EVGA Brings Super-Fast Graphics to the Mac

Rob Williams · 06-02-2009, 06:11 AM

From our front-page news:

For enthusiasts, one of the biggest drawbacks to an Apple computer is the limitations of hardware. You can't purchase a Mac and throw whatever you want in there, and as a result, even models like the MacPro can leave a bit to be desired in certain areas. One of the most notable limitations is with the selection of graphics cards, but soon, that will change.

High-end cards on Macs is something humorous, because they simply haven't existed. To my knowledge, the last truly high-end GPU offering on the Mac was either the 7800 GTX or 8800 GTX, but within the next month or two, Apple gamers will be able to toss a very-fast GTX 285 in their rig, offering some incredible performance for any of today's games.

"Oh boy, here comes a huge price premium!" That's what I thought as well, but EVGA assured me that the pricing difference wouldn't be huge, but it'd certainly be a little bit higher than the PC variant. It's also important to note that while the game selection on Macs is undoubtedly lacking, anyone who runs a Mac with this card could experience PC-equivalent graphics in their games when running Windows through Bootcamp. It looks like you can finally be a Mac user and high-end gamer all at the same time!

For the time-being, this card is EVGA-exclusive, and I'd expect it to remain as such for a little while. And in case you are led to believe that this card would be identical to the PC version, only with a different BIOS, that's not the case. Believe it or not, the card's circuitry actually has to be adjusted in order to suit the Mac operating system. That's likely a good reason why we don't see more hardware support on that platform at this point in time.

Kougar · 06-08-2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Believe it or not, the card's circuitry actually has to be adjusted in order to suit the Mac operating system

I presumed it was something more than just a BIOS thing... do you have a link to what actaully has to be changed to make it Mac compatible?

Rob Williams · 06-14-2009, 12:16 PM

No idea, I can ask.

Kougar · 06-14-2009, 07:22 PM

That's all right, I'm curious but I probably wouldn't understand most of it. At least I can tell users they can't simply plug in any random GPU to upgrade their Macs now.

06-02-2009, 06:11 AM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,246	EVGA Brings Super-Fast Graphics to the Mac From our front-page news: For enthusiasts, one of the biggest drawbacks to an Apple computer is the limitations of hardware. You can't purchase a Mac and throw whatever you want in there, and as a result, even models like the MacPro can leave a bit to be desired in certain areas. One of the most notable limitations is with the selection of graphics cards, but soon, that will change. High-end cards on Macs is something humorous, because they simply haven't existed. To my knowledge, the last truly high-end GPU offering on the Mac was either the 7800 GTX or 8800 GTX, but within the next month or two, Apple gamers will be able to toss a very-fast GTX 285 in their rig, offering some incredible performance for any of today's games. "Oh boy, here comes a huge price premium!" That's what I thought as well, but EVGA assured me that the pricing difference wouldn't be huge, but it'd certainly be a little bit higher than the PC variant. It's also important to note that while the game selection on Macs is undoubtedly lacking, anyone who runs a Mac with this card could experience PC-equivalent graphics in their games when running Windows through Bootcamp. It looks like you can finally be a Mac user and high-end gamer all at the same time! For the time-being, this card is EVGA-exclusive, and I'd expect it to remain as such for a little while. And in case you are led to believe that this card would be identical to the PC version, only with a different BIOS, that's not the case. Believe it or not, the card's circuitry actually has to be adjusted in order to suit the Mac operating system. That's likely a good reason why we don't see more hardware support on that platform at this point in time. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

06-14-2009, 12:16 PM	#3
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,246	No idea, I can ask. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

06-14-2009, 07:22 PM	#4
Kougar Techgage Staff Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 2,643	That's all right, I'm curious but I probably wouldn't understand most of it. At least I can tell users they can't simply plug in any random GPU to upgrade their Macs now. __________________ Core i7 4770k Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H Crucial Ballistix Sport LP 1600MHz 32GB EVGA GTX 480 HydroCopper FTW ASUS Xonar DX Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB \| Windows 7 64-bit Apogee XT + MCP655 & Thermochill Triple 140mm Radiator Corsair AX1200 PSU \| Cooler Master HAF-X

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