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Video card combinations for 2008 Mac Pro

sparkie7

sparkie7

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 17, 2008
2,568
295
I just bit the bullet and ordered a refurb 2008 octo 2.8 MP. Its gonna arrive next week. Is there anything wrong with mixing the standard card (ATI 2600 XT) with say a 8800GT? or is it better to buy two 8800GT's and leave out the 2600.

From research it looks like its a face-up b.w the 8800GT vs 3870. Anyone experienced both to have a real world user experience of which is better. Apparently the 3870 can be noisy? Which is better for performance?

Ideally I want to run 3 x 30" ACDs down the line. And just wondered what effect having 3 spanning displays with different cards, and how that will effect redraw etc and whether the different cards will work seamlessly together

Also in the mix now is the 4870. Is it worth it to this card rather than the 8800?

Any advice, as always greatly appreciated
 
sparkie7 said:
I just bit the bullet and ordered a refurb 2008 octo 2.8 MP. Its gonna arrive next week. Is there anything wrong with mixing the standard card (ATI 2600 XT) with say a 8800GT? or is it better to buy two 8800GT's and leave out the 2600.

From research it looks like its a face-up b.w the 8800GT vs 3870. Anyone experienced both to have a real world user experience of which is better. Apparently the 3870 can be noisy? Which is better for performance?

Ideally I want to run 3 x 30" ACDs down the line. And just wondered what effect having 3 spanning displays with different cards, and how that will effect redraw etc and whether the different cards will work seamlessly together

Also in the mix now is the 4870. Is it worth it to this card rather than the 8800?

Any advice, as always greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

I would get the 4870 it's way better than the other 2 cards.

If you don't get the 4870 I would get the 3870 because it's better at Core Image (for Pro Apps), than the Nvidia 8800GT.

The 3870 is only loud if you have a messed up card, if look on the forums seems like there is alot of them, but mine is quiet. Worse comes to worse you throw a passive cooler on there yourself.

THe 4870 will SMOKE the two cards though.
 
Chaos123x said:
I would get the 4870 it's way better than the other 2 cards.

If you don't get the 4870 I would get the 3870 because it's better at Core Image (for Pro Apps), than the Nvidia 8800GT.

The 3870 is only loud if you have a messed up card, if look on the forums seems like there is alot of them, but mine is quiet. Worse comes to worse you throw a passive cooler on there yourself.

THe 4870 will SMOKE the two cards though.
Click to expand...

but the 4870 only has 1xDVI port. Is it possible to hook up an adapter to the mini port to connect a DVI 30" ACD? I have read people are having problems, but that may be a MBP related issue.

If I get a 4870 with one 30" ACD hooke up and say the other 2 30"s are on the 2600XT, will there be a huge discrepancy/latency effect with redraw on the displays hooked up to the 2600XT. I'm guessing there will be, and by how much?
 
There isn't much more to say.

You can do a 8800 GT+two HD 2600 XT combo, a Radeon 3870+two HD 2600 XT combo, or a Radeon 4870+HD 2600 XT combo.

And I assume you don't care about the Quadro lines.
 
with a a Radeon 4870+HD 2600 XT combo; is it possible for 2 30 ACDs to be connected to the 4870, ie 1 to the DVI port, and the other via a mini display port to DVI adapter
 
but i'd have to keep the HD 2600 XT in to have a 3 display setup. thats one of my main concerns having a fast card paired to a much slower, lower spec card. wouldn't this be a problem :confused:
 
well the "divide" is much wider with my potential set-up than yours lol. so does that mean while my two displays that are hooked up to the fast card redraws in a flash, my slow card stutter or shows noticeable latency :( ala spinning colored wheel

one other question is in your opinion, which is the better card to get (if not the 4870 b/c of $$), the 8800GT or the 3870?
 
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