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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?
- Thread starter Fezzy
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Read the beginning of this thread. Use Google. This has been covered numerous times.
In summary, the Apple OEM NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT available as a BTO option with the Mac Pro (Early 2008) uses EFI64 firmware, and doesn't work in the 2006/2007 Mac Pros with EFI32 firmware. However, various sources within Apple and NVIDIA have indicated that NVIDIA will be releasing some type of solution for 2006/2007 Mac Pro owners, presumably a version of the card with yet-to-be-seen Mac GeForce 8 Series EFI32 firmware.
Not heard a thing - but still watching this thread regularly.
How long do you think we should give them before we start gathering the troops?!!
I watch this thread regularly as well. It's been over 3 weeks. I think we'll get the new cards when the US dollar becomes as strong as the Yen and the Euro, LOL. That means a looooong time if ever. I say let's gather them now and make an 'example' outta them, LOL.
Hmmm seems to be a trend lately. Intentionally remove backward compatibility so consumers have to upgrade....like Aperture 2 and the D300,D3, 1Ds mkIII raw issues....
If Apple keeps this up I will be buying a Dell or HP workstation next time around, The iMac's will be more upgradable soon....Piss poor (Pro) product decisions, I can only assume this is Apple's greed.
if a company gives all new features to older software or hardware they wouldnt get far would they lol, sorry guys i totally understand the video card gripe but the aperture reference etc doesnt really compare.
I hear ya. I can type up a huge list of Apple products and point my finger to a long list of Apple failures due to their proprietary properties. What the heck, I feel brave, lets start with the Apple Pippin, Apple Newton, Apple Cube, Apple Lisa (the Lisa sales flopped so bad Apple had to dump 2,000+ units in a nearby landfill in Logan, Utah), Macintosh TV, 20th Anniversary Macintosh (TAM), and the biggest red flag of them all is when Apple changed their name/logo from 
Apple Computers to just Apple. Yep at the Cupertino site and many other locations the word 'computers' was pulled. I remember when the Mac Mini came out and you had two video card choices, not anymore. I'm off my soap box now. I hope we do get a new NVIDIA video card option for the 2006 Mac Pros. Nuff said.
Apple Computers to just Apple. Yep at the Cupertino site and many other locations the word 'computers' was pulled. I remember when the Mac Mini came out and you had two video card choices, not anymore. I'm off my soap box now. I hope we do get a new NVIDIA video card option for the 2006 Mac Pros. Nuff said.I'm pretty sure it's not a conspiracy by Apple to force people to upgrade. They contract out video card development to Nvidia and ATI. The ATI card works fine in old Mac Pros, so it's much more than likely it was Nvidia that screwed up. The fact that Nvidia showed up on Engaget saying that it would be fixed is more evidence that this is what happened.
I've not been a Mac user for long, but I have a feeling that if we look back at history, we would know that Apple's primary income has always been hardware, and it would be ridiculous for them to offer upgrades on old products. That would go against their business model and strategy isn't it? Look back at all the older models and ask yourself how many times Apple had offered hardware upgrades for them. If so, for how long? 
Fat hope to those who think otherwise because seriously we are better off depending on ourselves or other 3rd party companies for graphic upgrades.
Fat hope to those who think otherwise because seriously we are better off depending on ourselves or other 3rd party companies for graphic upgrades.
I have no doubt that we WILL see 2006/7 Mac Pro compatible Nvidia 8800 GTs available at the Apple store. But we might have to wait 'till April.
Haha! No, he knows which forums you post on, and is afraid that if he didn't deliver, we'd come 'round and set fire to his Grandmother.
i'm not happy either, i bought my MacPro to replace my dual G5 mid-late last year, and didnt get the 1900(thank god) as i was waiting for something newer... and now THIS!!!
I guess the question is, Are there real-life examples of how the 7300/2600/8800 compare?
Maybe a 2600 could be a worthwhile upgrade afterall.
Cheers.
I guess the question is, Are there real-life examples of how the 7300/2600/8800 compare?
Maybe a 2600 could be a worthwhile upgrade afterall.
Cheers.
From what I can gather the 2600 is faster than the 7300, but the 1900 is still substantially faster than the 2600 (incidentally, I have one and have had zero problems) The 8800 beats them all handily, of course.
Next time I'll come with you, and we'll swipe his whole desk, that'll get his attention!
comparisons?
Many different video card performance comparisons have been done.
I'm sure you could find some relevant info over on www.barefeats.com.
Personally, I don't agree with all the hostility against the X1900XT cards. I got one shortly after I bought my original Mac Pro 2.66Ghz machine - and I'm still using it daily. I even moved it over into my new Mac Pro 2.8Ghz box for right now. It's a faster/better card than the 2600, and FAR better than that lame nVidia 7300.
Yes, they have a lot of overheating issues. But THAT problem has many solutions. #1, you increase the fan speed of the fan that cools the card slots, using a freeware utility called "SMC Fan Control". #2, you either make sure the X1900XT card is kept free of dust buildup on its own cooling fan/heatsnk, or you buy a better replacement for it like the Accelero products (for about $30) and bolt that on. #3, Apple started selling a 2nd. revision of this card not too long after problems were first reported. Many people who initially complained about issues got their first rev. card swapped for a newer one by Apple, and that solved their problems.
Oh, and #4, you could even flash a PC version of an X1900XT 512MB card to an OS X version if you really wanted to. Instructions are out there on the net, and when I read them, it appeared it was even doable right from inside the Mac Pro itself. These cards are still found on eBay all the time for under $150 or so. (I point this out because I'd rather spend $120 or $130 on a PC version of the X1900XT off eBay and put in the effort to flash it for OS X than blow the money on a 2600HD card that doesn't perform nearly as well.)
Many different video card performance comparisons have been done.
I'm sure you could find some relevant info over on www.barefeats.com.
Personally, I don't agree with all the hostility against the X1900XT cards. I got one shortly after I bought my original Mac Pro 2.66Ghz machine - and I'm still using it daily. I even moved it over into my new Mac Pro 2.8Ghz box for right now. It's a faster/better card than the 2600, and FAR better than that lame nVidia 7300.
Yes, they have a lot of overheating issues. But THAT problem has many solutions. #1, you increase the fan speed of the fan that cools the card slots, using a freeware utility called "SMC Fan Control". #2, you either make sure the X1900XT card is kept free of dust buildup on its own cooling fan/heatsnk, or you buy a better replacement for it like the Accelero products (for about $30) and bolt that on. #3, Apple started selling a 2nd. revision of this card not too long after problems were first reported. Many people who initially complained about issues got their first rev. card swapped for a newer one by Apple, and that solved their problems.
Oh, and #4, you could even flash a PC version of an X1900XT 512MB card to an OS X version if you really wanted to. Instructions are out there on the net, and when I read them, it appeared it was even doable right from inside the Mac Pro itself. These cards are still found on eBay all the time for under $150 or so. (I point this out because I'd rather spend $120 or $130 on a PC version of the X1900XT off eBay and put in the effort to flash it for OS X than blow the money on a 2600HD card that doesn't perform nearly as well.)