Best Video card for Mid 2010 Mac Pro

I'm currently running a Mid 2010 Mac Pro with a 5870 video card in it. I feel that it's bottlenecking processes, and want to upgrade it. I'm not looking to upgrade the computer itself, but want to get the fastest video card that I can.
Looking for suggestions, and links if possible to what you know works.
Thanks!

Why do you a) need a "fast" video card, and b) think it is the bottleneck (it might)?
Maybe you need dual AMD's and a 2nd 5870 (with the addition of 2nd 450W PSU to drive it).
This: July 25th, 2014 -- GeForce GTX 780 6G: Mac Pro Tower 'Sweet Spot'?
Do you have some SSDs for system and scratch? that often is where you can attack a bottleneck and improve performance.
Graphics can need as much RAM as possible. Dual or single cpu? many are choosing to install one or two faster cpus of the 3.4GHz variety to help.

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Problems with EFI Firmware Update to 1.5 for mid 2010 Mac Pro, and sleep issues

Hello to the community, I have run into an annoying issue.
I need to update the EFI firmware on my 8 core mid-2010 Mac Pro. I downloaded the EFI update from the apple website from here : http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1321
But everytime I download it, as I click to install, it gives me the message:
Alert
This software is not supported on your system.
But clearly this is the correct EFI for my computer. I tried burning the Firmware restoration onto a CD from here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1320
But the computer did not respond the way it said it should (with the 3 flashes/beeps etc.) and have the optical drive open for the CD.
So I'm completely stuck.
*Also my Mac Pro had issues with sleep, when I put it to sleep, sometimes when I try to bring it back, it restarts itself, and other times, it just turns itself on and the monitor screen remains black, so I have to hit the power button to turn it off then back on again. This only happnens when the computer has been put to sleep for a slightly extended period of time, roughly 20mins +, sometimes longer. I was trying to solve this problem by first updating the firmware because I think it could be related to that, but I've had this problem with the firmware so I couldn't find out. This is actually the bigger problem for me because it will affect my work. I am currently using an iMac while I fix up this mac pro.
I'm a music composer so I've upgraded many aspects of my system due to work. I have a 1TB Samsung 840 evo SSD, 2 seagate 2 TB HDD, and 1 WD 1TB HD (the original one in the mac pro), along with 32 GB of RAM. So my only problems are the firmaware and the weird activity when the computer is put to sleep.
Some help would be greatly appreciated!
I'm running OS X Mavericks 10.9.2
mid-2010 Mac Pro
8 core processor (2 X 2.4gHz)

According to this article, your EFI firmware is up to date:
Computer
Model identifier
EFI Boot ROM version
SMC version
Mac Pro
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
MacPro6,1
MP61.0116.B04 (EFI 2.0)
2.20f18 (SMC 2.0)
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
MacPro5,1
MP51.007F.B03 (EFI 1.5)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
MacPro4,1
MP41.0081.B07 (EFI 1.4)
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
MacPro3,1
MP31.006C.B05 (EFI 1.3)
Mac Pro (8-core)
MacPro2,1
MP21.007F.B06 (EFI 1.2)
1.15f3 (SMC 1.1)
Mac Pro (Original)
MacPro1,1
MP11.005C.B08 (EFI 1.2)
1.7f10 (SMC 1.1)
EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs

Best video card for a Power Mac G5 Dual 1.8 GHz

What is the best video card I can upgrade to with my Power Mac G5 Dual 1.8 GHz?
Thanks,
Jeff

Hi-
The best is probably the one that you can find..... getting hard to find Mac 8x AGP cards.....
Best OEM cards are (were) Radeon 850XT, Radeon X800XT, Geforce 6800 Ultra and Geforce 6800 GT, in order from fastest.
X800 vs. others
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Best Workstation Card for AE and Mac Pro 3,1

I want to upgrade my video card. What is the best one for my purposes.
I do HEAVY After Effects, CG (Lightwave and Vue)
I was thinking about this:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-quadro-4000-mac-us.html
Pros? Cons?
This is my system config.
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Number of Processors:          2
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Thanks
Fred Raimondi
www.fredraimondi.com

Sell the Mac and spend the money in building yourself a PC with the best components you can find. You will have much more freedom of choice when it comes to hardware, especially in this case where you need the fastest CUDA card you can get. With a PC you can use any Nvidia based card in the market, while with Macs you're restrained to just a few outdated and hugely overpriced ones.
Granted, Mac towers are very good machines, and the OS is great, but CS6 relies heavily on CUDA cards, and Macs have very few CUDA options. A PC that you build yourself from the best components can be less expensive, stable and more powerful.

