MacBook Pro i5 vs First Gen Mac Pro

I have a first generation Mac Pro, 2 x 2.66 Ghz as well as a Mac Book Pro, 2.2 Intel Core 2 Duo. I was thinking about selling both of them and consolidating to a new MacBook Pro i5. Will the new MBP i5's performance be equal to or exceed my current Mac Pro?

Ok, it looks like the MacBook Pro i7 does generally out perform the first generation Mac Pro.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4374/geekbench.jpg
Looks like I'll be getting the i7.

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Ugrade first gen mac pro graphics card

I have a first Gen Mac Pro and want to upgrade the graphics card for better performance with programs like C4D and After Effects....any recomendations?

The graphics card can't be upgraded. It is soldered to the logic board. Unless you actually mean a Mac Pro desktop as opposed to a MacBook Pro, in which case I know nothing about Mac Pros.

Where can high-power video cards be installed on a first-gen Mac Pro?

I have a first-gen Mac Pro with a Radeon X1900 XT in Slot-1 and a Geforce 7300 GT in Slot-4. The x1900 XT powers a 30" monitor and the 7300GT powers 2 x 20" monitors. The 7300GT card died and is being replaced with an 8800 GT.
Now it seems fairly obvious that for gaming the 8800 GT is superior to my X1900 XT. Ideally I'd like to just throw my new 8800 GT in Slot-1 and use it for my 30" monitor and then run the 2 20's off the X1900 XT in Slot-4. The problem with that is that the x1900 XT is a huge card and physically won't fit in Slot-4 because it runs in to the hard drives above it.
*Now, on to the questions / clarification:*
_Question 1_: Is the first-gen Mac Pro the same as the new Mac Pro in that high-power cards can only be used in Slot-1 and Slot-2? If so, why does it come in the standard configuration of:
Slot-1: x16
Slot-2: x1
Slot-3: x1
Slot-4: x8
It would seem that Apple purposely did this so you would run 2 high-power cards in Slot-1 and Slot-4 and keep them away from each other for heat reasons. The new Mac Pro has x16 bandwidth on Slot-1 and Slot-2 and it would make sense why they say to only install high-power cards in Slot-1 and Slot-2 for it.
_Question 2_: PCI-e configurations. There are a few ways I could tweak the configuration of the expansion slots to make this setup work. I'm curious as to which you would think is best:
*Option 1 (default PCI-e config, only works if a high-power card can be installed in slot 4):*
Slot-1: x16 - Radeon X1900 XT - 2 x 20" monitors for minor tasks / programs
Slot-2: x1
Slot-3: x1
Slot-4: x8 - GeForce 8800 GT - 30" monitor for major tasks / gaming
Now, the first issue is can the 8800 even run in Slot-4 due to the supposed power problem? If so, would there be a difference in performance for gaming at x8? I know this is backwards because you'd want the "primary" card to run on x16 but that's just not possible with this PCI-e configuration. If there is a difference in performance would an 8800 GT at x8 still run significantly faster in games than an X1900 XT a x16? I'd think so, but that's assuming the x8 isn't a real bottleneck.
*Option 2 (the only solution if the cards have to be installed in the first 2 slots):*
Slot-1: x8 - GeForce 8800 GT - 30" monitor for major tasks / gaming
Slot-2: x8 - Radeon X1900 XT - 2 x 20" monitors for minor tasks / programs
Slot-3: x4
Slot-4: x4
You still have the issue of the 8800 only running at x8 (if it even makes a difference, not sure). The benefit I see here is that instead of the X1900 XT dumping all of it's heat in to the 8800 GT (since heat rises) you have the 8800 GT on the bottom where it might run cooler. The X1900 XT would then also be limited to x8 but it's not even being used for gaming so it wouldn't matter at all. The X1900 XT is huge and would cover up Slot-3 but I don't use the other 2 slots so I don't mind.
*Option 3 (only works if Slot-3 can actually power an X1900 XT):*
Slot-1: x16 - GeForce 8800 GT - 30" monitor for major tasks / gaming
Slot-2: x1
Slot-3: x4 - Radeon X1900 XT - 2 x 20" monitors for minor tasks / programs
Slot-4: x4
This seems ideal only because this is the only setup that can get the 8800 to run at x16. The issue now is can Slot-3 run a high-power card? The card doesn't really NEED the power since it's just for running basic apps and not gaming. Again, the X1900 would cover up Slot-4 but it's not being used so no worries there.
*At the end of the day, the most important thing to figure out is:* where can high-power cards be installed in a first-gen mac pro? Once we know that we can figure out Question 2. The instructions that come with the 8800 GT say it can be installed in any of the 4 slots, but I don't know if I really believe that.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks for your help, I think we've beat this horse to death :P. I'm glad I got it all figured out though.
Now the only question is if the gaming performance of the 8800 is actually enough better than the X1900 to warrant making it my "primary" video card. As long as Adobe CS3 apps don't rely on core image like some of the Apple Pro apps do I think it will be fine. If they do I'd have to probably just stick with the X1900 since I use CS3 every single day and only play video games once a week if I'm lucky.
What are your thoughts on the X1900 vs the 8800 GT for CS3?
Edit: This just occurred to me... Since I'm going to have to run them as x8, x8, x4, x4 there isn't really going to be a "primary" card since neither will be at 16x. I guess I could technically just plug my 30" monitor in to either one of them depending on what I feel like doing. If I'm going to play a game I just plug in to the 8800 and if I'm working I plug in to the 1900. The computer is up on the desk so moving the monitor from one card to the other takes about 10 seconds. I could just plug 1 20" monitor in to each so there's always a free DVI port on either one.
It's not the most elegant but I guess it would be a good compromise if I wanted the "best" performance in either situation. I realize the Radeon 3870 is probably the best of both worlds but I really don't want the noise. I already modified my 1900 with this after 6 months of listening to the lawn mower that was the stock 1900 cooler: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=147
I'm just hoping the 8800 isn't too loud .

