1MB or-at least-512MB Video card for Mac Pro Quad 1,1 (2006) 2.66 MHz

Question

1MB or-at least-512MB Video card for Mac Pro Quad 1,1 (2006) 2.66 MHz

Looks like I have acquired an Apple Mac Pro (1,1) Xeon 2.66 GHz Quad-Core (2006) that should arrive next week.

I will not be able to tell for sure until it gets here and I unpack it, but it was represented to come with the "original stock card" which—according to the Apple tech specs on the Apple site for the MA356LL/A Mac Pro—would make it an "NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI and dual-link DVI)".

1.— My first question is whether that card, ignoring for a minute the measly 256 MB of VRAM, can drive my ancient-but-excellent dual 22" analog CRT monitors, which currently are being driven indistinctly by my PPC G5 Quad Tiger 10.4.11 system and/or a dinky Mac Book 2,1 Intel Core 2 Duo Snow Leopard 10.6.8 system through its built-in Intel GMA 950 graphics with a puny 64MB of Shared System Memory.

I figure that, if the Mac Book can, anything in the Mac Pro should. 😝

2.— I would like to upgrade to a video card with 512 MB or more of VRAM, and that's why I'm asking for recommendations here. I live practically inside Photoshop, and I would like the GPU to handle as much as possible.

My trusty G5 Quad will remain my main machine for other than Photoshop 13.x (CS6). The bare minimum requirements set by Adobe for Ps CS6 call for 216 MB of VRAM, with 512 recommended, and 1 GB of VRAM optimal.

I'm open to any card within my vague "budget" that will suit my purposes, whether a mutant flashed card, a stock card, a new, refurbished or used one.

Thanks in advance.

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2.5G5Quad,16GB,7800GTX 512MB, Tiger

Posted on Jun 1, 2013 8:50 PM

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Answer 1

kaz-k

Level 8

49,020 points

Jun 1, 2013 9:10 PM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

1) I think you can use your analog CRT with DVI to VGA adaptors

2) If I were you, I will get HD5770, though it required Mac OSX 10.6.4 or later.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC742ZM/A/ati-radeon-hd-5770-graphics-upgrade- kit-for-mac-pro-(mid-2010)?fnode=53

-- kaz-k

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Answer 2

Jun 1, 2013 11:13 PM in response to kaz-k

Thank you for the courtesy of your reply.

I'll keep this in mind and, in the meantime I hope there will be suggestions for other somewhat less expensive cards. 🙂

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Answer 3

kaz-k

Level 8

49,020 points

Jun 1, 2013 11:29 PM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

Ramón G Castañeda wrote:

Thank you for the courtesy of your reply.

I'll keep this in mind and, in the meantime I hope there will be suggestions for other somewhat less expensive cards. 🙂

GT120 could be your candidate, though not sure it's still available or not...

Used one is available at ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-Pro-Edition-GeForce-GT-120-512-MB-GDDR3-DVI-Mi ni-DisplayPort-/140986200195?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item20d36eb083

-- kaz-k

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Answer 4

Jun 1, 2013 11:36 PM in response to kaz-k

Thank you, that one looks like a very good deal. Unfortunately that auction ends in some 8 hours and the Mac Pro won't be here for another three or four days. With any luck, the card won't sell by tomorrow and will be relisted. 😀

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Answer 5

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

Jun 2, 2013 6:31 AM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

gt120 is 2008+ EFI64 so it is out

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Answer 6

kaz-k

Level 8

49,020 points

Jun 2, 2013 7:55 AM in response to The hatter

The hatter is right, GT120 is not compatible with 2006-2007 Mac Pro.

And HD5770 works, however only with DVI connection.

-- kaz-k

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Answer 7

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

Jun 2, 2013 8:14 AM in response to kaz-k

why do you think the MiniDisplay Ports don't? that seems like 'first I've heard" and really odd seeing that my monitors (and I don't need dual link active adapters) are on MDP cable (native with no adapters inbetween).

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Answer 8

kaz-k

Level 8

49,020 points

Jun 2, 2013 9:12 AM in response to The hatter

Follwing is the source.

http://blog.macsales.com/6856-owc-reveals-which-radeon-video-cards-work-with-200 6-2009-mac-pros

-- kaz-k

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Answer 9

Jun 2, 2013 9:27 AM in response to kaz-k

The information on that OWC/MacSales web site is stale.

The connection of multiple displays to these cards (5770 and 5870) is nuanced, and requires a specific set of rules concerning ACTIVE Adapters. OWC has not looked deeply into this problem, and appears to have only tested with the adapters they sell (which will work in some cases and not others (it's complicated).

Apple has an article on the subject, and they disclaim ONLY copy protected movie playing:

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

The 5870 is a waste of money for these Macs because it requires a faster PCI 2.0 slot to run substantially faster than its cheaper cousin, the 5770.

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It is also possible to find references to PC versions of these cards, which have been flashed to Mac firmware. In this case it is likely that ports beyond the first port do not work as expected. These also may suffer from not producing a picture until the login screen, which makes debugging and use of alternate Boot Drives difficult.

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