Cable For ATi Radeon HD 5870 In 2008 MacPro 3.1

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Cable For ATi Radeon HD 5870 In 2008 MacPro 3.1

I purchased a used Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 graphics card. It did not come with the power cables. I'm curious if either of these work, or if both work in my early 2008 Mac Pro 3.1. To me, the ports look the same size between the graphics card and whats in my Mac Pro. Thank you in advance!

1) http://www.amazon.com/Tangcao-Mini-PCIe-Mac-Pro-PCI-Express-6-Pin/dp/B00CO1Z6G6/

2) http://www.microcenter.com/product/340962/CableRight_CAB-229_12_Single_Braid_6-P in_PCIe_Extension_Cable_-_White

- Daniel

MacPro Xeon 64bit 8-Core, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 6 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM

Posted on Nov 30, 2013 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

126,817 points

Nov 30, 2013 1:51 PM in response to Daniel Brown

Your Mac Pro has two connectors for 6-pin aux cables. Those ones seem to work, as does this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Mini-pcie-Mac-pro-Pci-express-6-pin-Cable/dp/B00G2UDJIW/re f=sr_1_4?s=audio-video-accessories&ie=UTF8&qid=1385847920&sr=1-4&keywords=G5+6-p in

A card that is not Mac Branded or "Mac Edition" may not show any Startup screens or alt-Boot screens. This can make debugging inconvenient.

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Answer 2

Daniel Brown Author

Level 2

438 points

Nov 30, 2013 1:55 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yes, it does indeed have two connectors and I understand I'll need to use both - so I'll have to buy two of each, whichever brand I decide to get.

Maybe it was just an optical illusion but the different ends on the link you provide (which i think is the same cable as the one I linked to) look like two difference sizes while the other cable at Micro Center looks like both ends are the same size.

I'm also unsure if I need both ends to be female or male or one of each.

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Answer 3

Nov 30, 2013 2:00 PM in response to Daniel Brown

I am told that most PCs have the cables in their wiring harness already, but the Mac Pro has only the pins on the motherboard/backplaneboard.

This could mean that the white one from Microcenter is indeed an "Extension cable" intended to extend from an existing cable-end for an additional few inches.

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Answer 4

Daniel Brown Author

Level 2

438 points

Nov 30, 2013 2:35 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

To extend off an end of a cable which is NOT the same size as what I have on my motherboard.

Welp - I think that answers that question! Thank you so much, Grant!

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