Proprietary means only AMD has the source code, it's not the open source Radeon Linux driver. So outside of AMD sharing the source code, or porting it themselves, there is no chance of porting it to OS X.
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AMD FirePro D500 graphics card (Mac Pro Late 2013) doesn’t meet Oculus Rift’s specifications
- Thread starter Kim Sanka
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Proprietary means only AMD has the source code, it's not the open source Radeon Linux driver. So outside of AMD sharing the source code, or porting it themselves, there is no chance of porting it to OS X.
If the source code hade been released it could be done with some possibly major coding. But when it is released as a binary blob as it is now, its so complicated that you'd pretty much need to code a wrapper which in itself would be just about as much code as the driver itself and would require extensive amounts of reverse engineering...
I'd say it is damn near impossible
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Linux isn't unix. It's unix-like but it doesn't share any code with the unix kernel. The only common thing between the two OS is the system utilities like the shell and the fact that they are both POSIX compliant. You can't just run something made for unix on linux unless you port it first, that is re-compile it after modifying it to make it compatible.
Far too old.
I imagine that there isn't a single shipping Mac that meets the spec. Guess it depends on if the iMac cards are technically "Mobil" or just actually "Mobil" in an actual sense like 6,1 MP.
Apple isn't aiming for the top anymore. Shooting for the middle gets you exactly that.
I imagine that there isn't a single shipping Mac that meets the spec. Guess it depends on if the iMac cards are technically "Mobil" or just actually "Mobil" in an actual sense like 6,1 MP.
Apple isn't aiming for the top anymore. Shooting for the middle gets you exactly that.
I miss the days when Jobs would regularly go up on stage and directly challenge the Windows world in performance, only thing we get now is the "51% faster than our previous model!" weaksauce. "Faster than any Windows PC!" wasn't an uncommon claim.
GeForce 3 - Mac first! Right in the middle of the heated Nvidia vs 3Dfx battle, no less.
The man knew how to take pride in his machines.
I pine for the days of "think different" and creative-tools-for-a-creative-professional. Actually, I mostly just miss looking forward to new Apple products and knowing that they'd be better then whatever it was that I currently had. I'm getting tired of being suspicious about every little update, be it hardware or software, and wondering how that's going to screw me over in the next 6 months.
-SC
This is what the Appologists don't understand. The efforts to quiet and refute the complaints about obvious downgrades have helped nobody in the long term.
The machines and software are less serious than they used to be. Each excuse and apology helps speed the slide downhill.
We are living "Idiocracy".
The machines and software are less serious than they used to be. Each excuse and apology helps speed the slide downhill.
We are living "Idiocracy".
All good things must come to an end my friend. And new good things will spring up. Don't waste your life fighting a losing battle - it's been 3 years. Move on. Apple has changed. It's time for you to as well.
I was facing the same problem with VR and Apple when I was woorking around in the development of making an 3D room in Cinema4D combined with VR. VR is not simply only gaming. VR is everything soon. But, not with Apple (oculus). Oh, i forgot. Apple is making their own VR headset. So, maybe you have an Apple Headset in the near future, but with more than 3 years very active development on the PC side, i think Apple is missing the boat with this.
If you want to go hard with VR, sell your mac pro and replace it with an awesome PC. Some here say, an Mac Pro last longer. But thats a weird statement. VR = PC at this moment. Not only because VR needs gaming power, but also because Mac is lacking power right now. Its a shame that gaming systems are so more powerfull these days than an heavy configured Mac machine.
Or go for console (PS4) when you dont want to leave OSX / Apple and only play games.
If you want to go hard with VR, sell your mac pro and replace it with an awesome PC. Some here say, an Mac Pro last longer. But thats a weird statement. VR = PC at this moment. Not only because VR needs gaming power, but also because Mac is lacking power right now. Its a shame that gaming systems are so more powerfull these days than an heavy configured Mac machine.
Or go for console (PS4) when you dont want to leave OSX / Apple and only play games.
If Apple is making it's own VR, most likely there will be an eGPU attached to it (like the PS4), otherwise, I really don't know which Mac can drive the VR up to the reasonable performance standard.
Or there will be a whole new line of Mac which is the only Mac that can drive the VR, and no other Mac will be supported (artificial software lock as usual, regardless if the Mac if powerful enough or not).
Or there will be a whole new line of Mac which is the only Mac that can drive the VR, and no other Mac will be supported (artificial software lock as usual, regardless if the Mac if powerful enough or not).
Valid point. Many of us need to move on and accept the future is glued machines that are non user serviceable, disposable. Luckily my 2009 i7 iMac and 2012 Mac mini server are going very strong .
16Gb ram and raid 0 SSD is why apple has gotten rid of them, upgrades really extended the life of fine products.My understanding is that no Mac without eGPU can meet the requirement.
cMP = OK for top of the line GPU, but no CPU can meet the requirement.
Other Mac = the CPU may be OK, but none of them have internal GPU which can meet the requirement.
An entire line of 2nd rate machines falling further and further behind.
It's unfortunate
The oculus developers say a gtx 970 can drive the rift. Maybe the requirements are not as ironbound as the configuration tool would suggest. Maybe it will work with the mac pro, just not optimally. If it doesn't work with the mac pro I'm not going to cry. I've got other things to do. And it might be time to build a full on gaming pc anyway.
The mac pro will likely meet the VR minimum requirements once AMD gets dual GPUs working with VR. I'm sure this is a big priority for them since they have been teasing a dual Fury card that is supposed to be released around the same time as the Rift.
GTX970 for optimal experience, slower Cards will work but are not guaranteed for optimal performance.
From everything I've been reading about VR, it needs optimal performance for the illusion to work. Stuttering frame rates definitely won't cut it.
All this being said, let's be honest most gamers use a PC or console where you need very high frame rates.
I have an Oculus Rift on my cMP running on an ati 5770, which I use for Rendered Immersive 3D images (360), even animated sequences play back pretty well.
There are also many online worlds (i.e. Second Life) which are supported on win/mac/linux with a Rift and the min specs are pitiful, although I havn't looked at these (I am not a gamer).
But in a nutshell, the Rift does work on a Mac (depending on what your doing)
where you need very high frame rates.I have an Oculus Rift on my cMP running on an ati 5770, which I use for Rendered Immersive 3D images (360), even animated sequences play back pretty well.
There are also many online worlds (i.e. Second Life) which are supported on win/mac/linux with a Rift and the min specs are pitiful, although I havn't looked at these (I am not a gamer).
But in a nutshell, the Rift does work on a Mac (depending on what your doing)
I just used the Steam virtual reality performance test on my cMP in bootcamp in Windows 10. I passed the OS and CPU portions but my trusty GTX 760 doesn't cut it. This gives me hope that I can use the Rift if I just bump up my graphics card. Who knows?
I did the SteamVR Performance Test with my GTX 970@1210MHz and i got solid seven points and the VR Ready recommendation.