help on screen card please

[Barendby]

I recently bought a mac pro, dual xeon. I know they are old machines but needed to upgrade and could no longer wait. My problem is the display card.
I am using mac os for FCP and photoshop, and bootcamp for 3ds max.

Have anyone really used the Sapphire 7950? I know autodesk push hard for quadro cards, but the only mac addition I can find is the k5000. Is it really worth the price?

 

[DanielCoffey]

We need more information from you first.

What model of Mac Pro is it and what version of OSX are you using?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I guess you have one of the early Mac Pros then? I just ask, as every Mac Pro uses one or two Xeon CPUs.

If it is running, tell us the Model Identifier and the Mac OS X version.

To find out what Mac OS X version you run, click > About This Mac:

To find out, what exact Mac model you use, click > About This Mac > More Info > Hardware Overview:

To see a more elaborate image explaining the above steps, click here.
To see a more detailed video tutorial showing the above steps, click here (2 MB, 23s, .mp4).​

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As for Quadros, the new one might not work for you, but the older Quadro 4000 should maybe, even the PC version, as it can be modified to run on a Mac, as far as I know.

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Maybe have a look at Advanced Search or MRoogle to find similar threads while you wait for more answers:

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[Barendby]

It is the newest mac pro:
2x 2.4 GHz 6- core Xeon (E5645), 12 Gig ram.
I only replaced the HHD with SSD's.
Currently have the HD 5770 1024MB screen card
OS X 10.8.3

 

[DanielCoffey]

That gives you a lot more options.

Do you feel confident to fit an external power supply in the spare optical bay so you can use cards with higher power lead requirements or do you just want a "drop in and use" setup?

 

[Barendby]

That gives you a lot more options.

Do you feel confident to fit an external power supply in the spare optical bay so you can use cards with higher power lead requirements or do you just want a "drop in and use" setup?

I didn't even know it is possible, guess I need to read more
I will probably lose my warranty if I do that. No, I think I prefer to play it save.
Just out of curiosity, I have 2 GTX 580's 4GB ram, will I be able to use one of them should I add another power supply?

 

[Tesselator]

It won't void your warrantee. The proper ones come with a card-slot bracket where the AC power connects from the mains and I think uses either a molex or a SATA power connector to determine if it should power up or turn off.

There are hacks out there which might void the warrantee but a bit of proper kit won't.


And AFAIK 2 GTX 580's = secondary PSU needed.

 

[DanielCoffey]

What power connectors do the 580 4Gb cards have?

If it is 2x 6-pin then one can just replace your current card (with a second power lead). If they are 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin then you will almost certainly need the second PSU. If they are 2x 8-pin, you will definitely need it.

Don't forget to obtain the correct 6-pin power lead for the Mac Pro. It is not the same as a PC 6-pin. Use the forum search to find a link to somewhere selling them.

 

[Tesselator]

What power connectors do the 580 4Gb cards have?

If it is 2x 6-pin then one can just replace your current card (with a second power lead). If they are 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin then you will almost certainly need the second PSU. If they are 2x 8-pin, you will definitely need it.

Don't forget to obtain the correct 6-pin power lead for the Mac Pro. It is not the same as a PC 6-pin. Use the forum search to find a link to somewhere selling them.

This seems to imply that running two 580 cards with two 6-pin power connectors each (four total) doesn't require a supplemental PSU. Are you sure about that?

 

[DanielCoffey]

Barendby was enquiring about using just one of the 580s in his MP.

 

[Barendby]

Barendby was enquiring about using just one of the 580s in his MP.

Thanks for all the feedback
Yes, it have a 6 pin and 8 pin connector. I really would prefer to use a "proper" mac card. If I don't get that solved I will use only one gtx 580 in my mp.

I am still trying to find either the sapphire 7950 mac edition or a quadro k 5000. It is more difficult than I thought. I asked a few local resellers for availability and quotes, but it have been almost 2 weeks now and I cant get an answer from either.... It is VERY expensive for the K5000, what I am trying to find out is if it is really the worth the money, or will the sapphire be sufficient.

 

[Tesselator]

Barendby was enquiring about using just one of the 580s in his MP.

Ah, I see.

Thanks for all the feedback

It is VERY expensive for the K5000, what I am trying to find out is if it is really the worth the money, or will the sapphire be sufficient.

I'm guessing it's not worth it. If the differences are anything like they have been the few times I've looked into it over the years - then no, not really. A 4GB GTX 690 with the fixes in place (I'm guessing) would probably beat it speed-wise. There's also a Quadro 6000 which I think comes with 6GB vRAM BTW. I dunno much about them though. I guess in either case ($2K and $4k respectively) you would be better served spending those amounts in other areas (?).

 

[Barendby]

Ok, this is actually good timing.... I see the GTX 680 mac edition have just been released, I will wait for it, then I know I will get an affordable card that will work.
Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[Barendby]

That gives you a lot more options.

Do you feel confident to fit an external power supply in the spare optical bay so you can use cards with higher power lead requirements or do you just want a "drop in and use" setup?

DanielCoffey, I decided to add another PSU and use one of my GTX 580 till I can get a native mac card. (It is impossible to work with the standard card)
I searched the net for but everybody have a different way to add the additional psu.
Please guide me to the best and safest way. As this will be a temporary solution, I don't mind leaving my door open with the psu on my desk.... if it will be quicker and easier.

 

[Tesselator]

DanielCoffey, I decided to add another PSU and use one of my GTX 580 till I can get a native mac card. (It is impossible to work with the standard card)
I searched the net for but everybody have a different way to add the additional psu.
Please guide me to the best and safest way. As this will be a temporary solution, I don't mind leaving my door open with the psu on my desk.... if it will be quicker and easier.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17107067/

 

[Barendby]

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17107067/

Thanks!