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Confirmed AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Running on Mac Pro

jasonsansone said:
I have a 270X flashed for boot screens. It only works on MDP, no HDMI or DVI ports output. Runs at 2.5 GT/s.
Click to expand...

Nice jason, how do you like the 270X?

I would like to upgrade my 5770 to either a 7950/7970 or a r280x. I do not think I need the 290x and I am not even sure its support unofficially or officially.
 
@willtothewong

Is your 5770 an official non-flashed Apple one? If so then PM me, might consider buying it for my 1,1
 
pastrychef said:
Your disregard for TDP requirements and the PCI-e 6 pin and 8 pin standards are reckless and irresponsible especially for an Apple Certified Tech. It is clear that the 8 pin standard is meant to provide up to 150W and 6 pin standard is meant to provide up to 75W. Can it work? Sure. Should we be doing it? No.

If you find the 6 pins so extremely adequate at providing enough juice to 8 pin connectors, why not try using a Radeon 7990 or an Nvidia Titan and over volt them?

You speak of personal experiences shared here, have you read of the shutdowns caused by some of the video cards with an 8 pin connector? I know a few quite daring Mac users. Perhaps your magical Mac Pro can provide up to 300W of power to a video card, mine can't.

Video card vendors who include 6 pin to 8 pin connectors intended them to be use with some older power supplies found in PCs which have cables connectors coming from them. Those cables are typically about 18 gauge which won't burn under from 150W. Can the same be said for the traces on a Mac Pro's logic board?

Don't toss that Apple Certified Tech thing at me, I'm not impressed.
Click to expand...

2 years later. Still working great. Never even crashed once.
 
ActionableMango said:
I don't want to do anything, I am happy with my 5770. I only ask out of curiosity.

I would think the overwhelming majority of users presented with this card and this adapter would just hook them up and not know what TDP is or know anything about wattage rating of PCI lanes and motherboard traces. Without knowing any better, it seems like the logical thing to do.

I'm not saying you are wrong, in fact, I believe you. But, if you are right, this manufacturer is being exceptionally dangerous by including such an adapter. There should at least be a big huge warning card or something.
Click to expand...


I know this is an old thread, but just came across it and thought to give my insight.
I use to refurfish older mac pro's, and the following is what everyone should know. The 4,1 and 5,1 has the same lb, and the 2,1 and 3,1 has the same lb.

The 4,1 and 5,1 supplies 75 per 6pin for a total of 150w, and the pci slots share the final 300w. So if the only a vid card in one slot that by example needs 300w, that slot can enjoy the full benefit of 300w.
If there's more than one pci card, the 300w's are splitting up. That's how it works. Period.
So, the 7970 (if it's the only pci card in the machine) can play seamlessly around with 450w to it's disposal.
 
Chris Mac said:
The 4,1 and 5,1 supplies 75 per 6pin for a total of 150w, and the pci slots share the final 300w. So if the only a vid card in one slot that by example needs 300w, that slot can enjoy the full benefit of 300w.
If there's more than one pci card, the 300w's are splitting up. That's how it works. Period.
So, the 7970 (if it's the only pci card in the machine) can play seamlessly around with 450w to it's disposal.
Click to expand...

That's not how the GPU draw power in CMP (or any PC). So far, I didn't see any normal GPU pull more than 75W from the slot. If it really can draw 300W, it will pull at most 75W from the PCIe slot. And draw all the rest of power from the 6pins (or 8pins). So, 225W for 2x 6pins, that's way more than 75W. There is no way for the user to manage draw more power from which source. Also, since the card may not draw power evenly, so either of those 6pin may actually pull >120W, which will shut down the Mac Pro immediately. Is it safe? IMO, absolutely not!

If the card can get 300W from the slot, most of us will be very very happy, because we can even power the most powerful TitanX with zero aux power cable but just plug that card into the slot. In real world, the card won't boot at all.

I am not against anyone to run a 7970 in cMP, but running a 300W card without correct knowledge may cause big damage to the machine.
 
