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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?

People....you have to remember....this is Apple :apple: we are dealing with. This is not the PC market. Apple doesn't care (even on it's Pro flagship machine) about people upgrading. They just don't, plain and simple. When have they ever? Sure, you can throw in more hard drives, and add more RAM, but beyond that, the machine is no different than any other Mac when it comes to upgrading.

You really think the next Mac Pro model with it's new latest video cards will work on the current new Mac Pros? Probably not.

It is sad given that this is a Pro level machine that quite frankly, cost a lot of money. You would think that Apple would have allowed these new cards on the old Mac Pros considering they are only what.....17 months old?

I know my current Mac Pro is going to last me a long time with it's measly quad power ;). It would have lasted longer if I could upgrade my video card.

-Kevin
 
Eidorian said:
That pretty much sums it up right there. I don't think there's much of a point to continue to complain about it here. It might be of more use to give Apple feedback, support Blizzard in their own complaints against Apple, or at worst hope ATi/nVidia release an after market upgrade.

I have a recollection that the Radeon 38xx Series was working under 10.5.2 but that might have been a hacked installer. The drivers for the HD 2600XT are more then likely capable of working for the 38xx.
Click to expand...

Indeed, you can also hack support for the G92. Read about it here at netkas.org.
 
I've been reading this thread with great optimism; an optimism which has radically faded, over the most recent of posts, at least, just prior to this one :(.

However, I hope that Apple rectifies the situation by means of a firmware revision to either the card (8800) or MP.

That said, if this isn't the case I will be speaking to Apple regarding the problem, with a view to asking them for a solution. My Mac Pro was delivered (direct from the Apple Store) to me in June 07. I bought it with every intention of replacing it's already aged X1900; when a suitable replacement became available. The sales persons involved with the sale of the MP was aware that I wished to do this. I will be pursuing some action from them (I'm sure I can guess your reactions to this regarding any potential success; but as they say, God loves a trier!).

In the mean time; AdvocateUK posted:

AdvocateUK said:
lol

I just had a (optimistic) thought. What if Apple are saying they won't work because they won't work on ALL pre 2008 MP's and only some?

I only bought my MP in August and it's a MacPro1,1 as listed in System Profiler. Maybe it'll work for me :D:D
Click to expand...

My machine states the following in System Profiler:
Hardware Overview:

Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro2,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per processor): 8 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP21.007F.B06
SMC Version: 1.15f3

Notice the model identifier "2,1"? Can anyone share any information on this with regard to AdvocateUK's point?

My partner has a MP 266 machine (with x1900 XT also requiring upgrade :mad:) and that machine is "1,1".

I doubt that it's relevant to our cause - but, you never know!

**NB My 1st MP was replaced with the one I have today and mention here. I have posted on Macrumours before (on an X1900 issue); you may notice that the date of that thread pre-dates the date I say I received my MP! This was because that MP was replaced! :)
 
Considering the original Mac Pro was 64bit, it is very possible that machines that don't have a 64bit EFI get an EFI update.

I don't really see why they would have had 32bit EFI.
 
Does anyone know of a way of telling whether their (my) MP is 64bit EFI? A post a while back indicatated that MPs shipping after September 07 might be 64bit EFI.
 
barefeats.com

I got "the call." Apple confirmed that the GeForce 8800 GT is only for the "early 2008" Mac Pro.
 
Wow I can't believe I can actually post from work! Normally all forums are blocked.

Well, it's 2330 (ish) and we only have one patient left in the dept so I have time to browse and post a bit.

The longer this thread goes on the less and less I believe we're going to officially get these cards working.

The only way I fear will be to hack either the cards or *shudder* the Mac Pros firmware.

Failing that I have only three other choices

a) Sell the MP and build a PC with a decent gfx card
b) Sell the MP to buy a new MP with the 8800, and have the knowledge that Apple will shaft me again with the next MP revision
c) Switch from using Aperture (which is GPU intensive) to Lightroom (which is CPU intensive)

With two of those options Apple loses out.

I dunno, what a shame Apple has done this to its loyal users.

*shakes head*
 
Apple called today and left a message saying they needed to talk to me by tonight to verify that the 8800GT I ordered was for the new mac pro since it's not compatible with the old one. I guess they are ready to ship due to the urgency in talking to me.

I just went online and canceled my order. I'm trying to consider my options now because the whole reason I bought a high end mac pro rather than an imac was to upgrade the video card myself as it became available. I am extremely dissapointed in apple right now. :mad:
 
damado said:
Apple called today and left a message saying they needed to talk to me by tonight to verify that the 8800GT I ordered was for the new mac pro since it's not compatible with the old one. I guess they are ready to ship due to the urgency in talking to me.

I just went online and canceled my order. I'm trying to consider my options now because the whole reason I bought a high end mac pro rather than an imac was to upgrade the video card myself as it became available. I am extremely dissapointed in apple right now. :mad:
Click to expand...


You're echoing the thoughts and feelings most of us with a MP are having at the minute, I sincerely hope Apple see what anger they are creating and sort this out.
 
damado said:
Apple called today and left a message saying they needed to talk to me by tonight to verify that the 8800GT I ordered was for the new mac pro since it's not compatible with the old one. I guess they are ready to ship due to the urgency in talking to me.

