Choosing iMac model. Nvidia 8800 hotter than ATI 2600 ?

I'm just about to buy a 2.8GHz 24" iMac and am trying to decide whether to upgrade to the NVidia 8800 Graphics card or not.
I'm mainly trying to make it as future-proof as I can by putting in a higher spec card now, and also I guess Snow Leopard (with OpenCL) should be able to make much better use of the NVIDIA card than the ATI one.
I'm happy with the cost involved, but I'm concerned that the 8800 (being a more powerful card) may run hotter in normal (i.e. non-gaming) use compared to the 2600.
Could anyone offer an opinion on this? Do you think I'm likely to experience more fan noise with an 8800 fitted compared to a 2600?
Thanks
Steve

It does run hotter, fans are still inaudible unless right next to it (ear pressed where it will feel the heat).... now here's the thing: The fan speed won't increase noticeably even under extreme load.
To answer your question, if I focus on it, I can hear the fans (right now). If I reach up and touch the top (around top left) it's warm to the touch, and I can barely feel a warm breeze coming out
If i were to fire up Second Life (game) for about 10-20 minutes - it gets uncomfortably warm to the touch along the top edge (quick), and I could feel but barely hear more air being pushed out.
Me and a friend launched Second Life from openGL profiler - she (ATI 2600, 2.8/4m) was hitting around 40-50 FPS, I was hitting 120-180 (these were on a private estate (somewhat controlled environmentals), both set to level 3 quality - kinda apples to apples as best as we could).
I can't really comment on the openCL enhancements to come, It's a severely crippled 8800 (GS) - so I'd not put a lot of weight behind the OpenCL acceleration. It's not a Quadro.
I was under no illusions that it was a gaming machine or a production 3D/graphics workstation tho - it's good enough for casual gaming/semi-pro use with some decent capabilities, don't expect too much from it tho.
There is one of the mac fan sites that tracks the average days of refresh - roughly when to expect the next big "refresh" from Apple - maybe someone else can remember where it is... (something like mid jan/late spring roughly - with some exceptions).
Last thing I'd want is to have ordered the 8800 as a CTO (not refundable) to find out 5 days later a 9800 with 1 gig on a slick nvidia chipset was replacing it. And that they had replaced the mighty mouse.
The iMac 8800/3.06 is the quietest machine I've worked with, power wise - even when it is cranked to the hilt, and it gets hot, uncomfortably hot (that makes me jittery - which is why I'm glad I've got AppleCare). I could run SMC fan control or something to keep it cooler, but I'd prefer to see if Apple's got it right.
Anyhow... Good luck with it all. I plan on selling mine - maybe not tho, it would make a cool fishtank. (I'm learning I'm just not an Apple person, tho I'm still trying).

Similar Messages

Nvidia 8800 or ATI Radeon (x2 or x3)?

Hi,
I am new to Mac world, and about to order a Mac Pro configuration.
I am not sure what to choose for the videocard...?
2x ATI Radeon
1x Nvidia 8800
or 3x ATI Radeon ...?
What would be the criteria to choose the good config for my needs?
If I plan to use only 1 or 2 displays, is the nvidia enough?
Thanks in advance for your help!

Tom,
There is another thread (or three!) on the sleep / restart problem. And I don't have any more info than what is said here and on other forums and news outlets.
I would sit tight for now, at least until the 8800s are actually shipping (March 1?) and get your RAM 3rd party to save $$$. Not sure the difference between 2.8 and 3.0 is going to be big enough to justify. 3.2, yes, if you need cutting edge.
Keep your eye on AYM and Barefeats.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com
http://www.Barefeats.com

Will the ATI 2600 be updated during the iMac's lifespan?

I know it's impossible to upgrade the card yourself, but if I wait a couple months to buy an iMac, is there a chance Apple will have upgraded the card? Say to a mid range ATI 3xxx card once those are released? Thanks.

