ATI Radeon HD 5770 in MacPro 1,1

Thank you, BrianMBM! I will try this evening to complete the installation.

One other question: I purchased this card directly from Apple Store online. The install directions ver 2011 did not show the connections for a Mac Pro 1,1 but a different configuration that I assume is the on of newer MacPros since they don't official say you can install in a Mac Pro1,1

Where did you get your card— that it showed the connections for a MacPro1,1?

Many Thanks for your quick, detailed and most helpful reply.

I got my card from CDW and it's the Apple branded ATI 5770. It came in a Apple box. I don't recall if the instructions were for the 1,1. I don't think they were, but the differences were so minor, I figured it out. The power connection was in the same spot the diagram said it was. Just took some coaxing to get the small end of the power cable in the slot.

Update: Thanks to your help, I found the connectors this time on the Logic Board and the instalation was very quick. I left the original card in and added this second one: Apple Radeon HD 5770.

So it's all working great with 4 (portrait) monitiors: 2 new Dell 24" DVI monitors, One Dell DVI 21.3" and an older DVI Viewsonic 22". I needed to use one DVI to Mini Dispaly adaptor for the 4th Monitor.

I just hope when I upgrade the firmware to the MacPro1,1 to be able to install OS Lion —that it will all still work.

I love it. Thanks to all, Beth

That's great you got it to work. One thing I did notice is that slot one on my MP is the only slot that can run at x16 speed, which is what you really want for the 5770 to run properly. The first time I powered up the machine after the installation, there's a utility that opens that you can determine the speed of each slot. I'd just make sure you're running that 5770 at x16.

I only have 2 1080p displays on my setup, which are running great with Lion. I also tried running FCPx with this card installed and really don't notice any difference. FCPx is still very slow - I just hate the program. The old FCS3/FCP7 doesn't seem to mind the 5770, and Premiere CS5.1 runs about the same, but now I'm able to work in 1080p native if I want which is great.

One program that I use quite often that I noticed a decrease in performance with the 5770 is Vectorworks 2012. OpenGL rendering is much slower now, and not sure why.

In general, I'm pretty happy with the 5770 and glad I installed it as well. Good luck Beth...

Hey Brian

I bought the Radeon 5770 recently but it seems the cords I got for it dosent fit the mac pro I got its the Mac pro 1,1 I got a six pin for the power. But it seems like the power strip I got seemed alittle to big I was wondering if you have a link or know which adaptor I can use for the Graphics card that will fit my mac. Thank you!!

The power cable that comes with the card is the same for all Mac Pros. I think it's that you just haven't found the power connector yet. The smaller end of the cable goes onto the motherboard. Look for a small connector (there are 2) right behind the grey plastic vent holes, about half way up on the motherboard. If you have the Mac Pro standing upright and the side panel is off, the power connector will be on your left side. Look where you have the 5770 sitting in the PCI slot and look as far left as you can and about half way up. You'll notice 2 small black squares. Those are the connectors. Gently coax the small end of the cable into the plug.

good luck.

Thats the things I bought it off a guy. But he didnt have the cable so I am searching high and low for the right cable. I keep getting the wrong one so I am trying to see where can I buy it. And know for certian that it will fit in the power slot. I saw the power slots I keep trying to find the right cable to fit it in. Do you know which one to get?

Thank you!

Try an Apple retail store or I'm pretty sure CDW will have it. They're a huge IT reseller of kinds of hardware. They also sell parts. I don't recall the name of the connector on the logic board, but I believe these are standard cables as more than one peripheral uses them.

Do some searching on the web and I'm sure you'll find it. Good luck.

Apple Store checked out my Mac Pro 3.1 over 2 wks & concluded it simply is not compatible with Radeon 5770 card.

I think it's a cop-out but they got real nasty when I tried to advise them that many people with model 3.1 (let alone 2.1 or 1.1) use this card & it works just fine. OWC assured me it works in my model & there are plenty of Discussions at this site confirming this. I printed out a couple discussions to show the Genius but they wouldn't even look at it.

