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Upgrading Graphics Card in a Mac Pro 3,1

this is prob my 10th writeup on this

assuming Lion, issues with 6870:

6870 in mac pro unflashed: dvd player&steam crash, no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro flashed: no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro unflashed with aty_init.kext: no bootscreen

so what's the benefit of flashing? well besides not juggling with kexts (aty init), flashing usually enables you to see boot screen. but with the current 6870 efi firmware, which is derived from iMac EFI, it does not work. when apple releases a 6870 for mac pro, we can use that firmware instead to probably get bootscreen.

answers are bold:

flyman said:
Hi Cindori, thank you for the reply.


  • Install a 6870 card into a MacPro 3,1 Yes
  • In OS X we will lose DVD player, Steam Games amd maybe a DVI port unless the card is flashed. See above
  • Windows 7 will run in 64bit without any issues. Always
  • The existing 8800GT can be moved in another PCI slot. If you grab power from your superdrive to power it, 6870 will need both onboard connectors

So with this in mind it leads me to what will hopefully be the last of my questions!...well maybe ;)

  1. Would XFX cards be the best option as I understand they're pretty reliable? Anything with reference fan (not Super OC Mega Black XXX Triple Edition, u get the idea)
  2. Is it worth getting their 2GB card for games like MW3, BFBC2 and BF3? Not unless u have larger then 24" screen. Im using 1920x1200 with my 6950 1GB and im not maxing out it's memory on High/ultra in BF3.
  3. If I have the PC card in 1 slot and the 8800GT in another, could I use a switch so that when I boot into OS X it will see the 8800GT to use? The computer will always use the card which is connected to the screen. If monitor is connected to Card A, then Card B can not do any calculations or rendering for the monitor.
  4. Which would be the best PCI slot to use for the PC card? Run following in Terminal: open '/System/Library/CoreServices/Expansion Slot Utility.app'

Many thanks once again for all the advice.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Cindori said:
this is prob my 10th writeup on this

assuming Lion, issues with 6870:

6870 in mac pro unflashed: dvd player&steam crash, no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro flashed: no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro unflashed with aty_init.kext: no bootscreen

so what's the benefit of flashing? well besides not juggling with kexts (aty init), flashing usually enables you to see boot screen. but with the current 6870 efi firmware, which is derived from iMac EFI, it does not work. when apple releases a 6870 for mac pro, we can use that firmware instead to probably get bootscreen.

answers are bold:
Click to expand...


The EFI is 64bit

So on 3,1 and later Mac Pros THERE IS A DVI BOOTSCREEN

It is the 1,1 and 2,1 that get no benefit from flashing, and NO BOOTSCREEN.

If you have a DVI and an Apple Display via MDP, the Bootscreen will show on DVI only.

If you just use a MDP, no boot screen.

If you connect a 2nd DVI via HDMI to DVI, it may disable boot screen on 1st DVI.

Once flashed, all cards have lost use of upper DVI port.

The lower one is where the boot screen is.

If you get a card with 2 @ Displayports you can run 4 total displays. (2 of which MUST BE DP or via Active Adapter)

If you get one with 1 @ DP, you can only run 3 displays.(1 of which, etc)

Trust me on this, I know this card on a Mac Pro better than anyone at this point. I did initial testing with Netkas and have been onboard since Day 1.

The XFX 2 Gig card is a nice performer but has a noisy 2 wire fan. I have also noticed that XFX cards seem slightly more likely to work with Zeus for flashing than other brands, but I typically just use DOS on a PC as that ALWAYS works.

These cards have offered an incredible value and easy flashing from Netkas' first posts that he saw they would work from drivers. He was right.

If and when ATI comes out with a Mac Pro version, they will likely have an EBC rom for it. This means that Netkas could in theory create a ROM for Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1. MAYBE.

Everyone who flashes a 6870 should send a little donation to Netkas. His policy has always been to do the work and offer the freebies up to the community. He finally has a donation button. People flashing 6870s from San Diego to Grand Forks (you know who you are) should be sending him a little something.
 
ORTOX said:
Flyman, not to complicate this any further but I skimmed all of the posts it doesn't seem as though anyone mentioned running Nvidia cards in your Mac Pro.

I currently have a Mac Pro 1,1 and I'm running an Nvidia GTX 470 in both Mac and Windows. I too game in bootcamp and the GTX 470 is blazing even though it's not even the current gen.

MacVidCards on this forum has even reported running Nvidia cards in SLI.

In Mac, there haven't been any issues whatsoever for me and it was simple enough to get working.

There's no bootscreen though but no biggie.

I will tell you, though, you'd likely need to upgrade to Lion. I'm running 10.7.2.
Click to expand...

