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MP 1,1-5,1 Best RX 580 card for 3,1 and 5,1

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LookToWindward

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2015
281
23
Hi,

I'm going to get an RX 580 graphics card. I made the mistake of searching for "RX 580" on Amazon and got a hell of a lot of different RX 580s!

Which one should I get? I want this to work on a MacPro 3,1 and 5,1.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

All the Best
Dave
 
A

avro707

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2010
2,263
1,654
Sapphire Pulse RX580 is the favoured one because Apple listed it, so everyone goes for that.

I also got a XFX RX580 GTS which worked exactly the same as the Sapphire Pulse and was more useful in having 3x displayport and 1x HDMI. But do your homework.

Alternatively, if you were going just for a GPU to use on 5,1 then I'd suggest looking into RX6600XT 8GB and flash that card so it is compatible. It's my preferred option:

 
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B

Borowski

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2018
254
72
Attention: GopEnabler is incompatible with MP3.1.
Only problematic if you need bootscreen.
 
Dayo

Dayo

macrumors 68020
Dec 21, 2018
2,257
1,279
LookToWindward said:
I thought OCLP overcame boot screen issues
Click to expand...
OpenCore, regardless of what was used to set it up ... OCLP or Ann Otherway, will give you an equivalent bootscreen with an RX580 on both MP31 and MP51 indeed.

The XFX RX580, which I use, does work but you might want to go for the Sapphire variant if you can instead as that is the orthodox RX580 model for cMP as previously stated.
 
L

LookToWindward

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2015
281
23
I've ordered the Sapphire Pulse RX580, it doesn't come with power cables. I currently have 2 x GT 8800 in my Mac Pro 3,1. I'm guessing I need to get a 2 x 6 Pin to 8 pin power cable and use the same power terminals on the motherboard?
 
K

krakman

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2009
450
511
LookToWindward said:
I'm guessing I need to get a 2 x 6 Pin to 8 pin power cable and use the same power terminals on the motherboard?
Click to expand...
You can use mini 6 pin to 6 pin cables too.

The extra 2Pins on the 8Pin connector are sense and ground. no power is delivered by the extra pins.

A 6pin plug will fit in an 8pin socket.

My personal recommendation is to buy an EVGA Powerlink ..... $20 on Amazon... it connects like this...

two mini 6 pin cables >>> Powerlink >>> GPU

this will smooth out the power draw between each cable and give you some protection from electrical fault.

Our Macs are now 10+ years old so it is best to be as careful as possible with this old computers.
 
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L

LookToWindward

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2015
281
23
I looked on Amazon for "EVGA Powerlink" and got hundreds of hits! Could you be more specific in what EVGA Powerlink looks like?
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,454
13,601
www.evga.com

EVGA - Articles - EVGA PowerLink™

The EVGA PowerLink™ has one primary function: to make your PC look even more awesome. This adapter allows you to reroute the power inputs for your graphics card, giving you improved case airflow, a lower profile height, and best of all, cleaner wiring setup. It even supports a unique...
www.evga.com www.evga.com
 
L

LookToWindward

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2015
281
23
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,454
13,601
LookToWindward said:
On EBay Spain, I got one for 100 Euros - Free shipping!

www.ebay.es

Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 580 8Go GDDR5 NITRO+ PLUS Carte Graphique 11265-01-20G | eBay

Las mejores ofertas para Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 580 8Go GDDR5 NITRO+ PLUS Carte Graphique 11265-01-20G están en eBay ✓ Compara precios y características de productos nuevos y usados ✓ Muchos artículos con envío gratis!
www.ebay.es
Click to expand...

This is not a good choice for a MacPro5,1. Sapphire RX 580 Nitro+ is a card that is 2,2 slots wide ( it's wide enough that blocks slot-2 when installed to slot-1) and is highly overclocked, with 8-pin + 6-pin power connectors, these Nitro/Nitro+ cards require more power than the MacPro backplane can provide and do not work with just a 8-pin connector.

Some people have it working fine with Pixla's mod, but lot's of people have issues with the Nitro/Nitro+ cards, mainly with SMC emergency shutdowns when powered by the backplane.
 
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L

LookToWindward

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2015
281
23
Taking up two slots is a bit of a pain but at the same time I have 2 x GT 8800s to support up to 4 monitors, the RX 580 supports 4 monitors so I'm not really losing anything.

