EVGA rolls out GeForce GTX 285 graphics card for Mac Pros
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 10th 2009 7:24PM
posted June 10th 2009 7:24PM
We got plenty of advance word about this one, but EVGA has finally gotten fully official with its Mac Pro-friendly version of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 285 graphics card, which is now available to order from the Apple Store for the not so low price of $450. That'll of course get you a card that's mostly identical to its less-than-new PC counterpart, including 1GB of DDR3 memory, a whopping 240 processing cores, a memory clock speed a 2,584MHz, memory bandwidth of 159GB/sec, and a pair of dual-link DVI ports that can each drive a 30-inch monitor at 2,560 x 1,600 with ease -- assuming you can still afford a pair of 30-inch monitors after you shell out for one of these, that is.
[Via PC World]
[Via PC World]
shaunisadirty:
Nice trolling there, you pathetic, homophobic, pc sycophant.
And they said Macs couldn't get their game on.
This + Cider = Ultimate mac gaming experience.
Meh I sold my MacPro to build my rig now. Q9550 @ 3.4GHz, GTX280 & 8GB of RAM. Whoops ass on my MacPro. Windows gaming is far superior to anything OSX offers right now.
Also have fun paying $210 more for the same fucking card because it has a BIOS flashed for the Mac.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130492
"Ultimate mac gaming experience." - $2000 = Ultimate gaming experience.
Well, will you look at that, it's the SAME as the "Ultimate mac gaming experience."
What do the auxiliary power cables connect to in there? There aren't any standard molex connectors in a Mac Pro.
And all this money and not even a display port connector?
There are no displayport connectors on any Nvidia card as far as I can tell. The GTX 295 cards have the two DVI connectors plus a HDMI connector.
Man you are behind with the times! Molex's haven't been seen on graphics cards since the days of the GeForce FX and what not. PCI-E 6+8pin is where it's at baby!
OMG a real GPU for the Mac... I never thought I'd see the day! but really I had my 8800 with my 2007 MacPro, but it was way overpriced.
oops meant like $150 more. It's a 285 huh.
Dear god all you PC complainers are so full of crap. You spend so much money and time dealing with windows problems yet anytime you perceive something wrong with Mac you have to cry out like little babies because you feel insecure. Its a hundred dollars more because its a new product for the Mac, and they can easily sell it for that much, its called business...look it up! In six months it will be cheaper just like all hardware eventually becomes.
Not all of us waste our time playing video games in our parents basements not getting laid, some of us work for a living. So go outside every now and then and stick to worrying about issues that actually have merit, instead of trolling around tech websites trying to convince yourself that a PC is superior. Give it up fanboys, Apple and PC both have pros and cons....duurrrrrr! You either put up with a cut rate and technologically behind OS (Windows) or you suffer through some compatibility and price issues (Apple). At the end of the day it all comes down to what you use your computer for and what works best. Whats the point of complaining...do you really have nothing better to do...ok I need to stop now and take my own advice.
Time I've spent trouble shooting my PC in the two years since I built it: 30 minutes
and it cost a hell of a lot less than a Mac. Maybe if you didn't use tired, old stereotypes you wouldn't sound so much like a troll.
How is Windows so technologically behind?..
The issue is that it is the same card with 150 dollars tacked on for no real reason. I'm sure it took some money to port over (EFI ) but nothing an extra 20 dollars per card wouldn't fix. It's true that apple can sell it for 450 dollars but it doesn't mean that it is good value. I find it a bit silly to suggest that OS X is better than windows or vice versa. They both have pros and cons. I used to use OS X more than windows but with windows 7 I'm seeing less errors on my PC than my mac and my productivity has increased. Aero snap is an absolute necessity on a 30 inch screen. While the OS is subjective, the hardware is not.
Apple charges absurdly high prices on the cheapest of accessories, like the 30 dollar headphones which cost less than a dollar to build and ship. That is why people are irate. It's like seeing someone else buy monster cables. You don't like seeing people be ripped off. This is an example of an overpriced accessory. Macbooks may cost 2-300 dollars more than a PC of similar specs but some people feel it is worth it for the superior customer service and OS ( again, subjective ). This video card however is just another of apple's money making schemes designed to rape the consumer's wallet.