Replacing nvidia with ati in first gen mac pro

posted this in the using osx forum but realized this might be a better
place for this issue.
i'm debugging a problem system, a first gen mac pro, that has a 7300gt
in it. i also have a second gen mac pro that has no problems. i've
made many changes to the problem system and am coming down to my last
couple of options, one of which is swapping graphics cards. the problem
system is running an nvidia card, the problem-free box is running an ati
card. maybe a driver conflict in the nvidia driver?
the issue is that, on boot, my external sata box hangs when recognizing
the box's four channels. this does not happen on the second gen mac pro.
i'm down to the last three things:
graphics chipset differences
logic board differences between first, second gen
osx 10.4 vs osx 10.5
i'm now testing the graphics card as a possible solution. i've gotten
conflicting reports as to what graphics cards might work with a first
gen mac pro still running 10.4.11.
a tech told me that the 2600xt i have in my second gen will not work
in the first gen. on the other hand, someone here said they were using
one. will the 10.4.11 system have any necessary drivers for this card?
also, the 3870 has been recommended. i've also thought about the 4870.
i've also seen a lot of discussion about driver problems (that they're
unavailable) with regard to the 4870, that the drivers would be included
in a 10.5.7 update. if these drivers won't be available until 10.5.7,
it would seem i should stay away from the 4870 for now. but what about
the 3870? will my 10.4.11 system be able to use this card?
any info much appreciated,
BabaG

