Full FeedApple sends mixed messages about 8800GT
If you’re an owner of the earlier generations of Mac Pros, then you may not be so happy to hear this: It appears that the new NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT is only available to the new towers released this week. This is an unacceptable situation from Apple, as they claim the Mac Pro to be a fully expandable machine - from RAM to Processors.
Right now it is still unclear whether or not that the 8800GT will work in “older” Mac Pros, but according to Bare Feats owner Rob-ART, who has spoken with Apple directly, they said “the card would not function due to a firmware incompatibility”. I’m sure many Mac Pro owners are furious with Apple for their lame excuse on this one - paying the extreme price of a Mac Pro, and not being able to upgrade it the latest video card is in no way acceptable. The actual NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT card can work in the older Mac Pros according to users across the internet, but the new Mac Pros are a PCIe standard, something that the older ones apparently did not have. If anything changes to this situation - we’ll let you know.
Via [MacNN]
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I got jerked around on the phone for quite a while from Apple. The tech I spoke with was very pleasant, and initially told me that of COURSE the new cards (including the 8800GT) would work in older Mac Pros.
When I told him that I had read two different discussion threads on the Apple website plus numerous other posts at various Mac-related websites, he got a less-than-certain tone to his voice and asked me to wait. After more than ten minutes on hold, he came back and said he was still checking. Put me on hold again, then (after five minutes or so longer, I heard connection noises, and was transferred to the waiting system of “Apple Enterprise Support.” Not sure why, since I didn’t ask for that, and wasn’t sure they could or would help a desktop, home user.
After waiting in THEIR queue, another tech came on and (after re-re-explaining my question/problem), informed me that he was support for professional video…software. Meaning: FCP, Shake, etc. IOW, his department knew nothing about hardware compatibility, and he offered to transfer me….back to the department I’d just come from. When I objected and said that was who had transferred me HERE, he then suggested that I call NVIDIA. I’m not kidding. “They’ll have more information about compatibility with third-party hardware,” he said.
I told him that I’d bought my 2.66 Mac Pro in October (old machine died, couldn’t afford to wait until January), and that it was unacceptable that my choices were either pay to “upgrade” from the stock 7300 to the X1900 - which is already two years old at this point - or pay over a grand for the FX4500, which I don’t need or want. I asked him, the next time I’m in the market for a workstation-class desktop, what my motivation would be to purchase a Mac, if it might be non-upgradeable in less than four months. He said he wouldn’t know anything about that, and repeated that I should call NVIDIA.
GREAT frickin’ customer service, Apple! (sarcasm)
on January 13, 2008 at 06:13 PM - LINK