New 8800GT card from Apple

[Matt Penna]

On Jan 11, 2008, at 12:35 PM, R.L. Grigg wrote:

>
> On Jan 11, 2008, at 8:26 AM, LuKreme wrote:
>
>> On 11-Jan-2008, at 01:15, Paul Sargent wrote:
>>> On Jan 11, 2008 7:51 AM, LuKreme <kremels at kreme.com> wrote:
>>>> PCIe 2.0 is completely backwards compatible with PCIe v1.x.  
>>>> Graphic cards and
>>>> motherboards designed for v2.0 will be able to work with v1.1 and  
>>>> v1.0, and vice versa.
>>>
>>> So it looks like this guy may be mis-informed.
>>
>> Apple has been calling people who ordered the cards and telling  
>> them that they DO NOT work in any machine but the new 2008 Mac  
>> Pro.  Apple has told Blizzard they cannot use the new cards in  
>> their extensive phalanx of Mac Pros.  Blizzard is pissed.  I am  
>> furious.
>
> Where did you hear this? Has anyone said *why* the cards won't work  
> and why they cant be made to work?
> Russ

There is a discussion about this on the World of Warcraft Mac support  
forums. You can find some of it here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=3881778599&sid=1

But in a nutshell, there is an incompatibility with the card's  
firmware and the older Mac Pro. It's a 32-bit versus 64-bit issue.

The Blizzard posters in the linked thread say there are discussions  
ongoing with Apple. Blizzard does have some leverage, and this problem  
could conceivably be resolved with a firmware upgrade, so perhaps  
we'll see a fix. The card won't ship until the end of January, anyway.  
If Apple is interested in fixing this, they should have time.

My take? Assuming this was a deliberate design decision, it's  
incredibly stupid. The video card issue is one of the last remaining  
valid criticisms of the Mac as a platform, and it really needs to be  
resolved. These are PRO machines and need to be upgradable. Wake up,  
Apple.

	Matt