MP All Models AMD Polaris, Vega, & Navi GPU macOS Support

[AlexMaximus]

Any Mac released after mid-2012 has a UEFI firmware with GOP pre-boot configuration support. MP5,1 still uses UGA pre-boot configuration support and is a EFI Mac. So, the answer is no, GOP firmware from a Mac that has a AMD Pro 580X is useless for making a RX 580 to have boot screens on a MP5,1.

No AMD GPU released after R9 280X can be flashed with a UGA pre-boot configuration support.

Hi Alex,

I would have a short pixlas question for you, maybe you can answer this or confirm my train of thought.

For all guys that already installed a pixlas mod, of course the two original 6 pin sockets on the mainboard are unused.

I want to install a little additional ram cooler fan that needs power through 3 pin fan connectors. I want to use those two sockets to power them. Can you confirm, that I can do this? Here is the cable I have found below. It looks like its an industry standard, but mybe I am missing somehting. Hava look here:

Power cable from 6-pin GPU to SATA 15-pin :

https://www.ebay.de/itm/HDD-SSD-pow...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Module from 15-pin to 3/4 pin fan header:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Fan-Hub-8x-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

This shold work I think. What I am unsure of is the Dell clasification of the 6 pin to 15 pin. Is this Dell specific or can I assum its an industrial standard and can be used in the Mac Pro without hassle??

 

[tsialex]

Hi Alex,

I would have a short pixlas question for you, maybe you can answer this or confirm my train of thought.

For all guys that already installed a pixlas mod, of course the two original 6 pin sockets on the mainboard are unused.

I want to install a little additional ram cooler fan that needs power through 3 pin fan connectors. I want to use those two sockets to power them. Can you confirm, that I can do this? Here is the cable I have found below. It looks like its an industry standard, but mybe I am missing somehting. Hava look here:

Power cable from 6-pin GPU to SATA 15-pin :

https://www.ebay.de/itm/HDD-SSD-power-cable-6-Pin-to-SATA-15Pin-converter-cable-for-dell-3668-3667-3650Z/254239805331?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Module from 15-pin to 3/4 pin fan header:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Fan-Hub-8x-Lüfter-SATA-Power-3-Pin-Fan-8-Port-Controller-Splitter/113759008890?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

This shold work I think. What I am unsure of is the Dell clasification of the 6 pin to 15 pin. Is this Dell specific or can I assum its an industrial standard and can be used in the Mac Pro without hassle??

You should re-think your idea, for start that Dell cable don't fit on a Mac Pro PCIe Boost connector, wrong size of connector (6-Pin normal, while Mac Pro is mini 4-pin) and pinout.

Mac Pro only outputs 12V and ground from the PCIe Boost A and B, a SATA power connector has 12V, 5V, 3,3V:




Being honest, you are making points of failure.

 

[AlexMaximus]

You should re-think your idea, for start that Dell cable don't fit on a Mac Pro PCIe Boost connector, wrong size of connector (6-Pin normal, while Mac Pro is mini 4-pin) and pinout.

Mac Pro only outputs 12V and ground from the PCIe Boost A and B, a SATA power connector has 12V, 5V, 3,3V:

View attachment 841753


Being honest, you are making points of failure.

Perfect, thank you so much, I thought there is an error on my side somewhere.
Since I am at it, do you have any recommendation for me where I can find power for 3-pin/4-pin fan headers? I don’t want to sacrifice a Hdd power since my bays are filled. The only other option that comes to mind is the second Sata socket on the front of the case, close to the On/Off switch on the front panel.

 

[tsialex]

Sata socket on the front of the case, close to the On/Off switch on the front panel.

That's not a power connector, unless you are talking about the connector for the ODD power cable.

I don't see anywhere that you will have enough power to tap besides the SATA power connectors, ODD cable connector or the power supply.

 

[AlexMaximus]

That's not a power connector, unless you are talking about the connector for the ODD power cable.

I don't see anywhere that you will have enough power to tap besides the SATA power connectors, ODD cable connector or the power supply.

Ok, thanks. I have hoped there might be more, -but obviously not.
I think the only feasible one I can choose then is the one in the picture below. Am I right to assume that this second "B" connector is usually reserved for the lower DVD bay on the 5.1?? (Meaning, if I use it, the lower DVD bay will be without data line - Would a SATA Y splitter cable (if there is something) suck to much power?

 

[tsialex]

Ok, thanks. I have hoped there might be more, -but obviously not.
I think the only feasible one I can choose then is the one in the picture below. Am I right to assume that this second "B" connector is usually reserved for the lower DVD bay on the 5.1?? (Meaning, if I use it, the lower DVD bay will be without data line - Would a SATA Y splitter cable (if there is something) suck to much power?


View attachment 841772

It's a SATA data cable and don't have power…

Btw, why you are asking this here? It's totally off-topic.