Can video cards for the new Mac Pro be installed in the field?

Current Configuration of the new Mac Pro is as follows:
ACES MacPro Workstation Seat
Processor
6-Core/3.5GHz/Xeon E5
Memory
32 GB
Graphics
2X AMD FirePro D500
Hard Disk
1 TB
Display
24" LED / HP
Media Player
2GB FIPS USB Drive
Mouse
Apple Magic Mouse
Keyboard
USB
Ports
4-USB 3.0;
6-Thunderbolt
1- HDMI
Netwk Interface
Ethernet/802.11n
Card Reader
NIST SP 800 Compliant
My question is can the Graphic Display cards be removed and replaced in the field by an experience Mac Technician?
Any special tools required?

Now here is the back, showing the heatsink paste still in place, and the thermal pads used to cool the RAM chips to the central cooler:
note that the two cards are not interchangeable -- they have their power lugs on opposite sides. One card has chips to support actual display output to the thunderbolt Busses, the other card has none, but has the custom micro-PCIE slot for the PCIe SSD "stick".
One reason for this design is that to make a leap forward, you would have to water-cool the slots for a traditional form-factor PCIe slot Mac pro. Then do it again to include a second GPU. In my opinion, this model Mac Pro is about conquering the cooling problem of this much CPU and GPU compute-power in one box.
NVIDIA graphics card replacements? maybe eventually, but not at this writing.

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.

Best video card for my mac

Hey,
I just need help finding the best video card for my Powermac g4 fw800. One that my system can use fully. I currently have a Radeon 9000Pro with 64MB. Thanks
~R

Hi
The ATI 9800-256MB is currently the best card for your system. Actually, there are no other NEW video cards available.
BTW, xlr8yourmac hasn't done a video card review in years, they are just a bulletin board/newsletter now. If you are interested in seeing current testing of available video cards, check out:
http://www.barefeats.com/rad98pro.html
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Full backup ( ~ 1 TB ) using external HD - speed USB vs. Firewire vs. eSATA - what are relative speeds - how to install eSATA on mid-2010 Mac Pro desktop ( dual hex-core processors)_

    Hi All,
     I'm trying to resume regular scheduled Full backup ( ~ 1 TB ) of drives using external HD (to allow off-site redundant backup storage) .
     What are relative speeds of USB vs. Firewire vs. eSATA ?
     I suspect eSATA connection may be considerably faster … how to install eSATA on mid-2010 Mac Pro desktop ( dual hex-core processors)?
      ( The quicker and easier backup protocol is, the more likely one is to use it to backup on a routine repetitive basis.)
Thanks

Jim Bogy wrote:
...I suspect eSATA connection may be considerably faster … how to install eSATA on mid-2010 Mac Pro desktop ( dual hex-core processors)?
      ( The quicker and easier backup protocol is, the more likely one is to use it to backup on a routine repetitive basis.)
Adding a USB 3.0+eSATA PCIe card, which The hatter mentions, is the best solution that I've found. See http://eshop.macsales.com/item/CalDigit/FASTA6GU3/. The card is not cheap, but the USB 3.0 works flawlessly (which can't be assumed; ask me how I know) and the eSATA connection allows booting from the connected drive. Grant Bennet-Alder's point about HD speed is important to consider; in addition, the size of the individual files being backed up and where on the backup disk they're going will affect overall transfer speed. For example, using the USB 3.0 connection on that CalDigit card going to a Toshiba 3TB external, the transfer rate for a big file (say a virtual machine file) from an internal SSD boot drive was about 145 MB/sec while a bunch of little files might drop to 30 MB/sec and both rates decrease as an inner partition on the external is used. All told, a nearly 700 GB backup took under 1.5 hours. Using a HD as the source added almost an extra hour, though a WD external was used for that. Using a WD green drive plugged into this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/FWU3ES2HDK/ with an eSATA connection took about 2.5 hours also, but that was bootable whereas the USB 3.0 connection is not.
Another point to consider is that USB 3.0 is ubiquitous on PC's now so there's lots of price competition for externals; not so much for eSATA externals.

