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Mac Pro (2008) Graphics Card Upgrade Advice

S

StarlightSun

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 8, 2015
29
17
Right now I'm running my 2x 2.8GHz Quad Mac Pro 3,1 with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB. Currently on OSX 10.9.5 with no issues. However, I can see myself upgrading to El Capitan or whatever comes after that eventually, and probably start to use some more image processing software (Pixelmator, Adobe cc etc) as well.

I'm not planning on doing graphic-intense things (like heavy video and 3D rendering, animation etc) but I'm thinking in terms of having the Mac more compatible with current and future applications, video resolutions/outputs etc: is there a current equivalent (or better) card to the ATI Radeon 2600 from 2008 that I could be looking at to upgrade it? Do I need to?

I'm not great with knowing which cards are best. From what I have read briefly is that Nvidia cards are probably a better option, but I'd rather ask for opinion from the macrumors community pros :) Any help and recommendations appreciated!
 
Perhaps you can have an idea from this thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-early-2008-graphics-card-upgrade.1912935/

I personally believe that a 5770 or 5870 or gtx680 (mac editions) will give you good compatibility and more than enough performance for your applications and of course boot screens, so I recommend them to you for more peace of mind. Also a newer card like gtx 970 will work but without boot screens and needs a web driver install from Nvidia, specific to every os x release.

Have in mind that there are some bottlenecs in 3,1 GPU performance, so you won't notice while using your applications, any significant improvement with a newer card than the 3 already mentioned.
Also another option is a sapphire 7950 mac edition.

Will you use a 4k monitor?
 
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Reactions: StarlightSun
filmak said:
Perhaps you can have an idea from this thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-early-2008-graphics-card-upgrade.1912935/

I personally believe that a 5770 or 5870 or gtx680 (mac editions) will give you good compatibility and more than enough performance for your applications and of course boot screens, so I recommend them to you for more peace of mind. Also a newer card like gtx 970 will work but without boot screens and needs a web driver install from Nvidia, specific to every os x release.

Have in mind that there are some bottlenecs in 3,1 GPU performance, so you won't notice while using your applications, any significant improvement with a newer card than the 3 already mentioned.
Also another option is a sapphire 7950 mac edition.

Will you use a 4k monitor?
Click to expand...

Thank you :) I have no plans for a 4k monitor.
 
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Reactions: TonyK
filmak said:
Perhaps you can have an idea from this thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-early-2008-graphics-card-upgrade.1912935/

I personally believe that a 5770 or 5870 or gtx680 (mac editions) will give you good compatibility and more than enough performance for your applications and of course boot screens, so I recommend them to you for more peace of mind. Also a newer card like gtx 970 will work but without boot screens and needs a web driver install from Nvidia, specific to every os x release.

Have in mind that there are some bottlenecs in 3,1 GPU performance, so you won't notice while using your applications, any significant improvement with a newer card than the 3 already mentioned.
Also another option is a sapphire 7950 mac edition.

Will you use a 4k monitor?
Click to expand...


Hi filmak, thank you for the info above. As I am in the same situation as StarlightSun, I got the early 2008 mac pro 2x2.8Ghz quad core(running on OS X 10.11.5), and I now bought a 4k TV, which offers both the 30 & 60hz through HDMI...and wanted to see which card should I get to use my TV fully, without having problem on the bootscreen....I use it mainly for video editing...your help would be appreciated. thanks!
 
lom2pac said:
Hi filmak, thank you for the info above. As I am in the same situation as StarlightSun, I got the early 2008 mac pro 2x2.8Ghz quad core(running on OS X 10.11.5), and I now bought a 4k TV, which offers both the 30 & 60hz through HDMI...and wanted to see which card should I get to use my TV fully, without having problem on the bootscreen....I use it mainly for video editing...your help would be appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
I just bought a Gigabyte R9 280x for my early 2008. It's flashed for Mac and has 4k capability. You can get the same card of this brand or other brands for around $250 on ebay with a buy it now listing, or bid on one and get it for under $200 as I did. If you do a buy it now be sure to read the description as some of the cards do not have HDMI (and maybe something else like 4k) functioning.
 
lom2pac said:
Hi filmak, thank you for the info above. As I am in the same situation as StarlightSun, I got the early 2008 mac pro 2x2.8Ghz quad core(running on OS X 10.11.5), and I now bought a 4k TV, which offers both the 30 & 60hz through HDMI...and wanted to see which card should I get to use my TV fully, without having problem on the bootscreen....I use it mainly for video editing...your help would be appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...

If you can work with 30hz, a GTX 680 will give boot screens via HDMI.
Or you can use it via MiniDisplayPort and add a MDP to HDMI adapter to get 60 Hz. (if your display can be recognized by your Mac correctly).

If you ever going to need the boot screen you can just swap ports (using a HDMI only cable).
[doublepost=1472128433][/doublepost]
lom2pac said:
Hi filmak, thank you for the info above. As I am in the same situation as StarlightSun, I got the early 2008 mac pro 2x2.8Ghz quad core(running on OS X 10.11.5), and I now bought a 4k TV, which offers both the 30 & 60hz through HDMI...and wanted to see which card should I get to use my TV fully, without having problem on the bootscreen....I use it mainly for video editing...your help would be appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Also see this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-mac-pro-2010-2012-5-1.1935713/#post-22210057
 
filmak said:
If you can work with 30hz, a GTX 680 will give boot screens via HDMI.
Or you can use it via MiniDisplayPort and add a MDP to HDMI adapter to get 60 Hz. (if your display can be recognized by your Mac correctly).

If you ever going to need the boot screen you can just swap ports (using a HDMI only cable).
[doublepost=1472128433][/doublepost]
Also see this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-mac-pro-2010-2012-5-1.1935713/#post-22210057
Click to expand...


Perfect! Thanks buddy. GTx680 it is. I won't be using the boot screen much, but just in case, I will use both the hdmi & the MiniDipslayPort ready to swap.

Thanks everyone for the help. Cheers!
 
filmak said:
If you can work with 30hz, a GTX 680 will give boot screens via HDMI.
Or you can use it via MiniDisplayPort and add a MDP to HDMI adapter to get 60 Hz. (if your display can be recognized by your Mac correctly).

If you ever going to need the boot screen you can just swap ports (using a HDMI only cable).
[doublepost=1472128433][/doublepost]
Also see this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-mac-pro-2010-2012-5-1.1935713/#post-22210057
Click to expand...


Perfect, I didn't know that there is the gtx680 for Mac, I will follow your advice
filmak said:
You 're welcome!:)
Click to expand...


One more thing, it seems there are many GTX 680 on the market...nVidia, Geforce, etc. Any one in particular I should go with ?
 
Hi all -

Is it possible to flash an evga gtx 680 (or 570) from a virtual box like Parallels running Windows 10? I'm currently running Sierra on a MacPro 3,1 and don't have an extra pc desktop lying around.

Thanks in advance.
 
pkouame said:
Hi all -

Is it possible to flash an evga gtx 680 (or 570) from a virtual box like Parallels running Windows 10? I'm currently running Sierra on a MacPro 3,1 and don't have an extra pc desktop lying around.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid not. Only from Boot Camp or a PC.
 
Still running a 2600 in my 3,1. Not the original though as that died and was replaced by Apple under warranty. So sometime before 2010 it was replaced.

Keep checking out MacFidCards but have some difficulty finding what I want for a good price point.
 
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