For 7970, should be no performance gain, the PCIe 2.0 is a hardware mod, nothing to do with flash.
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Confirmed AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Running on Mac Pro
- Thread starter blackwoodfx
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For 7970, should be no performance gain, the PCIe 2.0 is a hardware mod, nothing to do with flash.
I bought a used Sapphire HD 7970. The Windows version. Black, two fans, steam punk copper pipes to disperse heat (this: https://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11197-03-40G/dp/B009B6Y01Y/). Is this the one you're using?
As it was used, it did NOT come with any mini 6-to-8 pin adapter. I see cables online which are mini 6-pin on one end and 8-pin on the other (this for example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-6-pin-...d-Power-Cable-for-Apple-Mac-Pro-/201473238739).
Will those wires with a 2010 12-Core MacPro?
Thank You!
As it was used, it did NOT come with any mini 6-to-8 pin adapter. I see cables online which are mini 6-pin on one end and 8-pin on the other (this for example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-6-pin-...d-Power-Cable-for-Apple-Mac-Pro-/201473238739).
Will those wires with a 2010 12-Core MacPro?
Thank You!
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The card and cable should work. Just be careful when the GPU understress (easiest way to test it is by running Furmark), the 8pin may draw too much power that can shut down the cMP.
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Today I got a barely used 480w PSU here in Japan for ¥540 ! (US$5.30c).
Hooked it up to a Sapphire 7970 DUAL-X which I bought for ¥6,980 ( about US$64) . . .got it up and running now.
After a cold boot it is obviously faster than my flashed HD 7950.
Next .. flashing and then the 5.0 GT/s mod.
After that .. X-Plane 11 test.
I am relieved that I am not stressing my 4,1>5,1's motherboard.
Hooked it up to a Sapphire 7970 DUAL-X which I bought for ¥6,980 ( about US$64) . . .got it up and running now.
After a cold boot it is obviously faster than my flashed HD 7950.
Next .. flashing and then the 5.0 GT/s mod.
After that .. X-Plane 11 test.
I am relieved that I am not stressing my 4,1>5,1's motherboard.
Hey, I finally have something to contribute here.
A few years ago I purchased a Republic of Gamers MSI Radeon R9 280X and sent it to MacVidCards to be flashed (thank you very much). I've been using it with an external power supply "Juice Box" style 450w and ran all the right cables, hooked it up to a SATA via second optical drive bay, etc. It is sitting on top of the machine, case left open (was closed with holes drilled in side cover for a few years, but I tinker with it enough to be more convenient to leave case off and keep more air flowing). Side note: if you are struggling to locate a 450W Juice Box style power supply with 2x6 pin outputs, you are not alone. They are mostly unavailable and I happened to buy one from an old Marketplace post here on MacRumors that I messaged the guy 2 years after he posted and he still had it! My first one that I used for 3 years or so went out about a month ago.
I got ahold of a 7970 regular edition thanks to a friend. I swapped it for the R9 280X just to test it and make sure everything worked, and sure enough it was fine. No full boot screen (Apple logo flashes for a split second right at the end of boot before showing the desktop). Runs fine, shows up in System Information as a 7xxx card. Plug and play.
So I just took the plunge and installed both in the machine. I put the R9 280X back in PCIe Slot 1 where it has been living, and plugged the 450w external power supply into it as I have been doing for years. I plugged in my HDMI cable which powers a 55" Curved Samsung Ultra HD TV as my primary display.
I put the 7970 in Slot 2 (which I read gets more power than slots 3 and 4; Slots 1 and 2 get more power than 3 and 4). And hooked up my secondary display which is a 27" LED Cinema Display running QHD 2560x1440. I hooked the 2x6 pins from the Logic board up to it and used a 6-to-8 pin adapter I got from amazon (the R9 280X is using the other one hooked up to the external power supply). It booted up fine and works like a charm. Interestingly, when I load up System Information, this card also reads as an AMD RADEON R9 280X. When it's by itself, it is a 7xxx.
I was using the HD5870 as a second card hooked up to the LED Cinema Display but in Final Cut Pro X loading thumbnails in the event window (sent to secondary display dedicated) it was slower than just running both screens from the 280X. Therefore my rationale was to use a better second card that is dedicated to the second display running at 1440p instead of 2160p UHD.
My justification for trusting the 2x6 pins from the Logic board was the following: I read through this whole long and amusing thread. I did plenty of research elsewhere and had enough information to make an educated decision that it was okay to run the card in its current configuration. Furthermore, The Processor and Memory usage on the 7970 (as second card) barely ever exceeds 20% capacity. Even when playing a video on the second display it is maybe 25%. My primary display is being driven by the 280X running on external power. So I now have a pretty decent card driving my second monitor which barely does anything at all, since most of the heavy lifting is done by the primary card on the primary display.
