Gamers primarily install higher performance cards such as the Nvidia 570 GTX in a Mac Pro so that games run better under Boot Camp. But is there also an improvement over the stock ATI Radeon HD 5770 when running games under Mac OS?

We do some tests to find out.

Test: Borderlands

Borderlands is a bit GPU hungry compared to most Mac games. We ran through a couple of minutes gameplay on the ATI then swapped it for the NVIDIA.

Hardware:

• 2010 Mac Pro (5,1)
• 10 GB RAM
• 7200 RPM disk drive
• OS 10.7.4
• Stock video driver for ATI
• Driver 270.00.00f06 (with parts of 270.00.00f01 to get rid of artefacts) for Nvidia

Borderlands video settings:

• Resolution: 1920×1080
• Anisotropic filtering: 4x
• Dynamic shadows: off
• Bullet decals: on
• Foliage quality: high
• Texture quality: high
• Game detail: high
• Bloom: on
• Depth of field: on
• Flare outs: on

Results

In both cases, the frame rate would drop below 20 fps at certain points. In both cases, it would achieve greater than 50 fps. However, on average, the ATI 5770 sustains about 25 FPS, the Nvidia 570 sustains around 29 fps. The gameplay experience was marginally smoother on the Nvidia, and there were less graphical artefacts.

Continued in part 2.