8800gtx Mac Pro?

Hello, will I be able to install a Nvidia 8800GTX graphics card in my Mac Pro and run it under Windows Vista via boot camp to use it?

You should be able to use it in Vista/XP with Boot Camp, but when you boot OSX you will either get some serious artifacting, or no display at all.

SuB8HaVeN said:

but when you boot OSX you will either get some serious artifacting, or no display at all.

Click to expand...

Why's that? What's the highest nVidia card you can put in a Mac Pro and why?

Just read this thread over at MacRumors and it looks like the guy got the 8800 working in Windows. Booting into OS X didn't work out so well. The main reason is the lack of drivers for the card.

There is something called the Titan drivers, but they're very crippled graphics drivers and you can only expect the most basic graphics in OS X with them. And that's IF you can get them installed and working.

According to Apple's website, the Mac Pro only supports the following cards: 7300GT, the X1900XT and the Quadro 4500. So if you're intent on nVidia, you're stuck with the low-end 7300GT. If you want performance, then you're better off getting the X1900XT. Of course, the Quadro is an option if you use applications that require that sort of card.

The reason the 8800GTX would throw artifacts in OSX is because in order for a video card to be compatible, it must have a Mac BIOS on it. This is the reason you can't take a plain old PC video card and have it work in a Mac. Fortunately, you can do that in a Mac Pro, but only when running Windows XP. There are also no drivers for the GF8 as of yet, as Kash mentioned.

Couldn't he get multiple 7300GT's? Seems to me like 4x 7300GT's as offered on the Apple Store online would be a killer GPU set-up. I haven't seen any benchmarks or anything, but wouldn't any application be able to benefit?

The Mac Pro doesn't support SLI technology, so those 7300GTs would be working separately, meaning basically you will only get the total performance of a single 7300GT.

I may be wrong, but I think the fastest add-in PCI-E nVidia card available for Mac is the 6800GT, but I don't know if that one has been tried in the Mac Pro yet. I know some of the iMacs have GeForce 7600GT cards in them, so someone may be able to modify that BIOS to flash on a standard PCI-E 7600GT card, or this may have already been done, who knows?

Surely the X1900 or Quadro will do most people?

If you're playing games you're probably better off with a PC or a console. I see Macs as largely being for creative purposes.

Eww... I hate ATi and would rather personally have a 7300GT than the ATi X1900XT. The Quadro is also quite a powerful card, but you pay for it.

I've used both ATI and nVidia cards, there's really no point in hating either company in particular. Both have released some great products, and some mediocre ones as well. Having both around means increased competition, which means good products for us, the consumers.

Being a fanboy is just silly. Just buy whatever is best at the time.

Oh, and the Quadro is a horrible gaming card. It's best for heavy duty graphics work, especially 3D modeling

Actually, at least with Windows, ATi drivers aren't worth a warm bucket of snout. I have had so many failures with ATi hardware it's not even funny. I'm talking about ridiculous things like fans just stopping working and the card overheating. Old age seems to have killed lots of ATi cards I've dealt with as well. I know this has more to do with the manufacturer, but the built-by-ATi cards/Sapphire have had horrible reliability in my experience. I saw so many of the Radeon 9800 era cards just up and die after being used for a couple years that there's just no excuse for it.

nVidia cards I haven't had as many problems with, and their drivers have always been rock-solid. Call me a fanboy, but I refuse to use ATi sh*t.

I've personally never had any issues with ATI drivers. Haven't really had any hardware trouble either. Still have a 9250 kicking in my dad's computer and a 9800Pro is sitting on a shelf that I could start using if I needed it.

Maybe you've just had some bad luck as I know quite a few people who are content with their ATI cards.