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MacPro4,1 with ATI Radeon HD 4870 AND GTX 670?

A

Atomino

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 8, 2012
11
0
I'm a graphic designer and an hardcore gamer too.
I have a Mac Pro 4,1 with a single Quad-Core Intel Xeon2,93 GHz and a ATI Radeon HD 4870 (the original one, from Apple Store) and it works very well.
I want to use the original card in OSX and add a new GTX 670 to use in Windows (BootCamp) for gaming. Will it works?

Maybe will the GTX 670 works in OSX (Mountain Lion) too? so can I use a single card for every OS?

And the GTX 680?

p.s. My english is horrible, I know. Sorry :(
 
Cindori said:
670 works out of the box in OSX, just no boot screen.
Click to expand...

And the 680?

I have a 1440p monitor and the 680 is very suitable for this resolution.



And for the boot screen? what you suggest?


I just modded my MacPro 4,1 to MacPro 5,1! Yeah!!! ^_^
 
it works too... you cant get boot screen yet. but it works fine to just set Startup Disk in system preferences if you need to boot windows...
 
Out of the box?
With the normal power supply and no tricks?


I remember Startup Disk from my old Mac Pro 1,1 (in Mac OS and Windows)... so everything is perfect!


If I need a bootscreen (maybe for a disk check) I can mount the old 4870 ^_^


edit: can you suggest a gtx 680 card?
 
yup, but some GTX 680 require one 6x port power cable and one 8x port. I think it will work fine with an adapter like this

PCIE-6-8_3853.jpg


but don't take my word on it.

generally, I have always preferred Gigabyte and their Windforce cards with triple fans. very quiet.

also, u need mountain lion.

I am using a GTX 670 right now in OSX (but hackintosh)

b30rp.jpg
 
I owe you! :cool:

I already have Mountain Lion, so I can sell my gaming PC (i5 2500k with a lot of cool stuff :p) and buy a bad ass graphic card... I'm so happy (I don't like have many computers)!!!


And everything work fine (Adobe CS6, Maya, etc.)?
 
Atomino said:
Out of the box?
With the normal power supply and no tricks?


I remember Startup Disk from my old Mac Pro 1,1 (in Mac OS and Windows)... so everything is perfect!


If I need a bootscreen (maybe for a disk check) I can mount the old 4870 ^_^


edit: can you suggest a gtx 680 card?
Click to expand...

Yep no tricks, just be CERTAIN that the GTX card you get has two 6-pin power plugs, just like the 4870's two 6-pin power plugs, and you'll be fine. Some cards have a six pin plug, and an eight pin plug, most people say the the only safe way to power that eight pin plug is to get a separate power supply, which is costly and PAIN in the BUTT. So stick with 2 six pin power plug cards... :)

I have the EXACT same setup as you do (only that I upgraded to 5.1 efi, and switched to a 3.33 6-core CPU just now), and I swapped the 4870 for an overclocked 670, it is plug and play. As long as you can live with a black screen until the computer gets to the log-in screen.

Though after installation, I did do the Netkas opencl mod and installed the CUDA drivers from Nvidia's site.

Check the last few pages of this thread, most of the 680 cards will be fine, as long as the two power plugs are both six pin plugs, and not a six pin and eight pin.

680 cards that are currently used by someone with a Mac Pro:

-MSI 680 GTX Twin Frozr 4 G
-EVGA GTX 680 SC (2GB or 4GB ram, both are 2 six pin according to specs)
 
Last edited:
I upgraded to 5.1 efi today after the first post ^_^


chiefroastbeef said:
Though after installation, I did do the Netkas opencl mod and installed the CUDA drivers from Nvidia's site.
Click to expand...

Can you post a link for that?

Tank you guys :cool:

----------

Terrible doubt: Will I be CPU limited in videogames (in Windows, of course)?
 
MacVidCards said:
Very kind of Cindori to offer free webhosting for the fix that Netkas & I discovered. Occasionally giving accreditation for the hard work part of these things would be nice.
Click to expand...

well I did not know that, I pulled it from multibeast package.
 
I'm thinking about a Hackintosh with my PC (i5 2500k, gigabyte mobo and gtx 680 4GB)... Cidori, do you advise me this option (and sell my Mac Pro)?

An Hackintosh like this will be more powerfull of my may Mac Pro... but will it be also a STABLE machine for work?

It's a good choice for two monitor setup (one Dell 2560x1440 and a Samsung TV 1080p)?
And for three monitor setup (one Dell 2560x1440, a Samsung TV 1080p and a Cintiq 22HD 1080p)?


As always sorry for my terrible english :p
 
Cindori said:
yup, but some GTX 680 require one 6x port power cable and one 8x port. I think it will work fine with an adapter like this

but don't take my word on it.
Click to expand...

The TDP of the GTX 680 is well below 225W, so yeah, an adapter like this should be fine. It's only a problem with a card like the GTX 580 that has a TDP around 245W, I'm not exactly sure why the 680 even has an 8-pin connector.
 
I have not bought the card yet... I'm looking at ATI's cards: can I use a 7970 card in my Mac Pro 4,1 (patched at 5,1)? What I need (drivers, specific apps, etc.)?

There is a guide for noobs?

Will it work fine with Maya, Cinema 4D and Adobe CS6?
 
I play in 2560x1440 so the battle is between the 680 and the 7970.


A 5,25" power supply (for the DVD drive bay)? link please :D
 
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