8800GT for First Generation Mac Pros

Hi, thought I would post my experiences with the 8800GT card for Mac Pro. (1st Gen)
Well, I use Maya, Final Cut, Photoshop and Corel Paint at work and home. I upgraded the graphics card and to be honest found no different to the old card. I normally use HD for video and use extremely high resolutions for the concept artwork I do in Photoshop+Corel. I am a professional animator and concept artist for films.
Its buggy, extremely sluggish when you give it some serious work to do (not games- come on this is a Mac Pro not an Xbox) it sometimes freezes. There is NO way this is fit for release.
I am taking it out tomorrow and to be honest I am starting to think that Mac maybe loosing its quality edge. Concentrating on making things work before release is not a hard thing to do.

Radeon 3870 benchmarks
http://www.barefeats.com/harper18.html
Compared to the X1900, ATI seems to have better drivers. Might want to exchange it for the new Radeon 3870 - or not.
Core Image problems with 8800GT
http://www.barefeats.com/imp04.html
Legacy Mac Pro and 8800GT
http://www.barefeats.com/harper15.html
Graphic performance under Vista on Mac Pro
http://www.barefeats.com/harper11.html
GPU Tests - http://www.barefeats.com/harper2.html
Mac Pro Discussion area:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=194

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Nvidia 8800GT video card in the First Generation Mac Pro

This message is a bit of advice if you install the new Nvidia 8800GT video card in the first generation Mac Pro. The advice is keep your old video card. The old video card will be needed if you ever need to reinstall the OS X operating system. This new card needs the video drivers (kernel extensions) that are in OS X leopard 10.5.2 or later. With this video card installed, both the OS X original installation disk that came with this computer and the OS X leopard upgrade disks will cause a kernel panic when booted up. This is because they do not contain the kernel extensions needed for this video card. There is a question. Does anyone know how to create and burn a reinstallation DVD with OS X leopard version 10.5.2 on it? This would help solve this reinstallation problem

this is a advisory to whom it may concern
here my latest reply from a apple product specialist how was very good and helpful but only
give me this to my upgrade answer !
i want to upgrade my graphic card to 8800 and run tiger on my 1st gen macpro
here it goes:
"This article indicates what cards are supported in what machines: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305346
Your Mac Pro is the first generation, and did not have PCI-Express 2.0 slot like the current generation does have.
Unfortunately, we don't foresee the release of any drivers for the 10.4 OS on this machine.
In regards to the second issue, we also don't support two video cards in two slots, using a different one for eash OS, there is no supported way to do this."
"Unfortunately, the latest version of the Mac Pro will not run Tiger, as it was manufactured after the release of Leopard, therefore the drivers for the machines hardware will not be available on Tiger."
hope thats cleared some ones Q.
kindly
S.

Well its been about 7 weeks - Any news on a 8800Gt for 1st gen Mac Pro's ?

It was January when the masses were pacified with the announcement of a 8800gt card for us old timers - you know those super out of date , non-upgradeable video 1st mac pro's .....
Why are we being ' dead ended ' like this on video ? The 7300 and 1900 are not at all ' modern ' video cards - why are we being treated like this ? Did we do something wrong ? Did not enough people buy the first gen mac pro ? I the first gen mac pro so under engineered it cant handle the 8800gt or ati2600 ? (2600 is not officially supported by Apple for older mac pro's) ....
Why did my Mac Pro have slots ? Next time just solder the video on ... because thats what I feel like you did to me Apple...... Thanks alot....

+1 for that. Just looking for the answer to two things: will the 8800GT upgrade be available -- as promised -- for 1st generation Mac Pros; if so, what's the ETA?

Installing XP on Boot Camp help for 1st Generation Mac Pro

hi all,
i am trying to make my way through the documentation so that i can get WINDOWS XP back on my first generation Mac Pro since i need to run some programs for work. the old drive that i had this information on was running Snow Leopard (I believe) but it has died.
i have a formatted Fat 32 drive in Bay 2 and i am running Lion on my OS drive in Bay 1 and i am hoping someone can point me to the correct URL for doing this.
my understanding is that i need to use Boot Camp 4 but there appears to be a number of different versions of 4 and i am also having a hard time remembering /how/ to do this. i guess i download the Boot Camp 4 version that i need to my OS drive in Bay 1 and i somehow install this on the drive in bay 2? then i insert the XP disk and it automatically installs itself on this drive?
do i have to do something special with drivers?
ALSO, is there anything to be careful about if i have a PARTITION on the drive in Bay 1 that contains a Boot Camp of Windows 7?
TIA