Ah, these Apple trolls and fanboys using the same old stereotypes. What, you people actually think most PC owners are lonely nerds living in a basement with no life? Time for you guys to get out and refresh your views.
I don't sepend money fixing my Windows computer, just like I don't spend money fixing my Mac. Yes, I have problems with my Windows computer, and yes I have problems with my Mac, and both of them take time to fix. You do see your hypocrisy at the end, but have no problem saying that people don't spend time nor money fixing their Macs. Saying that people spend money and time fixing Windows computers, calling them winers, and claiming they are trolling when you, yourself are trolling.
Here is the story of my latest Mac problem: Yesterday I was rearranging furnature in my house. I pulled out the desk holding my Mac mini, and realized that the DVI cable was still connected to my monitor (I used to have a Windows computer connected to the monitor also). So I remove the VGA cable from the Mini and plug in the DVI. Switch to the DVI input, the video is there and it appears to work, so I put the computer to sleep. An hour later I fire up the Mini from sleep and the mouse does not work. OK, the battery must be dead even though I never saw it flash red indicating they need replaced. No fresh batteries at the house so I run to the store to buy new ones (I guess I do spend money to fix problems on my Mac). Half hour later I am back put in the new batteries. Nothing. So I hold down the power button to force it to shut down. Start back up, the computer loads as usual then 5 minutes later freezes solid. I let it sit, and 10 minutes later it puts up a semi-transparent black window in 4 different languages saying there was a problem and I need to hold down the power button. So I power cycle, the screen changes from grey to blue, and freezes. Power cycle, same thing. So I let it sit for a couple hours. Start back up, it works for 5 minutes then freezes again. This was just after installing the new XCode, so I thought I screwed up the config, and now really screwed. Eventually I swap back in the VGA cable, and it works just like before.
Searching on the Apple forums it appears that many people have problems using monitors with DVI or HDMI if the monitor supports HDCP. To get the best quality video I need to use DVI, but because Apple hardware does not interop properly with a known standard, I cannot. I have had multiple "cut rate" Windows computers with multiple "cut rate" video cards connected to this monitor with no problems. But when I want to do work (I develop iPhone apps using my Mini), I lose 3-4 hours of time screwing around trying to do something as basic as connect a computer to a monitor. When the port on the back of my Mini is DVI, you would think that it would work using DVI.
Day after day Apple fans go into posts about Microsoft and trash the place making up stories about how many problems they had with some Microsoft product (even though just a few days earlier those same people said they never used that product), but that is OK. But when you have a real problem, not a "perceived" one but a real problem, or point out something as stupid as Apple charging $100+ more simply for having an Apple logo on the box, then you are shouted down for being a hater - just like I know I will be called a hater for saying that I had a problem with my Mac.
The short version of what I wrote: get over it. If you want it to stop, why are you not yelling at the Apple people, also?
@ Nohene: Thank you for that post! It's absolutely correct.
I've used Windows since 95, and it's my OS of choice. Recently I got a MacPro for video editing (it's my job...), and have Windows 7 bootcamped on it.
Apple users need to get over the stereotypes of the past. Have any of them actually used Windows recently? Viruses, BSOD, freezing etc etc, it's all just a bunch of crap.
Now I'm not bashing OSX, they both have their ups and downs. I myself have more issues with OSX than I do Windows. More freezing, it's slower, honestly. Apple hardware and their OS runs slower than Windows 7. It's more expensive and of course, less compatibility with hardware and less freedom of choice.
Windows isn't technologically behind and OSX is not "light years" ahead. Their both about even. Again, I prefer Windows and probably always will, but am I able to use OSX when need be? Yes.
Hey, I can move out of my basement whenever I . . .
. . . damn, hold on a second.
MOM! BATHROOM!!!
and HOTPOCKETS!!!
Richard's comment in a nutshell:
"Richard @ Jun 10th 2009 9:28PM
Dear god all you PC complainers are so full of crap. *crap* *crap* *crap* *crap*
*crap*
*crap* *crap*
*crap* *crap* *crap* *crap* *crap*
ok I need to stop now and take my own advice."
If you had the green for two 30 inchers, then I think $450 for that card is pretty cheap.
