I've been reading this thread for the past 2 nights and I've yet to see a coherent process of getting a 4890 into a MacPro.
I didn't get the Sapphire 4890 because of reading this thread, nor was I looking to upgrade. Myself, like many others have been through misery with the stock X1900 GPU that came with the MacPro.
I've done all the reading I can stomach from this forum and others.......So I will ask if anyone has completed the process of installing, injecting, burning, flashing their hardware to a point where it can be used, and therefore shared.
I realize this is just a forum and nobody HAS to do anything for anyone, but I was just wondering if after 40 pages of conversation did anyone feel they needed to get to the nuts and bolts of it all... unless it's all been forgotten now after so much time.
I have a MacPro quad 2.66 I can't tell you what version it is other then the time I bought the machine (3 years ago) which at the time, the only thing that was higher on the pole was the 3Ghz quad. I'm running 10.6.1 and do not plan to go back to anything older. I do not have 2 monitors, nor do I plan to. So dual is not a concern of mine.
Does anyone want to contribute to this? Can anyone help me solve this mystery before my machine locks up again from an overheating X1900.
Ultimately, we are battling time and the economies dealt with by GPU sales. When Apple got ahold of a 4870 to write the ROM and Drivers, the card was a Top-of-the-line $400 card. Apple received a "reference design" 512 Meg version which they modded with their beloved MDP. By the time we started flashing them in the spring, PC 4870s were $250 cards. As the market changes for the cards and the prices drop, so do the number and quality of components. ATI makes the GPU chip itself and hands the various "Board Partners" a "reference design" for the card. As time goes by, each company finds ways to cut costs..typically by reducing the overall components and sometimes eliminating portions of circuits.
So, the ROM and Drivers were written for a 4870 512 Meg card built on the reference design. As time has gone on, there have been literally DOZENS of versions of the 4870/90. We have even found that manufacturers will alter their cards without changing the part number.
We do our best to keep track of which ROM works on which card.
PC 4870/90 IN MAC PRO OVERVIEW
1. Big plus on these cards...ALL OF THE PC CARDS HAVE ROM CHIPS BIG ENOUGH..........ALWAYS. CAN ALL HOLD THE MAC EFI ROM.
2. There are packages that allow using the cards without flashing. You need the specific one for your operating system. You will need to get an update from Netkas.org before any OS updates. The 2nd BIG minus with injectors is that you won't see anything on screen until the desktop loads. When trying to diagnose HD issues, not being able to hold "option" at boot and choose a startup disk can add much bother.
3. Flashing either a 4870 or 4890 gives you the BIG plus of the boot screen. In addition, flashing a 4870 ENDS all of your bother. It will just continue working as long as Apple keeps supporting their 4870. No fussy updates of kext, no reinstalling injectors, no further bothers at all. Once the card is working, you are done thinking about it.
4. Flashing a 4890 will ALWAYS get you the boot screen, but with each OS update you will need an updated kext to maintain 3D acceleration.
5. At this point, all of the easy 4870 cards are out of production. If you can accept purchasing one used, the early 4870/512 cards built on "reference design" are the safest bet. (full size red fan, on large red PCB...says "AMD" on slot connector). You flash these with the original Mac 4870 ROM....you get Dual DVI in Leopard or Snow Leopard, boot screen, Dual Link DVI on lower, Single Link DVI on Upper.
6. If you want a specific card to work, you need to find a post where someone has done it before. There are many places where a specific card is posted with a specific ROM that was written for it. Sadly, most variations of these cards need their own ROM, beyond the reference cards.
The cards available new from Newegg today are most likely NOT reference design anymore. Most will need their OWN special ROM, while using the injectors will yield better odds.(with their own limitations, as noted before)
7. Forums ARE a conversation. We are just hopeful that people will post their results so that we can all learn from them. Your frustration has more to do with the fact that these cards have changed so much to be able to sell the "same" card for $150 today that was originally designed to sell for $400.
Want a sure thing? Buy Gold. Or an original production run 4870 from Saphire in the 512 Meg size and the original large fan with 4 wires.
Cindori has recently become the flag bearer on 4870/90 front. He will shortly be releasing an OSX flashing app that will make your lives easier. Pipomolo42 was kind enough to teach us how to sew the ROMs together. Netkas has spent hours putting the injectors together. I've used Pipomolo42s methods and a refinement by rihldinger to write a few ROMs for people. None of us are on payroll here.
