Which Radeon 6870?

[FreakIndeed]

Trying to decide between these two Radeon 6870 Graphics cards:

SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-Radeon-6870-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B005C8RTTU/?ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

OR

XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 DUAL MINIDP HDMI DUAL DVI PCI-E Video Card
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-MI...F8&qid=1340580494&sr=1-2&keywords=Radeon+6870

My system is the Early 2008 Mac Pro (3,1), 8 Core 2.8, running 10.7.4

Does anyone have any experience with either of these cards in 10.7.4? Success or failures? The XFX is listed as a "mini" and looks to be shorter in length. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. There is one Amazon reviewer who has the Sapphire running on his Mac Pro 3,1.

By any chance has anyone had these cards running with a Mountain Lion build?

I realize I won't have bootscreen, DVD player and Steam games.

Thanks!

 

[inaka]

I'm kinda clueless about this stuff, but don't you need a Mac-specific card for your Mac Pro?

 

[BigJohno]

I tried the xfx one. Was pretty loud compared to the Apple branded ones. I returned it and running the stock 5770 currently. Not sure about the other one.

 

[FreakIndeed]

I'm kinda clueless about this stuff, but don't you need a Mac-specific card for your Mac Pro?

Not always, there are a few models that Mac OSX will support straight out of the box. Without flashing the ROM though, you lose a couple of functions like seeing the boot screen.

 

[Buffsteria]

We're running the XFX Radeon 6870 and it's a great video card! We get 53 FPS under OSX in Cinebench, 78 FPS under Windows 7. We have the 2GB version.

This is the exact one we have: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-HD6870-PCIE-Dual/dp/B005FPT37Q

 

[FreakIndeed]

We're running the XFX Radeon 6870 and it's a great video card! We get 53 FPS under OSX in Cinebench, 78 FPS under Windows 7. We have the 2GB version.

This is the exact one we have: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-HD6870-PCIE-Dual/dp/B005FPT37Q

Thanks for your input! Are you running 10.7.4?

 

[slughead]

I actually own both of those exact cards! LOL

The Sapphire is a lot quieter, I'd recommend that one.

They both work great though. I haven't tried flashing the Sapphire, but others have had success with it. I flashed my XFX successfully (took some cajoling, but I got it).

Also, I'd recommend buying from http://newegg.com . It may be the same price, but they ship faster and returning is generally easier.

 

[Buffsteria]

Thanks for your input! Are you running 10.7.4?

Yep!

 

[TheDoc]

I'm running the Sapphire one in 10.6.8. Super quiet, absolutely no issues. Haven't tried Steam/DVD Player since I don't use them. Don't get a boot screen, but I use QuickBoot to switch into Windows when I need to.

 

[inaka]

Not always, there are a few models that Mac OSX will support straight out of the box. Without flashing the ROM though, you lose a couple of functions like seeing the boot screen.

Thanks for this info. I always thought you had to flash the ROM to get them to work on the Mac, or buy the Mac-card at a premium price. Good info, thanks.

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

I was thinking of going with one of these cards but keep seeing the Steam/DVD player issue come up and I'm not clear if there is a resolution to it or not.

I don't care much about DVD Player, but Steam games don't work at all with one of these cards? Is there a fix?

And does anyone on Amazon sell the correct power cable? I've seen them on eBay but I have Amazon Prime so I just try to use it whenever possible since I don't have to wait or pay for shipping.

 

[Loa]

Hello,

I got Gigabyte's triple fan 6870 a couple of weeks ago: flawless as is (no DVD or Steam), dead silent and it just works.

Loa

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

$149.99 and free shipping on the egg. Not too shabby!

 

[FreakIndeed]

And does anyone on Amazon sell the correct power cable? I've seen them on eBay but I have Amazon Prime so I just try to use it whenever possible since I don't have to wait or pay for shipping.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this is the correct power cable... and you need two of them.

http://www.amazon.com/PCIe-Power-Ca...rds=video+card+power+cable&ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_3

At least that is the power cable I will be purchasing two of next week (I'm an Amazon Prime member as well). So I can report back then.

 

[Neodym]

I don't care much about DVD Player, but Steam games don't work at all with one of these cards? Is there a fix?

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