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latest compatible graphics card for my Mac Pro (early 2008)?

B

bobAunum

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
6
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Hello macRumors. I am a Maya artist working on a dual quad core 3.2 ghz Mac Pro (early 2008). My Quadro FX 5600 just died on me and I need a replacement pronto. After Googling the subject, I learned of the Radeon Hd5870 Pcie 2048mb. Product # 5870PE52G. Does anyone have any experience with this hardware config? Note it is the 2 gig version of this card. Is there a newer (or any) alternative that google isn't telling me about? My homeowners insurance is paying to replace the Quadro, so cost is trivial. I use two screens for Maya/Zbrush work, and a splitter to pipe the second screens' signal to my home theater for video viewing/gaming. All opinions are welcome. Thanks for your time.
 
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I installed the Apple 5870 card on my early 2008 and it works great.
The Apple version is only 1gb though.
2 Asus ProArt monitors connected via the mini ports using mini port to hdmi adapters.

Haven't done much graphics work to give you an idea on speed but I can boot
into windows 7 and play Battlefield 3 on high settings for hours without any issues. :rolleyes:
 
Just two weeks ago, I had my Nvidia GeForce 8800GT go out on my 2.8 GHz early-2008 MacPro - and replaced it with one of Apple's ATI Radeon HD 5870 cards last Friday. Hardest part about the swap was getting the second power cord plugged into the connector (I have big hands). Next hardest was actually getting the card into the system (it's a tight fit). System booted right up, runs my dual 30" monitor setup (both in 2560x1600), and everything looks good - even CoD4 Modern Warfare (it's a *lot* faster). Sure, it's expensive...but it seems to work pretty well for me. Well, at least until the Sandy Bridge Mac Pro's come out, then I might be in the market for an upgrade.
 
great news. thanks for the feedback. anyone wanna buy a bricked FX 5600?
 
Why not just look at a 5770, its only got one power cord, less money and I don't think most people need the power of a 5870.
 
For me, it was a matter of supporting any current and future games I'm likely to want to play. Under normal circumstances, the 5770 would have perfectly met my needs, but for the 1X or 2X per week I wanna blow off a little steam (pun intended - it's one of the games that most benefits from a better graphics card), I wanted the maximum graphics horsepower I could get.

Here's where I got my data:

http://www.barefeats.com/wst10g7.html
 
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ashman70 said:
Why not just look at a 5770, its only got one power cord, less money and I don't think most people need the power of a 5870.
Click to expand...

It depends. If you're using OpenCL compatible software, the 5870 is going to double your performance.
 
OP, this particular card (5870PE52G) isn't a good choice due to it's Eyefinity version (doesn't work properly with OS X). If you need at least 2GB card for your Maya work, look for similar to this one.
Or take a look at GTX 580 3GB - check this thread for details: http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,1120.0.html

Notice that above are officially unsupported cards and future OS updates may break their functionality or some tweaks could be needed to make them work again. That's the price of having something better than Apple wants to offer... ;)

With brand new "genuine" Apple cards you're limited to Quadro 4000 2GB or R5870 1GB.
 
Yes Maya has me thinking down the road. I want this to be a viable workstation for as long as possible. My Mac Pro's cpu is holding it's own, still.
Shoot, GPUs will be the only thing separating our towers from our phones in a few years. If there still are towers.
 
ashman70 said:
Why not just look at a 5770, its only got one power cord, less money and I don't think most people need the power of a 5870.
Click to expand...

Maya and ZBrush are 3D programs. GPU performance matters.

OP: try the Quadro 4000 first. otherwise, the 5870 is the best option.
 
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I installed a 5870 into my 2008 dual processor quad core yesterday. The installation was a snap and I attached my 23in Cinema HD display to the DVI port. When I boot up the monitor light comes on but all I get is a black screen. Does any one have any idea what may be going one here?

Thaks,

Dan
 
SpikeTheShark said:
I installed a 5870 into my 2008 dual processor quad core yesterday. The installation was a snap and I attached my 23in Cinema HD display to the DVI port. When I boot up the monitor light comes on but all I get is a black screen. Does any one have any idea what may be going one here?

Thaks,

Dan
Click to expand...

It's all about that "a" you typed before "5870 into my 2008"

Was this an Apple 5870 (i.e., from Apple with big extender that locks into chassis)

Or "A" PC 5870. If it is an Apple card, there is a problem, if it isn't you might nixed to flash it.
 
Yelpy said:
The 2GB PC version of the 6870 works a treat for me. Only $200 and oooh so very powerful! :) had to buy the two power cabels and also ended up buying two extention cabels for the power cabels cause they're sooo short and wouldn't stretch to the GFX card.
Click to expand...

Can you give me more info on your configuration? Especially interested in extension cable particulars.
 
@bobAunum: So I bought the graphics card and two of the mac motherboard power cables that I listed above then when I realized that the power cables were just a half an inch too short I had to go get 2 standard extension cables. I searched Frys site for them then just drove down and picked two up... link below!

http://www.frys.com/product/6172189
 
Sorry for the hijack. I have not reset the PRAM but will try that in a moment. I am running Lion 10.7.2.

Thanks,

Dan
 
Thx yelpy. Nice price. Gonna use the extra cash to add a few cpus to my rack...
 
Hi Guys,

Thx for those who replied. I resolved my problem. I had an NVidia GT8800 in th is machine which only requires one pwr cable. Since it had the same pin out and connector on the 5870 I mistakenly assumed that all would be fine if I just put in one of the supplied cables and connect them both to the new card. Well you know what they say about assume! Just for giggles as I was mucking about I thought what the heck and pulled the old cable out and replaced it with the other supplied one. Voila! It came up fine. I now have X-Plane rendering everything at insane and the lowest frame rate I get is in the mid forties on landing in a C-172. Way too cool. I now have second 23" Cinema HD (I need to get the proper adapter tomorrow) as well as a 27" Cinema HD that is on order!

Dan
 
Due to Maya/ATI incompatibility in win7 it looks like i need the quadro 4000. thanks for all the replies.
 
Just sayin... said:
Just two weeks ago, I had my Nvidia GeForce 8800GT go out on my 2.8 GHz early-2008 MacPro - and replaced it with one of Apple's ATI Radeon HD 5870 cards last Friday. Hardest part about the swap was getting the second power cord plugged into the connector (I have big hands). Next hardest was actually getting the card into the system (it's a tight fit). System booted right up, runs my dual 30" monitor setup (both in 2560x1600), and everything looks good - even CoD4 Modern Warfare (it's a *lot* faster). Sure, it's expensive...but it seems to work pretty well for me. Well, at least until the Sandy Bridge Mac Pro's come out, then I might be in the market for an upgrade.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that, mine died about over a month in my early 2008 as well. Coincidence?
 
ggoerl said:
Funny you mention that, mine died about over a month in my early 2008 as well. Coincidence?
Click to expand...

Mine was crapping out about a month ago for me as well. Maybe for us 3,1 owners, the 8800GT is reaching the end of its lifespan.

I baked it to resurrect it but knowing it wasn't temporary, I replaced it with an MSI/Nvidia 550 Ti and absolutely love it. The best part about that card is that I didn't have to worry about buying a second gfx card cable since that card only needs one.
 
I had no idea about baking your card until now, I just researched and it's hilarious yet cool at the same time. I really wish I knew about that before shelling money to apple for them to mis-diagnose my problem saying it was the logic board (when I knew it wasn't) but anyways glad I learned something new!
Hopefully this new 8800gt I have now lasts longer.
 
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