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

[MisterAndrew]

Here's a follow-up on the Blackmagic eGPU. It's a very nice piece of hardware and it's truly plug and play. I've experienced no issues with it. However, it seems that the TB2 bus on the 6,1 isn't really up to the task. With the monitor connected to the eGPU it struggles. Even Safari has delays. And it doesn't seem to be able to encode/decode HEVC. I haven't noticed a performance improvement either. I'm sure it would be a great addition to a TB3 Mac that doesn't have discrete graphics, but it doesn't seem to offer much for the 6,1.

 

[CMMChris]

And it doesn't seem to be able to encode/decode HEVC

It is able to encode/decode HEVC. The problem is your SMBIOS not having any support for hardware accelerated video encoding or decoding. Try using Whatevergreen and shikigva=80.

 

[MisterAndrew]

It is able to encode/decode HEVC. The problem is your SMBIOS not having any support for hardware accelerated video encoding or decoding. Try using Whatevergreen and shikigva=80.

Hmm, thanks, but I don’t think I want to rely on further hacks. It looks like that is riddled with problems as discussed on this page.

HEVC decoding on AMD GPUs broken in 10.15.2 · Issue #613 · acidanthera/bugtracker

Hi, It seems that HEVC isn't quite working in 10.15.2 for AMD GPUs (iGPUless) with the latest WhateverGreen/Shiki. This wasn't occurring previously, and many users are reporting problems since beta...

github.com

 

[h9826790]

Hmm, thanks, but I don’t think I want to rely on further hacks. It looks like that is riddled with problems as discussed on this page.

HEVC decoding on AMD GPUs broken in 10.15.2 · Issue #613 · acidanthera/bugtracker

Hi, It seems that HEVC isn't quite working in 10.15.2 for AMD GPUs (iGPUless) with the latest WhateverGreen/Shiki. This wasn't occurring previously, and many users are reporting problems since beta...

github.com

There is no other work around.

MacOS doesn't provide any HWAccel support for both 5,1 and 6,1. That's why we need WEG to inject the iMac Pro's (or 7,1, if you are running Catalina) board-ID to get HWAccel "unlock".

I study "how to get HWaccel work on cMP in macOS" for years. This is my conclusion so far.

"Having the correct GPU" is just one of the requirement, it's necessary but not sufficient. The board-ID also need to be supported in order to get full HWAccel in macOS.

 

[leoaf79]

There is no other work around.

MacOS doesn't provide any HWAccel support for both 5,1 and 6,1. That's why we need WEG to inject the iMac Pro's (or 7,1, if you are running Catalina) board-ID to get HWAccel "unlock".

I study "how to get HWaccel work on cMP in macOS" for years. This is my conclusion so far.

"Having the correct GPU" is just one of the requirement, it's necessary but not sufficient. The board-ID also need to be supported in order to get full HWAccel in macOS.

Which is the macpro7,1 board ID? Which part of config.plist can be modified to use it?

Edit:
I found Mac-27AD2F918AE68F61 in this site.
So, to get this:

You have to search for "Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94" and replace by "Mac-27AD2F918AE68F61" (BoardProduct string value):

    <key>PlatformInfo</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Automatic</key>
        <false/>
        <key>DataHub</key>
        <dict/>
        <key>Generic</key>
        <dict/>
        <key>PlatformNVRAM</key>
        <dict/>
        <key>SMBIOS</key>
        <dict>
            <key>BoardProduct</key>
            <string>Mac-27AD2F918AE68F61</string>
        </dict>
        <key>UpdateDataHub</key>
        <false/>
        <key>UpdateNVRAM</key>
        <false/>
        <key>UpdateSMBIOS</key>
        <true/>
        <key>UpdateSMBIOSMode</key>
        <string>Create</string>
    </dict>

 

[MisterAndrew]

Macs with new Navi graphics are coming, including two Navi 12 GPUs, one workstation Navi 14 Pro XLM variant (that one may actually be the Radeon Pro 5600M in the 16" MacBook Pro), and one is a Navi 23 RDNA2 (RX 6500?).

 

[stupots]

Macs with new Navi graphics are coming, including two Navi 12 GPUs, one workstation Navi 14 Pro XLM variant (that one may actually be the Radeon Pro 5600M in the 16" MacBook Pro), and one is a Navi 23 RDNA2 (RX 6500?).

These rumors about new GPUs on Macs have no place on a forum dedicated to... oh wait...

 

[KingCachapa]

hellos! I have a black screen. Bear with me -> I'm doing a fresh Win10 installation on a 5,1. I got it done, up to the part where I'm using Brigadier to force install the iMacPro1,1 BootCamp.

