Flash 5870

[s.m.t.]

Looking for some info on flashing a 5870 with an EFI rom. I see references here of people doing it, but no dedicated thread like there was for the 4870 and 4890.

What is the best card to buy, where do you get the roms, and what are the gotchya's?

 

[gullySn0wCat]

Looking for some info on flashing a 5870 with an EFI rom. I see references here of people doing it, but no dedicated thread like there was for the 4870 and 4890.

What is the best card to buy, where do you get the roms, and what are the gotchya's?

You can make your own ROM so pretty much any card is supported:
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,692.0.html

Once you have your rom, burn it to a CD with atiflash.exe and follow this:
http://gullycat.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/flashing-rom-on-a-non-apple-graphics-card-2006-mac-pro-11/

It should then work fine. The only gotcha is you will have no EFI bootscreen, so it's a good idea to keep a Mac card around in case of emergencies.

 

[s.m.t.]

Ok, I will read through those, thanks for the info... I still have my stock gt120, so that's no big deal... I should be able to keep it in the MP and switch the cable if needed, correct?

Also if I go this route, I should have to worry about compatibility with future OS X updates, correct? That is one of the things I don't like about my flashed 4890, I have to wait for patches before taking major updates...

 

[gullySn0wCat]

Ok, I will read through those, thanks for the info... I still have my stock gt120, so that's no big deal... I should be able to keep it in the MP and switch the cable if needed, correct?

Also if I go this route, I should have to worry about compatibility with future OS X updates, correct? That is one of the things I don't like about my flashed 4890, I have to wait for patches before taking major updates...

A. Yes (AFAIK, don't switch it "hot" lol)

B. I haven't heard of anyone (including myself) having problems updating from 10.6.4 - 10.6.5 -10.6.6. You won't be able to run your card on any version of OSX lower than 10.6.4 (with Snow Leopard Graphics Upgrade)

10.7, who knows?

 

[s.m.t.]

A. Yes (AFAIK, don't switch it "hot" lol)

B. I haven't heard of anyone (including myself) having problems updating from 10.6.4 - 10.6.5 -10.6.6. You won't be able to run your card on any version of OSX lower than 10.6.4 (with Snow Leopard Graphics Upgrade)

10.7, who knows?

I just meant, the flashed 5870 should be no different than the official Apple version, except the no boot screen. Right?

 

[goMac]

I just meant, the flashed 5870 should be no different than the official Apple version, except the no boot screen. Right?

Depends what Apple decides to change in OS updates.