Hi,
I have a new MacPro that I'd like to dual boot w/ Linux.
I cannot get the ATI driver to work on Linux, and I've heard from several places that in general they don't work well.
Another option form me is to put two cards in, the ATI and an NVIDIA card. This is actually ideal as I can do CUDA work on the same machine.

Is this possible? I'm a novice at conf files. Is it possible to get he linux machine to just use the nvidia card, and ignore the ATI card?

Thanks,
Dave

Yes it is possible. You will have to edit xorg.conf to tune it.

Regards

If you install the proprietary drivers for either card, they should come with a GUI based configuration program that will generate an xorg.conf for you.

That being said, if you intend to run both, each configuration app is possibly going to cause conflicts, I have always used the same make/model GPU when using dual setups. I figure it has to be simpler that way..

AFAIK the mac pros with ATI card use either 2600XT (2008 models) or 5770/5870 (2010 models). Both should work well with the open soruce drivers or closed soruce drivers.

Tell us what distro you are using, how you are installing the ATI/AMD drivers and the driver version (if its the closed source drivers), and how its not working.

AFAIK it is possible to use 2 different brand video cards (eg ATI/AMD and nVidia) with linux, but its a real pain, and there is some serious limitations.

If you were going to put an nVidia card in there, why not just remove the ATI/AMD card?

BTW,mac pros have multipule PCIe slot, but only one can run at x16. So one card would be forced to use x8. Not a huge difference, but for serious gaming, or CUDA, there could be some speed impact from the slower interface.

thanks for the responses!

My understanding was that there are no nvidia drivers for the mac, otherwise I would do that.
I have the ATI 5870. I've tried both the open and proprietary. Another guy trying to do the same thing got some build instructions from a friend at ATI. That didn't solve the problem either.
I tried this w/ Ubuntu, and the guy here did it with openSuse. I'm happy to try with any distro if I can get it working.

How would I go about modifying the x config file? I have no idea what to even search for to get it right. I assume I'd need to get the busid, and make sure the default source was the nvidia card.

Thanks,
d

AFAIK the linux nvidia drivers will work with (suppotred) nVidia card, no matter if its mac (power PC or x86), intel, AMD

What is the problem?

Just saying 'ubuntu' doesnt help much, the a more full discription (eg 'ubuntu 10.04') would help.

Ok, so I just found out that the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 is supported for the mac.
This may solve my problem. Anyone have any experience w/ this card in Linux and/or OS X Lion?

Thanks,
Dave

Quadro 4000? Nice card, if you intend to run some professional graphics applications (eg 3dstudio max) with windows/macOSX...and/or you've got money to burn. Otherwise, avoid buying quadro cards!
The quadro 4000 is a $800 odd video card that can be outpaced by lowly, GTX550Ti ($120-150) and is totally outclassed by a GTX560Ti ($200-250). You could build a x86 machine with a GTX560Ti for less than the quadro card.

BTW, no, I dont have expereince with the quadro 4000, but I've had experience with quadro cards in general.

I wish you would tell us what the 'problem' with the 5870 is......

Ya, sorry. Ubuntu 10.10, and openSuse 12.1

Yes, on the MAC side, I do run such programs. And, the added memory will be nice for CUDA work.
New card should be in on Monday. Excited to try it out.

I really didnt think that you would be racing off and getting a quadro, or else I would have worded my warning better.

The quadro is SLOWER than the 5870. Sure, the quadro does CUDA but that only helps in a few places. Its quite possible that moving to a quadro 4000 will be worse than the 5870, it will all depend on the programs you use.