Once I run this installation with Brigadier, at some point my screen went black and it looks like it shows the mouse for split second, and then the image goes away. This only affects Windows btw, all else is working well on the MacOS side and I'm using OpenCore.

I did let it run in case it was just installing and I couldn't see, but it took way too long and this is where I'm at. Any ideas?

 

[romaric17]

Vega High Fan Speed Issue

There is an issue where the fan(s) on some Vega cards spin constantly at high speed. Below are lists of cards that have been tested by myself and/or by others. You are encouraged to test additional cards. In High Sierra the fan(s) on cards in the "Issue not present" list still run at idle, but at low speed. In Mojave (beginning with beta build 18A353d) the fan(s) on those cards behave normally at idle (e.g. zero RPM), but a new issue has been introduced (see the second fan issue section below.) Note that this issue only applies to cards installed internally in a cMP. Note that the reference RX Vega 56 & 64 cards are available from most of the AMD partners and they have an AMD supplied cooler, PCB, and BIOS. Since those cards are identical, I've grouped them together. However, there are some cards that have a reference cooler, but do not have a reference PCB, such as the ASRock Phantom Gaming X.

Issue present:
-Reference RX Vega 56 & 64
-Radeon Vega Frontier Edition
-Radeon Pro WX 9100
-XFX Double Edition RX Vega 56 & 64
-Gigabyte RX Vega 56 & 64 Gaming OC
-ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 56 & 64
-MSI RX Vega 56 & 64 Air Boost
-PowerColor RX Vega 56 Nano Edition

Issue not present:
-Sapphire Pulse RX Vega 56 (model 11276-02)
-PowerColor Red Dragon RX Vega 56 (also sold as Dataland X-Serial RX Vega 56)
-PowerColor Red Devil RX Vega 56 Note (!): The Red Devil card is too long for the cMP unless the PCIe case fan is removed (not recommended).
-Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega 56 (model 11276-01) Note (!): The Nitro+ card is too long for the cMP unless the PCIe case fan is removed (not recommended).
-Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega 64 (model 11275-03) Note (!): The Nitro+ card is too long for the cMP unless the PCIe case fan is removed (not recommended).

Unknown/untested:
-Radeon Pro WX 8200
-PowerColor Red Devil RX Vega 64 (Probably doesn't have fan issue since 56 version doesn't.)
-ASUS AREZ Strix RX Vega 64
-PowerColor Red Dragon RX Vega 64 (unreleased)(Probably doesn't have fan issue since 56 version doesn't.)
-Sapphire Pulse RX Vega 64 (unreleased)(Probably doesn't have fan issue since 56 version doesn't.)
-ASRock Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX Vega 56 & 64

Solution for RX Vega 56 and 64 that have this issue: Use BIOS for non-affected card such as Sapphire Pulse or Nitro+, but only if your card model is known to readily accept a different BIOS. See BIOS compatibility section below. Note that an RX Vega BIOS cannot be flashed to a Frontier Edition, Radeon Pro WX or V series, or Radeon Instinct card.

These combinations have been tested and appear to be working normally:
-Reference RX Vega 56 with Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega 56 secondary BIOS
-Reference RX Vega 64 with Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega 64 secondary BIOS

Second fan issue

In Mojave builds 18A353d through 18E226 the cards that don't have the high speed fan issue listed above have a new issue where the fan(s) spin up high under load as expected, but then fail to spin down. The fix for this is playing an H.265 (HEVC) video until the fans spin down. Also, occasionally after the computer boots the fan(s) will spin up, but playing a video will not cause them to return to normal (they will spin back up after the video is finished). The solution is to put the computer to sleep and then wake, or restart.

I have Gigabyte RX Vega 64 Gaming OC. The second fan issue is present on Mojave 10.14.6 : the fan ramps up at some time and never go down or off. Sleep then wake solves the issue for some time.

Now the good news is with Catalina the fan issue is not present. I guess it has updated drivers which solve this issue, at least with my card.

Catalina is booted by OpenCore 0.6. The issue is still present in Mojave even when booting through OpenCore 0.6.

 

[CMMChris]

The issue was "fixed" (dirty workaround by disabling SMU firmware) by Apple in 10.14.5. I used to own a Gigabyte Vega 64 Gaming OC back when they "fixed" the issue. Likely something in your config causing the issue to persist in Mojave.

 

[eksu]

10.15.1 beta 2 includes Navi drivers.

This was ~100 days after Navi launched.

