Help with a Mac Pro

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Just setting up an office, LFPF has helped me choose 2 NEC monitors NEC PA241W with SpectraviewII kit.
After a few false starts with purchases on ebay, I finally ended up ordering a 12 core Mac Pro, 32 GB RAM, it has 2 video cards:
nvidia-quadro-4000-for-mac and the standard 5770. My main use will be for photography and personal use.

I have no experience with Mac Pro's, so I have been reading and I have a couple of questions.
The Nvidia 4000 has 2 outputs, one Display Port and one DVI Port. The 5770 has 2 of each.
From from what I am reading the NEC monitors do best when connected via Display Ports.

What I am unsure of is how to connect the monitors.

Do the 2 cards act together or separately? Some have written that the 2 cards interact nicely in Windows (Bootcamp) but not when in MAC mode. What can I expect?

What is best,
1. connection monitors using both 5770 Display Ports
2. connect one to Nvidia and one to 5770 using Display Ports
3. use Nvidia only, one Display Port and one DVI
4. Sell both cards and get a 5870

Another topic, I am putting in a Samsung SSHD and I will need to purchase 3 HD's, any suggestions? Should I set up a RAID? IF so then which one?

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
Thanks, Bill

[Bob Salomon]

I have found the Genius Bar at the Apple stores very helpful with questions like this and it is free. You just call and make an appointment at your nearest Apple Store or make an appointment on line or at the store.

[Henry Ambrose]

I'm not completely clear on your questions, but I'll have a go at it.
Each card is usually intended to run one monitor. The connector you choose -might- have something to do with some functionality built into the monitor. Generally, the plug that fits is the correct way to connect. It could be that one or both of the cards are intended to run 2 monitors from one card. You really should search up the specs from the makers and see what they have to say.

Here is the nvidia:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-quadro-4000-mac-us.html
looks like its made to run one monitor

and the 5770:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC742ZM/A/ati-radeon-hd-5770-graphics-upgrade-kit-for-mac-pro-%28mid-2010%29
"ATI Radeon HD 5770 includes three video ports: two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port. This allows you to connect the 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display plus another Mini DisplayPort-based display, and a DVI-based display such as the 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display. Display adapters are available to connect VGA displays."

As to your storage question, it depends on what you want to accomplish. I doubt you'd need RAID for more speed, I'd be looking for security and redundancy.

Can't help with Boot Camp, seems a waste of a great piece of hardware. But if you need it to do your work then that trumps.


This will be quite a machine.

[paulr]

That Quadro 4000 is a high end, specialized card for video and 3D rendering. If you don't anticipate needing those features, I'd recommend selling it. You can get around $800 for those. It offers absolutely no performance benefits to 2D. There are only a handful of features in Photoshop that even make use of the GPU, and those features are for screen rendering, not final resolution processing. The 5770 is a good video card for 2D and will support both your monitors by itself.

Of course try it out to make sure!

The quadro will also draw a lot of power, pump out a lot of heat, and make noise with its fan ... you don't need the thing freeloading in your box.

[photobymike]

We have several "MACs" in our house, and my daughter refers to the my power MAC as the "Big Mac" LOL its only funny cuz my daughter is a "Monetary Exchange Coordinator" for the hamburg place .....

go to the "Genius Bar" at an apple store or call them...they love to show off what they know... they have spent years working with MAC and are certified.

[Preston]

I agree regarding off-loading the QuadroPro and using the 5770. You'll consume less power, the machine will be quieter, and there will be less heat to deal with.


Another topic, I am putting in a Samsung SSHD and I will need to purchase 3 HD's, any suggestions? Should I set up a RAID? IF so then which one?


For normal HD's, I'd go with Western Digital Caviar-Black in whatever size you need for storage. Personally, I think RAID is more of a pain than a help for a use such as yours. You could use one of the drives to back up the system image and programs on the SSD and use the other two for archive storage. You might even consider a USB, or SATA external drive if you have the ports for it.

