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Best Metal-compatible graphics card for MacPro5,1 (Mid 2010) running High Sierra
- Thread starter torarne
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I have the MSI RX 580 and it has been plug and play. I know that the Sapphire is often recommended but the only functional (esthetic only..) difference from non sapphire cards seems to be "About the Mac Card ID".
I suggest reading up on the RX 590. From what I have seen the RX 590 seems like a product that is rushed out for the 2018 holiday.
IMHO the prices have plunged on video cards right now, this might be a good time to jump on any bargain "reference design" RX 580, rather than pay a premium price for a newly released and maybe half baked card?
Never the less, I am sure many other readers on MR would be very interested to see if the RX 590 is viable on Mac Pro.
Happy Turkey Day
I suggest reading up on the RX 590. From what I have seen the RX 590 seems like a product that is rushed out for the 2018 holiday.
IMHO the prices have plunged on video cards right now, this might be a good time to jump on any bargain "reference design" RX 580, rather than pay a premium price for a newly released and maybe half baked card?
Never the less, I am sure many other readers on MR would be very interested to see if the RX 590 is viable on Mac Pro.
Happy Turkey Day
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Reviews of 590 aren't that great. You can get Vega 56 for a little more money but much better performance.
Thanks very much SoycapitanSoyCapitan, Just wanted to know if there is a brand that i need to stick to, Like
Asus/MSI/Arock/Sapphire/.
Here is what i am looking at https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...cription=vega+56&ignorear=0&N=8000&isNodeId=1
Apple is recommending Sapphire, the reference models are safest. The Vega 64 Nitro+ needs three 8 pin connections so stay away from that.
I went with the AMD RX580 bc it is sposed to be compatible with Mojave Metal. I'll post my experiences next week after it is installed. Newegg doesn't have the proper connectors so I had to buy a 3rd party one, and it is on it's way here.
By "proper connectors", do you mean power cables, like PCIe power? If so, can you tell me if the ones you ordered works 100% good and where you got them?
I've talked to Apple support about what cMP specific PCIe power cables to buy but they don't know anything about them.
I have a question that I haven't seen discussed yet, though it probably IS buried somewhere in the threads: there are various brands of RX580 cards (Sapphire, MSI, etc)... does one have to worry about one card or another being a better physical fit for a classic Mac Pro, as far as not interfering with use of the adjacent PCIe slot? I have all four slots occupied at the moment, and would prefer not to have to give up one of the functions that I'm currently using (USB3, eSATA, SSD over PCIe). For what it is worth, like the original poster I'm not into gaming, just looking to be able to stay current by upgrading to Mojave.
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
This thread details the install of Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB in MP5,1 with all four PCIe slots in use. The card is a very tight fit.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-for-pcie-slot-2.2134562/page-2#post-26413743
The best bet is to stick with the Apple suggested list, but even with the suggested Sapphire Pulse RX 580, some combos of PCIe cards will not fit.
Some GPUs don't physically fit, more than 2 slots wide, or have bigger power consumption than what an un-modded Mac Pro can power. Sapphire Nitro+, for example, is 2,2 slots wide and have a maximum power comsumpition of 237W, Mac Pro only can feed 225W. Some Asus models are 3 slots wide.
You have to check the specs of the card with great attention before buying it.
Hmm, perhaps I don't need to future-proof myself quite so much as to buy the RX580 then. The very first card on the list (MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5) has fifteen successful Mac Pro reviews on Amazon. Accounts seem to vary, however, on whether that RX 560 even needs an aux cable for power. Thoughts?
There is at least 4 very different models of that MSI GPU, but all seems to work.
The question is, RX 560 are very overpriced now and RX-580 are frequently on sale since years end. Don't seem to justify going for the little brother.
the Sapphire Pulse RX560 4GB is compatible and needs a mini 6pin to standard 6pin cable to go from the logic board to the 6 pin connector on the GPU. if you do not play any modern games then that GPU will be the best for compatibility while also being cheap
get this RX-580 to avoid space constraints:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137244
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137244
I'm trying to look at the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards on Ebay.
Basically I want a metal compatible card for my Mac Pro 5,1 and I have very simple graphics needs and don't wish to spend money like a gamer! I do audio work with DAW apps. That's mostly it. So looking to be a cheap bastard!
