ATI Radeon HD 5870 vs 5770

I have an early 2008 Mac Pro I want to upgrade for use with Final Cut Pro X. What are the differences between the ATI Radeon HD 5870 and the 5770? The specs seem the same. I am going to be using it with my old Cinema monitor (one). Considering upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion too but to be hinest that scares me a bit (I'm assuming I can run FCP X on Snow Leopard...)

5770 vs 5870 in Final Cut Pro X
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3158413?start=0&tstart=0

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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.

2 ATI Radeon HD 5770 vs 1 ATI Radeon HD 5870

Hi everyone
I had a quick question about the GPU options on a mac pro. What are the differences between having 2 ATI Radeon HD 5770's and having 1 ATI Radeon HD 5870? Is either better? Just assume a high end mac, 12 core @ 2.93GHz/32GB RAM. I'm not great with GPUs.
Thanks!

Having two allows for more output displays and to empty your wallet.
No CrossFire or bonding. And not every will see a difference with 5870.
Nor does all software work optimally with 12-cores. Which is why 3.33GHz 6-core is popular has highest GHz, and put money into other things.

HT4279 ATI Radeon HD 5870 screen resets size after after sleeping. Why?

Purchased an ATI Radeon HD 5870. When connected to 1920x1080 it leaves a third of the screen out. However after starting up it fits the screen. Only after sleeping does it reset to this faulty screen size. I have attempted every Mini dv adapter vga,dvi and hdmi. All lead to the same issue or another.
Is this card defective? Is this an issue with the Lion OS?

Ok let me go into more detail for you.
Macpro had 2 Geforce gt 120 video cards. I recently had some blocking issues ( where the screen just over lays a bounch of boxes with random parts of the background and or aps running). Decided to upgrade to the Radeon 5870. Before the upgrade i have been using a Samsung LCD tv and and old Dell monitor. Worked great. Tv res was set to 1920x1080. Instailed the new card. Hooked up the Dell to the DVI output and Tv to a Mini DV at first using the Mini DV to DVI. Ended up with the half the screen issue. Took the back and got the Mini DV to HDMI. I didnt have the size issue but when set to 1080 it was not hidef. Took that back and got the Mini DV to VGA. Now here is where I currently am stuck. When both the TV (Mini to VGA) and the Dell (VGA to DVI) are connected to the 5870 and the harddrive and monitors go to sleep it resets and i lose an 8th of the screen. I currently am just using the TV and everything seems to be fine. Also on the amount i lose there is a dotted line that some times flickers. Not sure if that means anything.

ATI Radeon HD 4870 vs ATI Radeon HD 5870

I have an early 2009 Mac Pro with 8 cores and the upgraded ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card. I see that the 2010 Mac Pros have an option for the ATI Radeon HD 5870. Apparently this card will eventually be available as a kit that will work in my computer.
Do you think there will be a significant performance boost using the 5870 over the 4870 with Aperture if I purchase this upgrade? Apple says the 5870 is great for "motion graphics, 3D modeling, rendering, or animation", but not sure if I should expect much improvement using it with Aperture. I am pretty happy with the 4870, so don't want to spend the cash for minimal improvement.
Any thoughts or speculation?
Thanks,
Dave

No response here, but I posted the same question on the Apple Store Product page for the 5870 kit and received the following reply:
"You won't see a noticeable difference unless you are running heavy 3D applications or gaming. What I would suggest if you want to see an improvement in Aperture 3 is to add more ram to your mac (have at least 8 Gigabytes of ram ) boot up your mac to 64 bit (if running Mac OS 10.6) and run Aperture 3."
This supports my suspicions that this card may not be much of an improvement for Aperture users that currently use the ATI 4870.

ATI Radeon HD 5870 + Mac Pro 2,1 (2007).

Hello All!
Is any one known or tried to use HD 5870 in Mac Pro 2,1 which is Octocore ?? Is it works?? If it work, what boot rom version in this mac pro?

Radeon HD 5870 versus 5770
Radeon 5870 5770 2006 Mac Pro
The 5870 works, but not that much better to justify the extra $200 which could be spent on something to boost overall system like an SSD.
I think everyone pretty much knows 2008 intro'd both EFI64 and PCIe 2.0 and of course better for graphics choices.

