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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?

Ordered it as well and I hope the 5-7 weeks is just a typo. If UK is getting it in 5-7 days US should get it sooner imho. Anyway, I'm finally getting rid of X1900XT in my Quad 3.0 which was an awesome card except the overheat and crash the computer issues which I finally solved by replacing the cooling on the card, still 8800GT is an awesome card compared to X1900XT.
 
I wondered about that too. It goes from a few days to 3-5 [edit had 5-7] weeks in the BTO option too as part of a full machine. So I didn't order it yet.

wildhj said:
Guys

Here is the link - available in 5-7 weeks!!!! for $349

I've ordered one, although I'm confused why they are ready to ship in the UK and we're on a 5-7 week wait:confused:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?s=topSellers&fnode=home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/storage&nplm=MB137Z/A&mco=CB3ECC1C

I can't find any official documentation that says this won't work in my 2007 MP (2x 3GHz)
Click to expand...
 
wildhj said:
Guys

Here is the link - available in 5-7 weeks!!!! for $349

I've ordered one, although I'm confused why they are ready to ship in the UK and we're on a 5-7 week wait:confused:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?s=topSellers&fnode=home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/storage&nplm=MB137Z/A&mco=CB3ECC1C

I can't find any official documentation that says this won't work in my 2007 MP (2x 3GHz)
Click to expand...

Did they charge you right away or will they charge you when it ships?
 
350 USD still seems steep for me for a graphics card I don't *need*. So far in my job, the requirement of hardware accelerated 3D graphics has been minimal to none, so I can't really justify it. 'Want' is a different story, of course ....
 
I'm interested in upgrading my X1900XT primarily due to sound and heat - can anyone discuss this new card how it compares on those 2 issues?

I put an aftermarket cooler on my vid card to quiet the noise (and it's much better!) but now the heat stays in my case rather than being vented out and I'd rather just get a newer faster video card but only if it's quiet and ideally puts out less heat then the x1900 which runs HOT.
 
sweedigel said:
(copy/paste of my post in another thread that nobody care :D)

I was wondering... if I take a MacPro with a Radeon HD2600, could I buy a less expensive "PC" 8800GT later, flash it and use it in the MacPro ?
Taking a 8800gt now add a delay of 3-5 weeks before shipping... can't wait
Click to expand...

If you can get the firmware and if it will fit onto the flash memory on the standard card. Apple have made cards before with ROM's bigger than the standard cards so they couldn't be simply flashed.


TransientWolf said:
Guys, Guys - see my earlier posts.

It IS available as an upgrade for the existing Mac pros, it IS on the UK Apple Store website, and I have ordered it this afternoon with an 8 day shipping quoted.
Click to expand...

Please dump the rom as soon as you can :D

If you need any help doing it i'll help you!
 
pprior said:
I'm interested in upgrading my X1900XT primarily due to sound and heat - can anyone discuss this new card how it compares on those 2 issues?

I put an aftermarket cooler on my vid card to quiet the noise (and it's much better!) but now the heat stays in my case rather than being vented out and I'd rather just get a newer faster video card but only if it's quiet and ideally puts out less heat then the x1900 which runs HOT.
Click to expand...

8800GT is a lot cooler card than X1900XT. 1900 not only in Mac but also in PC had overheat issues so most gamers were buying aftermarket coolers for it. 8800GT is not the coolest running card out there (New ATI 3850-70 is the coolest card due to 55nm fabrication) but 8800GT is a lot cooler than X1900 and makes a lot less noise. That's from PC users reviews, since it's the same card which ships for Mac Pro, no need to assume otherwise.
 
If it doesn't work in the 2006 Mac Pro, I'd at least like to know if I can slap in a PC 8800 and use it in Windows and my x1900XT in OSX.
 
The 2006 Mac Pro doesn't have a PCIe 2.0 slot, so that's where I am confused. I'd order it now but am unclear about compatability or what kind of performance hit I'd take in a PCIe 1.1 slot.
 
Apple charge you when the product ships. I figured given the long order time there would have been a definitive answer as to whether it would work in the most recent pre 2008 MPs. You have the ability to cancel the order before it ships so it felt like a pretty low risk thing to do.
;)
 
WOW. I just cancelled my order for my MP, and replaced it for a stock machine, and a 8800GT.

I'll have my computer sooner, and the card can come in whenever!
 
patseguin said:
The 2006 Mac Pro doesn't have a PCIe 2.0 slot, so that's where I am confused. I'd order it now but am unclear about compatability or what kind of performance hit I'd take in a PCIe 1.1 slot.
Click to expand...

Wikipedia Quote on diff between PCIe 1.1 vs 2.0

In PCIe 1.1 (the most common version as of 2007) each lane carries 250 MB/s in each direction. PCIe 2.0 doubles this and PCIe 3.0 doubles it again.

Each slot carries one, two, four, eight, sixteen or thirty-two lanes of data between the motherboard and the card. Lane counts are written with an x prefix e.g. x1 for a single-lane card and x16 for a sixteen-lane card. Thirty-two lanes of 250 MB/s gives a maximum transfer rate of 8 GB/s (250 MB/s x 32) in each direction for PCIe 1.1. However the largest size in common use is x16, giving a transfer rate of 4 GB/s (250 MB/s x 16) in each direction. Putting this into perspective, a single lane has nearly twice the data rate of normal PCI, a four-lane slot has a comparable data rate to the fastest version of PCI-X 1.0, and an eight-lane slot has a data rate comparable to the fastest version of AGP.
 
I ordered mine ($314 w/educational discount, $329 w/tax).

Oh, but I did see they charged me right away. That better mean it's ready to ship.
 
Ordered mine. I just hope Apple doesn't have these cards underclocked like they did with the X1900 XT.
 
yeroen said:
I ordered mine ($314 w/educational discount, $329 w/tax).

Oh, but I did see they charged me right away. That better mean it's ready to ship.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that should mean it's being shipped, because it's generally illegal to charge anything if it's not shipping.
 
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