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Best current graphic option for 2010 Mac Pro - Help needed!

X

Xanix

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
94
46
Hello. I wanted to upgrade the ATI 5770 on my Mac Pro from 2010 and I don't want to deal, with an additional PSU.
I've searched the forum but, there's a lot of information and that makes it, a little confusing.

I've limited the options to this:

OS X Mavericks - Work / Windows 8.1 - Games
(1) 1 x PC Geforce GTX 680 2 x (2 x 6 pins) flashed with Mac bios
(2) 2 x PC Ati R9 270 2 x (1x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac
(3) 1 x PC Ati R9 270x 2 x (2 x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac

What's the best option?
Is there a better solution (card/option) for the upgrade?

Thank you in advance and regards,
Xanix
 
The AMD R9 270 is not supported by OS X.

I would suggest the MSI R9 280x 3G Gaming. This represents the upper limit in regards to TDP with the internal power supply. I ran mine with the included 6 to 8 PIN adapter and you will be OK as long as you don't increase TDP within OverDrive.

Card works OOB with no boot screen of course. Fan noise is almost silent @IDLE and still very good at full load.
 
0x2102 said:
The AMD R9 270 is not supported by OS X.

I would suggest the MSI R9 280x 3G Gaming. This represents the upper limit in regards to TDP with the internal power supply. I ran mine with the included 6 to 8 PIN adapter and you will be OK as long as you don't increase TDP within OverDrive.

Card works OOB with no boot screen of course. Fan noise is almost silent @IDLE and still very good at full load.
Click to expand...

Hi. Thank you for the suggestion. I've made some research last night.
You really nailed it. This card, right now, is is the best option for the oMP.
That model is also, the one to chose. I was thinking about the ASUS but, it doesn't have mini-displayport. The MSI one, has 2 x mini-displayport and the 6 to 8 pins cable included.

I've gone to netkas forum too. Have you found the "7970.mac.rom" to flash it and have a boot screen? I can't find it!

R9 280x flashed with EFI
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,7515.0.html

Well, it is already ordered… MSI R9 280X Gaming 3G for 309,99€


Thank's and regards,
Xanix
 
Don't flash just any 7970.rom to this card. This will most likely not work.

You will need to save you cards rom to a file and use the Netkas EFI script to create a new rom that has the correct EFI portion + your old rom. Make sure you modify the device ID in the script. You will then need to flash that.

PM me and I can try to create you a rom. Make sure you have another card that doesn't require extra PCIE power in case there are issues.
 
0x2102 said:
Don't flash just any 7970.rom to this card. This will most likely not work.

You will need to save you cards rom to a file and use the Netkas EFI script to create a new rom that has the correct EFI portion + your old rom. Make sure you modify the device ID in the script. You will then need to flash that.

PM me and I can try to create you a rom. Make sure you have another card that doesn't require extra PCIE power in case there are issues.
Click to expand...

Hi. I've found the "script" post but, I'm a noob on that.
Ok, when the card arrives, I'll backup the rom and contact you.


Regards,
Xanix
 
0x2102 said:
Don't flash just any 7970.rom to this card. This will most likely not work.

You will need to save you cards rom to a file and use the Netkas EFI script to create a new rom that has the correct EFI portion + your old rom. Make sure you modify the device ID in the script. You will then need to flash that.

PM me and I can try to create you a rom. Make sure you have another card that doesn't require extra PCIE power in case there are issues.
Click to expand...

Hello and good day 0x2102.

I'm waiting to receive one "MSI R9 280X Gaming 3G".
If a dump the bios and send it to you; can you edit the rom and add the "EFI" part? Can you make it show "AMD Radeon R9 280X" on Mac OS X?


Kind regards,
Xanix
 
R9 280X = HD 7970 = Fire Pro D700

What nobody seems to grasp is that everything on a computer has a crucial hex id number.

It is called the "device id"

It is what the computer uses to match the device to drivers.

All three of the above use the number "6798"

Please drop Facebook friend request confirmations for just a moment and think about that.

As far as OSX or Windows is concerned, all 3 devices above are THE SAME THING.

