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Upgrading old Mac Pro to 8800 GT graphics?
- Thread starter Fezzy
- Start date
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I sent mine back and reinstalled the ATI1900 card. Performance was abysmal in BF2142 and I had some graphical anomalies as well. Probably a driver issue, but I see no reason to shell out the cash until performance increases instead of decreasing.
Fanless Cooler...
I've been looking at fanless cooler options for the 8800, just to be safe. I know the performance isn't optimized for this card (well not yet), so over heating isn't going to be an issue. The below cooler has received great ratings but man is it expensive.
Only fan noise I get is when I return the computer from sleep, restart or turing it on. It's only loud due to the quick burst of fan speed and we are talking about 5-7 seconds then it returns to normal. I have a few friends that dont like it but I told them just think its blowing the dust off that fan and chip-set for ya, so you wont have to open that case. They agreed and liked that idea.
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/hr03gt/product_vga_cooler_hr03gt.htm
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3249
I've been looking at fanless cooler options for the 8800, just to be safe. I know the performance isn't optimized for this card (well not yet), so over heating isn't going to be an issue. The below cooler has received great ratings but man is it expensive.
Only fan noise I get is when I return the computer from sleep, restart or turing it on. It's only loud due to the quick burst of fan speed and we are talking about 5-7 seconds then it returns to normal. I have a few friends that dont like it but I told them just think its blowing the dust off that fan and chip-set for ya, so you wont have to open that case. They agreed and liked that idea.
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/hr03gt/product_vga_cooler_hr03gt.htm
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3249
xraydoc
Contributor
No flashing. No graphical anomalies. Just works. Can't speak about the difference between the X1900 and the 8800GT (since my X1900 died over 6 month ago). But its way faster than the 2600XT I was using since then.
cal6n
macrumors 68020
Another one working fine here. Makes my 7300 look silly.
Lara's as smooth as a freshly buttered weasel at 2560 x1600 with everything maxed in XP.
Only issue is that I can't get the NVidia control panel up in linux. I've got full 3D acceleration using the NVidia drivers though, so it's no biggie...
dreamof3d
macrumors regular
My card works fine, when the monitor restarts after u move the mouse or whatever......it turns the screen blue twice as its powering up. My Cinebench scores are surprisingly lower in windoz than on Mac. Like half, but that doesn't reflect with opengl screensavers of call of duty 2 all at the highest settings run fine.
I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 x64 with the 169.12 driver. Seems the card is preforming best in Linux. Everything works in the control panel including the thermal sensor, and dual monitors. Compiz fusion works flawlessly. I did have to do some folder/file permissions work so Nvidia could save custom xorg.conf settings. I may try the 169 series driver in windoz. My x1900 had way better cinebench scores. Right now I have the newest beta installed.
Where the hell is our Mac 10.5.3 update? Would like to see just what this card can do for OS X.....................
Well I couldnt be happier getting rid of the x1900. I HATED that card. My 8800gt has been great, and I've had 0 issues with it. I already ebayed my x1900 as well. The 8800 is quiet. Doesnt lock up on my. Has DX10 support, has good driver support. 😀
Might not have wanted to do that. . . unless you get a 10.5.2 retail cd. You won't be able to rebuild from scratch if you get to that point. Just FYI.
I sent mine back, but instead of an outright return I'm going to try a replacement first.
Maury
AFAIK, there is no retail 10.5.2 install disc. Only 10.5.1. Hopefully 10.5.3 will be released on a disc.
I got the replacement. Exact same problems. It's either driver or firmware. *sigh*
Mackilroy
macrumors 601
It's pretty simple - there's only one additional step from installing a card such as another 7300 GT or an HD2600 XT - just plug in the 6-pin Molex cable the 8800 GT comes with into the motherboard.
Basically:
1. Open case
2. Remove card in slot you want to install 8800 GT in
3. Plug in 6-pin power cord
4. Insert 8800 GT into PCIe slot
5. Plug cord into front of 8800 GT
You're done!
Basically:
1. Open case
2. Remove card in slot you want to install 8800 GT in
3. Plug in 6-pin power cord
4. Insert 8800 GT into PCIe slot
5. Plug cord into front of 8800 GT
You're done!
dreamof3d
macrumors regular
The only time I hear the fan is from a cold boot. Not like the ati x1900 at all which raced at boot twice, and at every re-start. In Linux I heard the fan kick in after displaying an OpenGL screensaver for a while. I just want to know why I get a 4800 CB-GFX score on Mac (Cinebench 10.0) and only 2400 CB-GFX in windoz??????????? Which driver r u guys using in Vista 64?
Mackilroy
macrumors 601
True.
