Thanks for the quick reply yeah the 1900x does take one of the power cables .. could i pick one up at a best buy or are they mac specific power cords
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Radeon HD 3870 for Mac coming end of May
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Thanks for the quick reply yeah the 1900x does take one of the power cables .. could i pick one up at a best buy or are they mac specific power cords
What I'm saying is that the 4870 needs 2 and the Mac Pro only has room for 2, so that leaves none for your 1900x, which you'd need to have in there to use Mac OS X properly.
You could use a 4850 instead, which only requires one of those cables. They are not Apple-specific, but most are attached directly to the power supply on a PC, so I don't know where you could find one.
You could use a 4850 instead, which only requires one of those cables. They are not Apple-specific, but most are attached directly to the power supply on a PC, so I don't know where you could find one.
well then if thats the case is it possible to just have just the 4870 installed and the 1900xt unhooked and boot into windows or do i always have to have the 1900xt powered
also is there some way to split the power connections with a power cable splitter so that i could have both hooked up im just throwing out suggestions i really appreciate the reply kinda new to the whole power thing
also is there some way to split the power connections with a power cable splitter so that i could have both hooked up im just throwing out suggestions i really appreciate the reply kinda new to the whole power thing
OWC is still showing 9 days 'til they are in stock.
I have one on order from them. If I receive a shipping notification before the 9 days, I will post here.
I am really stoked to get this card. My October '06 Mac Pro ( 7300 GT ) is in series need of a GPU upgrade. Funny, I recall laughing at the 7300 when I bought the Mac...
I was not surprised as I have used Macs for a while now. Apple, think different, think 2 years behind current GPU standards
Here's to ATI for giving us their old card inventory !!
I have one on order from them. If I receive a shipping notification before the 9 days, I will post here.
I am really stoked to get this card. My October '06 Mac Pro ( 7300 GT ) is in series need of a GPU upgrade. Funny, I recall laughing at the 7300 when I bought the Mac...
I was not surprised as I have used Macs for a while now. Apple, think different, think 2 years behind current GPU standards
Here's to ATI for giving us their old card inventory !!
Hmmm, the 4870's (and 4850's) are selling for the PC right now. Hope ATI gets the 4870 ready for Mac Pro's this year, and that it is compatible with the 2007 Mac Pro's - I would buy one in a heartbeat.
Kudo's to ATI for getting the 3870 to market for the Mac, but it would be nice if we weren't a generation behind the PC's with video cards all the time.
Kudo's to ATI for getting the 3870 to market for the Mac, but it would be nice if we weren't a generation behind the PC's with video cards all the time.
Lambda-tek in the UK say that they should be getting them in stock on the 16th. I did notice that the number of online stores on froogle uk listing the 3870 Mac edition went up from 2 last night to 4 this morning to 6 now.
I believe that you can buy a two into one 6 pin power cable although I'm not sure where. You could also use the molex connector for the second optical drive to power the PCIE card. See here http://www.mhpcomputerservices.com/products/internal-power-cd-audio/pci-express-molex-power-adaptor.html
dbollig, were you successful in getting the 4870 to work with the 1900 in the case? The only easy way I see this working is with an external power supply; the hard way ... well, there's only one remaining 4-pin molex in the optical drive bay, and after that there's 2 "microfit 3.0" connectors on the mobo, so you'd need a 4-pin to 6-pin adapter (as metioned earlier) AND you'd have to splice a microfit 3.0 to 6-pin PCIe, as they don't sell this type of adapter anywhere. Otherwise, you have to unplug your optical drive to free up two 4-pin molex's.
The external power supply is just about the best way to go. That or just admit defeat and get a 8800GT AND Leopard (just to get the 8800GT to work), which I am seriously considering.
The external power supply is just about the best way to go. That or just admit defeat and get a 8800GT AND Leopard (just to get the 8800GT to work), which I am seriously considering.
My 3870 arrived yesterday direct from ATI and I got it installed. I just reused the MB power cable from the X1900 and the card popped right in.
Only snag is the 1900 covered two of the external PCI openings and the 3870 only covers one, so now I have an opening in the back of my Mac Pro where the now unused PCI opening is. I ordered a PCI slot cover from eBay that will fix this. Just a heads up for those that had not considered this issue.
I installed the drivers from the ATI CD as instructed before installing the card and had no problems upon restart with the new card.
I did a permissions repair after new install and noticed several errors that were fixed.
Otherwise, the card is working perfectly and my X1900 caused lines across the screen are finally gone.
Only snag is the 1900 covered two of the external PCI openings and the 3870 only covers one, so now I have an opening in the back of my Mac Pro where the now unused PCI opening is. I ordered a PCI slot cover from eBay that will fix this. Just a heads up for those that had not considered this issue.
I installed the drivers from the ATI CD as instructed before installing the card and had no problems upon restart with the new card.