You can use the 7970 EFI I posted long ago on Netkas to make your R9 280X show boot screens and work beautifully. (yes, it was us, a freebee for Mac community)

I can make you one that calls it the "AMD FirePro 1,000,000" if you would prefer. The name doesn't matter, the device id decides what drivers it uses.
 
MacVidCards said:
R9 280X = HD 7970 = Fire Pro D700

What nobody seems to grasp is that everything on a computer has a crucial hex id number.

It is called the "device id"

It is what the computer uses to match the device to drivers.

All three of the above use the number "6798"

Please drop Facebook friend request confirmations for just a moment and think about that.

As far as OSX or Windows is concerned, all 3 devices above are THE SAME THING.

You can use the 7970 EFI I posted long ago on Netkas to make your R9 280X show boot screens and work beautifully. (yes, it was us, a freebee for Mac community)

I can make you one that calls it the "AMD FirePro 1,000,000" if you would prefer. The name doesn't matter, the device id decides what drivers it uses.
Click to expand...

Hello. I want to start my post saying, thank you very much for you're kindness on giving us, the 7970 MAC rom. You' re right; the important thing is the device id for all of them (6798). The "AMD Radeon R9 280X" is more like a cosmetic issue, and is not really important. Is just relevant for the control freaks, like me.

I'm still waiting for the card to arrive. In the meantime, I'm going to study how to edit the rom whit an Hex editor. I think I'm not going to use the script and try a DIY way; just adding the EFI part from the 7970 rom to the PC card rom.

I found that, the 7970 rom and a 280X PC rom have the same offsets number. If you use the script, the resulting rom will have a bigger number of offsets.

Kind regards,
Xanix
 
Xanix said:
Hello. I wanted to upgrade the ATI 5770 on my Mac Pro from 2010 and I don't want to deal, with an additional PSU.
I've searched the forum but, there's a lot of information and that makes it, a little confusing.

I've limited the options to this:

OS X Mavericks - Work / Windows 8.1 - Games
(1) 1 x PC Geforce GTX 680 2 x (2 x 6 pins) flashed with Mac bios
(2) 2 x PC Ati R9 270 2 x (1x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac
(3) 1 x PC Ati R9 270x 2 x (2 x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac

What's the best option?
Is there a better solution (card/option) for the upgrade?

Thank you in advance and regards,
Xanix
Click to expand...

why not a 780gtx from macvidcards? its faster than the 680gtx and will also run on 2 x 6 pin
 
Xanix said:
Hello. I wanted to upgrade the ATI 5770 on my Mac Pro from 2010 and I don't want to deal, with an additional PSU.
I've searched the forum but, there's a lot of information and that makes it, a little confusing.

I've limited the options to this:

OS X Mavericks - Work / Windows 8.1 - Games
(1) 1 x PC Geforce GTX 680 2 x (2 x 6 pins) flashed with Mac bios
(2) 2 x PC Ati R9 270 2 x (1x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac
(3) 1 x PC Ati R9 270x 2 x (2 x 6 pins) with *netkas drivers for Mac

What's the best option?
Is there a better solution (card/option) for the upgrade?

Thank you in advance and regards,
Xanix
Click to expand...

Since you mentioned the "Best Current Option", it should be Dual HD7970, i.e., D700s.

Thought you have read this:


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1732849/
 
Might you update how the install of this card went? I just got this exact card and have run into a brick wall (black screen more like it).

Was hoping this was a plug and play type thing, evidently not.
 
you mean a non flashed R9-280x? No boot screen is normal for this card, but once your Mac get to the desktop, you should able to see something.
 
Wait what

So you guys are telling me every normal guy like me can buy
a standard
MSI Radeon R9 280x, install it physically in a standard 2009 Apple Mac Pro (not really sure about those PINs and adapters, but I found 2 6-PINs on the motherboard), and when I boot it up it will/should work perfectly fine?

"Card works OOB with no boot screen of course."
-> means, black screen until the MP gets to the login screen?

"Don't flash just any 7970.rom to this card."
-> Why would I flash (never done that before) a graphics card, when it works out of the box? To get the boot screen (the one with the Apple logo, right?) back and the/a proper name in the hardware specifications? (system profiler?)