I would always have a wired connection, even if you generally want/need to use wireless.
I am not up on Airport or how to install.
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1222
USB ethernet has never been a real option on Mac OS X.
Links to various troubleshooting articles:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388
You can download most updates manually, very few that require using Software Update, so it is possible to download in Windows.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
I have been happy with Netgear modems, routers and switches, which Amazon is always happy to sell!
http://www.google.com/search?q=MacPro+AppleAirport
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/airportextreme2007-002/airportextreme2007-002.html
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/jan07/013007.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=appleairportextreme
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AirCardMP/

First Generation Mac Pro (in the shop please help)

My first generation Mac Pro is in the shop and I am hoping one of the experts on the list can give me a good reason to have them go beyond what they would normally do. Effectively it is six months out of AppleCare Warranty but I was told that if there was a problem related to an earlier fix they would take care of it.
The story:
I bought this machine with two 500 GB hard drives with one to run XP on BootCamp. I only intended to run XP software on this machine and only went back to mac due to the "do everything on your Mac that you could do on you PC" campaign. The other drive was for /eventual/ use of OSX.
About a year and a half in I bought two extra gigs of RAM to boost XP 3D software performance. I ran this for about a couple of weeks did not see much change and tried to verify that it was seeing the 4 GB. It was seeing two. I spend a couple of weeks sorting this out with Crucial (who said it was a "special issue") and then I got through to Apple and eventually sent the 2GB back.
Later I found out from a technical forum that I could "flip a switch" and get XP to recognize an extra gig of RAM via some technical settings. I bought the two GB of RAM again, installed it, and tried to run the software switch. After /endless/ go rounds with MAC I was told that the MacPro will do "anything that a PC will do" (which I tried to indicate was not the case) and that I basically had to consult the Forums. At that point I got in touch with Cupertino was told that this was a Firmware issue that could not be fixed.
I was told by the tech that I should just wait until Windows 7 comes out.
So I waited. About eight months ago I set down to upgrade the Office with a new MacBookPro with Windows 7 and I went to upgrade the MacPro with Windows 7. No go. I looked this up on a technical bulletin that described "Late 2006" Mac Pros as not running WIndows 7 (mine is 2007) and spent more time troubleshooting this.
Again after getting through to Cupertino, and having them consult the serial number I am told that this machine will not run Windows 7. Huh? I am stuck with a computer that I bought for apparent durability and endless RAM expansion and I am stuck with only 2GB or RAM which came out of the gate from the factory?
It is now in the shop for an apparent dead power source. It was previously in the shop for a weird, hairy and extremely difficult to troubleshoot (again more time) issue with the display. First it was thought to be the display, then the mother board, then something was loose, then it was the display, then we replaced the Video Card, and eventually we settled on a bad mini DVI converted they had to give me because they busted my Display when it was in for fix and had to give me another one (not complaining). After this was fixed the computer had to go in for a bad CD/DVD drive.
The question is - can I argue in any way that there is something defective with this machine and base the new problem on an old one?
Longer term, I am thinking about trying to sell it for one that will run Windows 7.
Do these things last as long as they /look/ like they should last over the long haul?
Thanks for any help,
Jonathan

Hi. Look.
I do have an IT guy but I have to first be able to explain the problem to him and to do this I have to understand it myself. [BTW let's also not go down the road where I get insulted about my perceived lack of technical skills. This gets very old very quick and if you knew what I did for a living you would feel a little silly talking to me about "a couple of latches" etc. etc.)
I /also/ have to figure out what questions to ask and attempt to get some minimum amount of support from Apple. Even the Tech Supervisor at the Apple store told me two weeks ago he remembered how hard it was to get good information on this issue. The guy /works/ for Apple and he's probably /does/ have some degree in computer science.
The point is I don't have the TIME to address this issue and this will be the sixth or seventh time I have looked into it. I think this machine is not doing what it was advertised to do and I think in the past Apple would have done something for the consumer about it. It doesn't make sense for me to not say so - and it doesn't make sense for us to argue about this. The only reason something is not being done is because there is a very small class of people who are having this problem. If there were a larger class there would be a ton of comical takes on the PC Guy Ads on YouTube and they'd /have/ to do something just for the sake of the bad PR.
Perhaps I can ask you to post the links to the procedure for doing this if I get the time and decide it is worth it? Can you also clarify if this applies to both Win 64 and Win 32?
Thanks.