Apple Tax
Man i am tired of trolls pc and mac side. instead i just stick to what works best for me, sure macs are cool but i also like enthusiast hardware which pc's offer which is cool too. To me is this; as long as it works i am happy, and for those that say windows is a hassle it is not true at all. I haven't troubleshoot my pc over a year now and the only troubleshooting i had is when i was overclocking my system which took couple of hours to fine tune my system and once i found the sweetspot i had no problems after that.
The only problem i would expect to happen if the hard drive fails which happens both pc and macs. No platform is immune to this. One thing i will say that is annoying is those apple snug commercials that are full of it, and quite frankly i am getting tired of apple's attitude. I like windows because it works best for me and 2 i was never a mac user but i did try out a mac just isn't for me. Don't need the nice snug experience. I am the type of person that will get fiddle with stuff to get it the way i want to, and can understand its not for everybody.
Not to mention pc's offer superior gaming like there is no tomorrow. Fact is almost any game that is on the 360 will be likely to be on windows running games native. no crossover no wine just pure native. And lastly that card is way too overpriced i mean ddr3?? my ati 4890 is gddr5 with 800 stream processors at a gpu speed at a whoppin 900mhz and i paid less than this.
so there you have it yall. And another thing retail pc's will never EVER give you best windows experience its pure CRAP!!. that is why you go to newegg and buy a oem copy of windows of your choice (32 bit or 64, xp or vista) for as little as 100 bucks.
I built a $700 gaming machine for my friend including a 22" monitor. I guess instead I could've spent twice as much on a 24" iMac with similar specs but with subpar onboard graphics that can't be upgraded. No, if I want a real graphics card, I have to get a Mac Pro and then on top of that I have to pay a premium on the card itself. Macs have their place but gaming isn't one of them - not unless you have oodles and oodles of cash. Put that in one of your ads, stupid Microsoft.
"Macs have their place but gaming isn't one of them - not unless you have oodles and oodles of cash. Put that in one of your ads, stupid Microsoft."
Microsoft doesn't need to put that into their ads because that's geared towards a community "gamers" who they already have in their back pocket. Anyone who denys that more games are available on a PC natively than a Mac is just in denial.
Microsoft's ads are geared towards the average everyday user who can easily make the switch to a standard configured Mac. Those are the ones they want to stop because many of those are making the jump.
Me? I've got both and I Boot Camp my Mac Pro into Vista and I run fusion for XP when I need to VPN into work. The VPN client is XP only ... /le sigh
Honestly, I like them both. *shrug* Each one excells at its own thing and I use them as such.
Yes, the very latest in technology.
/sarcasm
i built a pc with a q666 quad core,8bg ram 2 hard drives 1tb,250gb a pc case 550w power supply xfx motherboard and nvida 9400 gtx all for under 500 bucks crysis is a joke to my pc ... how does it play on a mac? can you upgrade its hardware? its gpu? its processor? or components how much does that cost? does it allow you nope gotta buy a new mac with the same specs for twice as much pc hardware is the closet thing to open source when it comes to modifications then again apple has been using pc parts now so mabye you guys will catch up in 40 years
Considering this article is about a video card for the Mac, I would say that yes, the GPU is in fact upgradeable. I mean isn't that obvious? Or are you so stupid that you didn't realize what this article was about?
If people googled "building your own computer" and spent 30 minutes learning they will finally realize how much money they are wasting on the Mac Brand. Instead they will take anything Apple releases as the word of god and will forcefully spew it back to you non-stop.
You mac boys are under pure marketing bliss, you need to be informed of reality.
EFI was invented by Intel for PC's in 2007, the MAIN purpose of the EFI is full initalize hardware at the boot level, BEFORE THE OS!!!
Even though the EFI system can pass information that is viable to the EFI system and the post launch OS (Not just OSX lol)
This card does not need to be a EFI flashed card to run the acceleration in Snow Leopard PERIOD, the only way a standard EVGA 285 card would not run is only if it is blocked because from 8 series up all geforces are CUDA and that is standard programming lanuage for the geforce no matter you OS.
$500 pfff get the f out of here.
Im dying to see if Apple blocked any standard geforce cards from the OSX acceleration, you do not need a EFI enabled card tomake this happen, and if Apple does it's just another reason not to use them.
And Windows 7 doesnt crash before you even try it...
