ATI 5770 problems in 2008 Mac Pro

[sigmadog]

Last week I ordered an ATI 5770 card from the Apple Store to go in my 2008 Mac Pro (3,1). The system software is OS 10.6.8. I also ordered a MiniDV to DVI adapter so I could run both my 23" ACD's. But I had to pull the card because it seemed to be causing problems.

At one time or another I would experience the following:

• Upon boot, the system would fail to recognize RAM installed on riser B (I have 14GB total: 8 on A; and 6 on B)
• Or the system would fail to boot - just the black screen
• When the system did boot, the second screen would be black (from the DVI connector)
• At other times, the system would fail to wake from sleep, forcing a re-boot

At no time do I recall experiencing a smoothly running computer with the 5770. I don't think it ever recognized the RAM on riser B. Then, the other problems occurred, with the last being the complete failure to boot.

Once I replaced the 5770 with my old ATI HD2600, everything was back to normal, running both my ACD's with all 14GB RAM available.

Any thoughts? I can return the card to Apple, but if I can get this card to work, I'd rather keep it.

 

[CFoss]

It sounds like a dud. As far as I'm concerned, return it.

 

[sigmadog]

I just tried a re-install of the 5770, this time, on a hunch, I removed a PCIe card (A Sonnet USB/Firewire plug-in card) from slot 4, and booted it up.

Everything now seems to be running properly. I have both screens working (Screen 1 from the mini-DV to DVI adapter, and Screen 2 from the DVI connector), and all 14GB RAM are recognized.

Preliminary results seem to suggest the ATI 5770 doesn't work well with the Sonnet card. I liked plugging USB and Firewire into the back of the MacPro, but I guess I'll use the plugs on my Cinema Displays instead, if that's what it takes to keep the 5770 happy.

Lesson: When encountering problems with new hardware, try installing with the basic minimum setup.

 

[CFoss]

How odd. What slot were you using for the AMD card before?

 

[sigmadog]

How odd. What slot were you using for the AMD card before?

The bottom slot. That's where I had the 2600, and now the 5770 is in the bottom slot as well.

It's strange, I agree. But it's working great now.

 

[BuzzMega]

Early 2008 Mac Pro + 5770 card are not fully compatible

When I needed to upgrade the graphics card in order to use an early 2008 Mac Pro, the Apple forum folk pointed me to the 5770 card, too.

It has problems. Though they sound lesser than the ones here. A scattering of green specks in the blackest blacks only. Shows up only some of the time. Only one 30'' screen being driven.

Turns out that the 5770 isn't fully compatible with early 2008 Mac Pros. Apple does NOT guarantee that they work together. The Genius Bar guy pointed this out to me.

^%$#@!!

So much for the advice of the Apple Community. Ahem.

 

[sigmadog]

Sorry to hear that. It's disappointing that Apple doesn't officially support the 5770 for this model, as it's such great card (when it works!). The list of supported cards for this model is very small, and they are real hard to find.

All the trouble I had with the 5770 makes me very reluctant to upgrade to Lion. I can easily imagine having serious issues.

 

[emjayen84]

I'm having an issue myself, with this. I am experiencing major lag on my other hard drive that has 10.6.8 installed. I was forced to install it, since I just got the 10.6.3 disc and went to Software Update, but holy crap, it took over 20 minutes to actually get to SU, since this lag I am having with the 5770, is causing me to not be able to use the top bar of OSX, or Finder, and when it does let me click in there, it is delayed by minutes, each letter I typed. I don't know what to do.Anyone know what this could be?? The 5770 is working fine as I type this, on my other hard drive, that is running 10.5.8, by the way. I still can't watch videos on 10.5.8 or the other, and things are just a little laggier/ images & are a bit fuzzier.

Any ideas would be welcome and very much appreciated!

 

[sigmadog]

I'm having an issue myself, with this. I am experiencing major lag on my other hard drive that has 10.6.8 installed. I was forced to install it, since I just got the 10.6.3 disc and went to Software Update, but holy crap, it took over 20 minutes to actually get to SU, since this lag I am having with the 5770, is causing me to not be able to use the top bar of OSX, or Finder, and when it does let me click in there, it is delayed by minutes, each letter I typed. I don't know what to do.Anyone know what this could be?? The 5770 is working fine as I type this, on my other hard drive, that is running 10.5.8, by the way. I still can't watch videos on 10.5.8 or the other, and things are just a little laggier/ images & are a bit fuzzier.

Any ideas would be welcome and very much appreciated!

I'm no tech expert, so I'm not sure I'd be much help, but to help those with more knowledge than I, you might try starting a new thread for this problem, as it may not really be the 5770 that is the source. When you do so, don't forget to list the particular spec's of your machine (year or model number, RAM, # of Hard Drives, and any other pertinent info). The more information you can provide, the better the chances of some genius here providing a solution. I can pretty much guarantee that genius won't be me, however.

Hope you find a solution.

 

[Bwa]

I have had two 5770s in my 2008 with 5 and 6 monitors; currently running one with 3x30. They have been rock solid and far more reliable than the three 2600s I started with four years ago (two are dead now). I used to get lock ups from time to time with the 2600s. The 5770s finally fixed any issues I had stability-wise.

Just a different experience