 

[HelsinkiMac]

I'm looking at the budget end of the RX series to fit to a 4,1. This Sapphire Pulse 570 ITX 8GB is currently very cheap in Europe:

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-rx-570-8g-g5-hdmi-dp

It's about the same price as the recommended MSI OC RX560 4GB, but much closer to the 580 in most respects which is a fair bit more expensive, since it has 8GB and much closer processor core, teraflop etc numbers. And this slightly smaller, single fan ITX version in reviews comes close to the standard 570 in most aspects of performance, and only needs a single 6 pin plug and slightly less power.

So - all looks good, has anyone any thoughts on why it wouldn't be good to go in my 4,1 - initially with High Sierra, then I will try Mojave and perhaps Catalina in the future...

 

[Rhianolord]

I've dug and dug and cannot find my answer in this thread, so here goes....

I've got a Red Dragon Vega 56 in my MP5,1 with a Pixlas Mod.
Does the latest version of 10.14.5 resolve the high speed fan issue and will it run natively off the MB 6pin power ports? (Not going to remove my pixlas mod, just curious)

 

[itdk92]

Anyone with Radeon VII benchmarks for the latest 10.14.6b and 10.15b2?

We have noticed all VEGA performance went down with 10.14.5, at least in benchmarks

 

[krakman]

I've dug and dug and cannot find my answer in this thread, so here goes....

I've got a Red Dragon Vega 56 in my MP5,1 with a Pixlas Mod.
Does the latest version of 10.14.5 resolve the high speed fan issue and will it run natively off the MB 6pin power ports? (Not going to remove my pixlas mod, just curious)

10.14.5 fixed the fan issue in my reference sapphire rx vega 56

I my running that card using 2x mini 6 pin to 6pin to EVGA powerlink, with the bios switch set to low power mode. all is fine my main use if FCPX , not games.

 

[tamarro]

I've dug and dug and cannot find my answer in this thread, so here goes....

I've got a Red Dragon Vega 56 in my MP5,1 with a Pixlas Mod.
Does the latest version of 10.14.5 resolve the high speed fan issue and will it run natively off the MB 6pin power ports? (Not going to remove my pixlas mod, just curious)

I've tried to run my Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse off the two 6pins with 10.14.5 (switch to BIOS 2). It works ok in normal use, but shut down my mac under heavy load or gaming. So, I went back to pixlas mod, switch to BIOS 1 again. No problems there.

 

[Rhianolord]

I've tried to run my Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse off the two 6pins with 10.14.5 (switch to BIOS 2). It works ok in normal use, but shut down my mac under heavy load or gaming. So, I went back to pixlas mod, switch to BIOS 1 again. No problems there.

Was your high speed fan issue resolved?

Switch 2(away from display outputs) is typically the “faster/better” BIOS, correct?

Forgive my ignorance, but the pixlas mod should support the power requirements in either BIOS settings right?

I have both a PowerColor Ref. Vega 56 (flashed w/ Sap. Pulse Vega 56) and Red Dragon Vega 56. I found that under moderate use the Reference card was way too loud. I got the Red Dragon because it’s a two slot and much much quieter, even under heavy use. The fans don’t spin down after I stopped gaming, but even then they weren’t loud enough to be bothersome. I’m hoping that when/if I update to 10.14.5 the fans perform normally.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I noticed the unknown Vega 12 GPU with device ID 0x69A2 is supported in macOS 10.15 beta. It may also be supported in macOS 10.14.6, but I don't have that installed right now so I don't know. I also noticed a Polaris frame-buffer personality called Forrahue appeared somewhere between 10.14.1 and 10.14.5 (I didn't keep the kexts between those versions). It might be the frame-buffer for the 7,1's Pro 580X. Note that none of this is interesting information for 5,1 users.
[doublepost=1560975778][/doublepost]Since macOS 10.14.5+ supports the dual GPU Vega II Duo it would be interesting to know if other dual GPUs are supported such as the Radeon Pro Duo (Polaris) or the Radeon Pro V340 (Vega 10). It may be that only Vega 20 dual GPUs are supported and in that case there is only the 7,1's version so far.

 

[alchemistics]

For the record - I can confirm that the lower geekbench score since 10.14.5 doesn't affect other benchmarks on my Vega56.

I even got slightly better results with the low-power (150w) bios compared to the Nitro+ Secondary (180w) I've used back then.

See Heaven screenshots as a reference.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

For the record - I can confirm that the lower geekbench score since 10.14.5 doesn't affect other benchmarks on my Vega56.

I even got slightly better results with the low-power (150w) bios compared to the Nitro+ Secondary (180w) I've used back then.

See Heaven screenshots as a reference.

Throw geek bench in the trash. Everyone saying the app keeps reducing scores like it has something against Mac users.
h9826790 said he didn't update the app or his OS and still the scores dropped like a rock. Maybe Geekbench got bought by Microsoft lol

 

[orph]

yep geekbench is not a good place to check speeds.

relay not sure what is best for GPU on osx, lux mark? I think a lot of the benchmarks hit the CPU wall now.

