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NVidia 280 in Mac Pro?

macz1 said:
Hm, I find this fact quite strange. A 1000W+ PSU like the one in the mac pro should have some more power connectors somewhere. I don't think the power is the problem
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Default configuration has only a couple (I think, someone feel free to correct me here). If you wanna avoid using y splitters and conversion cables - then ya, its not gonna pan out. Just because its got a 1kw powersupply, doesn't mean it has the right cable connectors.
 
DIY is a possibility, but may not be for everyone. :(
Pre-made cable solutions are certainly the easiest, but yeah, it will likely look bad. :eek:
Cheaper than a new power supply though. :D
 
WSU-Architect said:
That's garbage. Take some time and research a little in the Crysis community. As I pointed out before, I play at a higher resolution than that using custom settings well beyond the stock 'Very High' and get great (25-30fps) frame rates. It's all a matter of optimizing your system, removing bloat processes, and preferably using custom settings which are designed much more efficiently than those provided stock by Crytek. If I play the game at 'Medium' settings my frame rates are consistently in the 45-50 range. I play the game almost every day. If you do your homework it is not that hard nor unbelievable to get it to run well on an 8800GT.

(I am using 64-bit Vista Business, btw)
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I too use Vista Business 64 and I totally agree - garbage Why would I lie??? just to boast?? Come one - I'm 63 and don't need to prove anything. I haven't tried the custom settings but I will investigate. Thanks for the link. I'm number dyslexic which is why I got the resolution backwards - yes should have been 1280x1024.
 
kahine said:
Compeltely incorrect -

It's more than a "few fps" at 2560x1600 - the 4870 alone cannot handle that res in games like AoC and other graphic intensive ones - the 280gtx is the only single card that can push that res with options on high without choking
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Please stop and consider this.

How many play games at 2560 x 1600? How many do you really think have a 30" monitor?

The Radeon HD 4870 offers excellent performance at the most used resolutions.
 
Lets just hope ATI releases a Mac compatible version of the HD 4870. :eek: :D
Sooner rather than later! ;)
 
Pressure said:
Please stop and consider this.

How many play games at 2560 x 1600? How many do you really think have a 30" monitor?

The Radeon HD 4870 offers excellent performance at the most used resolutions.
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Please stop and consider to actually read the OP - they have a 30" and will be playing at 2560x1600
 
kahine said:
Please stop and consider to actually read the OP - they have a 30" and will be playing at 2560x1600
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I'm sorry, I don't see anywhere in the original post that the person owns a 30" monitor but it appears I should enable signatures ;)

I stand corrected.

I would otherwise still consider the Radeon HD 4870X2 for 2560 x 1600 resolution gaming.
 
Pressure said:
With all due respect, please read some reviews of the Radeon HD 4870. It far surpasses the Geforce 8800 GT in performance and performs better than a Radeon HD 3870X2.

Of course the Geforce 8800 GT is dirt cheap by now.

The Radeon HD 4870 takes two 6-pin power plugs.
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Ah... I just figured it out. I was thinking there was something missing and that the only one with two sockets is the twin-slot one... I meant the HD4850. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Not to mention the price for a NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 is beyond steep. :(
Hmm... video card or a new Mac Pro? ;) :p
 
m1stake said:
The way it handles games is not so hot.
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But is it? It's not strictly speaking worth it, but if you are determined to twist your Mac Pro into something it isn't yet retain OS X capability of decent 3D display power on a 30", isn't it an option worth considering, especially as it is supposed to be all about 'it just works'? It's not that far away from an 8800GTX, but it does once again represent an improvement on the 8800GT. I've thought about the other options and anything else seems faintly ridiculous as almost a self-hobbling exercise given the Pro's limitations in comparison to my Skulltrails and Precision T7400's.
 
Pressure said:
Funny, it is the highest-end gaming offering from Intel.
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Yes and no. While it is undoubtedly the most expensive, it uses FB-DIMMS which do not compare to other performance memory. It really shows that it's a server board with some mild tweaks, and really not a full fledged effort. Tom's Hardware, a reputable technology website if you're not familiar, has this opinion of a review platform provided by Intel.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-skulltrail-part-3,1770-25.html

The review does NOT mince words. Anandtech, ANOTHER well known, trusted technology site agrees:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3216&p=16

Make no mistake, the Skulltrail platform is a very powerful platform, but is not the absolute best platform to build a gaming computer on, even if money is not an issue.
 