Trial and error, creative troubleshooting.
Take that one 4-drive RAID across two channels. What happens if all four are on the same channel? what if the firmware - there is firmware for the case, right?
Does Norco offer replacement PSUs?
Convert the Apple RAID to SoftRAID (I'd do that regardless anyway).
http://www.softraid.com
AND, their support people have helped me with multiple problems, even to help pin-point the er, "culprit" even when it was controller or drive (one vendor blamed Maxtor Atlas drive, then blamed Apple, we came out though showing it was their firmware on their controller card, and a new firmware was released 3 months later - it took me and SoftRAID weeks to nail it.
Some drives have delayed or staggered spinup, some do not. And some are optimized for RAID. You don't want to use drives that are not. And you want to test each drive before it is put into production (I would give a drive a week of testing before using any drive today).
Remember where SCSI controllers would also list what drives that they had certified for use with, and were known to work with? or which were not? You don't see that as much, but some do.
AMUG mentioned using the DS1220 with Sonnet Tempo E4P I think. Sonnet has their own line of rack mount storage. Get them in on the discussion. Try their controller after asking (Niel) what he thinks and knows about Norco.
You don't mention what you use or have done, but swapping out controllers, and having a spare or backup is often helpful. Even a "given."
Put a good watt meter (if it logs all the better) to see what kind of current draw or peak inrush your setup exhibit. Put the Mac and the storage rack on separate UPS, either APC SMART or RS800VA, and line conditioner (ZeroSurge).
12 x 25W and I'd probably want as large a PSU and high efficiency unit.

What happened to the 8800 GT upgrade cards for the first-gen Mac Pro?

I have a first-gen Mac Pro (System Profiler says model identifier is "MacPro2,1" which I think still makes it a first-gen model), and I was considering upgrading to the 8800 GT so I could take advantage of OpenCL, since the 7300 GT I have is not supported, according to Apple's page. ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html )
However, I can't seem to find the card anywhere on Apple's store site, or anywhere else, for that matter. Does anyone know what happened? Can I still buy the 8800 GT for my Mac Pro? If not, what OpenCL-compatible card can I upgrade to? Apple only seems to have the ATI X1900 XT in their store.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

{quote:title=Malcolm Rayfield wrote:}
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (Despite what Apple says, it works in any Mac Pro.)
<http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB999ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=NDE4NDMxOA>
Have you done it, or know someone that has put it in a 1st gen Mac Pro?
I'm just double checking so I don't waste my time.
Message was edited by: JeffDM2

FIRST GEN MAC PRO AND THE 8800GT

I am just about to press the BUY NOW button.
will the 8800gt upgrade kit work on my mac pro?
Pretty sure is was bought in 2007
the spec is:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B08
SMC Version: 1.7f10
Also...
When they say upgrade kit - it is just a standalone card right?
I don't need any other card to work with this?
Thanks Dan
ps - sorry for being a total tech novice

Re the statement in Barefeats' 2600 vs 8800 test that the latter's 3D advantage should also apply when used in pro apps using OpenGL (like After Effects preview), there are those who claim frame rate is mainly a result of the amount of RAM installed and not the video card used:
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/2/919134 (older article though).
Then there is the finding by Barefeats - much to 8800 users' irritation/confusion - that the 8800 is not great at pro applications (that's the Harper10 link Hatter included).
I can only say I'm real happy with the 8800 and that it hasn't let me down once so far.
Here are some further links:
http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/systemreqs/
http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/opengl.html
/p
Cinema 4D was just recently updated btw: http://www.maxon.net/pages/dynfiles/dyn_htx/htx/2400/0240002401.html
Message was edited by: pullman

Adding 2nd Optical Drive into Mac Pro (first gen) makes both unusable!

Hey all,
I recently purchased a second DVD drive to go into my first gen Mac Pro 2.66Ghz.
The installation went a little rough, although OK in the end. The IDE cable seemed reluctant to want to stay in a safe place.
Upon booting however, and now had no optical drives installed!
Even System Profiler reported no disc burning capabilities except my external USB CD Burner.
I've taken the second Optical Drive out, which by the way was one of these: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Samsung/SHS202NBLS/
My original Sony (Disguised NEC drive) drive is now working again, although what on earth happened?
Should I try swapping the drives around? E.g the Sony on the bottom and Samsung on top?
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Thanks,

I have an idea,
Perhaps the newer DVD Drive I have here is "better" than the currently installed one, and therefore doesn't like being connected as the slave (bottom) to the "weaker" master (top) drive?
Could it be something like that?