I did a permissions repair after new install and noticed several errors that were fixed.
Otherwise, the card is working perfectly and my X1900 caused lines across the screen are finally gone.
Thanks... I had not thought of that. I just pulled the old card out of the trash and looked, and it appears your suggestion would work, but that woud leave the second slot with a vented cover (from the X1900) and I would rather have it sealed up for proper air flow and to keep the dust out.
I think you're worrying about this entirely too much. Not only that, but a little extra air flow might not be a bad thing. And if the Mac is working properly, dust wouldn't come in that way, it would get sucked in from the front and pushed out the back.
I think the real answer is you should buy two 3870's. You could then put the 2nd one in the slot above and take that slot cover and use it to cover the open hole below it. That's the real answer. They want all x1900 users to buy two 3870's. Had they not built a card that self destructs anyway, most of us probably wouldn't need to buy new video cards. The x1900 works fine (when it works) for all pro apps, the only real reason/need for the 3870 is for gaming. And for that you really need 2, so there you go. Buy 2 and now you've fixed your issue.
Seems logical to me.
Is it even possible to buy one of these cards in Canada?
OWC perpetually adds days and days to their shipping notices,
and ATI.ca says it has no stock unlike ATI.com which says the item is in stock.
Has any canadian out there managed to get a 3870? If so, how?
OWC perpetually adds days and days to their shipping notices,
and ATI.ca says it has no stock unlike ATI.com which says the item is in stock.
Has any canadian out there managed to get a 3870? If so, how?
I think you're worrying about this entirely too much. Not only that, but a little extra air flow might not be a bad thing. And if the Mac is working properly, dust wouldn't come in that way, it would get sucked in from the front and pushed out the back.
I think the real answer is you should buy two 3870's. You could then put the 2nd one in the slot above and take that slot cover and use it to cover the open hole below it. That's the real answer. They want all x1900 users to buy two 3870's. Had they not built a card that self destructs anyway, most of us probably wouldn't need to buy new video cards. The x1900 works fine (when it works) for all pro apps, the only real reason/need for the 3870 is for gaming. And for that you really need 2, so there you go. Buy 2 and now you've fixed your issue.
Seems logical to me.
I like the idea... but it is not gonna fly with the wife.
Man i cant wait for it to arrive. As for me it will replace an ati hd 2600xt so the back would be just fine. =D
Anyone know when OWC is supposed to ship? I ordered on the 12th, and it was supposed to ship the 17th, but it hasn't. Have they set a new date? My x1900 is like 80% dead (installing Leopard didn't help). At full fan blast, it usually won't die, but it's clearly on its last legs.
I just installed mine today.
The artificial benchmarks that show my 3870 modestly improving upon or at parity with my old X1900 are misleading at best and don't begin to relay how much of an improvement the new card is.
Everything is snappier. There's no more jet-engine whine on startup, the dock loads much much faster on logon, folders on the dock with a grid or fanout preview act as if they really are spring loaded, and there's no more latency with the Aperture retouch tools.
I purchased the card because my X1900, despite the cleanings and preventive maintenance, was sliding into decrepitude with screen tears and stray pixels. I expected the 3870 to rid me of these, but I was unprepared for the new computer feel it yielded.
Just a heads up on what to expect for those who are still waiting on theirs.
The artificial benchmarks that show my 3870 modestly improving upon or at parity with my old X1900 are misleading at best and don't begin to relay how much of an improvement the new card is.
Everything is snappier. There's no more jet-engine whine on startup, the dock loads much much faster on logon, folders on the dock with a grid or fanout preview act as if they really are spring loaded, and there's no more latency with the Aperture retouch tools.
I purchased the card because my X1900, despite the cleanings and preventive maintenance, was sliding into decrepitude with screen tears and stray pixels. I expected the 3870 to rid me of these, but I was unprepared for the new computer feel it yielded.
Just a heads up on what to expect for those who are still waiting on theirs.
I had to return mine, the fan constantly running was just too much for me, especially coming from the 2600 which is completely silent. I think i'm just gonna stick with the 2600 for now.
MY HD2600 was LOUD. The 8800 GT I have only gets louder than the 2600 was for me all the time when I'd be playing a graphic-intensive game on the 8800.
NCIX seems to have them in stock... though they're like $30 more than on the ATI site.
It looks like these are starting to trickle into the UK. I just got my despatch notice from techstore.co.uk
Sorry if this has been covered already... I tried looking through this thread to find it, but it's so long my eyes started crossing.
Is there a difference between the "HD3870 PC and Mac Edition" and the HD3870 I can find at my local Microcenter, which sells for about $100 less?
I mean, if the hardware's the same...
Is there a difference between the "HD3870 PC and Mac Edition" and the HD3870 I can find at my local Microcenter, which sells for about $100 less?
I mean, if the hardware's the same...