XFX 8800GT(S) in 1,1 Mac Pro?

[Goftrey]

Hey everyone, I'm in talks with someone over a (PC) 8800 GT from XFX. The 6570 I have in my Pro now was never intended to be there long & I want it gone asap. I know this is an older card & that newer cards (such as the 6570, as well as pretty much any modern ATI/nVidia card out there) are plug & plug in OS X nowadays, just without the boot screen.

Would this XFX PC card be plug & play in my '06 Pro running Lion?

Thanks.

 

[ActionableMango]

No, I think you need Geforce 400 or 500 series (Fermi) for Lion. 8800GT is pre-Fermi.

 

[Goftrey]

No, I think you need Geforce 400 or 500 series (Fermi) for Lion. 8800GT is pre-Fermi.

Bollucks. Thanks anyway mate.

 

[MacVidCards]

Actually, it will work.

AT least as well as it works to begin with.

8800GT are iffy as they age, the XFX ones use cheaper parts.

There is even a tiny chance it might be flashable but more than likely not.

 

[Goftrey]

Actually, it will work.

AT least as well as it works to begin with.

8800GT are iffy as they age, the XFX ones use cheaper parts.

There is even a tiny chance it might be flashable but more than likely not.

What do you mean 'as well as it works to begin with'?

 

[pastrychef]

It should work. The 8800 GT was an option available from Apple for Mac Pro 2,1 and 3,1s.

 

[ActionableMango]

My bad. The Nvidia FAQ implies the only Nvidia PC cards that will work in Lion are Fermi.

 

[MacVidCards]

What do you mean 'as well as it works to begin with'?

When 8800GTs were in demand and we flashed them, I tried a few XFX ones.

They were more likely to have issues than other brands.

XFX was only one I ever saw with a 2 wire fan, instead of usual 4 wire.

They just aren't well made and Nvidia had bad solder in G92.

Just be very careful not to flex the card at all during install or whenever.

But if you have a working OS install from 10.7.3 or later, should fire up when computer reaches desktop.

If card has issue and doesn't finish booting, you'll never see anything/

 

[Goftrey]

When 8800GTs were in demand and we flashed them, I tried a few XFX ones.

They were more likely to have issues than other brands.

XFX was only one I ever saw with a 2 wire fan, instead of usual 4 wire.

They just aren't well made and Nvidia had bad solder in G92.

Just be very careful not to flex the card at all during install or whenever.

But if you have a working OS install from 10.7.3 or later, should fire up when computer reaches desktop.

If card has issue and doesn't finish booting, you'll never see anything/

Awesome bit of info. So just to reiterate, even under Lion - I'd still need to flash the card?

 

[pastrychef]

You only need to flash the card if you need the boot screen.

Not all 8800 GT cards had flash chips large enough to hold firmware that also contained the EFI portion. In those instances, you would need to replace the flash memory on the card.

 

[Goftrey]

You only need to flash the card if you need the boot screen.

Not all 8800 GT cards had flash chips large enough to hold firmware that also contained the EFI portion. In those instances, you would need to replace the flash memory on the card.

Great! What about a GTS then? The bloke is literally giving the GTS' away.

 

[pastrychef]

The situation is the same with GTS models. The OS X drivers have support for it.

 

[Goftrey]

The situation is the same with GTS models. The OS X drivers have support for it.

Thank you!

 

[pastrychef]

My pleasure.

 

[Goftrey]

Just thought I'd give an update - mainly for future reference if anyone happens to come across this thread.

Running 10.7.5 Lion & Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit - the XFX 8800GTS G80 320MB WORKS out of the box! No faffing around with flashing. No boot screen of course but it's working beautifully.