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

[MisterAndrew]

It looks like the RX 580 may still be the better choice for macOS. It looks like the RX 5700 is very optimized for gaming and performs miserably at compute workloads. The LuxMark score is lower than the 580. The CompuBench scores are also pretty bad.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/14618/the-amd-radeon-rx-5700-xt-rx-5700-review/13

 

[h9826790]

It looks like the RX 580 may still be the better choice for macOS. It looks like the RX 5700 is very optimized for gaming and performs miserably at compute workloads. The LuxMark score is lower than the 580. The CompuBench scores are also pretty bad.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/14618/the-amd-radeon-rx-5700-xt-rx-5700-review/13

I am also surprised by how bad it perform in compute. Wonder if that's driver issue, or hardware limitation.

This is definitely a gaming card, from history, AMD push the card out when the driver is no fully ready. And if they have no time to finish the driver, of course give they will up the compute part, but try their best on the gaming part. That's what most review care about.

Hopefully it's just driver issue. And the compute performance will be improved in future.

 

[Pressure]

I am also surprised by how bad it perform in compute. Wonder if that's driver issue, or hardware limitation.

This is definitely a gaming card, from history, AMD push the card out when the driver is no fully ready. And if they have no time to finish the driver, of course give they will up the compute part, but try their best on the gaming part. That's what most review care about.

Hopefully it's just driver issue. And the compute performance will be improved in future.

Ryan from AT mentioned the discrepancy in performance and the issues they experienced with the current driver.

However, it is important to remember that Navi is gaming focused and not designed around compute, unlike VEGA 10 and VEGA 20.

 

[scottr02]

I installed an XFX Radeon RX 580 graphics card in my MacPro 2010, but the hdmi and display ports don't appear to work. I've tested them with different monitors but not getting a signal to the monitors. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[h9826790]

I installed an XFX Radeon RX 580 graphics card in my MacPro 2010, but the hdmi and display ports don't appear to work. I've tested them with different monitors but not getting a signal to the monitors. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Please prove all the details when ask this kind of question.

e.g. Which OS, how you power the card, how long you wait (after boot) to confirm no signal to the monitor, etc.

 

[scottr02]

Please prove all the details when ask this kind of question.

e.g. Which OS, how you power the card, how long you wait (after boot) to confirm no signal to the monitor, etc.

OS: whichever came before Majove. I can't see it due to no display.
Powered: I have it connected with 2 6-pin to 8 pin connector. Internally the card appears to be running, fans turning and the blue light indicating correct connection

I've waited several minutes after boot up, but there's no signal to the monitors.

The card came with an install cd but without display I don't know how it can be installed. Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[h9826790]

OS: whichever came before Majove. I can't see it due to no display.
Powered: I have it connected with 2 6-pin to 8 pin connector. Internally the card appears to be running, fans turning and the blue light indicating correct connection

I've waited several minutes after boot up, but there's no signal to the monitors.

The card came with an install cd but without display I don't know how it can be installed. Thanks for any help or advice!

If you mean 10.13.6, and all aux power pins are connected, and you wait for a reasonable amount of time (the cMP should already boot to desktop), and already tested with multiple monitors / cables.

Then I can only assume you get one of those non compatible XFX RX580 card.

Anyway, where is your original GPU? Is it possible to co-install that with the RX580?

N.B. Exact OS version is critical. A GPU that can work in 10.13.6 doesn't mean that it can also work in 10.13.0. But both versions are named High Sierra.

 

[bsbeamer]

Did you follow all general troubleshooting steps?

Remove all PCIe from system except GPU.
Remove all SATA drives from system.
Remove all USB & FW devices from system except keyboard & monitor.
Use only ONE MONITOR connected via DP and check your monitor DP settings.
Do not use any converters to monitor. mDP to DP is an adapter usually short dongle, not a converter.
Use only a single SATA SSD/HDD system drive connected directly via drive sled.
Reset NVRAM THREE TIMES. (See this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063)

 

[scottr02]

If you mean 10.13.6, and all aux power pins are connected, and you wait for a reasonable amount of time (the cMP should already boot to desktop), and already tested with multiple monitors / cables.