--P

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks everyone,
I called The Genius Bar and was shifted around form one to another. They did not know the answer.
I finally realized that the main thing I was trying to achieve was a great image on the NEC PA 241W. So I called NEC and they told me to while it is true that the best performance would be via the Display port, that I could connect using the Dual Link DVI to the second monitor and the monitor/Spectraview-II would be just fine. NEC said I would not be able to tell the difference. Whew!!! a load off my mind. That Nvidia Quatro 4000 is a professional card built for the MAC PRO, and was designed optimize CS6 Premiere. I know that is video editing, and animation, but I am inclined to think that it should do a great job with Photoshop. I'll try it and see how it performs. I am not a big fan of fan noise and additional heat either. So I'll see how it turns out.
Picked up 3 2TB hard drives and I'm still trying to figure out whether a RAID is a good idea or not. I will be using a External for backup... but we all know how that goes. But still a RAID would give me a 6-TB 'D Drive', that coupled with a SSHD, this should be a fine machine. Can't wait for it to arrive... "It's in the mail...." Wish me luck.
I learned that the 4000 is not a stand alone card, for some reason I have to run the 5770 with it.

Thanks for all the help, again I really appreciate it.
Bill

[Jac@stafford.net]

From Adobe - of concern if you use Photoshop: "Multiple video adapters can cause problems with GPU-accelerated or enabled features in Photoshop. It's best to connect two (or more) monitors into one video adapter. If you have to use more than one video adapter, make sure that they are the same make and model. Otherwise, crashes and other problems can occur in Photoshop.

Note: Using more than one video adapter does not enhance Photoshop's performance."

[Preston]

Bill,

As posted above, dual video cards will cause problems if they are not the same make and model. I suggest you pull the 4000 out and use the 5770.

As far as RAID goes, that's certainly up to you. However, you should consider a hardware RAID controller card if the box doesn't have it on the mother board chip set. Software RAID is notorious for causing issues--not something you want on a storage system!

Good luck!

--P

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks, but again my ignorance is stopping me from seeing the forest...

I am unsure what EXACTLY is meant by 'Multiple Video Adapters'.

From what I've read the 4000 can not be used alone it must have a 5770 in the case with it. That is the way it was designed, at least that is what I have read.
Otherwise how could a 4000 ever be used?
I could see problems if I was trying to hook up one monitor from each card, but I do not see any other way that a 4000 could be used.
What I hope to do is use just one card, the 4000, the DP for one monitor, and the Dual Link DVI for the other monitor. Both monitors off of one card.

I am not trying to argue, I really do appreciate all the help, but if someone puts out all the $$$ to purchase a 4000 they have to put a card like a 5770 in the MAC to operate it. I do not see how they could sell 4000 cards if there was a problem with 2 cards. 2 cards are required. Am I wrong on this point? I've read it at more than one place... do not ask me where, been reading everything.

FedEX tracking says the computer will be here tomorrow. I have to go out of town for a wedding... it'll be next week before I can start setting it up.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.
Bill

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Almost forgot, a RAID was recommended to me to have a very large "D" drive instead of C, D, E, F smaller drives. I'd lose track of stuff that way, sure sounds convenient.

I'll have to go to an Apple store to research the advantages of a hardware RAID controller card. I do not know what the motherboard chip has on it. It's a MAC 5.1 2012 model 2.66.

I do like the suggestion to go for stability instead of speed. 12 core should be fast enough, 32 GB RAM.

I will be backing up on an external, when "I get round to it". Gotta be realistic, I know how that goes.
Thanks again,
Bill

[Henry Ambrose]

If it was mine, I'd pass on RAID and go for a couple of big fast drives and use one to run on and the other for back-up. Simple. Simple is good = less failure. Then maybe add an external for additional back-up that is easy to take from one machine to another.