Its really not all that hard. Everything is behind the screen instead of the back. All you do is pop off the glass in the front and you have access to the computer. I did it when I bought my new iMac. It had some kind of smudge or smear on the inside of the glass, I just took a suction cup and the glass screen popped right off. Its held their by magnets. I was just cleaning the glass but when you look at it the screws are there to remove the LCD panel and get at the innards of the computer. I always wondered how they made it such a seamless design, now I see how, they went thru the front. Genius, imo.
I'm also surprised Apple went with ATI. They have a history of very buggy drivers so frankly I'm not surprised about this freezing issue being GPU related. Every new ATI card I got when I had my PC had some kind of driver issue. I do think Nvidia's cards run a lot hotter than ATI's though, which is probably why Apple chose them.

IMac 9400 or iMa Ati 2600

hi,
i am looking to buy a iMac, but i am unsure which to buy.
Which is better new iMac's 9400 integrated graphics or the older iMac's Ati 2600 graphics card.
I will be using the iMac for iPhoto, iMovie, Photoshop and some gaming.
thanks in advance
Paul

Forgive me for not referencing this, but I read somewhere that the ATI 2400 is roughly on par with the NVIDIA, but that the ATI 2600 is superior.
The NVIDIA steals from your main RAM and the ATI uses its own RAM (but neither can be upgraded).
In practice, you may not notice any difference. Buy the cheaper model!

Can't update nVidia 8800 GS on iMac...

Boot camp has an older driver, like 163.xxx something..
Downloaded the newest 173.16 WHQL driver from nVidia, but when I run it, it says it can't find a valid video card. I know my iMac 3.06 gig machine has the nVidia 8800GS card, so what gives? Did Apple change something in the card's .inf file?
If I try to force the install, it tells me that Windows cannot verify the card and it could fail, etc...
What gives? Why does Bootcamp insist on using such an old driver?
And why does Windows not let me update my 8800GS?

On the contrary, I believe it is the same video card that is in the Mac Pro. This quote was taken from the UK MacWorld review of the system. The link is: http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=2599
It actually transpires that the 8800 GS in the iMac isn't actually an 8800 GS at all, but the same 8800 GT card from the Mac Pro that has been clocked down to match the 8800 GS speed. This is great news because it means the Memory Interface is 256-bit, rather than 192-bit; plus you get the extra memory itself. On the whole it should sit somewhere between the 8800 GT and a regular 8800 GS. We assume that the card had to be restricted because it would overheat in the small form-factor of the iMac. The 8800 card itself is fairly large (hence it's absence from the 20-inch iMac models) and runs at considerable temperature.
It may even be possible to overclock the card in the iMac to match the full speed of the Mac Pro card, although we wouldn't recommend it because the excessive heat would almost certainly cause your iMac to crash.

HT3910 I face problems with the Nvidia 8800 GS on my iMac 24'' 3.06Ghz intel core duo. OS 10.06.08. What can I do to solve the problem and if you recommend upgrade to mountain Lion

I face problems with the Nvidia 8800 GS on my iMac 24'' 3.06Ghz intel core duo. OS 10.06.08. What can I do to solve the problem and if you recommend upgrade to mountain Lion

If you want to sync it to the iPad from that Mac, you need to upgrade it to at least 10.5.8.
If you want to copy the music to another Mac, you don't. Move the iTunes folder of the item in the Finder's sidebar over as you would any other folder. If you put it somewhere other than the Music folder, launch iTunes with the Option key held down and point it to that location.
(61713)

'Late 2009' iMac running hotter than usual (Power-related)

For the past month or so, my 27" iMac (2.66 GHz i5) has been running hotter than usual (heat management has been terrible on these things for years). Using iStat Menus, I've tracked the culprit down to the power system, with the board and primary/secondary heat sinks regularly approaching 90º C (the secondary heat sink has actually hit 90º). The fans are ramping up as I would expect, but I'm a bit concerned over the frequency with which this happens. It seems like programs that, in the past, would not have taxed the CPU as much are suddenly ramping up to 100% usage, which obviously heats up the power supply. The only thing I can think of that's different is Mavericks (10.9.4). I know it has a few new bells and whistles that are supposed to use the CPU more efficiently and pull less power in the long run, but it seems like the exact opposite is happening.
Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions (short of rolling back to Snow Leopard, which I might do)? Is this a sign that the Mac is on its way out?

