Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?

[posthaste]

The only reason I read this thread is for Steve's terse, one-liners.

 

[dreamof3d]

Apple would make a lot of people happy I believe if they made available a wide range of gpu upgrades, and they could even restrict the availability of these products solely through their own Apple Store. I could live with that.

I can understand why they wouldn't want a frenzy of Apple products sold at Target, online stores, or Walmart. Now Best Buy sells Macs......(in select stores) Why not use these 2 places to satisfy a very large group of Apple users ? Makes sense to me.

 

[Blogger]

Ati Hd 3870?

MacBidouille is saying that the ATI HD 3870 briefly resurfaced on the Apple Singapore BTO site.

http://www.hardmac.com/news/2008-04-09/#8097

 

[Colossus]

Maybe the ATI HD 3870 will become the upgrade for older MPs. If the 2600 runs on both old and new MPs then why can't the 3870. My logic is NVIDIA appears to be out of the race and ATI is the only one that has offered an option with the 2600 for older MPs. I wouldn't call the 2600 an upgrade, perfomance is to close to the 7300.

 

[Og Oggilby]

Hope it's the 3870 X2 version.

 

[dreamof3d]

Hope it's the 3870 X2 version.

This doesn't make it sound much better than a 8800gt:

AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 uses two 3D chips to process game graphics.

(Credit: CNET)

A week after it was supposed to, AMD announced its Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card today. Roughly $450 will get you this high-end 3D card, which melds two Radeon HD 3870 chips onto a single 3D card package. The resulting performance is basically the same as two standalone Radeon HD 3870 cards in AMD’s multicard ATI Crossfire mode. Various review sites show it competing more or less well against Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GTX and 8800 Ultra cards, although neither AMD nor Nvidia can claim an across-the-board victory.

Our illustrious colleagues at GameSpot are working diligently on updating their benchmarks for this card after a late-breaking driver update (the reason for the cancellation of last Monday’s announcement). We weren’t originally going to retest, but for reasons unrelated to the driver, we decided we would. Once we have scores, both CNET and Gamespot will post our respective reviews. In the meantime, Anandtech, ExtremeTech, and PC Perspective have well-done coverage of AMD’s new card. And how do those sites find the DirectX 10 performance picture?

It depends on your definition of an acceptable frame rate. On the DX10 version of Company of Heroes, for example, Anandtech shows all cards in this high-end neighborhood performing well. The DX10 implementation in that game is minor, though. In Crysis, the posterchild for next-gen gaming, neither AMD nor Nvidia can muster an average of even 30 frames per second at even a forgiving 1,280 x 1,024. Where we come from, it’s 60 frames or nothing for first person shooters like Crysis. So either Crysis is ahead of its time, or the graphics card vendors have been too slow to adjust. Either way, it’s frustrating for gamers that even their multi-thousand-dollar rigs will still likely choke on a game that’s been out for three months.

 

[Spades]

From what I can find, the HD3870 is slightly worse than the 8800GT and the HD3870 X2 is about on par with the 8800 GTS and 8800 Ultra.

 

[dreamof3d]

Just give me a quality gpu from $300.00 to $900.00 that can go into my 2007 Mac pro, but will also work with next springs model as well. That way when I spring for the faster cpu's, I can just order it with the default card and swap it out.................................. Make any sense ? I could see spending the money for the card if it isn't a boat anchor in a year, but the top of the line apple offers...
yikes.....thars another machine...

 

[dreamof3d]

Here is something to consider: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143163-pg,1/article.html

Intel to Deliver Six-core Xeon Processor This Year
Agam Shah, IDG News
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 5:40 PM PST
Recommend this story?
Yes28 Votes
No1 Votes
Please Wait...

Intel on Wednesday confirmed that it would ship the six-core Xeon processor in the second half of this year, putting to rest rumors about the processor's actual ship date.

I hope we get a card soon...Guess the guys with the 8 core Macs will be in our '07 shoes soon. Then this thread can start again. LOL Going to wait to replace the whole machine............

