Using GTX 285 -- worth it to upgrade?

[hfg]

Hi,
I am currently running the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 video card in a mid 2010 Mac Pro (8 core 2.8GHz). Would upgrading to either of the ATI HD5770 or HD5870 be worthwhile for the cost of those boards? My usage would be for general applications like Aperture and perhaps games in OS X and Windows 7.

Thanks for any insight you can provide....

 

[derbothaus]

The 5870 would be worth it for you. Both ATI cards seem to test better than Nvidia in Apple GPU pro app tests but the 5770 is, with a few exceptions, slower than the Nvidia card. I would avoid that one in your case. I upgraded to 5870 from a PC with GTX280 and it is definitely worth it for games.

 

[toxic]

for games, 5870 is definitely an upgrade, the 5770 is the same or slightly better. for other GPU-intensive apps, the 5870 is generally better. the 285 usually kills it in heavy GPGPU tasks (CUDA/OpenCL), but not much software uses that.

Aperture barely uses any GPU power (it mostly wants vRAM), so the only reason to switch to a 5770 is for the lower power draw.

 

[hfg]

Thanks for the input!

I know the HD5870 took forever to actually become available after it was announced, so waiting for the "next great thing" may not be a good idea and a long wait. But ... since new graphics technology seems to come out every few months, is there anything rumored to be in the pipeline for the Mac Pro which might be worth waiting for?

 

[derbothaus]

Thanks for the input!

I know the HD5870 took forever to actually become available after it was announced, so waiting for the "next great thing" may not be a good idea and a long wait. But ... since new graphics technology seems to come out every few months, is there anything rumored to be in the pipeline for the Mac Pro which might be worth waiting for?

No one knows right now. People are expecting 6870/6950 or similar for default in 2012 Mac Pro with a 6970 option. This keeps with Apple track record of always being 1 gen behind with their GPU's. Not sure if they have patched up their relationship with Nvidia yet or not. Would not bet on GTX unless EVGA takes another stab at the Mac market.