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2006 2.66 Mac Pro?
- Thread starter mooseface
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Upgrade rom 7300 to 8800
Hello Waremaster...sounds like we have a similar setup, I was wondering if you had any issues flashing your 8800GT? I am trying to upgrade my 7300GT to two EVGA e-GeForce 8800GT w512MB (P/N:512-P3-N802-AR). I followed the 8800 EFI32 ROM post and used the ROM in post#53...I was able to successfully flash the cards boot and they work fine in a Windows PC on a Intel based machine. When remove the factory 7300GT and I install one into my Mac Pro (MA356LL/A with 2 - Dual Core 2.66GHz Xeon, 8GB RAM, stock 7300GT w256MB) plug in the power cable to the back of the 8800GT, the Mac Pro boots but I have no picture at all. It appears to boot all the way into OSx 10.5.6, but no picture? I assume I have missed something, but I am not sure what...I reviewed the previous posts and unless I missed it, I didn't see anything I missed...I will continue to review unless I hear something...thanks again for the help.
Hello Waremaster...sounds like we have a similar setup, I was wondering if you had any issues flashing your 8800GT? I am trying to upgrade my 7300GT to two EVGA e-GeForce 8800GT w512MB (P/N:512-P3-N802-AR). I followed the 8800 EFI32 ROM post and used the ROM in post#53...I was able to successfully flash the cards boot and they work fine in a Windows PC on a Intel based machine. When remove the factory 7300GT and I install one into my Mac Pro (MA356LL/A with 2 - Dual Core 2.66GHz Xeon, 8GB RAM, stock 7300GT w256MB) plug in the power cable to the back of the 8800GT, the Mac Pro boots but I have no picture at all. It appears to boot all the way into OSx 10.5.6, but no picture? I assume I have missed something, but I am not sure what...I reviewed the previous posts and unless I missed it, I didn't see anything I missed...I will continue to review unless I hear something...thanks again for the help.
hehe I just ran across twenty four ProLiant BL460c server blades with 4GB RAM, 36GB 10K RPM drives, and two x5365 xeons all for $550 each. I'm sooooo tempted to buy them all!
:-O $550?? How? Where? Buy them for us and ship them!! Now.... how much are flights to Japan......
I quickly found it to be the perfect format! I'm so glad I didn't go for a 4:3! It's even improved my Quake 3 & 4 abilities.
I still like Eizo, but they've gotten too expensive these days.
So I settled for a refurbed NEC 2490 for less than $800USD, including an extended warranty and shipping.
Actually, it doesn't even classify as a headache. Seriously it's just a very minor annoyance which I can't even detect but a few times a year. And it really is "good enough" for professional photography. The banding only appears in compressed computer generated gradients. The once or twice I saw it in a sky shot it was easily solved by adding noise - which doesn't show up in even the highest quality printing.
The inherent angular color shift isn't really a problem either unless the operator is the kind of person who bobs their head all over the place while editing or something. At 50cm from the monitor I have about a 20x10cm window where the color is right on. And that's where my head is al the time anyway so. The only issue I have is that I have to tilt the monitor downward when there's crowd here watching movies from the floor (Japanese style). Easily solved by my 3rd party monitor stand tho:
Which gives me 180˚ rotation at the monitor mount axis in both X and Y plus the arms radial movement.
Ha ha... In looking for a shot of my stand I came across this: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=5984667 This guy thinks like I do. He has more time (and less wood working skillz) than I tho.
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I dunno if I can find them again but here's a 2.66 for $200 (he has 14 of them)
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n76024250
Still looking.. but in the time (5 min.) I looked he sold one and now has 13. Prolly by the time you read this they'll be gone too.
EDIT: 1hr later - now he has 12.
In my case, "headache" is literal.
Eye strain... I've done a few DIY projects.The inherent angular color shift isn't really a problem either unless the operator is the kind of person who bobs their head all over the place while editing or something. At 50cm from the monitor I have about a 20x10cm window where the color is right on. And that's where my head is al the time anyway so. The only issue I have is that I have to tilt the monitor downward when there's crowd here watching movies from the floor (Japanese style). Easily solved by my 3rd party monitor stand tho:
Ha ha... In looking for a shot of my stand I came across this: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=5984667 This guy thinks like I do. He has more time (and less wood working skillz) than I tho.
Still do. Unfortunately, I lack some of the tools ATM. Garage is being used for storage, so I need to put up a building first so I have a place to put them. Not an inexpensive proposition, so it'll have to wait awhile.
In my case, "headache" is literal.
Eyestrain? Is there any difference at all between the two besides the 6-bit + dithering (bit depth) and the max viewing angle? I mean sure the TN refreshes faster but I can't tell any image quality differences between this and the ColorEdge if my TNs are adjusted right for the environment and all. Also it's not a full-frame refresh if I read it right, but more like GEL or PEL refreshes - so it wouldn't flicker or anything AFAIK.
In the shops I can't tell for sure when side by side because they have that ultra bright shop lighting and the Brightness / Contrast of most or all of the monitors are set to 100% and uncalibrated too.
