Mac Pro Vid Card Upgrade Help !

[Edd.Dantes]

So... it has taken me over a year to upgrade my card


I got my Mac Pro last October. It has the 7300 GT (crap card).


I have limped along with it because I try to spend money on other goodies



Now I need to buy myself a Christmas present.


Which card do I need ? Price under $500.00


Anything new in the Nvidia pipe that should make me wait ?


Which 8800 card should I get ?


I run Parallels ( Solidworks, etc. ), Photoshop OS X on occasion and XP Pro under boot camp ( COD 4 ).


So I need a fast card but not bleeding edge...


I'm also concerned about Leopard support for Nvidia graphics cards ?


I am not very happy with Leopard (very buggy for me), so I want to make sure the card is compatible ( real life experience, not "it should be" ).



If you have a Mac Pro and are running any kind of 8800 & Leopard, please tell me how it runs for you.


TIA !!!

 

[trainguy77]

The only supported cards are the x1900xt (from apples online store unless you flash it) the 7300 or Quadro FX 4500 (also from apple) but new mac pros are coming soon some people suspect new graphics cards will come as well. I suspect they will work with the current mac pros.

O and please don't double space your posts.....

 

[Edd.Dantes]

The only supported cards are the x1900xt (from apples online store unless you flash it) the 7300 or Quadro FX 4500 (also from apple) but new mac pros are coming soon some people suspect new graphics cards will come as well. I suspect they will work with the current mac pros.

O and please don't double space your posts.....

No


double


spacing,


got it !



So, you are telling me that I am "stuck" with a crap card for now ? Or that I will just be rolling the dice for reliability if I buy an 8800 ?

I refuse to buy those old, dead, cards they "support". This is why I am hoping some Mac Pro users, with 8800's, will chime in and give me a rundown.

I mean how many print drivers are included in OS X..... There should be at least the same number of graphics drivers, and, or support.

I will likely just roll the dice and hope it works.... else I incur the 15% restocking fee

 

[trainguy77]

So, you are telling me that I am "stuck" with a crap card for now ? Or that I will just be rolling the dice for reliability if I buy an 8800 ?

I refuse to buy those old, dead, cards they "support". This is why I am hoping some Mac Pro users, with 8800's, will chime in and give me a rundown.

I mean how many print drivers are included in OS X..... There should be at least the same number of graphics drivers, and, or support.

I will likely just roll the dice and hope it works.... else I incur the 15% restocking fee

Well you also need cards that have the firmware to support EFI. That is the main problem. Which is why the x1900 PC version has to be flashed even though there is drivers. The 8800 will work in windows for sure. But i am almost certain it won't work under Mac OS X. So the x1900 is your other option...or wait. You could buy a PC x1900 which is cheaper and flash it if your daring.

 

[yeroen]

Sorry, but the only cards you can run in a Mac Pro are the 7300, X1900, or Quadro FX. A video card compatible with the Mac Pro has to have EFI firmware and Apple drivers...So no 8800, unless you turn your Mac Pro into a PC.

The only aftermarket upgrade available is the X1900. The Quadro is BTO only, unless someone sells theirs on ebay.

The rumor is that the Mac Pro's are soon to be updated, probably in January, hopefully with new graphics cards. I'd hold off on an upgrade until then.