Can I install the RX 580 in the upper 2 16x PCI slots or does it have to go in the bottom most slot?

About the power I suppose that why they suggested I get a EVGA Powerlink?
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,454
13,601
Sapphire Pulse RX 580 is a 8-pin only power connector GPU. While is a 185W + Powerplay additional consumption GPU, if your Mac Pro PSU is ok, you can power it with a double miniPCIe 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe cable.

If you are going to use the GPU full throttle, like rendering or gaming all the time, consider getting a PowerLink instead of the 8-pin adapter to balance/equalize the power draw from both backplane power outputs and avoid SMC power cut-outs, since it's a GPU that is near the backplane power capabilities and the SMC will cut out when dis-balanced near the limit.
 
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H

heychrischin

macrumors newbie
Mar 5, 2024
7
1
Since there is an existing thread regarding this:

I purchased a Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB. Would this enable Metal in a Mac Pro 5,1?

If so, will I need power adaptors/other configuration to get it working?
 
A

avro707

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2010
2,263
1,654
heychrischin said:
Since there is an existing thread regarding this:

I purchased a Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB. Would this enable Metal in a Mac Pro 5,1?

If so, will I need power adaptors/other configuration to get it working?
Click to expand...

Not familiar with the Nitro+ but almost certainly different power cables needed.

Be careful of the power requirements that you don’t overload the Mac Pro. Powerlink might be worthwhile.

Edit: note further up this topic the Nitro+ is not recommended.
 
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flat4

flat4

Contributor
Jul 14, 2009
290
84
The nitro + has both the 8 pin and 6 pin. I have that card.

Now I looked thru a bunch of posts about the power requirements before I installed it.

There’s a post that clearly says the 2 mini 6 pin to one 8 pin will work no issues but if you are going to over clock it you will need additional power and best thing is to do the pixlas mod.
 
H

heychrischin

macrumors newbie
Mar 5, 2024
7
1
@flat4 no plans to overlock it.

My plan is to get a dual 6 pin female to 8 Pin male GPU power adapter cable (like this one: https://a.co/d/caHq6xA) to get the necessary power to it.

I’ve seen some YT videos of people successfully powering it that way. Think that’ll work?
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,454
13,601
flat4 said:
There’s a post that clearly says the 2 mini 6 pin to one 8 pin will work no issues but if you are going to over clock it you will need additional power and best thing is to do the pixlas mod.
Click to expand...

This post that you read is completely wrong.

The 8-pin PCIe power connector draws up to 150W, so, you are powering it with a 6-pin mini-PCIe connector that is rated for 75W and can provide something around 110~120W before the SMC does an emergency shutdown of the PSU.

If you are doing nothing with the GPU, this can work, but the moment the GPU starts to draws more power you'll have a SMC emergency shutdown.

Nitro+ cards are heavily overclocked from factory and can draw 300W+ spikes/transients, this is asking for a defective backplane and not in the long run, but soon.

A Sapphire Pulse RX 580 that have ONLY one PCIe 8-pin power connector and is correctly connected with a dual mini-PCIe 6-pin to a 8-pin power cable, can make the SMC shutdown the PSU when running full throttle - with loads of reports here over the years.

Btw, even the Silent/Green/LowPower mode of a Sapphire Nitro+ draws more power than a Pulse.
 
flat4

flat4

Contributor
Jul 14, 2009
290
84
tsialex said:
This post that you read is completely wrong.

The 8-pin PCIe power connector draws up to 150W, so, you are powering it with a 6-pin mini-PCIe connector that is rated for 75W and can provide something around 110~120W before the SMC does an emergency shutdown of the PSU.

If you are doing nothing with the GPU, this can work, but the moment the GPU starts to draws more power you'll have a SMC emergency shutdown.

Nitro+ cards are heavily overclocked from factory and can draw 300W+ spikes/transients, this is asking for a defective backplane and not in the long run, but soon.

A Sapphire Pulse RX 580 that have ONLY one PCIe 8-pin power connector and is correctly connected with a dual mini-PCIe 6-pin to a 8-pin power cable, can make the SMC shutdown the PSU when running full throttle - with loads of reports here over the years.

Btw, even the Silent/Green/LowPower mode of a Sapphire Nitro+ draws more power than a Pulse.
Click to expand...
hmm

I dont so much probably why i haven't had issues.

I was under the impression that each mini 6 pin on the board put out 75W but you're saying that it only does 75W for both?
 
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