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Resolved Best video card for 4K video editing/3D Animation

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davidlee88

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 11, 2017
19
0
What would be the best and best for budget video card for 4K video editing and 3D animation.
I was looking at the Titan X 12Gb Maxwell, but I am hearing conflicting reports on whether it is compatible with Mac.

Specs
MacPro 5,1
macOS 10.12.3
 
TitanX works on 5,1 (10.12.3) as long as you install the correct driver BEFORE you instal the card. Otherwise, black screen only. However, it can hardly be a budget video card (unless you only compare it to those high end workstation cards).
 
h9826790 said:
TitanX works on 5,1 (10.12.3) as long as you install the correct driver BEFORE you instal the card. Otherwise, black screen only. However, it can hardly be a budget video card (unless you only compare it to those high end workstation cards).
Click to expand...

That is why I posted best and best budget. What drivers would I need.
Does the card have to be flashed?
I am looking into purchasing an unflashed Titan X for my Mac Pro.
Also, I don't mean mind putting out the money for a good return.
Is the TitanX my best option for 4K and 3D work?
 
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h9826790 said:
For consumer card, I will say get the 980Ti make much more sense (unless your work flow can benefit a lot from the extra VRAM), of course you can get the 1080Ti as well, but the driver seems not that mature at this moment.

You can refer to the stick Nvidia GPU thread for the rest of your questions.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...out-nvidia-pc-non-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/
Click to expand...

So, the 980ti is roughly $300 and I have an offer to get the TitanX for $500. Is that worth it? I realize it depends on my workflow.
The TitanX has twice the GBs, so Inwoild think that it is worth it. The 1080ti is roughly $700 however, at am not familiar with either of those cards.
 
davidlee88 said:
So, the 980ti is roughly $300 and I have an offer to get the TitanX for $500. Is that worth it? I realize it depends on my workflow.
The TitanX has twice the GBs, so Inwoild think that it is worth it. The 1080ti is roughly $700 however, at am not familiar with either of those cards.
Click to expand...

I rarely see report that TitanX can go significantly faster than the 980Ti because of 2x VRAM avail. In fact, sometimes the 980Ti is a bit faster.

For $300 and $500, I personally prefer to go for the "cheap" $300 980Ti. Which should gives me better cost to performance ratio for most of the time.
 
h9826790 said:
I rarely see report that TitanX can go significantly faster than the 980Ti because of 2x VRAM avail. In fact, sometimes the 980Ti is a bit faster.

For $300 and $500, I personally prefer to go for the "cheap" $300 980Ti. Which should gives me better cost to performance ratio for most of the time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
I am definitely giving some consideration.
I had just heard the extra ram was good for 3D animation.
I will not be using this for gaming.
Just 4K and 3D.
Thanks again!
I don't mind saving $200
 
By considering the "best" new Mac Pro can only upgrade to D700 (6GB VRAM). And I never heard any nMP user complaining not enough VRAM to run 4k or 3D. I think 980Ti 6GB should be good enough in general. Of course more VRAM is good, but if the software can't utilise them, it's just a waste of money. Anyway, I also never heard any 980Ti user complain that they are bottlecking by 6GB VRAM, and yelling that they need an upgrade to TitanX.
 
h9826790 said:
By considering the "best" new Mac Pro can only upgrade to D700 (6GB VRAM). And I never heard any nMP user complaining not enough VRAM to run 4k or 3D. I think 980Ti 6GB should be good enough in general. Of course more VRAM is good, but if the software can't utilise them, it's just a waste of money. Anyway, I also never heard any 980Ti user complain that they are bottlecking by 6GB VRAM, and yelling that they need an upgrade to TitanX.
Click to expand...

Thanks again for this info!
Just to verify. I can purchase any 980ti and with certain drivers, I can use it with my Mac Pro.
Is there a specific brand or model I stick to or stay away from.

My options seem to be :
MSI
Gigabyte
EVGA
Nvidia

Are any of these better than the other?
In what order is best to worst?
 
Thanks for all the info!
Okay, I think I have it narrowed down to 2 cards.
What are some comparison suggestions between the 980ti and the 1080? (Not the 1080ti) The 1080 is a little more than the 980ti, however I just want to find out if it is worth it. The 1080 gets higher benchmarks than the 980ti. Also, how are the Mac drivers when it comes to the 1080?
 
One big advantage the 1080 has over the 980Ti is the lower power draw. At peak load, the 980 Ti can draw more power than the cMP can provide it. That should not be a problem with the 1080.

