INSIGHTS
We can now confirm that at least one 2006 Mac Pro supports the Radeon HD 5870. In the table above, we compared it to the Radeon X1900 XT, the top GPU choice for 2006.
We used the boot drive from the 2010 Westmere 6-core Mac Pro to fire up the 2006 Mac Pro. Other than that, nothing else was done to "help" it work. FYI, it was:
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66GHz
Total Number of Cores: 4
Bus Speed: 1.33GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005D.B00
SMC version: 1.7f10
As you can see by the comparison with the 2010 6-core, adding this card won't make your 2006 Mac Pro "leap tall buildings in a single bound." But the 5870 will help you "clear low buildings with a running start."
The DVI port works, of course, but we also tested with a Mini DisplayPort. It worked with a 20" Cinema display using a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. We also tried a 24" LED Cinema display with "direct" Mini DisplayPort connection. That worked. We used the 24" display for running the benchmarks since it supported 1920x1200.
Again, big MAHALO to PowerMax providing the 2006 Mac Pro test unit (and for their strong support of Bare Feats over the years.)
AND THERE IS MORE
Since posting this initial article, we have done a shootout between four older GPUs and the two newest GPUs on the 2006 Mac Pro.
Have any comments or questions? Send them to
, mad scientist.
Or Follow me on Twitter @robartmog.
WHERE TO BUY THE NEWEST APPLE GPUs
Click on THIS LINK when you order the 5870 kit so we can earn our commission. And click THIS LINK to order the 5770 kit.
WHERE TO BUY A MAC or any other APPLE PRODUCTS
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