Might be getting a "PowerMac Pro"

[rabidz7]

I'm not sure that I will be able to get it, as the listing was posted a week ago.

So, someone in the area is selling a "PowerMac G5" for 300$. On the photos that were emailed it became obvious that the "G5" was an 2.8GHz Quad Early 2008 MP.
I have a few questions that will determine if the MP gets put in the computer storage room, or if it becomes my all time gaming rig.

GPU
I currently have a 7970 that is in my G5, as decoration. If I put 10.8.5 on the MP, will installing the 7970 in the MP be as easy as installing the 7970 in a PC?

Does the 7970 work perfectly / just as well as it would in a PC, in a MP?

RAM
Could I move 4x2GB of DDR2 RAM from my G5 to the MP, or would that not work?

Winblows
Unfortunately, I play PC games that aren't available on OS X or Linux, so I really need Winblows. Would I be able to overclock the CPU with setfsb, and the GPU with iTurbo? How hard is it to EFI boot Winblows? Is it even possible to EFI boot Winblows? I'm looking to have Winblows on a separate HDD, if you are wondering.

Penguins
How hard is it to EFI boot Debian on a MP?

BTC
Can the MP be connected to a BFL 600GH PCIe card?

Can I crossfire some extra 7970s in Winblows, I know OS X has no drivers.

 

[rabidz7]

Does windows have better drivers than OS X?

 

[snarfquest]

GPU
I currently have a 7970 that is in my G5, as decoration. If I put 10.8.5 on the MP, will installing the 7970 in the MP be as easy as installing the 7970 in a PC?

Yes. I used to run my 7970 in a 2008 MP, no problems at all.

 

[pitaya]

If I put 10.8.5 on the MP

Will 10.8 run on a G5? It would be better to look for an intel mac, unless you really want a G5...

 

[DanielCoffey]

It is probably not a G5, as the Op said.

 

[fiatlux]

RAM
Could I move 4x2GB of DDR2 RAM from my G5 to the MP, or would that not work?

The 2008 MacPro takes DDR2 ECC Fully Buffered DIMMs (FB-DIMM). I don't think it will work with the DDR2 ECC from the G5. Plus, the G5 RAM is slower than that required in the MacPro.

 

[rabidz7]

I've got it, my 7970 is installed. How do I install windows so I can play COD? Will simply moving the HDD from my PC with a AMD 8150, 7970 to the 8 core MP work?

 

[hwojtek]

No. Google "Bootcamp".

 

[opeter]

Wait ... you cannot install a Radeon 7970 into a PowerMac.

And I doubt, that it would work even in a Mac Pro (with intel CPUs) too ... maybe under Windows (bootcamp) if you install the right drivers.

If you need a computer for gaming, you should buy a PC. Or, what problems do you have with your AMD configuration?

 

[Umbongo]

Wait ... you cannot install a Radeon 7970 into a PowerMac.

And I doubt, that it would work even in a Mac Pro (with intel CPUs) too ... maybe under Windows (bootcamp) if you install the right drivers.

If you need a computer for gaming, you should buy a PC. Or, what problems do you have with your AMD configuration?

This thread was about a Mac Pro and the 7970 works.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17993807/

 

[rabidz7]

Wait ... you cannot install a Radeon 7970 into a PowerMac.

And I doubt, that it would work even in a Mac Pro (with intel CPUs) too ... maybe under Windows (bootcamp) if you install the right drivers.

If you need a computer for gaming, you should buy a PC. Or, what problems do you have with your AMD configuration?

If you would READ my post you would see that this is an 8 core mac pro. The 7970 works GREAT in OS X. COD will not go into crossover.

 

[NOTNlCE]

I literally did just the same thing last week. Someone listed a Quad Core 2008 as a G5, got a steal on it. Currently in the process of putting another CPU and a GPU in the machine. I would absolutely recommend doing this. Debian has a method that allows EFI installation on a Mac, but if you do upgrade the video card, you won't be able to get an EFI boot screen without flashing a ROM, which is only compatible with certain video cards. Bootcamp will certainly allow you to boot into Windows, even without the EFI screen, you can select your BootCamp drive as the Startup Disk in OS X and use Boot Camp Utility in Windows to switch back to your OS X partition. As far as the RAM goes, absolutely not will the G5 RAM work, as stated before the MP uses FB-DIMMS, which have a different pin configuration from normal DDR2 DIMMs. They physically won't fit.