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h9826790 said:
That's not how the GPU draw power in CMP (or any PC). So far, I didn't see any normal GPU pull more than 75W from the slot. If it really can draw 300W, it will pull at most 75W from the PCIe slot. And draw all the rest of power from the 6pins (or 8pins). So, 225W for 2x 6pins, that's way more than 75W. There is no way for the user to manage draw more power from which source. Also, since the card may not draw power evenly, so either of those 6pin may actually pull >120W, which will shut down the Mac Pro immediately. Is it safe? IMO, absolutely not!

If the card can get 300W from the slot, most of us will be very very happy, because we can even power the most powerful TitanX with zero aux power cable but just plug that card into the slot. In real world, the card won't boot at all.

I am not against anyone to run a 7970 in cMP, but running a 300W card without correct knowledge may cause big damage to the machine.
Click to expand...


I hear you. Not sure if you know the company createpro, they now sell the Gtx 980TI for the 4,1 and 5,1 mac pros.
The really amazing thing about the mac pros is that the actually manage the 300w. And not 75 per slot. But one 300w current that is managed by the logic board. It's a really clever board.

The psu of those macs are 1600w. It's very safe and very powerfull. Even the new titan cards works perfectly in those macs.
 
Chris Mac said:
I hear you. Not sure if you know the company createpro, they now sell the Gtx 980TI for the 4,1 and 5,1 mac pros.
The really amazing thing about the mac pros is that the actually manage the 300w. And not 75 per slot. But one 300w current that is managed by the logic board. It's a really clever board.

The psu of those macs are 1600w. It's very safe and very powerfull. Even the new titan cards works perfectly in those macs.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know them, and if you do a little bit search in this forum, you will know more about them.

Apple never says that a single slot can go up to 300W, but only says all 4 slots cannot go above 300W, the logic behind is totally different.

However that's not the main point. It's the card to decide how much power it draws from the slot, but not the logic board. No matter how clever it is, how powerful it is, that's totally useless, because the card will only draw little power from it, but mainly rely on the 6pins (which is rated at 75W regardless how powerful the PSU or how clever the board is).

The PSU is safe and powerful, but only 980W, not 1600W, you can open up you Mac and have a look. I never doubt about the total power available in the cMP is enough to power the 980Ti. The real problem is no way to get the power natively and safely.

If you check another thread about the Pixlas mod, then you will know more about the power system of the Mac Pro and how it works.
 
h9826790 said:
Yes, I know them, and if you do a little bit search in this forum, you will know more about them.

Apple never says that a single slot can go up to 300W, but only says all 4 slots cannot go above 300W, the logic behind is totally different.

However that's not the main point. It's the card to decide how much power it draws from the slot, but not the logic board. No matter how clever it is, how powerful it is, that's totally useless, because the card will only draw little power from it, but mainly rely on the 6pins (which is rated at 75W regardless how powerful the PSU or how clever the board is).

The PSU is safe and powerful, but only 980W, not 1600W, you can open up you Mac and have a look. I never doubt about the total power available in the cMP is enough to power the 980Ti. The real problem is no way to get the power natively and safely.

If you check another thread about the Pixlas mod, then you will know more about the power system of the Mac Pro and how it works.
Click to expand...

Check this out:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...ics-cards-dvi-dual-link-mini-displayport.html
h9826790 said:
Yes, I know them, and if you do a little bit search in this forum, you will know more about them.

Apple never says that a single slot can go up to 300W, but only says all 4 slots cannot go above 300W, the logic behind is totally different.

However that's not the main point. It's the card to decide how much power it draws from the slot, but not the logic board. No matter how clever it is, how powerful it is, that's totally useless, because the card will only draw little power from it, but mainly rely on the 6pins (which is rated at 75W regardless how powerful the PSU or how clever the board is).

The PSU is safe and powerful, but only 980W, not 1600W, you can open up you Mac and have a look. I never doubt about the total power available in the cMP is enough to power the 980Ti. The real problem is no way to get the power natively and safely.

