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What alternatives are there for pre 08 MP (OSX only)

J

jemo07

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 6, 2006
168
0
Madrid, Spain
Hello.

I see the 8800 is not coming any time soon (if ever) :mad: and I was looking for an alternative ASAP for my 7300 and the Expensive and old X1900 is not something I will deal with again as I replaced two before just asking Apple for my money back and got the 7300 instead. I don't game nor use Windows on my systems so it is of not interest to me what is been done for the gaming on Windows.

Could someone comment on what they have and how it is working out for them for Pro Apps?

TIA

JM
 
jemo07 said:
Hello.

I see the 8800 is not coming any time soon (if ever) :mad: and I was looking for an alternative ASAP for my 7300 and the Expensive and old X1900 is not something I will deal with again as I replaced two before just asking Apple for my money back and got the 7300 instead. I don't game nor use Windows on my systems so it is of not interest to me what is been done for the gaming on Windows.

Could someone comment on what they have and how it is working out for them for Pro Apps?

TIA

JM
Click to expand...

Just get the ATI HD 2600xt
 
There aren't many options in the "un-hacked, un-flashed, ready-to-go for Mac Pro" realm of cards available for the 2006 PCIe 1.0 Mac Pro... your options are pretty much this, for the "ready-to-go":

1. ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro
(Alot of people are reporting good success with this card in the older Mac Pro, it seems to work fine, and people are having success with this when the X1900 has been giving them problems

2. The 7300 GT (ie default stock card)
It works, it's cheap, it's not fast, but it's OK for non-gaming purposes, and it's pretty stable

3. The ATI X1900 (which you and many seem to have problems with)

-------
Those seem to be the only cards that Apple is giving the OK on, although others seem to have success flashing PC cards with a Mac ROM, but you do that at your own risk. Good luck!
 
1. ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro
(Alot of people are reporting good success with this card in the older Mac Pro, it seems to work fine, and people are having success with this when the X1900 has been giving them problems

Bit the bullet and got the 2600 from Apple, it is running without a problem. Booth of my 23" :apple:CD are looking as beautifully as ever. Aperture is a little Snappier but nothing remarkable like what I have seen the 8800 do on the new MP. Kept the 7300 to run my Cintiq 12WX, and now things feel a bit snappier! :D

Thanks you all for the input.

JM
 
I'm currently running a 7900GS in my Quad 2.66 Mac Pro. Someone else is running a 7900GTO is his. Works fine in Tiger and Leopard.

Only "drawback" is that it involves soldering, modding, flashing. Also had to use NVinject in Tiger.

In the end, the card performs much better, and generate much less heat than the original, passively cooled 7300GT, but it is a bit more noisy.
 
Ooohh.. the 7900s were nice cards. How'd you do that, exactly? Where'd the soldering/modding come in?
 
jemo07 said:
Bit the bullet and got the 2600 from Apple, it is running without a problem. Booth of my 23" :apple:CD are looking as beautifully as ever. Aperture is a little Snappier but nothing remarkable like what I have seen the 8800 do on the new MP. Kept the 7300 to run my Cintiq 12WX, and now things feel a bit snappier! :D

JM
Click to expand...

Ok, update on this, yes it was snappier, but for some reason now it is not?
I get lot's of beachballs now while in Aperture 2.0 when editing my images?

I think it had to do with the fact that the both the ATI 2600XT and Nvidia 7300 are simultaneously running in the MP?

I have two ACD 23" connected on the 2600 and the Cintiq 12WX on the 7300 so i take it that this combination is not suitable?

Is there anyone out there running 3 monitors of the 2600XT? I could try to get a Y splitter cable to try an put all the monitors on the 2600XT? Is this worth it?

I am not sure if this when awed after the latest security patch since I was just running two monitors just before and I add back the 7300 right before the upgrade.... :confused:

TIA,

JM
 
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