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ATI Radeon HD 5770 in MacPro 1,1

I've searched all over these forums, there was some talk about the ATI Radeon HD 5770 working in a 1,1 MacPro, but I never really found a definitive answer. In the apple catalog someone posted this:

"It should be fine ATI cards unlike nvidia are built to be compatible with both EFI 32 and EFI 64 interfaces and i know the 4870 is fully compatible even with the first generation intel mac pro some people were saying that the 5770 takes up 2 pci express slots but that is just false i havent had the chance to try it myself since my 4870 is enough for me but i am sure it should work just fine"

Any final word on this? I'm eager to upgrade.

MacPro1,1, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Aug 14, 2010 11:06 AM

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211 replies

Aug 14, 2010 12:19 PM in response to James Webster3

How can anyone? Apple has yet to ship, and anything would be speculative, and using PC 5770s.

Will ATI use EFI64 or stay with using EBC as they have done in the past (and which would be universal for any Mac Pro) is still 'up in the air' and therefore unavailable for probably a week?

You have a 16x slot already, the bottom, which was where the X1900s went, and not an issue. I have double wide in there on mine.

Those thin single slot cards are for low power under 75W and to fit in the alternate slots but really sacrifice in design.

Lastly, the 5770 may be a step down or at least not a step up in performance other than more VRAM.

Aug 18, 2010 1:23 PM in response to James Webster3

I would be cautious since one big change was going from PCI Express 1.1 to 2.1.
The impact here is that the 2.1 bus supplies much more power. On the picture on the apple store I dont see any aux power cable on the video card. It is possible that the card will run, but start crashing as soon as you start taxing it.
My GT8800 doesnt have the aux power and it works, but the 5770 is a bigger beast.
My frame rates in Starcraft II suck, even in bootcamp mode!

Sep 26, 2010 4:30 AM in response to James Webster3

Has anyone tested the Mini DisplayPort on a 5770 in MacPro1,1 (first generation, 2006-2007)? I am interested in this because that connector can carry 10-bit per channel color. The DVI connector only carries 8-bit color.

I have one report from someone who tested this configuration, and found that a 5770 on MacPro1,1 sometimes failed to detect a monitor connected via Mini DisplayPort. He occasionally had to unplug and reinsert the cable to get the monitor to light up.

Note that not all cards with a DisplayPort can output 10-bit color. Very few monitors can display 10-bit color depth. And very few apps can manage it (Photoshop CS5 has partial support). But this will be more common in the future. The advantage shows up in subtle ways (smoother gradients, etc.).

Oct 16, 2010 9:35 AM in response to Julian Vrieslander

I have this installed in my 2006 Mac Pro. DVI is my 30" and mini is the 23". I'm sure I could switch them around, but my adapter is the single passive, not the dual active. It is my understanding you need the active to drive a 30" from the mini? I upgraded from a 3870 and cannot believe how quiet my MP has become. The fan in the 3870 was loud. I don't know if I see much of a difference in casual use, but everything seems snappier than before. My heavy lifting photography apps respond faster but I haven't had a chance to load up and test CS5, my HDR software, and AutoPanoPro. I suspect I will see much improvement and the fan to kick in, LOL. The card defaulted to the first mini, so I recommend using your main only to get it going. I had both monitors attached and at first thought it wouldn't work, my bad. Highly recommended!

ATI Radeon HD 5770 in MacPro 1,1

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