Best graphics card compatible with Mac Pro?

I still have the stock ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series from 2010 that shipped with it. Everything else is holding up but I'm noticing the graphics card is starting to get a bit dated. I've never upgraded a graphics card on a mac so I'm wandering what kind of cards I can and cant buy.

Windows and games then you can use whatever you can power.
That could be GTX 570 or ATI 7xxx
Only issue is you only have 2 x 6-pin auxillary cables.
you might buy a flashed GTX from MacVidCards
http://www.ebay.com/sch/macvidcards/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid =p3686
You'll find more about 3rd party cards and how to install and support...
http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1
http://forum.netkas.org/
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1360927
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=03G-P3-1588-AR
The Mac Pro limitations for serious gaming make it much more of a challenge.

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What is the best graphics card compatible with the original Mac Pro?

I have an original Mac Pro with dual 2.0GHz DC Xeons. It currently has a GeForce 7300. I would like to know the best Apple graphics card it can support, and the best "flashed" PC graphics card it can support. I would like to be able to play games, but it doesn't have to be on BEST settings. What are the best GPUs that are compatible with Mac Pro 1,1?
Thanks!!

You may have to work at getting the ATI HD5870 to work with a Rev 1.1 MacPro, but the 5770 should be fine. It's not as good a card as the 5870, but much faster than your original, and also a lot cheaper than the 5870! That said, neither is particularly cheap.
If you're techno savvy, you can have a much bigger choice, and can use a generic PC card and 'flash' it to work with the Mac. If you use Snow Leopard or Lion, you may get it to work straight off, as they have drivers that work on many of the PC cards.

Best Graphic Card for a Mac Pro

I am buying a Mac Pro very soon but i am still wondering about what kind of grahics card i should get? I will be doing lots of after effects and maya along with photoshop. I heard the X1900 is a good way to go? Any ideas on what i should get or is the best for me?

You've got two choices.
The X1900 (ATI) and the Nvidia Quadro FX 4500.
The ATI is $299. The Nvidia is $2000.
All around performance wise, the X1900 is usually faster then the FX4500. It's a more general purpose card, which I find works great in Photoshop and Cinema 4D (3D modeling). The FX 4500 is designed for high-accuracy complex models- usually that of a mechanical CAD drawing or something in engineering.
Regardless, the FX 4500 is far too expensive for what you get over the X1900, which is relatively nothing in your case. The '1900 is cheaper and faster for your uses.
If you've got money to spend, I'd suggest ether more RAM, or loading your Mac Pro up with hard drives (I personally use 4*500GB in two 500GB RAID0 arrays for redundancy).
-SC

Best graphics card for the MAC Pro 4,1

I am using the 4870 card, but, is there a better graphics card for doing photography with Adobe CS5 Extended and Lightroom 3?
Thank you.

While recently discontinued, you can probably get your hands on an nVidia GTX 285 fairly easily. It's not only faster than your Radeon HD4870, it has double the video memory, and more importantly it's on the shortlist of cards that are support hardware acceleration of the Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe CS5. That's a HUGE feature, if you use Premiere or After Effects, it's probably worth the price of admission right there. I've got one in my machine, works wonders. Aside from a zippy system, lots of basic stuff that used to have to be rendered in order to preview no longer require it.
The nVidia Quadro FX 4800 is also a bigger/faster card, and provides even more powerful support for the Mercury Playback Engine in CS5, but it's also vastly more expensive. As I type this the price is $1799 at Apple, and $1399 most everywhere else (Apple store managers, if you're seeing this you might want to check for a price drop).
That's the current max, but it's possible that new graphics cards are right around the corner. In the spring nVidia introduced their next generation of GPU, there are a range of new GTX 4xx series cards on the mainstream line, and just last week new Quadro cards were launched for the high end. Adobe does not support either of them for CS5's Mercury Playback Engine hardware acceleration at this moment, but Adobe employees have said that it's coming in an update soon.
It's also likely that the ATI Radeon HD 5770 & Radeon HD 5870 will be released for the Mac. My understanding is that the 5770 performance is on par with your HD 4870, and the 5870 will blow it away. Both the new ATI cards also boast two mini displayport plugs as well as a DVI out. Neither card is likely going to get support for hardware acceleration in CS5 anytime soon (not really Adobe's fault, ATI are still in their infancy on the high performance/OpenCL front compared to nVidia).
My advice, if you need something now, chase down a GTX 285 and you won't be disappointed (especially in CS5). Otherwise, you may want to wait it out and jump on the next generation if/when it becomes available.
Hope that helps!

How does having 2 Graphics Cards in a Mac pro help if it doesnt have something like Crossfire??

