Race to dump the 4870 ROM, Who's first?

[netkas]

wrote a short howto http://netkas.org/?p=90

 

[netkas]

The Rominator

so it's like on hackintoshes, one port (closest to mobo) works fine, another one works not so good(on hacks doesnt work at all).
Crappy DisplayPort :O

 

[Amethyst]

Oddly, my OpenGl View scores are lower than with a 9800GT....guess that's not a good bench app anymore.

Hey Rominator, Can u post your 9800GT Rom?

and What Vendor/model of 9800GT you use

 

[MacVidCards]

If that is case on Hackintoshes too it gives us a wonderful hint.....the issue is in th Drivers...not the ROM.

I was going to try to stitch the EFI to a PC ROM but there is no point it appears.

I am very surprised that VGA out doesn't work from lower port.....with our X800 and 9800XT efforts we always had VGA but no DVI....we should be VERY happy with what we have.....a month and a half before Apple ships cards as retail kits...I sense a storm brewing....

 

[iBug2]

Any update on 1 GB cards?

 

[jeanlain]

Awesome work guys! (I registered just to say it )

I may be able to upgrade my (not so) old Mac Pro 1.1 at lower cost. It Still has a X1900XT running in it. Seems like I am the only one who never went into trouble with this card, but that may not last forever.

 

[tobyg]

I found one card that just won't work.

It won't physically work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103070

If you look at the screws in the back holding the heat sink down, they are too tall. They won't allow me to put the card in the lowest slot as the screws hit.

So FYI, Don't buy this Diamond card.

Edit: weird, why is this link ( when you hover over it) going to somewhere else first? Looks like an add thing. What is http://www.jdoqocy.com?

 

[red9]

First of all I know this is probably a totally noob question to be asking, and just wanted to make sure of the answer before I proceed but-

Can you do the entire flashing process on a Mac Pro itself, or do you need to have a 2nd PC to be able to do this? Thanks!

 

[irishgrizzly]

Is it possible that the card would stop working after an update to 10.6?

Is this the right card?

 

[MacVidCards]

WIndows behavior update

All on a Mac Pro...as long as you can run DOS or perhaps Windows.

Anyone done this in WIndows? (Via Winflash?)

Speaking of WIndows, I just tried the card out there.

I bench in Crysis (using a GUI app for this) ...at my settings on a 2560x1600 30", the 8800GT did 24fps, a "Hot Rod" 98GT did 27fps, the 9800GX2 was champ at 37fps. The 4870 I had was doing 34 fps and I expected a drop since Mac ROM underclocks by 50Mhz. Oddly enough, fps remained the same @ 34...so CPU bound perhaps? (Quad 2.66)

Gotta go deal with life for a few hours...

 

[jeanlain]

All on a Mac Pro...as long as you can run DOS or perhaps Windows.

Anyone done this in WIndows? (Via Winflash?)

Speaking of WIndows, I just tried the card out there.

I bench in Crysis (using a GUI app for this) ...at my settings on a 2560x1600 30", the 8800GT did 24fps, a "Hot Rod" 98GT did 27fps, the 9800GX2 was champ at 37fps. The 4870 I had was doing 34 fps and I expected a drop since Mac ROM underclocks by 50Mhz. Oddly enough, fps remained the same @ 34...so CPU bound perhaps? (Quad 2.66)

Gotta go deal with life for a few hours...

Do you get VGA output under windows?
If not, would it be possible to replace the PC BIOS part from the Mac ROM file with the PC BIOS from the original card?

 

[Inconsequential]

Im waiting on the 1Gb results too!!!

Although through HE the 4870 is cheaper than it is retail!

Although selling the old card... etc

Oh well, I can overclock it in windows so im not fussed!

 

[netkas]

Do you get VGA output under windows?
If not, would it be possible to replace the PC BIOS part from the Mac ROM file with the PC BIOS from the original card?

i think replacing bios part of rom with original one will bring you same problems as what hackintoshers have - only one working output(dvi/vga tho)

 

[Dzokayi]

nice work!

Guess I'll pick up a Sapphire card. I'd like to do minimize my downtime; is there anything else I'll need for a Mac Pro 1,1? Power splitters, etc... thanks

 

[jeanlain]

i think replacing bios part of rom with original one will bring you same problems as what hackintoshers have - only one working output(dvi/vga tho)

Do they have these problems on windows?

 

[netkas]

Do they have these problems on windows?

No, only osx.

