14 DAY TRIAL // Those installing the latest incremental update to Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5.7, are now confirming that Apple has included the appropriate drivers for the ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Upgrade Kit for Mac Pro (Early 2009 or Early 2008). The ATI Radeon HD 4870 includes 512MB of GDDR5 memory, uses the PCI Express 2.0 interface, and includes one Mini DisplayPort and one dual-link DVI port.
According to Apple posting a description of the respective card on its online store, “The ATI Radeon HD 4870 [...] is the ultimate choice for visual creative, scientific, and technical applications,” delivering “incredible graphics processing power.” The card includes two video ports: one Mini DisplayPort and one dual-link DVI port, allowing Mac Pro users to connect both the 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display or another Mini DisplayPort-based display, and a DVI-based display such as the 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display. Apple also provides display adapters to those who work with VGA displays.
On a more detailed note, Apple revealed even before 10.5.7 was out that the ATI Radeon HD 4870 required a Mac Pro Early 2009 with 1066MHz DDR3 memory, or a Mac Pro Early 2008 with 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM memory, with a PCI Express 2.0 slot and, most importantly, Mac OS X v10.5.7 or later.
As noted by Macworld, those who had pre-ordered the card were faced with having to wait for the 10.5.7 update to be released, with some of the customers reporting that their shipping status had changed, so that Apple could intercept the delivery. The Mac-focused site also points out that OS X 10.5.7 includes support for extensions to OpenGL, Apple’s 3D graphics API required to support the Radeon HD 4870, as recently revealed by an ATI representative.
Mac Pro (Early 2009 or Early 2008) owners who haven't yet installed Mac OS X 10.5.7 can do so by downloading the new software using the link below.