ATI 3870 in stock finally! Act fast!

[sirnh]

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3857975

I thought I would add this in, too. I just got this in my order confirmation email... man it sucks being first sometimes:

Limited Time Offer:

If you have a friend or family member who would like to purchase an ATI Graphics Card, make sure you offer them coupon code '1439'. The coupon code can be used on the ATI Online Store and offers a 5% discount off any order over $149 dollars (excluding taxes and shipping). Visit http://shop.ati.com/ for the latest offers.

 

[Chone]

Man that's steep, I wish Apple would do something about this and work some deal out with NV and ATI so Mac version sof cards are released alongside the PC versions, that way at least we'll get the firmwares.

 

[yeroen]

can't seem to checkout, keep getting server error.

oh well, guess I'll just wait for OWC.

 

[krye]

Man that's steep, I wish Apple would do something about this and work some deal out with NV and ATI so Mac version sof cards are released alongside the PC versions, that way at least we'll get the firmwares.

That's the whole problem, isn't it? Why they need two different firmwares is beyond me. There shouldn't be a Mac and PC version. There should just be one version that works on both.

 

[sirnh]

It's more a matter of BIOS vs EFI. EFI is an industry standard that really requires Microsoft to get behind fully. Microsoft has been dragging its feet because every PC out there today ships with BIOS, that's where their bread is buttered.

So now we have a chicken and egg situation. Mobo manufacturers will not include EFI because Windows does not support it, and Microsoft will not invest in major EFI development because there is little hardware out there that uses it.

Once Microsoft is behind EFI, then you will see nVidia and ATI releasing graphics cards that are more compatible with OS X. Of course, you still need drivers - and thus far Apple has done a rather poor job at that. I really do wish nVidia and ATI released their own drivers for OS X, like they do with Forceware and Catalyst. I am still not certain if the driver that comes with the ATI 3870 isn't the same one that the current 2600 uses, which is part of Leopard.

On another note, just received mail with tracking numbers... my ATI card should be here tomorrow. Hopefully I will have a ROM image by the weekend.

 

[nanofrog]

Windows Vista 64 bit editions support UEFI 2.1. So it seems it will happen eventually. When is the real question.

Apple's current firmware is EFI 1.10 (but not entirely standard). So it could still be a sticky situation, due to multiple standards EFI, UEFI 2.0, and UEFI 2.1.

 

[Weaselboy]

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3857975

I thought I would add this in, too. I just got this in my order confirmation email... man it sucks being first sometimes:

Limited Time Offer:

If you have a friend or family member who would like to purchase an ATI Graphics Card, make sure you offer them coupon code '1439'. The coupon code can be used on the ATI Online Store and offers a 5% discount off any order over $149 dollars (excluding taxes and shipping). Visit http://shop.ati.com/ for the latest offers.

Thanks! I just ordered and it went thru just fine. The promo code saved me $11.00 also.

Gonna cancel my OWC order.