Today, something a bit surprising on eBay: a prototype of an alleged graphics card for Mac. I’m not entirely certain that it’s indeed an Apple model, but some points tend to suggest so.
It’s a prototype of the GeForce GTX 260, with a pre-production chip (A2). There is no indication on the PCB that it is an Apple model, but the video outputs are typical of the brand for two reasons. First, the presence of a Mini DisplayPort, a port invented by Apple that was only adopted later by other manufacturers after its validation by the VESA consortium. Second, the symbol identifying the video output is the one used by Apple (again) on its graphics cards.
GTX 260
A typically Apple output
However, it’s important to note that Apple has never offered this type of card in its Macs. The first model with a Mini DisplayPort is the GeForce GT120 in some Mac Pros. The GeForce GTX 285 « Mac Edition, » released quite late, only had two DVI outputs. Since the seller has only tested the card under Windows, it’s impossible to know if the card contains an EFI firmware, which would answer the question.
