Four Monitors with 2008 Mac Pro, Which GFX Cards?

[wheelerc]

Hi,

I have a 2008 Mac Pro with a Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT in it. I'm currently running two Dell 24" monitors (at 1920x1080) and I'm looking to add two Dell 21" Monitors to the setup (at 1600x1050).

Do I need to purchase an identical GeForce 8800 GT or can I run a different card for the second paid of monitors?

I'm also planning on running Windows 7 via BootCamp with the same four monitors - are there any potential problems with this?

I'm also having trouble locating Mac specific graphics cards, are there any recommended retailers? Or will I be OK with a 'normal' PCIE graphics card? I'm in the UK btw.

Thanks,

- Chris

 

[Techhie]

Hi,

I have a 2008 Mac Pro with a Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT in it. I'm currently running two Dell 24" monitors (at 1920x1080) and I'm looking to add two Dell 21" Monitors to the setup (at 1600x1050).

Do I need to purchase an identical GeForce 8800 GT or can I run a different card for the second paid of monitors?

I'm also planning on running Windows 7 via BootCamp with the same four monitors - are there any potential problems with this?

I'm also having trouble locating Mac specific graphics cards, are there any recommended retailers? Or will I be OK with a 'normal' PCIE graphics card? I'm in the UK btw.

Thanks,

- Chris

The second 8800 GT should work fine, however it must be a version compatible with your Mac Pro (meaning it has special extra hardware). A regular PC card will not boot unaltered.

 

[wheelerc]

Hi Techie,

Thanks for your reply - Will the 'Special' 8800GT still function as a regular 8800GT under Windows 7/BootCamp?

(I've not used BootCamp before, sorry if that a newbie question!)

Thanks,

- Chris

 

[Techhie]

Hi Techie,

Thanks for your reply - Will the 'Special' 8800GT still function as a regular 8800GT under Windows 7/BootCamp?

(I've not used BootCamp before, sorry if that a newbie question!)

Thanks,

- Chris

yes, the only difference if the a chip soldered to the card that allows for a colored/full res boot sequence prior to drivers loading into the kernel. The boot camp drivers will work fine.

 

[nanofrog]

Hi Techie,

Thanks for your reply - Will the 'Special' 8800GT still function as a regular 8800GT under Windows 7/BootCamp?

(I've not used BootCamp before, sorry if that a newbie question!)

Thanks,

- Chris

Yes. The BIOS emulation in the firmware will allow it to boot under a Windows installation (basically converts EFI to BIOS so Windows will see it).