About hd4870 making choice

[tequilad]

I have a Mac OS X with a graphic card that is now unsupported (ATI X1900) that will not play the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I need a good card for gaming but am not real sure what will work in my Mac. Was thinking of the ATI HD4870 but it seems to have a lot of components and I admittedly am not computer literate. Any suggestions?

 

[Guest]

Depends on the computer. If it is a Mac Pro, then upgrading the card is easy (the GTX 285 in the Apple online store is top of the line for a Mac), but if it is any other Mac a video card upgrade is harder than necessary (some models won't work, and some are flat out unable to upgrade).

 

[cyberkuberiah]

4870's fine ,just read the supported cards list .

 

[Guest]

So pretty much the 4870, or the GTX 285 if you have the cash.

 

[tequilad]

I have a Mac OS X with a graphic card that is now unsupported (ATI X1900) that will not play the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I need a good card for gaming but am not real sure what will work in my Mac. Was thinking of the ATI HD4870 but it seems to have a lot of components and I admittedly am not computer literate. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all who responded - I should have said it was a Mac Pro. I have not researched the GTX 285 but will now. If the option were between just these two options would one perform better than the other or be less problematic?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all who responded - I should have said it was a Mac Pro. I have not researched the GTX 285 but will now. If the option were between just these two options would one perform better than the other or be less problematic?

Well, the 285 is better in gaming than the 4870, but the costs are rather high for a card ($349 US for the 4870 and $449 US for the 285). The only precaution for installing the 285 is to install the card drivers first (on the included CD) before installing the card (otherwise you get a kernel panic). If you have the money, go for the 285.

 

[jyjjy]

I don't know what cards work in a Mac but I do know the GTX 285 is a big waste of money.

 

[tuesday0180]

Well, the 285 is better in gaming than the 4870, but the costs are rather high for a card ($349 US for the 4870 and $449 US for the 285). The only precaution for installing the 285 is to install the card drivers first (on the included CD) before installing the card (otherwise you get a kernel panic). If you have the money, go for the 285.

Is the price you're quoting for the Mac version of 4870? Is there a Mac version or does the card work in both PC and mac? The reason I ask is I just purchased a 4870 1gig for $159.99 from newegg.com

I've also purchased a GTX 260 216 shader for 219.99.

The 4870 and GTX 260 are very similar in performance. I sorta like the GTX 260 more since it idles at lower temperature and the cooling is better because it blows hot air out the back of the case instead of inside of it.

 

[tequilad]

This is getting ugly. It turns out I have a first generation Mac. Tried a low end GE120 to get by for the time being but it would not work. Apple says the following are compatible: GE Force 8800 GT and 9500 GT and the Radeon 4650 and 4770. Keeping money and my sanity in mind, any suggestions, or would all the previous cards (285 and 4870) still be my best option?

 

[tequilad]

After fighting the battle and talking to Apple about available cards, I settled for a G8800 for early Mac Pro. It works OK but will need to do some decision making later down the road when this one stops working. Thanks for all who attempted to help a computer idiot.