2 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in a Mac Pro?

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Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi,



I have a Mac Pro (early 2008 version) with a single 8800GT and I was hoping to buy a second one from the apple store and install it. My question is, do I need firmware/software updates? Will it work? I am looking at running 3-4 monitors.

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  • Reply 1 of 6
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    I had thought that the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT had to be fitted in the bottom 'double height' slot – but having had a quick dig around on Apple's website just now, I can't seem to find anything to back that up.



    Perhaps you can install more than one NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in a Mac Pro?



    You can also install additional ATI Radeon HD 2600 HT cards, which feature dual Dual-Link interfaces.
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  • Reply 2 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Messiah View Post


    I had thought that the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT had to be fitted in the bottom 'double height' slot – but having had a quick dig around on Apple's website just now, I can't seem to find anything to back that up.



    Perhaps you can install more than one NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in a Mac Pro?



    You can also install additional ATI Radeon HD 2600 HT cards, which feature dual Dual-Link interfaces.



    I think two 8800GTs is the maximum supported, because there are only two connectors for 6-pin PCIe power cables. Although one could easily use Y-adapters to rig up more power connectors.



    Two 8800GTs should be fine, although if you just want more displays and don't need 3D horsepower, adding Radeon 2600 cards would be more energy-efficient. And cheaper.
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  • Reply 3 of 6
    Just watch out - bot I and a pal had this card fry in under a year within a week of eatch other
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  • Reply 4 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Messiah View Post


    I had thought that the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT had to be fitted in the bottom 'double height' slot ? but having had a quick dig around on Apple's website just now, I can't seem to find anything to back that up.



    You can stick it in any slot. The other slots just may not have a full 16 lanes of bandwidth, which matters not at all.



    Two of them will work fine, as the Mac Pro has two six-pin graphics power connectors. In fact, three will work, you just have to route the third card's extra power connector through an adapter to the optical drive bay's power connectors.
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  • Reply 5 of 6
    Just know that SLI is not supported on the Mac. All that second card will do is run the 3rd and 4th displays.
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  • Reply 6 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jason_hildo View Post


    Hi,



    I have a Mac Pro (early 2008 version) with a single 8800GT and I was hoping to buy a second one from the apple store and install it. My question is, do I need firmware/software updates? Will it work? I am looking at running 3-4 monitors.



    I'm running 2 8800GTs to power 3 displays on my MP, works fine. As another poster mentioned though, 2 is the max without hacking a power cable together. Mixing ATI and nvidia theoretically *could* be ok but I've heard of a lot of issues with the way osx handles drivers when there are 2 diff. brand cards in the machine, so I'd be very careful.
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