Best Graphic Card For Mac Pro 3,1 (2008)

[outatime]

Hi there,

i wanted to replace my GeForce GTX680 (2048MB), that i build in last year but it does not really have the performance i expected. I need a good solution for both animated graphics (AE, Premiere) but also for big Photoshop montages.

So the question is: What is most powerful Card i could build in?

 

[filmak]

You could use a GTX970, but have in mind that 3,1 has some performance limitations with recent OS updates (after 10.8)
If you could just borrow one and try it first, and check if the results are ok for you.

IMHO I don't know if you are going to see a huge difference, a gtx680 is fine for a 3,1.

 

[AlexMaximus]

I used to have the EVGA Nvidia 680 mac edition in my rig and switched to an EFI Rom modded 980Ti card with 6GB.
With the Nvidia Web Driver everything runs very smooth without a hitch. I run the Vive goggles with a windows 7 bootcamp on my 951 SSD. Best decision I ever did, prevented me to buy a new PC monster just to run Virtual Reality.
The jump from the 680 was significant. Originally, before I did this I VR Mod in my 5.1 - I was like in your shoes.
Many people told me, don't do it, you can not do VR on a mac. And I proofed them all wrong.

My humble recommendation to you: Check out this site and make a choice. You can not go wrong with this guy here:

http://www.macvidcards.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

A view, -yet very nice geek options for your classic Mac Pro 3.1 - most of them with boot screen and adjusted efi rom.
You will not believe what potential the Tower Mac Pros still have. I promise you that, its always nice to have that turbo card under the hood.

 

[VikNomad]

I had MVC patched TitanX in my 3.1. Was purring nicely. 980Ti would probably make a better option

 

[mfletcher]

I bought an MVC flashed GTX970 for my MacPro 3,1. While it worked fine in OSX I could not get it to boot Windows in Bootcamp. I would get the boot screen and then the system would hang. In the end I just went back to the GTX680 4GB and it worked fine with OSX and Windows.

See my original post here. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macpro-3-1-with-gtx-970-and-bootcamp-issues.2036790/

 

[mfletcher]

I bought an MVC flashed GTX970 for my MacPro 3,1. While it worked fine in OSX I could not get it to boot Windows in Bootcamp. I would get the boot screen and then the system would hang. In the end I just went back to the GTX680 4GB and it worked fine with OSX and Windows.

See my original post here. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macpro-3-1-with-gtx-970-and-bootcamp-issues.2036790/

So... I actually found the root cause for this issue tonight. Im able to get the MVC flashed GTX970 working with my MacPro 3,1 in bootcamp. It looks like when I use the DVI connector, the system will fail to boot windows. If I switch it to the HDMI port and connect it to my HDMI monitor it works fine. Previously I had only been testing on monitors that had VGA or DVI. I'll take this up with MVC to see if its a bug in the gfx card firmware, maybe an edge case where its the 3,1 model and the input on the gfx card...

 

[flang]

I kn ow it's an old thread, but would a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT from a MacPro1,1 work with a MP3,1? Or a ATI Radeon HD5770?

 

[filmak]

I kn ow it's an old thread, but would a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT from a MacPro1,1 work with a MP3,1? Or a ATI Radeon HD5770?

The HD5770 will work fine.

 

[flang]

Thanks,