About to buy a Mac Pro, have quick question please.
Hi all,
I am going to more than likely buy a Mac Pro 2.66 tonight or tomorrow, but I was wondering something in regards to graphics cars if any one could assist me.
I am planning to go with the ATI card and 2gigs of ram since I do some gaming on the side and plan to use bootcamp for that.
My question is that if I buy the machine in retail store, they do not credit the stock GeForce card and just add the ATI card in, so if I go that rout can both the ATI and Nvidia card both reside in the machine at the same time and be used in SLI mode?
EG: can I get the power of both cards or will I only be able to use the processing power of one card? If only one card then would I be better off configuring the machine online since they credit you the difference of the Nvidia card which saves roughly $150.00 off the order from doing it in a retail store?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not worried about the $150.00, it would almost be worth it to spend the extra since the shipping time on the online configuration may end up costing almost the same unless I want to wait a few weeks for the machine.
Whats your thoughts on this? Is it worth it to buy in the store and use both cards or just buy online from apple and get the credit for the Nvidia card?
Thanks in advance!
can both the ATI and Nvidia card both reside in the machine at the same time and be used in SLI mode
No… SLI requires two Nvidia SLI capable cards. In addition, SLI is not supported under Mac OS X although does work, apparently, under Windows and Boot Camp. ATi's comparable technology is CrossFire.
would I be better off configuring the machine online since they credit you the difference of the Nvidia card which saves roughly $150.00 off the order from doing it in a retail store?
Financially yes as the Nvidia card is ultimately useless to you. One consideration though is the CTO conditions of return, or lack there of, in case you receive a DOA. In the US, amongst other countries, CTo unit are not returnable even if they are DOA so you should check the terms of sale in the country store you would buy from.
Whats your thoughts on this?
I, like many others, bought CTOs from the Apple Store so I don't think it's such a bad way to go. It also means you won't have any pressing need to open your new Mac Pro right away.
One thing you might want to consider though is to downgrade the standard 250GB hard drive to a 160GB drive and use the saving on a drive of your choosing. Apple tends to use OEM desktop drives that have unimpressive performance. The 160GB drive in my Mac Pro didn't even get turned on. It was a Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 if you're interested.
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