Skulltrail is more for workstation / processing than gaming. Actual gaming is the X48 or P45 chipset right now. That with a fast dual core is often more than enough for gaming.

Just use the adapter cables for the PCI-E - Apple must've decided that the MacPro wasn't going to need the extra PCI-E cables but thats not a big issue since most GPUs come with the extra PCI-E adapters. The 1kW PSU is more than enough for 3 or even 4 4870's really. And the 4870s will be CF'able in your computer.

Just an FYI but I game at 2560 x 1600 most of the time with an 8800 Ultra but the 4870 is supposed to be even faster so it'll be quite the capable card. Or wait the 2 weeks for the 4870X2 to hit stores...
 
m1stake said:
The Skulltrail platform is not exactly the smartest thing to build if you're playing games either ;)
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Early-release reviews are fine, but mine are working well as general-purpose machines - and are definitely an improvement in general-use terms on my previous 680i-based, solid-state-cooled machines. I can also arrange power as I like, and I can run SLI - as I'm doing with the GTX280's - or opt for XFireX 4870X2's down the line. Even on a machine that's directly comparable - the T7400 - I get simpler power arrangements, not to mention a better engineered machine for reliable running in all conditions than the Pro.

Gaming is primarily about GPU's these days as you guys are undoubtedly running into, and I have complete freedom in this respect than trying to make a 5400-based yet compromised, pretty yet badly engineered, and not to mention badly-cooled (and as a consequence, really only a powerful home computer at best rather than a workstation) system into something it isn't and kid myself that "It's a fantastic games machine!"? I don't think it's what Pressure meant by funny, but I think that's pretty funny.

To add insult to injury, even if I wanted to change to a use/card more appropriate for the more prosaic nature that the Pro is suited to, Apple doesn't even know if it can sell me FX5600's to switch from the 8800GT's and ultimately the rep ended up coming back to me saying I had to replace all of my 8800GT'd Pros with FX5600'd ones if I wanted the card in them. I was pretty speechless - and it looks as though this may be something I need to do if they can't tell me otherwise.
 
The X58 will be a better platform for gaming. Intel boards > Nvidia boards, very glad they reached an "agreement".
 
What's up with all the "why do you want to do this" off topic crap?

Getting back to the original subject? I never tried this before and I have a current Mac Pro with a 8800GT, but if I put a GTX 280 or a future 4870X2 in the 2nd slot (to use under Boot Camp only), it will not prevent OS X from booting and using the 8800GT normally - correct?

The only issue then is having the proper Molex to PCI-E 6-pin and 8-pin converters to feed the card?

I'm not exactly a newbie, but I would like to do this as cleanly as possible, anybody has documented something on the subject?
 
Digital Fury said:
Getting back to the original subject? I never tried this before and I have a current Mac Pro with a 8800GT, but if I put a GTX 280 or a future 4870X2 in the 2nd slot (to use under Boot Camp only), it will not prevent OS X from booting and using the 8800GT normally - correct?
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Not aware of any problems. :)

Digital Fury said:
The only issue then is having the proper Molex to PCI-E 6-pin and 8-pin converters to feed the card?
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6 pin Molex connector
8 pin Molex connector
6 pin Molex (connects to logic board) saves 2x 4 pin Molex connectors
 
The only problem I can forsee is the heat the 280gtx is going to create - I had one on my pc rig and it literally raised the temperature of the room by several degrees just when I put it in -

I had two 120mm fans on the front pulling in air and two on the back pulling it out and it still got very , very hot , the card did that is

It worked fine so was made to run that hot but not sure what its going to do to your Mac Pro unless you have the case side off and fan blowing in or something -

It was like a space heater and just not sure the default fans on the mac pro are going to provide enough cooling for airflow in and out of the case with that monster in there

It was a great card but the sound and heat and finally was something that pushed me away to the Mac Pro - finally wanted to get rid of the windblower and space heater sitting in the bedroom -
 
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