New MacPro -(dual) ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Greetings all,
This is my first post to the Apple Discussions in general...so pardon if I missed something earlier posted.
I am strongly considering getting one of the new MacPros (specifically the dual 2.8 quad, 2 GB RAM, 1 350 or 500GB HDD). I am caught with a dilemma regarding waiting for the 8800 or going with the dual 2600 config.
I would prefer not to wait the 3-5 weeks for the 8800 but would be willing to if having 2 2600s isn't much of a performance boost compared to the 8800.
This is how I mainly plan to use my new system (assuming basic day to day usage e-mail web browsing, general mac usage, etc).
-Dual boot (Mac OS and Vista Ultimate)
-Mac side usage would range from iPhoto/iMovie/DVD authoring to playing the latest Mac games
-PC side are primarily gaming (Halo 2, Lord of the Rings Online, etc) and Media Center
Does anyone have input with the above said scenario or any other general compatibility issues with how I plan to use the system? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
-Hanover

hi!
tomorrow i'll order my new mac pro and got a similar question regarding these 2 cards.
i wanna buy 2x24" tft's too, not sure which one but i'll be some of the "cheap low-tec" ones ( ) like the new dell E248WFP, samsung 245B, lg L246WH or iilyama B2403WS
i know that the dell & samsung "only" tn panels so i'm not sure, if it make sense for me to wait or buy the 8800 later.
the 90% usage is audio with logic and some digital lifestyle things. the other 10% it could be that i install the dark side os on an external drive but only to play some games (if the future 24" tft let me ). i don't know which games i'll pay, in the past it was just the strategy multiplayer shooter from tom clancy, like ghost recon and rainbow six (the native mac versions). but i've seen that there ar e some new one out but only for pc.
so what's your advice for me? does make any difference to alternative order 2 2600's, each for one of the 24"?
thx alot and best regards

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Message was edited by: Todd DeBonis1

No and No.

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Mac Pro (Early 2008):
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Last Modified: March 15, 2011
Article: TS3630
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3630
Symptoms
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*+ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT:+*
+Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 2600+
+Type: Display+
+Bus: PCIe+
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+EFI Driver Version: 01.00.252+
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+Core Image: Hardware Accelerated+
+Main Display: Yes+
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+Online: Yes+
+Quartz Extreme: Supported+
+Rotation: Supported+
*+Display Connector:+*
+Status: No Display Connected+
--------------

ok walter, we gonna help you no problem. maybe try shutting down your mac pro and
using some compressed air and clean that out, especially the ATI Radeon 2600. Dust bunnies love the video cards. then restart, open up disk utility and repair permissions
if you can. If not, then yes, your video card is probably dying. Go to the Apple at the corner of your screen and click on "About this Mac" and it should tell you what kind of Mac Pro you have. As far as I know the ATI 5770 would be a good replacement for your ATI 2600. Apparently they were known to collect dust pretty easily, or so I was told. do you have Applecare? otherwise, I think it's gonna be around $300. Luckily installation isn't too hard. Oh, and you're probably going to need to have 10.6 already installed on your Mac Pro, I think
well, enough
John B

New MacPro -(dual) ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

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