MP 1,1-5,1 2009 Mac Pro 5.1. (flashed 4.1) suddenly noise and blank screen

[MacCheese101]

Hi,

I am new to Max Pro’s and this forum.
I bought a 2009 MacPro used, 3,33 GHz, 2x6 cores and 48GB RAM. I am looking forward to use my new old Mac, but I am not able right now, unfortunately.

I hope someone here can help with my issue, here’s what happened:

There was no OS installed, so I put in a USB stick with El Capitan and the original graphics card. Before that I was turning the Mac on with the previous user, it seemed to work fine (he had an upgraded graphics card, Monterrey and additional USB C card installed, also Windows).

Installation was smooth, I got El Capitan running. But after 5 Minutes or less a loud noise (fan) popped up it was getting louder and the screen went blank.

I turned the machine off and tried two more times with the same issue. After restarting it was telling there was a problem but it started again fine until the noise issue appeared again.

The motherboard seemed to be warm, not extreme, but there was slight heat at that area. Could it be that the fresh installation made it overheat?

I got OS X El Capitan on a fresh OWC 1 TB SATA in, that’s all. No other partitions.

I hope someone can help me and this issue can be solved, because my budget is a bit strained. I would like to make some music production with Logic Pro X, I need to upgrade the OS also (as far as Monterey would be perfect, or a bit older). Also I have a Saphire graphics cars, which I removed for the fresh installation. I would like to upgrade after I get the Mac running soomthly.

As an alternative I have an 2017 MacBook Air i7 2,2 GHz, only 8 GB RAM and 512 SSD, which is to weak for some plugins.

Thanks so much in advance.

Tom

 

[MacCheese101]

I assume it is the Apple graphics card, the noise comes from this card.

Can I buy another Apple graphics card and install a newer version on my flashed 2009 Mac Pro (flashed from 4.1 to 5.1)? I am not able to do anything with the Mac right now because of this issues.

I would like to upgrade to Monterey. This should work with an original Apple graphics card that supports Monterey, right?

I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!

 

[tsialex]

All AppleOEM GPUs for MacPro5,1 are too old to support METAL, a requirement since Mojave. There are stickie threads for GPUs and all upgrades for a MacPro5,1.

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

cMP {classicMacPro}{4,1 & 5,1} - Upgrade Guide Sticky Discussion

Hey Folks, Lets start a discussion and collect everything relevant for cMP upgraders out there. Topics to consider: CPU Upgrades Compatibility chart CPU Delid / standoffs 4,1 to 5,1 firmware upgrade Memory Compatibility and Upgrades UDIMM Model Numbers RDIMM Model Numbers RAM...

forums.macrumors.com

I'd get the cheapest AppleOEM GT120 (or any other AppleOEM GPU for MacPro4,1/5,1) just to debug the Mac Pro and then try to find a real AMD RX 580 2304SPs to upgrade it. AMD VEGA56 + eVGA Power Link to balance the power draw will also work fine.

 

[MacCheese101]

All AppleOEM GPUs for MacPro5,1 are too old to support METAL, a requirement since Mojave. There are stickie threads for GPUs and all upgrades for a MacPro5,1.

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

cMP {classicMacPro}{4,1 & 5,1} - Upgrade Guide Sticky Discussion

Hey Folks, Lets start a discussion and collect everything relevant for cMP upgraders out there. Topics to consider: CPU Upgrades Compatibility chart CPU Delid / standoffs 4,1 to 5,1 firmware upgrade Memory Compatibility and Upgrades UDIMM Model Numbers RDIMM Model Numbers RAM...

forums.macrumors.com

I'd get the cheapest AppleOEM GT120 (or any other AppleOEM GPU for MacPro4,1/5,1) just to debug the Mac Pro and then try to find a real AMD RX 580 2304SPs to upgrade it. AMD VEGA56 + eVGA Power Link to balance the power draw will also work fine.

Great, I appreciate your support!

Sounds reasonable, will do it that way. I have a used Saphire RadeonRX580 8GB, maybe that’s also possible. But I guess it is mentioned in one of your linked threads!

 

[tsialex]

I have a used Saphire RadeonRX580 8GB, maybe that’s also possible. But I guess it is mentioned in one of your linked threads!

You won't have pre-boot configuration support or will be able to run AHT/ASD (Apple diagnostics tools) with a Radeon RX 580, so it's not a good choice for trying to make a not working MacPro to work again. You'll need one of the AppleOEM GPUs for getting the Mac Pro working, run AHT/ASD, update firmware and etc.

Btw, if the RX 580 you have is the 2048SPs version, Apple does not support it at all (it's a Chinese market rename of the RX 570 that is now everywhere in the world), even if it's a Sapphire Pulse (yes, there are Sapphire Pulse RX 580 2048SPs).

You can know if the RX 580 is the 2304SPs or the incompatible 2048SPs running GPU-Z and looking at Shaders (looking at the name can be misleading, since there are 2048SPs cards named just AMD Radeon RX 580, these are fakes and not just a Chinese market rename):

 

[MacCheese101]

You won't have pre-boot configuration support or will be able to run AHT/ASD (Apple diagnostics tools) with a Radeon RX 580, so it's not a good choice for trying to make a not working MacPro to work again. You'll need one of the AppleOEM GPUs for getting the Mac Pro working, run AHT/ASD, update firmware and etc.

Btw, if the RX 580 you have is the 2048SPs version, Apple does not support it at all (it's a Chinese market rename of the RX 570 that is now everywhere in the world), even if it's a Sapphire Pulse (yes, there are Sapphire Pulse RX 580 2048SPs).

You can know if the RX 580 is the 2304SPs or the incompatible 2048SPs running GPU-Z and looking at Shaders (looking at the name can be misleading, since there are 2048SPs cards named just AMD Radeon RX 580, these are fakes and not just a Chinese market rename):

View attachment 2344080

Ok, thanks!

I try to find the AMD Vega with power link. But first do an upgrade at least to Big Sur, because of the fan stop feature and then install the Vega card. I found one with a boot screen.

 

[tsialex]

You are jumping steps. You already have 144.0.0.0.0? The Mac Pro really works?

 

[MacCheese101]

Yes, I do. I tested the Mac before the SSD’s were taken out by the former owner.

But you are right, I will first read your links. Thanks again!

 

[MacCheese101]

The Mac was running before with the former mentioned RX580, but set up was a pain I was told.

 

[tsialex]

The Mac was running before with the former mentioned RX580, but set up was a pain I was told.

So, a card that is in the recommended Apple list for Mojave, Apple sold it with the kits used it to develop eGPU support and was sold with 2017 to 2019 iMacs and 2019 Mac Pro was a pain to install? Seems the Mac Pro have other issues that you are not aware.

Anyway, the first thing is to get it booting, run ASD/AHT, then check if the BootROM is already 144.0.0.0.0, after that you can think about upgrading it and installing unsupported macOS releases.

 

[MacCheese101]

So, a card that is in the recommended Apple list for Mojave, Apple sold it with the kits used it to develop eGPU support and was sold with 2017 to 2019 iMacs and 2019 Mac Pro was a pain to install? Seems the Mac Pro have other issues that you are not aware.

Anyway, the first thing is to get it booting, run ASD/AHT, then check if the BootROM is already 144.0.0.0.0, after that you can think about upgrading it and installing unsupported macOS releases.

Will do step by step. Thanks again.

 

[MacCheese101]

I got High Sierra 10.13.6 running, Firmware is 144.0.0.0.0, next thing will be graphic cards upgrade.