Ultimate Thread: 4890 in Mac Pro

[mcgrath]

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=208da7629004364d4c17ca8801618ef7e04e75f6e8ebb871

Here is my original bios. I tried moving the cards around as well. I am also getting a warning in 10.6.1 and 10.5.8 stating I need to check my PCIe power cables. I have several factory cables. I tried swapping them while getting the same errors. I agree that they changed the cards and an updated rom will need to be created for this revision to work.

 

[panjandrum]

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=208da7629004364d4c17ca8801618ef7e04e75f6e8ebb871

Here is my original bios. I tried moving the cards around as well. I am also getting a warning in 10.6.1 and 10.5.8 stating I need to check my PCIe power cables. I have several factory cables. I tried swapping them while getting the same errors. I agree that they changed the cards and an updated rom will need to be created for this revision to work.

Thanks! I didn't mention it earlier, but I'm also getting the "power cable error" messages on bootup. Doesn't matter if I have the card plugged in with the 6-to-6 pins to my motherboard (I had two of them from other cards), or with a 4-to-6 pin adapter cable.

 

[mcgrath]

If someone wants to take a crack at the xfx bios I posted up, I am more than whiling to guinea pig my card.

 

[panjandrum]

Injector method

I think I'll try to get the card working via. the injector method for now, and see how that goes.

 

[SolidGun]

Still no joy here. I swapped the 4890 into a different slot, but no luck. My theory is that it has flashed, but that the rom file is not compatible with my particular card revision. If it didn't flash I shouldn't get any display at all, right? Anyway, it once again appeared to flash properly, but upon powering-on this is what I get (see the Apple? It is there!):

I didn't use the new method posted up, but I used the original flashing method listed on the Netkas.org and in Snow Leopard, I have both DVI output working.

Try this method before giving up.

 

[panjandrum]

Injectors and ROMs and Flashers, Oh My!

I didn't use the new method posted up, but I used the original flashing method listed on the Netkas.org and in Snow Leopard, I have both DVI output working.

Try this method before giving up.

McGrath used the old method on his new XFX and had the same symptoms, so we can be petty sure it is the card itself, or more specifically an incompatibility between the card and the modified roms.

I'm also sure now that the flashing is working correctly. I was easily able to flash my card back to the default windows configuration using the original rom posted by McGrath (thanks!), using the "Mac only" method.

As for the injectors, no luck there yet either. Anyone else working on this? I'm going to try getting it working on a clean install of SL. So far I can get my tower (original MacPro) to recognize the card as a 4890, but the card won't detect any attached displays while running the Mac OS.

On a side note, performance in Windows (Fallout 3!) is quite impressive for a card which costs so little.

 

[mcgrath]

I haven't had anymore luck with the flashing myself. SL also does not function with the injector installed. Hopefully someone will come along and help out with these "revised" xfx cards.

 

[rbuchholdt]

Hi there..

I really hope some of you clever guys can help me. I have the 2006 mac pro, and today i got the sapphire 4890 vapor-x oc card. I have flashed it using the guide on the front page. I seems like I have done i right.

My problem is that when I try to connect my monitor to the card I only get a black screen. But when i use my old 7300 i can see the 4890 in system profiler. Is that normal if the card do not work properly?

What can I do?

 

[Syonidism]

Hi there..

I really hope some of you clever guys can help me. I have the 2006 mac pro, and today i got the sapphire 4890 vapor-x oc card. I have flashed it using the guide on the front page. I seems like I have done i right.

My problem is that when I try to connect my monitor to the card I only get a black screen. But when i use my old 7300 i can see the 4890 in system profiler. Is that normal if the card do not work properly?

What can I do?

afaik the oc cards dont work. however im using an oc-rom (not sure on tha oc subject) maybe its because of your software version? you do have Snow Leopard right?

 

[rbuchholdt]

Yes thats right i use snow leopard. The thing I am confused about is that if my mac can see the card should it then not be able to use it.. As fare as I can see system profiler shows exactly the same info on my card then on the others..

Or is that not something I should think about?

 

[rbuchholdt]

Yes thats right i use snow leopard. The thing I am confused about is that if my mac can see the card should it then not be able to use it.. As fare as I can see system profiler shows exactly the same info on my card then on the others..

Or is that not something I should think about?

By the way.. The thing i did do different from the guide was that i did not use the terminal to insert the ROMs, instead i did it thru the finder command "show content of pakage" or however it is spelt.

Should that make a difference?

 

[Syonidism]

it did not since i did the same thing.

are you sure the card is powered correctly?
have you tried using another rom?
Are you sure your device id is in the rom that you are currently using?
was injection working?
was the card working prior to the flashing? (e.g. via the injection method?)

after all that this is kinda above me at this point im blank.

