Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) and Mac Pro (all models): Graphics card compatibility between models

Summary

Although the Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) and Mac Pro models both use PCI-E (PCI Express) based graphics cards, the cards are not necessarily interchangeable between models.  Learn which cards work with each generation of computers.

Products Affected

Diagnostics, Graphic Cards, Mac Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mac Pro (Early 2009), Mac Pro (Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Mid 2012), Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)

Note: To identify the graphics card part number, check the label on the back of the card.

Graphics cards for PowerMac G5

  • GeForce 6600 LE
  • GeForce 6600
  • GeForce 7800 GT
  • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (part number 631-0110)

Graphic cards for Mac Pro (Original)

  • NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
  • ATI Radeon X1900 XT
  • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (part number 630-7532 or 630-7895)
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (part number 630-9492), offered as an upgrade kit.
    Note: The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT card requires at least Mac OS X v10.5.2 with the Leopard Graphics Update 1.0 or the computer may not start up properly. 

Graphics cards for Mac Pro (Early 2008)

  • ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (part number 630-9191 or 630-9897)
  • NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600
  • ATI Radeon HD 4870, offered as an upgrade kit
    Note: The Radeon HD 4870 card requires Mac OS X v10.5.7 or later for use with the Mac Pro (Early 2008).

Graphics cards for Mac Pro (Early 2009)

  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 120
  • ATI Radeon HD 4870
  • ATI Radeon HD 5870, offered as an upgrade kit
    Note: The radeon HD 5870 card requires Mac OS X v10.6.4 or later and it requires the use of both auxiliary power connections.

Graphics cards for Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012)

  • ATI Radeon HD 5770
  • ATI Radeon HD 5870
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