MacPro 3.1 (early 2008), Radeon 5770 or 5870 and FCPX?

MacPro 3.1 (early 2008), Radeon 5770 or 5870 and FCPX?

So Radeon 2600 is NOT supported. In the past many people have upgraded MacPro 3.1 (even 1.1.) to Radeon 5770 and found it worked perfectly with everything they threw out it.

The question I have is given the App Store detection/rejection, will upgraded to 5770 or 5870 allow one to install and use FCPX?

Basically is someone has a 5770 on an older MacPro and was able to purchase and use FCPX today, please confirm.

Hi Craig,
Im running a macpro 1,1 with the GPU upgraded to a Radeon 5770 and FCPX installed and runs without problems (although i would SERIOUSLY try it out before you consider buying it)

Thanks Josh B.
I'm not sure what you mean by

Quote
SERIOUSLY try it out before you consider buying it

Since neither the 5770 nor FCPX can be tried before buying.

What are you gun shy about? Is it that you're not yet sure the 5770 and FCPX get along in your MacPro 1.1?
Granted FCPX may not be ready for "prime time" but I do think it will eventually and $249 for a 5770 is a lot less expensive than a MacPro which will be on my shopping list eventually after then next model update or the one following when the new CPU chips come out.

The Radeon 5770 for a Mac Pro 1.1 (which I have) is a no brainer. Performance improvement is astounding. It will give your machine a new lease on life. And with more apps harnessing GPU cycles, it makes it an even better investment than it was 6 months ago. Your Mac will run quieter as well.

Andrew thanks for that. My trepidation had to do with App Store's FCPX compatibility detection and the use of a GPU in a system they say they don't support. I know the 5770 is a great improvement (even for my MacPro 3.1) but I wanted to know if FCPX can be purchased with such a system.

Have you purchased FCPX with your system?

Someone claims to have purchased FCPX on a Radeon 1900 system which clearly isn't supported so I'm still a little gun shy about what "works" and what "really works."

No Craig I have not, however, I am confident someone will chime in soon who uses that card. Lots of people have it.

... the trying it before you buying it was in reference to FCPX!! I would highly recommend grabbing the graphics card though, its worked a treat in terms of kicking new life into my old system.

So to confirm for you, fcpx will work with a 5770 in a macpro1,1 - in fact i've had no compatability issues at all since putting the new GPU in although it isn't officially supported by apple.

- im certain it will work in the 3,1!

Thanks Josh. I ordered the 5770 next day delivery. Should ship tomorrow and I should have it by Thursday.
I've heard other reports similar to yours at this point.

At the very least it'll improve Motion performance in FCS2009 and let me play with the new FCPX Training Apps while Apple get's the pro features ready over the next few months.

Craig, one thing you should know about the 5770 is, if you hook up 2 monitors to the display ports and the monitors are over 22" in size, you need to use at least one, dual-link adapter on one of the display ports. If you don't one of your monitors will not show up. There is a 3rd port on the card, which you probably know about, that is a DVI port. There are no caveats on monitor size with this one although the display port connections are more efficient with GPU resources and refresh time is faster (based on subjective observation).

I have 23" "Aluminum" Cinema Display and 24" HP LP2475W. I think both are using DVI at the moment which is what the 2600 supports. So would I need miniDisplay to DVI for one monitor?

[support.apple.com]

Two DVI displays - Mini DisplayPort - Use Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter or Use Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter
Dual-Link DVI - Connect to display

So I'll need an adaptor for one monitor. I'm near 4 Apple Stores as well as Tekserve so I hope one of them has it in stock.
This
Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter for $29 - Use the Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter to connect an advanced digital monitor, such as the 20- or 23-inch Apple Cinema Display, that includes a DVI connector.
[store.apple.com]

So I don't think I'll need the Dual Link just the the basic to DVI for 2nd monitor.
The HP-LP2475w does have a Display Port but not a miniDisplay port. I don't see a miniDisplay to Display Port adaptor though.

Craig, I believe your thinking is correct. The display port to DVI connectors are standard fare at stores that sell Apple gear.

Hi Guys,

I have a Mac Pro 2,1 - 8core - 8gb - 10.6.8 - May 2007

I want to upgrade the graphics card to either 5770 or 5870.

1) Will both work on my Mac?
2) For FCPX, After effects etc, is spending more on the 5870 going to be worth it?

Kind Regards
Jon

I have a 3,1 as well, but it still has the original GeForce 8800 GT. What would be the best card to upgrade to or would my 8800 work okay?

FCP 7.0.3, PPro CS5.5, MPro Octo 2.8, 16 gigs RAM, Matrox MXO2, Sony EX1

I have MacPro 3.1. Replaced 2600 with 5770. FCPX, Motion, Compressor install and work fine.
All reports show 5770 and I think 5870 work back to original MacPro 1.1.
I remember reading a report at Barefeats that he saw no difference for Pro Apps between 5770 and 5870. A big difference for games. Of Course ProApps have changed so maybe 5870 is taken advantage of now but I've seen no tests. Maybe I'll request he test 5870 with Motion 5 (where I suspect the difference would be evident if there were any). 5770 works in all MacPros though.

Have you tried buying FCPX from the App Store? If the GPU is not compatible it'll block the purchase and a popup will tell you your graphics card is not compatible.
See this KB also although people are finding it inaccurate. 1900 does work. iMac with 2600 works but MacPro does not for example. Best to test by attempting a purchase.
[support.apple.com]

Wait a minute. Don't we need Open GL support for Final Cut Pro X?
To my knowledge these cards don't support it. Maybe I'm completely wrong.
I don't know much about graphic cards but I started researching and I have the same Mac Pro (early 2008)
I was thinking about the NVIDA Quadro 4000 for Mac

janbecker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wait a minute. Don't we need Open GL support for
> Final Cut Pro X?
> To my knowledge these cards don't support it.
> Maybe I'm completely wrong.
> I don't know much about graphic cards but I
> started researching and I have the same Mac Pro
> (early 2008)
> I was thinking about the NVIDA Quadro 4000 for Mac

Open CL too and those cards listed are the ones that are INCOMPATIBLE.