8800 GT crapped out, 1st-gen Mac Pro

When I tried to turn on Mac Pro today, the monitor didn't appear to be receiving any video, and the fan on my GPU was at full speed without stopping. The computer otherwise seemed to be working fine (startup sound played, could hear hard drives working). I ruled out the monitor as the issue, and upon replacing the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT with an old ATI X1900 XT I had lying around, the computer started working fine. The ATI was the original card that came with the Mac, which I replaced with the Nvidia about 3 years ago.
The problem now is that I need a replacement for the 8800GT. Unfortunately, I have a first-gen Mac Pro (2006) and my warranty ran out, so a free repair is not likely. I called the local Apple store, who forwarded me to Apple support, who told me that Apple doesn't have any 1st-gen Mac Pro compatible 8800s lying around. They suggested I check Newegg, but after some time trying to struggle through the site I don't believe they have any either.
So, I guess my question is, what now? My Mac functions fine with the X1900XT, but the reason the card was replaced was because it performed terribly, overheated often, and had artifact issues, so I'd rather not keep it.
This is my first experience trying to replace hardware out of warranty, and coming from PCs it's hard to imagine there are no replacements out there. Do I have to live with the ATI, or does anyone know if/where I can find a replacement 8800?
I have a MacPro1,1, dual Intel Xeon 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, latest version of Mac OS X.

BTW, 9.5 Minutes in a 425F oven has about 50/50 odds of reviving your 8800GT. You need to remove fan first. There are multiple "how tos" on web. I have done this with MANY 8800GTs and can report odds really are about 50% that card can resume normal life.
Issue was early Lead Free solder.

Can you have 2 ATI 3870 cards in a 1st gen Mac pro

I have a first gen Mac pro my system specs is 2 x 2.66 Ghz Dual Core Xeon. I was wondering if its possible to install 2 graphics. Does anyone have any information on if this is possible and if so can you get cross fire to work on the pc side for gaming.

Yes you can. I have a 1st Gen Mac Pro with 2 ATI 3870s and crossfire mode when I run Windows with Bootcamp.
On the mac side install the drivers BEFORE you put the hardware in.
Install them in the two lower pcie slots and connect them with both crossfire cables. You have to go into the expansion slot utility (HD>System>Library>CoreServices>Expansion Slot Utility) and change the configuration of the two lower slots (slots 1 & 2) to be 8 lanes each.
In bootcamp: After you physically install the cards you need to remove all current gpu drivers from Windows and then install the new drivers for the 3870s.
I just did this myself not even a month ago after several days of frustration of trying to make it work. The key is to make sure the pcie slots are both equal at 8 lanes. Nothing worked until I did that.
Works great but is quite loud. I'm looking into passive cooling systems now...

Well its been about 7 weeks - Any news on a 8800Gt for 1st gen Mac Pro's ?

It was January when the masses were pacified with the announcement of a 8800gt card for us old timers - you know those super out of date , non-upgradeable video 1st mac pro's .....
Why are we being ' dead ended ' like this on video ? The 7300 and 1900 are not at all ' modern ' video cards - why are we being treated like this ? Did we do something wrong ? Did not enough people buy the first gen mac pro ? I the first gen mac pro so under engineered it cant handle the 8800gt or ati2600 ? (2600 is not officially supported by Apple for older mac pro's) ....
Why did my Mac Pro have slots ? Next time just solder the video on ... because thats what I feel like you did to me Apple...... Thanks alot....

+1 for that. Just looking for the answer to two things: will the 8800GT upgrade be available -- as promised -- for 1st generation Mac Pros; if so, what's the ETA?

First Gen iPod reformat from MAC to PC?

Is it possible to reformat a first gen MAC formatted iPod so that it will work on PC? Also, is there a way to save the songs that are currently on it before the reformat so that I may upload them again on to it once it is PC ready? thanks

I highly doubt it because windows uses the FAT32 format while the Mac uses HFS Plus which is why windows needs a program like itunes to transfer files. So no i doubt you could do it.

Recently got a new iPod 4th gen; I had previously backed up to iCloud and subscribed to iTunes Match, and then wound up syncing the new iPod to my MacBook Pro; all iCloud tunes were downloaded to Mac but won't all sync to the iPod - any suggestions?

