ATi Radeon HD 3870 for Mac is out...

"AMD unveils Radeon HD 3870 for Mac & PC"
AMD made a late announcement on Thursday expanding its Radeon for Mac lineup. The ATI-branded Radeon HD 3870 for Mac & PC is AMD's first 3000-series card for Macs and also one of the first to explicitly support more than one platform: users can install the card now in either a Mac Pro tower or a Windows PC and swap it to the other platform later, including for Boot Camp. As a new-generation part, the new chipset has twice as much performance per watt as the outgoing Radeon HD 2900 XT, the company claims.
AMD's card is virtually equal to the Windows-only edition with 320 stream (pixel and vertex) processors, improved power use, and support for newer graphics shader effects either in DirectX 10.1 when in Windows or OpenGL 2.0 in OS X and other environments.
For connections, the new Radeon HD board is built to outpace Apple's own offerings with both dual-link DVI ports that handle 30-inch displays as well as an S-video jack for analog video from TVs. AMD is shipping the card by the end of June in a 512MB version for $219 and expects it to be available at a number of Mac resellers.
From: - http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/06/12/amd.radeon.hd.3870.for.mac -

Realworld!
Core Image Processing: http://www.barefeats.com/harper16.html
Mac Games: http://www.barefeats.com/harper17.html
PC Games: http://www.barefeats.com/harper18.html
Summary: The 3870 is a little worse than the 8800 at games, but it's cheaper, better at Core Image, and supports Crossfire under Windows on the Mac Pro, where as the 8800 GT can't be in SLI mode on the Mac Pro, making the 3870 the best overall solution.
Edit: I'm pretty sure it will require Leopard simply because of how Mac OS X distributes drivers generally.
null

Similar Messages

Considering purchase of ATI Radeon 9800 SE for MAC

Hi.
I want to order this card.
But I'de like some oppinions of anyone using this card in their Power MAC G5. What would be even more appreciated is a reply from someone with the same machine as I.
But I will appreciate any reply I get...
Thanx
M

There are some links to tests in the post here
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2146895#2146895
Most users would probably recommend going for the x800 now, as it has come down in price, and is much quieter than the 9800 as supplied.
G5 DP2(A) 4GB; HD160+300; DVR-110D; 9800proSE(VeraxG03)/X800XT; 20"ACD; EyeTV-DTT; f/w800 200GB; iSight; iSkint
OS X 10.4.6

ATI Radeon HD 3870 Graphics Card for Mac debuts

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,147040-c,graphicsboards/article.html
AMD on Thursday announced the ATI Radeon HD 3870 for Mac and PC Edition. The new card is expected to ship at the end of June for US$219.
The card works in the PCI Express slots of both first-generation and second-generation Mac Pro systems, and features 512MB of 256-bit GDDR4 frame buffer memory and 320 stream processors. It's designed as a graphics upgrade for Mac Pros -- even those that may have come equipped with the Nvidia GeForce 8800 card introduced earlier this year. AMD claims its new Radeon card runs faster and costs less than the GeForce 8800 GT, which is only available from the Apple Store and costs $279.
The graphics processor can crank up to 70 gigabytes per second bandwidth using a 775MHz engine. That translates, according to AMD's internal benchmarks, into *30 to 180 percent better performance in Apple's Motion 3 software than the GeForce 8800*; slow Motion performance has been an Achilles' heel of Nvidia's rival card since its introduction.
http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/macpc/index.html

Rob has it benchmarked:
http://www.barefeats.com/harper16.html
I'm going to definitely buy this as soon as it's online. I'll order it through Rob's link too to reward him for all the work he's done on this issue.
Now, how about a refund on my GeForce 8800 upgrade, Apple?

Two questions about ATI RADEON HD 3870

I've been in touch with macsales.com and they recommend the ATI RADEON HD 3870 for the Mac Pro Xeon (late 2006-2007) running 10.5. But they were unable to answer w/ 100% certainty:
1. That all I need to connect this card (it has 2 DVI ports) to my Samsung SynchMaster with one DVI cable connected "DVI to DVI" and one VGA - WITH - a DVI to VGA adapter on the VGA cable.
For those who don't know, the Samsung monitor must have both DVI and VGA connected to operate.
2. I've read on this (Displays) forum that this card will only work "up to" 10.5 and won't work if I upgrade to 10.6. Is this correct? Also, is there a chance that Apple will "correct" 10.6 to work with the HD 3870 in a future point release? (I'm not yet willing to jump to 10.6, so this is for the near future when I do.)
Less important "#3" question: is it possible to make the HD 3870 backward compatible with 10.4? I ask because I'm running 10.4 on a separate internal drive so that I can continue to use some older apps for mission critical tasks. Eventually, I still plan to get rid of 10.4 - it's just not possible right away.

