Long time reader, first time poster. I have a Mac Pro 1,1 with an x1900 in it. I've been looking to upgrade to a 4870 but the price Apple is charging is highway robbery. I looked into flashing the 4870 and a couple months ago it look like I could do that without any software hacks. However, with the introduction of the 10.6.4 update that seems to have changed. I checked the thread about immune cards but that hasn't brought up a lot of concrete evidence. The general consensus is that a reference card will work but will a 1 gig ref card work as well since that doesn't match the Apple shipped model? In addition is there anyway to try and check the flashed cards on ebay or is that pretty much the luck of the draw?
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4870 that stays working.
- Thread starter Draconis
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I don't think the I gig reference cards are a problem. It's the reference design that's the most important thing - I have a reference XFX 1 GB 4870 that is still working perfectly.
The general opinion seems to be that Apple would have to actively go out of their way to break the drivers on these cards since they run the exact same ROM as the Apple versions. Whilst Apple don't have a great recent history of supporting older hardware, they also tend not to deliberately break stuff either.
The general opinion seems to be that Apple would have to actively go out of their way to break the drivers on these cards since they run the exact same ROM as the Apple versions. Whilst Apple don't have a great recent history of supporting older hardware, they also tend not to deliberately break stuff either.
About 6 months back I installed a 4870 into my 3.0 Ghz Mac Pro(2.1), replacing a 1900. It was a flashed PC unit with 1Gb VRAM. I'm running OS 10.6.4. I've never had any sort of problems with it, and am totally sold on its performance. Treat yourself.