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2012 Mac Pro + SAPPHIRE Pulse Radeon RX 580
- Thread starter BlueBubba
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It's mature now, having reached 10.13.6. Barring security updates, that's likely the final release of it.
I've heard reports that the RX 580 may not work 100% without being on HS.
If there are specific horror stories you want confirmed/debunked, go ahead and list them. I'm happy to test whatever I can.
I manage several hundred Macs at work and yes, there were horror stories, in particular with Apple’s SMB implementation, but this has now been fully resolved.
High Sierra is currently a very stable OS and I’d very much recommend moving to it along with APFS.
Went from Sierra to High Sierra with 3 Mac Pros (2x RX 580 and 1x RX 570) past weekend. Apple Photos broke with RX 580 and RX 570 + GT 120 combo. There appeared some serious graphical glitches. Picture tearing, static noise, bare red previews. Other users have notified about this bug earlier (eg. h9826790).
Pictures are allright if exported from Photos to other apps though. Haven't yet found anything so bad besides that. Strange thing is, that the bug did not go away after I took the GT 120 out of the machine. I do still have nVidia webdrivers installed, because of a former GTX 1060 experiment. I would need to check if they have something to do with it.
I High Sierra works ok, I guess I'm gonna stay with it for a while, and I'm not gonna update to Mojave any time soon. Not with my old Mac Pros, but not with our 2017 iMacs either. There's always something irritating nowadays with newest MacOSes regarding production workflow and professional software. Now it's gonna be OpenGL deprecation and all Metal transition, if I have to guess. Might still try 10.14 as an external install, just for fun.
ps. transitions to APFS all went well, both with MB sata slot SSDs and with PCIe M.2 SSDs, I think.
ps2. my cMPs are 2x 4.1->5.1, and 1x 5.1, no 2012 model
Pictures are allright if exported from Photos to other apps though. Haven't yet found anything so bad besides that. Strange thing is, that the bug did not go away after I took the GT 120 out of the machine. I do still have nVidia webdrivers installed, because of a former GTX 1060 experiment. I would need to check if they have something to do with it.
I High Sierra works ok, I guess I'm gonna stay with it for a while, and I'm not gonna update to Mojave any time soon. Not with my old Mac Pros, but not with our 2017 iMacs either. There's always something irritating nowadays with newest MacOSes regarding production workflow and professional software. Now it's gonna be OpenGL deprecation and all Metal transition, if I have to guess. Might still try 10.14 as an external install, just for fun.
ps. transitions to APFS all went well, both with MB sata slot SSDs and with PCIe M.2 SSDs, I think.
ps2. my cMPs are 2x 4.1->5.1, and 1x 5.1, no 2012 model
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I bought a powercolour 580 8gb and with sierra it wouldnt work properly it was picked up and worked but the graphics acceleration was no better than my 5770.
I had a ball ache getting HS on my mac pro it basically crashed on the firmware update i left it for 2 days and it was stuck so rebooted it and it corrupted the firmware, wouldn't boot no nothing which was difficult to get sorted. It was my main work machine and ended up using a spare dell workstation and was so busy it took ages for me to get around to fixing.
Anyway once I figured out the issue and got HS working the machine is completely revitalized with HS and the 580 everything works so much quicker the metal updates with HS and the adobe CC updates have made the machine feel like new. Before lightroom was unusable and now it flys along.
My powercolour card works out of the box too and is recognised as a 580 I just did'nt realise its a 2.5 bay card so have lost a PCI slot which is really annoying as I have a USB 3 card and 2 velocity x2 PCI ssd cards so have had to give up a raid 0 drive.
How did you get sorted? Some people are getting corrupted BootROMs too, could you please share what you did to repair it?
Yikes.
I'm glad to hear 10.13 seems mature and stable at this point, but the kinds of firmware / bootrom issues described above are exactly the kind of thing I can't afford to have happen on my production machine.
(Also, is APFS a necessary conversion at the time of 10.13 installation? Can 10.13 work with HFS volumes? I use.... a LOT of hard drives.)
