What 2nd video card to buy for my MAC PRO ?

sternonesternone
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hello,



I have a 2008 intel 8 core mac pro with a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB with 2x 30 inch cinema displays.



I want to add 2 smaller displays, what is the best card to add ? Find the same Nvidia Geforce 8800GT ? Or can I buy another one ?



Do i have to buy it specially for mac or are the pc video cards off the shelve working on the mac ?



THANKS!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sternone View Post


    Hello,



    I have a 2008 intel 8 core mac pro with a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB with 2x 30 inch cinema displays.



    I want to add 2 smaller displays, what is the best card to add ? Find the same Nvidia Geforce 8800GT ? Or can I buy another one ?



    Do i have to buy it specially for mac or are the pc video cards off the shelve working on the mac ?



    THANKS!



    Video cards are independent of each other. Of course, you will want a card that can drive your second monitor. Otherwise, it is OK to mix and match. You cannot, however, use Mac and PC cards interchangeably. They use different firmware.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    sternonesternone Posts: 80member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    Video cards are independent of each other. Of course, you will want a card that can drive your second monitor. Otherwise, it is OK to mix and match. You cannot, however, use Mac and PC cards interchangeably. They use different firmware.



    Thanks for your message, so I will have to buy them from the apple store ?
  • Reply 3 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sternone View Post


    Thanks for your message, so I will have to buy them from the apple store ?



    Any reputable retailer that advertises Mac video cards will do. The Apple Store is in that number.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    seek3rseek3r Posts: 179member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    Video cards are independent of each other. Of course, you will want a card that can drive your second monitor. Otherwise, it is OK to mix and match. You cannot, however, use Mac and PC cards interchangeably. They use different firmware.



    back when I bought my second video card (I have 2 8800s) there were performance issues in osx (then leopard) with having both the ati and nvidia drivers loaded at the same time. I don't know if that's been ironed out or not, but you may want to either look into it or play it safe and pick up another nvidia card.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    djdtdjdt Posts: 1member
    Hi,

    I am running dual 8800's right now, highly recommended. They are nice solid cards, with low profile construction, unlike the ATI's. There is plenty of airflow around them, even with two.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    sternonesternone Posts: 80member
    Sorry I'm not that technical but It seems to be a 8800 PCIe 2nd generation will work, but do I have 2 of those slots in my mac pro ? There seems to be a connection to the motherboard, does that second card needs that also ?
  • Reply 7 of 8
    seek3rseek3r Posts: 179member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sternone View Post


    Sorry I'm not that technical but It seems to be a 8800 PCIe 2nd generation will work, but do I have 2 of those slots in my mac pro ? There seems to be a connection to the motherboard, does that second card needs that also ?



    You have 2 slots on your machine allocated for 16-lane pci-e 2.0, yes. The card will come with a power cable, though you will have to plug it into the motherboard yourself (the second plug is right next to the one already used for your current card).
  • Reply 8 of 8
    sternonesternone Posts: 80member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by seek3r View Post


    You have 2 slots on your machine allocated for 16-lane pci-e 2.0, yes. The card will come with a power cable, though you will have to plug it into the motherboard yourself (the second plug is right next to the one already used for your current card).



    Thanks for all the posts, I installed the second video card into my macpro and it works perfectly.
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