Replacing Radeon X1900 - What next?

[Bokay]

I have a MacPro that's a couple years old, and I'm looking the upgrade the Radeon X1900 that's currently inside. However I've stepped off the video card carousel many years ago and have no idea what's hot, what's powerful, and what's a good buy.

Are my upgrade options basically between the:

ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT - $129
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT - $279
ATI Radeon HD 4870 - $349

? It seems that the last two cards are only available if I have a PCIe 2.0. I *think* I only have plain ol' PCIe. (It's a 2x2.66 GHz Dual-Core Xeon)

If this is indeed the case, am I limited to the ATI 2600 XT? Is this a decent step up from my X1900?

 

[nick9191]

Apple/Nvidia released an 8800GT upgrade kid that works on the first gen (2006/7) Mac Pro. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB560Z/A?mco=MzE2OTkyNw

Some have reported that the 4870 does indeed run on the original Mac Pro, but I would heavily research that before purchasing.

Failing that, I would go for the ATI 3870, which also runs on the first gen Mac Pro. It's a few quid cheaper, and it outperforms the 8800GT under OS X (but not under games in Windows). It's a decent step up from your X1900 XT, and most people I know use this card with their first gen Mac Pro instead of the Nvidia 8800GT card.

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/macpc/index.html

Whichever of the above 4 options you chose, don't go with the 2600 XT. It wont outperform your X1900 XT.

 

[Bokay]

The 8800GT upgrade kit looks like the way to go, but it's hard to swallow that price when the PC counterpart is going for so much less. C'est la vie I suppose. Thanks for your input - it clarified things up a bunch.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...what's your current card not doing that you want it to?

 

[Bokay]

...what's your current card not doing that you want it to?

It's suffering when I throw current games at it after booting into XP.