Thanks for the added input on the 3870. I also got confirmation that the "dual connection" (AVG + DVI) on the Samsung display can be worked out with an adapter.
But I've made up my mind: there's just too many counter-balancing factors. I'm pretty sure now that I can wait to see if the Geforce 7300 burns out. If it does so in the next 290 days, I'll just have Apple replace it for free since my AppleCare would take care of the cost.
I'm a retired purchasing agent so this 're-deciding' (with a lot more at stake) is normal for me. In this case (mine), I no longer see much advantage in having Snow Leopard. It's still new and needs at least one more upgrade / debugging release. Besides: I haven't mentioned that I have other ways I haven't used to boost the Mac Pro's performance.
As a "compensatory purchase" I just placed an order for two more RAM modules which will fill remaining RAM slots. That alone will give me a little more juice (as you say). These cost one-third that for a new graphics card (or less). This should tide me over - still running 10.4 and 10.5 on two drives. When my Apple Care runs out, I may well be in a position to buy a new Mac Pro with mature Snow Leopard, better graphics card, etceteras.

ATI Radeon HD 3870 Mac&Pc edition and Accelero S1

I just installed the ATI Radeon HD 3870 Mac & Pc edition on my Mac Pro (first edition).
While the fan on the card is not very loud and acceptable I would like to take the fan out and install the Accelero S1 cooler instead ( http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=138&data=7&disc= ).
Has anyone installed one (accelero s1) lately?
Any objections?
Thank you for your input.
Eugene

Just installed this. It's great, quiet. Took about 20 minutes. Take your time and the install is easy. I didn't use the spacer clips as they're not necessary, and a bit hard to install. I ordered the Artic cleaning and prep solutions and I'm glad I did. Good luck.

Can I replace an ATI RADEON 9800 PRO-(256MB)-MAC EDITION with Mac ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb Video Card For G4/G5

Hi,
I am trying to help a friend whose graphics card has bust.
The old one was an ATI RADEON 9800 PRO-(256MB)-MAC EDITION.
I've been looking on ebay and it seems a lot cheaper to get a Mac ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb Video Card For G4/G5.
Can I just swap them over? The connectors are not identical according to the photographs.
Thanks.

I'd like to thank everyone for all the really useful information in this thread. It helped me solve a similar problem, which I'll describe here briefly in case it helps someone else.
I have a 2004/5 dual 2 Ghz PowerPC G5 and an Apple Cinema HD display linked, as I later found out, with the now defunct ADC connector. The display suddenly started to look like that scene in The Matrix, when code falls like rain down the screen, and I worked out I needed to replace my Radeon 9800 pro video card (I discovered the board was blue when I removed a thick layer of dust).
I took japamac's excellent advice and bought a Geforce 6800 Ultra from the linked eBay seller in Hong Kong, who delivered it extremely quickly, along with the cables to plug it into the DVD drive power source and a CD with installation instructions. It was only then that I realised the card had two DVI connectors and my display needed ADC (I hadn't understood the difference).
eBay came to the rescue again with a seller who had a secondhand DVI to ADC adapter, which Apple produced when it phased out ADC about six years ago but no longer sells. It has its own power supply and looks like a large version of the Mac laptop power cables - and has added signifcantly to the pile of spaghetti under my desk.
Installing the Geforce 6800 Ultra is fiddly, and a bit scary if you're not used to delving into the insides of a Mac, but the instructions were clear and illustrated with useful photos. The video cable has four connectors. Two fit into the end of the card, the other two (linked in a Y shape) form a bridge between the DVD/superdrive and its power cable. You have to remove the DVD drive, unplug it, and then plug one of the two Y video card connectors into the DVD power cable and the other into the DVD drive itself. Then you replace the DVD drive, plug the two remaining cable connectors to the video card and ease it into the old card's AGP slot.
Finally, with the G5 reassembled, plug the adapter's DVI connection into the back of the card, plug the Cinema Display ADC cable into the adapter block, plug the adapter's USB cable into the G5 (this enables the the USB ports on the back of the display to work), and power up.
At the time of writing, the display has been up and running for a couple of hours and all seems fine.
Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice. If it wasn't for communities like this, it would be virtually impossible to solve problems with old but still serviceable Macs.

