HT203420: Mac Pro (Early 2008): ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card with distorted video or no video

Learn about Mac Pro (Early 2008): ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card with distorted video or no video
mazmedia

Q: Hi... My ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT card just crapped out, beyond the warranty. What is the recommended replacement graphics card?  Thanks.

Hi... My ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT card just crapped out, beyond the warranty. What is the recommended replacement graphics card?  Thanks!

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Jul 25, 2012 4:42 PM

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Q: Hi... My ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT card just crapped out, beyond the warranty. What is the recommended replacement graphics card?  ... more

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  • by mazmedia,

    mazmedia mazmedia Jul 25, 2012 4:59 PM in response to mazmedia
    Level 2 (390 points)
    Jul 25, 2012 4:59 PM in response to mazmedia

    It's the ATI Radeon HD2600XT RV630 256MB, BTW... 2008 Mac Pro.

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,Solvedanswer

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Jul 25, 2012 5:55 PM in response to mazmedia
    Level 9 (61,250 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 25, 2012 5:55 PM in response to mazmedia

    The 5770 works in all Mac Pro models, but does not perform as fast in older models due to PCIe 1 slot speeds being slower. You MUST get an Apple-firmware model, or it will not generally show a picture under Mac OS X

     

    The drivers are in 10.6.5 or later, which can present a problem for debugging since the last "Full Retail" DVD is 10.6.3.

     

    If you think this might become an issue, you can re-download Lion, interrupt the automatic install and make a 4.18GB bootable DVD of it, use an 8GB Thumb drive to do the same, or download a little utility (Lion Recovery Disk Assistant) that creates about a 1GB Recovery-HD on another drive or thumb drive from your working Recovery-HD on your Boot Drive.

  • by mazmedia,

    mazmedia mazmedia Jul 25, 2012 7:07 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 2 (390 points)
    Jul 25, 2012 7:07 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    Grant... Thanks, this is helpful. I'll get to the bottom of which flavor of OSX I'm using... It's pretty current, so I'm hopeful it will be OK without the re-install acrobatics.

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,Helpful

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Jul 25, 2012 7:13 PM in response to mazmedia
    Level 9 (61,250 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 25, 2012 7:13 PM in response to mazmedia

    You posted that you are running 10.7 Lion of some revision. As long as Recovery_HD is intact on your operable Boot Drive, this only becomes an issue if that drive dies on you.

     

    The "gymnastics" I referred to are only needed if your drive were to die, because you may have trouble booting from the 10.6.3 DVD.

     

    Oh, and if you are in the US, these guys in New York have that card a little cheaper:

     

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?is=REG&sku=726537&Q=&O=&A=detail s