Btw, funny stuff, apple naming all new framebuffer drivers for 4xxx ati generation after birds

For example, 4870 driver - ATY_Motmot.kext - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotidae

Also, there is present aty_quail.kext in 10.5.7 beta - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quail

In new MacPro we can find ATY_Raven and ATY_Kakapo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

 

[jeanlain]

No, only osx.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

Replacing the BIOS part with that of the original card should bring a fully functional card under windows (it's a PC card after all). Under Mac OS, still no VGA though, but you should not experience the problems that affect hackintoshes, since you keep the EFI part.

One question: if you use the Mac ROM, will this solve your problems on hackintoshes (non-functional upper port)?

 

[ddorbuck]

Add me to the list of those waiting to see if you can use a 1 gb ATI card in the 1st gen mac pro with the mac rom. Anyone think we can/will have a confirmation by this weekends close?


I have this puppy sitting in my cart on new egg.
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801


Thanks. Doug

 

[goin3d]

Add me to the list of those waiting to see if you can use a 1 gb ATI card in the 1st gen mac pro with the mac rom. Anyone think we can/will have a confirmation by this weekends close?


I have this puppy sitting in my cart on new egg.
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801


Thanks. Doug

I placed my newegg order earlier today. I plan on using the card in a 2009 but also have a first gen mac pro I can test with after flashing. (Don't think the card will arrive before monday or tuesday though....but if you don't see that someone has already gotten the answer by them feel free to drop me a PM!)

 

[swissmann]

You guys rock.

I've got a first gen Mac Pro. I skipped the 3870 waiting for this then Apple disappoints and you guys return the excitement. I'm also waiting on the verdict of the 1 GB card. That Sapphire looks like a pretty sweet deal - I too have one in my cart.

I do have a few question that I haven't seen asked already here. I plan on having my 30" ACD and a 1080P projector hooked up via DVI-HDMI adapter.

Will there be enough juice for the projector for full resolution? (question prompted by the post of the second DVI having reduced resolution)

Will HDCP over the DVI and then DVI-HDMI adapter go through so my Blu-Ray discs will play through my projector?

Will the HDMI conflict with the optical audio port on the Mac Pro?

Thanks in advance for some answers. Again you guys rock!

 

[bumble-bee]

4870 X2

Hi,

can I dump this rom to a 4870 X2???

Anybody out there who has an idea?

Yes, I know, some of us can't get enough...

 

[tobyg]

Tried a Sapphire 512MB video card (not the one linked above).

Doesn't work so far. My Mac Pro chimes over and over every second or so. Never sends a signal out either of the DVI ports. Going to try resetting SMC/PRAM....

Verified flash/checksum. 0x5496 is my checksum, which is what it should be.

Not sure yet...

I do have one of the original Mac Pro 1,1 2x2.66ghz machines right now, so maybe that's related.. but the Rominator said he got his working on a 1,1 Mac Pro. I do know there is a newer firmware out there on some Mac Pro 1,1 motherboards.
My firmware on my motherboard is MP11.005C.B08.

 

[MacVidCards]

Hi,

can I dump this rom to a 4870 X2???

Anybody out there who has an idea?

Yes, I know, some of us can't get enough...

We won't know the answer to this until someone tries.

Feel free.

 

[bumble-bee]

We won't know the answer to this until someone tries.

Feel free.

I thought about two 4870 in crossfire mode for Windows-Games (not for OS X) in my 1.Generation MacPro, but it only has one 16x PCIe slot, the others are only 4x or 8x.

Does anybody know if the 8x PCIe slot slow down the power of the crossfire combo?

The price of two card are nearly the same as one X2 card.

I only thought about the PCIe 8x slot...

 

[MacVidCards]

Tried a Sapphire 512MB video card (not the one linked above).

Doesn't work so far. My Mac Pro chimes over and over every second or so. Never sends a signal out either of the DVI ports. Going to try resetting SMC/PRAM....

Verified flash/checksum. 0x5496 is my checksum, which is what it should be.

Not sure yet...

I do have one of the original Mac Pro 1,1 2x2.66ghz machines right now, so maybe that's related.. but the Rominator said he got his working on a 1,1 Mac Pro. I do know there is a newer firmware out there on some Mac Pro 1,1 motherboards.
My firmware on my motherboard is MP11.005C.B08.

I have same MP firmware.

Please post info about card...you DO have 2 power cables plugged into it, yes?

Also, if you can get the board number from the screen I posted (flashing screen)