ATI Radeon HD 5870 failing to detect displays randomly during reboots

Hello,
I have a Mac Pro 1,1 A1186 computer, MAC OS X 10.6.6, and I just updated the ole 7300 video card to an ATI Radeon HD 5870 I just purchased from the Apple Store last week.
Problem: Mac OS X 10.6.6 keeps losing the display settings during reboots and fails to detect one of the monitors (the Acer X233H) randomly upon reboots. I tried using two Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapters, but when that produced undesirable results I just plugged one of the monitors into the DVI diplay port and used just one of the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapters. Then I tried swapping the monitors around.
I know both monitors and cables that directly connect to the monitors work fine as *they worked on the 7300 adapter*. I'm not using an Apple display, so I'm wondering do I have a bad card or is this common?
I tried reseating the card, completely disconnecting it and reinstalling it. I have both power cables plugged into the card, and both monitors will come up eventually if I keep rebooting my system (if they didn't come up the first time).
Please help... this whole experience is ruining my buzz for purchasing such a kick butt OEM card from Apple. Thank you very much in advanced.
I have 14GB of RAM, 2TB Western Digital (for backup/archival purposes), and an SSD Patriot Torqx 128GB Drive. The Diagnostics state they passed, and everything else works fine except for the display detection.
Here is the setup of the monitors I'm using:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5870
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x6898
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-C0780C-194
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436
Displays:
Acer X223W:
Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
ACER X233H:
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected

OK, I took your advise and tried the "active powered" adapter last night. No dice. The monitor detection still doesn't work even after purchasing the $100 adapter for only 2 displays. Connecting one of the monitors to the DVI display in the back and connecting the other display to the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter.
_This is not the solution as the problem still occurs._
I also tried reloading Mac OS X Snow Leopard last night wiping out everything on the entire partition to be extreme thinking that the system could be confused. I know I could've just deleted the configuration file, but hey... what the heck.
After applying the updates I was able to see both displays again, +_however again they got confused_+.
The end result is from what I believe that the card is inferior in the way it doesn't allow Mac OS X to detect displays properly and or a driver update needs to be issued from Apple to address this issue.
After trying multiple things it would appear that there is only 1 work around as suggest from above (put the computer to sleep). However, to properly fix things we shouldn't have to utilize work arounds.
Important facts that lead me to this conclusion are:
1. Mac OS X 10.6.6 does detect displays properly with the 7300 with no problem.
2. The monitors and cables work properly with the 7300 card, and other systems. So they are not the issue.
3. After installing the ATI 5870 card that's when we I experienced the issues that didn't go away no matter what cable I used or where I plugged the monitors.
a. Thus a $100 cable or a $30 cable worked the same for this issue.
4. Reinstalling OS X 10.6.6 completely and wiping out everything including the display configuration had no bearing on any of this.
Therefore, it can only be two things by deduction:
1. The firmware of the card needs a revision to help support multiple displays.
and/or
2. The driver for the ATI 5870 needs a revision to correct multiple display support within the Operating System.
However, I can't see paying over $500 for a card and an adapter that doesn't work properly. If there is no hope that Apple or ATI is working on this issue with the ATI 5870 card, I have only one recourse and that is not to support this particular ATI product and take it back. I know I can always just keep putting my computer to sleep, but over $500 for a video card and an adapter that is riddled with bugs is way too much for me.
*I'm taking the card back and reinstalling the 7300 until a proper card can be produced or an update is issued to specifically correct multiple display support.*
*Thank you* everyone for your help, I really appreciate it. *+However, the users of the systems can only do so much without proper support from Apple and/or ATI on this issue.+*

ATI Radeon HD 5870 Graphics

I bought the ATI Radeon HD 5870 Graphics from ebuyer and thought I could simply put this into my mac pro and use it straight away. I am now worried that apple are releasing a specific version of the card and therefore it wont be compatible with my Mac Pro. Can anybody please advise me on this?
Do I have enough power? Do I need special cables?