The other question is: what software are you using? I don't think the Adobe Creative Suite apps leverage VRAM very heavily even for 4K workflows, but DaVinci Resolve will use all the VRAM and GPUs you can throw at it.
 
Silencio said:
One big advantage the 1080 has over the 980Ti is the lower power draw. At peak load, the 980 Ti can draw more power than the cMP can provide it. That should not be a problem with the 1080.

The other question is: what software are you using? I don't think the Adobe Creative Suite apps leverage VRAM very heavily even for 4K workflows, but DaVinci Resolve will use all the VRAM and GPUs you can throw at it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I noticed the lower power draw.

I currently use:
Adobe Premiere CS6 (4K ProRes 4.2.2 video)
Final Cut Pro X
Newtek Lightwave 2015
I have Davinci Resolve, however it doesn't work real well with my 4K footage and that is part of my reason for upgrading.

What drivers would I need to run a 1080 on a MacPro?
 
Okay, I went for it.
I just purchased a GTX 1080 for $390.
Thank you for all the input!

P.S. If anyone has any info or links to the drivers I would need for a 5,1 MacPro running 10.12.4, it would be greatly appreciated!
 
So I ordered the 1080 and I was wondering which is the best port to use?
The HDMI, DVI or DisplayPort?
 
davidlee88 said:
Yes, I noticed the lower power draw.

I currently use:
Adobe Premiere CS6 (4K ProRes 4.2.2 video)
Final Cut Pro X
Newtek Lightwave 2015
I have Davinci Resolve, however it doesn't work real well with my 4K footage and that is part of my reason for upgrading.

What drivers would I need to run a 1080 on a MacPro?
Click to expand...

davidlee88 said:
Okay, I went for it.
I just purchased a GTX 1080 for $390.
Thank you for all the input!

P.S. If anyone has any info or links to the drivers I would need for a 5,1 MacPro running 10.12.4, it would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Web Drivers are here:

http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/117854/en-us

Cuda Drivers are here:

https://www.nvidia.com/object/macosx-cuda-8.0.81-driver.html

NOTE: you will NOT be able to run the GTX 1080 or the above drivers on Sierra 10.12.3. You must update to Sierra 10.12.4.

I have a Gigabyte GTX 1080 on the way. I will have it flashed by MacVidCards for the boot screen.

And I agree on the Display Port.

Oh, you will need a power cable like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/nVidia-DUAL...727235?hash=item4b06fc0683:g:fPgAAOSwAKxWT8SJ

Lou
 
Okay, so I updated to 10.12.4....
Installed the web drivers and the Cuda drivers.... Installed the video card.... Hooked up the 6+6 to 8 pin power cable mentioned above.... and I'm getting a black screen.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Should both of the 6 pin tips be connected to aux power on the motherboard?

Yes, I do need to dust out my tower...
23dba8f5a8af5232fec9add3ba354c30.jpg
 
Last edited:
davidlee88 said:
Okay, so I updated to 10.12.4....
Installed the web drivers and the Cuda drivers.... Installed the video card.... Hooked up the 6+6 to 8 pin power cable mentioned above.... and I'm getting a black screen.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Should both of the 6 pin tips be connected to aux power on the motherboard?

Yes, I do need to dust out my tower...
23dba8f5a8af5232fec9add3ba354c30.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, you need BOTH 6pins connected.
 
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davidlee88 said:
Okay, so here is a pic of my 6 pin cable. The smaller end was connected to my motherboard. Is this just called a mini 6 pin to regular 6 pin?
71fc6c6b4351286fd314334c2f8d4538.jpg
Click to expand...

The smaller one is the mini 6pin. Plug that onto the logic board. Plug the other end (the 6pin) into your dual 6pin -> 8pin cable. You should connect all 3 cables (2x mini 6-> 6, and 1x dual 6-> 8) to properly power the card.
 
h9826790 said:
The smaller one is the mini 6pin. Plug that onto the logic board. Plug the other end (the 6pin) into your dual 6pin -> 8pin cable. You should connect all 3 cables (2x mini 6-> 6, and 1x dual 6-> 8) to properly power the card.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks!
I have ordered the cable.
 
Depends on the cable's price. If you have to order one anyway, you may consider order a dual mini 6 -> single 8pin cable.

This cable is useful, if you upgrade to another GPU later, with another single 8 pin (female)-> dual 6+2 cable, will allow you to install most of the high end GPU.
 
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