Mac Pro with 2 ati 5870

Semaka · Semaka #1 (**permalink**)

08-15-2010, 06:49 PM

I'm looking to buy a new Mac Pro in the next couple of weeks. Specs are close to basic (3.2 nehalem, 6 gigs of ram and an ati 5870). Eventually I would like to upgrade it... meaning get a westmere 6 core (bye bye applecare), ssd and hopefully a second 5870. My question to the more mac savy ppl is: would it be possible to install and operate an additional 5870 in crossfire?
I've been reading some forums saying I have to install a PSU to run the second video card since the Mac Pro won't take more than 300 watts (for the PCI slots) and some wire mambojumbo that i have yet to get any specific info about. From the looks of it, I don't think it would be hard to install the PSU in the empty optics bay but would this kill my applecare thing and would the 2 cards work from a hardware/software point of view (in OSX and Win 7)?

Thank you.

Semaka · Semaka #2 (**permalink**)

08-16-2010, 07:38 PM

anyone?

iggibar · iggibar #3 (**permalink**)

08-16-2010, 09:49 PM

If any damages/problems are caused by you running something that is not intended to be run, you warranty/apple care will be void.

harryb2448 · harryb2448 #4 (**permalink**)

08-16-2010, 11:22 PM

You anticipate we will tell you how to turn your Mac Pro into a hackintosh?

Sonicjet · Sonicjet #5 (**permalink**)

08-17-2010, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semaka

I'm looking to buy a new Mac Pro in the next couple of weeks. Specs are close to basic (3.2 nehalem, 6 gigs of ram and an ati 5870). Eventually I would like to upgrade it... meaning get a westmere 6 core (bye bye applecare), ssd and hopefully a second 5870. My question to the more mac savy ppl is: would it be possible to install and operate an additional 5870 in crossfire?
I've been reading some forums saying I have to install a PSU to run the second video card since the Mac Pro won't take more than 300 watts (for the PCI slots) and some wire mambojumbo that i have yet to get any specific info about. From the looks of it, I don't think it would be hard to install the PSU in the empty optics bay but would this kill my applecare thing and would the 2 cards work from a hardware/software point of view (in OSX and Win 7)?

Thank you.

If you want that kind of power,skip the mac pro,get a Dell XPS 9100,I know dell was always more pricy,no more. For the base price of a mac pro,you can grab an i7 920,an ATi 5970 and 12GB of ram with dedicated sound and 1.5Tb drives.

CrimsonRequiem · CrimsonRequiem #6 (**permalink**)

08-17-2010, 06:03 PM

Is it even possible to do a crossfire on a Mac? I know you can do an SLI config.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryb2448

You anticipate we will tell you how to turn your Mac Pro into a hackintosh?

More like a modded Mac Pro. I would say.

pigoo3 · pigoo3 #7 (**permalink**)

08-17-2010, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semaka

My question to the more mac savy ppl is: would it be possible to install and operate an additional 5870 in crossfire?
I've been reading some forums saying I have to install a PSU to run the second video card since the Mac Pro won't take more than 300 watts (for the PCI slots) and some wire mambojumbo that i have yet to get any specific info about.

I'm not exactly sure what your goals are...but with most Mac Pro's, you can install 4 video cards. If each video card has 2 DVI ports...you can connect up to 8 monitors. Obviously if the video cards take up two PCIe slots...you won't be able to install 4 cards.

So with this being said...if your main goal is to run a lot of monitors from this Mac Pro...just install more video cards. If you want to run two 5870's in Crossfire...not sure you can do it.

- Nick

Sonicjet · Sonicjet #8 (**permalink**)

08-17-2010, 10:28 PM

You might be able to replace the 5870 with an 5970,which integrates the twin 5870s into one card,might save you a buck too.

rippingviper · rippingviper #9 (**permalink**)

08-18-2010, 01:16 PM

That depends doesnt it. I thought the video card has to be mac specific you can't just slam any old card in there.

decypher · decypher #10 (**permalink**)

08-20-2010, 08:50 PM

Anyone have luck flashing the 5970 and powering it in their Mac pro? I want to do this in my 2009 tower and I've heard few had some luck but I haven't seen a definitive guide around.

lazy4u1 · lazy4u1 #11 (**permalink**)

11-30-2010, 12:36 AM

There's a guy on macrumors who is just waiting on the crossfire bridge to try the 5870 crossfire under windows, another guy cut a piece out of his case to fit the wiring. Sounds worse then it really is. He has picks

dmw16 · dmw16 #12 (**permalink**)

12-02-2010, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryb2448

You anticipate we will tell you how to turn your Mac Pro into a hackintosh?

What about this sounds like a Hackintosh? He wants to buy a MacPro and put an additional graphics card in it. You can't really make a Hackintosh out of a machine that's already a MACintosh.