 

[iFizz]

...Guess the guys with the 8 core Macs will be in our '07 shoes soon. Then this thread can start again......

Not necessarily. The early '08 Macs already support the coveted 64-bit EFI and PCIe 2.0 in the GPU slot.

 

[dreamof3d]

Not necessarily. The early '08 Macs already support the coveted 64-bit EFI and PCIe 2.0 in the GPU slot.

What I was referring to was next spring, the Mac Pro will more than likely have a 12 core option, but of course not an upgrade. When I purchased my quad core, the 8 core was released a week later. They told me I couldn't upgrade which is crap......I'm not spending $1400.00 for 2 chips when the 8 core is only like 2 ben franklins more than I paid for 4.

 

[iFizz]

What I was referring to was next spring, the Mac Pro will more than likely have a 12 core option, but of course not an upgrade. When I purchased my quad core, the 8 core was released a week later. They told me I couldn't upgrade which is crap......I'm not spending $1400.00 for 2 chips when the 8 core is only like 2 ben franklins more than I paid for 4.

got it.

 

[Og Oggilby]

What I was referring to was next spring, the Mac Pro will more than likely have a 12 core option, but of course not an upgrade. When I purchased my quad core, the 8 core was released a week later. They told me I couldn't upgrade which is crap......I'm not spending $1400.00 for 2 chips when the 8 core is only like 2 ben franklins more than I paid for 4.

If it was only a week old you could have returned your quad core and then purchased a 8 core.

 

[dreamof3d]

If it was only a week old you could have returned your quad core and then purchased a 8 core.

Didn't know that then, (first Mac) and besides, I'd still be on this thread wishing I had a gpu upgrade course of action

 

[Og Oggilby]

Didn't know that then, (first Mac) and besides, I'd still be on this thread wishing I had a gpu upgrade course of action

That's the bad thing about computers - they are pretty much obsolete right after you buy them

 

[iFizz]

Hey Apple, are you seeing this?

Not to be a pessimistic statistician, but.....
Since this thread was created 3 months ago, it has evolved into 63 pages, including about 1,600 posts and about 93,000 views!
STILL NO SOLUTION FROM APPLE!

 

[dreamof3d]

Agreed, this is crap.......A custom built machine with a Kalaway Leo install could be in the future, hope it doesn't have to come to this.

 

[Og Oggilby]

STILL NO SOLUTION FROM APPLE!

The executives at Apple probably think that we will just run out and get the "New Mac Pro", so no problem. Heck, if I made as much money as Apple's (or Micro$oft's) execs do, that's what I would do. They are as out of touch with normal people as our government is. Steve Jobs probably doesn't realize that a Mac Pro is a large purchase that needs to last at least 3 or more years for most people. That's how long my PC's have lasted in the past.

Of course you could update the video cards, etc. that become obsolete on a PC with up to date hardware (for the most part). I have never seen a "Pro" caliber workstation dead end as quickly as the 2007 Mac Pro - nice job Apple.

 

[Hmac]

The executives at Apple probably think that we will just run out and get the "New Mac Pro", so no problem. Heck, if I made as much money as Apple's (or Micro$oft's) execs do, that's what I would do. They are as out of touch with normal people as our government is. Steve Jobs probably doesn't realize that a Mac Pro is a large purchase that needs to last at least 3 or more years for most people. That's how long my PC's have lasted in the past.

Of course you could update the video cards, etc. that become obsolete on a PC with up to date hardware (for the most part). I have never seen a "Pro" caliber workstation dead end as quickly as the 2007 Mac Pro - nice job Apple.

And yet...they're selling 'em by the carload, making tons of money of 'em, and Apple's computer market share continues to increase. Maybe it's not just greed on the part of Apple's executives...maybe it's cost-effective design and smart marketing too.

 

[Og Oggilby]

And yet...they're selling 'em by the carload, making tons of money of 'em, and Apple's computer market share continues to increase. Maybe it's not just greed on the part of Apple's executives...maybe it's cost-effective design and smart marketing too.