If you check another thread about the Pixlas mod, then you will know more about the power system of the Mac Pro and how it works.
Click to expand...

Check this out: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...ics-cards-dvi-dual-link-mini-displayport.html

I just came across this, and thought it's interesting.
I understand what you're saying. But how does createpro, OWC, macvidcards and the rest install these cards without any problems? And yet they perform like beasts in those machines.

Check this out:
http://www.macvidcards.com/store/c2/Nvidia_GPUs.html
 
Chris Mac said:
Check this out:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...ics-cards-dvi-dual-link-mini-displayport.html

I just came across this, and thought it's interesting.
I understand what you're saying. But how does createpro, OWC, macvidcards and the rest install these cards without any problems? And yet they perform like beasts in those machines.

Check this out:
http://www.macvidcards.com/store/c2/Nvidia_GPUs.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, I know MVC can mod some card to make it run with internal power only, but not all of them. e.g.
Screen Shot 2015-11-09 at 17.56.59.jpg

The Titan Black only need 250W, and a 600W PSU is recommended by Nvidia, please tell me why even MVC can't make it run with internal power only in a cMP?

OWC's GPU never exceeded the cMP's power limit. The 680 and 7950 Mac edition never draw more than 75W from each 6pins and from the slot (unless you OC them).

Create Pro, I simply don't trust them at all. They are thief and liar (base on their history in this forum). If they said the stock PSU in the cMP is 1600W, it's either they know nothing about the cMP, or they lie.

I am now running dual 7950 in my cMP, but not because the logic board is smart. It's because I am willing the take the risk which let the card draw more than 75W from the 6pins, that's it.

If I need to install a powerful card that which will draw more than 100W from a single 6pin, I will definitely go through the Pixlas mod.
 
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h9826790 said:
Thanks for the link, I know MVC can mod some card to make it run with internal power only, but not all of them. e.g.View attachment 598893
The Titan Black only need 250W, and a 600W PSU is recommended by Nvidia, please tell me why even MVC can't make it run with internal power only in a cMP?

OWC's GPU never exceeded the cMP's power limit. The 680 and 7950 Mac edition never draw more than 75W from each 6pins and from the slot (unless you OC them).

Create Pro, I simply don't trust them at all. They are thief and liar (base on their history in this forum). If they said the stock PSU in the cMP is 1600W, it's even they know nothing about the cMP, or they lie.

I am now running dual 7950 in my cMP, but not because the logic board is smart. It's because I am willing the take the risk which let the card draw more than 75W from the 6pins, that's it.

If I need to install a powerful card that which will draw more than 100W from a single 6pin, I will definitely go through the Pixlas mod.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. So here's the million dollar question: can you upgrade the psu in a 5,1 mac pro?
I've just bought a 7970 from MVC, it also comes with the 6 - 6 pin and a 6 - 8 pin. According to them it draws a total of 225 W.
 
Chris Mac said:
Very interesting. So here's the million dollar question: can you upgrade the psu in a 5,1 mac pro?
I've just bought a 7970 from MVC, it also comes with the 6 - 6 pin and a 6 - 8 pin. According to them it draws a total of 225 W.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, no, unless you make one for the 5,1 by yourself.

If that's from MVC, just plug them in and you are good to go. Remember, the card is just 225W, well below 300W, but those 2 cables are NOT optional.
 
h9826790 said:
AFAIK, no, unless you make one for the 5,1 by yourself.

If that's from MVC, just plug them in and you are good to go. Remember, the card is just 225W, well below 300W, but those 2 cables are NOT optional.
Click to expand...

Sorry my typing went corrupt. I meant to say, the card needs only 225w. So it's probaly 75 + 75 + 75.
 
