7970 6gb Vapor video card in Mac Pro 1, 1

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7970 6gb Vapor video card in Mac Pro 1, 1

Hello, i recently ordered this card fo rmy Mac Pro (since it works on bootcamp side at least, and support for the Mac side may come soon due to new Mac edition of 7950 being released). My question is, how do i connect the power cables? It comes with 8-pin cables (8-pin to molex 4-pinx2 cables). My Mac has 6-pin connections. So what do i have to do to connect it?do I simnply connect the 6-pin cables into the 8-pin ports on the card? Do I use 6-pin to 8-pin cables? Do i use Molex 4-pin to Sata cables? I also cant figure out how many molex ports my Mac has. I have read of at elast one (for the second optical bay), but i need more than one. Does my Superdrive use a Molex? will i have to unplug my superdrive ? Please help. In the event taht i need to buy a PSU, can you recommend one that is under 70 bucks that would have the connections I need? Thanks

here is the card I ordered. http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1497 &psn=&lid=1&leg=0

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5), 2006 1.1, 20GB ram, 6870, iPad 2.

Posted on Mar 22, 2013 7:41 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 22, 2013 8:08 PM in response to iPadHero

due to new Mac edition of 7950 being released

That will not happen. The firmware on the card is different and the Mac Edition only supports 10.8 which a 1,1 cannot run.

Its called "Mac Edition" for a lot more than a fancy name and higher price.

Second, a 1,1 Mac Pro does not have enough PCIE bandwidth to fully support the card. It can't even fully use a 5870 without PCIe being a bottleneck.

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Answer 2

iPadHero Author

Level 1

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Mar 22, 2013 8:13 PM in response to OM617.952

First, Mac Pros can already run 10.8. Secondly, the Mac Edition has already worked on a Mac Pro 1, 1. Thirdly, the Mac Edition has already worked on 10.7.5. So once again, what would I need to power the card?

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Answer 3

Mar 22, 2013 8:24 PM in response to iPadHero

Incorrect.

The 1,1 Mac Pro cannot run 10.8. The 2008 3,1 is the oldest Mac Pro capable of running it.

Second, I never said the Mac Edition would not work in a 1,1 I said it would be a wate of time because the 1,1 cannot fully use it due to the PCIe bus bandwidth limit.

Third, you do not have a Mac Edition which means you will not, and will never, be able to use the card with GPU acceleration in OSX. If you wanted a 7970 that works in OSX, you should have bought the Mac Edition.

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Answer 4

iPadHero Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 22, 2013 8:30 PM in response to OM617.952

Thanks for the quick replies. The Mac Pro 1,1 can run 10.8, there are tutorials on how to do that. Secondly, the Mac edition doesnt need 10.8, it runs on 10.7.5. Also, other cards have already been flashed using the 7950 Mac edition (including a 7970), adn have been reported to work. Also, the bandwidth limit is theoritical as current cards cannot max out the bandwidth on 1.0 or 1.1 pci-e. Lastly, even if it would encounter some throttleing (say 2%), the card would still be a huge upgrade over my current 6870, and would be alot cheaper than buying a new mac pro (LOL) for the card to use the remaining 2%. With that said, do you know what i would need to power the card, at least for use in bootcamp (ie what cables etc)?

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Answer 5

Mar 22, 2013 8:51 PM in response to iPadHero

The Mac Pro 1,1 can run 10.8

That is incorrect.

EFI emulation is an unstable and temporary option.

Also, the bandwidth limit is theoritical as current cards cannot max out the bandwidth on 1.0 or 1.1 pci-e.

Also incorrect.

It has been proven with a 1,1 that a 5870 provides minimal increases in performance over the 5770. Compared to 2008+ Mac Pros that see a significant (FAR more than your assumed 2%) increase in the same comparison because of their PCIe 2.0 bus. As you can see here: http://barefeats.com/wst10g3.html

And here you can see there is very little difference between the 2008-2009-2010 models in performance with the 5870: http://barefeats.com/wst10g2.html

Why? They have PCIe 2.0 and the 1,1-2,1 have PCIe 1.0 which limits performance. That means the 5770 is the fastest card avaialbe the 1,1 can take full advantage of.

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Answer 6

iPadHero Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 22, 2013 9:58 PM in response to OM617.952

First you said 2006 macs couldnt run mountain lion, then you modifed your answer. Also, i already found information comparing a 7970 in a pci-e 1 slot vs a pci-e 3 slot, and the diference in FPS was only 3% ( and still orders above other cards, even at pcie-3). WIth thah said, could you actually answer my question instead of answering questions I didnt ask? My question is, how do i connect the power cables?

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Answer 7

Mar 22, 2013 10:01 PM in response to iPadHero

First you said 2006 macs couldnt run mountain lion

They can't.

EFI emulation is exactly that, emulation. Its tricking 10.8 into thinking its compatible.

Also, i already found information comparing a 7970 in a pci-e 1 slot vs a pci-e 3 slot, and the diference in FPS was only 3%

Link please!

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Answer 8

iPadHero Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 23, 2013 4:54 AM in response to BitterCreek

For the love of God can someone tell me how to connect it? The 7970 arrives later today. Also, I noticed that it comes with a 8-pin to 4-pin, and an 8-pin to double 4-pin. I know for a fact I have at least one free molex (4-pin) in the Mac, so that solves one of the cable connections. However, I have read that I can use sata-molex adapters to make my sata ports into 4-pin ports. Will this work?

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Answer 9

Mar 23, 2013 6:06 AM in response to iPadHero

I would like a link too. Each revision doubles a 16 lane bandwidth. 4 to 8GB/s is a major increase and its very easy to see why the 1,1 Mac Pro scores so low with powerful cards compared to the 3,1 and later models using identical cards.

The supposed "2013" Mac Pro will have PCIe 3.0 which doubles that rate again to 16GB/second!

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