If the machine suddenly shuts down on its own or kernel panics, I'd be concerned. Do not attempt to modify anything internally except ensuring the RAM is to stated to be Late 2009 iMac compatible. Not all 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMMs (204-pin) RAM are alike. http://www.crucial.com/ http://www.macsales.com/ and http://www.datamem.com/ all sell RAM by age of computer and model name. Do not get ValueRAM. Only get lifetime warranty RAM.

IMac 3.06ghz with Vista 64bit :: Need drivers for GPU nVidia 8800 GS

Hey everybody,
I succesfully installed Vista 64bit on my newest iMac with Boot Camp, but the only thing missing right now is the driver for the GPU, Nvidia 8800 GS 512MB RAM. Any idea if I can install a fitting driver? I already tried the auto-detect driver from Nvidia's website and I manually selected the latest driver there, but none works.
Any ideas?
Thanks so far!
Mx

Hi Mx,
use the driver and modification found here: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/
Since the iMacs don't use the Desktop versions but rather the Mobility versions of GPUs, the generic NVIDIA driver won't install because of the missing entry in the .inf file.
Stefan

Mac Pro Screen Freezing Issue with NVIDIA 8800 GT too

There were lots of entry in threads, where the screen freezing issue was described (disorted screen with strange lines, only reboot helps). Nearly all cases seem to be related to the ATI 2600 card.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1358062&tstart=30
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1365277&tstart=0
I opened this new thread to show, that this problems occurs not only for the ATI card but for the NVIDIA 8800 card, too.
My MacPro was delivered 8 days ago and was running without any problems. But all of a sudden, I got that screen freeze. And it wasn't the first time, I was heavely working 2-3 hours with that computer.
In total, 2 screen freezes showed on my computer. The first one during working with the computer. The second one during booting into MacOS X. The screen freeze occured during the boot phase with the grey screen and the spinning wheel.
My configuration:
MacPro 2.8, Dual Quad Core
6 GB RAM
3 harddisks, 1 standard from Apple, 2 Samsung with 750GB
MacOS 10.5.2
Formac 20" Monitor
Perhaps others have this problem, too? Than we should emphasize, that this is not an ATI related problem.

I've actually been having the freezing issue for a while now but I didn't have the know-how to troubleshoot it (PC tech trying to support the only Mac lab in the building).
MacPro will freeze randomly (no trend in time, system strain, or open programs). The mouse will operate but will not interact with anything.
Specs:
MacPro - Model 1,1
Dual Core Xeon 2.66
2gb RAM
nVidia GeForce 7300 GT
Mac OS 10.4.11
The machine always has 2 displays connected to it so the workaround that was discussed for the ATI 2600 doesn't apply. I had 1 display connected here in my shop and it froze for that as well.
Message was edited by: DocturKnowles

Slow render speed with new Mac Pro / NVIDIA 8800

I bought a new Mac Pro to replace a dual G5 because I have a number of Motion projects to finish quickly. My local dealer recommended the NVIDIA 8800 as it has 512 mb RAM (versus 128 on my old machine). I'm finding that the render time is worse than with the G5. I have yet to successfully render a 1 minute segment using Compressor (I've left it to run overnight several times with no success).
In Activity Monitor I'm seeing this message: CompressorTranscoder (Not Responding). But none of Batch Monitor, Compressor or Motion are unresponsive - not indicating any hung applications.
I've read that version 10.5.5 has compromised the NVIDIA card with Motion but haven't been able to get any reliable corroboration. As the Mac Pro shipped with 10.5.5 I can't really roll back to an earlier version.
Any advice? Anyone with similar experiences? I'm trying to render on a new iMac with 4 GB of RAM (with the ATI 2600 video card) but it doesn't seem to be working as it is an hour in and shows at least three more hours.

