Mac Pro - Ultimate Setup - Crossfire/Sli
Hi girls and guys!
Here are my thoughts on how to build the ultimate Mac Pro which should work as a silent workstation via OS X and as a top Game machine via Windows XP.
Please help me to achieve a kind of Mac Pro reference list. Any corrections are welcome.
Mac Pro - Ultimate Reference List - Version 1.62:
Let´s say we have the highend model with 3 GHz and bluetooth, .. premium config + a 30" Cinema Display.
1.) RAM
As i have read on anandtech.com and other sites the best compromise between bandwith and latency is to use 4 slots of the memoryholders.
Using 8 slots increases the bandwidth while latency rises too. As the Mac Pro has 256 bit memory bus using QUAD Mode for the FBDIMM RAM it leads to the conclusion of using 4 slots for maximum performance or 8 slots for the secondary choice IF you are absolutely needing
I would choose 4 x 1 GB RAM with big passive heatsinks to avoid ecc errors as mentioned by some users who tried flat heat sinks. If Money is no problem one could place 4 x 2 GB in the machine. That seems to be the best config for RAM.
2.) HDs:
To set up a cool RAID (0) System in OSX with Disk Utility we choose 4x MaXLine Pro 500 Hard Disks with 16 mb Cache. As many tests (barefeats.com ?) show it seems to be the best performer without being too noisy. If you are not sensitive to noise and would have ultimate speed go for the western digital raptor with 150 GB and 10.000 rpm. If you must have the biggest storage go for seagate hd´s with 750 GB and compliants but beware of hd speed issues and problem-reports which could be found on the internet.
3.) Graphic Cards:
Standard solution:
Best bang for your buck: - x1900XT Mac Edition
Expensive, faster solution: - Quadro Mac Edition
Advantage: It works well BUT it may not be the ultimate Mac Pro. : )
Exotic thoughts concerning games via bootcamp:
Graphic Card Ideas:
I) SLi: (for Windows XP only! - won´t work in OSX)
Take an additional Nvidia 7950x2 for gaming only. This card would not work in OSX since there are no drivers supporting SLi in OSX.
Question: Would the Windows Mode / OS X work with ATI AND Nvidia card mixed in the Mac? Will both Operating Systems boot? Or will there be a kernel panic with the 7950x2? It does not work with a 7950x2 alone because of the lack of OS X Drivers, ok. BUT the 7950x2 should work well with internal Sli support and forceware drivers in XP ONLY!
II) Crossfire: (for Windows XP only! - won´t work in OSX)
I´ve read a whole bunch of internet pages to find out wheather crossfire may work under bootcamp with windows xp and a Mac Pro or not.
Most people say no, no support, no drivers, no go.
BUT nevertheless i have an idea. Please post your comment if you think that it could work or better if someone could try it.
Could it be that you can use the X1900XT Mac Edition Card that comes with the Mac Pro as a master card and a X1900XT Crossfire Edition PC card in the 3rd PCI-e slot? One could try to use the new ATI Beta drivers, or the 6.9 Catalyst drivers. They can be found via the topic here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1931329&enterthre ad=y
EFI vs. BIOS should not be a problem, it has only to work in Windows XP.
Though it would be great to have crossfire and SLi options in OS X.
Can anybody test this, confirm or deny this point?
Upgrade options:
There can be found an article on anandtech.com about upgrading the Mac Pro with clovertown chips transforming the mac pro in a 8 Core Octo Monster.
Comment: If you are seeking the best setup to run one favorite app with highspeed do not go for the clovertown with 2.6 GHz as it seems to be slower in a single app at least at the moment. BUT if you are using many apps, multi tasking this seems to be the fastest desktop machine on earth for now.
Accessoires:
a) Backup: I am planning to use a Western Digital My Book Pro with 1000 GB
It is not loud, easy to use, good performance, backup software, USB, FW400 and FW800 I/O. Easily to see i would use the Firewire 800 port of the Mac Pro for backing up the data.
b) A monitor switch to choose which video card feeds the main screen.
c) 1) (eventually) Crossfire cables.. i do not know how u call them and where to order them.
Please help here.
c) 2) (eventuelly) SLi cables if you are using Multiple Quadros/7300GTs.
It is confirmed that the setup works under Windows with at least the two 7300GT cards.
d) (eventually) Power - supply - to - Crossfire - Cards - powerconnecters with a 4 pin to 6 pin adapter (?). Please help here and write how this Y-cables are called to use the power from the HD cables or the Optical Drives..
Modifications:
- Use an Accelero X2 for the Radeons to decrease the noise level of the whole System.
Please help me to complete this reference list. I wish the best to the mac community and i do only wish to help us all having a even greater experience with our beloved Apple Macintosh Machines.
