Can I use a GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB graphics card in a ~2010 Mac Pro?

Question

Can I use a GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB graphics card in a ~2010 Mac Pro?

So my father is using a mac pro from roughly 2010. I recently got a new graphics card for my PC, and noticed that my old one is superior to the one in his computer (some low-end cheap Radeon piece of crap).

So I would like to put that graphics card into his computer. The only problem is, the card is not directly compatible as far as I know (as in I can't just drop it in and have it work).

So I was wondering, would it be possible to obtain drivers for this graphics card to make it work, or would I need to flash it? If I need to flash it, is there an existing firmware I could flash it with? I read online of some people claiming they got their 8800 GT cards to work by flashing... not sure if that also applies to the GTS model though.

In case it matters, I checked and his computer is running OS X 10.6.8 and is 'EFI-64', which I understand tends to be more compatible with various graphics cards than EFI-32.

Any help or advice in regards to this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted on Mar 10, 2012 3:48 PM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 10, 2012 4:14 PM in response to Ownaginatious

No they don't and no the 8800GTS 320MB vs ATI 5770 1GB

http://www.barefeats.com/wst10g6.html

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Answer 2

Mar 10, 2012 4:18 PM in response to The hatter

There definitely isn't a 5770 in there right now. I'm pretty sure it's a lower end and probably no longer supported card (likely from the x series). It doesn't even have an auxiliary power connector, as most higher end cards do. The computer might be a bit older than 2010; that was just a random guess.

So are you sure there is nothing I can do? I found a few vague posts of people saying that in some instances, the 8800 GT firmware can be flashed to an 8800 GTS without issue.

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Answer 3

Mar 16, 2012 9:13 AM in response to Ownaginatious

If it doesn't have an auxiliary connector, and it's an ATI Card, then it's likely the Radeon 2600XT, which doesn't normally come in 2010's.

When they talk about flashing an 8800GT BIOS on to 8800GTS, they are talking about the 8800GTS 512 Edition.

There are two types of 8800GTS, There are the 320 and 640MB versions, those use a differetn core from the 8800GT, which is the G80 core, and thus can not be flashed with that BIOS.

The 8800GTS 512MB version, on the other hand, uses the G92 core, which is what the 8800GT uses. That CAN be flashed with the 8800GT Bios. I've done it and it works fine in OS X, but for some reason the card doesn't work in windows when flashed with an EFI64 8800GT Rom.

I know it's a late post, but i thought i'd clear that up.

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Answer 4

Mar 21, 2012 1:42 PM in response to Chris J Witt

Thanks Chris. I pieced the situation all together shortly before you posted this. That's too bad, I guess I'll just keep the card around as a spare in that case.

Hopefully this post will serve to inform others inquiring about this in the future.

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