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So, who has tried their 5870 in a 2008 or 2006 Mac Pro?

Thanks for the monitor config links Svale.

I wonder if the issues Barefeats had the 2nd time around, are related to cables. It sounds like the MDP to Dual link DVI works, but NOT the MDP to dvi if the main DVI is in use. Or if they were daisy chaining.

Nice how Apple don't want you mixing adapters, yet don't sell a MDP to Display port cable themselves.
 
Ricko101 said:
Unfortunately, the 5870 requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin 125-watt power cable. Unless you 1) buy a separate power supply and run another wire through a hole in the back of your Mac 2) take out your optical drive and splice the 4-pin 12V with one of the 6-pin PCIE to a bare 8-pin PCIE male connector.[/I]

Is this guy for real ?
Click to expand...
Even if it did, it still wouldn't matter – I ran a 4890 in my Mac Pro that 'required' an 8-pin adapter, and I never used one.
 
svale said:
I'm inclined to say that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

The 5870 has two 6-pin connectors, which are compatible with the two 6-pin connectors in the Mac Pro. This is confirmed by this image of a vanilla 5870, and I'm sure can also be confirmed by barefeats, OWC, and any Mac Pro 2010 owners who have a 5870 in their box.
Click to expand...

Great news. Now I want one ! ;)
 
svale said:
I'm inclined to say that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

The 5870 has two 6-pin connectors, which are compatible with the two 6-pin connectors in the Mac Pro. This is confirmed by this image of a vanilla 5870, and I'm sure can also be confirmed by barefeats, OWC, and any Mac Pro 2010 owners who have a 5870 in their box.
Click to expand...

So I've been investigating options for my 2008 Mac Pro's video card, since my 8800 GT died over the weekend.

When I was under the hood though looking at the 8800GT, I only saw one 6-pin connector. Where would the other one be?

I decided to order a 5770 and sure hope barefeats is right when they say it'll work, but your post (and only seeing one connector) caused me to worry...
 
Yukon Joe said:
So I've been investigating options for my 2008 Mac Pro's video card, since my 8800 GT died over the weekend.

When I was under the hood though looking at the 8800GT, I only saw one 6-pin connector. Where would the other one be?

I decided to order a 5770 and sure hope barefeats is right when they say it'll work, but your post (and only seeing one connector) caused me to worry...
Click to expand...

There is a second connector on the motherboard that the 8800 is not using. The 5770, however, still only requires one connector.

The 5870 requires two, and should include the second cable.
 
Yukon Joe said:
So I've been investigating options for my 2008 Mac Pro's video card, since my 8800 GT died over the weekend.

When I was under the hood though looking at the 8800GT, I only saw one 6-pin connector. Where would the other one be?

I decided to order a 5770 and sure hope barefeats is right when they say it'll work, but your post (and only seeing one connector) caused me to worry...
Click to expand...

One cable is all that's needed for the 5770 on the 2008 or any Mac Pro. The cable is included in the kit.

The Mac Pro we ordered with the 5870 installed had the two cables, of course. If you were to order the 5870 kit, the two cables come with the kit.

If you ever find yourself short a cable for any reason, you can buy extras from various sources such as AppleMacanix.info and WeLoveMacs.com. I used to buy mine from the ATI Store but I don't see them there at the moment.
 
Thanks for the info barefeats and gomac.

I would prefer to get the 5870 myself, but with my vid card currently dead I can't wait...
 
barefeats said:
One cable is all that's needed for the 5770 on the 2008 or any Mac Pro. The cable is included in the kit.
Click to expand...

I hope you're right about the cable being included in the 5770 kit, but I can't find where it says that. Apple has supplied cables in the past and it would make sense if this card is being sold as a second card for the 2010 models and not as a replacement card.
 
Yukon Joe said:
Thanks for the info barefeats and gomac.

I would prefer to get the 5870 myself, but with my vid card currently dead I can't wait...
Click to expand...

I think you may be happy with your purchase anyway. I have a 2006 Mac Pro with an 8800GT and it's served me very well over the years. For the longest time, I was set on getting a 5870. But I just ended up ordering a 5770.

I've been comparing benchmarks between those two cards and the 5870, and the 5770 is certainly no slouch. In Windows, the 5770 offers around 1.5x to 2x the performance of the 8800GT, while the 5870 offers a 50% gain on top. I just can't justify splashing an extra $200 for that. When the 2011 and 2012 Mac Pros are released, we'll probably have even better cards to choose from, and that $200 may very well be better spent on whatever's out then.
 
svale said:
In Windows, the 5770 offers around 1.5x to 2x the performance of the 8800GT, while the 5870 offers a 50% gain on top. I just can't justify splashing an extra $200 for that.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about this (I'm assuming you are talking about Windows running under Bootcamp)?

This means that the 5870 performs a lot faster under Bootcamp than under OSX.

This is all I need to know to justify the 5870 over the 5770 (as I play all my games under Bootcamp) but I would hate to buy it and find out it wasn't actually the case.

If this is the case, just out of interest, I'd like to understand why the 5870 is hindered under OSX.
 
lloyd709 said:
Are you sure about this (I'm assuming you are talking about Windows running under Bootcamp)?
Click to expand...

No, actually, I'm talking about vanilla 5770 and 5870 cards in PCs, referencing benchmark tests performed by AnandTech, bit-tech.net, and others.

In theory, the same would apply to Mac Pros running Windows (Boot Camp). In practice, we'll have to wait for someone to test it out.

lloyd709 said:
This means that the 5870 performs a lot faster under Bootcamp than under OSX.
Click to expand...

