Graphics Cards – AMD FirePro W7000 4GB GDDR5 GPUs
The closest match for the dual GPUs inside the entry spec Mac Pro is the AMD FirePro W7000. It matches all the major specs, with the exception of two things: The clock speed (we’re almost certain due to performance numbers) and the amount of memory. We think that the D300 GPUs inside the entry level Mac Pro are downclocked W7000 GPUs as all the other specs match up. The other difference was the amount of memory where the D300 gets half the amount as the W7000.
These graphics cards are available for $699.99 a piece and we’ll need two of them. As we mentioned in the last article, if the machine is for Adobe Creative Suite and using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, the suite now supports all sorts of consumer grade graphics cards. So that means you don’t have to use the professional cards. It’ll even do multi-GPU rendering with as many GPUs as you can shove into it which is very cool.
And that’s the nice thing about PC DIY. The fact that you aren’t forced to buy the professional products at hundreds to thousands more. In fact, GTX 760s with 4GBs of memory sell for around $300 in various clock speed upgrades. And since the suite now supports multi-GPU rendering, as mentioned, you can buy two cards for less than one of the FirePro W7000s. Most importantly, you have a more versatile system because now it can also game as workstation cards are notoriously horrible at games. Plus, you’re not stuck with a particular company’s GPU choice because often times, the best GPU for the job, can change.