ChineesYouth wrote:
there's a better post just use the search and type in 3870 or best graphics card for motion
or click here

Please help: what options do we have other than ATI Radeon X1900 XT

I think my video card (ATI Radeon X1900 XT) is about to die and I'm trying to figure out what to replace it with. (I'm on a 1st gen MacPro, still on Tiger).
What I can't easily figure out from this site, however, is a list of alternative cards I could purchase that will fit in this machine. I gather from the ratings that the ATI X1900 has failed for just about everyone that has used it intensely. And I'd like to avoid buying the same one that is about to fail for me now, but how can I tell what my alternatives are and if they will fit in the slot and/or be compatible with my machine?
I have been to the Mac Pro spec area, and it lists these as the "build to order" options:
* ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (two dual-link DVI)
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB (stereo 3D, two dual-link DVI)
* Two NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
* Three NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
* Four NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
are those the only cards I can choose from? Are there any other better options?
Forgive me if I sound like a totally idiot. I'm just trying to learn...

You should visit Bare Feats and see the various reviews and benchmarks. You have several options now available besides the ones that came originally with your model. There is now an NVidia 8800 card in a version for pre-2008 MPs, the ATI 2600, and the new ATI 3870 just released. You can learn more at Bare Feats and by searching the MP forums.
You have posted this topic in the MacBook Pro forum which is the wrong forum for your question.

After installing Maverick my Mail is really slow to load new mail. my etrecheck is below Hardware Information:      iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)      iMac - model: iMac10,1      1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores      4 GB RAM Video Information:

here is my etrecheck. Any help is appreciated
Hardware Information:
    iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)
    iMac - model: iMac10,1
    1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
    4 GB RAM
Video Information:
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400 - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software:
    OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 1 day 17:29:18
Disk Information:
    ST3500418ASQ disk0 : (500.11 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 391.48 GB (245.88 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
        BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP: 107.76 GB (94.95 GB free)
    OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H
USB Information:
    Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
        Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse
        Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
    Seagate FA GoFlex Desk 2 TB
        EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
        Time Machine Backups (disk1s2) /Volumes/Time Machine Backups: 2 TB (1.56 TB free)
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Canon MX870 series
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
    Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Kernel Extensions:
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
    [System]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitedaemon.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.crashplan.engine.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
    [System]    com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitealerts.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitestatus.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.crashplan.javacheck.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    jp.co.canon.Inkjet_Extended_Survey_Agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    uk.co.markallan.clamxav.freshclam.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Login Items:
    iTunesHelper
    Adobe Bridge CS4
    CrashPlan menu bar
    ClamXavSentry
    AdobeResourceSynchronizer
    Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2
Internet Plug-ins:
    Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 3rd-Party support link
    Musicnotes: Version: 1.18.9 3rd-Party support link
    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.03 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.38 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    Silverlight: Version: 4.0.51204.0 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.38 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
    SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.03 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    EPPEX Plugin: Version: 3.0.5.0 3rd-Party support link
    Scorch: Version: 6.1.0 3rd-Party support link
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Outdated! Update
Audio Plug-ins:
    BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
    AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9
    AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9
    iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
    WebEx: Version: 1.0 3rd-Party support link
3rd Party Preference Panes:
    Carbonite 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
    Flip4Mac WMV 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
    None
Old Applications:
    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MERP2.0
        Microsoft Error Reporting:    Version: 2.2.9 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Ship Asserts:    Version: 1.1.4 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
    Solver:    Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Add-Ins/Solver.app
    /Library/Application Support/Carbonite
        CarboniteDaemon:    Version: 1.1.14 build 604 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        CarboniteStatus:    Version: 1.1.14 build 604 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        CarboniteAlerts:    Version: 1.1.14 build 604 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office
        Microsoft Graph:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Database Utility:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Office Reminders:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Upload Center:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        My Day:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        SyncServicesAgent:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Open XML for Excel:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Alerts Daemon:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Database Daemon:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Chart Converter:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Clip Gallery:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011
        Microsoft PowerPoint:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Excel:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Outlook:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Word:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Microsoft Document Connection:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    Microsoft Language Register:    Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Additional Tools/Microsoft Language Register/Microsoft Language Register.app
    Microsoft AutoUpdate:    Version: 2.3.6 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
        /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app
Time Machine:
    Auto backup: YES
    Volumes being backed up:
        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 364.60 GB Disk used: 135.61 GB
    Destinations:
        Time Machine Backups [Local] (Last used)
        Total size: 2
        Total number of backups: 169
        Oldest backup: 2011-04-10 20:10:19 +0000
        Last backup: 2014-02-04 22:28:22 +0000
        Size of backup disk: Excellent
            Backup size 2 > (Disk size 364.60 GB X 3)
    Time Machine details may not be accurate.
    All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
Top Processes by CPU:
        16%    Solavant Demo
         9%    mds
         3%    CarboniteDaemon
         2%    WindowServer
         2%    EtreCheck
Top Processes by Memory:
    348 MB    firefox
    217 MB    clamd
    135 MB    mds_stores
    106 MB    Mail
    102 MB    softwareupdated
Virtual Memory Information:
    794 MB    Free RAM
    1.70 GB    Active RAM
    443 MB    Inactive RAM
    587 MB    Wired RAM
    1.13 GB    Page-ins
    896 KB    Page-outs

