[Matthew Attoe]

Hi,

I wasn't really sure where to put this question; either here or in the Alternative Operating System forum. Hopefully I've made the right decision.

Can I add a PC graphics card to a Mac Pro purely for use under Bootcamp for gaming - with the relevant Windows driver?

Would be great to be able to use the Apple card for Mac OS X and then the lastest and greatest video card under Windows?

Or will doing this just blow my house up?

Many thanks,

Matthew

[mduell]

Yes, you can do that.

[Matthew Attoe]

Hi, mduell, thanks for the reply.

So, it's really as simple as that then? Just nipping out and buying whatever graphics card takes my fancy and I'm up and running? Just sounds TOOO easy for Windows

This is going to save me a ton of money, because I have been planning on building a PC gaming machine but now I won't have to!

Just out of interest though, how would Windows know to use the "proper" PC card and not the Apple card with the Apple drivers?

Thanks again for your help,

Matthew

[mduell]

Both cards will work in Windows (unless you choose to disable one in device manager... but why bother?); only the EFI-compatible card will work in OS X.

You'd probably want a DVI switchbox if you're going to do this, so you can easily switch your main display device between the two cards.

[Matthew Attoe]

Thanks again, mduell.

So, has anyone else actually done this? I would be interested to hear your experiences.

Cheers,

Matthew

[mduell]

Anandtech did it because their X1900XT was throwing corruption. Wikipedia entry for the Mac Pro also mentions it.

You can also use some COTS 'PC' video cards in OSX after booting with the stock 7300GT installed.