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Can a new PMac Use a PC Graphics Card?
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Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Los Angeles
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I want to get a PMac Quad, but want a better graphics card than the stock nvidea 6600 (and I'm not spending $1650 for the Quad card, either). The Nvidea 7800 is perfect, but Apple isn't listing it as a BTO option, and a few sales reps at the Apple Online Store have indicated that it might be a few months before that card is available as a BTO option.
So....is it possible to buy an nvidea 7800 for a PC, and get it to work in the PMac's new PCI-E expansion slot?
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Admin Emeritus  Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
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It's a driver and firmware issue. The Mac has no control over this, no matter what interface it uses.
I'd say no.
tooki
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Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Los Angeles
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Dec 2003
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I think that at the very least, you would need the firmware from a working 7800 Mac card. Catch-22...
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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As long as Apple continues to use the current OpenFirmware system in the PowerPC Macs, you won't be able to drop in any PC graphics card. And the Mac cards will probably continue to be 30-100% more expensive.
After the Intel switch, I'd expect Apple to use the same cards as the rest of the industry.
Slightly off topic: Anyone know which ODM Apple uses for thier nVidia cards? If I recall correctly they use Sapphire for their ATi cards.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2005
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you can use pc cards in macs i am right now. you can reflash and they will work. i am using a pc radeon 9800pro at which you can pick up hella cheaper than the mac version (128mb one).
check out xlr8yourmac.com and check out their forums they talk alot about flashing pc video cards to work with macs. it will work, altho not the easiest to do it can be done. now it might be somewhat different with the new pci-e cards but im sure these will be cracked and can do the same as you can do with the pci and agp cards
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Moderator  Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona
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Using a flashed and hacked PC video card in a Mac is not 'using a PC graphics card in a Mac'. It's 'turning a PC graphics card into a Mac graphics card'.
There is a difference.
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I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2005
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What about finding the Mac version of the Radeon X850 or nVidia 6800 Ultra? Does anyone sell these other than Apple? Can Apple still put a 6800 Ultra in even though its not a "BTO" option on the Quad?
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Originally Posted by westrock
Can Apple still put a 6800 Ultra in even though its not a "BTO" option on the Quad?
No. The only 6800U Apple has is AGP not PCIe.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: ~/
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Originally Posted by westrock
What about finding the Mac version of the Radeon X850 or nVidia 6800 Ultra? Does anyone sell these other than Apple? Can Apple still put a 6800 Ultra in even though its not a "BTO" option on the Quad?
As stated above, the only 6800-based card Apple offers is AGP, not PCIe. Same goes for the X850XT.
You can buy the X800XT AGP at retail from ATI, though the X850XT is (was) only available as a BTO on the previous round of AGP-based G5s. I believe Apple still sells the nvidia 6800 GT DDL, though I don't think the 6800 Ultra DDL is offered any longer.
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