Help me choose a video card for what I want to do with OSx86

[jfcarbel]

Looking for the the following type of graphics card:

 

1. Greatest compatability and stability for apps like FCS, iDVD, and Photoshop

2. dual DVI, Full QE and CE supported

3. I do NOT play any games so I do not need anything overkill

 

I will mostly be doing video editing, Dvd Studio Pro/iDVD, and Photoshop. I want a card that is as fast as it can be for these type of apps so that my Mac GUI and rendering screams, yet also offers good stability with no issues in these apps. But I will not need a card that pushes XXX fps since I am not a gamer.

 

Will be running a core 2 duo E6750 on a GB P35-DS3R (PCI-E).

 

I did some research and it seems like these are the most compatible and good choices. But wondering if I missed any. Also is 256MB enough for what I want to do or is 512MB better?

 

BEST VIDEO CARD OPTIONS (my notes collected from other posts):

 

1. GeForce 8800 GTX / GTS 320MB PCI-E

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=65849

 

2. Sapphire X1950XT 256MB PCI-E

 

3. GeoForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E (On the 7 series, the best is GTX followed by GT followed by GS.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814133186 (7900GS)

$120

 

4. SAPPHIRE HD2600XT PCI-E 256MB (2600 is supported in 10.4.10 with some work)

 

QE stands for Quartz Extreme

CI stands for Core Image

 

*******************

GeForce 8800

 

{ 0x0191, "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX"}

{ 0x0193, "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS"}

 

GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB PCIe x1 (QE/CI working)

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=65849

make sure the GTS is a G80 based one, not the new G92 based GTS as that will not work

1680x1050 [QE/CI enabled]

fully supported using DVI (slot closest to motherboard)

dual DVI support in Leopard

EVGA 8800gtx 768MB is powering my Apple Cinema 30-inch display @ 2560x1600 with CI and QE

Gigabyte P35-DQ6, Intel Q6600, BFG 8800GTX

CS3 installs and runs fine

in 10.4.10 and 10.5 (Leopard)

 

Hackintosh Geforce 8800 GTS 640MB:

 

10.4.9 - Installer: Jas 10.4.8 intel & AMD PPF1&PPF2, Jas 10.4.9.combo.intel.sse3, Macdotnub G80 Installer

 

10.5.1 - Installer: 10.5 Retail DVD, BrazilMAC Patch, Leo-only_NVinject_0.1.3, Updated to ToH Release kexts, ToH Kernel. Installed bootloader with PC_EFI 5.1 and ran the update to 10.5.1 with Apple 10.5.1. combo updater

 

Ones mentioned as used in Hackintosh builds:

 

MSI 8800GTS 320MB

EVGA 8800GTS 320MB

EVGA 8800GTX 768MB

BFG 8800GTX

 

**********************

GeoForce 7XXX

 

GeoForce 7900GS / 7800GT:

Works out-of-the-box with jas 10.4.8 dvd without flashing. Only select NV40 in jas 10.4.8 dvd setup. If you want a dual

monitor too, switch to natit dual v0.02 and it too works flawlessly (use identical monitor for no problems)

7600gt xfx with the natit 1.0 driver. works great!

7 series: Try NVinject 256/512MB, or Natit/Titan, maybe.

MSI 7600GS 512mb and Leopard -- Works/no kexts

7300GS, 7600GT/GS and 7900GS all working in leo with natit/NVInject

in 10.4.9, 10.4.10 and 10.5 (Leopard)

 

*********************

Radeon X1950/X1900 XT

 

Sapphire Radeon X1950XT 512mb (jcool driver):

full qe/ci/rotat/openGL/res change support dual dvi and dual monitor

1680x1050 on 10.5 9a581 GM

in 10.4.9, 10.4.10 and 10.5 (Leopard)

 

**********************

ATI Radeon HD 2600

http://netkas.freeflux.net/blog/archive/20...full-qe-ci.html

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?sho...9&hl=2600xt

works in osx with full qe/ci

XT card works with original kexts (0x9588 deiv) , 2600 pro(0x9589) requires edited kexts (dev-id in plist and binary edited)

radeon 2600 pro fully works now

VGA only, not DVI

[jfcarbel]

If one has a card with 512MB, do they need to do a ROM flash to get this 512MB to work? And if so does it support the full 512MB in the OS?

 

Any heavy Final Cut Studio / DVD Studio Pro / iDVD users out there? What have you found to be the most stable card without issues?

 

I am debating between getting the X1950XT or a 7900GS. Wondering if I will see much difference between the 2 in the apps cited above. I am looking for best stability above all so that I have no issues in these apps and am hoping to find a video card that will run these apps as fast as a MacBook Pro. Comments?

 

I hear the Nvidia 8800 GTS/GTX are now working in Leopard, but these are new drivers and not so sure about the stability of these. However, it is rumored that the 2008 Mac Pro will most likely be using this card, so the driver stability should go up I am thinking. So do I add another $200 and get the 8800?

 

Looking for some guidance on my purchase, advice is much appreciated.