Fixing a Mavericks Installation Problem
How to manage a failed OS X Mavericks installation | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews.
Try these in order:
1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
    b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
     Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
     COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and
     after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears.
     Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
4. Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Have you guys thought about as an option to upgrade nvidia 8800 GS.etc

have you guys thought about as an option to upgrade nvidia 8800 GS to nvidia 200 series,nvidia gtx 260 and 280 model's for the 3ghz+ intel imac and your next gen line or even your towers as well even funcom and gear works are behind it 100% just as a suggestion but fairly reasonable one

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
This is a user to user board. If you have suggestions for how this board works, that's what this forum here is for. If you have feedback for new Apple products, it is best to post them here:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/
http://www.apple.com/contact/feedback.html
And be mindfull of the unsolicited ideas policy at the bottom of the form. I typically add a comment that they are free to use my ideas without compensation.

Nvidia 8800 & 2007 Power Mac = No Dice!

I am fuming that I am stuck with this 7300 video card in what is supposed to be an upgradeable, high end, premium machine; the 2007 Mac Pro.
I was going to upgrade to the Nvidia 8800 but learned that it was not compatible with the 'older' machines (good grief, I purchased this machine less than 8 months ago) and find the $400 X1900 option to be overpriced and the continued rumors of bugginess in (even the newer ones) don't make that option very enticing.
So...what do I have? I have a $2,500 Mac Pro that is less than 8 months old with a weaker video card than is currently shipping in iMacs.
I'm thinking that this will be the last Mac Pro I purchase if this problem is not addressed. Does anyone have any additional news?

If you're going to rant, at least have the decency to make sure your complaints are valid. You can get the 8800 card for your Mac Pro here
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?s=topSe llers&fnode=home/shopmac/macaccessories/displays&nplm=MB560Z/A&mco=OTkzNDY

Any Nvidia 8800 game results yet?

Hi,
Apple have very kindly agreed to exchange my 24' previous spec iMac (due too ongoing issues) for the current 24" model with the nvidia 8800 graphics card. I was just wondering if anybody's used one with games like Quake 4, Doom 3, Halo and Call of duty 2 etc?
My previous imac wasn't brilliant but coped ok and i'm curious to see if the 512mb nVidia is any improvment.
Thanks.

Okay, so after a lot of mulling over this and that. I've decided that I'm getting the 'standard' 2.4GHz 24" imac, but have just stalled over the optional upgrade of the video card to the nvidia, after all it doesn't seem to be that much more, and the video memory is doubled!
But, and here's the but, if I don't play games on my computers any more is this seemingly cheap upgrade a waste of time. I have a PS2 lying idle and a PS3 for blurays and the occasional game of virtua tennis and ridge racer (almost four months since I booted up any games) - what do I play the most? Mr Driller on the NDS. Yes, it's been a long long time since I was really into games.
I use my computer to go on the internet, email, use Word, Powerpoint and occasionally photoediting. There really is no point to upgrade the GPU is there? Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Choosing iMac model. Nvidia 8800 hotter than ATI 2600 ?

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