EDIT: I just read a bit about APFS, and it seems like it applies solely to solid state volumes. I use a PCIe SSD for my boot drive (OS & applications), but all my actual data is on HDDs... so while there are dozens of HDDs, it appears APFS would only apply to my one SSD. That is A LOT more manageable.
I'm glad to hear 10.13 seems mature and stable at this point, but the kinds of firmware / bootrom issues described above are exactly the kind of thing I can't afford to have happen on my production machine.
(Also, is APFS a necessary conversion at the time of 10.13 installation? Can 10.13 work with HFS volumes? I use.... a LOT of hard drives.)
EDIT: I just read a bit about APFS, and it seems like it applies solely to solid state volumes. I use a PCIe SSD for my boot drive (OS & applications), but all my actual data is on HDDs... so while there are dozens of HDDs, it appears APFS would only apply to my one SSD. That is A LOT more manageable.
Just to point you in the right direction:
- Apple turned all the focus on Mojave since 10.13.6. So, no more firmware updates at minor releases on High Sierra updates. Since High Sierra had the last minor release, from now own just security updates.
- You can use startosinstall command to install High Sierra on a HFS+ drive, no problem.
For the non-terminal users, is it a case of download the installer, and type some stuff in terminal to do this?
Does this also work if doing an upgrade from Sierra.
You can read more about startosinstall on this Der Flounder article:
Using the macOS High Sierra OS installer’s startosinstall tool to avoid APFS conversion.
You can use startosinstall to upgrade too.
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After I removed the GT120, Photos pictures could be fixed by just editing them. For example "rotate right", then "undo". The preview and the picture appear just fine again. Fortunately you can edit multiple pics simultaneously in Photos. Pictures can't be fixed in Photos app with both GT120 and RX5x0 installed under latest High Sierra 10.13.6.
Hi, Can you help me out is this the card that will work with my 2012 mac pro ? Im confused because it says overclock on it....
Most likely that OC is compared to the AMD reference card.
The PULSE default max at 1366MHz, AMD reference card is 1340MHz.
Anyway, this is the Apple recommended card. It should work (in the latest macOS)
Hi all. I read through this and think I secured all the right parts for my Mac Pro 2009 (4,1) updated to (5,1). I purchased this card:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZZ6FMF8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also already had two mini 6-pin to regular six pin cables, so I purchased this adapter to turn two 6-pins into one 8.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M49SELW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I do NOT have FileVault enabled on my startup drive. I double checked again. I'm on 10.13.6.
I took out the GT 120 and while I found it quite difficult to seat the new card, I finally got it in, hooked up the power, etc, and hit the power button. However, nothing ever came up on my two screens, the fans on the card never spun up nor did anything on the card alight (not sure if the Sapphire logo is supposed to illuminate in this version?).
I reset the NVRAM. I took the card back out and put it back in the lower slot, but once again the same. I tried moving it to the next slot up, but some result. I ended up having to put my GT 120 back in and all started normally.
Please let me know if you have any advice!!! Would love to get this working.
Thanks!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZZ6FMF8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also already had two mini 6-pin to regular six pin cables, so I purchased this adapter to turn two 6-pins into one 8.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M49SELW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I do NOT have FileVault enabled on my startup drive. I double checked again. I'm on 10.13.6.
I took out the GT 120 and while I found it quite difficult to seat the new card, I finally got it in, hooked up the power, etc, and hit the power button. However, nothing ever came up on my two screens, the fans on the card never spun up nor did anything on the card alight (not sure if the Sapphire logo is supposed to illuminate in this version?).
I reset the NVRAM. I took the card back out and put it back in the lower slot, but once again the same. I tried moving it to the next slot up, but some result. I ended up having to put my GT 120 back in and all started normally.
Please let me know if you have any advice!!! Would love to get this working.
Thanks!
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Replying to myself to see if I can re-draw attention to this in case anyone has good ideas!
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Did you tried to do a clean install on another drive? I usually start to troubleshoot with that. With a non-EFI card is the first thing that you have to do.
Rx580 with boot screen is achievable.
I have apple boot screen and boot from Nvme M.2 SSD 1tb SiliconPower also. To get boot screen you have to "Create Install Media"
It's a command applied with terminal to give you a bootable installer. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 .
