Level 2

426 points

GeForce 8800 GTX (OC) working on 2008 Mac Pro under Vista 64!

While we were waiting for our GeForce 8800 GT kit to arrive for our new Mac Pro 3.2GHz 8-core, we decided to install Vista 64 on a Boot Camp partition. At the time we had the Radeon HD 2600 XT installed. We shutdown. Installed a PC version of the GeForce 8800 GTX. Powered up. Voila! It worked! It worked even better once we installed the Vista 64 drivers that came with it.

We just ran Prey benchmark at 1920x1200 "High Quality." We get 155 fps.
Compare that to the same Mac Pro with a Radeon X1900 XT which gets 64 fps
and a Radeon HD 2600 XT which gets 36 fps.

The latest, greatest Mac., Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Feb 7, 2008 2:28 PM

32 replies

Feb 9, 2008 10:20 AM in response to The hatter

So, should I not use the cable that came with the GTX and which I'm using in the PC I have now for gaming? Does the 'Pro have a different motherboard connector or are they all standard for PCI Express 2?

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 9, 2008 12:32 PM in response to Neal Jackson

The power cable and connectors are unique to the Mac Pro. If you buy a Mac compatible card that needs a power feed, the cable is included. If you need extra cables, check with We Love Macs:
http://www.welovemacs.com/9227128.html

Feb 9, 2008 1:56 PM in response to rob_ART

Leaving both cards in place can I not just swap the cable from one card from the other?
Could you test to see if the 'Pro will boot into OS X with both cards installed GT only connected to supply?

questions...questions...questions...

Message was edited by: Neal Jackson

Message was edited by: Neal Jackson

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Feb 9, 2008 2:18 PM in response to Neal Jackson

In the past, any PC 8800-series would prevent booting into OS X with the 8800s installed, even though it works fine in Windows, you would not see any of the Windows early startup messages or from the EFI boot manager as in using the OPTION key to select startup volumes when there is more than one system.

Someone managed to snag a PC 8800 that was happy to work side by side in their 2008. Ultra? can't find it.

Someone mentioned receiving their Mac Pro w/ 8800GT Friday:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/2008mac_proreports.html#storytop

Feb 9, 2008 2:35 PM in response to The hatter

Thanks for the info. I'll have to wait till Monday (Apple notified 11th delivery date) to try it all out for myself...

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 9, 2008 6:25 PM in response to Neal Jackson

I have both the GeForce 8800 GTX and Radeon HD 2600 XT installed in my 2008 Mac Pro. I just move the DVI display cable to the 2600 when booting Mac OS X and to the 8800 when booting Vista 64.

The power cables remain connected to the 8800 even when not in use.

I plan to do the same thing when I get the 8800 GT kit.

Message was edited by: rob_ART

clonewar

Level 1

0 points

Feb 9, 2008 10:50 PM in response to rob_ART

rob_ART, it hopefully shouldn't matter but could you specify exactly what brand and model 8800GTX you're using.

Thanks!
Michael

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 10, 2008 9:33 AM in response to rob_ART

CORRECTION: Vista 64 bit will NOT boot from the GeForce 8800 GTX when the Radeon HD 2600 XT is present when I have one display attached. I'll try connecting two displays (one to each) next to see if I can disable the Radeon without having to remove the card.

As for the brand of GeForce 8800 GTX, I chose the BFG model BFG88768GTXOC2E (768MB DDR3, dual dual-link DVI). It's overclocked to 626MHz core, 1450MHz shader, and 2000MHz memory freq.

Message was edited by: rob_ART to correct grammar

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 11, 2008 7:15 PM in response to rob_ART

I have some interesting Prey benchmark results as of this afternoon.

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality" -- all done with a Mac Pro 3.2GHz
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 36 fps
Radeon X1900 XT = 64 fps
GeForce 8800 GT = 91 fps
GeForce 8800 GTX = 155 fps *

(* Vista 64 in Boot Camp partition; all others are Mac OS X Leopard)

More to come...

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Feb 12, 2008 4:23 AM in response to rob_ART

GeForce 8800 GT = 91 fps

GeForce 8800 GTX = 155 fps *

Wow, a full 64 frames. I didn't expect that much spread.

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 29, 2008 8:25 PM in response to rob_ART

We have expanded test results for the GeForce 8800 GT compared to others on the Mac Pro 3.2GHz:

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality" under Mac OS X:
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 36 fps
Radeon X1900 XT = 64 fps
GeForce 8800 GT = 95 fps

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality" under Vista 64 (in Boot Camp partition):
GeForce 8800 GT = 145 fps
GeForce 8800 GTX = 166 fps
Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 201 fps

So, as you can see, the gap between the GeForce 8800 GT and GTX shrinks when they both are running under Vista 64.

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Feb 29, 2008 8:30 PM in response to rob_ART

More benchmarks under Vista 64 on the Mac Pro 3.2GHz...

3DMark SM2.0 rating
GeForce 8800 GT = 5184
GeForce 8800 GTX = 5480
Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 6345

3DMark HDR/SM3.0 rating
GeForce 8800 GT = 4928
GeForce 8800 GTX = 5716
Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 7797

Doom 3 at 1920x1200 "High Quality":
GeForce 8800 GT = 154 fps
GeForce 8800 GTX = 174 fps
Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 181 fps

Saiing

Level 1

31 points

Mar 1, 2008 4:27 AM in response to rob_ART

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality" under Mac OS X:
GeForce 8800 GT = 95 fps

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality" under Vista 64 (in Boot Camp partition):
GeForce 8800 GT = 145 fps

50 fps faster under Vista!? And what's more, for gaming, Vista is generally considered Microsoft's slowest OS by quite a margin. This is very troubling. There may be a few differences in the game code itself, but it's far more likely that the Mac OS drivers are absolute garbage. The card is running a two-thirds of its capability for god's sake. What the **** is going on with the Mac these days? How many more nails do Apple want to bang into the coffin of their computer division before people finally give up paying twice the price for half the power? After nearly 20 years as an devoted Apple user and owner, for the first time in my life, I am seriously considering making my next purchase a PC. I've just had enough of this crap.

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 1, 2008 7:31 AM in response to Saiing

Actually, most games run fine with Vista x64 on a good system because developers had to rewrite their code, and more game developers are flocking to 8-cores to reduce development and compile times.

It took nearly a year to get drivers for Vista, and Apple may be at square one and in catch up mode.

rob_ART Author

Level 2

426 points

Mar 1, 2008 10:45 AM in response to rob_ART

I've added the Radeon HD 2600 XT and Quadro FX 5600 to the Mac Pro 3.2GHz running Vista 64 Ultimate:

Prey at 1920x1200 "High Quality":
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 50 fps
GeForce 8800 GT = 145 fps
Quadro FX 5600 = 141 fps
GeForce 8800 GTX = 166 fps
*Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 201 fps*

Doom 3 at 1920x1200 "High Quality":
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 49 fps
GeForce 8800 GT = 154 fps
Quadro FX 5600 = 131 fps
GeForce 8800 GTX = 174 fps
*Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 181 fps*

3DMark SM2.0 rating
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 1582
GeForce 8800 GT = 5184
Quadro FX 5600 = 5021
GeForce 8800 GTX = 5480
*Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 6345*

3DMark HDR/SM3.0 rating
Radeon HD 2600 XT = 1923
GeForce 8800 GT = 4928
Quadro FX 5600 = 5153
GeForce 8800 GTX = 5716
*Radeon HD 3870 X2 = 7797*

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GeForce 8800 GTX (OC) working on 2008 Mac Pro under Vista 64!