Best Video Card for 2009 Mac Pro, CS6 & Windows

[RT Wolf]

Hi there,

I've tried sifting through the threads on this but seem to be getting more confused.

I've two 2009 dual-proc Mac Pros mostly used for video editing. I'd like to know which is the best card for me in this scenerio:

One of the machines is going to be turned into windows only (Mac OS will be installed, just not used) and the other will likely be dual boot or Mac only. I know I've to upgrade to Mountain Lion to make these work and hope future OSes don't break support. In windows, CS6 is being used. On mac FCP6/7 & CS4 are being used.

What's the best card for these computers? GTX 570 or GTX 680? I saw some folks saying 680 is actually worse performance for video editing, better for gaming. Can you give an approximate percentage difference in performance?

I've refit installed. When I read "no boot screen", does that mean refit won't show up either? Not a problem long as I can make windows default.

Also, I saw some benchmarks here: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15482383/
showing that if I just buy a stock PC card, it won't get the whole performance so I should buy it from macvidcards? Or can I just buy a regular one and get full performance? Does this issue only apply in Mac OS or Windows, toO?

I'll have the stock cards left over, I think its a GT120 with 512MB. I'm not sure, but it seemed like I could install the new card and keep in the old card too. Will there be a performance boost for doing so? Will I need more power? Will this work in Windows?

It seemed like someone said I had to get some sort of power adapter for these cards if I buy a PC card? Looks like it's included with macvidcards' cards.

I googled, hoping to find a step-by-step guide but haven't been able to yet. Could really use one...

Thanks in advance!

 

[RT Wolf]

The act of writing out the questions seems to helped find the answers when I went through the threads again.

Hi there,

I've tried sifting through the threads on this but seem to be getting more confused.

I've two 2009 dual-proc Mac Pros mostly used for video editing. I'd like to know which is the best card for me in this scenerio:

One of the machines is going to be turned into windows only (Mac OS will be installed, just not used) and the other will likely be dual boot or Mac only. I know I've to upgrade to Mountain Lion to make these work and hope future OSes don't break support. In windows, CS6 is being used. On mac FCP6/7 & CS4 are being used.

What's the best card for these computers? GTX 570 or GTX 680? I saw some folks saying 680 is actually worse performance for video editing, better for gaming. Can you give an approximate percentage difference in performance?

Hard to tell. Varying opinions and factors. MacVidCards said the 680 isn't much better for video purposes and the 570 is a better deal right now. However, the 680 is more future-proofed and could be sent into MVC when they crack that rom.

On paper 680's faster but it's limited to PCIe1 while the 570 uses PCIe2. My guess? They're approximately the same and for me, will cost about the same. 600 for 680, Mid-500 for 570 from MVC. Either will be a big increase for me from the GT120 so I'm getting two of these:

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74618&vpn=N680GTX Twin Frozr 4GD5/OC&manufacture=MSI/MicroStar

I've refit installed. When I read "no boot screen", does that mean refit won't show up either? Not a problem long as I can make windows default.

Prolly won't show up. Making windows default is easy.

Also, I saw some benchmarks here: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15482383/
showing that if I just buy a stock PC card, it won't get the whole performance so I should buy it from macvidcards? Or can I just buy a regular one and get full performance? Does this issue only apply in Mac OS or Windows, toO?

Yes, won't get whole performance. For stock 570 to MVC 570, there may be as large as 10% hit. Unclear what the difference for 680 would be. Prolly more if the card's more powerful because they both get limited down to PCIe1.

Also applies in Windows.

Additionally, the 680's mac drivers aren't up to snuff yet but windows drivers are. I may buy the two but hold off on putting the one in the dual boot machine until better drivers come about.

I'll have the stock cards left over, I think its a GT120 with 512MB. I'm not sure, but it seemed like I could install the new card and keep in the old card too. Will there be a performance boost for doing so? Will I need more power? Will this work in Windows?

This is also unclear. Most times its been asked, it's been ignored or dodged. One person did some benchmark comparisons and found keeping the GT120 in there reduced performance for one or two tasks but generally didn't hurt. I'll just have to do my own tests.

No, no additional power is needed.
Seems to work in windows fine.

It seemed like someone said I had to get some sort of power adapter for these cards if I buy a PC card? Looks like it's included with macvidcards' cards.

I googled, hoping to find a step-by-step guide but haven't been able to yet. Could really use one...

Thanks in advance!

Those are easy to find by googling "mac pro video card cable". I'm unclear about how many I have in the computer already so I'll check later to see how many I've to order.

Thanks to everyone for all their work! Much appreciated and I'm looking forward to saving hundreds of dollars for better performance!

 

[DanielCoffey]

Remember that BootChamp (donationware) is a good option for switching from OSX to Windows on demand without needing the boot screen.

 

[RT Wolf]

Remember that BootChamp (donationware) is a good option for switching from OSX to Windows on demand without needing the boot screen.

Thanks!