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Mac Pro 4,1 with quadro 4000 upgrade

M

mactree

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 3, 2006
109
0
Can some of you out there with this setup comment on the impact this video card has had on your system?
After doing some research, I'm planning on purchasing this card in the next few days. I've seen some comments on driver problems, but I wanted to see if that's how everyone feels or just the few I found googling around.

I'm not ready to buy a new mac pro yet, so I'm wanting this card for video production and 3D work. Any feedback would be appreciated.

current setup
Mac Pro 4,1
2 x 2.26 quad core intel xeon
16 GB memory
Radeon 4870 512MB

thanks!

main apps include maya, cinema 4d, all of adobe, and fcp.
 
Last edited:
mactree said:
Can some of you out there with this setup comment on the impact this video card has had on your system?
After doing some research, I'm planning on purchasing this card in the next few days. I've seen some comments on driver problems, but I wanted to see if that's how everyone feels or just the few I found googling around.

I'm not ready to buy a new mac pro yet, so I'm wanting this card for video production and 3D work. Any feedback would be appreciated.

current setup
Mac Pro 4,1
2 x 2.26 quad core intel xeon
16 GB memory
Radeon 4870 512MB

thanks!

main apps include maya, cinema 4d, all of adobe, and fcp.
Click to expand...

the only comment I can make is, I don't notice any performance increase while running OSX, but I primarily bought it for use with window 7 for Revit Architecture, where it works great.
 
mactree said:
That was a some good info, thanks for linking it. :)
Click to expand...

no problem...i thought the article had some good info too.

i currently use a Quadro 4000 in my 2010 Mac Pro, and i also run 3D apps daily, mostly Maya and Mudbox. the Quadro has been good...not amazing, not awesome, not great...just good. it is what it is, i guess. the only other choice you have in OSX is the ATI 5870. i found that Maya and Mudbox run just a little better with the Quadro than the ATI 5870, and not by much. i honestly only purchased the Quadro for the 2GB video memory. i run my main monitor on the Quadro, and the second monitor on the 5870.

the Quadro is a frustrating video card in terms of what it offers, and what is could or should offer. i find that i like the 2GB video memory (wish it had 3 or 4) for Mudbox, but Mudbox also needs bandwidth, which for reasons that i don't understand, the Quadro's don't have a lot of compared to their ATI and Nvidia gaming counterparts. And the ATI lacks in video memory, but has almost double the bandwidth of the Quadro. and then there is the whole OSX vs. Windows driver scenario. i've used both a Quadro 5000 and Quadro 4000 under Windows 7 Boot Camp with Maya and Mudbox and Nvidia performance drivers, and for the first time, the viewport experience in Maya and Mudbox was satisfying.
 
Thanks for your time on this bluesteel. I should be getting my card today!

bluesteel said:
no problem...i thought the article had some good info too.

i currently use a Quadro 4000 in my 2010 Mac Pro, and i also run 3D apps daily, mostly Maya and Mudbox. the Quadro has been good...not amazing, not awesome, not great...just good. it is what it is, i guess. the only other choice you have in OSX is the ATI 5870. i found that Maya and Mudbox run just a little better with the Quadro than the ATI 5870, and not by much. i honestly only purchased the Quadro for the 2GB video memory. i run my main monitor on the Quadro, and the second monitor on the 5870.

the Quadro is a frustrating video card in terms of what it offers, and what is could or should offer. i find that i like the 2GB video memory (wish it had 3 or 4) for Mudbox, but Mudbox also needs bandwidth, which for reasons that i don't understand, the Quadro's don't have a lot of compared to their ATI and Nvidia gaming counterparts. And the ATI lacks in video memory, but has almost double the bandwidth of the Quadro. and then there is the whole OSX vs. Windows driver scenario. i've used both a Quadro 5000 and Quadro 4000 under Windows 7 Boot Camp with Maya and Mudbox and Nvidia performance drivers, and for the first time, the viewport experience in Maya and Mudbox was satisfying.
Click to expand...
 
is there any technical reason you guys know off hand why my esata pci card would stop working in slot 4, when I installed the quadro card in slot 1?
 
mactree said:
is there any technical reason you guys know off hand why my esata pci card would stop working in slot 4, when I installed the quadro card in slot 1?
Click to expand...

i've got a NewerTech 6g eSata card in my 4th slot and a Quadro in slot 2, and everything works great. i can't think of any technical reason why the Quadro would interfere with the eSata card, but i'm also not an expert :)
 
bluesteel said:
i've got a NewerTech 6g eSata card in my 4th slot and a Quadro in slot 2, and everything works great. i can't think of any technical reason why the Quadro would interfere with the eSata card, but i'm also not an expert :)
Click to expand...

Ya, I've looked at the system profiler and it shows up that it sees the card. I haven't had much time to troubleshoot yet, so I'll let you know what i find out. All I can say so far is that I'm switching to Adobe Premiere until FCP uses the gpu. WOW. I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet in any of my other pro apps. I have an edit to get out the door and it's amazing that I was able to open up my fcp project file in premiere and just start working.
 
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