FUHGETABOUDDIT

 

[zepharus]

Hi there..

I really hope some of you clever guys can help me. I have the 2006 mac pro, and today i got the sapphire 4890 vapor-x oc card.?

How in the hell can you do this and NOT read the entire thread. you were warned in this thread at least 5 separate times to not stry from the standard reference card.

I, in fact, warned people twice about SPECIFICALLY NOT USING VAPOR-X CARDS. It pays to read people...

you reap what you sow....

 

[Syonidism]

oh good i was right then, glad to see i can remember things correctly.

aww poor you; fail.

 

[panjandrum]

How in the hell can you do this and NOT read the entire thread. you were warned in this thread at least 5 separate times to not stry from the standard reference card.

I, in fact, warned people twice about SPECIFICALLY NOT USING VAPOR-X CARDS. It pays to read people...

you reap what you sow....

I think part of the problem is that products are so often revised during their production run. You are running the XFX card, for example, and yet we now have two of us here who can't get newly-purchased XFX cards running on the Mac side. I've tried both the flashing method and the injectors. No, I wouldn't go out and specifically purchase a card which is known not work, but I can certainly see how that could be missed in 23 pages of posts...

But what I'm really here to ask is if anyone else with a recent XFX 4890 has gotten this working, even via. the injector method? If this is fated to be a windows-only card then I might as well either pay a bit more for the Apple card to get Open CL capability, or alternately pay a bit more and move to the new 5000 series and stay windows only for now and hope for a possible Mac hack in the distant future.

 

[rbuchholdt]

I now have the Sapphire hd 4890 Toxic Vapor-X OC 1 gb up and running. I did a benchmark test, and i thinks it okay. I do from time to time have a problem with the screen going blank after restart.. But othervise it seams to work.

 

[Cindori]

Congratz on the first working Vapor-X.

You said in an earlier post that the screen would stay black, but in your last post that it only happens sometimes. How much is it?

 

[rbuchholdt]

Congratz on the first working Vapor-X.

You said in an earlier post that the screen would stay black, but in your last post that it only happens sometimes. How much is it?

THX. Just followed your guide, and had some luck I guess

I think it is about half the times, but I am trying to figure out the problem, so I restart allot right now. I will try to tell how I installet it, in details, and perhaps you have an idea to what could help. I have posted pictures of my card and setup downunder.

First i injected the card using the files and guide posted on the front page. I did one thing different. Instead of using the terminal to remove the old ROM and insert the new one, I just did it through the finder ( right click, show content/pakages )I use the OC ROM for the card

After that I used the "QE_CI_Exotic_cards_10.6.1" app. Rebootet and then it worked.

Afterwoods I have the problem mentioned before, that the screen goes black. Sometimes I see the grey screen for a couple of secends before et goes blank. Sometimes It Stays black and sometimes it works. I have found out that if i hold "x" down on reboot I have a bigger change getting the card to work.

Anny ideas?

 

[zepharus]

I now have the Sapphire hd 4890 Toxic Vapor-X OC 1 gb up and running. I did a benchmark test, and i thinks it okay. I do from time to time have a problem with the screen going blank after restart.. But othervise it seams to work.

The first thing I notice is that card is "different" than the traditional Vapor-x cards myself and others were attempting to use. what he has is a Sapphire TOXIC with vapor-x cooling.... completely different card. I thing that is a standard Sapphire card witha vapor X coolers redesign on it. this is the older Vapor X model myself and others were trying to use. As you can see it looks much different.

 

[Cindori]

Problem solved... rbuchholdt is not using a Vapor-X. He is using a Toxic card.
They are different cards.

 

[rbuchholdt]

That is exactly the card I have, is it then a ordinary Sapphire 4890 Card, like the one Cindori and the others are using?

 

[Cindori]

Nope. It is a Sapphire Toxic. Just like it says on the box, on the card, and in my previous post.

 

[rbuchholdt]

Allright..

The Toxic Card is there a big difference between that one and the normal 4890? Could that be the reason for the black screen thing?

Or do you think that it may be that I installed it wrong?

I am also wondering if there is a big difference between the normal card and the OC. Is it basically the same card, only difference that the OC is over clocked?

 

[Cindori]

The major difference between different types of the same card is the clock.

The clock is in the ROM and since you reflash the card, buying a OC card (or any fancy model like Vapor, Toxic, etc) is pointless and some minor differences on the card can cause problems with making it work in OSX (like your problems).

 

[Amigaz]

Has anyone tried the OC Rom on a 4890 with the stock cooler which is the same as the reference card cooler?
I chickened out on that ROM when I flash my Sapphire 4890 this weekend