Q: is apple 661-4194 the only video card Xserve 2.0 will recognize?

Well, thank you for that clear statement.

There is another option, though, buying the original graphics card upgrade kit for the Xserve, basically it is a ATI X1300 with 256 MB VRAM made for the Xserve. It supports Quartz Extreme and fits in a PCIe slot in the Xserve, supporting a max resolution of 2560 x 1440 and has one Dual Link DVI output. One then can connect a 30 inch Cinema Display. The card, though, is quiet rare.

Look here:

http://www.7digits.nl/proddet_uk.php?pid=2261&hcid=21&bg=0&nd=17&scr=sc

This card should work with the Xserve 2,1 (Early 2008), what do you think?

Does the GT120 really run on the Xserve 2,1 (Early 2008)? According to MacTracker the Xserve 3,1 (Early 2009) comes with that card and has 256 GDDR3 SDRAM.

Thank you anyway for helping!

Hm I am not sure if the tech specs of this card are true, maybe it does support a max resolution of 2048 x 1536 only.

Look here:

http://www.lambda-tek.com/MB354G-A-ATI-RADEON-X1300-F-XSERVER~cs/B90343&viewSpec =y#productTop

FYI

The difference is the 32bit/64bit efi found in the 2006 vs the 64bit/64bit found in the 2008 &2009. So that isn't a factor in the GT120 being used in the 2008 Xserve, it works on the 2008 MacPro so would work on the Xserve, when I find the time I'll test it out and post screenshots.

The X1300 is mentioned at the start of this thread as the OP was looking for an alternative to it for his 2006 xserve. Best to start your own threads in future if your issue is different to the OP's.

Good luck with your Xserve

Beatle

Very good.

Thank you!

It's supposed to support upto a 30" Apple Cinema display so should be 2560 x 1600 which is the cinema displays native resolution.

Thanks
Beatle

Hi,

The GT120 does indeed work on the 2008 Xserve via DVI but not mini display port.

If the X1300 board is removed then the Xserve will boot with it as the primary display, for testing the GT120 was in Slot1..

Screenshots attached.

Hope that helps someone who wants to run a 2nd display or needs the extra power of the GT120.

Thanks
Beatle

Just thought anyone searching this topic might find this useful: I purchased an Asus GTX 560 Ti meant for a PC, and with the aid of a $5 PCIe extension ribbon and an external power supply, have been enjoying my early 2008 Xserve's newfound snappiness! It scored 11292 on Geekbench, and is pretty **** fast in general! A few important points - the 10.7.5 update adds support for several newer video cards, I was having all sorts of trouble on 10.7.2 until I realised this. There is no Mac-specific EFI on the card so you don't get any video signal until after all the drivers have loaded, which will be a problem if you need to use open firmware or change your boot disk. OpenCL is not enabled by default, and I'm still working out how to change this. I believe all but the top-end cards from both manufacturers are now supported. netkas.org is a fantastic resource.

curious if that would allow OS X Mavericks to install on the Xserve2,1 (2008). I heard that Apple dropped support on Xserve 2008 due to lack of robust video card (accelerated).  I did manage to get Mavericks installed on mine but visiting sites in Safari and using iTunes was painful...lots of visual problems. Firefox seems to work fine.

Installation is a bit tricky - Xserve2,1 is no longer listed in System/Library/CoreServices/PlatformSupport.plist so using a supported Mac to create a fresh installation then manually adding the board ID - F42289C8 - is the easiest method. My '08 Xserve is currently sporting an externally mounted GTX 580 which powers two monitors and the built-in X1300 which runs a third. Mavericks runs very smoothly indeed. The X1300 only reports having 3 MB of VRAM and anything more than basic transparency creates visual artifacts, but it is fine for basic Finder tasks, text input and Terminal operations, and more importantly enables access to boot options as the GTX 580 drivers don't load until just before the login screen. I keep a copy of my modified PlatformSupport.plist on the desktop as Apple likes to replace my version with theirs at every availability opportunity.

Also of note, it is "meant" to be possible to take put a RADEON 6770M from a 27" iMac into a 2009 xserve. I don't think there is anything similar on the 2006/2008 due to the video card mounting in a different way.

There is also now a GTX 680 mac edition card from EVGA but this would need an external enclosure due to it's size.

I put a GT120 from a MacPro into a clients Xserve 2008 so they could use it for Compressor with Automator which works well.

Beatle

I am running a ATI Radeon 2600 HD 2600 in my Xserve 2006.  It is a flashed PC ard that I bough on ebay for $50.  It fits and works well.

Can anyone tell me please what are the symptoms of a Mezzanine GPU ging wrong?

I am getting:

white screen (sometimes)

grey screen (sometimes)

blue screen (sometimes)

normal operation (rarely)

screen breakup (rarely)

freezing and unco-operative

Everything else is freshly installed.

Are you saying the machine doesn't boot and you see those video symptoms?  Or is the machine up and running and then you see those symptoms?

Kind of sounds like a monitor cable or bad display?  Try a different monitor and cable if you have one.

I ended up 86ing the mez video card (removed) and using the flashed ATI HD 2600.

Please let me know, also which system have you installed on the xServe.

Just got a 2006 XServe 4x3.0GHz. The video card you speak of... flashed with what?

This flash refers to updating the firmware on a PC only card to support the Mac's boot architecture and OS. Usually it involves copying the firmware from either a Mac video card or a Mac with the same video architecture built in.  You can google for flashing PC video cards for OSX, and you will see lots of info

I have recently decommissioned my xServe in favor of a MacPro 3,1 8core.  I love the noise difference :~)

I also have discovered that I can run the MacPro with no video card at all and still remote in via screen sharing. FYI