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ATI XT 2600 PC to MAC
- Thread starter thedude69
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I would call this a possible. The problem as you say is finding a suitable ROM for it and dealing with the possible differences in hardware between the versions. Those include in a listing without a claim for completeness:
1. Size of the EEPROM where Mac chips tend to be bigger and thus prevent Mac Rom files to be loaded to PC card EEPROMs.
2. Matching the amount and exact type of memory.
3. Speed settings in memory and GPU
If you overcome all these obstacles and manage to flash your 15$ PC card you may find that it is looking pretty old by now against such HD capable contenders as the HD3870 Mac&PC Edititon or the mighty HD4870.
IMHO X1900 and X2600 are outdated on a Mac Pro today and should be replaced. Many people think that those GPUs were unhappy ATI designs when ATI fell way behind Nvidia and suffered an uncompetitive period. They came back roaring with the HD3000 and HD4000 series and my advise is to go for these cards. I use a 3870 Mac&PC and could not be happier. It is a nice allround performer with low power requirement and a decent 200$ price tag when compared with usual
prices. The 4870 is basically on the same size of memory but has 's official blessing and is holding the crown in Pro apps performance. It costs twice the price of the 3870.
1. Size of the EEPROM where Mac chips tend to be bigger and thus prevent Mac Rom files to be loaded to PC card EEPROMs.
2. Matching the amount and exact type of memory.
3. Speed settings in memory and GPU
If you overcome all these obstacles and manage to flash your 15$ PC card you may find that it is looking pretty old by now against such HD capable contenders as the HD3870 Mac&PC Edititon or the mighty HD4870.
IMHO X1900 and X2600 are outdated on a Mac Pro today and should be replaced. Many people think that those GPUs were unhappy ATI designs when ATI fell way behind Nvidia and suffered an uncompetitive period. They came back roaring with the HD3000 and HD4000 series and my advise is to go for these cards. I use a 3870 Mac&PC and could not be happier. It is a nice allround performer with low power requirement and a decent 200$ price tag when compared with usual
prices. The 4870 is basically on the same size of memory but has 's official blessing and is holding the crown in Pro apps performance. It costs twice the price of the 3870.sounds interessting with the 3870 also cause nowadays it´s not that expensive anymore 
have read some posts dealing with the flash of this card but couldnt find anything about the modells that come with the needed 128K rom ?
maybe somebody knows which versions can be flashed ?
have read some posts dealing with the flash of this card but couldnt find anything about the modells that come with the needed 128K rom ? maybe somebody knows which versions can be flashed ?
I worked some weeks on that issue. I snapped up a PC&Mac edition cheap on swiss Ebay and analysed the card. It looked to all intends and purposes identical to a Sapphire HD3870 with blue PCB and 512 MB RAM. It turned out to have a 128K EEPROM though. I had the 64K one on the Sapphire replaced with a 128K and got the ROM file flashed on the card. It was a nice PC card with big EEPROM but didn't want to work in OS X. The PCI recognition failed in the first time and so it never went up as a functioning graphics device.
Rominator seems to know a bit more about it. I eventually sold it on Ebay as a PC card and it is probably doing its work happily now somewhere with Windows. So my advise is to stay away from flashing those cards unless you find out what trickery they applied.
If you consider an original with 1 slot fan I would buy another cooling unit because the stock fan and base plate is pure manure. The fan exhaust sits ass to face on the card and blows against the direction of the Mac Pro fans. There are no heat pipes to the base cooling plate and the tiny fan needs to rev like a Ferrari F1 in Monza to keep things cool. A 19$ Akasa Vortexx Neo will fix all these issues in 30 minutes and give you a beautifully silent, performant and cool Mac pro.
Rominator seems to know a bit more about it. I eventually sold it on Ebay as a PC card and it is probably doing its work happily now somewhere with Windows. So my advise is to stay away from flashing those cards unless you find out what trickery they applied.
If you consider an original with 1 slot fan I would buy another cooling unit because the stock fan and base plate is pure manure. The fan exhaust sits ass to face on the card and blows against the direction of the Mac Pro fans. There are no heat pipes to the base cooling plate and the tiny fan needs to rev like a Ferrari F1 in Monza to keep things cool. A 19$ Akasa Vortexx Neo will fix all these issues in 30 minutes and give you a beautifully silent, performant and cool Mac pro.
i see if possible i would like to avoid the smd soldering.have done it several times but if the buying price of the card isnt quite cheap the risk is to high that the card will be damaged.easy would be to flash the 2600xt but what i have read problem seems to be similar as with the 3870.different rom size and not fully working.if price of the gtx285 will drop down this could be a very good alternative.
if possible i would like to avoid the smd soldering.have done it several times but if the buying price of the card isnt quite cheap the risk is to high that the card will be damaged.easy would be to flash the 2600xt but what i have read problem seems to be similar as with the 3870.different rom size and not fully working.if price of the gtx285 will drop down this could be a very good alternative.