Now thats a curve ball I didn't expect - I hadn't even considered Nvidia!
Did you have to flash the GTX before using becauase thats the only bit that worries me. :eek:
 
Hi Neodym,

With regard to this:

Neodym said:

  1. [*]You don't need a switch. Just have the cards installed in whatever order you prefer and OSX will recognize the suitable card(s) automatically.
Click to expand...


In that case with only 1 monitor, which card would you connect the DVI-D cable? I just dont see this working. :confused:
 
Cindori said:
this is prob my 10th writeup on this

assuming Lion, issues with 6870:

6870 in mac pro unflashed: dvd player&steam crash, no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro flashed: no bootscreen

6870 in mac pro unflashed with aty_init.kext: no bootscreen

so what's the benefit of flashing? well besides not juggling with kexts (aty init), flashing usually enables you to see boot screen. but with the current 6870 efi firmware, which is derived from iMac EFI, it does not work. when apple releases a 6870 for mac pro, we can use that firmware instead to probably get bootscreen.

answers are bold:
Click to expand...

Hi Cindori,

Really appreciate the update thank you.

I keep seeing 'aty_init.kext' but I'm dont know what this is so could you explain?
Also I see that you're running a 6950. Could you let me know which make & model number as I might just consider this too!
 
flyman said:
Hi Cindori,

Really appreciate the update thank you.

I keep seeing 'aty_init.kext' but I'm dont know what this is so could you explain?
Also I see that you're running a 6950. Could you let me know which make & model number as I might just consider this too!
Click to expand...

for explanation, see "injector" in the golden guide in my signature
for link, see http://www.groths.org/?p=431

My card:

4c5pt.jpg


69501gb-oc-b.jpg


Gigabyte 6950 1GB Windforce OC. Super quiet.
 
This is a great topic. I too want to play bf3 and mw3. I am in the market for a new Mac pro and was wondering what would be the best route. I may just end up putting together a pc as opposed to having to deal with all the flashing. I want to stick the best gtx card I can if possible. Either the 580 or the 590 gtx. Anyone doing this?
 
flyman said:
In that case with only 1 monitor, which card would you connect the DVI-D cable? I just dont see this working. :confused:
Click to expand...

What monitor do you have and what inputs does it offer? It may be necessary for you to manually select the proper input on your monitor, but it should work just fine. I had to do this back when I was fiddling with the 4870 and only the 7300 was recognized by OSX (flashing didn't went too smoothly in the beginning).

Maybe I don't understand your concerns properly...?!
 
Neodym said:
What monitor do you have and what inputs does it offer? It may be necessary for you to manually select the proper input on your monitor, but it should work just fine. I had to do this back when I was fiddling with the 4870 and only the 7300 was recognized by OSX (flashing didn't went too smoothly in the beginning).

Maybe I don't understand your concerns properly...?!
Click to expand...

Hi Neodym,

The monitor I have is a BenQ FP241W.
Details are here:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/benq_fp241w.htm

http://benq.co.uk/support/downloads/downloads.cfm/dtype/M/page/downloads/product/875

You'll notice that there is a button on the side to change the input.

So just to clarify, I currently have the stock 8800GT in 1 slot and maybe the 6870 going in another. Would I do the following;

  1. Connect the monitor into the dvi port of the 6870 when in OS X?
  2. Connect the monitor into the hdmi port of the 6870 when in Windows gaming?
  3. When I switch back & forth between Mac & W7 all I need to do is select the source by changing the input on the monitor?

I hope that makes sense?

Cheers
David

----------
Cindori said:
for explanation, see "injector" in the golden guide in my signature
for link, see http://www.groths.org/?p=431

My card:

Image

Image

Gigabyte 6950 1GB Windforce OC. Super quiet.
Click to expand...

Thats an impressive card. :cool:
Is it pretty stable in your Mac and do you think it would be a viable option in my MacPro 3,1?
Also, would it need flashing first?

Cheers
David
 
flyman said:
So just to clarify, I currently have the stock 8800GT in 1 slot and maybe the 6870 going in another. Would I do the following;

  1. Connect the monitor into the dvi port of the 6870 when in OS X?
  2. Connect the monitor into the hdmi port of the 6870 when in Windows gaming?
  3. When I switch back & forth between Mac & W7 all I need to do is select the source by changing the input on the monitor?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the clarification. I had assumed you wanted to run OSX on the 8800GT and Windows (gaming) on the 6870, with both cards attached to the same monitor.

The setting you describe is even simpler: You only need to connect either port (DVI or HDMI) of the 6870 to the monitor and you can then use it under both OSX and Windows (provided the 6870 is not flashed for exclusive OSX use - don't know whether such a flash is available/possible at all, though). No need to manually select a source on the monitor when switching between OSX and Windows, as the card will be initialized accordingly for the respective system during OS boot.

