Mac Pro graphics upgrade question

[JoshH]

Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade the stock 7300 GT graphics card in my Mac Pro. I work in Motion, and am looking forward to the GPU driven filters in the new Final Cut Pro...

I was wondering what is the best path for upgrading? I can't go with the Quadro FX 4500 due to price, so is it best to replace my existing card with a single ATI x1900 XT, or add multiple 7300 GT's? Maybe two or three?

Or is there something on the horizon that I need to wait on?

Thanks!
Josh

 

[Pressure]

Currently the best option is the Radeon X1900XT but we may get the Radeon HD 2900XTX as a BTO option by June 11th.

 

[JoshH]

Currently the best option is the Radeon X1900XT but we may get the Radeon HD 2900XTX as a BTO option by June 11th.

Thanks... so avoid multiple cards and go with just one?

 

[apfhex]

The 7300 in the MP can't work in SLI, so there's no point in multiple cards unless you want 6 monitors attached...

 

[zero2dash]

NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT | ATI Radeon X1900 XT | NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
Memory interface 128-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit
Frame buffer memory 256MB GDDR2 SDRAM | 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM | 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM
Memory bandwidth 10.7GB/s | 41.6GB/s | 33.6GB/s
Vertices per second 350 million | 1.2 billion | 940 million
Fill rate (billion pixels per second) 2.8 billion | 9.6 billion | 10.8 billion
Ports One single-link and one dual-link DVI | Two dual-link DVI | Two dual-link DVI, one stereo 3D
Slots occupied One standard slot | One double-wide slot | One double-wide slot

http://www.apple.com/macpro/graphics.html

The 7300 is very weak in comparison to the X1900.

1/2 the interface
1/2 the memory *and slower* (GDDR2 v GDDR3)
1/4 the memory bandwidth
1/4 the vps
1/4 fillrate

I'm surprised the X1900 isn't stock...maybe it will be once they update their options. The 7300 is a weak card. Hell I'd take the X1900 over the Quadro too.

 

[Eric5h5]

I'm surprised the X1900 isn't stock...maybe it will be once they update their options. The 7300 is a weak card.

A lot of people just want to crunch numbers, and don't care about 3D. The X1900 costs more and uses more power, hence the reason why it's not stock. If you need it, upgrade to it. That's the cool thing about towers.

--Eric

 

[zero2dash]

A lot of people just want to crunch numbers, and don't care about 3D. The X1900 costs more and uses more power, hence the reason why it's not stock. If you need it, upgrade to it. That's the cool thing about towers.

--Eric

Yeah, I originally was going to keep the 7300 when I get a Mac Pro but since my wife will occasionally play Sims 2 (and Sims 3 whenever it's released) and I'd like a little more power for Illustrator/Photoshop available...I'll get the X1900.

But I agree, for most normal users the 7300 would be a fine card. I can't help but believe though...most 'pro' users require more so you'd think they'd have more options there and (again) the X1900 would be the stock option. But I agree with what you say though.

 

[JoshH]

The 7300 in the MP can't work in SLI, so there's no point in multiple cards unless you want 6 monitors attached...

Oh... ha! I didn't know. Thanks!

 

[gloss]

What I don't understand is why Apple isn't offering one of NVidia's high-end cards, as they completely destroy even ATI's very best (the 2900XTX) out of the water in benchmarks.

Hm.

 

[Umbongo]

What I don't understand is why Apple isn't offering one of NVidia's high-end cards, as they completely destroy even ATI's very best (the 2900XTX) out of the water in benchmarks.

Hm.

Because the cards came out after the Mac Pro was released and Apple don't seem to like doing upgrades like that. Also while more powerful they wouldn't have sold in huge numbers and mainly to gamers, who let's be honest most of which don't need it, just want it. I'm sure if Apple could have made a good certain profit on them they would have, but obviously it wasn't in their interest. In addition the 2900XT beats the GTS which is it's equivlant, and the 2900XTX numbers can safely be ignored as it is highly unliklely dailytech had anything close to a retail card (no gddr4). Apple are unlikely to ever play the gamermarket GPU upgrade game. They will likely just upgrade the GPUs with whatever is best in performance, power usage, noise and heat (likely the best range but second best card) whent hey redo mac pros.