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Buying a Video Card - Need Help

I've got a XFX 4870 in my Mac Pro - took 30 minutes to flash it, and it's been working perfectly ever since. I have honestly not had one single issue with it, so I really don't know where all this 'hassle' talk is coming from.

Also it has 2 DVI sockets, not one and a crappy Mini Display Connector. Admitedly, the second one is single link, but that's only what you'd get from the Apple one if you used an adaptor. It's also fine so long as you don't want to run 2 30" monitors. I run 2 x Dell 20" monitor, and both screens have worked brilliantly since installation.

My vote would be for a flashed 4870 - just make sure to get the XFX 'reference' model listed in the flashing tut - the other brands have had issues. I would also steer clear of the 4890, as compatibility with OSX is patchy at best (ie only one DVI working). The drivers in OSX 10.5.7 are for the 4870, not 4890, so issues are to be expected.
 
I'm stoked that it worked for you. Most of the time, the collective mac rumors' knowledge is greater than those Apple employees who get paid to toe the company line, i swear.
 
Sumimasen said:
I've got a XFX 4870 in my Mac Pro - took 30 minutes to flash it, and it's been working perfectly ever since. I have honestly not had one single issue with it, so I really don't know where all this 'hassle' talk is coming from.

Also it has 2 DVI sockets, not one and a crappy Mini Display Connector. Admitedly, the second one is single link, but that's only what you'd get from the Apple one if you used an adaptor. It's also fine so long as you don't want to run 2 30" monitors. I run 2 x Dell 20" monitor, and both screens have worked brilliantly since installation.

My vote would be for a flashed 4870 - just make sure to get the XFX 'reference' model listed in the flashing tut - the other brands have had issues. I would also steer clear of the 4890, as compatibility with OSX is patchy at best (ie only one DVI working). The drivers in OSX 10.5.7 are for the 4870, not 4890, so issues are to be expected.
Click to expand...

I have been one of those talking about the "hassle", and it comes from reading the thread about flashing the card. I'm not saying that everyone is having problems, but that the degree to which certain people are experiencing hassles is more than I wanted to deal with. That's awesome that it's working for you.
 
Sumimasen said:
I've got a XFX 4870 in my Mac Pro - took 30 minutes to flash it, and it's been working perfectly ever since. I have honestly not had one single issue with it, so I really don't know where all this 'hassle' talk is coming from.

Also it has 2 DVI sockets, not one and a crappy Mini Display Connector. Admitedly, the second one is single link, but that's only what you'd get from the Apple one if you used an adaptor. It's also fine so long as you don't want to run 2 30" monitors. I run 2 x Dell 20" monitor, and both screens have worked brilliantly since installation.

My vote would be for a flashed 4870 - just make sure to get the XFX 'reference' model listed in the flashing tut - the other brands have had issues. I would also steer clear of the 4890, as compatibility with OSX is patchy at best (ie only one DVI working). The drivers in OSX 10.5.7 are for the 4870, not 4890, so issues are to be expected.
Click to expand...

Could you post some benchmarks? I have the apple card and want to see if it's worth the 1gb upgrade. If so, I'll try to sell off my card.

Thanks :)
 
In our oft used OpenGl benchmark, I noted the XFX scoring around 465 in first test while APple 4870 did 445. Hardly a huge difference but not sure that test gets use from the extra RAM, just the marginally higher clocks.

Best would be a game benchmark with textures, etc turned to MAX. I have been having trouble getting Crysis benchmark to be consistent and I will be too busy to bother for anpother week I am afraid.
 
Zokim said:
Could you post some benchmarks? I have the apple card and want to see if it's worth the 1gb upgrade. If so, I'll try to sell off my card.

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Here you go:

XFX48701GB.jpg


This test was done with the multiple cubes OGL test, and please note the monitor resolution - that's as high as mine will go, being 20". Also I'm running an 8 core 2.1 Mac Pro from 2007, so I only have a 2.5 PCI link speed (which is all I would get with a flashed card regardless of mac model).

