Earlier, we showed you Sapphire's HD 7950 Mac Edition, and now we have learned more about it. This card is based on an ordinary HD 7950 and is entirely similar to it. Like the regular HD 7950, it carries 3 GB of GDDR5 memory.
The Sapphire HD 7950 Mac Edition is compatible with Mac Pros from 2010 or later, assuming that it has a free PCIe x16 slot and two 6-pin PCIe power connectors.
Conveniently, Sapphire has decided to compare the graphics card against the 8800 GT in performance so that users will be able to see a big jump in performance.
| Benchmark | Nvidia 8800 GT | Sapphire HD 7950 Mac Edition | Performance Jump |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xbench | 296.7 points | 381.3 points | 29% |
| Novabench | 213 points | 463 points | 117% |
| Cinebench | 24.54 FPS | 33.02 FPS | 35% |
| Heaven | 16.5 FPS | 64.7 FPS | 292% |
| Portal | 130 FPS | 490 FPS | 277% |
| Call of Duty | 15 FPS | 49 FPS | 227% |
The HD 7950 Mac Edition is compatible not only with Macs, but with switchable firmware that will also work on Windows PCs. While this is less interesting, it does show that the main differences are in the firmware, meaning that we'll likely find enthusiasts who will flash the HD 7950's Mac Edition firmware to ordinary HD 7950's to make them work in their Mac Pros.
Sapphire's new HD 7950 Mac Edition will carry an MSRP of $450.