If you'd like, ungraphic, I can take a few snapshots of how the 8800 appears in my machine and put them up somewhere.
dreamof3d
macrumors regular
Seemed to make a difference in my machine, I'm getting scores like 5200CB-GFX (Cinebench 10) and only 2479 in Windoz. Aperture seems snappier, and iPhoto too. Applying filters in Photoshop on raw Nikon D80 dslr files (8-11mb) are really quick. images from my Nikon Coolpix filter out in almost real time. I still think there is some hidden OS X horsepower. Have no clue why wimdoz scores suck, yet Vista 64 system info claims gamming graphics at 5.9 out of 6???????????????
Linux (Ubuntu 64) Open GL stuff really fly
I've been watching this thread with great interest from the beginning because I REALLY want to replace my x1900 with a faster card. However, I was very disappointed to see that the performance for core image wasn't any better. My main motivation is to improve performance for Aperture so I decided to wait before buying.
Barefeats says that 10.5.3 did improve the performance of this card but it's still not really a strong performer for core image. Click here for the article
However, I did notice this at the end of the article: "If you want an optional graphics card that significantly improves the Core Image performance of Apple's consumer and pro apps above that of the "base" Radeon 2600, then you're going to be very interested in the test results for the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 -- which we will be posting in a few days."
Very Interesting indeed.
Barefeats says that 10.5.3 did improve the performance of this card but it's still not really a strong performer for core image. Click here for the article
However, I did notice this at the end of the article: "If you want an optional graphics card that significantly improves the Core Image performance of Apple's consumer and pro apps above that of the "base" Radeon 2600, then you're going to be very interested in the test results for the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 -- which we will be posting in a few days."
Very Interesting indeed.
dreamof3d
macrumors regular
However, I did notice this at the end of the article: "If you want an optional graphics card that significantly improves the Core Image performance of Apple's consumer and pro apps above that of the "base" Radeon 2600, then you're going to be very interested in the test results for the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 -- which we will be posting in a few days."
Very Interesting indeed.[/QUOTE]
Thats funny. I read some articles on this. Sound like gamers will cry again and us pro app guys will have a 1900 and 8800 for paper weights. I'm just going to be happy with my 8800gt until next year, and I'll buy the new Mac Pro with the best graphics card they offer and be quiet, and not even look at new cards until I get ready for who knows in 2010, 64 core Macpro? This is stupid and apple must be loving it. Use a card for a couple months, and then they can put out a new one, and a new one. Bullship, I aint swapping cards every other month like a hard core gamer. No offense to gamers, I want a card that does well for both, but I'm not going to buy a new card to squeeze out 5 more fps in Crysis. Nope................
Very Interesting indeed.[/QUOTE]
Thats funny. I read some articles on this. Sound like gamers will cry again and us pro app guys will have a 1900 and 8800 for paper weights. I'm just going to be happy with my 8800gt until next year, and I'll buy the new Mac Pro with the best graphics card they offer and be quiet, and not even look at new cards until I get ready for who knows in 2010, 64 core Macpro? This is stupid and apple must be loving it. Use a card for a couple months, and then they can put out a new one, and a new one. Bullship, I aint swapping cards every other month like a hard core gamer. No offense to gamers, I want a card that does well for both, but I'm not going to buy a new card to squeeze out 5 more fps in Crysis. Nope................
jazz1
macrumors 601
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT User No Where to Go But Up!
For me this is all good news! I've been following these upgrade threads and have been looking, like some, for a card that can give me a good compromise-the general best of both worlds. I have a 2.66 MP.
So, could the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 be that card? I use my MacPro primarily for Adobe's Lightroom, some light video work. Gaming wise I'm not hard core but I am waiting for StarCraft II.
Can I still use the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT to drive a secondary monitor and use the upgrade for my primary? I'm glad I went with the upgradable MP over the iMac.
I guess only testing will tell. I can't wait for BareFeats to get their hands on the new Radeon HD 3870!
For me this is all good news! I've been following these upgrade threads and have been looking, like some, for a card that can give me a good compromise-the general best of both worlds. I have a 2.66 MP.
So, could the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 be that card? I use my MacPro primarily for Adobe's Lightroom, some light video work. Gaming wise I'm not hard core but I am waiting for StarCraft II.
Can I still use the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT to drive a secondary monitor and use the upgrade for my primary? I'm glad I went with the upgradable MP over the iMac.
I guess only testing will tell. I can't wait for BareFeats to get their hands on the new Radeon HD 3870!
I just got an OWC catalog today, and it has a picture of the new ATI card.
Nothing on the website however.
It says coming June 2008
Nothing on the website however.
It says coming June 2008
apfhex
macrumors 68030
I guess people will complain either way. I think it's extremely good thing that we get not one but two upgrade options for first gen Mac Pros. Since I heard about the HD 3870 I've bee sitting back to see what I might want to upgrade to (provided my X1900 XT holds out), well that and I can't afford to upgrade right now. 😱