Gaming quality graphics card to Mac Pro 4,1, already have a Quadro 4000

Hey everyone,

I'm reaching out for some advice on adding another graphics card to my 2.26 gHz 8-core Mac Pro 4,1. I'm primarily running Windows 7, but I also have Yosemite the other partition of my boot SSD. I currently have a Quadro 4000 for Mac (I don't seem to have any problems running this by itself in Windows) in Slot 2 which pulls one aux power cord from the motherboard. I want to add another graphics card so I can get an additional monitor or two, and I also want to play some games because the Quadro isn't designed/intended for gaming. I'm looking for a reasonably inexpensive card under the $200 range that only requires on aux power input considering the Quadro is already using the other one. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

The first "good" graphics card that comes to mind that you might be able to get for under $200 for your Mac Pro…is a Radeon 5770. There's a Radeon 5870 as well. But I'm pretty sure it will cost more than $200.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

The first "good" graphics card that comes to mind that you might be able to get for under $200 for your Mac Pro…is a Radeon 5770. There's a Radeon 5870 as well. But I'm pretty sure it will cost more than $200.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, Nick. Are you aware of any compatability issues when running both ATI and NVIDIA cards at the same time? I'm wondering if there are other GeForce cards that are just as good to avoid any conflicts.

arquiteuthis said:

Thanks for the suggestion, Nick. Are you aware of any compatability issues when running both ATI and NVIDIA cards at the same time? I'm wondering if there are other GeForce cards that are just as good to avoid any conflicts.

Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware of. Mac Pro's (the older style)…are supposed to be able to run up to 4 graphics cards. I don't remember anyone saying you couldn't mix.

- Nick

I am currently running a Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce 780 GTX 3GB and an Apple Nvidia GeForce GT 120 PCIE Video Card 512Mb in my Mac Pro 4,1 (flashed to 5,1). From what I have read you can mix them up with no issues. The link below has a lot of information - probably more than you want - about graphic cards and Mac Pro's. If you read the thread you will find a ton of information.

Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards | MacRumors Forums

This is a link to site that offers video cards for mac pros and if you read the above thread you will find one of the owners post frequently to answer questions about video cards for macs.

Featured Products - MacVidCards.coM

Hope this helps

Lisa

pigoo3 said:

Not that I'm aware of. Mac Pro's (the older style)…are supposed to be able to run up to 4 graphics cards. I don't remember anyone saying you couldn't mix.

- Nick

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One more question. Do you think it's best to pick up the Mac specific 5770 that has 2 mini-displayport and one DVI-D, or the alternate version that has 2 DVI-D's and an HDMI port? I don't have a specific need for one type of connection over another, I'm just more concerned about power, performance, and compatibility.

Apple ATI Radeon 5770
Amazon.com: Apple ATI Radeon 5770 1 GB ZML MC742ZM/A: Electronics

ATI Radeon HD 5770
http://www.amazon.com/ATI-Radeon-HD-5770-DDR5/dp/B004WSE9VW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434151100&sr=1-2&keywords=ati+5770

Thanks again!

lclev said:

I am currently running a Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce 780 GTX 3GB and an Apple Nvidia GeForce GT 120 PCIE Video Card 512Mb in my Mac Pro 4,1 (flashed to 5,1). From what I have read you can mix them up with no issues. The link below has a lot of information - probably more than you want - about graphic cards and Mac Pro's. If you read the thread you will find a ton of information.

Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards | MacRumors Forums

This is a link to site that offers video cards for mac pros and if you read the above thread you will find one of the owners post frequently to answer questions about video cards for macs.

Featured Products - MacVidCards.coM

Hope this helps

Lisa

Click to expand...

Woah, that's a wealth of information. Thanks for the links. It looks like several of the GeForce cards are available in my price range, too. Is the 5770 superior to any of the GeForce cards that would fit in the other PCI slot? Just curious. I'm sure I won't notice slight performance differences, but I still want to be well informed before I pull the trigger.

Thanks again!

arquiteuthis said:

One more question. Do you think it's best to pick up the Mac specific 5770 that has 2 mini-displayport and one DVI-D, or the alternate version that has 2 DVI-D's and an HDMI port? I don't have a specific need for one type of connection over another, I'm just more concerned about power, performance, and compatibility.

Click to expand...

Forget about power, performance, and compatibility. These shouldn't be effected (Mac vs. Windows version). And if you don't have any port preferences…then the main difference is price. The windows version is probably a good bit less expensive.

If I was to purchase one…I would probably get the Mac version (but that's just me).

I honestly don't have much experience with the Windows version of the 5770. And I'm not sure if it will be "plug & play"…if it needs to be flashed…or if special drivers need to be installed.

But I do know folks do run Windows version 5770 in their Mac Pro's…so it definitely works.

- Nick

If you read the link I posted you will find that Windows versions of video cards do not have EFI. What this means is that when you start up your Mac Pro with a Windows video card you will not get the apple start up logo with progress slider. You will not be able to use things like cmd + p+ r or do an internet reinstall or any other pre-OS X functions because you will have no monitor output until the video card drivers are loaded by OS X.

There are two ways around this. One is to buy a card with it's firmware flashed with EFI (the second link I posted has cards that have been flashed). The other is to install an official apple card which is why I have the GT 120 installed. I need the 780 GTX card for the GPU intensive video editing programs I use.

Read the links I posted. You will pick up a lot of useful information.

Lisa