First generation Mac pro booted into utilities and HD recovery, any idea why?

Hi,
My first generation Mac pro booted into utilities and HD recovery when I restared after installing Autodesk sketchbook pro. This isnt the first time this has happened but last time I was not trying to install any software. Fortunatly, I have time machine backups and therefore have managed to recover the HD to a recent date and I intend to do a complete system check when it has finished. The first time this happened I didnt think much of it but now it has happened a second time i'm becoming a little concerned, any idea why this has happened?

I did this the first time it happened so I know that its not that i have the wrong startup disk selected. However, after the recovery had completed I tried the installation again and this time everything went smootly. so as of right now I dont have a problem. Thank you very much for your time and help.

Ati radeon hd 4870 for 1st generation mac pros?

unfortunately the ati radeon hd 4870 is working for all mac pros except the first generation: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB999ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=NDE4NDMxOA
are there any other graphics cards that have a mini displayport connector and are compatible with a mac pro first generation?
thanks for the help!

The information on the AMD/ATI site actually says the 4870 has lower power requirements than the 3870.
The PCIe power limit of 300W is the same for the 2008 Mac Pros as the 2007 8-core Clovertown Mac Pro. Power is not an issue. EFI appears not to be an issue either as Rob's tests have shown.
Can anyone give a logical or technical reason why the 4870 is not being made available to 1st Gen Mac Pros like the 3.0 GHz 8-core. I can't think of anything.
Surely Apple aren't restricting this cards use in an effort to persuade users to upgrade? Are they?

The first generation mac pro shuts down after start up suddenly

I have had mac pro since 2006 and have used it so many times without any problems starting up/booting successfully. Recently it was not booting well and i done pram clearance and worked for a while. Once after going into the desktop the screen just froze and i could hear a repeatitive clicking sound from the computer. I was able to shut down and did not use the computer for some time. i have tried to switch it on today and it goes through the normal dong sound and apple logo appears plus a grey bar underneath which fills to a bit and then there is a change in sound in the computer as if something coming to off and then there is the same repeated sound of faint clicking and the computer shuts down. can please anyone help me how to sort the problem out?

Raj Karia wrote:
how do i carry this operation out?
Your machine info has changed from 10.6 to 10.3. No MBP ever shipped with 10.3, so I'm including directions for 10.6:
Repair Disk: Boot from install disc (insert disc>restart>immediately hold down c key and keep holding it until you see “Preparing Installation”)>at first screen select the language and click Continue> click on the Utilities Menu in the menu bar>open Disk Utility>select your HD in the panel on the left side>click Repair Disk at bottom of main window. Run this at least twice, and keep running it until it says “appears ok” twice in a row. If that doesn’t happen, you may need a stronger utility such as DiskWarrior or if the directory is damaged beyond repair, you may need to reinstall the OS, or you may have a damaged HD (repair utilities can only repair the directory structure, not the HD itself). When this is finished, quit Disk Utility, quit the installer, and restart. Once booted normally, go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and run Repair Permissions.
how do i open up the disk drive?
Not sure what you mean by this.

Video card for 1st generation Mac Pro

My X1900 card in the Mac Pro 1st generation has died. I've searched the board and the replacement cards seem to be older and not sold any more. Does anyone know what will work? I went to an Apple Store today and the "genius" said I needed a new X1900. I told him I didn't think they were made any more. I did a Web search and it seems Apple has known about this problem and was replacing them up to January 2011. Wish I was contacted about this by Apple; they have records that I purchased the card. I've had problems with this for quite some time. I thought upgrading to Snow Leopard would help but I seemed to get more crashes after the upgrade.

If this image attached is what you have that died you can have this to bolt on to your original graphics card, it should work just fine as a GPU replacement. It worked fine for me, it's just that the X1900 for me when I used the 1st gen Mac Pro didn't suit my needs.
I've never wanted to throw it away. The board and copper cooling system it was attached to was too cumbersome.
Let me know and I'll ship it to you.

Does the first generation Mac Pro Recognise DVD-RAM

i entered a blank dvd-ram into me MacPro and couldn't write in it or erase it. when i go to the get info, it tells me that my disk is read only.
I have the basic SuperDrive that comes with the system.
Any help or suggestions will help a lot, since i have many dvd-rams from my old vhs/dvd recorder combo.

Check this - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42718
It will show you how to find out what formats your drive supports...although it does say:
"While some DVD-RAM discs can be removed from the cartridge, those discs cannot be read by or written to using the SuperDrive" so you might be out of luck.

