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Level 2

246 points

graphics card upgrade Mac Pro 1.1 late 2007

Hello,

I want to upgrade the graphics card in my quad core Xeon/2.66, 1.1, from the original GeForce 7300 GT 256mb (for use with PS CS6 and iMovie 11 etc). I have two possibilities: the Nvidia 8800 GT 512MB or the ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB.

I understand that my machine can't utililise more than 512mb graphics card VRAM, so is there any point my considering the 1Gb HD 5770? - Would the 5770 give any noticeable improvement in performance over the 8800 GT, given the limitations of my Mac Pro?

Thanks for any help...BC

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Twin 20" Apple cinema displays

Posted on Mar 5, 2013 2:45 AM

Best reply

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Posted on Mar 5, 2013 7:27 AM

First there is no such thing as can't use more than 512 so stay away from who/where you read that.

You should get 5770 or later, getting a good CUDA card is next to impossible, otherwise I'd advise on GTX 570 w/ 2.5GB VRAM as those only support EFI64 and 10.8.2 which is a no-go.

The 8800 (mine still works) have a tendency to fail and cost almost as much as 5770.

Buy an SSD. Everyone does, I have it on all 4 systems. Keep just the OS there.

Use 1-2TB drives for your data.

Consider 8-core upgrade with 5355 Xeon if you need to double your bench scores.

OS X had trouble with more than 2GB VRAM, and that is the only restriction and it was an OS bug, not limited to yours or anyones.

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27 replies

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Mar 5, 2013 8:24 AM in response to tomfromdorchester

No the 7300GT did not use any aux power.

Amazon and others do sell those special design 6-pin cables.

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

Mar 5, 2013 8:35 AM in response to The hatter

In the picture on ebay, it shows it comes with the 6-pin wire. I wasn't sure if his old card used a wire or not. Hence my post telling him he will need a power supply for this new card.

Mar 5, 2013 10:33 AM in response to tomfromdorchester

Tom from Dorchester-

the asterisks accurately reflect the number of characters. I expect the substituted word was the rhyming politically inappropriate word that starts with b.

Bill Carter Author

Level 2

246 points

Mar 13, 2013 3:06 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

In case anyone is interested, this is the best UK price I've found: http://www.dabs.com/products/apple-ati-radeon-hd-5770-1gb-pci-express-2-0-x16-gr aphics-upgrade-kit-for-mac-pro-dvi---mdp-87QR.html

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Jun 11, 2013 7:22 AM in response to Bill Carter

I was surprised when I bougtht their FBDIMMs but they are top tier, well made and run cooler. (about time!) So $32 for 2x2GB is not a fluke or misprint or "junk gray market" memory.

On the video card I would be more selective and careful. Want or need that early boot screen? fork over for a geniume Apple card.

SSD is an older SATA II, then by all means try the $100+ Samsung 840.

Heavy CS6 with LARGE files may need to max out RAM and storage, someone with access to some server grade FBDIMMs actually was able to get some 4x8GB FBDIMMs, worked so they stuck in another 32GB and is running fine --- on a 2008 3,1 of all things! otherwise I woudl get either the "what where they thinking??" 2013 "cylinder thing" or pick up a 2010 Special $1800 and upgrade it on your own (6-core, 48GB, PCIe SSDs for booting and scratch).

2008 users CAN use other GPU if they have 10.8.3+ besides the 5770. Check

http://www.barefeats.com which did half a dozen reports in last 3 months.

Jun 16, 2013 1:27 AM in response to tomfromdorchester

Don't buy home-made junk from eBay. Get Apple's card for the best reliability and compatibility.

Jun 16, 2013 4:24 PM in response to Electricidad

JUST for general information, the one Apple sells currently is advertised not for use in early 2006-2007 first-generation Mac Pros.

Jun 16, 2013 6:18 PM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

The reason is that it may have trouble playing copy-protected movies, according to this article:

Mac Pro: Using ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card with Mac Pro released before 2010

Bill Carter Author

Level 2

246 points

Jun 17, 2013 1:02 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Didn't know this discussion was still going!

But anyway, since March I have been using a brand new, UK purchased Apple ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB card, in my Mac Pro 1.1, (model 09G January 2008), 2x2.66 dual core/8Gb/OSX Lion on a 240Gb SSD main drive.

Have experienced no problems with the new card and regularly run 2 x 20" Apple Cinema Displays, and sometimes a third display using my 37' Samsung Smart TV - again no problems.

Have also run copyrighted DVD films without any problems. HTH?

Jun 17, 2013 5:26 AM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

Ramón G Castañeda wrote:

JUST for general information, the one Apple sells currently is advertised not for use in early 2006-2007 first-generation Mac Pros.

That is false information.

It works perfectly fine in 1,1 and 2,1 Mac Pros with no issues in both OSX and Windows XP/7.

I can play copyrighted games, DVD and Blu-Ray with mine which I bought from Apple's website.

The only issue is it requires 10.6.5 to work in OSX which means you will need a second older video card or second machine to install from the retail DVD.

Apple says it won't work because they didn't sell the 5770 in MacPros until 2010.

Jun 25, 2013 6:24 PM in response to Electricidad

You sound too much like Bitter Creek, Elictricidad. 😀

Jun 28, 2013 3:52 PM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

Where is the "report" button to report your off-topic and trolling post?

graphics card upgrade Mac Pro 1.1 late 2007