Then I can only assume you get one of those non compatible XFX RX580 card.

Anyway, where is your original GPU? Is it possible to co-install that with the RX580?

N.B. Exact OS version is critical. A GPU that can work in 10.13.6 doesn't mean that it can also work in 10.13.0. But both versions are named High Sierra.

I have't been able to determine if it's a non-compatible card. I do know my Mac Pro was running last version of High Sierra. I couldn't upgrade to Majove due to the old graphics card. I hadn't considered co-installing the old card, since it apparently failed--which was what had prompted me to replace it. With the old old card, the display was filled with vertical lines, totally obscuring the screen.

 

[scottr02]

Did you follow all general troubleshooting steps?

Remove all PCIe from system except GPU.
Remove all SATA drives from system.
Remove all USB & FW devices from system except keyboard & monitor.
Use only ONE MONITOR connected via DP and check your monitor DP settings.
Do not use any converters to monitor. mDP to DP is an adapter usually short dongle, not a converter.
Use only a single SATA SSD/HDD system drive connected directly via drive sled.
Reset NVRAM THREE TIMES. (See this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063)

I did not. Sadly, I'm not familiar with much of these terms (PCIe, SATA, DP, mDP, SATA SSD/HDD, NVRAM).
The steps I followed were identical to this tutorial:

Did you follow all general troubleshooting steps?

Remove all PCIe from system except GPU.
Remove all SATA drives from system.
Remove all USB & FW devices from system except keyboard & monitor.
Use only ONE MONITOR connected via DP and check your monitor DP settings.
Do not use any converters to monitor. mDP to DP is an adapter usually short dongle, not a converter.
Use only a single SATA SSD/HDD system drive connected directly via drive sled.
Reset NVRAM THREE TIMES. (See this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063)

I did not. Sadly, I'm not familiar with most of the terminology in your list (PCIe, SATA, DP, mDP, SSD, HDD, NVRAM). I followed the steps shown in this tutorial:

It's not an XFX brand but it seemed to be nearly identical. I couldn't find a tutorial for this brand that matched the Mac Pro 2010. It's asking a lot, but if you could point out meaning of these terms or online resource, I could probably follow the steps you outlined. Regardless, thanks for this!

 

[h9826790]

I have't been able to determine if it's a non-compatible card. I do know my Mac Pro was running last version of High Sierra. I couldn't upgrade to Majove due to the old graphics card. I hadn't considered co-installing the old card, since it apparently failed--which was what had prompted me to replace it. With the old old card, the display was filled with vertical lines, totally obscuring the screen.

Doesn't matter how good or bad it is (as long as it can still display, and it's possible to read the text on the screen).

The idea of co-installing both GPU is to confirm if the RX580 is really recognised by the OS like this

 

[scottr02]

Doesn't matter how good or bad it is (as long as it can still display, and it's possible to read the text on the screen).

The idea of co-installing both GPU is to confirm if the RX580 is really recognised by the OS like this
View attachment 847604

I see. Unfortunately with the old card installed, the screen is filled with vertical lines. It's literally a gray screen with dark vertical lines on it.

 

[h9826790]

Then try re-seat the card, may be even move that to slot 2.

Also, PRAM reset.

There is not much you can try in this situation. (If you have remote control, you may also check if the RX580 is correctly recognised by using remote control)

 

[scottr02]

Then try re-seat the card, may be even move that to slot 2.

Also, PRAM reset.

There is not much you can try in this situation. (If you have remote control, you may also check if the RX580 is correctly recognised by using remote control)

I'll try that. What's a PRAM reset?

 

[JedNZ]

PRAM (now known as NVRAM reset) is done by holding down Cmd+Opt+P+R immediately at startup, and keep holding those keys down continually until you've heard your Mac restart for the third time - might take a couple of minutes all up. Make sure you don't overly push down on the keys - we're not trying to push them thru to the back of the keyboard

More info here from apple.

Or

 

[scottr02]

PRAM (now known as NVRAM reset) is done by holding down Cmd+Opt+P+R immediately at startup, and keep holding those keys down continually until you've heard your Mac restart for the third time - might take a couple of minutes all up. Make sure you don't overly push down on the keys - we're not trying to push them thru to the back of the keyboard

More info here from apple.