[Preston]

Bill,

I am very curious where you found the info that the Quadro 4000 video must be paired with the 5770. I looked around and couldn't find anything.

The only way these two cards would need one another is if the are used in SLI. (Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a brand name for a multi- GPU solution developed by NVIDIA for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output).

SLI is really a video configuration for gaming or other high end video. And, as has been said, the Quadro is not going to buy you much unless you are doing 3D, video, or games.

Once you receive the computer you'll need to check with a qualified tech to if this is so.

RAID or not? I agree with Henry. Keep it simple. I have multiple drives on my PC (SSD and two 500GB HD's and a 1TB external). If you're careful about how you allocate your files to your four drives, you shouldn't have much trouble finding things.

If you're mainly interested in being able to easily find images, take a look at IDImager.com-Photo Supreme (http://idimager.com/). It's a digital asset management program (DAM) for Mac and Windows. I have the Windows 64 bit version and find it be very robust and fast. Once you set it up, import your files, and assign labels/keywords, finding an image across many drives is a piece of cake.

Bottom line: A good DAM is a lot less hassle than dealing with a RAID array--I speak from experience.

--P

[resummerfield]

If it was mine, I'd pass on RAID and go for a couple of big fast drives and use one to run on and the other for back-up. Simple. Simple is good = less failure. Then maybe add an external for additional back-up that is easy to take from one machine to another.

That's exactly how I've configured my MacPro.

[David Lobato]

That's exactly how I've configured my MacPro.

This is good advice, and I would not recommend striping, it's normally for fast disk access in servers. Macs don't normally have letter designated drives, but you can name them what you want. Use Time Machine to setup the extra hard drives for backup and automate the backups at intervals you choose. With the number of extra drives you have you can mirror two backup drives for more security. I was daunted at first setting up Time Machine, but it went easy. If I can setup Time Machine anyone can.

[Brian K]

Bill, I have a Mac Pro 5.1, 32gig of RAM. I use it with an Eizo CG211 and for a time ran two Eizo monitors off of the one 5770 video card without any issues or loss of quality. And I often work with files as large as 5 gigs. If you want a better card then use the 5870. But the improvement will be slight. The other cards will not yield any better results for PS.

As for RAID, I only use a mirrored raid in an external drive, a G-Safe made by G-tech. The drives slide in and out easily and are stored in two different safes when I travel. This raid is just for backup, but I also have a drive in the computer as an extra backup and I use cloud back up as well. The remaining 3 drives in my Mac Pro are a Snow Leopard startup drive, for use with my IQ Smart, a Mountain Lion OS start up drive and a dedicated image storage drive. If there were any other ways to speed things up noticeably or improve quality I would not hesitate to spend the money but simply put there's no need.

If you are desperate to improve quality or accuracy my only recommendation would be to switch to the top of the line Eizo monitors.

[erie patsellis]

Regarding the Quadro 4000, if my experiences are any indication steer very clear. Buggy drivers version after version, frequent BSODs, and overall poor support. When it worked, it was nice, but stability is more important to me. After numerous google searches, I discovered that it's not just me, not just Windows installations, but the same issues crop up in OSX as well.

To sum up, save your sanity..

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks to everyone,
I have been out of town and just opened the Mac today, what a beast, it came as advertised, Quadro 4000 for Mac and a 5770.
The previous owner put a note in with it saying:
"The Quadro should not have any monitors connected to it because it serves as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for the operating system."