Maybe he wants to use the dual cards in Windows via bootcamp for gaming, but again, that isn't a Hackintosh.

lazy4u1 · lazy4u1 #13 (**permalink**)

01-24-2011, 09:52 PM

Also i talked to an senior advisor in applecare and he said just to remove the PSU and 2nd 5870 in case u need to ship your mac for warranty repairs.So the 5870 crossfire set up will NOT void your applecare.

Slydude · Slydude #14 (**permalink**)

01-24-2011, 10:36 PM

Assuming that you could get crossfire working is it going to give you that big a performance boost? I haven't really researched it on the Mac side since I don't need it for what I do but I know that my wife did not notice a difference with many of the games she uses regularly on her Vista box.

wfriction · wfriction #15 (**permalink**)

01-24-2011, 10:48 PM

Sounds awesome

Good luck
Good choice on getting an SSD as well - if you need any help choosing the best model to buy, let me know and I'll be happy to help out.

Semaka #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 15, 2010 Posts: 2	08-15-2010, 06:49 PM I'm looking to buy a new Mac Pro in the next couple of weeks. Specs are close to basic (3.2 nehalem, 6 gigs of ram and an ati 5870). Eventually I would like to upgrade it... meaning get a westmere 6 core (bye bye applecare), ssd and hopefully a second 5870. My question to the more mac savy ppl is: would it be possible to install and operate an additional 5870 in crossfire? I've been reading some forums saying I have to install a PSU to run the second video card since the Mac Pro won't take more than 300 watts (for the PCI slots) and some wire mambojumbo that i have yet to get any specific info about. From the looks of it, I don't think it would be hard to install the PSU in the empty optics bay but would this kill my applecare thing and would the 2 cards work from a hardware/software point of view (in OSX and Win 7)? Thank you. Last edited by Semaka; 08-15-2010 at 07:44 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

rippingviper #9 (permalink)
Member Since: May 20, 2009 Location: Selkirk, Manitoba Posts: 264 Mac Specs: MacBook Air 13" , 21.5" iMac i5, White iPhone 4s 32gig, iPad 3 white 16 gig, i5 Mac Mini	08-18-2010, 01:16 PM That depends doesnt it. I thought the video card has to be mac specific you can't just slam any old card in there. Show some Love give Reputation Reputation FAQ
	QUOTE Thanks

Slydude #14 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 4,025 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	01-24-2011, 10:36 PM Assuming that you could get crossfire working is it going to give you that big a performance boost? I haven't really researched it on the Mac side since I don't need it for what I do but I know that my wife did not notice a difference with many of the games she uses regularly on her Vista box. Sylvester Roque Former Contributing Editor About This Particular Macintosh No matter what time it is where I am it's early morning somewhere in the world. At that hour of the morning follow my advice at your own risk. Anything sounds good before your first cup of coffee
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Semaka #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 15, 2010 Posts: 2	08-16-2010, 07:38 PM anyone?
	QUOTE Thanks

harryb2448 #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 28, 2007 Location: Nambucca Heads Australia Posts: 14,264 Mac Specs: iMac i5 2.7GHz OS X.8.3	08-16-2010, 11:22 PM You anticipate we will tell you how to turn your Mac Pro into a hackintosh?
	QUOTE Thanks

Sonicjet #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 236 Mac Specs: 2011 13' Macbook Pro i5	08-17-2010, 10:28 PM You might be able to replace the 5870 with an 5970,which integrates the twin 5870s into one card,might save you a buck too.
	QUOTE Thanks

decypher #10 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 20, 2010 Posts: 2	08-20-2010, 08:50 PM Anyone have luck flashing the 5970 and powering it in their Mac pro? I want to do this in my 2009 tower and I've heard few had some luck but I haven't seen a definitive guide around.
	QUOTE Thanks

lazy4u1 #11 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 30, 2010 Posts: 2 Mac Specs: 2010 Mac Pro 3.2 Nehalem 5870, iPad 3g 64gb	11-30-2010, 12:36 AM There's a guy on macrumors who is just waiting on the crossfire bridge to try the 5870 crossfire under windows, another guy cut a piece out of his case to fit the wiring. Sounds worse then it really is. He has picks
	QUOTE Thanks

lazy4u1 #13 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 30, 2010 Posts: 2 Mac Specs: 2010 Mac Pro 3.2 Nehalem 5870, iPad 3g 64gb	01-24-2011, 09:52 PM Also i talked to an senior advisor in applecare and he said just to remove the PSU and 2nd 5870 in case u need to ship your mac for warranty repairs.So the 5870 crossfire set up will NOT void your applecare.
	QUOTE Thanks

wfriction #15 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 24, 2011 Posts: 2	01-24-2011, 10:48 PM Sounds awesome Good luck Good choice on getting an SSD as well - if you need any help choosing the best model to buy, let me know and I'll be happy to help out.
	QUOTE Thanks

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