Hi,
I am thinking of buying a Mac pro for visual effects & graphics work.
My question is quite simple, what are the benifits of having to graphic cards in a Mac Pro,
For instance, i am thinking of putting in a Quadro 4000 with a 5870 in my mac pro.
now is it possible for me to set say the ATI 5870 for powering my display and my Quadro 4000 for graphic processing tasks such as rendering stuff, and so on and so forth.
Any thouights will be great.
Cheers.
Ani

You need to find a way to add 3rd aux power connector.
Mac Pro only comes with a mere 2 6-pin connectors, not a lot of power.
Apple has had multiple problems with Nvidia drivers, with support, with say using two 4000s together, which sounds nice and makes more sense (and especially if one wants to run Windows at all where mixing ATI and Nvidia use to be against all the rules, now it seems like it is an Apple issue).
Yes, there can be processing improvements, Adobe Mercury Engine for one, CUDA still has advantage over ATI-Apple OpenCL.

Need info about nvidia graphics card supported with premiere pro cs5

Hi
I need information about nvidia graphics card supported with premiere pro cs5
If I have a computer(portable) with this video card or graphics card :
nVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 285M with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory available in Single or Dual (SLi) Configurations
Microsoft® DirectX® 10 Compatible
is it going to support MPE in premiere pro cs5?
Regards,
Vinay

To be clear:
You asked about supported cards. Here is a list of supported cards. Others on this thread are telling you how to make an unsupported card function to some degree using a method that is not advocated by Adobe.

Is my graphics card compatible with Compressor 4?

Let me preface just by saying I am not familiar with graphics cards. I am looking to purchase Compressor 4 which states you need an OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later. My graphics card on my MacBook Pro is Intel Iris 1536 MB. Can someone tell me if this is compatible? Thanks.

What is the model identifier of your MBP?
Russ

Can you upgrade the graphics card in a mac pro xeon

i am wondering if i bought a 2006 mac pro xeon could i upgrade the horrible graphic card to at least a 1.5 graphic card

Yes
User Tip: Mac Pro silver tower (2006-2012) Replacement Graphics cards
graphics card for 2006-07 Mac Pro system
If you do not have the Mac Pro I would find a 2008 or later but preferably, a 2009 or later one.

AirPort Extreme card not compatible with Mac Pro???

Hey,
I recently purchased my Mac Pro without thinking to include any hardware for connecting to a wireless network.
I have recently moved into a new apartment which I am keen to join to a wireless network which has just been set up by my roommate for his PC and Laptop.
I was going to buy an AirPort Extreme card, but I have read that it is not compatible with the Mac Pro. Yet when I looked at the configure process for a new mac it was listed as one of the devises offered for wireless networking!!
I am very confused...
I was wondering if anyone could help me, i just need to know what hardware i will need and how it would be installed.
thanks, all help will be greatly appreciated!
Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

the mac pro takes a slightly different airport express card. you have to purchase it at the retail store and have them install it. in my experience they will not allow you to purchase one and install it yourself due to the difficulty of installing it. best thing to do take your macpro into a apple retail store and see what they can do.

Is osx mountain lion compatible with mac pro (4,1) w/ raid card?

I noticed Apple isn't selling the Mac Pro's with raid cards anymore, so it makes me wonder of Mountain Lion is compatible with my Mac Pro which uses the apple mac pro raid card. Anyone know??

Thanks Kappy. I'm more interested in the RAID card compatibility. Anyone else know?

Airport extreme card in g4 ppc - compatible with Mac Pro?

I have an airport extreme card in my g4 PPC. dual 1.25ghz - fw800.
question is, can i take this airport extreme card and put it in my new Mac Pro Dual 2.66ghz intel machine?

No, the AirPort Extreme card is not compatible with the Mac Pro.
The Mac Pro requires a special wireless card. Apple requires installation by an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP).

Multiple graphics cards on 2008 mac pro, won't work

Hi, I have a 2008 Mac Pro 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon with 14 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM. I have used a ATI Radeon HD 2600 Graphics card connected to 2 x BenQ E2400HD screens. Now, I want 4 screens so I bought a NVidia Geforce 8800 GT graphics card as I found these to be compatible with my setup on Ebay (only place I could find it). Got it in a brand new condition in a Apple graphics card box so should be all good. Put it in PCI-E slot 2. Now when I started my Mac after installing I could hear a loud fan noise (fan going on max speed) and tracked it to the new graphics card. When I open the system profiler it shows up as a display. The screen connected to the graphics card with a DVDI-cable does not show an image and the screen indicates that it does not have an input. Any ideas what's wrong here? Is my graphics card broken?

More than likely you got wrong verion.
1,1 and 2,1 Mac Pros are EFI32, and for Nvidia cards need proper version.
If your machine is a 3,1 or later you need an EFI64 version.
Contact the seller and clarify.
If you install "ATY_Init" and are running 10.6.8 you will find the card will work once machine boots all the way.
You could then flash the card into proper version if you were especially clever with things like that.
But your seller should help you.
You need to know "Model Identifier"
http://macvidcards.com/macpro/which-mac-pro-do-you-own/

Which New Graphic Card For 2008 Mac Pro?

