14 DAY TRIAL // Nvidia has released a “critical” update to the Mac drivers for its GeForce GTX 285 and Quadro FX 4800 graphics chips, a requirement to maintain kernel compatibility in Mac OS X. The GTX 285 is a $450 graphics card for the Mac Pro. According to those who’ve applied the driver updates, users gain up to 20% better performance.
According to an Apple spokesperson, the new drivers will affect those who plan to update to Mac OS X 10.5.8. Nvidia strongly encourages users of either graphics card to install the new drivers before attempting to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5.8.
“In order to run MAC OS Applications that leverage the CUDA architecture of the NVIDIA GPU, you will need to download a runtime CUDA driver,” the company says. “This is specific for the GeForce GTX 285 for MAC and the Graphics Driver 18.5.2 [...] Please download and install the latest CUDA driver for MAC...” Nvidia lists the following changes:
- Improved compatibility with recent Mac OS X Kernels. - Workstation application compatibility fixes. - Supported Language: Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian.
On the Apple downloads section, changes for each graphics solution are listed as such:
- FX4800: Improved compatibility with recent Mac OS X Kernals [sic.]; Workstation application compatibility fixes. - GTX 285: Improved COD4 performance, especially with AA enabled when latest patch is applied; Fixed a compatibility bug with a future update of OSX. (emphasis ours)
Apple also advises visitors of its downloads section to apply the update while still running the current version of Leopard – Mac OS X 10.5.7. Another system requirement is, of course, the Mac Pro itself. Should you try and install these drivers on an iMac or MacBook, the installer application will say that it has not found a suitable environment and will close.