After playing with a few setups i will tell you this. installing only one 6 pin power to the RX580 will allow you to use the card, however, the card will only run on "low power mode". The 6 pin connector senses when pin two is missing and throws the Rx580 into a safe power mode. The card knows, not to overdraw power, from the connector it's connected to. Its a fail safe connection that was designed into the Power connector itself. Having the 6 pin will "Not" allow you to put the operating system to sleep.
6 pin = no sleep
8 pin = No problems
Hdmi out vs DisplayPort output.
I have a 49" Spectre Ultra High Definition Display. Wall Mart Special.
I have achieved 5k Retina quality with the 4k Display. Want to know how ?
You have to use the Hdmi output on the Rx580 in order to get the 60hz function to activate in display preferences.
If you plug into the DisplayPort output you will be locked out from 60hz from within the operating system.
The display port pinouts and the software work together to allow the system to properly handle the data.
The software knows when a displayport cable is connected and adjusts the settings within the operating system.
Hdmi = 60hz output @ 5k (HiPDI)
Displayport = 30hz output @ 5k (HiDPI)
Under system preferences >Displays>hover mouse pointer over the "scale" button and press "option"
This will give you HiDPI options to choose from. This is a configuration that links your hardware with your software. It has to be manually set for your own preference. A Hdmi 2.0 cable is needed to activate 60hz function. The HDMI 2.0 cable must be in the Rx580's Hdmi port also.
I choose 1920x1080 HiDPI. Not 1080p or 1080i. This gives me a 16:9 resolution @ 5k. I only notice one application that has a latency lag with the mouse pointer.
Propelerhead Reason. Also Note: You won't see the HiDPI lettering in Mojave to let you know it's a HiDPI option. But it is, trust me. When I use Propellerhead Reason i go back to 1920x1080p @60hz. This Lower resolution allows me to handle (click and grab with the mouse pointer) at incredible speed. 5k@60hz there is a noticeable delay when i try to drag and resize windows, but only with Reason.
Here is my system currently:
Mojave:
10.14.5 (18F132)
Mac Pro (Early 2009) (5.1 firmware flash)
2 x 3.46 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon (12 core w/ multicore hyper threading)
48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 (slots 4 & 8 empty. Enables Triple Channel Architecture)
Radeon RX 580 8 GB Saphire Pulse
Radeon RX 580:
Name: ATY,AMD,RadeonFramebuffer
Type: Display Controller
Driver Installed: Yes
MSI: Yes
Bus: PCI
Slot: Slot-1
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x67df
Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x1da2
Subsystem ID: 0xe387
Revision ID: 0x00e7
Link Width: x16
Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s
The 1Tb Silicon Power Nvme on slot 4 is reading and writing at about 1400/1400 speeds. The Nvme is rated 3500/3500 speeds but is bottlenecked without a Pcie switch adapter card. Pcie link speed on the Nvme is 5.0Gts.
My system is Apple native. Everything works from Apple.
49" Sceptre (UHD)/ 5k hack @ 60hz. Rx580 on Hdmi2.0 with Mojave.
Not bad for a tv screen. Wonder if the 580 will drive another screen ?
I also have the ability for monitor rotation under display preferences.
The software rescales the resolution to 1920x1080 HiDPI (5k).
Also: My tv has the ability to upscale automatically. Its a chip in the tv and has firmware that calculates frames and stuff.
There are 3 different Saphire Pulse 8gb models to choose from. The batch numbers (serial) have some slight differences, Clock speeds.
I have the 1st release serial number RX 580 Saphire Pulse 8gb.
I also disabled trim via terminal on the Nvme ssd. This speeds the system up as the system does not have to execute trim commands anylonger. (Reading/Writing)
I allow garbage collection to do all system garbage work. Ive been doing this since El Capitan on ssd drives and i can notice the difference in performance in the system. Ive never had a drive fail either. There is noticeable lag when a drive reaches its capacity however. The trick is to keep your boot drive empty as possible.
System info with this setup recognizes everything properly in Overview.