Intel tech is not new to PC's there guys.
Oh and P.S. if the you need to have a driver load with the OS and has no EFI support you still install the .kext file to you EFI parition to load the hardware.
Yeah, and Microsoft was going to go EFI with VIsta, but couldn't pull it off.
Indeed, WIndows is technologically the equal of OS X.
Anyone who know how to really use OS X (i.e. Applescript, Automator, UNIX, etc.) doesn't need to be apologetic and say that Windows is great and OS X is great.
In fact, they both are. But OS X is clearly superior as an OS. Any time there is an even-handed review comparing OS X and Windows, the winner is OS X for many reasons from usability to scripting to hardware matched to the OS, and all sorts of other things.
It's not that Windows is bad. Or that people who use it are stupid, or anything like that. In specific areas it is better than OS X. Gaming, and, uh, Exchange compatibility (until Snow Leopard comes out), and there must be a few other things I'm not thinking of at the moment. But having only used Windows sparingly because it offers me nothing I can't get in OS X - as a professional photographer, editor, educator, developer, and occasional gamer; and seeing how OS X offers me things Windows does not, (as listed above) I have to state that for many people, OS X is clearly the better choice.
How can one tell in any objective way that OS X IS better in general? User satisfaction. And in that area, OS X wins hands-down. The numbers don't lie. Satisfaction with Macs is so much higher than with even the next best PC, that there simply cannot be any question. And THAT's what galls PC users the most. The objective numbers show the facts. And so they make up all this fanboy nonsense, and RDF and Steve Jobs and all the other memes that confirm to them that their choice in using PCs is somehow objectively the best route and that anyone who uses Macs is irrational.
Bunk.
Man O Man your dumb
This wasnt a Windows vs OSX, it was OSX doesnt need EFI hardware strapping to have acceleration.
Vista does not have it nor do we need its very limited for a hardware stanard AS it was ment to provide full hardware polling BEFORE THE OS. That means OSX, Windows, Linux or anything else you want to think of.
It was to show you that EFI is not an Apple product and that purpose is to AGAIN provide the hardware at boot level. This has nothing to do with Apple or OSX, i thought i made that clear but your steve jobs googles are messin up your reading skills.
This is not Bunk its just the truth.
No vista doesnt have it, becasue no motherboards really have only Apple boards becasue they moved to the EFI before most did. This is becasue of small market share and the ability to make drastic hardware switches.
Since your fanboys are blind sided easliy here is a link to how EFI work and that the WHOLE point of my post is that Apple doesnt needs its on EFI booting 285 card to fully support the acceleration.
The EFI does not give your OS nor any other the ability to have acceleration or not...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface
Oh BTW I am not saying EFI is not welcomed and its a cool feature but its not and Apple tech nor does it make your acceleration work. Period.
Your whole Apple post mentions nothing of the tech discussed in my post just some jiba jab about Apple being better with no reasons but the rated user experience.
Im talking about EFI hardware boot straping and your trying to talk about Apple OS reviews.
Get the F' out of here
would this work on a macpro 3.1?
I have the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in it right now.
Is it worth the upgrade?
spec:
2x 2.8 Quad Xeons
16GB RAM
etc...
Godspeedgen2, yes this card is indeed a big upgrade to a 8800 GT, but the price is a bit steep.
I went down a different route with my Mac Pro 2.8 Quad x2 (16 gb Ram).
Follow these steps and save a packet:
Buy a Sapphire HD 4870 1GB PC GFX card from eBay (£140 in the UK probably less in the USA)
Take it to a geek PC shop and get the drivers flashed so it contains both Mac & PC ones.
Buy the correct power cables to fit your board from eBay (£10 each, 2 required but your 8800 GT has 1 already)
Swap it in to your PCIe x16 slot and start up your beast.
Play World of Warcraft at 60 fps everywhere with £200 saved for beers. :)
General rule of thumb with Apple kit, buy the bare bones Mac Pro and upgrade your RAM, Peripherals Hard Drives and GFX Cards with PC versions from other sources you save loads of dosh and still get the OS/performance you wanted in the first place.
Alternatively buy a fully specced iMac and forget upgrades.... ever.
For more details on how to flash PC cards for Mac Pros: http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7473867&postcount=886