Sapphire Previews Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition Graphics Card for Mac Pro

Tuesday March 5, 2013 5:44 AM PST by Eric Slivka
As noted by Accelerate Your Mac and tonymacx86, German site PCGamesHardware.de reports [Google translation] that Hong Kong-based company Sapphire Technology is previewing its new Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition graphics card at CeBIT this week. The high-end card arrives following Apple's introduction of Radeon HD 7000-series drivers in OS X 10.8.3 betas last November, although the update has yet to be released to the public.
At Cebit we saw the Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition for the first time live. The upper-class graphics card based on the original HD 7950, which uses dark brown board waived a boost function and is clocked at 800 MHz (GPU). The 3 GiByte GDDR5 memory, as well as its clock of 2,500 MHz, unchanged.
Sapphire is reportedly planning to price the Radeon 7950 Mac Edition at $450.

sapphire_radeon_hd_7950
Mac Pro news and rumors are beginning to pick up steam following Apple's promise last June that "new designs" of the workstation would be arriving in 2013. Last month, Apple ceased European sales of the current Mac Pro due to its non-compliance with new safety regulations, increasing the urgency of an update, while just yesterday a report surfaced about Apple-branded 2 TB solid-state drives for the Mac Pro.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Don't Buy)
81 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
eagandale4114
85 months ago
TWO Mac Pro based news items in under 24 hours?!?!:eek::eek:
Rating: 8 Votes
Avatar
ArtOfWarfare
85 months ago

TWO Mac Pro based news items in under 24 hours?!?!:eek::eek:


Not just that, but they're GOOD Mac Pro based news items!

In contrast to the third most recent Mac Pro news item from MacRumors:
February 18th: Mac Pro Now Unavailable for Purchase from European Apple Online Stores (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/18/mac-pro-now-unavailable-for-purchase-from-european-apple-online-stores/)
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
TallManNY
85 months ago
Yep. And it will be marketed as the biggest and best computer and made in America.

It will sell.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
dtremit
85 months ago
Great, $450 for a Mac version, but the PC version lists at $320. Uh, thanks, Sapphire?
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
MacVidCards
85 months ago

Assuming this is the final design (and see no reason why it wouldn't be), Spacedust is right - this card will not fit in slot 1.

I have a 7870 eyefinity 6, which has the exact same 4 screws, height, etc that prevent it from fitting into #1. It does need to be completely flush like the 5870, 5770.


Think for a moment.

Are these people REALLY going to toss out 1000's of sales because they overlooked this?

If it doesn't work in 1,1s it will be because it is EFI64 or UEFI GOP, it won't be because Stan in Hardware Procurement forgot to see if it actually fit in the machines it was designed for.

The screws holding it together aren't going to be a problem.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
DELTAsnake
85 months ago

The back of HD5770 and HD5870 is completely flat, this one is having very long screws near the core.


First, this is pre-production hardware.

Second, the 5xxx cards for the Mac Pro have heat sinks on the back, this 7950 has no heat sink. If you look at the 5xxx cards in person the heat sink adds thickness to the card.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
BriSpe
85 months ago

It won't fit in the current Mac Pro's in slot 1 ! Look at these large screws on the back.


What are you talking about? It's the same as the current HD 5870
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
mozumder
85 months ago

You will note that Tim Cook never said it was a Mac Pro. " .... we’re working on something really great for later next year. "

The email sent to clarify what Pogue at the NY Times simply clarified that it was not an iMac.

My wife worked in government for many years, and we talked about politics over dinner many times. Still do. Tim Cook's wording was very deliberately chosen. It may mean he didn't want to confirm a new Mac Pro - 'cause a confirmed new Mac Pro in the works would kill current sales. Or it may mean that it isn't a Mac Pro and he isn't prepared to share what it is.

We will know when one of two things happen. Apple actually officially announces it, or there is a photo of it in an elevator. Until then... we have no idea. Though I will be the first to admit speculating is fun.


Yah it's a new Mac Pro. Thanks.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
Larry-K
85 months ago

Great, $450 for a Mac version, but the PC version lists at $320. Uh, thanks, Sapphire?

Considering what the sad little 5780 costs, this is a bargain.

----------

"Our pro customers are really important to us...don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year."

It's the same as being stuck on the phone: "Your call is important to us, please stay on the line and our next representative will be with you shortly. Estimated wait time is... (in another voice) 'four years'".

Anytime somebody tells you that you are important, they're just trying to not hurt your feelings.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
MagnusVonMagnum
85 months ago

It won't fit in the current Mac Pro's in slot 1 ! Look at these large screws on the back.


What's the point in having a Mac with a replaceable graphics card if almost every new graphics card that comes out for it (spaced years apart it seems) doesn't work in the previous generation machines? :confused:
Rating: 2 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]