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Mac Pro 2012 GPU question

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Brownmastiff1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
13
0
I have been holding out for a 2013 redesign Mac Pro - but gave in for the 2012 when Amazon gave me free shipping, tax free $2499 that was pointed out a couple weeks ago here... So here's what I have running:

2012 5,1 12-core MP
28GB Ram
4 - 1 TB HDD (2 of them partitioned and then matched together for 2 Raid 0s) (one hard drive (stock for osx (until I replace with SSD)) and the last for bootcamp

I am running 3 monitors off the stock 5770 and have no problems with any of my projects in OSX - but it's when I switch over to bootcamp and try to run eyefinity games - that I see the GPU lags and can't handle it

Should I just throw in another equivalent 5770/5870 mac edition
Replace mine with the 7950 mac (not to hyped about external power supply)
Or flash a PC Card for use with mac and windows?

I'd like to hear feedback for cost effective solutions that would try and keep the stock apple startup, give plenty of horsepower for eyefinity, and fit alongside or run solo with my existing card
 
Where does this idea that 7950 needs external power come from?

It's 7970 that would need this, which is exactly why it is a 7950 that is out now for Mac.
 
I now see the confusion - but I'd still prefer not to shell out for that when maybe a cheaper solution could be suggested
 
7950 is a great choice right now, have a look at the barefeats tests.

running Eyefinity takes some juice, 5870 will likely be coming down in price.

We will be introducing some new cards in coming weeks, but 7950 is really best choice for multiple displays right now.

If you can live without boot screens, unflashed 670 and 680 would be nice.
 
I've have been leaning towards 7950 - but just didn't know if I could justify it - or if another 5770 would give me the the boost I needed to do my job

If I get a 7950 would I be better off selling the 5770 or keep it? Sorry I know these are simple questions but is like another pov other than mine
 
Brownmastiff1 said:
but gave in for the 2012 when Amazon gave me free shipping, tax free $2499 that was pointed out a couple weeks ago here
Click to expand...

Now that was the better deal, if you bought it from best buy depending on where you lived you would have had to pay an addtional $150-$200 in tax.

Brownmastiff1 said:
I've have been leaning towards 7950 - but just didn't know if I could justify it - or if another 5770 would give me the the boost I needed to do my job
Click to expand...

The funny thing is if I would have jumped on this system I would have replaced the GPU with the 7950 and sold the 5770, there is no reason to keep it. So to answer your question if you replace the 5770 then sell it.

Good luck with the new system.
 
But if he's running high performance games on the PC side doesn't he want an NVidia? ATI can look good in specs but when ya want solid high performance gaming (or 3D + Video for that matter) then I think ya need to go NVidia.

And just so there's no confusion over what constitutes high-performance gaming - there is none on the Mac side. :p I keep looking for the game that will stress even the 8800GT to lag on the Mac side and haven't found one. They can all go at least at 30FPS (synced in 1080) and often much faster. And that's with all options set to ultra-high. On a PC this isn't the case and the 8800GT has occasional troubles with lag in more than a few games released in 2011 and 2012...

Anyway, it's always been my thinking that if a person is in need of "upgrading" the GPU in a Mac then really the only thing to look at is NVidia.
 
Tesselator said:
But if he's running high performance games on the PC side doesn't he want an NVidia? ATI can look good in specs but when ya want solid high performance gaming (or 3D + Video for that matter) then I think ya need to go NVidia.

And just so there's no confusion over what constitutes high-performance gaming - there is none on the Mac side. :p I keep looking for the game that will stress even the 8800GT to lag on the Mac side and haven't found one. They can all go at least at 30FPS (synced in 1080) and often much faster. And that's with all options set to ultra-high. On a PC this isn't the case and the 8800GT has occasional troubles with lag in more than a few games released in 2011 and 2012...

Anyway, it's always been my thinking that if a person is in need of "upgrading" the GPU in a Mac then really the only thing to look at is NVidia.
Click to expand...



Try playing diablo 3 or Starcraft 2 on 2560 x 1440 resolution and then try saying the 8800GT doesnt have issues.
 
Thanks everyone for your input honestly I'm just playing on 1080 and 3 displays - I am really leaning towards the 7950, I've also heard on other forums that now that 79xx drivers are out a couple more cards are coming to market this year too. I could always wait or get mine now and if it doesn't perform - run an external power supply and crossfire with another 7950...
 
Brownmastiff1 said:
I have been holding out for a 2013 redesign Mac Pro - but gave in for the 2012 when Amazon gave me free shipping, tax free $2499 that was pointed out a couple weeks ago here... So here's what I have running:
Click to expand...

2499 for the 12 core? please tell me where cause i cant find it?
 
Yep they were only on Best Buy 4 days until they sold out - and Amszon had them 1 day (I couldn't say no..) before they sold out - I even made $300 by selling one on eBay and just shipping it straight from the site to his house - so I ended up getting into my Mac Pro 12 core for $2100!!!
 
Brownmastiff1 said:
Yep they were only on Best Buy 4 days until they sold out - and Amszon had them 1 day (I couldn't say no..) before they sold out - I even made $300 by selling one on eBay and just shipping it straight from the site to his house - so I ended up getting into my Mac Pro 12 core for $2100!!!
Click to expand...

:mad: :eek: i wish i saw that! my 2008 died and idk if i dump 4k on a mac pro or buy a i7 imac 3.4 for 2.5k
 
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