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NVIDIA 8800GT for Older Mac Pros Now Available
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5.5 months late for overpriced old technology?
The 9800 is already out, we should have THAT available by now.
The card should be priced less, but as everybody knows, apple overcharges on everything they sell.
The 9800 is already out, we should have THAT available by now.
The card should be priced less, but as everybody knows, apple overcharges on everything they sell.
Please show me how the G92 in the 9800 is that much better. I'm not even going to bring up that the 8800GT isn't a flagship card as well. It's a performance midrange that was desperately needed since the only worthwhile card at the time was the G80 8800GTS for around $270-300.
Not to mention the value of the card isn't going to go down when it comes to resale. I'm sure we can all take a gander at the prices of other Windows-only 8800GT cards on NewEgg for the US$ price.
RE: " E F I "................... WRONG!
CORRECT ANSWER: MONEY! (also acceptable: Apple's business model)
It's only about money and monopoly, although you could argue that Apple's controlled business model guarantees none of the compatibility issues of PCs. That is sort of debatable though. EFI is Apple's copyright that allows ONLY Apple or companies Apple chooses to license for the production of Mac video cards. Technically, many off the shelf PC video cards will work in Mac Pros within Windows or with minimal system updates but Apple deliberately chooses for off the shelf video cards to not work with Mac OS X. Whether EFI offers any advantages to PC BIOS, I doubt, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see any advantages other than deliberate incompatibility.
The good news though is that Apple priced this reasonably at $279 unlike previous video card upgrades through Apple (which were virtually highway robbery). That price point might virtually kill the Mac Pro PCI Express video card grey market on Ebay for all the companies that are currently selling upgrades for Macs. Seriously, why would anyone in their right mind buy a Mac video card from, well, like a Linux consulting company like Applemacanix for their Mac Pro when they could buy it from Apple for almost the same price?! DUH!
So, WOW, thank you Apple for the bargain!
Only those in business should comment on Apples business model. They do not have a monopoly, and a business model is FAR more complex than just what video cards they choose to offer.
$164 after Mail in Rebate at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
75Mhz on Core and 100 on RAM. That seems like it is worth the 30-80 dollar price increase (from Apples current 280).
The 9800GTX looks like a good card, but an 8800GT replacement it is not. It's faster, but more expensive. The 9800GT appears to be a little late, so the 8800GT is still the better value. If the difference between the 8800GTX and 9800GTX is any indication, the 9800GT is not going to obsolete the 8800GT.
Older PowerPC Macs did not have EFI and did not have this "VGA mode" problem that you speak of that I've ever been aware of.
That's obviously a WINDOWS issue, has nothing to do with Macs.
Sorry, next...
Do you know what you're talking about? PowerPC Macs didn't have BIOS's, they used OpenFirmware. Booting up into a nasty old 1989-reminiscent VGA screen definitely is one of the many nasties of the BIOS.
well, I went ahead and bought one
I play a lot of games and I don't use any video editing software (just audio) so the 8800 will better suit my needs I think
And I guess I can sell my 1900 on ebay for a couple hundred which will make this upgrade not cost too much
edit: I would keep the 1900 but it looks like I wont be able to use it at the same time as the 8800 because of power restraints. (can anyone confirm/deny this?)
I play a lot of games and I don't use any video editing software (just audio) so the 8800 will better suit my needs I think
And I guess I can sell my 1900 on ebay for a couple hundred which will make this upgrade not cost too much
edit: I would keep the 1900 but it looks like I wont be able to use it at the same time as the 8800 because of power restraints. (can anyone confirm/deny this?)
This card is a whopping 20 dollars more expensive than the Mac 8800GT. You are telling me after paying 1799+ for a Mac Pro and 279 for the upgrade kit that another 20 dollars is too expensive?
The person you quoted is right about the VGA thing. When a computer boots up with BIOS it boots in VGA mode. EFI doesn't do that.
Sorry, wrong. "If this was the whole quote, then the period stays inside." When inserting a "quote inside a sentence, the period stays outside".
I already stuck it in. I didn't really have a choice, it was causing my machine to lock-up every 3-4 hours even with the fans cranked to full jet engineI'm sure if you dont open it you can return it? Or did you already put it in
This card is a whopping 20 dollars more expensive than the Mac 8800GT. You are telling me after paying 1799+ for a Mac Pro and 279 for the upgrade kit that another 20 dollars is too expensive?
I don't think that is natively compatible with a Mac Pro unless you start modding it.
Good point. Shame though. I guess if Apple offered it it would be 380 (80 premium on the normal pc version).
PowerMac G5
This is all great news, but Im stuck with my PMG5 (dual 2 ghz - first gen) and I want to upgrade from the stock 9600 64mb. Any suggestions very welcomed!
Keep up the good work Apple - as soon as I have the cash, I'm joining the MacPro Crew
This is all great news, but Im stuck with my PMG5 (dual 2 ghz - first gen) and I want to upgrade from the stock 9600 64mb. Any suggestions very welcomed!
Keep up the good work Apple - as soon as I have the cash, I'm joining the MacPro Crew
vs. 7300 GT for iMovie 08???
Apparently for routine Photoshop chores, the 8800 is no big deal. I have a dual 3Ghz MacPro with an Nvidia 7300 GT. I'm wondering if the 8800 would make a difference in the excruciatingly slow performance of iMovie 08 when dealing with Hi Def (AVCHD) video?
Apparently for routine Photoshop chores, the 8800 is no big deal. I have a dual 3Ghz MacPro with an Nvidia 7300 GT. I'm wondering if the 8800 would make a difference in the excruciatingly slow performance of iMovie 08 when dealing with Hi Def (AVCHD) video?
Which part is excruciatingly slow? If it's the encoding then a new video card isn't going to do a thing.
If it ain't broke...
Anyway, I'm glad that apple has *finally* made this upgrade available. The 8800gt isn't even out of date, considering the new 9 series use the same core.
I presume this is mostly of major interest to gamers?