graphic card update .. Why is it so complicated

Is there another alternative?

No you can pay about US$450 for the Apple/ATI 5870. Or over US$1000 for NVIDIA 400 series.

why [you] charge $269 when Futur Shop charges $199 for the same thing)

Because it's NOT the same thing, the one at Futur Shop ONLY works in a PC, unless it specifically call out Mac Pro support on the box.

You are not talking to Apple. Inc. when you post here, Readers are all other users like you.

Stay with the Apple Store, or at least research more

ATI 5x70 $249-449

Amazon has Quadro 4000 for Mac Pro $799, the same PNY $1199 on Apple Store, not sure why

There are always people that want GTX 580 or something - you run up against it needing more power than you have and of course PC ROM and things.

ATY_Init is also another perfectly decent option (on Lion and above, SL supposedly has a bug in which the GT 120 will be selected for rendering regardless of what is inside.) No risks.

I think that a Netkas.org member or two successfully did GTX 580 without power issues and no flash necessary. I haven't had time to try it myself, but it sounds exciting.

If he wishes to use roughly any PC nvidia card of his choosing then that is likely the path for him.

Those are for Netkas, and ah, GTX 580 needs more than two 6-pin cables, or you aren't stressing the card's requirements.

I still think Lion .3 or above but then I hoped to see GTX 4xx already, or ATI 7xxx by then or now too. Or just open the graphic candy store to more.

Usually I send people there or to MacRumors in those cases though.

Speaking for "The Netkas Group" I can say that GTX580 can be made to work but Hatter is right in that power issue is not easily gotten around.

Best to add an external Power Supply to use GTX480 or GTX580.

There is no EFI for 5xx Nvidia cards so they are ATY_Init only. GTX570 can be easily powered with existing outputs but needs ATY_Init to work. (can be used without helper in 10.7.2 Beta)

There are EFI ROMs for GTX470 and GTX480.

They work perfectly but the need for external juice on 480 is a real downer.

Basically, unless you use software that can get use from CUDA, the ATI cards are better deal. The 6870 can run 4 separate displays at once, the vaunted 480/580 cards just 2. The official Apple 5770 is a sweet spot in terms of value and ease of use.

The Nvidia Fermi cards are for Power users with specific needs.

For editing Gramma's 85th b-day video and watching all the latest You-Tube / Facebook / Twitter dreck, the 5770 is more than sufficient.

EDIT: I am adding the following info that I posted in another thread.

It sums up what cards are OFFICIALLY supported in which Macs. Do what you will with it.

I will make it simple, here is a list of ALL Mac Pro video cards as released by Apple or their partners. These were cards that were either available on the machines, or through retail. Note that there are flashed versions of these cards which can cross borders, but these are the OFFICIAL released cards.

Work in ALL Mac Pros:

ATI X1300

ATI X1900XT

ATI 2600 XT

ATI 3870

ATI 4870

ATI 5770

ATI 5870

Work in 1,1 and 2,1 Mac Pro ONLY (EFI32)

Nvidia 7300GT

NVidia 8800GT (EFI32 version)

Quadro 4500

Work in 3,1 or later Mac Pro (64 bit EFI)

Nvidia 8800GT (EFI64 version)

Nvidia GT120 (aka 9500GT)

Nvidia GTX285

Nvidia Quadro 5600

Nvidia Quadro 4000

You will note that ALL of the ATI cards work on ALL of the Mac Pros (due to EBC EFI)

You will note that Nvidia cards are either/or. The ONLY Nvidia card that is available on BOTH types used a completely different EFI on each version. Thus, an 8800GT that works GREAT in my 1,1 Quad 3.0 will boot to a black screen in my 4,1 Octo 2.26.

Such a simple rule...

ALL ATI CARDS WORK IN ALL MAC PROS

ALL NVIDIA CARDS WORK IN ONE OR THE OTHER.

To add to the confusion, there is no single way that these Macs are referenced. Apple calls the 3,1 Macs the "Early 2008" Mac Pros. So someone who remembers that they bought theirs in February of 2008 thinks theirs is 3,1 and therefore EFI64. What they don't remember is that they got a KILLER deal because OWC was clearing their stock of 2007s and they got a 2,1. They order an 8800GT for a "Early 2008" and get a BLACK SCREEN.

When buying an Nvidia card, whether from an online retailer or EBay auction or garage sale, it is vitally important to know which Mac Pro you have and which Mac Pro the card is designed to work in.

Message was edited by: DPArt

I have a brand new Apple ATI Radeon HD5770 in the Apple Box with cable that I will sell for $150.00 if that would help you. Carl

Gerry,

if you get a moment, read the LARGE post 2 spots above yours

or the comments section on Apple store about 5770

or any of hatter's 100's of posts on 5770/5870

take anything about hardware requirements and compatibility that Apple posts with a grain of salt.

They don't get updated. They don't get changed.

They don't even seem to be written by someone that knows what they are writing, but what they are given to write.

BUT you must have totally missed and disregarded ALL of the COMMENTS on the product page.

You won't even find a tech note that 2TB drives are supported in your Mac, those notes are limited to new models.

Or find a footnote that says 3TB drives are not supported on Apple Pro RAID controller.

I'm not sure what the status is of having two Quadro 4000s is. Works only in Lion? there is a bug that affects having 4GB VRAM total? something else? Or some early 4000s have bug in firmware or chipset? those are the things that should be on product page and in the knowledge base.

where have you seen the 480 efi?? ive been searching for it like forever without finding one source for it. If you got any info please let me know, i wil aprecciate it.

I'm not sure we're supposed to know this, but as long as you have the proper power adapter (you'll have to buy it online), and Lion, the Mac Pros will work with any off-the-shelf ATI Radeon HD 6000 series card. The 6870 seems to be a favorite. But keep in mind, 5870 ≠ 6870.

Power Adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/PCIe-Power-Cable-nVidia-Video/dp/B002UR1654

Horribly long demonstration video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC-Rzl_bRhU

Hope this helps! Please mark if it did!