Not sure about the support for the ports in the available drivers under OSX - if in doubt or having problems, use the DVI port, as it is usually better supported (use HDMI if you get problems with playback of protected media that requires HDCP, which is supported on both ports on the monitor side, but may not be supported on the DVI port on the graphic card).

If you want more screen real estate and have a second monitor, you can even leave the 8800GT in the Mac together with the 6870 and connect it separately to the 2nd monitor. Your Mac will automatically detect both and create a desktop that spans over both monitors (settings can be adjusted in the monitor preferences).

Under Windows: Best case Windows may recognize the 8800GT and install a suitable driver (then you have a bigger desktop similar to the situation under OSX), worst case Windows does not recognize it (Mac card) and the second screen stays blank under Windows, but is available under OSX. In the latter case the only "drawback" is a yellow exclamation mark in the Windows hardware manager (if Win7 still has this relict) telling you that there is some unidentified hardware inside your machine :-D

Hope that could finally clear it up for you! :)
 
Neodym said:
I had assumed you wanted to run OSX on the 8800GT and Windows (gaming) on the 6870, with both cards attached to the same monitor.
Click to expand...

Thats exacly what I'm hoping to achieve so I can avoid flashing!- Just need to find the right card now.

Many thanks once again:)
 
MSI 6870 Twin Frozr in a Mac Pro 3,1

Hi. A friend gave me his MSI 6870 twin frozr when he switched to an Nvidia card for his PC.

I have a Mac Pro 3,1 running Lion 10.7.3 and this card works well with the ATY-Kext (I haven't flashed it as I'm too chicken right now.) However, I’m not sure the 6870′s fans are able to change speeds (spin up when the card is pushed/stressed) when running Lion. The fans seem spin at a low rate (30%? or so) no matter what I do or run in Lion.

When I run Windows in bootcamp, the fans will speed up for additional cooling when the card is pushed/stressed, up to about 50% (measured with MSI afterburner) running the Kombuster test.

As a test I ran HalfLife 2 episode 1 in steam on both Lion and Windows with the same max settings. Muted the sound and listened. In Lion, I didn't hear the fan speed up. In Windows I could hear the fan speed up and was able to confirm it with MSI afterburner (it was 50% fan).

Will flashing the card for the Mac make the 6870′s fans change speed according to GPU temp? I’m concerned that if the fans don’t speed up I could end up cooking the 6870 while running Lion and stressing the card.
 
Just my 2c.

I don't want to confuse the situation but if the OP was willing to upgrade to Lion, load the new Nvidia Mac Pro drivers and fit a PC GTX570, he could use a single very powerful Nvidia card for both OS X and Windows.
No bootscreen but that is no biggie when you can swap between OS with Startup Disk and Bootcamp control panels.
 
I need a video card for this mac, under $100, any one please? links :(

I pay for anybody that give me a list of options, help!!!!! Im lost!!!!
 
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Doesn't the 6870 require TWO (aka both) power cables to power the graphics card?

If this is the case:

1) You will need to buy another power cable since the 8800GT only has one

2) You will not be able to keep both plugged in the Mac Pro since you would need 3 total power plugs and there are only 2 in the machine.

I believe this is why I returned my 6870 because I didn't want to go through the hassle of another Amazon/eBay purchase for that one cable.
 
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why buy other cards that are not the 5770 and the 5870??? if prices are around $250 and 1GB, why buy others like XFX etc...????? :confused:
 
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I cannot speak for others but I wanted an NVIDIA card to get the OpenCL benefits increasingly being built into Adobe CS products. Also I couldn't bring myself to buy one of the officially supported 5770/5870 cards ... seemed too much like buying a CRT television - it'll work, but well and truly superseded by better stuff.
I went with a GTX570 from macvidcards and have no regrets.
 
perthmacuser said:
I cannot speak for others but I wanted an NVIDIA card to get the OpenCL benefits increasingly being built into Adobe CS products. Also I couldn't bring myself to buy one of the officially supported 5770/5870 cards ... seemed too much like buying a CRT television - it'll work, but well and truly superseded by better stuff.
I went with a GTX570 from macvidcards and have no regrets.
Click to expand...

a guy suggest me this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-102-948&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=mac+pro&Page=9#scrollFullInfo

but well I order today the 5770, I can cancel the order but I dont know...
 
perthmacuser said:
I cannot speak for others but I wanted an NVIDIA card to get the OpenCL benefits increasingly being built into Adobe CS products. Also I couldn't bring myself to buy one of the officially supported 5770/5870 cards ... seemed too much like buying a CRT television - it'll work, but well and truly superseded by better stuff.
I went with a GTX570 from macvidcards and have no regrets.
Click to expand...

You don't need Nvidia for OpenCL. AMD does a great job in that department. You need Nvidia for CUDA (mercury engine in Premier).
 
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