I just went online and canceled my order. I'm trying to consider my options now because the whole reason I bought a high end mac pro rather than an imac was to upgrade the video card myself as it became available. I am extremely dissapointed in apple right now. :mad:
Click to expand...

I'm sure there will be aftermarket cards available soon now. Third party vendors will now have all they need to produce 8800 GTs for the earlier Mac Pros.
 
TJET said:
Notice the model identifier "2,1"? Can anyone share any information on this with regard to AdvocateUK's point?

My partner has a MP 266 machine (with x1900 XT also requiring upgrade :mad:) and that machine is "1,1".

I doubt that it's relevant to our cause - but, you never know!
Click to expand...
I doubt so as well. My August 2006 Mac Pro (original model) is also "1,1".

Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed that the 8800GT "upgrade" kit is only compatible with the new models. I have hope that there will eventually be something for us older MP owners — we are going to need *a* graphics card upgrade option sometime. I don't care too much if we have to wait a little while more, but I'm going to seriously reconsider my future Apple purchases if they don't even throw us at least this one bone.

It doesn't help that the X1900 XT has proven to be fairly fault-prone under stress. :( I'm already looking at possibly have to have the card replaced a second time (thank gods for Applecare eh?).

Spanky Deluxe said:
I'm sure there will be aftermarket cards available soon now. Third party vendors will now have all they need to produce 8800 GTs for the earlier Mac Pros.
Click to expand...
That would be swell. I'd by one in a heartbeat.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
I'm sure there will be aftermarket cards available soon now. Third party vendors will now have all they need to produce 8800 GTs for the earlier Mac Pros.
Click to expand...

Who knows what contractual agreements are in place between Apple and Nvidia/ATI to permit or preclude that from happening?

After the first Mac Pro was released, ATI marketed a retail version of the X1900 for the G5 (I don't believe this ever was a BTO option for the G5). It was down-spec'd from the X1900 available for the Mac Pro.

But I wouldn't hold my breath. As long as Apple can charge $400 for the 2 year old X1900, then they will.

Honestly, I'm sufficiently happy with the X1900's performance on those rare occasions when I can stress it. My desire to upgrade is more an issue of heat, hoover-vac noise, and reliability issues. Given the horror stories of X1900 meltdowns and repeated calls to AppleCare, I've long since taken care to mollycoddle my X1900.
 
apfhex said:
I doubt so as well. My August 2006 Mac Pro (original model) is also "1,1".
Click to expand...

This might actually be the key.

1,1 = EFI 1.10
2,1 = UEFI 2.1 (The current specifications for EFI.)

If this is the case, again, there's no technical reason why we can't get a firmware upgrade to UEFI 2.1.

Edit: Okay, so here's the scoop guys. EFI extensions can be either 64-Bit or 32-Bit. In order for a device to be initialized on boot, EFI has to load an extension for it. It seems that the extensions for the G92 cards are compiled as 64-Bit extensions. EFI 1.10 can only handle 32-Bit execution, whereas UEFI 2.1 handles 64-Bit. That being said, the point still stands that we can have a firmware upgrade to put us inline with the new Mac Pros.
 
Well, I sent an email to the guvner...

Hi Steve,

If you should happen to glance over the battlements of Chateau Jobs in the direction of the retreating sunset, you may notice that the orange glow is persisting for longer than you're accustomed to. What you're observing is nothing to be worried about. It is merely an angry mob of Mac Professionals advancing on your domicile with pitchforks and burning torches.

Now I know you're perfectly safe, up there in your castle, but these angry mobs do tend to lower the tone of the neighbourhood and besides which, people might talk! We don't want that now, do we?

Just think of it as Halloween coming rather early this year. Think "trick or treat"! Think candy! That's the ticket!

But wait. Just how much candy do you think it'll take to shift this lot? Surprisingly little, actually. All they really want is one measly little firmware update for their original Mac Pros so they can install the NVidia 8800GT cards they've ordered from your store. That's all. Technically and morally, it's the right thing to do. You know it makes sense, I'm sure you'll agree.

Regards,

Your pal,

Calvin
Click to expand...
 
I talked to a friend who works at Apple. The 8800 will not work on the Previous generation of the Mac Pro and there is no intention to provide a support path for the prior generation of mac pro systems.

The only way to get an 8800 is with the purchase of the Penryn based platform.
 
hugodrax said:
I talked to a friend who works at Apple. The 8800 will not work on the Previous generation of the Mac Pro and there is no intention to provide a support path for the prior generation of mac pro systems.

The only way to get an 8800 is with the purchase of the Penryn based platform.
Click to expand...

That's Apple for ya. ;) That is REALLY messed up of them to do. Sorry early Mac Pro owners, you'll have to buy a whole new system to get a better video card. What a CROCK. If I was an early Mac Pro owner I'd be PISSED.

Hell, I'm pissed anyway for all of you (well, most of you anyway. There are a few on here that deserve it). I'm almost tempted to cancel my MP order and just build a Hack, since its clear that there will be no upgrade path for me down the road.
 
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