From experience, any card performs faster in Windows (Boot Camp) than in OS X. Apple's drivers definitely don't bring out the best in graphics cards.

lloyd709 said:
This is all I need to know to justify the 5870 over the 5770 (as I play all my games under Bootcamp) but I would hate to buy it and find out it wasn't actually the case.
Click to expand...

For me, I'd hate to buy it and find out that it doesn't actually work. There's still no clarification as to why the 5870 is reported to work in some 2006 Mac Pros, but not others. Currently, it's suggested that it doesn't play nice with the MP11.005C.B08 (EFI 1.2) Boot ROM, which would suck considering that's what almost all 2006 Mac Pros have been flashed to.

Of course, it's moot if you have a newer-generation Mac Pro. ;)

lloyd709 said:
If this is the case, just out of interest, I'd like to understand why the 5870 is hindered under OSX.
Click to expand...

Ditto. My guess is a combination of subpar OS X drivers and old game benchmarks which don't utilize the full potential of the 5870.
 
Clarification on the boot rooms of the 1,1 Mac Pro's is still a burning issue. Judging from what barefeats wrote on a previous page, the majority of us 2006 Mac Pro users will not be able to use the 5870.
 
I'm concerned about the MDPs not working all of the time. I have the 24 LED with a direct connection. Does this make a difference if using an adapter or not?

Also, even though I cannot find it, I remember reading 2010 mac pro users with MDP issues. Could it just be a universal thing?
 
theBigD23 said:
I'm concerned about the MDPs not working all of the time. I have the 24 LED with a direct connection. Does this make a difference if using an adapter or not?

Also, even though I cannot find it, I remember reading 2010 mac pro users with MDP issues. Could it just be a universal thing?
Click to expand...

My concern too, as I need to drive both a u2407 and a u2711 dell monitor.
I'm hoping that the MDP to dual-link DVI cable ($99) proves to work, or better yet 10.6.5 fixes things.
 
Anyone any idea of the odds of 2 5770 cards actually working in crossfire under windows while still being about to boot into OSX - specifically on a 1,1 2006 Mac Pro?

If they do work, do you think you will get a significant performance jump or will the bottle neck that seems to be hindering the 5870 on a 1,1 Mac Pro still exist?

If I can be fairly sure of this working then the way forward would surely be to to buy 2 5770 cards, wouldn't it - they are about the same total price as a single 5870?
 
lloyd709 said:
Anyone any idea of the odds of 2 5770 cards actually working in crossfire under windows while still being about to boot into OSX - specifically on a 1,1 2006 Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

It works. barefeats has confirmed that the CF fingers are exposed and one user has reported successfully CFing two 5770s in another thread.

lloyd709 said:
If they do work, do you think you will get a significant performance jump or will the bottle neck that seems to be hindering the 5870 on a 1,1 Mac Pro still exist?
Click to expand...

You should get a performance jump. Remember, the bottleneck (whatever it is) appears to be in Mac OS only for now. Could be driver related. Historically, GPU performance has proven much better in Windows.

lloyd709 said:
If I can be fairly sure of this working then the way forward would surely be to to buy 2 5770 cards, wouldn't it - they are about the same total price as a single 5870?
Click to expand...

One 5870 is a bit cheaper than two 5770s. The performance is comparable. Plus side is the 5770s will ship soon. No one knows when the 5870 will ship.
 
three displays work on the 2008 + 5870

I took time out of benchmarking with one display to experiment with multiple displays using the newest GPUs. (Special thanks to "Pegasusrjf" for help on this.)

With the Radeon HD 5870 installed in the 2008 Mac Pro,
I got three displays to light up and work with this setup:
1. 23" Cinema on the DVI port
2. 23" Cinema with MDP to dual-link DVI adapter* on first MDP port
3. 24" LED Cinema with direct MDP connection to second MDP port

(* regular MDP to DVI adapter works if I only have the two 23" Cinemas attached.)

Tried the same three display setup with the Radeon HD 5770 in the 2008 Mac Pro:
Only 2 of the 3 displays light up -- the one on the DVI port and one on an MDP.
 
Best option for CAD and 3d Work in Bootcamp...

I have been reading along trying to keep up... from everything I have read it seams the 4870 may still be my best option for daily AutoCad, Revit, 3DS Viz and Sketchup... on a 2006 Mac Pro 1,1... is this correct?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, and special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to research these cards for us *OLD* Mac Pro users otherwise left in the cold...
 
matthew7554 said:
I have been reading along trying to keep up... from everything I have read it seams the 4870 may still be my best option for daily AutoCad, Revit, 3DS Viz and Sketchup... on a 2006 Mac Pro 1,1... is this correct?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, and special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to research these cards for us *OLD* Mac Pro users otherwise left in the cold...
Click to expand...

If I was in your shoes, I'd go with the 5770 instead, as it is a newer card, offers comparable performance to the 4870, is cheaper, runs cooler, and consumes less power.
 
Thanks for the quick response svale! I am currently using an x1900. Since upgrading to Windows 7 and AutoCad 2011, I have had recurring bouts of problems with random lines and artifacts or a laser lightshow across the screen as I pan and zoom...

I am really hoping that a new card will fix the issues.
 
matthew7554 said:
Thanks for the quick response svale! I am currently using an x1900. Since upgrading to Windows 7 and AutoCad 2011, I have had recurring bouts of problems with random lines and artifacts or a laser lightshow across the screen as I pan and zoom...

I am really hoping that a new card will fix the issues.
Click to expand...

It should. It sounds like your x1900 is actually dying. Those cards had issues.
 
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