I just picked up 'Lost Planet Colonies' for Windows last weekend and it has a really nice hardware test mode in the main menu - shame not many people have this game as it would be a good benchmarking tool! :)
 
So it looks like I'll be throwing caution to the wind and picking up the PC 4870 with 1 GB VRAM.

I'd rather not flash the card, since I don't want to deal with the hassle of Windows, so can I use the netkas injector to run the 4870?

This will also prevent modifying the actual card, if I want to sell it some time down the road, right?

As soon as I'm clear on the use of the Netkas injector, I'm gonna buy the card. I'll let everyone know how it goes...
 
Harry322 said:
So it looks like I'll be throwing caution to the wind and picking up the PC 4870 with 1 GB VRAM.

I'd rather not flash the card, since I don't want to deal with the hassle of Windows, so can I use the netkas injector to run the 4870?

This will also prevent modifying the actual card, if I want to sell it some time down the road, right?

As soon as I'm clear on the use of the Netkas injector, I'm gonna buy the card. I'll let everyone know how it goes...
Click to expand...

Don't use the injector, just flash the card then you never have to worry about it again, first of all you don't need windows to create the iso, i did it in OS X, second of all if you buy the XFX 4870 I can send you the premade iso that has the rom on it that you need to flash it, all you have to do is burn it, boot from it, follow the directions, itll take less than 15 minutes, and you never have to worry about it again.

Andrew
 
Andrew Henry said:
Don't use the injector, just flash the card then you never have to worry about it again, first of all you don't need windows to create the iso, i did it in OS X, second of all if you buy the XFX 4870 I can send you the premade iso that has the rom on it that you need to flash it, all you have to do is burn it, boot from it, follow the directions, itll take less than 15 minutes, and you never have to worry about it again.

Andrew
Click to expand...

Andrew, that would be amazing of you! I was going to pick up a 1GB XFX 4870. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

And I need two cables, which I can hopefully order from newegg too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706013
I would just use these cables without the extra +2 pin connector, right?

I understand correctly, the Mac Pro will see it as just another OEM 4870, but with double the RAM. And if you could send me that .iso, I'd be forever grateful!

Thanks so much to everyone that helped!
 
Harry322 said:
Andrew, that would be amazing of you! I was going to pick up a 1GB XFX 4870. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

And I need two cables, which I can hopefully order from newegg too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706013
I would just use these cables without the extra +2 pin connector, right?

I understand correctly, the Mac Pro will see it as just another OEM 4870, but with double the RAM. And if you could send me that .iso, I'd be forever grateful!

Thanks so much to everyone that helped!
Click to expand...

That's the exact card that I used, yes it's supported 100%, I've used it for the last couple of months, PM me your e-mail or maybe I'll just upload it to my webserver, just send me a PM.

-Andrew
 
Sumimasen said:
Here you go:

XFX48701GB.jpg


This test was done with the multiple cubes OGL test, and please note the monitor resolution - that's as high as mine will go, being 20". Also I'm running an 8 core 2.1 Mac Pro from 2007, so I only have a 2.5 PCI link speed (which is all I would get with a flashed card regardless of mac model).

I just picked up 'Lost Planet Colonies' for Windows last weekend and it has a really nice hardware test mode in the main menu - shame not many people have this game as it would be a good benchmarking tool! :)
Click to expand...

Where can you download that benchmarking tool at?
 
Apple Radeon 4870 in First Gen Mac Pro

I've been following the discussions here about upgrading from a 7300 to a 4870 on a first gen (1,1 2x2.66) MacPro that I use for video editing, digital photography, and some music composition. Based on some very solid information found here, and checking the Apple install instructions, I was convinced the card would work fine in my MP.

Having built a bunch of custom PCs for video editing in labs that I run at a Boston area college, and finally switching to Macs a few years ago, I've become a "purist" and decided to go with the Apple version of the 4870. Even though it was more expensive, it's worth it to me to pop it in right out of the box, with the correct power connecters, and have it work. Also my sense is that I have a better shot at the card working with Snow Leopard.

