New Mac Pro Video Card Question

[rshillshooter81]

Yes, I have spent the last 2 days using the search button but I always find confusing and or conflicting info.

I have (2) 24 inch cinema displays I want to have them both work obviously.

The Mac Pro came with a GT120 and I ordered an additional GT120 for the extra mini display port so I don't have to use an adapter.

That got me thinking that I would almost never game on the machine under OS X and that I would only ever do it in windows.

So, I bought 2 of the cable adapters from ebay in the large how to guide that i saw.

I found an XFX 4890, I don't think I want to flash it because I dont want to use it in OSX.

So can I use 2 GT120's in OSX and XFX 4980 in bootcamp windows?

OR, use an adapter for the DVI port on the first GT120, dont use the second GT120 and put the 4980 in

hope that isn't confusing

 

[nanofrog]

So can I use 2 GT120's in OSX and XFX 4980 in bootcamp windows?

Yes, but one of the cards will have to go in a 4x lane slot (#3 or #4). Best to do this with one of the GT120's if you go this route.

OR, use an adapter for the DVI port on the first GT120, dont use the second GT120 and put the 4980 in

This should be possible as well (AFAIK there's no issues with the drivers for it, but I've not had the opportunity to mess around with the '09 MP or the GT120 cards at all). It would be an acceptable way to go IMO (cheaper, and saves a slot), given you're usage indications under OS X.

 

[rshillshooter81]

Yes, but one of the cards will have to go in a 4x lane slot (#3 or #4). Best to do this with one of the GT120's if you go this route.

So this means I can put my 4890 into 16x slot, put one Gt120 in 8x and 1 gt120 in 4x?

the GT120's didnt look like they required pcie power adapters, so i figure the 2 that it has would be used for the 4890.

The mac will be okay having all 3? lol

I saw 2 different DVI - Minidisplay and they were all 100+ solutions which is more than a new GT120 cost me....

Unless I'm looking at the wrong type of adapters


EDIT:

Major fail , the ATI card has no minidisplay port. why must apple use this stupid connector for such a beautiful display!!! can a 5x ATI card be put in and ran in windows, I know that they have minidisplay ports , i remember seeing they don't fit and power issueS?

 

[Cindori]

ANY PC GRAPHIC CARD WILL WORK UNDER WINDOWS.

A mac booting windows behaves exactly like a PC regarding GPU's.

It's tiresome to have win-only and mac-only gpu's as you have to go behind the mac pro and reseat cables 24/7
Take it from someone who has been doing it the last 5 months

i dont see why you dont get 2 dvi>dp adapters, sell off your GT120, flash a 4870 / 4890 (or wait for 5000 support) and enjoy lower power consumption, less heat, and maximum gpu power in both operative systems.

 

[nanofrog]

So this means I can put my 4890 into 16x slot, put one Gt120 in 8x and 1 gt120 in 4x?

2009 MP PCIe Slot Configuration:
Slot #1 and #2 = 16x lane (physical and electrical)
Slot #3 and #4 = 4x lane electrical (16x physical).

All of them are PCIe Gen 2.0 (previous systems were a bit different).

the GT120's didn't look like they required PCIe power adapters, so i figure the 2 that it has would be used for the 4890.

As in needing additional power (power cables that attach to the logic board)?

Assuming this is what you meant, the GT120 gets all of it's power from the PCIe slot alone (each slot is capable of providing up to 75W).

It's tiresome to have win-only and mac-only gpu's as you have to go behind the mac pro and reseat cables 24/7
Take it from someone who has been doing it the last 5 months

This would be a PITA, and actually could cause the pins to get loose enough to cause contact resistance (i.e. creates an undervolt condition, where if waking from sleep for example, the GPU wouldn't give an output to the monitor = No Display).

i dont see why you dont get 2 dvi>dp adapters, sell off your GT120, flash a 4870 / 4890 (or wait for 5000 support) and enjoy lower power consumption, less heat, and maximum gpu power in both operative systems.

This is fine for anyone that wants to flash a card (personally, I think it's fine for individuals, as it's cheaper), but not everyone may be willing to do so (i.e. lack of skills, and/or time, or for a business owned system).

In such cases, a Mac Edition would make sense (currently the HD4870, or GTX285 if an nVidia product is desired). The other option is to continue to wait for newer graphics card options once they become available (i.e. HD5870 if it releases as expected as an upgrade with the 2010 systems - once they actually ship).