 

[MisterAndrew]

Throw geek bench in the trash. Everyone saying the app keeps reducing scores like it has something against Mac users.
h9826790 said he didn't update the app or his OS and still the scores dropped like a rock. Maybe Geekbench got bought by Microsoft lol

That's weird. It might still be good to get relative comparisons between different Macs though (or between different hardware on a Mac).

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

That's weird. It might still be good to get relative comparisons between different Macs though (or between different hardware on a Mac).

It's not even working relatively. It's showing similar scores for three generations of cards that have real world performance difference of 50% between each. It looks Geekbench are receiving the result from the app and then on their server they are sending an inaccurate result back.

 

[tamarro]

Was your high speed fan issue resolved?

Yes

Switch 2(away from display outputs) is typically the “faster/better” BIOS, correct?

Yes

Forgive my ignorance, but the pixlas mod should support the power requirements in either BIOS settings right?

Yes

I have both a PowerColor Ref. Vega 56 (flashed w/ Sap. Pulse Vega 56) and Red Dragon Vega 56. I found that under moderate use the Reference card was way too loud. I got the Red Dragon because it’s a two slot and much much quieter, even under heavy use. The fans don’t spin down after I stopped gaming, but even then they weren’t loud enough to be bothersome. I’m hoping that when/if I update to 10.14.5 the fans perform normally.

My Sapphire is very quiet. Under normal or even under moderate use fans are off. The fans perform like they should with 10.14.5. They spin immediately down after heavy load is finished. It's not necessary to play HEVC-clips anymore to calm down the fans.

 

[jsbfin]

Hi,

I'm interested in upgrading my current gpu (R9 280) to a Sapphire Pulse Vega 56. My usage is pretty much 100% FCPX editing and occasional Lightroom and Photoshop.
I don't want to do any psu modifications so I´d like to know from anyone using a vega 56 without additional power, how are you exactly connecting your gpu? What type of cables are you connecting from the mini 6pin connectors?

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

New Da Vinci Resolve 16 Beta is out and has better h264 and h265 export rendering on GPU. Only if you are transcoding from ProRes or Blackmagic RAW. If you transcode from Red RAW it's only on CPU.

 

[alchemistics]

Hi,

I'm interested in upgrading my current gpu (R9 280) to a Sapphire Pulse Vega 56. My usage is pretty much 100% FCPX editing and occasional Lightroom and Photoshop.
I don't want to do any psu modifications so I´d like to know from anyone using a vega 56 without additional power, how are you exactly connecting your gpu? What type of cables are you connecting from the mini 6pin connectors?

Two basic 6 to 8 pin connectors on the stock mini6 to 6pins with bios on one (150w). No power balancing method (evga or 2x6to8pin-to2x8pin) so far. Check out my previous posts in this thread about my positive experience with it, even under heavy load power draw is within stable limits.

 

[jsbfin]

Two basic 6 to 8 pin connectors on the stock mini6 to 6pins with bios on one (150w). No power balancing method (evga or 2x6to8pin-to2x8pin) so far. Check out my previous posts in this thread about my positive experience with it, even under heavy load power draw is within stable limits.

Thanks for the reply!

I´ll try the mini 6pin to 6pin and 6pin to 8pin connection.
But for a more "power balanced" option do you mean that you could use a 2 mini6pin to 8pin (this is what I use to power my rx 580 on an another MP) cable that has a 8pin to 2x 8pin splitter?

 

[krakman]

Hi,

I'm interested in upgrading my current gpu (R9 280) to a Sapphire Pulse Vega 56. My usage is pretty much 100% FCPX editing and occasional Lightroom and Photoshop.
I don't want to do any psu modifications so I´d like to know from anyone using a vega 56 without additional power, how are you exactly connecting your gpu? What type of cables are you connecting from the mini 6pin connectors?

I'm using mini 6 pin to 6 pin cables plugged into a EVGA Power Link. Card is swithched to low power bios

Thanks for the reply!

I´ll try the mini 6pin to 6pin and 6pin to 8pin connection.
But for a more "power balanced" option do you mean that you could use a 2 mini6pin to 8pin (this is what I use to power my rx 580 on an another MP) cable that has a 8pin to 2x 8pin splitter?

I use a EVGA power link to balance the power, there is a whole section about it on this forum

 

[alchemistics]

Thanks for the reply!

I´ll try the mini 6pin to 6pin and 6pin to 8pin connection.
But for a more "power balanced" option do you mean that you could use a 2 mini6pin to 8pin (this is what I use to power my rx 580 on an another MP) cable that has a 8pin to 2x 8pin splitter?

This post might be helpful explaining it in more detail:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...re-acceleration.2180095/page-11#post-27469405

Vega 56 most likely can stay within the cMP's power envelope (mini 6pin only), especially if you mainly use it for FCPX (not that demanding).

The key is to balance the power draw. e.g. do NOT use single mini 6pin -> single 8pin. But DUAL mini 6pin -> single 8pin -> DUAL 6+2pin (2 cables combination).