From the Lab: Testing the Mac Pro graphic card options

Apple offers a bevy of add-ons and options for its Mac Pro desktop, and Macworld Lab is looking at each one to see how it affects performance. First up: graphics cards. We upgrade the Mac Pro to an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT card to see whether the impact on performance is worth the extra $200.

From the Lab: Mac Pro options put to the test

The current Mac Pro may be the most customizable machine to ever come out of Cupertino. But what do each of those options add in terms of performance? Macworld Lab has configured a Mac Pro to test tweaks to memory, the hard drive, and the graphics card to figure out what effect each upgrade has on the Mac Pro’s speed.

Apple secretly fixes Mac Pro sleep issue, refuses to admit it

Section: Apple News, Updates, Computers, Mac Pro, Current ProductsA recent firmware update released by Apple has apparently solved the reboot-on-wake issue that has plagued the 2008 edition of the Mac Pro since it was introduced just prior to the Macworld 2008 Apple event in January. However, Apple does not mention the fix in its explanation of the update’s benefits. Instead, only a vague update statement is given: “This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers.” Owners of the affected Mac Pros can obtain the update by running Software Update in Mac OS X. The update should show up as “Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3.” On the main thread of Apple’s support web site where this issue has thoroughly been discussed, everyone who applied the update reported success in eliminating the reboot-on-wake problem. Apple released the update on March 27, and so far everything has worked out well for those who applied it. The question is, if Apple has really fixed this problem, why not mention it in the update’s documentation? This question remains unanswered, and Mac Pro owners are looking to Apple for some clarifications. A possibility is that Apple may be worrying that owning up to its product flaws will damage its reputation for quality, and although it possibly could, it couldn’t possibly be worse than the damage their denials are doing to the relationship with its customers. Honesty would build trust between the Apple and its customers, as it has been for quite some time now. Customers are usually much more satisfied when a trusted manufacturer recognizes issues and flaws, and does their best to resolve them quickly and efficiently. Although many people are thrilled that Apple has fixed the issue with their Mac Pros, no one understands why Apple does not admit to fixing the problem. Via [baltimoresun] Full Story » | Written by Patrick Lutz for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

ATI Radeon HD 3870 Video Card for the Mac Pro in May?

Barefeats and Xlr8yourmac report that the ATI Radeon 3870 video card will make its debut for the Mac Pro by the end of May. We have received confirmation from a reliable source that a ATI will definitely offer a retail version of th...

Apple unveils ATI Radeon 2600 XT update for Mac Pro

Apple today unveiled an update for the Mac Pro ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card, which was suspected of causing mass system instabilities in those machines. The 792KB update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 with the latest Leopard graphics update, and is said to improve overall system stability. As with most recent updates, the specific problems and fix...

2008 Mac Pro video card issues

As always, early adopters will find issues that Apple needs to fix - especially with new hardware. The 2008 Mac Pros were an unexpected release, as they came before the Macworld keynote. The new Mac Pros didn’t have a new casing - in fact, they look exactly the same as 2007 Mac Pros from the outside. The difference is on the inside: All the models are 8-core, and new upgrades were introduced. Everyone was pleased to see higher-end video cards like the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT. This was a necessary move by Apple, and is the only way they are going to be able to push gaming on their platform. The entry level card of the new Mac Pro is the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, the same card that higher model iMacs use. A MacUser reader states: ”I called Apple and they claimed to have no reports on this, even though people already have had their machines replaced over this. This is also affecting me with a brand new 2.8 model. Users are also widely reporting problems with waking from sleep mode.” On the Apple support forums, people are complaining about this issue too. Hopefully Apple will come out with a fix for this soon. Let us know if you have a 2008 Mac Pro and are experiencing these problems by commenting. Via [MacUser] Written by Stephen for Appletell. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment! Section: Apple, Computers, Desktops, Current-Products, Mac-Pro