ATI Radeon HD X1900 XT Problem NEED HELP!

digital disasta

I have a 3 year old Mac Pro with a ATI Radeon HD X1900 XT card. This card has blown on me twice in three years. Once Apple replaced it for free under Apple Care, this time I'm not so lucky. I am being told from this certified Apple repair place that the ATI Radeon HD X1900 XT is not made anymore. I do a lot of graphic design work and I have a 24" Cinema Display. What cards should I be looking at as a good replacement? I don't know a lot about graphics cards so I'm in the dark here. Anyone have any advise here?

marvin

The NVidia 8800 GT upgrade kit would be good but Apple don't stock it any more - you will be able to get it somewhere though. You can also get the GT 120, which is what they use in the latest Mac Pros:



http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC002ZM/A



Apple says minimum 09 Mac Pro but the reviews say it works just fine in 08 models. This way you get Mini-Displayport if you ever decide you want the new 24" LED Cinema Display. The 8800GT is an older model but it's faster.



If money isn't a huge concern, you can also check out the GTX 285:



http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW...1&s=topSellers



That card is very powerful and will handle anything you throw at it for a while. Design work doesn't actually make heavy use of the GPU though so the GT120 would be adequate. The GTX 285 will only really show its strength when apps start using OpenCL or if you do motion graphics work.



I would say if you will only ever do static design work like Indesign, Illustrator etc and won't have any need for 3D or motion graphics, save the money and get the GT120.

If you want a card that will be a bit more future-proof for performance, get the GTX 285.



edit: the GTX 285 probably won't work in a 2006 Mac Pro. Try the Radeon 4870 instead - it also has Mini-displayport:



http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB999ZM/A