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3 quick questions about 6870 in Mac Pro 1,1

Tower-Union

Tower-Union

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 6, 2009
450
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So its come time to upgrade my video card (running an 8800GT right now) in my Mac Pro 1,1. My understanding from snooping around the forums (here, and netkas) is that a 6870 will run straight out of the box (on Lion). However there is no boot screen, no DVD player, and no Steam games. 3 quick questions,

1. Its the Apple DVD player software that doesn't work right? Using VLC will still work?
2. Steam games still work on Windows right?
3. The 1 GB or 2 GB cards both work right? I'm hoping for a 2gb XFX 6870.

Thanks for any help!

Oh, and I can't flash because of the 64 vs 32 bit incompatibility right?
 
BigJohno said:
The 6870 runs two 6 pin connectors right? What about noise levels from the card? are they much higher from the 5870 or 5770?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Depends on which card you get. Some are loud, some are quiet; do your research and get a quiet one. Sadly, the only 2GB one available I've read is loud.
 
Ive just fitted a MSI hawk twin fan 6870 in my daughters mac pro 1.1 and it works fine with no problems, she is this very moment playing her sims 3 on it. the fans are not noisy at all, infact its very quiet in the case and runs with the 2 PCIE cables it needs straight from the logic board.

she is on lion OSX 7.2 by the way:)
 
Gigabyte's GV-R6870OC-1GD is not audible under normal load (i.e. Finder, 2D etc.) and spins up only moderately when under 3D load. Can definitely recommend this 3-fan cooling solution! However - this card is 1GB only, as i have a helper card for monitors 2 and 3, so having "only" 1GB doesn't matter to me. Don't know whether you can get it in a 2GB flavour...
 
I bought an XFX 6870 2 GB. Worked out of the box on my 2008 Mac Pro.

But it's stupid loud. I have 24 hard drives on my Mac, and the Mac behind my desk. And all I could hear was the roar of the video card. I used it for about 15 minutes and boxed it up and sent it back to Amazon.
 
Im thinking about replacing my 5770 with the 1 gig card. I see that it uses two 6 pin but the power requirements are just a little more than the 5770. I want to run it along side my quadro4000 card.
 
Thanks for the quick responses guys. I guess the 2gb is out of the question, I'll hunt around and try to find one that doesn't rev the fans. :cool:
 
BigJohno are you gonna add a second psu or are you gonna split the pcie cables if you add a 6870?
 
Tower-Union said:
I guess the 2gb is out of the question
Click to expand...

I don't know that it is completely out of the question. If you really want 2GB and it is worth it to you, you could yank off the existing fan and attach a silent aftermarket GPU cooler.

I am considering doing that myself, but I am in no hurry. The 5770 does the job for me at the moment and I'm curious to see what video cards Apple releases in a few months.
 
jchall30 said:
BigJohno are you gonna add a second psu or are you gonna split the pcie cables if you add a 6870?
Click to expand...

Probably going to split the cables for the time being. I guess I'm not really seeing the benefit of the quadro for what Im doing. I don't really see any performance gains under osx over my 5770. Solid works runs great on the 5770. So I will prob end up selling it or just keep it as a back up.

Might buy a gt120 for the second display and install a 6870. Doesn't make sense to spend 400+ on a 5870 from apple. The only game I really play is BF3 and the 5770 does ok at 1080 but I want higher frame rate.
 
That's what I would like to do to add a 5770 to my existing 5870 but I see mixed reviews as to do that or not.
 
BigJohno said:
The only game I really play is BF3
Click to expand...

BF3? In that case you might still consider the 2GB (with a quieter aftermarket cooler). Frame rates are double in situations where there are lots of players.


560ti2gbvs1gb.jpg

Picture from this thread.

Also, from the MF3 tweak guide:
The Ultra Texture Quality setting for example is designed specifically for GPUs with 1.5GB or more of VRAM.
Click to expand...

an average multiplayer level in BF3 can have 1.5GB or more of textures
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I have the 2GB 6870 and the ONLY time it revs up and makes some noise is in windows while playing games. I can also tell you that it runs BF3 flawlessly on full everything. I don't think OS X uses the card correctly though, look at the below Cinebench benchmarks, the same card is almost twice as powerful in Windows. Another interesting fact is that if I play Steam games in OS X the card is quiet as a mouse, in Windows playing the same game the card roars like a lion! :)

Cinebench Benchmark:
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=316616&d=1324290985
 
Bwa said:
I bought an XFX 6870 2 GB. Worked out of the box on my 2008 Mac Pro.

But it's stupid loud. I have 24 hard drives on my Mac, and the Mac behind my desk. And all I could hear was the roar of the video card. I used it for about 15 minutes and boxed it up and sent it back to Amazon.
Click to expand...

Is it that the sound bothers you, or were you worried that it would burn out or something?

Also, what is the OP refering to regarding not being able to flash to due to 64 vs 32 bit compatibility. That doesn't apply to mac 3.1 and up correct?
 
Last edited:
I -think- you are correct, as long as the MP has a 64 bit EFI you should be fine. Apple just screwed those of us who bought a 64 bit computer and then found out it was a 32 bit EFI. . .
 
AzraelNy said:
Is it that the sound bothers you, or were you worried that it would burn out or something?

Also, what is the OP refering to regarding not being able to flash to due to 64 vs 32 bit compatibility. That doesn't apply to mac 3.1 and up correct?
Click to expand...

It was the sound. It was on the order of a vacuum cleaner (my housekeeper was vacuuming downstairs around the time I installed it and I could hear the card over the vacuum). I'd never get used to it. I have owned some loud computers, but this was nuts. I don't recommend this particular card if you appreciate the quiet nature of your Mac Pro and don't plan to upgrade the fan hardware to something else.
 
I'm thinking of getting this card after reading this thread and this how-to article. However, I'd like to know if Lion is absolutely essential. I'm pretty happy with my Snow Leopard setup so far and feel no need to upgrade. Is it required in order to use this card?
 
talino said:
I'm thinking of getting this card after reading this thread and this how-to article. However, I'd like to know if Lion is absolutely essential. I'm pretty happy with my Snow Leopard setup so far and feel no need to upgrade. Is it required in order to use this card?
Click to expand...

think 10.6.8 behaves the same, not sure
 
talino said:
I'm thinking of getting this card after reading this thread and this how-to article. However, I'd like to know if Lion is absolutely essential. I'm pretty happy with my Snow Leopard setup so far and feel no need to upgrade. Is it required in order to use this card?
Click to expand...

Card works same in 10.6.8

It is a pity that the "How To" article didn't go the extra step and flash the card.

In a 3,1 it would fix all of the issues he lists, including a boot screen on one of the DVI ports.
 
speaking of flashing, my brothers been flashing 6870s for a studio we work in. He has simply been using " Romcreator " to make the new bios and then he uses " Zeus 2.3 " to flash the card. All in osx. He says he turns off all his apps and running processes when he does it. But until now with xfx brands, the cards hes flashed using these 2 softwares are working perfectly fine.

(btw i should really make an account, i keep posting with his.)

anyhow yea those 2 apps did the trick for him in OSX enviroment.

if u have windows, i think the process is : GPU-Z to save the original bios ; then back into osx using Romcreator to make the New rom & theeeen going back into windows to AtiFlash the new bios to the card through dos. Google the instructions , theyre easy it seems and all over google.

really is simple it seems, since all the ground work is done for us all.

after he flashes them , we all have bootscreens n everything. Nothings broken yet.
 
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