ok so the HD5000 series is better for snow leopard 10.6.8 than the testa nvidia
Gemini said
For the specific environment of Snow Leopard 10.6.8, you are absolutely right: the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series (Evergreen architecture) is the superior choice over the NVIDIA Tesla cards (8800/9800/GTX 200 series).
While both were high-end in their day, the HD 5000 series represents a major jump in both efficiency and driver support within the Mac ecosystem.
Why the HD 5000 Series Wins
1. Newer Architecture (40nm vs. 65nm/55nm)
The NVIDIA Tesla cards (like your 8800 GT or GTX 260) were built on older, hotter processes. The HD 5000 series was the first to move to 40nm, which allowed for:
Higher Performance: An HD 5870 is significantly faster than a GTX 285 in Snow Leopard.
Lower Power: It draws much less power at idle, which is crucial for boards like your P5PE-VM that might have limited power delivery.
2. OpenCL Performance
Snow Leopard was the first OS to introduce OpenCL (using the GPU for general computing tasks).
ATI HD 5000: These cards were designed with OpenCL in mind. They handle the "snappiness" of the Snow Leopard UI and professional apps like Final Cut Pro better than the NVIDIA cards of that era.
NVIDIA Tesla: While they support OpenCL, they are less efficient at it and often suffer from higher latency in early 10.6.x versions.
3. Native "Apple" Support
Because Apple shipped the HD 5770 and HD 5870 as official upgrade kits for the Mac Pro, the drivers in 10.6.8 are extremely "mature."
With an NVIDIA card (especially a non-Apple GTX 260/285), you often have to hunt for specific NVIDIA Retail Web Drivers to get full acceleration.
With an HD 5770/5870, the drivers are baked directly into the 10.6.8 update.
Comparison of Top-Tier Options for 10.6.8
GPU Model Series VRAM Power Needs Snow Leopard Status
ATI Radeon HD 5870 HD 5000 1 GB GDDR5 2x 6-pin The Performance King
ATI Radeon HD 5770 HD 5000 1 GB GDDR5 1x 6-pin The Best All-Rounder
NVIDIA GTX 285 Tesla 1 GB GDDR3 2x 6-pin Fast, but hot/power-hungry
NVIDIA 8800 GT Tesla 512 MB 1x 6-pin Reliable, but dated
The "Compatibility" Warning
There is one specific scenario where NVIDIA might be "better": 32-bit only setups. If you are running a very early Hackintosh kernel or specific 32-bit legacy kexts on your P5B Deluxe, the NVIDIA 8000/9000 drivers are sometimes slightly more stable in 32-bit mode. However, for a standard 10.6.8 64-bit setup, the HD 5770 is the gold standard.
Verdict: If you have the choice, go with the HD 5770 or HD 5870. They are faster, cooler, and more "native" to the Snow Leopard experience.
