What’s the best graphics card for Mac Pro?

[Bernard Newnham]

Probably –

https://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-690

– “…the fastest graphics card ever built…”

Bernie

[Bernhard G.]

If price doesn’t matter, it will be the upcoming
Nvidia Quadro K5000.

If price really doesn’t matter:
Two Nvidia Quadro K5000 in one machine.

If price does matter, then the EVGA GTX570 with 2.5GB is a good choice.
But be aware: my tests have shown that openGL (GL, not CL)
has a lower performance than with the old ATI Radeon 4870.

So if 3D is Yours, than GTX570 is not the best choice.
And Apple at the moment deactivates openCL for GFX boards with
more than 2Gigs. Might change if K5000 is available with it’s 4GB.

Best regards,
Bernhard

[Robert Bracken]

Is install easy or should I take it to a shop? I’m worried that if I put it in myself would I be able to troubleshoot to get it working. Is it plug and play?

[Bernhard G.]

If You want to be at the save side, get the card from MacVidCards on eBay.
These are EVGA cards but with a modified firmware (for the OSX ‘BIOS’).

Off-the-shelf cards plug and play; but You will not see the boot screen.
You’ll only need to install CUDA and I recommend OSX 10.8.

I don’t know what You intend to to with the card;
For CUDA you could keep Your current card, get an external
PCI-E expander box and get a GTX580 with 3GB.
Or You wait for a K5000.

An official Quadro4000 would have a similar performance to a GTX570
but is also more expansive.

Best regards,
Bernhard

[Oliver Peters]

Are any of these cards qualified for a Mac Pro as the subject line specifies? Without a firmware hack? AFAIK, current, qualified cards would be the ATI 5770, 5870 or NVIDIA Quadro 4000 or FX4800 (if you can still get one).

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Oliver Peters]

Here’s the NVIDIA grid:

https://www.nvidia.com/object/workstation-solutions.html

So, Quadro 4000, FX4800 or K5000.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Jeremy Garchow]

This is worth a look:

https://fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/948-get-fcpx-running-faster-by-installing-a-pc-nvidia-geforce-gtx570-graphics-card-in-a-macpro

Not my favorite way to work with all the “hacking” but if you’re up for it…

Jeremy

[Greg Jones]

I have a GTX570 in my Mac Pro and it runs incredibly fast. Its the 1.2GB model so the only ‘hack’ I had to do was add it to a small line of text in a Premiere Pro document. No other hacks needed. I’m running 10.7.5 and Premiere Pro flys and does many layers of real time effects. That being said, Final Cut Pro X doesn’t seem to run any faster than it did with my ATI 5770, but I’m not using X so it doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve pretty much switched over to Premiere Pro CS6. I would recommend the card sold on ebay by MacVidCards as he has altered the card to boot properly in a Mac Pro.

Greg Jones
D7,Inc.
Orlando,FL.
https://www.d7-inc.com

Greg Jones
Orlando,Fl.
https://www.d7-inc.com

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Greg Jones] “hat being said, Final Cut Pro X doesn’t seem to run any faster than it did with my ATI 5770, but I’m not using X so it doesn’t really matter to me.”

That’s what the “hack” does in the video, open up OpenCL on that card which allows FPCX to run faster.

Since FCPX doesn’t use CUDA, there’s no CUDA to use, but you can reap the benefits of the OpenCL on that card, and also gain the benefits from any CUDA based apps.

Win win, unless you’re stuck on FCP Legend.

Jeremy

[Rich Rubasch]

We have the Nvidia Quadra 4000 and it made a big difference with Cinema 4d and AE. About $900.

Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production, Post, Studio Sound Stage
Founder/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com