Sorry to ask these (probably) noob questions, but it's not actually my computer, my dad needs it to work. I told him we could give it a boost, as some newer compatible hardware exists now. So we got that OWC Mercury Accelsior_E2 PCIe SSD (this one in particular because of the 2 eSATA Ports). I told him about new graphics cards (which are getting rare again in Germany, just like the PCIe SSDs (for Mac of course)), but those were too expensive anyway. ... until I found out about this topic.

I'd be very thankful for a response!
 
SDAVE said:
Mac based GTX780.GTX880 is around the corner though.
Click to expand...

But at which cost? As soon as it's officially for Mac, it costs 50-100% more than a normal PC version.
...or what do you mean, when you say "mac based"?
 
Last edited:
concorde7k said:
But at which cost? As soon as it's officially for Mac, it costs 50-100% more than a normal PC version.
...or what do you mean, when you say "mac based"?
Click to expand...

I dunno, I got lucky and got a GTX780 off ebay for $430...and this was a "mac" version so I get the gray boot screen and you also don't need an external PSU, so I just use the 2 6pin ports on the logic board. Has been working like a charm for months now.
 
SDAVE said:
I dunno, I got lucky and got a GTX780 off ebay for $430...and this was a "mac" version so I get the gray boot screen and you also don't need an external PSU, so I just use the 2 6pin ports on the logic board. Has been working like a charm for months now.
Click to expand...

Mh ok, but that will still leave my original question about stock PC cards unanswered... Like I said, they cost a lot less. I don't understand, why flashing a graphics card for mac should cost the same as the card itself... That's just insane
 
concorde7k said:
Mh ok, but that will still leave my original question about stock PC cards unanswered... Like I said, they cost a lot less. I don't understand, why flashing a graphics card for mac should cost the same as the card itself... That's just insane
Click to expand...

If you get a PC version of this card for example, you will not get the gray screen and you will need to use an extra power cord from the SATA port in below the DVD drive.

The reason it costs extra to get a MAC EFI version because people out there know it's hard to find (like MacVidCards) and they just charge a fee...and also they have to modify the card physically as well so it's not just an EFI update.

Most of the recent cards that are just PC only you will definitely need extra power.
 
concorde7k said:
"Card works OOB with no boot screen of course."
-> means, black screen until the MP gets to the login screen?
Click to expand...
Correct. I'm running 2 280X cards in my 2010 MP currently. I haven't flashed them, but so long as I don't need a boot screen (and I sometimes do, in which case I switch to a flashed GeForce 680) they work just fine. (In my case, each card requires additional power so I have a second PSU--I opted not to use 8-6 pin converters.)

concorde7k said:
"Don't flash just any 7970.rom to this card."
-> Why would I flash (never done that before) a graphics card, when it works out of the box? To get the boot screen (the one with the Apple logo, right?) back and the/a proper name in the hardware specifications? (system profiler?)
Click to expand...
Primarily for the boot screen, though I suppose profiler information could weigh in. There's also instances where you may flash a new BIOS on the card to unlock some extra performance, but I think that was primarily with older cards.
 
kic said:
Correct. I'm running 2 280X cards in my 2010 MP currently. I haven't flashed them, but so long as I don't need a boot screen (and I sometimes do, in which case I switch to a flashed GeForce 680) they work just fine. (In my case, each card requires additional power so I have a second PSU--I opted not to use 8-6 pin converters.)


Primarily for the boot screen, though I suppose profiler information could weigh in. There's also instances where you may flash a new BIOS on the card to unlock some extra performance, but I think that was primarily with older cards.
Click to expand...

Nice, thank you very much. If you don't mind, few (hopefully) last questions:

1) I probably should keep the nVidia GeForce GT 120 for the event I need a boot screen?

2) When do I need a boot screen? For recovery etc I guess...? Any other examples?

3) With the card unflashed, out of the box under OS X: Do all ports work? Will I be able to use both MiniDP, the HDMI as well as the DVI? I read something about some ports not working - not really sure anymore if this was the case when the card was flashed or not.

4) Which 280X are you using? I found out that some don't work without further changes. Is the MSI one? Or Gigabyte, or which one?

5) Out of the box means, you didn't need any further cables, too, the ones included did just fine?

Thank you very very much for the precise answers!
 
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