Recently got a new iPod Touch 4th gen; I had previously backed up to iCloud and subscribed to iTunes Match, and then wound up syncing the new iPod to my MacBook Pro; all iCloud tunes were downloaded to Mac but won't all sync to the iPod after multiple attempts, despite all songs showing properly on the Mac and multiple syncs occurring after all songs were properly reflected on the Mac. I updated iTunes Match from the iTunes Store menu as well pre-sync.
I should mention that I had previously had the library on a Dell (which is still running) and shared it on my home network. While all iTunes purchases now show in the Dell, the Mac is the device I use for all syncs.
There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the iCloud physical sync failure - some songs were legacy, some were purchased via the PC, some on the old iPod.
The Mac shows all the songs correctly and none show iCloud status -all have been downloaded, but the downloaded songs that were previously showing up as iCloud based aren't syncing to the iPod.
Is there any way to force all music being seen by my iPod as iCloud to download to so I can listen to them offline? Is there a way to force the sync from iTunes?

The "system" performed as designed. All devices syncing to one iCloud account are kept in common sync. The idea is that all such devices belong to one user. Different users should have different iCloud accounts. Once your contacts were edited, all devices were updated as well and subsequent backups (from yours and her device) reflected the changed contacts (and any other data that may have been edited like calendars). Your first task is to change your daughter over to a new account before she makes other changes.
The only way I see for getting back contacts is to restore them from a time machine backup, assuming you also have a Mac included in the account which syncs the contacts. However, I'm not sure whether time machine includes contacts from iCloud along with those that are local, "on my Mac".
Otherwise the deleted contacts are gone.

TS1591 iPod 7th gen not showing up in iTunes (Macbook Pro) on first try

hi guys. i have an ipod 7th gen and just recently bought a macbook pro. what i noticed right away was that whenever i try to plug in and update my ipod, the icon shows up on the desktop but the iPod itself does not show up in iTunes. i have to unplug then re-plug in my iPod and that usually does the trick. a trick which is annoying to do because im sure most people with iPods dont have this problem. help please

Hey there Miles,
It sounds like your iPod isn't showing in iTunes when you connect it to your Mac. I would start with this bit from the following article:
iPod not appearing in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3716
First, try the steps in the iPod Troubleshooting Assistant which applies to your iPod.
If you still cannot get the device to appear in iTunes, use the following link to help troubleshoot it:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1591?viewlocale=en_US
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
Sterling

First Gen MacBook Pro and no firewire 800. Suggestions for capturing video?

My first gen MacBook Pro only has one Firewire 400 port and nothing else (I got in a argument with a mac store clerk regarding the truth of this statement). My external hard drive has one Firewire 400 port, two Firewire 800 ports, and 1 USB. So far as I know the standard for most video cameras are still Firewire 400, in which case daisy chaining is out of the question (considering I will be using that port to connect to my computer). Any suggestions on how to capture video straight from a deck to my external hard drive?
Thanks!
MacBookPro1,1 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I think you can use a FW800/400 adapter and daisy chain your camera to the drive.
http://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-FireWire-800-Adapter-FAD-824/dp/B0000CDJPQ

New Airport Extreme to First Gen MacBook Pro Losing Connectivity

I just purchased the latest Airport Extreme and am having severe issues between my MacBook Pro and the Airport Extreme. My wireless connection will appear to "hang" as according to the menu bar icon it will appear connected but if I click the drop down it does not show any status information (whether is it connected via PPPoE or not) on the wireless network the Airport Extreme is providing. During the time that no status information is provided the Macbook Pro is unable to access anything across the wireless. Other computers (non-macs) that are using the wireless continue to work fine as if there are no issues so it appears that it has to do with how my Macbook Pro is receiving connectivity information. Sometimes it seems that I can get it to start working again if I click wireless network icon and it rescans for wireless networks. I am currently unsure whether its using wireless A or G (this is a first gen MacBook Pro) but will try to determine that.

Bump

MacBook Pro i5 vs First Gen Mac Pro

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