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A few further questions:

- I see the 8800GT on the Apple store but not the 3870, not to mention, you can configure a new MP from the store with the 8800 but not the 3870. Why is that? Does apple have better support (driver wise) for one or the other?

- Would the 8800GT also have the same problem as the 3870 where you can't re-install Leopard?

- I really dislike how the 3870 vents the card's heat right back into the case. Is it possible to use aftermarket coolers that are available for the PC version of this card or are they too different?

3870 isn't officially offered by Apple, it's only a third-party option. Just as the 8800GT isn't officially available from anyone but Apple.

8800GT with a NEW machine will have the proper drivers on the restore disk.
 
Cool, looks like a great resource. Again, your highness, forgive me for taking part in your discussion.

It's not for my benefit, YOU get an answer faster if you search for it instead of waiting for someone to post. Pretty much any question your or I can think of has already been asked and answered. But if not, be the first to ask the question!
 
What I don't understand is why sometimes the fan on my 9800 is spinning very fast whilst in leopard and sometimes it's inaudible?

Earlier tonight I played Far Cry 2 for about an hour, the card got very warm and the fan was spinning fast trying to keep it cool, although due to the poor airflow design which sucks air into the fan opening and then out through the heatsink of the card and into the centre of the case where it gets pushed back towards the card by the front case fan I'm not surprised it was struggling to stay cool!

I exited the game and the fan slowed down to a very quiet level within a minute or two, I then selected the 'restart in Mac' from the bootcamp shortcut and the fan on the card stayed quiet! in fact it was inaudible until I put the Mac to sleep and when it woke up the fan revved up to full speed.

Why does the fan sometimes spin (and make alot of noise) and sometimes not? I wish I knew how to reliably recreate this effect!

This does prove though that noisy graphics card fans on 'non-mac' cards can be made to operate quietly whilst booted into OS X, but I don't know how or why!
 
I decided to go for a silent cooler for my 9800gt card as I found the fan noise too annoying.

I've fitted the Arctic Cooling Accelero passive cooler and all seems ok so far, the cooler does get very warm but after moving the original 7300 card to the very top slot and removing all the PCI blanking plates the heat from the cooler seems to be exiting the case ok.

Click the link below to see the pictures!

http://www.box.net/shared/0kcgk8sdck
 
Display Cards for late 2007 Mca Pro

I purchased an NViDiA GEForce 8800GT (MB137Z/A) for my Mac Pro (MacPro1.1, dual) and it won't come up. Software is current 10x5.5. My std card works fine. Since this is a late 2007 rather than early 2008 cpu, I suspect that the card is not compatible, but Apple doesn't seem to have a clue. Do I need a firmware upgrade or driver upgrade, or am I beating a dead horse with this card/computer combo?

Thanks,

RPW
 
I purchased an NViDiA GEForce 8800GT (MB137Z/A) for my Mac Pro (MacPro1.1, dual) and it won't come up. Software is current 10x5.5. My std card works fine. Since this is a late 2007 rather than early 2008 cpu, I suspect that the card is not compatible, but Apple doesn't seem to have a clue. Do I need a firmware upgrade or driver upgrade, or am I beating a dead horse with this card/computer combo?

Thanks,

RPW

That's the EFI64 model, you need MB560Z/A
 
Mb560z/z

Thanks for this input. Is the MB560Z/A the best bet for Pro Apps on that computer, or should I look to the recents Radeon HD3870 Mac & PC?

RPW
 
Thanks for this input. Is the MB560Z/A the best bet for Pro Apps on that computer, or should I look to the recents Radeon HD3870 Mac & PC?

RPW

The 3870 is much better for core apps on OSX and while it does not beat the 8800 in gaming performance, it does hold it's own. Barefeats.com has a good comparison review.
 
I'd like to see the 4870 come out so I can upgrade from my 8800GT. Sure its fine, but I'd like to upgrade in the future and maybe try out some gaming.

The 8800GT is a fine gaming card and will beat the 4870 in many games.
It looks like the 8800GT will beat the 4870 in my favorite game, X-Plane 9.

I have no complaints with the 8800GT when it comes to pro applications.

I am going to wait until the next Mac Pro comes out to see what is available in the way of graphic cards.
I may even trade in my current Mac Pro for a Nehalem Mac Pro.

Last but not least, what does Snow Leopard bring to the table in the way of gpus?
Which graphic cards will Snow Leopard have drivers for? Which graphic cards will it help the most?
 
The 8800GT is a fine gaming card and will beat the 4870 in many games.
It looks like the 8800GT will beat the 4870 in my favorite game, X-Plane 9.

I have no complaints with the 8800GT when it comes to pro applications.

I am going to wait until the next Mac Pro comes out to see what is available in the way of graphic cards.
I may even trade in my current Mac Pro for a Nehalem Mac Pro.

Last but not least, what does Snow Leopard bring to the table in the way of gpus?
Which graphic cards will Snow Leopard have drivers for? Which graphic cards will it help the most?


I'm going to suggest that the 4870 > 8800 in about 99% of games , it's the competitor to the high end 280gtx from Nvidia

In fact the 4870 pretty much stomps the 8800gt in just about every game out there

While I dont know about Xplane 9 , almost every other major game out there is going to get a big boost , especially at higher res's with a 4870 over an 8800
 
I'm going to suggest that the 4870 > 8800 in about 99% of games , it's the competitor to the high end 280gtx from Nvidia

In fact the 4870 pretty much stomps the 8800gt in just about every game out there

While I dont know about Xplane 9 , almost every other major game out there is going to get a big boost , especially at higher res's with a 4870 over an 8800

According to Tom's Hardware if you average out the nVidia's 280 frame rate in every game as compared to ATI's 4870. The 280 wins out.
Look at "Sum of FPS Benchmarks."

I can't find benchmarks for X-Plane so I'll go with the closest game, Microsoft Flight Simulator.
If you look at Tom's Hardware benchmarks, the 8800 GT beats the 4870 in all six Microsoft Flight Simulator benchmarks.

The 8800 GT beats the 4870 in a few games especially at 1280 res. Overall 4870 does better.
But for my game, X-Plane 9, the 8800 GT may be better.


Benchmark.jpg
 
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