10-25-2007, 10:41 PM

I am anxious to get my mac pro tomorrow. Yippee.
I have 2 24" dell LCd monitors.

Will the Nvidia 7300 be enough to run those or should I opt for the ATI?
I will be doing photo touch up and video. I just want to save as much money as I can and not having to fork out another $250 for more expensive card.

10-26-2007, 02:24 AM

Depends on the video software you're using. Some of them will make use of the x1900... Some of the other people on the board that use that software will be able to help you with that more than I can.

My perspective, though, is this: given that it's a LOT cheaper to upgrade the video card now than it is after you buy the machine, and that it's always better to have too much power rather than too little (whether we're talking cars, computers, or most anything, really )... Assuming that you're getting a decent amount of RAM and that the extra $250 wouldn't relegate you to eating ramen noodles for a month or anything, I think that it would be money well spent.

10-26-2007, 08:11 AM

I have read issues with the 1900 clogging the cooling fins and overheating. Cleaning was required to solve but the eye opener was that ATI was reported to have only a 1 year warranty now. I was always an ATI person but AMD is letting the brand slide I think. Apple is using Geforce so that is a smarter move to have matching cards from the same vendor IMO. In power computing warranty is very important.

10-26-2007, 10:45 AM

That problem is hardly exclusive to the x1900. The x1900, along with every other high end card released in the past two years, produces a great deal of heat (for a graphics card, at least). Dealing with dissipating that kind of heat without taking up every pci-e slot in the machine with a giant heatsink with wide fin spacing that's designed to perform acceptably without a dedicated fan is obviously not an option. Which means that the only choice for a production machine is a small heatsink with high fin density (yes, water cooling is an option but most manufacturers tend to stay away from it if possible due to reliability concerns, and most of the off-the-shelf water cooling systems that are designed for cooling nothing but a graphics card perform very poorly anyhow-and have the same dense fin design on their heat exchanger), which will then require cleaning more often than a heatsink like, say, the ones Apple used on the G5 CPUs.

This is not a design flaw. Your computer is not a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a dishwasher. It requires normal maintenance, just like your car. If you're not cleaning it out with canned air or an air compressor at least twice a year (more if you live in a very dusty environment), you're not taking proper care of it.

10-26-2007, 12:04 PM

I have always been an nvidia fan myself, but did have some ATI PC cards years back and they were fine. I don't know if their quality went down, but I agree that the extra $250 might be well worth my while.

I have read something about the heating up, but I agree that dust is a major killer. I blast the living **** out of my pc every other month or so.

10-26-2007, 07:13 PM

I have heard that the x1900 is a better performer than the nVidia 7300, but that is is MUCH noisier. See the following "shoot out" review:

http://architosh.com/features/2007/r...aticard_1.html

I guess it comes down to how much the noise would bother you.

10-26-2007, 07:37 PM

It is noisier when it is doing 3D stuff, yes. The 7300 is passively cooled and thus generates no noise of its own. If you're willing to void the warranty on the mac (at least potentially) this is an EASILY fixable issue (<$60 and about 30 minutes).

10-27-2007, 12:42 PM

I am hopeful that the rumored new Mac Pros, featuring the Penryn quad core chips, will incorporate a beefier video offering from nVidia - 8800 or some such. Then, if they would just bring out a 24" Cinema display that uses the same display technology as the 24" iMac, you would have a killer machine!

10-30-2007, 01:08 AM

I have the x1900, and I would highly recommend it.

10-31-2007, 06:34 PM

I have the 1900 as well. No noise issues that I have encountered and I am happy with the performance.