G5 2.5, G4 PB 1.67 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Message was edited by: Mandala Weber
Here are my thoughts on how to build the ultimate Mac Pro which should work as a silent workstation via OS X and as a top Game machine via Windows XP.
Please help me to achieve a kind of Mac Pro reference list. Any corrections are welcome.
Mac Pro - Ultimate Reference List - Version 1.62:
Let´s say we have the highend model with 3 GHz and bluetooth, .. premium config + a 30" Cinema Display.
1.) RAM
As i have read on anandtech.com and other sites the best compromise between bandwith and latency is to use 4 slots of the memoryholders.
Using 8 slots increases the bandwidth while latency rises too. As the Mac Pro has 256 bit memory bus using QUAD Mode for the FBDIMM RAM it leads to the conclusion of using 4 slots for maximum performance or 8 slots for the secondary choice IF you are absolutely needing
I would choose 4 x 1 GB RAM with big passive heatsinks to avoid ecc errors as mentioned by some users who tried flat heat sinks. If Money is no problem one could place 4 x 2 GB in the machine. That seems to be the best config for RAM.
2.) HDs:
To set up a cool RAID (0) System in OSX with Disk Utility we choose 4x MaXLine Pro 500 Hard Disks with 16 mb Cache. As many tests (barefeats.com ?) show it seems to be the best performer without being too noisy. If you are not sensitive to noise and would have ultimate speed go for the western digital raptor with 150 GB and 10.000 rpm. If you must have the biggest storage go for seagate hd´s with 750 GB and compliants but beware of hd speed issues and problem-reports which could be found on the internet.
3.) Graphic Cards:
Standard solution:
Best bang for your buck: - x1900XT Mac Edition
Expensive, faster solution: - Quadro Mac Edition
Advantage: It works well BUT it may not be the ultimate Mac Pro. : )
Exotic thoughts concerning games via bootcamp:
Graphic Card Ideas:
I) SLi: (for Windows XP only! - won´t work in OSX)
Take an additional Nvidia 7950x2 for gaming only. This card would not work in OSX since there are no drivers supporting SLi in OSX.
Question: Would the Windows Mode / OS X work with ATI AND Nvidia card mixed in the Mac? Will both Operating Systems boot? Or will there be a kernel panic with the 7950x2? It does not work with a 7950x2 alone because of the lack of OS X Drivers, ok. BUT the 7950x2 should work well with internal Sli support and forceware drivers in XP ONLY!
II) Crossfire: (for Windows XP only! - won´t work in OSX)
I´ve read a whole bunch of internet pages to find out wheather crossfire may work under bootcamp with windows xp and a Mac Pro or not.
Most people say no, no support, no drivers, no go.
BUT nevertheless i have an idea. Please post your comment if you think that it could work or better if someone could try it.
Could it be that you can use the X1900XT Mac Edition Card that comes with the Mac Pro as a master card and a X1900XT Crossfire Edition PC card in the 3rd PCI-e slot? One could try to use the new ATI Beta drivers, or the 6.9 Catalyst drivers. They can be found via the topic here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1931329&enterthre ad=y
EFI vs. BIOS should not be a problem, it has only to work in Windows XP.
Though it would be great to have crossfire and SLi options in OS X.
Can anybody test this, confirm or deny this point?
Upgrade options:
There can be found an article on anandtech.com about upgrading the Mac Pro with clovertown chips transforming the mac pro in a 8 Core Octo Monster.
Comment: If you are seeking the best setup to run one favorite app with highspeed do not go for the clovertown with 2.6 GHz as it seems to be slower in a single app at least at the moment. BUT if you are using many apps, multi tasking this seems to be the fastest desktop machine on earth for now.
Accessoires:
a) Backup: I am planning to use a Western Digital My Book Pro with 1000 GB
It is not loud, easy to use, good performance, backup software, USB, FW400 and FW800 I/O. Easily to see i would use the Firewire 800 port of the Mac Pro for backing up the data.
b) A monitor switch to choose which video card feeds the main screen.
c) 1) (eventually) Crossfire cables.. i do not know how u call them and where to order them.
Please help here.
c) 2) (eventuelly) SLi cables if you are using Multiple Quadros/7300GTs.
It is confirmed that the setup works under Windows with at least the two 7300GT cards.
d) (eventually) Power - supply - to - Crossfire - Cards - powerconnecters with a 4 pin to 6 pin adapter (?). Please help here and write how this Y-cables are called to use the power from the HD cables or the Optical Drives..
Modifications:
- Use an Accelero X2 for the Radeons to decrease the noise level of the whole System.
Please help me to complete this reference list. I wish the best to the mac community and i do only wish to help us all having a even greater experience with our beloved Apple Macintosh Machines.
G5 2.5, G4 PB 1.67 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Message was edited by: Mandala Weber
