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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?

Cowinacape said:
No thank you, one over priced screenless iMac clone is enough :D
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Thats pretty funny. I found a copy of Kalaway 10.5.2........Supposed to work just about perfect, gpu drivers and all....Hmmmmmm maybe a new workstation in my future. I will have to read the comments in a week, then maybe download it.
 
This machine can accept like 20 different gpu's, and can install 64 gig 800 mhz ram. All for $10.00 less than a new (non-upgradeable) Mac Pro. Note: This includes a high end Quadro Vs 8800gt.

l Xi® MTower™ 2P64X Workstation (Base Configuration) $1,439.00
Upgrades And Options:
l 2 x Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® E5440 2.83GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache EM64T $1,549.00
l 8192MB DDR2 667MHz FB-DIMM ECC 4x2GB Dual Rank Interleave heatspreader $349.00
l nVidia® Quadro FX 3700 512MB DDR3 PCIe 2.0 2x DVI Dual Link $799.00
l No Monitor ($140.00)
l 80GB 7200RPM SATAII 300MB/s 8MB Cache 9ms $0.00
l HD Ctrl. According To Motherboard and HD Type Selected $0.00
l DVD 16x40x Reader $0.00
l On board Intel® 82540 10/100/1Gbit Ethernet $0.00
l Logitech® Deluxe Black Windows Keyboard $0.00
l Logitech® 2+ Wheel PS/2 Mouse Black Optical $0.00
l Linux® Red Hat® Fedora™, or Ubuntu™, or Open SuSE™ or No OS Installed (Please Specify) $0.00
l Tyan® Tempest intel® 5400XL C.S. S5392ANR 1333FSB-1xPCIe 16x-1xPCIe 8x-2xPCI-X-1xPCI-up to 16GB-FB-DIMM 667MHz -1GbE-6xSATA II RAID 0/1/10-SPDIF Sound-4xUSB $0.00
l 600W OCZ™ StealthXStream™ Quiet 12cm BB Fan PowerWhisper™ UL $0.00
l Standard Xi Warranty w/Express Advance Parts Replacement, One Year on System, Mfg. on Monitor $0.00
l Xi® NetRAIDer™ ATX Black Hi-End-12 bays-2x12cm BB Fans. Chenbro SR10769 $0.00
$3,996.00 I already have 1.5 TB in 3 internal SATA drives, and Viewsonic 28.5" and 22" Lcd's Nice machine........:apple:
 
dreamof3d said:
This machine can accept like 20 different gpu's, and can install 64 gig 800 mhz ram. All for $10.00 less than a new (non-upgradeable) Mac Pro. Note: This includes a high end Quadro Vs 8800gt.

[...snip...]

l 80GB 7200RPM SATAII 300MB/s 8MB Cache 9ms $0.00

[...snip...
Click to expand...

80GB! That's generous :)
 
dreamof3d said:
I already have a 750gb,a 500gb, and a 250 gb. Don't believe I need anymore. Guess for a few bucks I could change the 80 to a 250gb for a total of 2 TB..
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Yeah, but you wrote:

"All for $10.00 less than a new (non-upgradeable) Mac Pro"

Those few bucks would have to be less than 10 or you couldn't
make that claim.

Which Mac Pro are you comparing to, by the way?
 
I got a quote from my local Apple Store with a business discount at approx $4k

It was : Mac Pro 2.8ghz Octo, 4gig ram,320 gig hd,8800gt, 2 super drives, 3 years of Apple care, and automatic renewal of my .Mac account when it expires.

The machine I posted was just an example. I may even do some more configuring, I need to research warranty info too. This machine has some awesome options, especially if you are a gamer. I seldom play games, 3d rendering and video work is my pass time. Check out this link. You may not think Apple is giving us such a great deal............:apple:

http://www.xicomputer.com/products/Configure.asp?model=mtowerxeon&configid=
 
dreamof3d said:
I got a quote from my local Apple Store with a business discount at approx $4k

It was : Mac Pro 2.8ghz Octo, 4gig ram,320 gig hd,8800gt, 2 super drives, 3 years of Apple care, and automatic renewal of my .Mac account when it expires.

The machine I posted was just an example. I may even do some more configuring, I need to research warranty info too. This machine has some awesome options, especially if you are a gamer. I seldom play games, 3d rendering and video work is my pass time. Check out this link. You may not think Apple is giving us such a great deal............:apple:

http://www.xicomputer.com/products/Configure.asp?model=mtowerxeon&configid=
Click to expand...