Anyone know why the expansion fan would run at ~1000rpm minimum with a 7970 installed? I had an Apple 5870 and later a GTX970 in there previously and the fan would sit at 800pm most of the time (the minimum) but seemingly with the 7970 it never gets down to 800. I've seen it can sometimes drop after a few sleep/wake cycles but that's all I do (it's always on, I just sleep it). Tried the usual SMC and PRAM resets to no avail. Of course, 1000rpm is hardly deafening, I just wondered why it doesn't settle down to 800rpm like other cards. I have a spare 7970 I could try, maybe I'll give that a go. They're both reference 7970 fwiw.
 
SamPotts said:
Anyone know why the expansion fan would run at ~1000rpm minimum with a 7970 installed? I had an Apple 5870 and later a GTX970 in there previously and the fan would sit at 800pm most of the time (the minimum) but seemingly with the 7970 it never gets down to 800. I've seen it can sometimes drop after a few sleep/wake cycles but that's all I do (it's always on, I just sleep it). Tried the usual SMC and PRAM resets to no avail. Of course, 1000rpm is hardly deafening, I just wondered why it doesn't settle down to 800rpm like other cards. I have a spare 7970 I could try, maybe I'll give that a go. They're both reference 7970 fwiw.
Click to expand...

If after you stress the card (e.g. By Luxmark), the PCIe fan still run at 1000RPM. Then the reason should be

1) your card drawing quit a lot of power from at least one of the 6pin source. (Not necessary really need 75W, that's the max, something like 20W is good enough to make the fan stay at 1000RPM.

2) your card is running hot, even though we can't monitor the temperature of the card, the fan seems will still spin up when the card is hot.

If you have a multi monitors setup, your card will never have true low power idle, but idle at a higher power setting, which will draw more power from the PCIe cable, which easily fit in case 1.

If that's too annoying for you, you can use MacsFanControl to set the PCIe fan speed base on the PCIe ambient temperature. This will allow the fan go back to 800 idle, and only spin up when the PCIe compartment warm up (which basically means the GPU is working hard). This setting will also keep the fan speed up until the PCIe compartment cool down, but not spin down straight away when the loading is gone, but the card and the PCIe compartment still warm.
 
I do have 2 27" LED Displays hooked up to it. I did notice that if I run one of them it dropped in temp. Would re-applying thermal paste (with something better like Gelid GC Extreme) and pads help matters maybe?
 
SamPotts said:
I do have 2 27" LED Displays hooked up to it. I did notice that if I run one of them it dropped in temp. Would re-applying thermal paste (with something better like Gelid GC Extreme) and pads help matters maybe?
Click to expand...

As per my guess, multi monitors setup cause the card idle at a higher power setting. Native OSX fan control will command a higher PCIe fan speed, nothing to do with the card's temperature. Even though you go for nitrogen cooling, the fan will still idle at ~1000RPM.
 
SamPotts said:
Weird that it never did it with the 5770, 5870 or GTX970 though don't you think?
Click to expand...

They are all different cards with different architecture.

I didn't own a 7970, but have 7950. These 2 cards has very similar characteristic, mainly difference in performance.

The 7950 with only one monitor attached will idle at about 15W (300/150MHz), with 2 monitors attached to the same card, will idle at about 55W (501/1250MHz).

I don't know the 5xxx / 970 card, I never own them, may be they have different idle characteristic with multi monitors setup, which eventually cause difference fan reaction.
 
Anyone could provide me the link to the latest OSX driver for the 7970 card?
Got OSX 10.11, but i can't seem to find the right one.

Thanks in advance.
 
Has anyone had any graphics glitches? I'm using the card with an ultrawide monitor, it's like 3500 x 1400 pixels. Occasionally the screen will drop out for a moment, or i'll see a minor artifact or glitch. I got both the card and monitor at the same time, so troubleshooting is proving difficult. Also, does flashing a card change anything other than the boot screen? Is it possible to flash this one? Thanks!
 
h9826790 said:
May be the cable.

And most likely yes, 7970 can be flashed.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply! I'm going to try a new cable before I go replacing things.

Do you know if there is any advantage to flashing the card, other than getting the boot screen? Is there any performance benefit?
 
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