Upgrading a Video Card for Mac Pro (Early 2008)

I have little experience upgrading systems hardware and I was hoping to get some input as I try to figure out a cost effective card for my 2008 mac.
What I have:
* 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
* with OSX 10.10.2 Yosemite
. . . so far I am looking at the 5770 HD to be a likely replacement if I buy the right one (some, if I'm understanding correctly, aren't compatible because they were flashed for older systems or are simply defective and so require selective shopping— hence, they were not officially supported). Also, I am unsure if OS Yosemite runs the older cards.
I work with Photoshop, Illustrator, and play games like Starcraft2 and WoW.
My question is:
Which video cards are compatible with my system and what would be the best replacement? . . . and will I have to downgrade from OS Yosemite to run certain cards?
Thanks in advance!

Hi there, welcome to the community.
My advice to you, to achieve cost effective performance, would be to use any vanilla NVIDIA graphics card. Newer versions of Mac OS X have drivers that should be compatible with the card out of the box. The only downside to using a non-mac specific card is that you wont see the boot up process, as the graphics card wont be initialized until the system is completely loaded. If this concerns you, leave your old card in one of the slower, unused slots if possible.
If you are worried about compatibility, I would recommend purchasing at Best Buy, where you can take advantage of their return policy.
For more info, check out:
How to breathe new life into a dying Mac Pro | iMore

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!http://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/images/381-img-main.jpg!
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http://www.sonnettech.com/product/temposatae2p.html
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!http://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/images/466-img-main.jpg!
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A cable of about 5 meters (16 ft) can be manufactured to Category 1 specifications easily and inexpensively by using 28 AWG (0.081 mm²) conductors.[114] With better quality construction and materials, including 24 AWG (0.205 mm²) conductors, an HDMI cable can reach lengths of up to 15 meters (49 ft).[114]
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Hi there
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I have already connected two monitors via a DVI “hub”. So they are up and running fine.
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Please look at photo here for info on my current graphics card.
Best,
Jon
Fra: RoninEdits <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Svar til: "[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Dato: Thursday 19 February 2015 11:40
Til: Jon Berntsen Huseby <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Emne: Hardware for Mac Pro early 2008
Hardware for Mac Pro early 2008
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Best video card for mac pro

Mac Pro Info:2x2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
MacPro1, 1
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OpenGL 3.2 support15
Image quality enhancement technology
Up to 24x multi-sample and super-sample anti-aliasing modes
Adaptive anti-aliasing
16x angle independent anisotropic texture filtering
128-bit floating point HDR rendering
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5770/Pages /ati-radeon-hd-5770-overview.aspx#5
X1900 http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/other/Pages/x1900-specifications .aspx
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Complete feature set also supported in OpenGL® 2.0
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OpenGL 4.2 Released on 8 August 2011[33]
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Hello ,
My need is a little backwards of the regular request. We have a 2006 Mac Pro (upgraded to the dual quad-core Xeon 2.33ghz E5345) we are using for LTO data backup, not the usual graphics/editing setup.
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Move the cards.
Some slots can't be 16x, and one can't be 8 or 16x.
Also, the PCIe is 1.1 which means half the bandwidth of current specification.
A driver or utility ought to tell you it isn't getting bandwIdth I guess.
A PC with PCIe 2.1, or wait for next generation of motherboards that could have even more bandwidth, PCIe 3.0, to support things like ThunderBolt, SSD controllers with 8 and 16Gbit/sec in bandwidth.
Or a computer with more than 4 PCIe slots or an expansion chassis.
What could be cause?
drivers
IOKit
Rule out means trial and error of trying with just one thing changed at a time and get it working, then move on.
7300GT in slot #3 for starters.
Put your most demanding in slot #1 which is double width.
More air flow, boost the darn fan rpm and keep them @ 1200 rpm
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I'm working mainly in the Adobe creative suite. Any advice much appreciated.

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http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/PCIe/OWC/Mercury_Accelsior/Buy_Now
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I am researching all over the net. Just trying to get a 100% answer. I was wondering if this video card works with Mac Pro
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The manufacture is different, but it is still Radeon HD 4870 512 MB GDDR5 just like the one at the Apple Store. But the Apple store is 349.00
Thanks

Well, I think it's more for a hobbyist. Like hatter said, even with the possibility of bricking a card, there is that certain satisfaction of "learning at new art", and I guess there is always the great feeling of "beating the system", so to speak.
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Plus, buying a PC 4870 gives you the option to run crossfire if you so choose to in the future. According to someone in macrumors, Apple deliberately removed crossfire ability in the OEM 4870, rendering it impossible.
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Here is the link:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/141058814...84.m1438.l2649
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231169142...84.m1438.l2649

yes-i agree with what kaz-k has written. As long as you get the correct power cables for your graphics card you should be okay. I think the Mac Pro has 2 6pin sockets. We don't flash the card ( thought I'm assuming it could be done elsewhere) , and Apple doesn't support anything other than a few graphics cards anyways, and it doesn't really read what's been posted here. here's the takeway: The card will probably work, however, due to the lack of a Mac EFI (basically a boot rom), you won't see a startup screen should you choose to install the card into your mac pro 2009. As the OS gets going you will see graphics. Should you need to do basic troubleshooting, eg choosing which drive to start up from
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good luck
John B

Upgrading a Video Card for Mac Pro (Early 2008)

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