Here's what I got:

Mac Pro: 2 x 2.8 Quad Core, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, 8800 GT 512 MB Video, SuperDrive (just the stock 8-core plus the 8800 video card) - $3000

Xi Computer: 2 x 2.83 Quad Core, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, 8800 GT 512 MB Video, DVD+/-R DL Burner, XP 64-bit Pro (added 64-bit to allow more than 3 GB of RAM, subtract $129 if you go with the Linux option) - $3563

Granted, the Xi computer offers a TON of options in processors and video cards, but it only allows 2 HDDs stock (additional HDDs can be added with an optional tray option).

Conclusion, if you want a very specific configuration: advantage - Xi Computer. If you like the Mac Pro configuration and are willing to add your RAM/HDDs yourself: advantage - Apple.
 
dreamof3d said:
I got a quote from my local Apple Store with a business discount at approx $4k

It was : Mac Pro 2.8ghz Octo, 4gig ram,320 gig hd,8800gt, 2 super drives, 3 years of Apple care, and automatic renewal of my .Mac account when it expires.

The machine I posted was just an example. I may even do some more configuring, I need to research warranty info too. This machine has some awesome options, especially if you are a gamer. I seldom play games, 3d rendering and video work is my pass time. Check out this link. You may not think Apple is giving us such a great deal............:apple:

http://www.xicomputer.com/products/Configure.asp?model=mtowerxeon&configid=
Click to expand...


All that and it may as well be said after todays fiasco... It will most likely run OSX as well.
 
Don't get me wrong guys.........I love my Mac Pro, and it brings me joy every day, and most of my friends are envious. When new technology arises though, I don't want to moan and groan, and bitch on forums to get an upgrade. Upgrades should be possible at least for a couple of years, Apple didn't scrap their design for a full-blown new architecture, they simply think we all have money to blow every 11 months, and should just buy a new machine every year.
 
dreamof3d said:
Don't get me wrong guys.........I love my Mac Pro, and it brings me joy every day, and most of my friends are envious. When new technology arises though, I don't want to moan and groan, and bitch on forums to get an upgrade. Upgrades should be possible at least for a couple of years, Apple didn't scrap their design for a full-blown new architecture, they simply think we all have money to blow every 11 months, and should just buy a new machine every year.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree on that point. Apple really dropped the ball on the upgrade path for Mac Pros. Personally, it doesn't phase me, because I don't game and the stuff I do (web design) is FAR from GPU intensive. I am just happy to be able to add HDDs and RAM out the wazoo. Still, I can sympathize with those that do want the upgrade, and more options down the road is always better.
 
dreamof3d said:
Don't get me wrong guys.........I love my Mac Pro, and it brings me joy every day, and most of my friends are envious. When new technology arises though, I don't want to moan and groan, and bitch on forums to get an upgrade. Upgrades should be possible at least for a couple of years, Apple didn't scrap their design for a full-blown new architecture, they simply think we all have money to blow every 11 months, and should just buy a new machine every year.
Click to expand...

I agree with you 100% I love my Mac Pro as well but it is sad that my Hackintosh is overall a better machine due to upgradeability.
 
kgarner said:
Definitely agree on that point. Apple really dropped the ball on the upgrade path for Mac Pros. Personally, it doesn't phase me, because I don't game and the stuff I do (web design) is FAR from GPU intensive. I am just happy to be able to add HDDs and RAM out the wazoo. Still, I can sympathize with those that do want the upgrade, and more options down the road is always better.
Click to expand...

I sympathize as well, and I own an early 2008 model with the 8800GT. But I know damn well I'll be in their position in 18 months when there is a great video card out and available in the "late 2008, 2009" Mac Pro that for some reason I can't upgrade to. No way in HELL I'm going to buy a new Mac Pro to get a better video card.
 
waremaster said:
I agree with you 100% I love my Mac Pro as well but it is sad that my Hackintosh is overall a better machine due to upgradeability.
Click to expand...

I thought the Hackintoshes were still limited in upgradability because they had to be roughly configured like a Mac (i.e it only works with particular MBs, processors, and GPUs). Admittedly, I don't follow the scene closely, but that was my recollection. It is impressive if the Hackintosh community can provide drivers and workarounds for OS X when Apple can't do it for their supported hardware.
 
kgarner said:
I thought the Hackintoshes were still limited in upgradability because they had to be roughly configured like a Mac (i.e it only works with particular MBs, processors, and GPUs). Admittedly, I don't follow the scene closely, but that was my recollection. It is impressive if the Hackintosh community can provide drivers and workarounds for OS X when Apple can't do it for their supported hardware.
Click to expand...

