GPU Replacement for Early 2008 Mac Pro

[ajarix]

Hello, I am trying to fix one of my dads work computers. It is a Mac Pro (Early 2008) that came with a ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT GPU. The mac has a problem in which it will not always display and requires a hard reset in order for it to display on screen. An example of this is when fresh installing Mac OS. The install completes and reboots (i guess) but the screen is black and you have to hard reset the Mac. After the hard reset, it displays as it should and functions fine.

Firstly, I am asking for clarification on whether this is a GPU problem (I don't see what else it could be). Secondly, why is it so temperamental?

Most importantly however, if it is indeed a GPU problem, would a GT 1030 from NVIDIA work well in it and if so, where must I get the mac drivers from?

The card I am considering:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071L98FQX/?tag=pcp0f-21

Thanks in advance!

 

[flowrider]

The Radeon XT2600 was a crap card. AFAIK, Apple had at least two recall campaigns on that GPU. You did not mention the OS you are running. The GT 1030 is a Pascal card, and will need MacOS Sierra 10.12.4 or higher along with Nvidia Web Drivers that are available here:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

And you will not get a boot screen.

IMHO, you would be better off with a card that can run on Apple drivers. The GTX 680 or GTX 780 will run on Apple drivers.

 

[ajarix]

The Radeon XT2600 was a crap card. AFAIK, Apple had at least two recall campaigns on that GPU. You did not mention the OS you are running. The GT 1030 is a Pascal card, and will need MacOS Sierra 10.12.4 or higher along with Nvidia Web Drivers that are available here:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

And you will not get a boot screen.

IMHO, you would be better of with a card that card run on Apple drivers. The GTX 680 or GTX 780 will run on Apple drivers.

Thank you for your reply! I believe the mac is currently on OSX Yosemite however the latest it can be upgraded to officially is el capitan. My main reason for looking at the GT 1030 was because it did not require additional power and also was under £100. I do not believe my dad will want a second hand card of ebay so new is what I am after.

Thanks again!

 

[TheStork]

Thank you for your reply! I believe the mac is currently on OSX Yosemite however the latest it can be upgraded to officially is el capitan. My main reason for looking at the GT 1030 was because it did not require additional power and also was under £100. I do not believe my dad will want a second hand card of ebay so new is what I am after.

Thanks again!

I have used 2nd hand cards from eBay w/o any problems. I have eBay purchased PC graphics cards in both my 2008 and 2010 Mac Pros. I got them from eBay at a very good price, and, then, send them to MacVidCards.com to get them flashed to be compatible with the Mac Pros' EFI firmware.

If you decide to go this route, make sure you stick with a graphics card that has the same port (connectors) layout that the graphics card manufacturer's Reference Design card for that model. Not all models of the type of graphics card use the Reference Design. (The Reference Design is the easiest to adapter to your Mac Pro.)

 

[h9826790]

Since you are fixing the computer for your dad, I recommend you don't go anything beyond GTX680 (if you prefer Nvidia card). Boot to black screen due to no diver is not fun at all. And every OS update (even a security update) will kill the Nvidia web driver.

If you want new card, work OOTB in 3,1, slot powered, work in Yosemite, under $100... I am thinking about something like R7 250 is a possible solution. However, I really don't know if this card can work in Yosemite. Didn't see report about this card yet.

And even though it works, there is no boot screen at all (no unflashed PC Card can provide boot screen) and it will only display when boot to desktop. In general, it's not a big problem, however, when you need it for trouble shooting, it won't be available.

For right at $100, I bet this card is the least problematic choice.

http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p36/Nvidia_GT_640_1_GB,_2_GB_or_4_GB.html

 

[orph]

id look at a used GTX660/670/680 and get the cheapest best looking one, if your just a light user and dont need a lot of power maybe even a lower card? (like the gt640 mentioned)

do check it has the display out you need for you display.

the gtx680 has the bonus of being easy to flash with a mac bios so it will work like a mac card which is a plus for a light user (there cheep on ebay to, just pick up a pc one).
(i used a pc 660 for years in my 3.1 with no problems)

 

[ajarix]

id look at a used GTX660/670/680 and get the cheapest best looking one, if your just a light user and dont need a lot of power maybe even a lower card? (like the gt640 mentioned)

do check it has the display out you need for you display.

the gtx680 has the bonus of being easy to flash with a mac bios so it will work like a mac card which is a plus for a light user (there cheep on ebay to, just pick up a pc one).
(i used a pc 660 for years in my 3.1 with no problems)

Thanks for all the replies from everyone!

Will look into some second hand cards then.

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

Hello, I am trying to fix one of my dads work computers. It is a Mac Pro (Early 2008) that came with a ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT GPU. The mac has a problem in which it will not always display and requires a hard reset in order for it to display on screen. An example of this is when fresh installing Mac OS. The install completes and reboots (i guess) but the screen is black and you have to hard reset the Mac. After the hard reset, it displays as it should and functions fine.

Firstly, I am asking for clarification on whether this is a GPU problem (I don't see what else it could be). Secondly, why is it so temperamental?

I get this with mine occasionally. I find unplugging the monitor from the Mac, and plugging it back in again, is another way to resolve it when it happens.
I assumed it was some kind of power issue with my display, rather than the GPU (the white dot on the Cinema Display pulses when it happens).