ATI FireGL V5600 in 1,1 Mac Pro?

[juanm]

Hi

I'm getting into Maya 2009 on Windows XP Pro. One of the qualified graphic cards is the ATI FireGL V5600, and it just happens that I have the opportunity to grab a cheap used one. The performance of this card is said to be very good on Maya (better than any Quadro FX I can afford, anyway)

I want to know if I could put it along with my current card in my 1,1 Mac Pro and use it when I'm on Windows...

I already have the original ATI X1900XT that came with the Mac Pro.

Cheers!

 

[Cindori]

yes.

 

[juanm]

Wow, Cindori himself answering my questions!
How does it work, then, when I boot and press Alt to get into Boot Camp? Will the displays have to be connected to the X1900XT to display the OS selection screen, or will it recognize the V5600 at that stage? Dumb question, I know, it's just that I have no idea, I've never fiddled with graphic cards in my Mac...

Also, what would be the best configuration for that?

1st Slot -- eSata extender
2nd Slot --
3rd Slot -- V5600?
4th Slot (double width) -- X1900XT?

 

[Cindori]

Wow, Cindori himself answering my questions!

I feel legendary!

How does it work, then, when I boot and press Alt to get into Boot Camp? Will the displays have to be connected to the X1900XT to display the OS selection screen, or will it recognize the V5600 at that stage? Dumb question, I know, it's just that I have no idea, I've never fiddled with graphic cards in my Mac...

boot screen will only show on the x1900. but you can set Windows as startup disk in OSX to skip the bootscreen and alt button.

Also, what would be the best configuration for that?
1st Slot -- eSata extender
2nd Slot --
3rd Slot -- V5600?
4th Slot (double width) -- X1900XT?

I don't know how you count the slots. the bottom one is slot 1.

Open terminal and copy + enter this line:

open '/System/Library/CoreServices/Expansion Slot Utility.app'

that will give you an idea about the slot speeds.
as for 8x vs 16x. I don't think the x1900 is powerful enough to lose performance in 8x. since you're looking for power in the Firepro, set that in the 16x slot. the esata will prob run fine 4x.

 

[juanm]

Thanks, mate, that's all I wanted to know! I appreciate it!