Is it better to have two ati radeon HD 5770 or one ATI radeon HD 5870 for video editing?

Is it better to have two ati radeon HD 5770 or one ATI radeon HD 5870 for video editing? I'm basing this question based on the current options when configuring a Mac Pro. Currently there are three options
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB [Add $250.00]
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB [Add $200.00]
Between the second and third options I am wondering which will provide a better more productive experience for video editing. Such as using FCP or FCPX. I know how many monitors that are in use will affect the answer to this questions. While I'm more focused on which option will deliver a better video editing experience, lets just say for argument sakes that the Mac Pro is running a 30" cinema display and a small generic monitor. About 18". Its an older VGA monitor for web development.
I hope thats enough info to get an answer on this subject.
Thanks

Ya in my research of this question, I came across this whole issue of Mac not being able to use CrossFire. I didn't thorugly investigate what this CrossFire issue was, but if it makes more sense with the singel 5870 rather than the 2 5770 then thats helpful to know.
If the Mac can't make the most out of two 5770 because it doesn't make use of CrossFire, it seems silly that Apple even bothers to offer it as an option. Plus its cheaper with the singel 5870 versus two 5770. Unless you really needed to run several monitors.
Thanks. This satisfies a long curiousity I have had.

DKA790GX and Visiontek ATI Radeon HD 3870 OCE Cards

Okay I have a MSI DKA790GX motherboard. (MS-7550 v1.21) with latest BIOS 1.9 loaded, a Phenom X4 9550 CPU, 8GB RAM, and 2 Visiontek ATI Radeon HD 3870 OCE Cards.
Without any drivers installed, everything works fine. With both cards in and set up with the crossfire connection installed, you can't even complete the installation of the catalyst drivers without it locking up.
This is in Windows 7 64 bit, and have tried both Ultimate and Professional, just for kicks. With just one card installed, driver installation completes successfully and everything works as normal. With the drivers installed first like this, if I then install the second card i get a blue screen on ATIMKDAG.sys. I have tried switching the order of the cards to verify that each card works by itself.
I have also tried both the latest catalyst 10.2 drivers and the manufacturers drivers which are 9.something
I have the same 2 cards in a K9A2 Platinum running fine on Vista Ultimate 64 and now I am somewhat afraid to update it to Win 7.
About the only thing I haven't tried yet is to do the same setup in a Win 7 32 environment to see if it's any different. but a quad core CPU and 8GB RAM is kind of wasted on a 32 bit OS.
Has anyone had any similar experience with this? I am not sure where the blame is, but I suspect it is in the ATI drivers and not the OS or the motherboard.
I am open to any suggestions.

Quote
About the only thing I haven't tried yet is to do the same setup in a Win 7 32 environment to see if it's any different.
Try it
Quote
MS-7550 v1.21) with latest BIOS 1.9 loaded, a Phenom X4 9550 CPU, 8GB RAM, and 2 Visiontek ATI Radeon HD 3870 OCE Cards.
How much memory sticks? Exact models? In which DIMM's are installed?
PSU? Brand and details?[look for them over PSU sticker]?

MSI ATI Radeon X800 SE 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP) problems

i recently purchased a MSI ATI Radeon X800 SE 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP)
it says it can automaticlay download new bios etc using MSI live update,
but when i click on VGA Bios, it says my card does not do this??? how do i check the bios and if there is a new one available?
any ideas?
ive heard you can unlock the MSI ATI Radeon X800 SE 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP)
from 8 pipes to 12 pipes, how do i do this
also any idea on what the best drivers are for a MSI ATI Radeon X800 SE 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP)
catalyst?
omega?
MSI std drivers?
thanks

Jobbie,
The best Drivers for your Vid Card are the ATi Catalyst Drivers.
Take Care,
Richard

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?