That shot down all my thoughts of what I thought I knew. I am back to knowing nothing. I read too much and DO NOT know what to believe.
For example:
Quadro HAS TO be used with another card, can not be used alone, not a stand alone card... read that a couple of places, God knows where?
If you connect 2 monitors up to just the 5770 then the 4000 sits in the case idle and does nothing, except generate noise and heat,
Hook up the 2 monitors to the 4000 using the DP and Dual Link DVI, 'NEC said that', but they were unfamiliar with the Quardo 4000,
Take out the 5770 and just use the 4000,
5870 is a better card with dual monitors that have a wide color gamut, 5770 will not cut it, specs seem to support that, (for what I know just reading specs.)
Most have said take out the 4000 and just use the 5770
4000 will not help with 2D images, BUT works great in CS6,

I went to Nvidia website and to the Apple website, worthless waste of time, absolutely no help found there. Called the Genius Hotline at Apple (twice) and they shuffle me back and forth because, it sounds like to me that they absolutely do not know ANYTHING about the Quadro card. Both times they referred me to a Forum so that other users will answer the question for me. So far the answer from the Forum is to sell both cards and buy another card that is super for gaming, I am not a gamer. Truthfully they never tried answering my simple question.
Nvidia website has nothing useful, it has a Forum that almost completely is for GeForce cards set up for PC's/Windows, they ignore Mac except for a couple Bootcamp applications. I found my question there in several places, no one has ever posted an answer! I search using Key Words and get nothing.

It is simple question, how to best connect 2 wide color gamet NEC monitors to a Mac Pro, 5.1 that has a Quadro 4000 and a 5770? I'm sure it will work (somewhat) connected several different ways. But which to get the best results from the monitors and printer?

Mac STILL sells both CARDS with the Mac Pro, but I can not find anything reliable on how to connect 2 NEC wide color gamet monitors.
I have been trying to answer that question for close to 3 weeks, and still can not hook it up with confidence that I have it connected in a way that will give me the best color calibration/reproduction. I am afraid that just because it is hooked up and looks pretty, IS IT RIGHT? Is it optimized for the correct color on the monitor and be calibrated with the 3880 printer. If I do not have confidence then I will not use it confidently, and that is not acceptable. I have forked out over $5,000 and do not want to settle for "MAYBE" it is connected correctly. I have also spent easily over 50 hours on the Internet and on the phone trying to get the answer.....result is I still know nothing, confidently.

Does anyone have a source that can answer this very basic and simple question? If not, I am probably going to scrap that damn card and pick up a 5870 and put this behind me.

Again thanks, to everyone, I have gotten more help here that anywhere else,
Bill

[ROL]

Bill, I think your best option is to post your specific question on the Apple Users Forum.

I'm not piling on your problems here, but AppleCare and Genius bars are really for people who buy from Apple (not, as it appears, second hand). It just so happens they can be very accommodating to users from other platforms because of the near universality and cross platform integration of their mobile products. My wife, who works on PC's, has experienced this many times at the Genius Bar. Try getting any support in the non Apple world for your PC's at their "genius bars".

That said, I have been somewhat at a loss understanding why you didn't just buy an off–the–shelf system. Apple sells discounted refurbished models with full warranty and additional AppleCare support. I recently replaced my 8 year old left-in-the-dust iMac with a new large screen iMac. The only thing I had to do was buy (much less expensive) additional third party memory, and AppleCare. I am running Aperture and Final Cut Pro X, without difficulty. Most people seem to run these most processor intensive programs quite well from their Mac Pro laptops. I am no longer running PS as my previous copy(7.0) requires a full update, and given Adobe's present offerings, I am doubling down on Apple software. Actually, I can still run PS 7 on my old iMac, inherited by my wife, by screen sharing on my new computer. I am able to use all my existing scanners, including a Polaroid SprintScan 120, and printers with the new machine. It's kind of hard to imagine why you need more processing power than that for photography, but to each his own.

I really do hope someone here can be of more help to you than the bucket of cold water I have just thrown on you.

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks to everyone,
I have been out of town and just opened the Mac today, what a beast, it came as advertised, Quadro 4000 for Mac and a 5770.
The previous owner put a note in with it saying:
"The Quadro should not have any monitors connected to it because it serves as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for the operating system."

