU - a MSI R7950, Twin Frozer, 3GB DDR5, Boost Edition - as he was sick of hearing of father's ongoing baking episodes with his original GT 8800 card. When questioned about 'but its a PC card' my son, bless him, simply says "Dad, just take the nVidia card out (PCIe slot 1), stick the MSI one, reconnect 6 pin from the old card and then turn your Mac. It will all work perfectly but you will not the the grey boot screen" - something about the right 'ATI drivers' are part of 10.8.4.
OK but 'sceptical Dad' is seeking more expert advice - 'Will this MSI R7950 PC GPU card simply work as son claims (ie. works fine as per specs except for boot screen) or is father going to have to do a crash course in EFI & ROM flashing to get it to work?
Favourite son (actually only son) provided his father on Father's Day with a new GPU - a MSI R7950, Twin Frozer, 3GB DDR5, Boost Edition - as he was sick of hearing of father's ongoing baking episodes with his original GT 8800 card. When questioned about 'but its a PC card' my son, bless him, simply says "Dad, just take the nVidia card out (PCIe slot 1), stick the MSI one, reconnect 6 pin from the old card and then turn your Mac. It will all work perfectly but you will not the the grey boot screen" - something about the right 'ATI drivers' are part of 10.8.4.
OK but 'sceptical Dad' is seeking more expert advice - 'Will this MSI R7950 PC GPU card simply work as son claims (ie. works fine as per specs except for boot screen) or is father going to have to do a crash course in EFI & ROM flashing to get it to work?
Sapphire HD 7970 Dual X
Has anyone tried this GPU with any MAC PRO 3,1?
What about power cables, most frown on using a 6 pin to 8pin attached to the motherboard? Is there anyone here running this card without problems? I have one and thought about using it. Any help or details would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you again for your reply.
Has anyone tried this GPU with any MAC PRO 3,1?
What about power cables, most frown on using a 6 pin to 8pin attached to the motherboard? Is there anyone here running this card without problems? I have one and thought about using it. Any help or details would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you again for your reply.
thread necromancy at its finest
Still... I have a 3,1 with dual 7970s. Removed the optical drive cage and routed power from there. I play World of Warcraft and run GPU password cracking applications without issue. Been doing this for about a year.
Still... I have a 3,1 with dual 7970s. Removed the optical drive cage and routed power from there. I play World of Warcraft and run GPU password cracking applications without issue. Been doing this for about a year.
Are you having to use a video GPU hack to make it work or will it plug and play?
Also, what cables are you using, please let me know i would love to go grab cables and get this card up and running! Thanks again for your help!