Video Cards

[mikeyPotg]

Hey guys,
I'm finally making the plunge and getting a mac pro. I'm buying it used from someone, and I've already made strides to upgrade the HD's and Ram, but eventually I'd like to upgrade the video card (comes with the standard 256 nvidia video card).

Do yall have any suggestions as to video cards I should look into? I've read about the ATI 1900, but are there any else? Or will this be fine for editing video?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[yeroen]

Well, I'm assuming you already know that PC graphics cards will not work in the Mac Pro. That being said, the X1900 is the best you can do, unless

1) you can find an Apple Nvida Quadro 4500 on ebay (unlikely), or spend $2000 for a new one here: http://www.welovemacs.com/6613928.html

2) Apple and Nvidia release an 8800 GT that's compatible with pre-2008 Mac Pros. This was promised to happen (just search the Mac Pro forums), but we'll have to wait and see anything comes of it. Nothing was made official, and it may just be Nvidia's PR is blowing smoke.

I'd personally wait a little while longer and see if the 8800GT comes out for the 2006/2007 Mac Pros, and make do with the 7300 in the meantime. The Apple Store is still selling the X1900 at the typical-Apple price gouging markup of $399, which is a lot to ask for for a card that's 2 years old.

 

[mikeyPotg]

Ah, thanks so much. I had no idea about the 8800 GT. I wonder when that'll be announced and how much. Sounds interesting!

Why does the other card cost so much? Is it just because it can support tons of monitors? Or doesn't it really make that much of a difference of FCS?

 

[yeroen]

The Quadro is high end card optimized for CAD and 3D Animation/CGI work. You'd typically find these in engineering and architectural firms, computing labs for scientific visualization, movie studios, etc. The GPU on the card is the same as that used on the GeForce series, the difference is in the firmware. Gaming cards vs CAD cards are optimized for different things.

Unless someone else is writing the check and it's all the same to you, you don't need one.

As for the 8800 compatibility with 2006/2007 Mac Pros, you should check out the Mac Pro forums on these boards. There's about a dozen running threads on the subject. It caused a huge stink when the news broke and generated a ton of discussion.

 

[mikeyPotg]

thanks for all the info! Since I really didn't expect to get a mac pro, I wasn't paying much attention to the video cards, let alone the 8800, but I'll certainly keep it in mind now!