Windows 5870s can be flashed to work in Macs but so far they don't show much of a Boot screen unless you have a VGA monitor.
You would be best served just waiting and buying one from Apple.
Details of flashed ones at Netkas.org forums.

ATI Radeon HD 5870 + 2x 27 LED Displays?

Hey all.
I'm wondering if I can drive 2x 27 LED Displays (non-thunderbolt) of my Radeon HD 5870. I know I can't use both mini DisplayPorts at once (at least, that had been my experience so far — doing this results in one monitor being pitch black), but can I drive one of the 27s with the DVI connection on the graphics card?
My current set up is 1x 27 LED Cinema display (native MiniDisplay to MiniDisplay) and 1x 23 Cinema Display aluminum bezel (native DVI to DVI).
Questions:
1. Can I drive 2x 27 Cinema Displays natively on both MiniDisplay ports?
2. Failing that, can I drive 2 x 27 Cinema Displays where one is connected to the DVI port on the graphics card with an adapter (if one exists)?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks for your quick replies.
I figured the card itself was powerful enough to drive two 27 monitors, I was more asking about using two MDP displays without adapters, and hoping they would work. My previous experience was it wouldn't, but one of those displays was using an Apple passive adapter.
I was hoping to get a confirmation from someone running 2x MDP displays without adapters on this card, although as more time passes, that bit of info in Apple's KB article sounds like it would work. I guess I'm wanting to know 100% before I fork out for another refurb display.
Thanks again for your info. At the very least, I could get an adapted and use the DVI port on the card if 2x MPD don't work natively.

New Quad Core 3.2ghz, ATI Radeon HD 5870--pretty noisy fan high pitched?

I just received my new Mac Pro today. I do notice that there is a higher pitched fan noise--I think it is a fan--with this machine. Would like to know if this is normal. I can hear it rev up as I play a video or download a large file. I believe that it is probably the graphic card, but I'm no expert. I live in a very quiet space, so I can hear it in the bedroom next to my living room, where the computer is. I did a little research on the net and saw that under load this card can get pretty noisy, but I do hear this higher pitched sound when not stressing the system, though it is even and stable. I did realize that when I upgraded to the better graphic card there was a risk of a bit more noise and I don't want to be naive, trade it in or have it replaced and end up with a similar noise because they just make this noise normally.
I guess I am asking if this card makes a definite contribution to the machines noise factor.
Otherwise, so far love the machine.
thanks

I would think it's fairly easy to determine if it's the video card fan or not by simply taking off the cover and listening close. The video card is in slot one. You can see the card's fan in there so get up close and listen.
The machine has no problems running with the cover off. It's really not going to overheat. And the video card fan is a plastic "turbine" driven by a small weak motor.
Since you describe the sound as "high pitched" I'm inclined to not think it's the video card fan. On the other hand I suppose it might be if the fan bearing is bad. My original 5870 (it's been replaced) had a bad bearing. But in my case it was either poor lubrication or the bearing itself because the motor couldn't overcome the starting friction (which is why I said the motor is "weak"). My problem manifested itself with the fan not starting most of the time which in turn would cause the card to overheat in about 5 minutes and the machine would go into thermal cutoff. So there is some precedent for bad bearings in these cards.
By the way, when I trouble shooting this problem, I always ran with the cover off so I could keep an eye on the video card fan. If it didn't start up I would just reach in there and give the fan a small "nudge" to get it going. It would then run until the next reboot.

Any updates on the ATI Radeon HD 5870 upgrade kit for Mac Pro 2009/2010?

So,
while the card is shipping without delay in new BTO Mac Pro units, there still is no sign of the kit posted on on the online store months ago (day/date with current Mac Pro release). To date, the card hasn't shipped (to anyone - no 3rd party store has received it), Apple still shows 'currently unavailable' - without even an 'add to cart' button (like the Quadro 4000); and even AppleCare is in the dark (you'd assume they can send units for replacement. Yet, while they can be setup in the GSX system, there is apparently no 'cost' shipments available even from support).
I suppose not - but does anyone have any more insight into what's going on here? This looks suspiciously like this card is not going to see the light of day as an upgrade kit; for either 2010 or 2009 Mac Pro.....
Cheers,
Dan