Mid 2010 Mac Pro boot camp recognizing 1.86GB RAM

I have a mid 2010 Mac Pro w/ 6GB RAM and a dedicated video card. Win7 32-bit is boot camped on it. I know 32-bit Windows can only use 3.75GB of RAM. However, this Mac Pro is only seeing 1.86GB.
Since this is Win7, no boot.ini is available for /3GB switch and editbcd /set increaseuserva 3072 did nothing, even after clearing out the variable and resetting it to 3072.
I came across a post saying UEFI/BIOS for Mac Pros cannot see more than 1.86GB RAM in a Windows 32-bit environment. Is this true? It was only the one post and I forgot where I saw it. If not, how do I resolve this issue? If not, that's fine. I can format and install Win7 64-bit if needed. I want to confirm 64-bit Win7 will recognize more than 1.86GB of RAM. Any input?
Thank you.

64 bit Windows will see and use all your ram.

10.7.3 USB Lockup on mid-2010 Mac Pro

Hello,
I updated my mid-2010 Mac Pro to update 10.7.3 this morning. Since then, I have had three occasions today, each one worse than the previous, where all USB devices connected just locked up completely and were totally unresponsive.
This includes my keyboard, mouse, and video camera. Those are the only devices that are connected to this computer.
One at a time I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting each device with no success. Interestingly on a couple of occasions, my keyboard would stop working but the mouse daisy chained out of the keyboard worked without any issues.
The most recent incident absolutely everything locked up and the only option I had was to do a hard reset of the computer. When I logged back in I quickly enabled the Bluetooth support and grabbed my wireless keyboard and mouse so that I can work.
Has anyone else encountered this yet? I know there aren't that many Mac Pro users any more.
In the meantime, Time Machine is performing a full backup and I think I will downgrade back to 10.7.2.
I wish I could go back to 10.6.8 but since this Mac Pro shipped with 10.7.2, it will not accept an earlier version of OS X. :-(

Wow, Same issue here on my Early 2008 Mac Pro. After 10.7.3 update, my USB ports have been behaving erratically. The problem actually seems to be getting progressively worse too.
From what Ive gathered so fat, it seems almost as if the ports are now underpowered. Plugging a keyboard directly into the USB port seems to work indefinitely. As soon as I add other devices to same port, the new device won't work.
My first assumption was that my USB hub was shot, but then I tried the ports on the back of my Cinema Display and they were all jacked up too.
I tried plugging another keyboard directly into the front USB port but That didn't work either, as it seems there was no power for it due to the other devices plugged into the back. I unplugged everything but the front keyboard and it still didn't work until I restarted it.
Extremely hard to troubleshoot how this issue is behaving. Like I said, erratic is probably best description.
This is the worst bug I've personally experienced after an update to an OS since I've been using Macs on System 7.
I really hope Apple fixes this ASAP.

Does anyone know how to access the sound software on a Mid 2010 Mac Pro? I have a Logitech Z906 5.1 surround system with fiber optic in and out, I only seem to be able to get stereo and simulated 5.1 sound .

A mid 2010 Mac Pro, trying to get 5.1 surround out of the onboard sound software using fiber optic out connected to a Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker sys. with fiber optic in and out, all I get is stereo and simulated 5.1 sound out of the speakers. In utilities, Audio Midi Setup I can't get the Mac to see the Logitech speakers for 5.1 speaker configuration. Without being made to feel like a dummy, does anyone have a solution? Thanks, Carl

Hello John, I figured it was a signal issue. All the speakers fire and the sound is great. I was running the speakers thru a Dell PC with a Creative X-Fi Elite Pro, THX Certified, 7.1 soundcard using a fiber optic from the Mac Pro to the Z906's, it worked great until the Dell died!!! When I bought the soundcard from Creative I also bought the GigaWorks S750, THX Certified, 700 watt, 7.1 speaker system, used the speakers for 11 years and then the woofer/amp said "I QUIT" Creative quit making the speaker system and the sound card. The satellite speakers from the Creative GigaWorks speaker system still sound great (rated at 78 watt each) and are a little better speaker than the one's that came with the Z906 and the wattage from the 906 is sufficient to drive the satellites without any distortion. Thank you for addressing my issue, you confirmed what I suspected all along, just needed to hear it from someone with the same setup.
One last question, I purchased a Diamond Multimedia USB Soundcard, can't use the fiber optic(not supported by Mac) but the green, tan and black RCA's plug in and produces adequetly. When you plug your 906's into the Mac Pro using the fiber optic how do you set your speaker configuration? When I plug into the mac pro with fiber optic the 'Audio Midi Setup' does not seem to see the 5.1 configuration. Any thoughts there?
Carl

