Hi - I'm new to Insanelymac - but I'm looking for some technical advice, and you guys seem to know what you're talking about - so... here I am

My Mac Pro (Dual Quad Xeons, ATI RV630, Early 2008 model) went in to standby today, never to return. The display went dark, the monitor in to standby mode, and everything seemed normal.

Pressing the caps lock key started the fans back up, and the little green light on the caps lock illuminated as it should - however the display remained black.

Switched the monitor off, back on - nothing. Flicked between Digital, Analogue and HDMI - and while Analogue and HDMI said "check cable" - Digital was just black.

I've restarted the Mac, and it sounds like it's booting okay, and you get the right sounds for a failed login attempt etc.

I've plugged in my laptop via Analogue - and I get a picture, connected the Mac Pro via analogue (with a VGA <> DVI adapter) and nothing - black screen again.

I upgraded to Snow Leopard this week - that went A-OK, with just an update for Microsoft RDP required, so I think it's more hardware than software related.

Does this sound like the PCI 256Mb ATi Graphics card has packed up? If it has - that's a poor show from ATi and Apple considering how much I paid for the Mac Pro! Typical that I decided not to take out any Apple care.

If it has - what's the best option for a swap out? I don't want to be hacking around with the software to get the drivers working - so anything "proven" for Snow.

Any help and advice appreciated.

Cheers

Any help and advice appreciated.

I have had EXACTLY the same issue on my Mac Pro (early 2008) just a few days after installing Snow Leopard with no problems.....

I am starting to think maybe Snow Leopard is doing something to fry the graphics card, I'll be going to the Apple Store tomorrow.

Hmm - that does not sound good at all.

As mine is out of warranty I've just ordered a new ATI HD 4870 (from Apple) at £280

I'll let you know how I get on.

I must admit I expected more longevity from Apple's flagship desktop.

She's a big b*tch compared to the stock card (see pic)

Had to get her to wiggle her hips a bit to fit inside. Once in and firmly tightened up she looked great and goes like a racehorse.

Snow Leopard cost me £319 (£39 licence + £280 graphics card). Thanks Apple.

At least I'm working again now though. I was having to use either my MacBook or a laptop running Windows 7.

if you realy want to blame someone for a electronic failure go for the vendor of the gfx card. thats something that can always happen

True - but who's decision was it to use those cards in their systems? Apple made the decision to opt for that card - if it's not man enough, or if there is a link between it's failure and the Snow Leopard upgrade (myself, and carnivorous in this case) then it falls back to Apple again.

My gripe is more surprise. It's like buying a Ferrari and having the gearbox pack up 18 months later.

No matter now... spanky new 4870 fitted.

i've seen similar problems with even earlier models, specifically the G5 Dual (cpu speed doesn't matter). The AGP graphics card couldn't push a 30" without impending doom, so my girlfriends dad dropped a few big heavy dimes on the ATI X800XT when it came out. Turns out there were quite a few problems with that model line, and the fan will always fail. After some intense DIY fitting, i put a new cooler on the card, but it's still $500 that basically will fail at some point in time.

for these cards, i think it's similar. Mac doesn't respond well to the thermal diodes on the 3rd party cards, so the fans don't ramp up under the load they should. if you looked at your dead cards, i wouldn't' be surprised if the back of it is crispy and burned.

if it was a firmware or update problem, it wouldn't have taken so long to show.