No surprises here. The card performs flawlessly, quietly, and is -- both by bench test and in real world use -- a huge improvement over my original 7300.

For comparison's sake, in OpenGL Extensions Viewer tests, running my 30" Cinema Display at its native mode (2560x1600), I'm getting mid-to-high 400 FPS results on Tests 1.1 - 2.0. Note that the times are directly related to the high res native setting of the display. Lower res settings yield much faster results.

In real-world terms, I'm able to multiclip six tracks (for a jazz video I'm producing) in realtime with no dropped frames. Also rendering corrections in Color is significantly (at least two to three times) faster. For my purposes, the 4870 is everything I need.

So thanks to everyone for your input. Hope this helps others who are thinking about going this route.
 
I'm using a Samsung 46" LCD HDTV with local dimming LED technology for my video experience. Unfortunately it requires a VGA 1920x1080@59,9 Hz input for 1:1 pixel mapping. It gives unbelievable video quality at that setting but I cannot get the XFX 4870 to run the VGA signal. So I have fallen back on the ATI HD 3870 Mac&PC Edition with the modification of a two slot cooler. The card is fine for my needs and it draws less power. So I can recommend it as a replacement for those who used x1900XTs. It is vastly superior to the 1900.
 
Stevieboston said:
I've been following the discussions here about upgrading from a 7300 to a 4870 on a first gen (1,1 2x2.66) MacPro that I use for video editing, digital photography, and some music composition. Based on some very solid information found here, and checking the Apple install instructions, I was convinced the card would work fine in my MP.

Having built a bunch of custom PCs for video editing in labs that I run at a Boston area college, and finally switching to Macs a few years ago, I've become a "purist" and decided to go with the Apple version of the 4870. Even though it was more expensive, it's worth it to me to pop it in right out of the box, with the correct power connecters, and have it work. Also my sense is that I have a better shot at the card working with Snow Leopard.

No surprises here. The card performs flawlessly, quietly, and is -- both by bench test and in real world use -- a huge improvement over my original 7300.

For comparison's sake, in OpenGL Extensions Viewer tests, running my 30" Cinema Display at its native mode (2560x1600), I'm getting mid-to-high 400 FPS results on Tests 1.1 - 2.0. Note that the times are directly related to the high res native setting of the display. Lower res settings yield much faster results.

In real-world terms, I'm able to multiclip six tracks (for a jazz video I'm producing) in realtime with no dropped frames. Also rendering corrections in Color is significantly (at least two to three times) faster. For my purposes, the 4870 is everything I need.

So thanks to everyone for your input. Hope this helps others who are thinking about going this route.
Click to expand...

It's great to hear your feedback - especially while I anxiously await the arrival of a brand new 4870 to replace my aging 7300 on a 1,1 2x2.66.

I went the Flashed PC version route, and with the help of people like Bozz and Andrew Henry, I am confident I can get this thing running on my system without too much trouble. I use my Mac Pro for the same things you do, Stevie, so I'm excited for the performance boost especially in FCP. I can only hope the 1GB of VRAM on the PC version comes in handy...

Congrats on your new card and thanks for sharing your success story!
 
Sumimasen said:
Also it has 2 DVI sockets, not one and a crappy Mini Display Connector.
Click to expand...
The Mini DP is great; I connect a Dell 3008WFP to my Mac ed 4870 using an MDP to DP cable. DP is packet based, so in the future it permits hooking up additional displays by daisy chaining, up to the bandwidth limit of the single port. Far more versatile than DVI-DL. I wish it had two MDP ports instead MDP+DVI.
 
Two more items to report re: the Apple Radeon 4870 in my First Gen (1,1 2x2.66) MacPro, running OSX 10.5.7.

1/A concern was voiced in this thread about the 4870's OpenGL operations, specifically with Photoshop CS4.

At least in my MP, CS4 identifies the 4870 properly and offers total OpenGL functionality. Go to Photoshop>Preferences>Performance in order to access the GPU Settings.

2/ I've noticed no heat, noise or power issues. The side of the box where the 4870 is seated feels like room temperature to the touch.
 
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