Nvidia 8800 for the mac??

[eofeapr]

Hey All

I've been looking at the possibility of a MAC lately and trying to piece one together.

My question is wether the Nvidia 8800GT is different for the MAC as opposed to the PC?

My impression, thus far, is that the MAC version is built without SLI capability as compared to PC version.

I find the the standard 8800GT is considerably less money than one that is 'made for MAC',,, and I hope to opt for the cheaper one without problems..


Anyone who knows please chime in...

thnx
joe

 

[nitromullet]

Yes, they are different, although some PC 8800GTs are flashable to make them work with macs.

http://forums.hexus.net/apple-...de-bios-flash-mod.html
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9689
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/arc...r08/030608.html#S24044

edit: YMMV...

 

[OCGuy]

Dont....do it......

 

[themisfit610]

Why not? If you get an 8800gt flashed with the proper EFI/BIOS image there's no difference. Apple overcharges obscenely for their video cards (and all other options on their computers, though the base MacPro is a total steal).

~MiSfit

 

[Ratman6161]

Originally posted by: eofeapr
Hey All

I've been looking at the possibility of a MAC lately and trying to piece one together.....

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you mean when you say " piece one together"?

 

[will889]

hackintosh maybe?

 

[AmdInside]

Mac 8800GT is different from PC 8800GT. Mac 800GT is more like a QuadroFX without 3d stereo support.

 

[Barfo]

Originally posted by: eofeaprMy impression, thus far, is that the MAC version is built without SLI capability as compared to PC version.

That would be because a snobby mac 8800 won't speak to other less trendy video cards even if they have the same technical capability.

 

[themisfit610]

Mac 8800GT is different from PC 8800GT. Mac 800GT is more like a QuadroFX without 3d stereo support.

Source???

AFAIK they're exactly the same, sans SLI capability and the special ROM. It's possible the Mac DRIVERS enable some of the Quadro functions for Maya etc.. but in that case they'd do the same thing to a modded vanilla 8800gt

~MiSfit

 

[eofeapr]

Originally posted by: Ratman6161

Originally posted by: eofeapr
Hey All

I've been looking at the possibility of a MAC lately and trying to piece one together.....

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you mean when you say " piece one together"?

Sorry for the loose wording,,, I mean like buy a MAC that's pretty strip down and upgrade it myself


thnx

 

[eofeapr]

Originally posted by: will889
hackintosh maybe?

Nah !! not gonna even try that till it's been around and made more stable,,,, but by the time that happens I may be into a PRO anyhow


thnx

 

[eofeapr]

Originally posted by: AmdInside
Mac 8800GT is different from PC 8800GT. Mac 800GT is more like a QuadroFX without 3d stereo support.

I like the sound of that !!

thnx

 

[Seggybop]

If you flash a normal 8800GT (or most any G92) with the mac bios, it will work exactly the same as if you burned your money on the official apple version. The only problem is that some 8800GT have a smaller rom chip that can't hold the mac firmware. I think the EVGA models were confirmed to have the larger chip, but google would help. There was also some work on using the hackintosh drivers to run normal cards without flashing, but I don't know how far that went.

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: AmdInside
Mac 8800GT is different from PC 8800GT. Mac 800GT is more like a QuadroFX without 3d stereo support.

From a hardware standpoint an 8800 gt is a quadro without 3d stereo support too. It's all about the drivers and bios.

 

[eofeapr]

So this all leads me to ask is if it is how is it possible to flash a GPU,that is something I've never done ??

Oh,, silly me,, I'd imagine it's just a driver update,, yes ????

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: eofeapr
So this all leads me to ask is if it is how is it possible to flash a GPU,that is something I've never done ??

Oh,, silly me,, I'd imagine it's just a driver update,, yes ????

not exactly

 

[covert24]

ive done it before and its not as painful as it may seem. although there IS a higher chance of turning your video card into a paper weight, if you know what you are doing and make sure you are flashing the card with the RIGHT BIOS, than you wont run into any walls.

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: eofeapr
So this all leads me to ask is if it is how is it possible to flash a GPU,that is something I've never done ??

Oh,, silly me,, I'd imagine it's just a driver update,, yes ????

If you are of the mind-set that a hackintosh is too hard then flashing a video card may not be your cup of tea.