So i want to upgrade my video card.

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So i want to upgrade my video card.

So here is the deal, backstory: i play a decent amount of world of warcraft, well since 2008. as well as being a graphic designer, (autodesk maya, and all adobe products like indesign photoshop and after effects and some premier). all that stuff seems to run fine, this computer has been a work horse and is still hanging in but i stray. here is my setup.

2 Apple LED Cinema Display

I am currently running 12g memory - probably gonna upgrade 4 more.

2x2.26 gHz quad core intel xeon

and a ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb

oh and running OS X El Capitan (not thrilled but runs ok) version 10.11.1

just now noticing some lag in video applications and games, what would be the card to get?

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), video card

Posted on Nov 23, 2015 2:57 PM

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Answer 1

oldmacdude Author

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Nov 23, 2015 2:58 PM in response to oldmacdude

sorry also is mac pro early 2009

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Answer 2

lllaass

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Nov 24, 2015 8:02 AM in response to oldmacdude

http://www.macvidcards.com/index.html

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1440150

User Tip: Mac Pro silver tower (2006-2012) Replacement Graphics cards

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Answer 3

Nov 24, 2015 8:02 AM in response to oldmacdude

I also have a 2009 and just installed a Radeon HD 7950 from macvidcards.com. Big difference on
games/Photoshop/Lightroom and also quieter to boot. You also might want to consider an SSD upgrade.

My system runs noticeably faster after a Crucial SSD boot drive (especially at startup and restart).

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Answer 4

oldmacdude Author

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Nov 24, 2015 8:11 AM in response to HelmutNewton

this is great i will look into that one. so on SSD would any crucial work? or is there something i should be looking for specifically on those, had some bad luck with a samsung SSD burning out and went back to backup drive from before. thank you for your response. : ) chao.

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Answer 5

Nov 24, 2015 8:25 AM in response to oldmacdude

Well, I got the Crucial BX100. I understand that some older Crucial SSDs had trouble with TRIM support in OS X.
I think all of the current Crucial lines work fine in El Cap (BX100, BX200, MX200).

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Answer 6

oldmacdude Author

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Nov 24, 2015 8:48 AM in response to HelmutNewton

awesome, thank you so much for such a quick response. i will give these a try and thanks again.

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Answer 7

LV427

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Dec 2, 2015 5:05 PM in response to oldmacdude

You can run much faster cards than "just" a Radeon HD7950!

As long as you adhere to the power limitations of the PCIe slots (or if you're a little adventurous you can use power mods like this one: Re: What's the highest-end Nvidia GPU that can run in a Mac Pro 2008?)

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Answer 8

oldmacdude Author

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Dec 3, 2015 6:31 PM in response to HelmutNewton

ok so now the version of the Radeon HD 7950 i purchased looks like the ones online. My mac currently uses (2) mini-6 pin to 6-pin connectors for my old radeon card (2) 6 pins on the card itself. The 7850 needs a 8 pin config and a 6 pin config on the card itself.

if i purchase the mini-6 pin to 8 pin and the Mini-6 pin to 4 pin connector should this just solve the problem?

Or will it pull to much power from what my computer is able to provide thus causing overheating issues or frying the logic board?

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Answer 9

Dec 3, 2015 6:49 PM in response to oldmacdude

The kit I got from macvidcards.com had a 6-pin-to-6-pin and an 8-pin-to-6-pin cable included. Just plugged both into

the 6-pin connectors on the board. Runs perfect. I did a lot of research before buying, and plenty of other

Mac Pro 4,1 owners have upgraded to the HD 7950, either the "Mac edition" Sapphire version, or an EFI-flashed

version. There are some reports of overheating and fan issues, but overall it seems to be a successful combination.

Is your 7950 an EFI-flashed version?

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