I’ve recently purchased a Mac Pro 2,1 and don’t know much about them. I would like to buy a cheap graphics card and hard drive (it didn’t come with either) , I also am not sure on what OS to purchase. I’d like to eventually upgrade everything later, but not sure if it works. Any idea on a cheap graphics card? Would I be better off running windows? Will an ATI Sapphire HD 2600 XT work in it?
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MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro questions
- Thread starter Banshee1645
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1. No hard drive(s), so does it have the hard drive sleds which are needed to install a hard drive?
2. You didn't mention RAM; does it have any?
3. Does it have a monitor, keyboard and mouse?
If I had acquired such a machine, the fact that it had been stripped of essential parts would make me suspect it did not work. So my recommendation is: don't buy anything for it until it is checked out by a competent shop or individual who can repair Mac computers. If it does work, ask their advice on how to proceed with it. Understand that it is a fifteen-year-old machine and think about whether you want to spend a lot of money on just getting it to run. What you decide depends on how you envision using it because it has a lot of limitations.
2. You didn't mention RAM; does it have any?
3. Does it have a monitor, keyboard and mouse?
If I had acquired such a machine, the fact that it had been stripped of essential parts would make me suspect it did not work. So my recommendation is: don't buy anything for it until it is checked out by a competent shop or individual who can repair Mac computers. If it does work, ask their advice on how to proceed with it. Understand that it is a fifteen-year-old machine and think about whether you want to spend a lot of money on just getting it to run. What you decide depends on how you envision using it because it has a lot of limitations.
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See here for a great guide around the Mac Pro 1,1 - 5,1.
I'm seeing that OS X 10.7 Lion is the latest OS it'll officially run, with OS X 10.11 El Capitan being the latest unofficial OS. Also, the 2600 XT will work, if you're referring to the Mac edition of the card. If you're looking for one to purchase, I'd look at the guide I linked above and get something slightly more capable, like an ATI Radeon HD 5870.
I'm seeing that OS X 10.7 Lion is the latest OS it'll officially run, with OS X 10.11 El Capitan being the latest unofficial OS. Also, the 2600 XT will work, if you're referring to the Mac edition of the card. If you're looking for one to purchase, I'd look at the guide I linked above and get something slightly more capable, like an ATI Radeon HD 5870.
Where I live, an RX580 8GB is about 50$ now. These are graphic cards from decommissioned crypto mining rigs.
You would better off running Windows, as it's newer than Mac OS X Lion or El Capitan.
To run OS X Lion or El Capitan smoothly, you will need older graphic cards, a cheap one like HD 6670 2GB will work without boot screen.