For CRT's, the refresh rate seemed to cause me the most grief. With LCD's, the backlighting and calibration seems to make more of a difference as the refresh has a limit of 60Hz. Apparently, I can live with it.
I hadn't spent a lot of time in front of S-PVA (or other PVA panels), so I can't say if they would make any difference for you. That said, the Eizo (S-PVA) I saw looked really good, but was still more expensive than the NEC's street price, new factory sealed with an IPS panel. I do notice that it has a red shift on a black screen if I'm not looking directly at it (mild angle), particularly in the lower left corner. But it isn't bad, and doesn't really bother me. I've discovered a set of either dead pixels, or a plastic flake wedged between the panel and the backlight, but it's not directly where I look, and is small enough not to be that bad. Even on a white background. (It shows up in the address line in a browser, on the left side).I can't really tell anything between models on display in stores either. I ended up buying the NEC by reputation, reviews, and past experience, as there wasn't any place local that carried them. Ultimately, I got lucky.
That is interesting. I would be curious what command you used when you flashed the card. And I would also like to verify that you did the graphics update that came out just prior to 10.5.5. Let me know.
Flashing 8800GT no Picture on Boot
I used nvflash.exe -4 -5 -6 mp8800gt.rom, it successfully reads the existing flash...and loads the new one.
The only graphics update I could find initially was the nvidia 10.5.2, but it said "This computer does not need this update." I am currently running 10.5.6...and I have applied every patch via the update utility.
I used nvflash.exe -4 -5 -6 mp8800gt.rom, it successfully reads the existing flash...and loads the new one.
The only graphics update I could find initially was the nvidia 10.5.2, but it said "This computer does not need this update." I am currently running 10.5.6...and I have applied every patch via the update utility.
For CRT's, the refresh rate seemed to cause me the most grief. With LCD's, the backlighting and calibration seems to make more of a difference as the refresh has a limit of 60Hz. Apparently, I can live with it.
I can't really tell anything between models on display in stores either. I ended up buying the NEC by reputation, reviews, and past experience, as there wasn't any place local that carried them. Ultimately, I got lucky.
You have dead pixels? Bummer! None here. I had some o n one of the screens but then through a process of reading and discovery used a vacuum cleaner with a sock over it to pull gently on the face of the screen. No more dead pixels.
The first clue into this process was when the salesman volunteered that they will replace a screen with dead pixels but not if it is caused by the user applying pressure or hitting the screen with a pencil. I thought that was really weird of him to say. About the 3rd time I cleaned the monitor two showed up.
I think this is proof enough that sometimes sucking at something can be a good thing!
You have dead pixels? Bummer! None here. I had some o n one of the screens but then through a process of reading and discovery used a vacuum cleaner with a sock over it to pull gently on the face of the screen. No more dead pixels.
The first clue into this process was when the salesman volunteered that they will replace a screen with dead pixels but not if it is caused by the user applying pressure or hitting the screen with a pencil. I thought that was really weird of him to say. About the 3rd time I cleaned the monitor two showed up.
I think this is proof enough that sometimes sucking at something can be a good thing!
I'll have to try that. I didn't think that would have worked, or worse, cause damage.
If it's just a spec of trash (on the bulb perhaps), I'll have to open it up and find it.
Might be worth a look anyway.
Well, if you have any apprehension about it at all. Don't do it. Go on your gut - it's probably right. Besides that sounds a little different. Mine was not a dark spec but rather an over-bright cyan cell. One was red, one was cyan. Subsequent cleanings would turn them on momentarily again too.
hi, thought I'd ask my simple question here rather than start a new thread.
I just bought a 2006 2 Ghz , 1.5G ram. When I start the computer it seems pretty fast. What I'd like to speed up is the time it takes from first clicking say, iTunes or some other basic program. Currently for maybe a few seconds I get the beach ball swirl and then it opens. I'm hoping it's just a ram thing?
Would installing leopard make a difference too?
I am encouraged by the comments here regarding that it is still a good computer. I got it for my kids to muck around on to keep them off my main computer!
Thanks
I just bought a 2006 2 Ghz , 1.5G ram. When I start the computer it seems pretty fast. What I'd like to speed up is the time it takes from first clicking say, iTunes or some other basic program. Currently for maybe a few seconds I get the beach ball swirl and then it opens. I'm hoping it's just a ram thing?
Would installing leopard make a difference too?
I am encouraged by the comments here regarding that it is still a good computer. I got it for my kids to muck around on to keep them off my main computer!
Thanks
Isn't that an access speed issue? Grabbing a faster internal hard drive might hurry things up there. What I think I'll do to get a better performance is install the OS and Apps on a SSD.
Also if your current disk is filled to capacity things may start running slower. I don't know if OSX Leopard would make too much of a difference, as long as you're on the latest version of all the software. Could do.
I would suggest trying to reflash the card with the following command.
nvflash --index=1 -4 -5 -6 mp8800gt.rom and see if that makes any difference.