Replacement Graphics Card

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Hi everyone,

With my graphics card making a lot of noise, getting hot and OXS crashing daily when trying to do graphics heavy tasks I think its time I replace my GFX card - i just want to make sure I get the right one. Can i get an PCI-E card or do I need a specific one?

The two I am looking at are:

Sapphire HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card **Free Game Giveaway - eligible with this item** - Ebuyer

or this

XFX HD 4870 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

If neither, what can i put into my mac? I have around £100 to spend.

Many thanks,

Joe
 

pigoo3

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Hi everyone,

With my graphics card making a lot of noise, getting hot and OXS crashing daily when trying to do graphics heavy tasks I think its time I replace my GFX card - i just want to make sure I get the right one. Can i get an PCI-E card or do I need a specific one?

The two I am looking at are:

Sapphire HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card **Free Game Giveaway - eligible with this item** - Ebuyer

or this

XFX HD 4870 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

If neither, what can i put into my mac? I have around £100 to spend.

Many thanks,

Joe

Can I assume you have a 1st generation Mac Pro, with "quad-core " 2.66 processors?

If so...I have the same computer (I also have the X-1900 graphics card). I have heard from another member on this forum (who installed an ATI 4870 card in his computer) that the ATI 4870 card works in the 1st generation Mac Pro's. Even though Apple's compatibility specs don't list it.

ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro (Early 2009 or Early 2008) - Apple Store (U.S.)

By the way...if you can get a Macintosh ATI 4870 card for a Mac Pro for £100 or less...you better snap it up...because that's a great price!:)

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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joe.morgan
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Its the 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon with X1900

The 4870 above is 512MB, i have found the 1gb ATi version for £125

ATI 1gb 4870

Would it matter being an ATI, Sapphire or XFX?
 

pigoo3

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Its the 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon with X1900

The 4870 above is 512MB, i have found the 1gb ATi version for £125

Would it matter being an ATI, Sapphire or XFX?

I would think that ATI would be the most compatible...since that is what Apple sells.

Are you absolutely sure this 4870 card is a genuine Macintosh card? £125 ($206) is pretty darn inexpensive for a 1gig video card!!!

This isn't a "Windows" card that's been "flashed" to work on a Mac? If so...they're not always the most stable.

Apple sells the ATI 512meg card for $349 US (£211)...so £125 for a genuine Macintosh 1 gig ATI 4870 card is an amazing price!!!

ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro (Early 2009 or Early 2008) - Apple Store (U.S.)

Hope this helps,

- Nick

EDIT: By the way...I just took a look at your link...that advertisement doesn't say anything about being Macintosh compatible.
 
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joe.morgan
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what is the difference between a Mac and PC PCI-E card? The only mac specific graphics card I can find are on the Apple website itself.
 

pigoo3

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what is the difference between a Mac and PC PCI-E card? The only mac specific graphics card I can find are on the Apple website itself.

EXACTLY...that's the way it is with Macintosh hardware (hard to find sometimes)...and for the most part since 1984...that's the way it has always been!!! But some things are much easier to find now (versus 10, 15, or 20 years ago)...like hard drives, ram, keyboards, mice, monitors.

What's the difference between a Mac & PC PCI-e card. Sometimes physically nothing! It's all in the programing of the chips on the card.

It's sort of like saying what's the difference between the Mac & PC operating systems...BIG difference.

Install a Windows PCI-e graphics card into your Mac Pro...and absolutely nothing good will happen.

You need to find a Macintosh compatible video card. If you only have 100 pounds to spend...then that will probably only get you a used 256meg GeForce 7300 GT video card...the "basic" card that came with the 1st generation Mac Pro's.

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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Hi Nick,

Ah so its down to the way the chip works rather than the card itself. How annoying! I might look into getting another X1900 GT if I can and go from there. I am not 1005 sure if the GFX card is the problem, but i am pretty certain it must be. I dont have my original 10.4 install disks though, only leopard and snow leopard so I cant do a hardware test

Thank you for your help, most appreciated
 

pigoo3

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Hi Nick,

Ah so its down to the way the chip works rather than the card itself. How annoying! I might look into getting another X1900 GT if I can and go from there. I am not 1005 sure if the GFX card is the problem, but i am pretty certain it must be. I dont have my original 10.4 install disks though, only leopard and snow leopard so I cant do a hardware test

Thank you for your help, most appreciated

Well I'm sure that you already thought of it...but if you're not 100% sure that your video card is bad...you could purchase another one, install it, and still have the same problem.

On the positive side...I have heard that the original X-1900 graphics cards had issues with the bearings in the cooling fan on the graphics card. The bearings would go bad, make a lot of noise, then I guess the fan wouldn't cool the card properly, and then the card would fail.

Have you ever experienced any unusual noises from your computer/video card?

Do you know if the cooling fan on your X-1900 video card is working?

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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What are the "graphics heavy tasks" that you're performing that leads you to believe the video card is bad?
 
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video editing - but my mac also crashes when i use spaces (freezes with the rainbow icon) or i get black screens. It even crashes when I have too many tabs open in safari

I just thought it would be the GFX card as its always full power with the fan (and thus noisy)
 

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