I am wondering if we should expect Big Navi support soon after launch or a multiple month delay. I know some people found the “discover firmware” for Big Navi GPU’s in the Big Sur beta but don’t know if that is enough.

Additional question, if GPU support is missing, would it be expected that OpenCore could provide us with non accelerated graphical output to bridge the gap?

 

[h9826790]

This was ~100 days after Navi launched.

I am wondering if we should expect Big Navi support soon after launch or a multiple month delay. I know some people found the “discover firmware” for Big Navi GPU’s in the Big Sur beta but don’t know if that is enough.

Additional question, if GPU support is missing, would it be expected that OpenCore could provide us with non accelerated graphical output to bridge the gap?

OpenCore should work regardless if there is any driver. It activate the UEFI GOP even before any OS start to load.

It is possible to add device ID into the Navi driver in order to make the big Navi works (even if that's not supported in macOS natively yet. The big hurdle is just "there must be a Navi driver", and it is there already (~100 days after Navi release).

 

[Ausdauersportler]

This was ~100 days after Navi launched.

I am wondering if we should expect Big Navi support soon after launch or a multiple month delay. I know some people found the “discover firmware” for Big Navi GPU’s in the Big Sur beta but don’t know if that is enough.

Additional question, if GPU support is missing, would it be expected that OpenCore could provide us with non accelerated graphical output to bridge the gap?

I do not want to hijack this thread and conversation.

But if your current OS migration strategy is to move over to Big Sur as soon as possible you should possibly start to install the latest Beta 10 and start your own tests, again. It will give you the confidence and developers possibly some additional information. No one of the current micro patcher developers owns (to my knowledge) a Mac Pro and an Navi GPU so the development depends on volunteers to help?

 

[MisterAndrew]

It's hard to say if Big Sur will get support for Big Navi. If they release a Big Navi MPX module for the 7,1 then yes, there would no doubt be support. But if they don't then maybe there never will be. I don't think any other Mac will get a Big Navi GPU as there won't be any future Intel Macs.

 

[tsialex]

It's hard to say if Big Sur will get support for Big Navi. If they release a Big Navi MPX module for the 7,1 then yes, there would no doubt be support. But if they don't then maybe there never will be. I don't think any other Mac will get a Big Navi GPU as there won't be any future Intel Macs.

Even if Apple never release a MPX module with a BigNavi GPU, support could came indirectly via eGPUs, like what happened before with RX 580.

I don't doubt that some time in the future we will see eGPUs that have a BigNavi.

 

[MisterAndrew]

That’s a good point, assuming Apple Silicon Macs support eGPUs. The eGPUs Apple has supported are still the GPUs found in Macs though (e.g. RX 580 is similar to the Pro 580 in iMac.) I would guess Mac Pro 8,1 will still have MPX GPUs, but it’s hard to say exactly what Apple is planning.

 

[lomahs]

Citation from Videocardz

"The data provides the most basic speciations for upcoming GPUs and APUs such as Compute Unit count, boosts clocks, and power targets. The values were extracted from macOS 1 1 beta already containing the firmware for the ‘AMDRadeonX6000’ series."

 

[MisterAndrew]

That data might be in the driver file because it was in there when Apple received it from AMD in its basic form.

 

[bsbeamer]

First Apple ARM laptop rumored for next month, so might have an initial idea on GPU/eGPU options moving forward if it has some kind of TB3 support featured. Know some video product developers who are begging Apple for clarity or some kind of initial roadmap of GPU support. They will not even commit to the current supported eGPU's on Apple Silicon at this time.

 

[ArPe]

There are some 6800 benchmarks leaked showing performance above 3080 in 3D Mark but lower than 3080 with ray tracing enabled.

Numbers are one thing. Graphics quality is another.

 

[startergo]

Thanks for providing this terminal command. Didn't know about this. Too bad that only work for AMD card, it shows nothing for my Nvidia card.
View attachment 761410

MFC now shows the GPU temperature.

 

[h9826790]

MFC now shows the GPU temperature.

I believe just same as iStat, from the same IOreg. So, won't work for Nvidia card, or Radeon VII.

 

[flowrider]

Looks like MFC show temp of MPX modules. My RX5700XT shows but with no temp recording.

Lou

 

[MisterAndrew]

The latest macOS build has support for the new AMD RX 6000 Series GPUs.

 

[eksu]

The latest macOS build has support for the new AMD RX 6000 Series GPUs.

Can you comment more about this, is this 11.0.1 beta, is this different than the discover firmware stuff, what files did you find or who did you talk to that indicated there is this support?