Mac Pro video card recommendations

hardware-recommendationmac provideo

I am looking for recommendations for a video card for my Mac Pro version 2,1 circa spring 2007. It currently has the ATI 512MB card that Apple sold as an option at the time.

Are there new cards on the market that would work with this machine? My main reason for asking is that the current card is overheating and crashing the machine.

Best Answer

There are very few video cards that will work with the Mac Pro 2,1. When Steam was released in early 2010 and I realized that the stock video card did not have enough power to run Steam games, I searched for a replacement. I ended up purchasing the nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Video Card from a vendor on eBay. It wasn't especially cheap; it cost me about $260.

My criteria were as follows:

  1. Must provide more graphics power than the card it was replacing.
  2. Must be a drop-in replacement for the stock card; I did not want to mess about with stuff like reflashing the ROM on a card that was intended for Windows machines, for example.
  3. Not obscenely expensive. The card that I bought really pushed the limit; I had originally wanted to spend no more than $150.

The 8800 GT provided enough power to run Steam games, and also improved screen redraws for everyday work, including my light-duty work in Photoshop and InDesign. Though the 8800 GT is a couple of generations back in terms of the hard-core gamer crowd, it should serve well as a more-powerful replacement for the stock card.

I'm pleased with the result, as it has allowed me to extend the operational life of my Mac Pro.

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