Ugh.
That rhymes with what we are seeing.
After about a week of there being an 'order' button for the 5870 (it remained 'currently unavailable' though), the 'add to cart' option has, today, disappeared again. I assume anyone who ordered the card during the window will not see the card, and there seem to have been no purchase confirmations (usually sent within 15 minutes of processing) sent to anyone who ordered.
All this, as well as you report, points to the 5870 being EOL; apparently only a contingent was made for the Mac Pro, and now even AppleCare is running down on inventory for replacements.
That begs the question; once inventory runs out - assuming it does - to even supply the Mac Pro BTO, there has to be some replacement ready; assumingly something with better yield.
BTW - the 5870 cards for the Mac Pro are made by AMD (they are identical to the reference boards), and are stamped as such in Mac Pros. Whatever Apple does with them, they still get them from AMD, not a third party....
And, the Quadro 4000 isn't a good replacement - apart from the cost (which is reasonable for a productivity card) as for non-optimized apps (i.e. users that would usually buy a 5870) it'll likely be much slower due to the low clock and memory speed on the card. And, WOW isn't CUDA aware
Oh well
Dan

Mac Pro Graphic Card: ATI Radeon 2 x 5770 or 1 x 5870?

HELP!
OK, So I've just ordered my new Mac Pro for work and here's the spec:
MAC PRO
Two 2.66GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory: 12GB (6X2GB)
2 x ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB Graphic cards
2 x 512GB Solid State Drives
2 x HD Cinema screens
One 18x SuperDrive
JOINT VENTURE MEMBERSHIP
£8,950.00 (ouch!) being made up now, and delivered next week.
What I need to know is would it be better / faster going for 1 x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1 GB or stick with the 2 x HD 5770's graphc cards?
I popped into The Apple store in Regent Street, London today and as a Joint Venture Business account holder I got to see someone straight away and no one could answer me the question which would be better or faster?
1 x ATI Radeon HD 5870
or the
2 x ATI Radeon HD 5770
I work with extremely High Resoultion Image and design files, so it's imperitive to get the best.
I very much look forward to your valued opiions.
Yours..
Rob Jarvis
Photographer
http://www.robjarvis.co.uk

Hi Bob,
From Apple's page: http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/graphics.html
Give your graphics a turbo boost.
For even more graphics horsepower, upgrade to the ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. An ideal choice for the most demanding applications, this card features a wider memory bus and higher-performance GPU, resulting in up to 70 percent faster performance compared with the ATI Radeon HD 5770.
You need the 5870 it is 70% faster, but more importantly you do not want the Apple monitors for critical photography applications.
I would STRONGLY suggest the NEC wide gamut calibration monitors. I use the 30" PA301WBKSV models, but if budget is constrained, they also make a 27" model for about 40% less.
The difference between a wide gamut and a regular (Apple) monitor is startling. You will save time and money due to the accuracy of the color causing fewer reprints. You literally will see colors you have never seen before on a screen.
At the very least, buy one of the wide gamut for adjustment work, and the lesser monitor for the non-critical pallette purposes.
Also, I would not buy either the RAM or SSDs from Apple, as there are better and cheaper alternatives out there. The 480GB Mercury EXTREME™ Pro 6G SSD are less money, double as fast as Apple and have a 5 year warranty.
I would also recommend more RAM, I use 48GB and never run into pageouts. You can buy the 48.0GB OWC Memory (3 x 16.0GB PC10600 DDR3 ECC 1333MHz 240 Pin) for a little more than you are paying Apple for 12GB, and this RAM is a lifetime warranty.
Hope this helps

ATI Radeon 5770 on Mac Pro 3.1

Hi All,
I got a question I want to buy the new 27 inch cinema display but this new display got the apple mini displayport which my mac pro don't have.
Specs Computer:
MacPro3,1 Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2,8 GHz with videocard: ATI Radeon HD 2600
So what to do now?
First option:
Do I need to buy the ATI Radeon HD 5770 because this got all the correct ports to connect to the 27 inch display? And will this display be able to connect to my mac pro? And how many monitors can be connected to one ATI Radeon HD 5770 video card? Because I have also my old display 20 inch and I want to use that if it is possible as a second screen.
Second option:
I read on the internet that It is possible to buy an dual DVI to apple mini displayport converter but I don't read on apple site if this will work correct? But with this solution if it is possible then I can not work with 2 screens not a big problem but is this cable good to buy for my mac to connect to the display?
I hope i'm clear and understandable and I hop you can help me with this "problem".
Thnx,
Nick

