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Alternative to ATI 4870 for MacPro 1,1?

I'm running the Mac 3870 in my first gen Mac Pro, had it for a year since the x1900 crapped out but it is dog slow in Aperture 3, don't know if it is even supported by the app at all?

I take it the flashed 4890 will generally work much better but is it supported within Apple's pro apps?
 
Am I correct in assuming that the flashed PC versions of the 4870 and 4890 won't support dual-link for the second port under OSX?
 
Cindori said:
a 4870 does not saturade 2.5GT/s. a 5870 does not even do that...

oh yes in 1 app Mudbox but basically not.


Does not matter anyway since 2006 mac pro can only run ANY card at 2.5GT/s


flashed 4870 has double VRAM and higher clock and will eat apple's card anyday, trufact.

It's as much as 200 $ more for apples card.

get right card and it's a 1 click job with my app.

also, Apple withdraws the 4870 warranty If you use it in a 2006.
you can let apple fu_ck you over completely if you want to. I'm just saying.
Click to expand...

Yes, Apple deems the warranty void if you put the 4870 in a 2006 Mac Pro... however, when my 4870 broke, I took it to my local Mac repair shop/Certified dealer and they contacted Apple and then Apple agreed to replace the card for free. So, you'd have better luck going through a certified dealer than contacting Apple directly yourself.
 
The PC version of the 4870 doesn't have a mini displayport. That's the only difference between the Apple card and the generic card.

Plus, if you use a PC 4870, once it's flashed, you don't have to touch it ever again. Also, as long as you get a 4870, you don't have to patch any OS files. So any Apple OS that supports the Apple 4870, will also support the flashed PC 4870.

If you buy a PC 4890, then you'll have to patch a kext file every time Apple issues an OS update. The screen won't go black, but you'll lose Quartz Extreme if you don't patch the kext file. It's really just a text string change to tell Mac OS X that the card you're using is not a 4890, but a 4870. It's just an identification thing.
 
glawrie said:
I have a MacPro 1,1 with the original Nvidia Ge7300GT card.

I would like to update it with a better graphics card.

I saw the threads about the option of flashing a PC edition of the ATI 4870 card, and this seemed like a good option. But it seems to be important to get a specific type of ATI4870, and all the ones suggested in the various threads are now showing delisted / out of stock, and on 2nd hand market you can't be sure of the type of card so easily.

So are there other cards I could use that will work with the 1,1?

I'm not interested in state-of-the-art (nor do I have that kind of budget), but something that will improve the speed of graphics to allow photo / video to work better.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...

I had the ATI 4870 mac/pc version and it hummed like a jet airplane! I saw no improvement over the stock version for editing photos and such so it was a waste of money like my Nvidia GTX 285. It kicks ass for FPS but uhhh i am not seeing it be used much. Time to invest in Mass 2 or some other games. :)
 
TheSpaz said:
The PC version of the 4870 doesn't have a mini displayport. That's the only difference between the Apple card and the generic card.
Click to expand...

So, both DVI ports on a flashed PC-version 4870 will support dual-link under OSX? I know they're both dual-link on the PC side, but what about after it's flashed and running under OSX? I need to drive two 30" ACD's.
 
Hmac said:
So, both DVI ports on a flashed PC-version 4870 will support dual-link under OSX? I know they're both dual-link on the PC side, but what about after it's flashed and running under OSX? I need to drive two 30" ACD's.
Click to expand...

Ask Cindori. I don't know.
 
2nd is single link, yeap prob due to dvi port instead of DP. I wonder how that plays out on 5000 series cards. they probably will use same design as PC cards since those already have a DP port.
 
Rankrotten said:
I'm running the Mac 3870 in my first gen Mac Pro, had it for a year since the x1900 crapped out but it is dog slow in Aperture 3, don't know if it is even supported by the app at all?

I take it the flashed 4890 will generally work much better but is it supported within Apple's pro apps?
Click to expand...

Do you know for sure that Aperture 3 is GPU-accelerated ?
I didn't know ...
 
Max(IT) said:
Do you know for sure that Aperture 3 is GPU-accelerated ?
I didn't know ...
Click to expand...

Yes as was Aperture 1 and 2 which uses the GPU for all the heavy lifting work. Version 3 additionally makes use of OpenCL and GCD on supported GPUs but the 3870 is not on Apple's Aperture list.
 
Rankrotten said:
Yes as was Aperture 1 and 2 which uses the GPU for all the heavy lifting work. Version 3 additionally makes use of OpenCL and GCD on supported GPUs but the 3870 is not on Apple's Aperture list.
Click to expand...

thank you, and do you have a link to the list of supported GPU ?
I'm using Aperture 2 with a Mini and a MBP (both have a 9400M) and it's working pretty well.
Are these GPU supported ?
 
Max(IT) said:
thank you, and do you have a link to the list of supported GPU ?
I'm using Aperture 2 with a Mini and a MBP (both have a 9400M) and it's working pretty well.
Are these GPU supported ?
Click to expand...

Yes your 9400M is supported. Switch to the 9600M GT in the MBP for better performance.

I've answered my own question re the 3870 re it's not OpenCL compliant according to this apple forum post so it will be a 4870 or 4890 for me now.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11118794&#11118794
 
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