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+--- Thread: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? (/showthread.php?tid=95629)
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Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - GeneL - 04-12-2010
Here's my computer:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Every so often I see "deals" on video cards in the newsletters that I receive or posted about here on the forum. http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,918924,918940#msg-918940
I've always wondered if there would be a benefit in upgrading, since I just do pretty basic things with my computer.
I would, of course, like to gain some speed in various functions, such as apps opening, pages loading, etc.
Are there any video cards that would give me some kind of boost at a reasonable cost and also not be noisy due to having a fan?
Thanks for your thoughts,
GeneL
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - M A V I C - 04-12-2010
If you're not in Photoshop or other graphics or video editing apps a lot, the then only advantage you're going to get is if you like to have a ton windows open or play really high quality videos.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - SurfMacJpMtb - 04-12-2010
I added an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT that I purchased from Apple (part #: MB198Z/A). It was ~$150 in early 2008.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - rjmacs - 04-12-2010
You'll get more speed boost in day-to-day activities by maxxing out the RAM and getting a 10K RPM spindle-speed boot drive, not replacing the video card. What do you have in this machine?
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - Panopticon - 04-12-2010
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB - GDDR3 SDRAM for Mac Pro will set you back $149. J&R, Amazon, etc. all carry it.
...relatively inexpensive? no, but you won't have to perform voodoo to get it working.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - ka jowct - 04-12-2010
In the past, I have never gotten a perceptible or significant boost for kind of things you describe from a graphics card upgrade, compared to maxing out RAM or upgrading the processor. Maybe this is no longer true. But if apps are launching slowly and web pages are loading slowly, you may have other issues.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - jdc - 04-12-2010
ka jowct wrote:
In the past, I have never gotten a perceptible or significant boost for kind of things you describe from a graphics card upgrade, compared to maxing out RAM or upgrading the processor. Maybe this is no longer true. But if apps are launching slowly and web pages are loading slowly, you may have other issues.
I agree.
7300 is a dog, but for what you are doing its still overkill.
Sounds like the whole Macpro is overkill for what you are doing.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - M A V I C - 04-12-2010
rjmacs wrote:
You'll get more speed boost in day-to-day activities by maxxing out the RAM and getting a 10K RPM spindle-speed boot drive, not replacing the video card. What do you have in this machine?
Check the numbers of 2TB drives and compare them against the 10k RPM drives. In many castes, the 2TB drives are faster.
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - rjmacs - 04-12-2010
M A V I C wrote:
[quote=rjmacs]
You'll get more speed boost in day-to-day activities by maxxing out the RAM and getting a 10K RPM spindle-speed boot drive, not replacing the video card. What do you have in this machine?
Check the numbers of 2TB drives and compare them against the 10k RPM drives. In many castes, the 2TB drives are faster.
Link?
Re: Is there a relatively inexpensive video card upgrade for my MacPro? - GeneL - 04-12-2010
Once again, I didn't get any sleep, so I'll wait until tomorrow morning to see what everyone has to say and post my thanks and follow up questions then.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your ideas.
GeneL