Or

View attachment 847610

Thanks. I tried that but it sounds like the Mac is rebooting itself every minute or so. I get the boot up sound but still no signal to the display. Wondering if I'm supposed to be using a specific apple adapter to connect the monitors? This new card uses a hdmi and display ports, so I've been plugging directly into those.

 

[h9826790]

Thanks. I tried that but it sounds like the Mac is rebooting itself every minute or so. I get the boot up sound but still no signal to the display. Wondering if I'm supposed to be using a specific apple adapter to connect the monitors? This new card uses a hdmi and display ports, so I've been plugging directly into those.

Use HDMI / DP directly is the correct way to connect a monitor.

 

[MIKX]

scottr02

Are you able to boot using the DVI port ? You didn't mention that.

How long did you wait for your MSI Gamer RX580 to boot up ?
At least in my case ( MSI Armor RX 580 8gb. ) , a cold bootup takes much longer now. Wait up to 1 minute + from a cold bootup.

 

[skizzo]

he has an XFX brand RX580 which as far as I know I thought was supposed to be avoided like the plague for the cMP's. there could be a chance that specific GPU isn't compatible on the cMP's

 

[aclarubicin]

he has an XFX brand RX580 which as far as I know I thought was supposed to be avoided like the plague for the cMP's. there could be a chance that specific GPU isn't compatible on the cMP's

Any source for this XFX issue?

 

[krakman]

Any source for this XFX issue?

I remember this from a long time ago since 2017 when we started installing the previous model RX480 GPU into mac pros.

I recall a number of reports saying the XFX branded cards did not operate as expected, for whatever reason.

The rule of thumb was to stick with Sapphire branded cards. I have used several Sapphire RX460, 480 and Vega 56 in the Mac pros in my office and they all work fine.

It sounds like there still is some compatibility problem with the XFX cards.

 

[skizzo]

yea the XFX brand GPUs even when they do work, sometimes they do not work 100%. such as only certain output ports working. I imagine this is why MIKX asked if the DVI port was also tried. it could be the only port on that GPU that functions for a cMP. I guarantee if it was installed in a PC it would work fine. This issue is 100% exclusive to the cMP's.

Any source for this XFX issue?

as far as a source, I think krakman's response is evidence enough I'm not blowing smoke up anyone's rear here. that is a great way of looking at it, it is a rule of thumb to stick to brands that in the past have had much better compatibility on the cMP's and Sapphire is one of them. XFX has been one brand mentioned to stay away from because they just are not as compatible. Could be because they stray much further from the reference designs than other AIB manufacturers. Don't get me wrong there are XFX GPUs that work perfect on a cMP but I don't know which ones work/don't work and what the specific issues are to what models. I can say for certain I would not buy an XFX brand GPU for my cMP based on all the headaches others have shared over the years

 

[scottr02]

Thanks for all of this. So to be clear, what exact brand and model would you recommend for my Mac Pro 2010? It sounds like Sapphire brand, but are there any other specific specs I should be looking at? Incidentally I'm preparing to return the card that I purchased, and have ordered a very cheap used 5870 (the exact model that came with the Mac Pro 2010), just so I can at least get the machine up and running.

 

[bsbeamer]

So to be clear, what exact brand and model would you recommend for my Mac Pro 2010?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208898

These specific third-party graphics cards are Metal-capable and compatible with macOS Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012):

• MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition
• NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition

 

[scottr02]

scottr02

Are you able to boot using the DVI port ? You didn't mention that.

How long did you wait for your MSI Gamer RX580 to boot up ?
At least in my case ( MSI Armor RX 580 8gb. ) , a cold bootup takes much longer now. Wait up to 1 minute + from a cold bootup.

No signal to mn

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208898

These specific third-party graphics cards are Metal-capable and compatible with macOS Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012):

• MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition
• NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition

Thanks. Can you confirm this is a correct model? https://www.newegg.com/sapphire-radeon-rx-580-100411p8gocl/p/N82E16814202278
[doublepost=1562881387][/doublepost]Also, do I need to install the used 5870 card first and make any changes to the OS or elsewhere before I install the Sapphire card?