What am I missing with this 7950? I see one with 2 visible fans and one with a more enclosed case and one visible fan. They both have the same part number as far as I can see. The 1st sells for $60 used and the 2nd for $400!
I think I understand that there is a pre flashed "Mac edition" to let you see boot screens and take advantage of the faster Mac Pro pci bus. Then there are instructions to flash the non "Mac edition". Is the enclosed looking one the "Mac edition"?
I absolutely want the boot screens! I use those. Faster pci com sounds good too.
As for flashing one of these...
Does it really require installing Windows?!
I'm not doing that. Purchasing Windows just to flash a stupid card would cancel any savings and I'm not in any mood to navigate pirated versions and whathaveyou.
How do you flash one of them without touching Windows? I would be down with installing some Linux version if needed.
Or...
Is there a better "cheap bastard" choice than the 7950?
Think that's about it.
Thanks!
Basically I want a metal compatible card for my Mac Pro 5,1 and I have very simple graphics needs and don't wish to spend money like a gamer! I do audio work with DAW apps. That's mostly it. So looking to be a cheap bastard!
What am I missing with this 7950? I see one with 2 visible fans and one with a more enclosed case and one visible fan. They both have the same part number as far as I can see. The 1st sells for $60 used and the 2nd for $400!
I think I understand that there is a pre flashed "Mac edition" to let you see boot screens and take advantage of the faster Mac Pro pci bus. Then there are instructions to flash the non "Mac edition". Is the enclosed looking one the "Mac edition"?
I absolutely want the boot screens! I use those. Faster pci com sounds good too.
As for flashing one of these...
Does it really require installing Windows?!
I'm not doing that. Purchasing Windows just to flash a stupid card would cancel any savings and I'm not in any mood to navigate pirated versions and whathaveyou.
How do you flash one of them without touching Windows? I would be down with installing some Linux version if needed.
Or...
Is there a better "cheap bastard" choice than the 7950?
Think that's about it.
Thanks!
Yes, you need Windows to flash. Microsoft offers downloadable ISOs that work for 30 days. Burn a DVD, install into a empty drive, flash the GPU, erase the drive, no need to spend any money with Windows.
You make that sound... reasonable or something.
Thanks for the tip on the Windows installer then, tsialex.
If I understand...
Bootcamp is the free GRUB that Apple provides? Install it. Copy the Windows installer iso to a flash drive. Install Windows.
I'll maybe try that before ordering anything.
For the 7950 card. The 2 fan looking card is the Windows version and the more enclosed single fan card is the Mac edition? Is that right.
You don't need BootCamp, just boot from the DVD. You have to burn a DVD with drutil. Don't install via UEFI/using a usb-key or you will have SecureBoot certificates trashing your BootROM and you will have another problem to solve.
There are numerous versions of HD 7950, this is the real Mac Edition: http://www.sapphiretech.com/productdetial.asp?pid=4602E84F-4A09-4B9A-B9F9-CBA9CF197B15&lang=eng
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Oh, the DVD is a workaround for some security things!
Hmmm...
OK, what's a better option for a video card that doesn't involve Windows in any way shape or form?
Still looking for cheap bastard solutions.
I just spent the past 3 years dealing with driver and power problems with a GTX 780 and then a 1080.
I work with After Effects, and under heavy loads, I’d get kernel panics or the computer would log out and close all of my apps. The system log would show the problem was related to the Nvidia Kexts.
I’ve got a job going on right now working with full 4K 16-bit DPXs, and these problems were happening every 10 minutes. I couldn’t get anything done.
I got fed up and bought an XFX Vega 56 yesterday. After a day of testing, I haven’t had a single reboot or log out. It works out of the box. It’s not as fast as the 1080, but who cares? I can actually get my work done now.
I have an external PSU to power the card, and was using that with the 1080 as well.
I wish I had done this years ago.
I work with After Effects, and under heavy loads, I’d get kernel panics or the computer would log out and close all of my apps. The system log would show the problem was related to the Nvidia Kexts.
I’ve got a job going on right now working with full 4K 16-bit DPXs, and these problems were happening every 10 minutes. I couldn’t get anything done.
I got fed up and bought an XFX Vega 56 yesterday. After a day of testing, I haven’t had a single reboot or log out. It works out of the box. It’s not as fast as the 1080, but who cares? I can actually get my work done now.
I have an external PSU to power the card, and was using that with the 1080 as well.
I wish I had done this years ago.