They claim they had another similar case to mine & simply not compatible.

Usually Apple Store people pleasant but several of the Geniuses became real nasty when I questioned them.

This Apple Store experience definitely not pleasant!

I now seem to be stuck with the 5770 graphics card, will sell at a significant discount if anyone interested.Not been used more than couple hrs since always crashed; OWC great in that they exchanged card 3 times-1st one defective & 2nd & 3rd just crashed so this one really never used. Only problem is now 5 months since purchase so they won't return it. It is in an Apple Box that was sealed.

Thanks everyone for helping.

AAZ

Did the 5770 ever work in the 3,1? Just curious what the symptoms are? As I understand it, the 5770 should work in any Mac Pro. I have it in my 1,1 and it's smokin.

without knowing anything about your situation, I'd make sure that you installed the card properly and it's the only card installed. Make sure the power cable is seated properly on both ends. If you can get the machine to boot, make sure the OS recognizes it in the system profiler. Also make sure you set the Slot 1 speed to x16.

To test the card for my own setup, I went to the Maxon website and downloaded Cinebench (it's free) and had it test the OpenGL performance. I was surprised how fast this card is compared to the nVidia 7300.

Good luck and hope it works out

I know that some OS wont pick up the graphics cards because the OS dosent support the driver on the Card. BUT When I got mine I made sure I updated my OS to OSX Lion beacuse Lion has the new drivers that support a More larger range of Graphics cards now. In my Mac Pro 2006 I have Two ASUS 5770 DDR5 1G in my system right now. And its running like a champ. Its not the ATI that apple sells. Its from ASUS. But I understand these graphics cards. If its a 5770 Model and the Graphics chip is Radeon Then ALL of them are the same its just that these big companies adobt it and put their logo on it. And some props like a more higher end cooling fan. But the Divers that are in the Graphics card its self.... Is all the same. No matter what brand it is. It could be ASUS 5770 Radeon., Or Apple ATI 5770 Radeon. Plus to prove this. Is The ASUS Radeon I bought. I got it off Craiglist From a guy who was useing it on his Windows 7 Desktop. I bought the two 6pin to mini 6pin power Adaptor and pop them in my Mac Pro and. She is running like a champ.

I guess the ASUS 5770 has both. Because its running smooth on my end. I am about to use Aftereffects to do some postproduction work on some videos right now. I havent gotten any problems with it either.

Well I guess God just blessed me then. Because its working great for me. I got dual screen monitors on my Mac Pro right now connected to the two Asus 5770's right now. Running beautifuly right now. So its pretty good for me right now. I didnt have to flash anything. I just popped these babies in and. Runs great. I can even take a picture of them Asus's in my computer while running Adobe After effects or Just a HD movie I havent put games or anything on it yet but soon will have testing of game on there. Since I am in Software and Game development.

Let's not get off track here people. Religion has nothing to do with making a graphics card work or not.

One key distinction with the 5770 to understand is that they are made both for PCs and MACs. Apple is currently selling all new Mac Pro's with the 5770 installed as a standard. I have my old Mac Pro 1,1 running with the same Apple branded 5770 as what's loaded into the new boxes. I don't have any experience with putting a PC card in a Mac. I don't recommend it. I'm not saying this is what's happening, but from what I can tell it looks as though this may be the issue.

Also, make sure you are running 10.7.3 ( I can't speak to the 2 previous releases of Lion) because the video drivers are built into the OS and work in my setup just fine. I would also check that your power cable is installed and seated properly. If the card isn't getting power, it won't work.

Just giving my 2 cents...

I do get the grey Apple with the spinning gear at startup. I have 2 1080p LED monitors. The primary monitor comes out of idle as soon as I hit the power button on the Mac. The primary is also connected to a DVI- mini display port apadter and into the first MDP on the 5770.