5770 in Mac Pro 3.1

Ren


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Hello.

I'm new to Macs in general and am having a bit of trouble. I purchased a Mac Pro and decided to upgrade the graphics card on it. Did a quick google search and found people reporting that ATI's 5770 worked with Mac Pros. I ordered it, installed it, and the machine booted right up. The problem I'm having is with the drivers. I'm not sure where to acquire the right driver for my new video card. The box I received from Apple didn't include any software and ATI's site didn't have anything.

I've been trying to figure it out on my own but basically ran into a dead end. I would like to get the most out of my new graphics card and hope that I'm not stuck =/. If more info about my hardware is needed, please let me know and I will try to provide it as best as I can.

Any help appreciated.
 

chscag

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Welcome to the Mac Forums.

Assuming you purchased the upgrade kit direct from Apple (LINK) it should include everything you need. And from some searching it seems that others have installed this particular card in their Mac Pro machines without any difficulty.

I would say if you're having problems with drivers (you didn't mention what kind of problems) that you need to contact Apple support and ask.
 
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Ren


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Welcome to the Mac Forums.

Assuming you purchased the upgrade kit direct from Apple (LINK) it should include everything you need. And from some searching it seems that others have installed this particular card in their Mac Pro machines without any difficulty.

I would say if you're having problems with drivers (you didn't mention what kind of problems) that you need to contact Apple support and ask.

The reason why I think I'm having driver issues is because I downloaded and ran OpenGL Extension Viewer and ran some of the rendering tests. Most of the tests were sluggish and ran at about 10-15 FPS. Also, when I try to change my display resolution I only have one option available, 1920x1080. Oh, and only one of the screen savers works, the rest simply show a black screen.

Does Apple offer support for products that they don't officially have listed as working with a particular model? I don't think the particular card I purchased is "officially" supported for my model Mac Pro.
 
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Ren


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chscag

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Does Apple offer support for products that they don't officially have listed as working with a particular model? I don't think the particular card I purchased is "officially" supported for my model Mac Pro.

Maybe I wrongly assumed you had a new Mac Pro... which model do you have because according to the link I provided you it says:

ATI Radeon HD 5770 Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro (Mid 2010)

Isn't that your model Mac Pro? If it is, you should certainly be able to get support from Apple.
 
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Mac Pro 3.1 is a January 2008/2009 model and not the mid 2010 and will therefore not be compatible.
 
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Ren


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Who knows and of course assuming you are not using a PC version of the card as they will not work and flashing to work on a Mac Pro is very much a 50/50 proposition.
 
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Ren


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Who knows and of course assuming you are not using a PC version of the card as they will not work and flashing to work on a Mac Pro is very much a 50/50 proposition.

Not a PC version, I ordered direct from Apple. I just noticed that there's a software update (10.6.4), maybe that'll fix it. Currently downloading with my fingers crossed.
 
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Ren


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Finally got it working properly. I had to update to 10.6.4 then install Snow Leopard Graphics Update 1.0, here's the link:

Snow Leopard Graphics Update

Thanks to those who tried to help.
 

chscag

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Great to hear. I was also going to mention that I was fairly sure Apple would try to help even though your model Mac Pro was not mentioned. They're usually real good about that. Anyway, have fun and visit us often. :)
 
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So regular 5770 for Mac will work in Mac Pro 3.1 (it says it works only in 2010 models)? My 2600 seems to be dead (Mac Pro is booting up but monitors don't show anything) and I'm looking for a replacement.
 
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Ren


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So regular 5770 for Mac will work in Mac Pro 3.1 (it says it works only in 2010 models)? My 2600 seems to be dead (Mac Pro is booting up but monitors don't show anything) and I'm looking for a replacement.

If by regular you mean off-the-shelf, then no, it won't work. My 5770 was purchased directly from Apple, it was just not listed as compatible for my particular model Mac Pro.

Hope that helps a bit.
 
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If by regular you mean off-the-shelf, then no, it won't work. My 5770 was purchased directly from Apple, it was just not listed as compatible for my particular model Mac Pro.

Hope that helps a bit.

When you purchased the 5770 from Apple did it include the additional power cable? If it did not where did you get yours? Im looking to upgrade my 3,1 Pro as well but I currently do not have the power cable to use with the 5770. Thanks
 

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I wanted to update this thread since I've been looking into purchasing a Radeon 5770 for my Mac Pro. Short answer...apparently the 5770 is compatible with ALL Mac Pro's:

Apple MC742ZM/A ATI Radeon HD 5770 Graphics Upgrade... in stock at OWC

OWC Reveals Which Radeon Video Cards Work With 2006-2009 Mac Pros | Other World Computing Blog

Radeon 5770 and 5870 on various Mac Pro models

Radeon 5870 and 5770 on 2006 Mac Pro

HTH,:)

- Nick

Nick, do you know whether or not the power cable is included in the upgrade kit?
 
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Radeon 5770 x2 work in Mac Pro 3.1

I have four displays (20" Apple Cinema, 23" Spectre, 18" IBM and my Panasonic 50" HDTV) connected via two of the Radeon 5770's...and all four work beautifully. Old, but beautiful.

I replaced the two 2600's that came with my Mac Pro 3.1 since one (or both) of them began freezing my system a couple of months ago. No particular rhyme or reason for the freezes other than it always happened when some kind of animation was on one or more of the screens; I originally thought it was OS X Lion, since the freezes started soon after the upgrade. Don't think it's entirely coincidence since I started up on another drive with OS X Leopard on it without freezing. But I also never stayed in Leopard for more than a day or two before switching back (only reason I switch is for one of my older 3D modeling programs - EI Modeler never got updated for Intel).

Bottom line is it at least seems to be some kind of voodoo with Lion and prob too many displays and a system that is on 24/7.

The 5770's seem to run a lot quieter than the older 2600's (fans ran noisily anytime animation was on the screen), but put out a lot more heat.

Will post any problems I run into, but if no updates...prob no probs!



----the cards ordered via B&H Photo were Apple branded Radeon 5770's and came with the power cables



Mac Pro 3.1 (June? 2008)
14Gb Ram
2x Apple Radeon 5770
4x Displays (listed above)
4x Internal HD (1,2,2 & 3Tb)
[/I]eSata out
several FW and USB HD's and external devices
 

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