Brilliant. So what hapens when you switch back to OSX then?
You use the original video card.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Releases New iMacs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You use the original video card.
taken from another post on these forums:
So it works huh?
You quote and reply to that quote makes no sense.
Could you clarify?
Nevermind: See the problem is in Apples goal of neatness they have tied the power to the motherboard. We all know the MP has the wattage to handle two 9088GX2's, it is just artificially constrained by Apples choice.
The problem the other person seems to be having stems from not having enough power to actually run both (9800GX2 and 8800GT) cards.
You quote and reply to that quote makes no sense.
Could you clarify?
9800 works with Windows running on a Mac Pro... Together with two other 8800 cards...
Right, so what seems to be being said here is that if I want to use an Apple product to run games at top end resolution I need to install two graphics cards - one for Windows use (for which I will also have to pay for a copy) and one for OSX use.
What's the point in that? Also, what if I want to use SLI? Or the power drain is bigger than the 300W the Mac pro allows?
Like I said, the Mac Pro is an excellent workstation and if you've got one then, yeah, you could spring for a copy of windows and an extra card. However, if you're just looking for a top class gaming machine chances are you'll build your own or use one of the specialist manufacturers. You're not going to buy a Mac Pro to do the job.
Horses for courses once again.
That's pretty much the situation as it stands. Things may change once nVidia and ATI start releasing EFI aware cards but I'm sure Apple will find a way to cripple them too.
Have you ever seen any games native to OS X that need a setup like that?
You keep digging the same hole but there's not treasure chest in there. Mac has no games. They are all ports and so few of them that it's sad.
Games = Widows.
I just proved you can have BOTH of two worlds with great (if not superb) configuration in one single box. Beat that.
Because at this point using hackintosh you can't even update it the normal way as it can make the system nonoperative and that brings me to the same point in which i stated that stability is the most important thing to me. And i bet to A LOT of others as well.
Besides the original poster wrote that he wants the ability to upgrade the card at a later time so i just proved him he can and it meets 100% of his needs as he wrote and even corrected them. And with my point he still has both super stable runing systems in one box.
At current state no other machine can come even close to that.
Cause a lot of people don't want to mess with the EFI emulation in the Hackintosh, and it is just easier for most people to use the real Mac. So the price is a tradeoff for not having to hack the os with the emulator, and worrying about software updates breaking the computer...
So if the GPUs - or any combination of PCIe devices - take more than 300W they won't run?
You can get a native 8800 GT for Mac now so that solves your first issue with both systems running on it.
The 300W power limit might be a case if you intend to run many cards at once. If you set it up for single or maybe two in each system I do not see a issue.
As for SLI well this is something I have no idea about but from that post i understand that it is possible.
I take the arguments about the Mac Pro, however if I was in the market for a games machine it just doesn't make sense.
For example, a Mac Pro with one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon, 4GB RAM and an 8800GT with 1TB storage costs £2,019. On top of that I'd have to pay for a Windows licence and a 9800 GTX at £170. This brings it up to about £2,250.
A MESH Ultimate QX configured to Core 2 Quad Q9450 (runs at 2.66GHz but easy to overclock), 4GB RAM, 2 X 512 MB 9800 GTX and 1 TB storage costs £1,600 with cooling options.
It doesn't add up.
For example, a Mac Pro with one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon, 4GB RAM and an 8800GT with 1TB storage costs £2,019. On top of that I'd have to pay for a Windows licence and a 9800 GTX at £170. This brings it up to about £2,250.
A MESH Ultimate QX configured to Core 2 Quad Q9450 (runs at 2.66GHz but easy to overclock), 4GB RAM, 2 X 512 MB 9800 GTX and 1 TB storage costs £1,600 with cooling options.
It doesn't add up.
Convert molex to whatever your video cards require from the power supply. Apple supports two video cards up to 300W off the motherboard.
I see the discussion has gotten rather technical about graphics, gaming, etc...and I have a somewhat related question.
I'm going to buy a new iMac and am trying to decide what features I need. My main purpose will be Photoshop and the iLife apps (primarily iMovie & iDVD).
How much does the graphics card play into the performance of these? Does the graphics card primarily impact gaming only...or media editing as well?
I realize that all performance discussions aren't quantifiable yet, but I at least want to know which options are important for my purposes.
Thanks.
I'm going to buy a new iMac and am trying to decide what features I need. My main purpose will be Photoshop and the iLife apps (primarily iMovie & iDVD).
How much does the graphics card play into the performance of these? Does the graphics card primarily impact gaming only...or media editing as well?
I realize that all performance discussions aren't quantifiable yet, but I at least want to know which options are important for my purposes.
Thanks.
ahh-ha, it all makes sense now. So why do people complain about it's performance in something it wasn't designed for?
No it does not BUT if you use pro applications then it makes a lot of sense as OS X eats Win alive in this matter plus gives you that extra possibility to use Windows and play all the games you want at awesome rates. Again. That extra $$ ammount is worth it by all possible means.
I thought each slot only supported 75W and that all 4 together can only be 300W? Otherwise wouldn't Apple support 600W+? (150W for each 2.0 slot plus the 150 from each power plug)