There are 10s of comments on the product page, here, and on various sites.
Ony requires 10.6.5 or later. Works in ALL Mac Pro models, as we never of course tire of saying.
Radeon HD 5870 versus 5770
ATI Radeon HD 5770 MC742ZM A

Mac Pro 2008 and ATI Radeon HD 5770

According to many other threads in this forum the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card is said to work fine with the Mac Pro 2008 (model no. 3,1) though the Apple Store lists the Mac Pro (Mid 2010) under system requirements. Well, before I’m going to upgrade my Mac against Apple’s will, I’m just curious to know if anyone has found out why Apple restricts the compatibility to Macs from mid 2010 on. Is there an issue that affects only a small number of machines? Or is there a software incompatibility popping up under rare circumstances? What is the reason for this? Why does Apple not grant downward compatibility?

Apple does marketing and doesn't do a bang-up job on writiing technical requirements on hardware upgrades and testing. It doesn't make sense, there is no reason for not just "works with 10.6.5 or later on ALL Mac Pro models."
something nice and clear and so avoids all the questions and discussion.
Radeon HD 5870 versus 5770
2008 has PCIe 2.0 so no lose of bandwidth.
And I guess you ignored the numerous comment section on the product page? where people said it works.
ATI Radeon HD 5770 MC742ZM A

ATI Radeon 5870 Upgrade a BIG Disappointment

Well, here I am, at 3:20 in the morning, having copied 43GB of video onto a Firewire 800 drive to sneaker net it to my colleagues 12 core Mac for rendering in the other office. This, after 10 hours of trying to make peace with the ATI Radeon HD 5870 which I just installed along with a 9TB RAID into my otherwise and formerly trustworthy 8 core Mac Pro.
The issues, in Final Cut:
1.) ALWAYS "Out of Memory" for the first time in history. Apparently the Radeon plus a Black Magic Intensity Pro Plus certain Plugins in FCP create instability. So, I turned off the Intensity. Still, no go. Cannot render a thing.
2.) New crashes. This machine is on 24/7, and has never crashed until this "upgrade."
3.) Weird workarounds: if a render died, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to attempt the same render under the same codec. By changing codecs, Pro Res HQ to Pro Res 4444 in this case, the render (in total) can be tried again. When that fails, it's back to Pro Res HQ.
4. Then, I cut the timeline into little chunks. Based on the render time, the 5870 is NOT being used at all. It is all CPU, no GPU in the latest Final Cut Studio. The 12 core is commensurately faster, based on its faster motherboard and faster, 12 cores. There is no evidence the power of the graphics cards (a 5770 on the 12 core) are used in the least. Having an NAB deadline in the morning will keep me up all night for the first time in years.
Perhaps the foretold new version of Final Cut will appear at NAB at the FCP supermeet. Maybe it will address the issues. For now, I can cut, but NOT render on my main edit machine. Time to put the cheapy graphics card back in. I'd like to render, and with the prior no improvement evidence, I seem to have wasted a bunch of money.
At least the new 9TB internal RAID is screaming fast.
Richard Brown

It is obvious you blame the new card for everything. While it may seem obvious to you, it is far from that for those of use on the other side of the internet cloud. That ATI card resides in lots of MacPros and is an OEM selection from the Apple store. Your problems are not usual.
Without any other information: sequence settings, video material source and codec, output, OSX version FCP version, QT version, ect, it is impossible to help you. What exactly are the "certain Plugins"?
As David already notes, FCP doesn't make much use of the video card GPU. Certain filters do use it, but we have no way of knowing what you are doing. We also have no idea of this "blazing fast raid" and how it is set up.
Offer up some useful information about the project and your setup, and we will do what we can.

ATI Radeon HD 5870 vs 5770

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