That shot down all my thoughts of what I thought I knew. I am back to knowing nothing. I read too much and DO NOT know what to believe.
For example:
Quadro HAS TO be used with another card, can not be used alone, not a stand alone card... read that a couple of places, God knows where?
If you connect 2 monitors up to just the 5770 then the 4000 sits in the case idle and does nothing, except generate noise and heat,
Hook up the 2 monitors to the 4000 using the DP and Dual Link DVI, 'NEC said that', but they were unfamiliar with the Quardo 4000,
Take out the 5770 and just use the 4000,
5870 is a better card with dual monitors that have a wide color gamut, 5770 will not cut it, specs seem to support that, (for what I know just reading specs.)
Most have said take out the 4000 and just use the 5770
4000 will not help with 2D images, BUT works great in CS6,

I went to Nvidia website and to the Apple website, worthless waste of time, absolutely no help found there. Called the Genius Hotline at Apple (twice) and they shuffle me back and forth because, it sounds like to me that they absolutely do not know ANYTHING about the Quadro card. Both times they referred me to a Forum so that other users will answer the question for me. So far the answer from the Forum is to sell both cards and buy another card that is super for gaming, I am not a gamer. Truthfully they never tried answering my simple question.
Nvidia website has nothing useful, it has a Forum that almost completely is for GeForce cards set up for PC's/Windows, they ignore Mac except for a couple Bootcamp applications. I found my question there in several places, no one has ever posted an answer! I search using Key Words and get nothing.

It is simple question, how to best connect 2 wide color gamet NEC monitors to a Mac Pro, 5.1 that has a Quadro 4000 and a 5770? I'm sure it will work (somewhat) connected several different ways. But which to get the best results from the monitors and printer?

Mac STILL sells both CARDS with the Mac Pro, but I can not find anything reliable on how to connect 2 NEC wide color gamet monitors.
I have been trying to answer that question for close to 3 weeks, and still can not hook it up with confidence that I have it connected in a way that will give me the best color calibration/reproduction. I am afraid that just because it is hooked up and looks pretty, IS IT RIGHT? Is it optimized for the correct color on the monitor and be calibrated with the 3880 printer. If I do not have confidence then I will not use it confidently, and that is not acceptable. I have forked out over $5,000 and do not want to settle for "MAYBE" it is connected correctly. I have also spent easily over 50 hours on the Internet and on the phone trying to get the answer.....result is I still know nothing, confidently.

Does anyone have a source that can answer this very basic and simple question? If not, I am probably going to scrap that damn card and pick up a 5870 and put this behind me.

Again thanks, to everyone, I have gotten more help here that anywhere else,
Bill

I would think if the monitors calibrate you are in good shape. Have you calibrated the monitors? Its a pretty simple test that should tell you all you need to know. Perhaps you are over thinking this?

[Shootar401]

Bill,

As posted above, dual video cards will cause problems if they are not the same make and model. I suggest you pull the 4000 out and use the 5770.

--P

Not True at all! I have 3 video cards in my MacPro a ATI as my display driver and two Quadro 6000's to handle rendering and CUDA chores.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

The Mac Pro (desktop) I bought is still under AppleCare for another year. I just ran into a great deal, that I could not pass up. WAY overkill for what I actually need, but the price was great. I read where the Quadro 4000 worked great with CS6. Knew the NEC monitors did best with DP input, looked up Quadro 4000 and saw that it has 2 DP outputs so I saw it as a sign from above that this was for me. Only later to find out that the Mac version only has 1 DP and 1 dual link DVI port. I also found out that the 4000 was mainly for video and 3-D work.

Just a few minutes ago I spoke with someone at Mac Support and he know a lot about the 4000. Basically said I would be better off not using it. Said that for my uses the 5770 would be a better option, the 5770 would be slower in some areas but the 5770 would do more applications than the 4000.
He also said that the 4000 CAN BE USED alone, without the 5770. He also said that generally speaking the 5770 will do everything that the 5870 will do only that it may take a little longer. But the final results would be the same.

