Mac Pro 3,1 Video Card

Can anyone help me with the following questions concerning this card...

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

1. Is this a flashed PC card?
2. Is this a fair price for such a card?
3. Is it compatible with my 3,1 Mac Pro?

Thank you! Any other comments about the card are welcome as well!

Mackerley said:

Can anyone help me with the following questions concerning this card...

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

1. Is this a flashed PC card?
2. Is this a fair price for such a card?
3. Is it compatible with my 3,1 Mac Pro?

Thank you! Any other comments about the card are welcome as well!

Click to expand...

In my humble opinion...this is a flashed card. For a bunch of reasons:

- look at the ports on the card. It has two DVI ports...and what usually gives it away for me is...many Windows video cards have a serial port on them (this one does as well) in between the two DVI ports. Macintosh video cards rarely have a serial port.

- also the seller goes to too much trouble to explain how compatible it is with Mac Pro computers. If it was a true Macintosh card...the seller wouldn't have to go to so much trouble explaining.

- third...I don't think that the Macintosh Radeon 4870 version came in a 1gig model. Here's an online retailer who's selling them...and they're only 512meg:

661-5010 Video Card, ATI Radeon HD 4870, 512 MB - Mac Pro Early 2008-2009

- forth...look at the photo of the Radeon 4870 in this Macworld article...it looks different (one DVI & one Mini-Display port)...instead of two DVI & a serial port in the e-Bay auction photo.

ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade for Mac Pro now priced | HDTV | MacUser | Macworld

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Probably not a flashed card, sorry Nick, as it was supported by Apple:-

ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade for Mac Pro now priced | HDTV | MacUser | Macworld

Note the wording 'Apple is offering.....'

harryb2448 said:

Probably not a flashed card, sorry Nick, as it was supported by Apple:-

Note the wording 'Apple is offering.....'

Click to expand...

Your right Harry...there is a Radeon 4870 Macintosh version. But the Radeon 4870 card for sale in the auction that the OP linked appears to be a flashed Windows version of the card...and the seller is selling it as compatible with a Mac Pro.

- Nick

Great information guys thanks a lot! Would there be any disadvantage to using this instead of the $350 Mac version?

Mackerley said:

Great information guys thanks a lot! Would there be any disadvantage to using this instead of the $350 Mac version?

Click to expand...

If the video card in the auction truly is a flashed card...it may work fine...but then again it may not last forever (it may crap out on you)...you may get undesirable video artifacts, and in some programs it may not work well at all. In some games for example, some details, rendering, shading, etc. may not show up right. So there is some risk.

Also...when there's a Windows and Macintosh version of the same video card...usually the Windows version is MUCH cheaper than the Mac version. $239 vs. $350 is a good bit less expensive & tempting...but for me...$239 is still a big risk if it dies on you. If it were less...I might take the risk...but...

When you first asked if this e-Bay card was a flashed card...I thought maybe you didn't want a flashed card...but the real thing.

So if you're flexible...it's your call,

- Nick

Good comments...definitely gonna stick with non flashed Apple cards. Thanks!

Mackerley said:

Good comments...definitely gonna stick with non flashed Apple cards. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Take a look at this thread for further info on why flashed Windows computer video cards can be a big headache...

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-desktops/215848-gpu-g5-2-0ghz-dualcore-2.html

- Nick