It's brilliant marketing of very nice designs. I didn't say they were greedy, just that they are out of touch with "normal" people - once known as 'the middle class".

 

[dreamof3d]

Whats funny is, this machine cost so much compared to your typical Best Buy DELL, that in needed a partial loan from mommy. I'm 45 years old and had to argue that this machine will last me a long time because you can upgrade everything. I had no clue that one could go from the Jetson's to the Flintstones in such a short time. Sure I knew technology would improve, been socking away money for upgrades since day one. Guess i didn't see the fine print:

"When we make it better, just buy new"

 

[maven8]

"When we make it better, just buy new"

What's funny is that I bought my 2007 8 core mac pro in November, knowing full well that an update could be coming in a month or two.
I decided to get it anyway because I figured that I'm getting a rev B which is bound to be stable, while the rev c could be different enough to have quirks. I also figured that the penryn chips won't be much higher in frequency, and wasn't expecting much more then a chip swap. In fact I was counting on being able to throw in the new chips one day.

I was right about the first few ideas, but knowing the the graphics card update is dead in the water, and that the processors can't be upgraded either I would have waited for sure. Can't complain too much, I've given up the game of being up to date and this thing should serve me for a few years just fine.
By the way, since you seem to be interested in 3D... I recently dug out a copy of computer graphics world from 1998 (in storage at my mother's home), and browsed through the ads. It's good to remember the leap in technology in just 10 years is rather amusing... for something like 8 grand back then you could have a whopping dual pentium II 300mhz machine, with a monstrous 128 megabytes of ram. Or a silicon graphics machine which was even worse on paper... Somehow I doubt this mac pro will be an equal paperweight in 10 years, and it's cheaper too!

 

[dreamof3d]

We should all pray tonight. LOL Forgive Steve and Apple, they are doing all they can.

 

[giantrobot]

Whats funny is, this machine cost so much compared to your typical Best Buy DELL, that in needed a partial loan from mommy. I'm 45 years old and had to argue that this machine will last me a long time because you can upgrade everything. I had no clue that one could go from the Jetson's to the Flintstones in such a short time. Sure I knew technology would improve, been socking away money for upgrades since day one. Guess i didn't see the fine print:

"When we make it better, just buy new"

The outrage is that the 2007 is still a beast. Its right up there with other workstations in the market. In fact, the biggest technological gap between the 2007 and 2008 Mac Pros is the better graphics card. Its because the 2008 is not significantly better than the 2007 that the GPU upgrade is being crippled. There would be no reason for people to switch otherwise.

A comparison would be if the old MBPros would have multi-touch with a simple software update..Apple would probably deny the software simply to sell the new MBP.

Finally, even the Penyrn chip could have been an upgrade. Some desktop motherboards support the 65n chipset as well as the 45n chipset. Thats why knowledgable PC users do not skimp on motherboards.

Note to APPLE:

You tried to do this to me once with the Mac Mini when you switched from solo core to all dual core and tried to make me buy a new Mini. I ripped open your plastic box and dropped a core 2 duo and more ram so the mini runs faster than any mini off your assembly line. You did not earn a red cent from me. Anyone who wants to do this can find simple instructions from YouTube.

If you do not fix this GPU cripple in the Mac Pro, someone else will and you will earn nothing from it.

Note to all: You can buy a refurbished solocore Mini and upgrade it to dual core for cheaper than it costs to buy the top line Mac Mini.

 

[giantrobot]

If it was only a week old you could have returned your quad core and then purchased a 8 core.

Reading more about the Nehalim due out in 09, the biggest losers may turn out to be the new Mac Pro group. There really isnt that much of a technological step forward from the 07 Mac Pros other than the GPU but the Nehalim looks like it will be a complete overhaul. Both the 07s and the 08 Mac Pros will become obsolete in 09 when this comes out but at least the old Mac Pro users will have had more than one year of being technologically relevant. If you are buying an 08 Mac Pro hoping to use it for years..forget it.