I'm going to buy Final Cut X, so I'll need a new graphic card for my 2008 MacPro. My current card is an ATI Radeon HD 2600.
I asked AppleCare and they sent me a link to a lot of compatible cards (copied below).
But it turns out that most of these cards need Windows - at least according to specs - and the rest don't have the (2) DVI-D connections I need - so which card should I buy?
The card has to work with my 2 Acer P243W 24" screens at 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz.
Here's Apple's list:
•    NVIDIA
o    GeForce 320M
o    GeForce GT 330M
o    GeForce 9400M
o    GeForce 9600M GT
o    GeForce 8600M GT Note: OpenCL compatible, but does not meet system requirements for Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor.
o    GeForce GT 120
o    GeForce GT 130
o    GeForce GTX 285
o    GeForce 8800 GT
o    GeForce 8800 GS
o    Quadro FX 4800
o    Quadro FX5600
•    ATI
o    Radeon HD 4670
o    Radeon HD 4850
o    Radeon HD 4870
o    Radeon HD 5670
o    Radeon HD 5750
o    Radeon HD 5770

Once you look at what is sold, limits the list. None of those listed require Windows though. What specs? I don't see any specs. And of course nothing listed are Windows, that would be strange. Why you pasted notebook and iMac graphic adapters... unless Apple is selling FCPX for Windows.
Forget the GT120 though some use it with FCPX and are okay with it, save a little though I think 5770 has more processing, bandwidth and of course 1GB DDR5.
support for 6870 PC card is looking like a possible option now, too.
It is more mainly just 5770 vs 5870. Or Quadro 4000.
Amazon has PNY Mac Pro edition $790 vs Apple's $1195 for same card
PNY Quadro 4000 2 GB DDR5 Mac Pro
When FCX came out we had a couple threads on same topic.
Apple Graphics Cards
OSX and Graphics Cards
Radeon 6870 3DMark 30% gain on 5870
Flashed PC Radeon HD5870 Mac Pro 2008
Flashed PC Radeon HD5870 Mac Pro 2008 - dual DVI works
I include the above for same reason why when the 4870 came out, PC card was 1/2 price and $450 for 5870? really? when XFX and Saffire are under $199.
Radeon 5870 vs 5770 GTX 285 4870
Three Video Displays one card
Display Adapters Needed

Looking for graphic cards compatible with the basic G5

Help!!
Went to the Apple Store to see if my G5 (M9020LL/A) which is the 1.6GHz PowerPC to see if it was compatible/could drive the 30" cinema display. They assured me my G5 could handle the large display. I have OS 10.5.8, iLife 09, 1 TB HD, 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64MB DDR SDRAM for the 8x AGP Pro slot.
The display arrived, I get picture but not resolution. Searched for a video/graphics card that was compatible. The ATI Radeon 9600 Pro PC/Mac with 256MB was recommended. I purchased one but can only get it to work with a safe boot. Get resolution but iPhoto cannot do the photos in full screen mode. But I can get full screen photos in screen saver mode?!
Apple support states they only recommend/support two cards for my model, the Radeon 9600 @ 64 MB, 2480X1326 res or the Radeon Pro, 128 MB, 2480X1326 res.
Has anyone had a similar problem with the Radeon card 9600 Pro PC/Mac with 256MB? Does anyone have a solution as to which card would be compatible with my G5 and get 2560X1600 res?
Any suggestions? Thanks you for your help!

Hi-
Welcome to Discussions!
Apple support states they only recommend/support two cards for my model,
Those were the only two cards offered at the time, so that is their "official position". You may safely ignore them..... even though they lied to you regarding the 30" ACD and your machine.
Has anyone had a similar problem with the Radeon card 9600 Pro PC/Mac with 256MB?
Often reported here on the forum.
Not a good card. If it works, fine, but many report as you do....Safe mode only.
The G5 can use any 8x AGP graphics card that was available in any AGP model G5.
OEM Mac cards with dual link DVI for the 30" ACD are:
Radeon 9650
Radeon X800XT
Geforce 6800 GT DDL
Geforce 6800 Ultra DDL
A flashed (converted WinPC card) Geforce 7800 GS may also be used.
Any of the above cards can be found on eBay/Apple Components.

Graphics Cards compatible with 30" Cinema Display

I need to replace my graphics card in my MacPro. Display still works from other computers but it won't work from the MacPro any more.
There seem to be so many graphics cards around yet I am struggling to find a list of cards that ARE compatible with a MacPro/Cinema set up. Does anyone knoe where I can find this information?
Thanks
Alan

If you want it to work with OSX, it has to be a card make for the Mac Pro. PC graphics cards won't work with OSX.
<http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shopmac/macaccessories/displays?mco=MTM3NTA0ODQ>
Despite what Apple says, the ATI Radeon HD 4870 will work with any Mac Pro, the other cards only with the 2008 or 2009 Mac Pro.

Best graphics card compatible with Mac Pro?

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