How Do I use an Ati Radeon 4870 HD for 3 Monitors

I am new to the Apple world and community. I recently got a new job that requires me to use a Mac Pro. OS X version 10.6.8. 2.66 ghz dual xeon and 32 GB of ram. It has a ATI Radeon 4870 HD. I can run 2 monitors fine using the DVI and Mini DV port ( Using a convertor from apple. ). When I try to use the 2 other HDMI ports for my third monitor, Mac OS wont detect it. The wierd thing is some of the images from certain apps show on the 3rd Monitor.
Under graphics information it shows the Radeon 4870. Under PCIe information it shows the same card. On the back of my machine I have 2 HDMI slots and another lower down with Mini DV and DVI.
The Displays I am running are 3 HP LP2475w Monitors. Running in DVI mode with one converted to Mini DV. The 3rd non working is running in DVI to HDMI but it can be run Straight HDMI if need. Ive tried alot of configuration settings and I can't get the HDMI port to be detected by MAC OS. Ive plugged one in at a time and just the HDMI do not detect.
Please let me know what information is needed to help troubleshoot this better.

A 5770 is $249 or slightly less and in the same dept to me as replacing hard drives, adding some RAM in order to work and because my understanding is it was the first card to support 3 monitors.
The 5770 only requires 10.6.5+ - and the 4,1 had way too many issues with 10.5.7/10.5.8
The 4870 may or may not provide what you need for the software you run, even though 3 yr old machine but 4 yr old plus video card.
flashing:
http://boeglin.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090918-031702
4870 vs GTX 285 that came out at that time also
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/macpro-whats-better-ati-radeon-4870-or-nvidia -gtx-285-20090720/
The default card was Nvidia GT120 and req'd no power cables and popular way to support more displays.
People were running DUAL 4870s to support 3rd monitor though back then:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=665034&page=10

How good or bad is the ATI Radeon HD 5770 for Photoshopping?

I'm on the verge of upgrading machines for the first time in half a decade. My Opteron 180 is kinda obsolete and, well, falling apart.
I was leaning towards a Dell Studio XPS 9000. More specifically, an Intel Core i7 920 /w 12GB ram.
During the holidays, these machines came with a choice of nvidia or ATI card. For whatever reason, most of the nvidia options -- the 260 in particular -- have been removed from the build customizing options. In fact, with regards to this one deal I'm looking at this week, the only choice is the ATI Radeon HD 5770.
Here's the link : http://www2.dell.com/ca/en/home/desktops/desktop-studio-xps-9000/pd.aspx?refid=desktop-stu dio-xps-9000&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&~oid=ca~en~70702~studio-xps-9000-en-feat_3~~
Now considering what a great deal that is, and that I won't be gaming with this machine (so I don't much care about 3D performance), is there any reason why I *shouldn't* get this machine?
I keep hearing about nvidia / CUDA benefits. Are they really worth my passing up on this deal? Because other than the card being an ATI, this machine pretty much suits my Photoshopping / DAW (music) editing needs.
Am I making too much of an issue about the video card, considering we're talking about 2D performance here? One benefit I keep hearing about the 5770 over the nvidia GT260 is that the 5770 requires less power and is more silent.
Opinions?
(PS: Before recommending I pass on this and order from X or Y or Z, please keep in mind I'm in Canada. The choices are different here, and the price you see at that link is CND.)

I am about in the same spot as you, trying to decide what machine to upgrade my woefully inadequate machine too. I was considering a XPS 9000 however I have about talked myself into building one because I can get a much better motherboard with all sorts of eSATA3, USB3, dual-network-connection teaming and whatever else if I do that; however, it takes a bit of research to get things right and I am at the beginning of that process, so I may give up and fall back and go the Dell route after all.
If go with Dell, you can get memory for a bit cheaper than Dell will sell it to you so maxing it out at Dell may not be the most cost effective solution. I mean it might be cheaper to go with the minimum RAM and then sell or trash it and buy your own 2GB chips. Unfortunately Dell does not have a no-video-card option, but the HD 5770 is good card.
As far as ATI vs nVidia, ATI is the only one with DirectX 11 at the moment, which includes automatic tessellation for textures that have a displacement map. I doubt Photoshop will care about that although new games will.
Here is the "Heaven" benchmark running on a $700 HD 5970 dual-GPU card, but the tessellation works on the newest cheaper ($150) ATI cards too. The difference is most noticeable on the walls roof and stone pathways:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEnl8k6BcDs
Unfortunately Adobe has not given us guidance on what CS5 might need or can use as far as GPU support.