Hope this helps,
I have apple boot screen and boot from Nvme M.2 SSD 1tb SiliconPower also. To get boot screen you have to "Create Install Media"
It's a command applied with terminal to give you a bootable installer. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 .
After playing with a few setups i will tell you this. installing only one 6 pin power to the RX580 will allow you to use the card, however, the card will only run on "low power mode". The 6 pin connector senses when pin two is missing and throws the Rx580 into a safe power mode. The card knows, not to overdraw power, from the connector it's connected to. Its a fail safe connection that was designed into the Power connector itself. Having the 6 pin will "Not" allow you to put the operating system to sleep.
6 pin = no sleep
8 pin = No problems
Hdmi out vs DisplayPort output.
I have a 49" Spectre Ultra High Definition Display. Wall Mart Special.
I have achieved 5k Retina quality with the 4k Display. Want to know how ?
You have to use the Hdmi output on the Rx580 in order to get the 60hz function to activate in display preferences.
If you plug into the DisplayPort output you will be locked out from 60hz from within the operating system.
The display port pinouts and the software work together to allow the system to properly handle the data.
The software knows when a displayport cable is connected and adjusts the settings within the operating system.
Displayport = 30hz output @ 5k (HiDPI)
Under system preferences >Displays>hover mouse pointer over the "scale" button and press "option"
This will give you HiDPI options to choose from. This is a configuration that links your hardware with your software. It has to be manually set for your own preference. A Hdmi 2.0 cable is needed to activate 60hz function. The HDMI 2.0 cable must be in the Rx580's Hdmi port also.
I choose 1920x1080 HiDPI. Not 1080p or 1080i. This gives me a 16:9 resolution @ 5k. I only notice one application that has a latency lag with the mouse pointer.
Propelerhead Reason. Also Note: You won't see the HiDPI lettering in Mojave to let you know it's a HiDPI option. But it is, trust me. When I use Propellerhead Reason i go back to 1920x1080p @60hz. This Lower resolution allows me to handle (click and grab with the mouse pointer) at incredible speed. 5k@60hz there is a noticeable delay when i try to drag and resize windows, but only with Reason.
Here is my system currently:
Mojave:
10.14.5 (18F132)
Mac Pro (Early 2009) (5.1 firmware flash)
2 x 3.46 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon (12 core w/ multicore hyper threading)
48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 (slots 4 & 8 empty. Enables Triple Channel Architecture)
Radeon RX 580 8 GB Saphire Pulse
Radeon RX 580:
Name: ATY,AMD,RadeonFramebuffer
Type: Display Controller
Driver Installed: Yes
MSI: Yes
Bus: PCI
Slot: Slot-1
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x67df
Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x1da2
Subsystem ID: 0xe387
Revision ID: 0x00e7
Link Width: x16
Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s
The 1Tb Silicon Power Nvme on slot 4 is reading and writing at about 1400/1400 speeds. The Nvme is rated 3500/3500 speeds but is bottlenecked without a Pcie switch adapter card. Pcie link speed on the Nvme is 5.0Gts.
My system is Apple native. Everything works from Apple.
49" Sceptre (UHD)/ 5k hack @ 60hz. Rx580 on Hdmi2.0 with Mojave.
Not bad for a tv screen. Wonder if the 580 will drive another screen ?
I also have the ability for monitor rotation under display preferences.
The software rescales the resolution to 1920x1080 HiDPI (5k).
Also: My tv has the ability to upscale automatically. Its a chip in the tv and has firmware that calculates frames and stuff.
There are 3 different Saphire Pulse 8gb models to choose from. The batch numbers (serial) have some slight differences, Clock speeds.
I have the 1st release serial number RX 580 Saphire Pulse 8gb.
I also disabled trim via terminal on the Nvme ssd. This speeds the system up as the system does not have to execute trim commands anylonger. (Reading/Writing)
I allow garbage collection to do all system garbage work. Ive been doing this since El Capitan on ssd drives and i can notice the difference in performance in the system. Ive never had a drive fail either. There is noticeable lag when a drive reaches its capacity however. The trick is to keep your boot drive empty as possible.
System info with this setup recognizes everything properly in Overview.
Hope this helps,