I just posted my geekbench results in the hackintosh thread that someone created you might want to have a look. Yes my Mac Pro beats it by a little bit 4726 (hackintosh) vs 4999 (Mac Pro) but keeping in mind the Hack didnt cost but a fraction of the price of the Mac Pro and I get to run an 8800GTS (g92) with 1gig of video ram in the hack. It's not that Apple can't provide the means to make this hardware work. It's that they are just greedy and don't want too.
 
Here is a few options from the Kalaway 10.5.2 driver list. I just wish Apple would make something like the Quadro 3700 available, it's like $700.00

Graphics_Drivers

Ati_Radeon

X1000Series
ATYinject for 19xx series
NATIT_For_X1000_series
ATIRadeonX1000SeriesGraphics
1950gt_pro

X2000_HD_and_X3000_HD_Series
NATIT_For_X2000_X3000_Series
HD2900xt_pro
white_menus_fixe_HD2600_pro
white_menus_fixe_HD3850_3870x2
ATI_Radeon_HD_2600_Pro_AGP (this one no need for natit and white menufix)
ATI_Radeon_HD_2600_XT_AGP (this one no need for natit and white menufix)

Nvidia_Geforce (select one only)

NVinject
NVinject-128
NVinject-256
NVinject-320
NVinject-512
NVinject-640
NVinject-768
NVinjectGO
NVinjectGO-512
NVInject_Clevo_M570RU 8700gfx
NATIT_gfnvidia
Intel_GMA

GMA950 (tiger one full accelerated and resolution support but with mouse artifact)
GMAX3100 (not tested)


Audio_Drivers

Intel NVIDIA VIA ATI HDAudioController
NVIDIAAC97Audio
Realtek Sigmatel ConexantAnalogDevicesHDAudioCodec (generic output support)
ALC883_DS3,p5k pro etc...
alc889a_shutdown_support
ALC882_p5w_dh_deluxe
sigmatel_9200_inspiron_9400
 
I'm definitely investigating the Hackintosh route when I next upgrade, after this fiasco. I bought an 2007 8-core last July (saved for 6 months and borrowed some money, I'm not a rich man) and foolishly went for the 7300 thinking there'd be an decent upgrade in 6 months. If Apple don't deliver then Hackintosh for me. I do After effects, Photoshop, Aperture and Cinema 4d - all heavy GPU users. The reason I didn't get the 1900 is the stories abounding of it's potential for burn-out. And it's old and overpriced.

To be honest Apple have dropped the ball on a few things. Abandoning 64-bit Carbon thus forcing Photoshop and Cinema 4d (and any other Carbon apps) to be written from the ground up in Cocoa to support 64-bit memory addressing. All that 64-bit hype that Apple advertised with Leopard is unused by most decent apps. Being limited to 3gb in photoshop or AE when I've 16 meg installed is a bloody joke.

I think a year out for Apple for me would do me some good speed wise and work wise. I love OS X but when my software starts to lag behind Windows Vista apps then I'm seriously not impressed. I've used macs since 1988 (I've also used PCs for 3D) so I'm no disappointed switcher. I'm a disappointed core-user-baser.
 
General question then...

So if they never turn up with a 8800 for the older mac pro, can you run Hakintosh version of Leopard on a genuine mac pro in order to utilize standard 8800 ?
 
MacRumorUser said:
General question then...

So if they never turn up with a 8800 for the older mac pro, can you run Hakintosh version of Leopard on a genuine mac pro in order to utilize standard 8800 ?
Click to expand...

I actually tried that and due to the EFI emulator it would not boot. As the machine has EFI. The next thing I will try is using the NVInject drivers on the machine to see if that does anything but I have a feeling it wont as the video card is not being seen as even a vesa card as it is on a hackintosh.
 
waremaster said:
I actually tried that and due to the EFI emulator it would not boot. As the machine has EFI. The next thing I will try is using the NVInject drivers on the machine to see if that does anything but I have a feeling it wont as the video card is not being seen as even a vesa card as it is on a hackintosh.
Click to expand...

Oh well.. scupper'd at every turn...
 
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