1st Generation Mac Pro 2.66 dual Core(4 cores total) 5gigs of RAM

I'm still on Logic 8/Tiger. All running very well. Typical projects run about 30 tracks. Use lots of Vi's Omnisphere, Trillian, and RMX included.
Wanting to move to 10.6.2/Logic 9.1. Is my first generation Mac Pro up for the upgrade? Will I still have plenty of juice?
4 drives(OS, audio, samples, and backup)
Thanks for any input!
Message was edited by: Gearjunkeee

I also have a similar set-up but with 8 GB's RAM. I kept the old HDD with the Leopard 10.5.8 and Logic 9.02. Installed a new HDD then did the upgrade. To be honest, it was a PAINFUL process re-loading in all of the software plus updating the software! But, for me at least (knock on wood), I've had no problems with Snow Leopard and Logic 9.1. My first "test" was to run my lastes sequencing project which has a total of 30 virtual instruments and plug-ins from various companies (Kontakt 2.5 Player, Music Lab, "External Instruments", Audio Ease's Altiverb, Universal Audio plug-ins) and all worked well. Now, to be very clear, please realize that this was only 1 "test". But I noticed right-away better usage of the CPU than the previous version. For the previous versions (Leopard 10.5.8 with Logic 9.02) of this one "test" I had to set the buffer to 512 in order to do a problem-free mix-down. But with the upgrade of Snow Leopard/Logic Pro combo, I was able to mix down this project with a buffer setting set to 128. (I'm quite happy with that setting.)
FYI, I'm using Logic Pro 9.1 in 32-bit mode. I tried the 64-bit mode, but some of my plug-ins didn't work in that mode (Music Lab's RealStrat and RealLPC, which I tend to use frequently.) But I'm happy using 32-bit mode, especially using Native-Instrument's Kontakt 4.04. Again, all works well.
Just thought I would share a positive experiece with the upgrades. Good luck with your decision.

1st Generation Mac Pro Graphics

Right now, I have a 7300 GT for my first generation Mac Pro. If I got a 4870, and put it in the 32x slot, would it work under Windows? I know it wouldn't work under Mac, but if I moved the 7300 to the 16x slot, would it just fall back on that?
Thanks

There are not 32x slots, especially in 1st gen Mac Pro.
I'd make life easier on yourself:
http://www.barefeats.com/harper15.html
http://www.barefeats.com/harper18.html
4870
http://www.barefeats.com/harper19.html
Windows Vista x64 graphics:
http://www.barefeats.com/harper11.html

MacBook Pro i5 vs First Gen Mac Pro

I have a first generation Mac Pro, 2 x 2.66 Ghz as well as a Mac Book Pro, 2.2 Intel Core 2 Duo. I was thinking about selling both of them and consolidating to a new MacBook Pro i5. Will the new MBP i5's performance be equal to or exceed my current Mac Pro?

Ok, it looks like the MacBook Pro i7 does generally out perform the first generation Mac Pro.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4374/geekbench.jpg
Looks like I'll be getting the i7.

What is the best hard drive replacement for a first generation mac mini 1.25 mhz 40gb hard drive 1gb ram year 2005

What is the best hard drive replacement for a first generation mac mini 1.25 40 gb hard drive 1 gb ram year 2005?

You posted this same question 24 hours ago, which has a reply. Did you have questions on that answer or did you want further discussion? You could reply to that thread, there's no need to start a new thread.

What happened to the 8800 GT upgrade cards for the first-gen Mac Pro?

I have a first-gen Mac Pro (System Profiler says model identifier is "MacPro2,1" which I think still makes it a first-gen model), and I was considering upgrading to the 8800 GT so I could take advantage of OpenCL, since the 7300 GT I have is not supported, according to Apple's page. ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html )
However, I can't seem to find the card anywhere on Apple's store site, or anywhere else, for that matter. Does anyone know what happened? Can I still buy the 8800 GT for my Mac Pro? If not, what OpenCL-compatible card can I upgrade to? Apple only seems to have the ATI X1900 XT in their store.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

{quote:title=Malcolm Rayfield wrote:}
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (Despite what Apple says, it works in any Mac Pro.)
<http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB999ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=NDE4NDMxOA>
Have you done it, or know someone that has put it in a 1st gen Mac Pro?
I'm just double checking so I don't waste my time.
Message was edited by: JeffDM2

8800GT for First Generation Mac Pros

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