He suggested I contact NEC again and ask if they have a recommended video card for Mac.
So now at least I know some valuable info from a reliable source. I'd heard a lot of it before but at the same time I was hearing just the opposite...

So tomorrow I will call NEC again and ask what card do they recom?

Again thanks to everyone, the FORUM again has been a great help. I just pulled out the Quadro 4000, any one want to buy one?

I'll have to think about the RAID

Bill

[Preston]

Not True at all! I have 3 video cards in my MacPro a ATI as my display driver and two Quadro 6000's to handle rendering and CUDA chores.

Yours is a different configuration than what Bill will have. Your rendering and CUDA are using identical cards (bridged, I assume). That's a whole different ball game from what Bill wants to do with his system.

Also I was merely supporting this quote:


From Adobe - of concern if you use Photoshop: "Multiple video adapters can cause problems with GPU-accelerated or enabled features in Photoshop. It's best to connect two (or more) monitors into one video adapter. If you have to use more than one video adapter, make sure that they are the same make and model. Otherwise, crashes and other problems can occur in Photoshop.

Note: Using more than one video adapter does not enhance Photoshop's performance."

--P

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Preston, and everyone else, I've been working my tail off and ordering cables so that I can try the different configurations that are possible.
I spoke to Nvidia today and they were unsure about the double card set up, they were DEFINITELY sure that the Quarto 4000 by itself would do an unbelievable job on CS6 and the latest Mountain Lion upgrade.
I also called Adobe and the tech support was not helpful at all, they tried but truthfully knew nothing.
I did find what you quoted from the Adobe website.

The Nvidia website had some video clips showing the difference between the 4000 and CS6 and other cards. It was amazing.
Nvidia suggested trying both cards and comparing the difference. Shooting RAW with large files he said that I would be able to see a HUGE difference. Can't argue with that. SO today I will be trying the 4000 by itself for a while and see if I can see a difference.

The RAID if I go that route, I'm thinking can be 4 identical hard drives backed up by Time Machine to an external on a regular basis. Not everything, just the files.
A friend told me to have 3 folders for every shoot. "Original' and 'Working' and 'Final', sounds good to me.

[limnidytis]

The Quarto 4000 is one of the few cards that can output 10 bit color if you enable OpenGL in Photoshop, and have a monitor that can display 10 bit color and connect via displayport connector. The DVI connector only supports 8 bit color.

[Bodyslam]

Bill, I know you already got your computer, but you may want to start saving up for your next one. At the WWDC today Apple previewed the new Mac Pro. It's a lot more than just another version of the existing Mac Pro with a Thunderbolt port added. Come the fall, if you've squirreled away several thousand extra dollars, you'll be able to get one screamin' machine.

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

Of course the machine you bought will still work fine even after they start shipping the new one--as will mine. I made a similar choice to yours about six months ago, knowing that soon there would be a new generation machine, but wanting to get to work now.

But I'm starting to save up anyway. It looks that good.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

limnidytis, and everyone else, Work keeps getting in the way... not enough time for anything else...

Thus far I tried the 4,000 by itself, worked fine. Now I have the 4000 and the 5770 both installed and have the monitors connected to the mini-DP on the 5770 to the DP on the NEC monitors. Still working fine. I calibrated them and they look fantastic. Is the 4000 doing anything? I do not know.

Question is, does the 5770 output 10 bit color? Simple question, but I can't find the answer. If it does not then the monitors are NOT getting the 10 bit color they need for max performance. I know "If they look good then leave good enough alone..." but since I already have the 2 cards, what is the best way to connect them??? Does 10 bit color have a different name?

The 4000 alone forced me to use it's only 2 outputs a DP and a Dual Link DVI.

I keep talking to people at NEC and Nvidia and MAC... NO ONE can give me a definitive answer as to the best way to connect them. Really disappointing.

