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8800gt EFI64 ROM

EVGA Card

Well, I'm making the plunge and getting an EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR from newegg. They are selling it for $179 AR with promotional code VGA32520.

I think they have an EVGA 8800GTS also on sale with a promotional code but I hadn't seen the overwhelming successful posts that I've seen with the 8800GT and I can always get the 8800GTS later if more folks have success flashing it.
 
Driver Issue?

I've got the NewEgg 'version' of the EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR. Everything seems to be fine, but, I've noticed a problem with OpenGL Extensions Viewer 3.01. When the test gets to the OGL 2.1 part, the image is corrupt. My ATI 2600 doesn't have a problem, and when you run the Apple Software Renderer on the 8800 screen it looks fine too. Must be the Drivers...Right?

OpenGL Extensions Viewer 3.01
http://www.realtech-vr.com/glview/download.html
 
It's a bug in the 3.0.1 version. I just tested 3.0.0 and the last test runs fine. It should be showing a Mandelbrot zooming in and out on each face of each cube.
 
Yep, it must be an OpenGL Viewer 3.01 bug. I found a copy of 2.29 on my old PowerMac and the OGL 2.1 test works fine with it too. Now I just have to rationalize why the 8800 gets it's butt kicked by the 2600 in GioFX OpenMark 1.6 😱 and barely manages a tie in CINEBENCH R10. The 8800 does fare well in the OpenGL Extensions Viewer scores though 😉
 
Add another success story to the list.

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR

Bought it on Newegg yesterday for 194.99 + 7.26 s&h, plus there's a $30 mail-in rebate. So $172.25 for a Geforce 8800GT in my Mac Pro. NOT BAD!


Also, I used the cable thagomizer found, for $13.
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3280778
Works PERFECT, no modifications needed. Definitely use this one, guys.
 
Working with 1st Generation Quad Core Mac Pro 3.0 GHZ?

WardC said:
OK, I am not going to spend 45 minutes and go through the 402 some-odd posts in this thread, but I have a couple quick questions:

Will the 8800 card (with this firmware update) work in a Woodcrest model Mac Pro (one with PCIe 1.0)???

Has nVidia released the long-awaited update or kit for the 8800 card for the last-gen Mac Pros? Or is a Harpertown model still required to use the 8800?

I have a refurb Quad-Core 3.0GHz on the way, as well as 16GB of RAM...it would be nice to be able to try out this card and get a peek at what this Crysis phenomenon is all about.

Thanks!
-Ward
Click to expand...

Did you get an answer to this? I have a first generation Quad-Core Mac Pro 3.0 GHZ machine. I contacted Apple, and asked them if the Nvidia Card they sell on their website would work in this machine, they said it would. Just for the record, I asked three different Apple representatives, and they all agreed that it would work. So I bought the EVGA Card from NewEgg.com as recommended in this thread, and I have not been able to get it to work. It flashes just fine, but when I boot up in OS X, I get nothing.

Is there a newer ROM file I should be using? Can someone post the newest ROM file we should be using for to flash this card? I would so appreciate it! Do I need to update Mac OS X? Apple said this card would work in this Mac Pro, so I am a bit confused. Let me know if anybody else has answers to this question.
 
cscturulo said:
Did you get an answer to this? I have a first generation Quad-Core Mac Pro 3.0 GHZ machine. I contacted Apple, and asked them if the Nvidia Card they sell on their website would work in this machine, they said it would. Just for the record, I asked three different Apple representatives, and they all agreed that it would work. So I bought the EVGA Card from NewEgg.com as recommended in this thread, and I have not been able to get it to work. It flashes just fine, but when I boot up in OS X, I get nothing. Is there a newer ROM file I should be using? Do I need to update Mac OS X? Apple said this card would work in this Mac Pro, so I am a bit confused. Let me know if anybody else has answers to this question.
Click to expand...

Well, I have my Mac Pro now. I am just using the ATI x1900 card it came with, it's not a bad card, and I haven't had any problems with it.

I think the issue on the 8800 card is that the card is only compatible with PCIe 2.0 compatible boards, with that slot. The older Mac Pros have only PCIe 1.0, and can't drive the nVidia 8800 properly. The newer 2008 Harpertown Mac Pros are the only Mac Pros to have the new PCIe 2.0 slot, so those seem to be the only ones compatible with the card. Most of this thread has been about people wanting to get a "cheaper" card by buying a PC version of the 8800 from newegg or somewhere "on the cheap" and flashing it with a Mac ROM, thus enabling it to work in a 2008-model Mac Pro...people have been able to get this to work well, and are excited about saving a hundred bucks or more.

For us though, I am afraid, no luck as of now on the 8800
-Ward
 
Can someone post the MD5 hash for the working ROM that was posted earlier? I want to confirm that I have the right file.
 
cscturulo said:
Did you get an answer to this? I have a first generation Quad-Core Mac Pro 3.0 GHZ machine. I contacted Apple, and asked them if the Nvidia Card they sell on their website would work in this machine, they said it would. Just for the record, I asked three different Apple representatives, and they all agreed that it would work. So I bought the EVGA Card from NewEgg.com as recommended in this thread, and I have not been able to get it to work. It flashes just fine, but when I boot up in OS X, I get nothing.

Is there a newer ROM file I should be using? Can someone post the newest ROM file we should be using for to flash this card? I would so appreciate it! Do I need to update Mac OS X? Apple said this card would work in this Mac Pro, so I am a bit confused. Let me know if anybody else has answers to this question.
Click to expand...

WardC said:
Well, I have my Mac Pro now. I am just using the ATI x1900 card it came with, it's not a bad card, and I haven't had any problems with it.

I think the issue on the 8800 card is that the card is only compatible with PCIe 2.0 compatible boards, with that slot. The older Mac Pros have only PCIe 1.0, and can't drive the nVidia 8800 properly. The newer 2008 Harpertown Mac Pros are the only Mac Pros to have the new PCIe 2.0 slot, so those seem to be the only ones compatible with the card. Most of this thread has been about people wanting to get a "cheaper" card by buying a PC version of the 8800 from newegg or somewhere "on the cheap" and flashing it with a Mac ROM, thus enabling it to work in a 2008-model Mac Pro...people have been able to get this to work well, and are excited about saving a hundred bucks or more.

For us though, I am afraid, no luck as of now on the 8800
-Ward
Click to expand...

Correct, no Geforce 8800 GT for 2006 Mac Pro's.

The Radeon X1900 is faster in professional applications anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
jhuss said:
MD5 (mp8800gt.rom) = 666f111bccb37a4222858f3795348f55
Click to expand...

Success!

Thanks a bunch. I confirmed the md5 and flashed my EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR with no problems. I will say that the warnings for mismatched PCI ids and such from nvflash always make my heart jump even if I know it should work!
 
Considering the Geforce 9800GTX is based on the G92 chip we could be in for some fun 😉

Who is first to try? 😀
 
Since I'm kinda paranoid about screwing something up, I just wanted to verify the steps needed to do this on the Mac Pro as I don't have access to a PC:

-create small FAT32 partition using BootCamp Assistant
-copy nvflash.exe and mp8800gt.rom to that partition
-remove ATI card and only have 8800GT in Mac Pro
-boot using fdfullcd.iso from freedos.org
-run nvflash.exe from partition
-run nvflash --check to verify size
-run nvflash -4 -5 -6 mp8800gt.rom to flash ROM to card
-game away with silky smooth framerates

Anything I'm missing or doing wrong?
 
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