ATI Radeon 5770 in 2006 Mac Pro with Lion

Hit an issue with my 2006 Mac Pro when the video card died in late October. At that point I was running Lion and had kept on top of software updates. Being on a restricted budget, I have purchased and installed an ATI Radeon 5770 card from the Apple store as I cannot afford a new Mac Pro. I knew that before I did this there may be incompatability problems with this card and Lion on the older Mac Pros, and this seems to be the case.
However, having trawled through the forums it seems some users are able to run this card on 1.1 machines with Lion. So I am now wondering if I have another issue - I'd much rather stick with Lion if I can rather than revert to Snow Leopard. Now I have installed the card things seem fine with the display - the 30" cinema display no longer has blocks of pixels all over it. On boot up the screen is a pale grey, the Apple logo appears in the centre with the busy timer underneath. I also get a loading bar for about 20 seconds. This gets to about 20% then disappears. Everything sounds like the machine is booting normally but it just won't progress beyond this point. I have tried holding shift to boot it in safe mode but the same things happens.
If anyone can help point me in the right direction of what I should try next I'd be profoundly grateful!
Vinny

I knew that before I did this there may be incompatibility problems with this card and Lion on the older Mac Pros,
Although some users have complained of problems, their wounds may be self-inflicted. Use of a non-Apple ATI 5770 or failure to upgrade to at least 10.6.5 are high on the list. The main "issue", if you can even call it that, is the card runs more slowly than its published benchmarks due to PCIe 1 slots in the Mac Pro 1,2 and 2,1.
I also get a loading bar for about 20 seconds. This gets to about 20% then disappears.
That progress bar is indicative of unresolved Hard Drive problems. You need to boot to an alternate source of software (Hold Command-R at startup for Recovery_HD if you are running later than 10.6.8) and check the SMART Status and then select Macintosh_HD or whatever you renamed it and ( Repair Disk ). Repeat until all problems are resolved or it gets stuck. If you need help, copy the EXACT error message back here.

ATI Radeon 2600 XT on Mac Pro 2008 has died

Hi All,
I have recently been having issues with one of my ATI Radeon 2600 XT Graphics cards - choppy graphics, artefacts appearing on the display and endless crashes of the OS.
I have read online about a recall program Apple did run which recalled these exact graphics cards, and after checking the serial number of the card in question, it does indeed match one of the 'bad' batch.
The only problem is - the program ended in July 2011
What are the chances Apple would be kind enough to still swap my card for a new unaffected one?
Thanks
Mac Pro (early 2008)
6GB Memory
2 x ATI Radeon 2600XT
2 x 23" Cinema HD Monitors

What are the chances Apple would be kind enough to still swap my card for a new unaffected one?
I'm in the same boat. :\ Mine just died too, would I need to take my tower to an Apple Store? Or how would I go about asking Apple to replace my graphics card?
Also, if I were to put in a different graphics card (say the ATI Radeon HD 5770), how difficult is it to replace? Would my Mac Pro (Early 2008) be able to handle it? I have 2x2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core) processor, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 says it requires Mac Pro (Mid 2010) with PCI Express 2.0 slot and OS X 10.6.4, whereas I'm still on just 10.5 Leopard and have an Early 2008 model...
On another thread, here, The Hatter, said something about baking the card in the oven? Would that work if Apple won't replace it for free?
I have never opened up my tower before (I don't know how!) and I have been wanting to upgrade my RAM as well. I have 4x1GB cards and I wanted to move up to like 8 or 16GB. I was thinking about buying RAM from NewEgg or Amazon, whichever is cheaper, any suggestions?
Thank you for any help and sorry about hijacking the thread! >~< Should I make my own thread or continue in this one? I'm sorry, I just don't want to cause any problems...I will make a new one if need be.

ATI Radeon HD5770 in a Mac Pro?

A couple of months ago I upgraded my Mac Pro (early 2008) with a new graphics card, the ATI Radeon HD5770 (Apple version). It's been working fine on my MP with FCS3 and my system in general.
A week or two ago I purchased the Master Collection CS5.5 and I'm starting to work with Premiere Pro. Searching the Adobe site I just found that my nearly new (made-for-Mac) ATI card is not supported by Premiere Pro. What does that mean when I use PrP, After Effects, or any of the other Adobe products?
There are only two Adobe approved video cards sold by Apple. Both are over $1000.
What kinds of catastrophes should I expect if I continue to use my OpenCL ATI Radeon HD 5770 card with PrP, AE, or any of the other MC programs?
Thank you in advance for your help.

I thought it might affect other parts of the suite. In any event, I'll take your advice and post there.
Thank you.

ATi Radeon HD 3870 for Mac is out...

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for