Mid 2010 Mac Pro 10.6.4 Does Not Log In

This is both a MacPro question and an Avid ProTools question...first I need to get the Mac working again and then come up with a longer term ProTool solution....
I am at a new job where I am currently running ProTools 8 using a Digidesign 003 on a Mid 2010 Mac Pro running OS 10.6.4. There are two user accounts, and only one (the adminsitrator account) is marginally functional. It runs extremely slowly (five minutes to launch GarageBand) and the application icons in the dock do not display correctly. When attempting to log into the other account, after a few minutes a blue screen comes up and then it returns back to the log in screen.
I know that the computer would be compatabile with Mavericks OS 10.9, but I know that 10.9 is not reccomended for any Avid Product (even newer versions of ProTools).
How can I make the computer operational while still running OS 10.6? Do I need to upgrade to a newer OS and take on the expense of upgrading to a newer version of ProTools? What about compatability with the 003?

it shipped with an OEM DVD of special build of 10.6.4 but you really need 10.6.8+ at least, or 10.8.5. Depends on if your apps still rely on older PowerPC and Rosetta.
Software Update would have to be turned off it you are not already on 10.6.8 plus all the security updates and new Safari update and others.
I like to have a safety net, clone your system, take the clone off line, then make updates and changes. And have two such backup working clone systems handy. In some cases you can just partition one drive to do that.
Sounds like other issues. Invest in a 250GB or 500GB SSD for t he system. PCIe SSD card and SSD(s) for scratch and media libraries.
Make sure it has 24-48GB RAM.
ATI 5770 drivers really need 10.6.8.

What is the best video card for 3D?

I'm getting a 2008 Mac Pro, will equip it with 10GB of RAM. What is the best video card for 3D rendering? I've read that the stock ATI 2600 card is woefully inadequate. I've also read that the NVIDIA 8800 card is better for gaming, and has caused some problems anyway. I can't spring for the top-end Quadra card that Apple offers. Are there good, cost-effective options for 3D work? Can I even get a video card on the open market that is not flashed by Apple?

Basically there are only three options available:
1. ATI 2600
2. ATI 1900
3. NVidia 8800
The latter is the best of the three. See benchmark results at Bare Feats.
You cannot use a video card not provided by Apple because they will not work with OS X or the hardware.

I can't get 5.1 Surround Sound running Windows 7, Mid-2010 Mac Pro

Hello,
So I'm running bootcamp on my Mid-2010 Mac Pro and I can't get Dolby Surround Sound to run from the Realtek HD Audio Manager. Is there a way to produce true Dolby 5.1? I understand this may be more bootcamp related than to the actual hardware itself but I figured this is the best place to start troubleshooting this.
Thanks

I can try-dunno how much help I'll be, though
go here for Realtek drivers for surround sound
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=37&Level=5&Co nn=4&ProdID=144
try this: go to Windows Sound, then playback devices, then click on speakers icon (should have realtek as default). Click on that, and click configure
if realtek has a sound manager, try clicking on that, and a config dialog might appear
sorry can't be much more help than that
JB

Mid 2010 Mac Pro - Thunderbolt External Hard Drive

For Christmas my family gave me a 2T Little Big Disk thunderbolt external drive. I have a mid 2010 Mac Pro which doesn't have a thunderbolt port. Is there a PCI card I can use to connect the drive to my Mac Pro?

Those "adapters" are standard HBA. Like ATTO and others.
eSATA/USB
CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 2 port USB 3.0 & 2 Port eSATA 6Gb/s host adapter
PCIe Bus Extender
Sonnet Express Bus Extender PCIe 2.0
SAS/SATA
ATTO ExpressSAS H680 Adapter
ATTO ExpressSAS H6F0 Adapter
ATTO ExpressSAS H644 Adapter
ATTO ExpressSAS R680 RAID Adapter(2)
Firmtek Seritek/e6G 2 Port eSATA PCI Express (PCIe) Serial ATA Adapter
Newer Technology MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card
Newer Technology MAXPower RAID mini-SAS 6G-1e1i Controller Card(3)
Newer Technology MAXPower RAID mini-SAS 6G-2e Controller Card(3)
Sonnet Tempo SATA 6Gb Pro 2-port
Sonnet Tempo SATA 6Gb Pro 4-port
Sonnet 6Gb/s SAS/SATA RAID Controller(2)

Best Video card for Mid 2010 Mac Pro

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