So for now I'm leaving them both connected and the displays connected via the 5770. I probably, hell I know, I do not push them hard enough to really see a difference.

Monitors really look great.

Again THANKS everyone for all the help. If I ever come up with a good answer I'll pass it along. limnidytis brings up some of the finer points about the 10 bit color, those are the details that I am striving to set this computer/displays up that it can perform at it's best.

Bill

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

I keep reading and now I find this, It is a bit dated but had that changed? This says MAC can not provide 10 BIT COLOR.

Any comments?

http://www.imagescience.com.au/kb/questions/152/10+Bit+Output+Support

[JW Dewdney]

I keep reading and now I find this, It is a bit dated but had that changed? This says MAC can not provide 10 BIT COLOR.

Any comments?

http://www.imagescience.com.au/kb/questions/152/10+Bit+Output+Support

the graphics subsystem to processor pipelines are all 8 bits as far as I know. The truth is that modern flat screen monitors can't really even QUITE get 8 bits of information properly displayed - practically speaking - but theoretically they can. Older high end CRTs still do a better job at this. So even if you had some absurd super duper graphics processing capability running on the latest cray or whatever - it would be pretty pointless unless you had a monitor capable of resolving 8 bit plus word lengths... not really sure the human eye would even be able to tell the difference though...

[paulr]

So even if you had some absurd super duper graphics processing capability running on the latest cray or whatever - it would be pretty pointless unless you had a monitor capable of resolving 8 bit plus word lengths... not really sure the human eye would even be able to tell the difference though...

It comes up if your monitor doesn't have hardware calibration. If you only have 8 bits to work with, and your ability to control the monitor is strictly through software and through an ICC profile, then every adjustment you make cuts into to those 8 bits. The greater the adjustments you make, the lower the effective available bit depth you''ll have remaining.

Monitors like the Eizos and higher end NECs have their own built-in 10 or 12 bit display engines, which use internal 16 bit lookup tables, allowing adjustments to the monitor output to take place in this expanded resolution space. They give a huge range of adjustment, without any chance of banding or reduced gamut. With these monitors, 8 bit output from the computer is plenty.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Here is my basic question, with the following equipment how should I set it up?
Mac Pro 12 core, 32RAM, Nvidia 4000, ATI HD 5770, 2 high end NEC PA 241W monitors. The monitors have the Spectraview II calibration.

1. Use the 4000 alone
2. Use the 5770 alone
3. Use both with the monitors connected via the mini-DP's on the back of the 5770, connected to the DP input on the PA 241. That is the question I have been trying to answer, and the information is all over the map.

[paulr]

If you aren't doing video or 3D or using some other pro software that puts big demands on the GPU, there's no reason to have more than one video card.

Video cards make very little diference to Photoshop. There are some features that use the GPU, but they are only related to screen animations and display; they have nothing to do with processing your actual file. Many high end users disable GPU acceleration in Photoshop, because they find it causes problems. I don't have problems with it; I find it speeds up the display of a handful of features. I have an older, low-end card, and it makes these features instantaneous; nothing would be gained from a faster card. Unless future versions of PS make greater demands on the GPU.

There is no point in keeping the Quadro unless your using pro video, 3D, or visualization software that's written specifically to take advantage of it. It offers no benefits to Photoshop or even to 3D games. It's just a power hungry toaster with big fans leeching off your Mac. It's worth good money to people who need it. Sell it and buy something usful. The 5770 will serve you well.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

paulr, Thanks, I'm going to play around with it to see if I can actually see a difference. So far I can not. I know I am not taxing the machine or Photoshop at all. My main concern is getting my monitors to display the best they possibly can. They look great, calibrating was VERY EASY.

Bill

[paulr]

I'm going to play around with it to see if I can actually see a difference. So far I can not.

Right, there shouldn't be any differences between video cards in how the monitors look. From software to the monitors everything is digital; if your calibration and profile is the same display should be identical.