If something breaks, I can let you guys know. I can also score a free GTX 680 that I was considering using as the second card since it only has 2x6 pins (unless I'm mistaken). But the superior Open CL performance of the 7970 makes it a better pick for my usage. I still might play around with the 680 though.
Right now the performance of my setup is stellar. I use it mostly for Final Cut Pro X. The performance there is maybe a 4/5 for a 5,1 Mac Pro. It's so much better than the 5870 I was using 4 years ago that I'm happy with it. I also use Google Earth a lot in UHD resolution, and the performance is satisfactory. Not amazing but it's ok for such a large display. I might get whatever card comes after the RX 580 but for now, mission accomplished.
A few years ago I purchased a Republic of Gamers MSI Radeon R9 280X and sent it to MacVidCards to be flashed (thank you very much). I've been using it with an external power supply "Juice Box" style 450w and ran all the right cables, hooked it up to a SATA via second optical drive bay, etc. It is sitting on top of the machine, case left open (was closed with holes drilled in side cover for a few years, but I tinker with it enough to be more convenient to leave case off and keep more air flowing). Side note: if you are struggling to locate a 450W Juice Box style power supply with 2x6 pin outputs, you are not alone. They are mostly unavailable and I happened to buy one from an old Marketplace post here on MacRumors that I messaged the guy 2 years after he posted and he still had it! My first one that I used for 3 years or so went out about a month ago.
I got ahold of a 7970 regular edition thanks to a friend. I swapped it for the R9 280X just to test it and make sure everything worked, and sure enough it was fine. No full boot screen (Apple logo flashes for a split second right at the end of boot before showing the desktop). Runs fine, shows up in System Information as a 7xxx card. Plug and play.
So I just took the plunge and installed both in the machine. I put the R9 280X back in PCIe Slot 1 where it has been living, and plugged the 450w external power supply into it as I have been doing for years. I plugged in my HDMI cable which powers a 55" Curved Samsung Ultra HD TV as my primary display.
I put the 7970 in Slot 2 (which I read gets more power than slots 3 and 4; Slots 1 and 2 get more power than 3 and 4). And hooked up my secondary display which is a 27" LED Cinema Display running QHD 2560x1440. I hooked the 2x6 pins from the Logic board up to it and used a 6-to-8 pin adapter I got from amazon (the R9 280X is using the other one hooked up to the external power supply). It booted up fine and works like a charm. Interestingly, when I load up System Information, this card also reads as an AMD RADEON R9 280X. When it's by itself, it is a 7xxx.
I was using the HD5870 as a second card hooked up to the LED Cinema Display but in Final Cut Pro X loading thumbnails in the event window (sent to secondary display dedicated) it was slower than just running both screens from the 280X. Therefore my rationale was to use a better second card that is dedicated to the second display running at 1440p instead of 2160p UHD.
My justification for trusting the 2x6 pins from the Logic board was the following: I read through this whole long and amusing thread. I did plenty of research elsewhere and had enough information to make an educated decision that it was okay to run the card in its current configuration. Furthermore, The Processor and Memory usage on the 7970 (as second card) barely ever exceeds 20% capacity. Even when playing a video on the second display it is maybe 25%. My primary display is being driven by the 280X running on external power. So I now have a pretty decent card driving my second monitor which barely does anything at all, since most of the heavy lifting is done by the primary card on the primary display.
If something breaks, I can let you guys know. I can also score a free GTX 680 that I was considering using as the second card since it only has 2x6 pins (unless I'm mistaken). But the superior Open CL performance of the 7970 makes it a better pick for my usage. I still might play around with the 680 though.
Right now the performance of my setup is stellar. I use it mostly for Final Cut Pro X. The performance there is maybe a 4/5 for a 5,1 Mac Pro. It's so much better than the 5870 I was using 4 years ago that I'm happy with it. I also use Google Earth a lot in UHD resolution, and the performance is satisfactory. Not amazing but it's ok for such a large display. I might get whatever card comes after the RX 580 but for now, mission accomplished.
That’s normal, becasue the cMP read the Mac EFI from the flashed 280X, and use that to activate any applicable GPU. In fact, your 7970 will show boot screen as well if the flashed 280X is there. You can try it.
So I tried putting in a GTX 680 and it boots fine but gets stuck in a weird login loop after I make it to the desktop. If I move the mouse at all, it goes to the "enter your password for your user account" page. After I enter it, I'm back at the desktop, but if I move the mouse at all, it goes back there. Same result with password removed. The card is unflashed. This was with the primary display plugged into the GTX 680 (PCIe slot 2) and secondary display plugged into the R9 280X (PCIe slot 1). I need an adapter before I can get the second display plugged into the HDMI port on the GTX 680. That's my next step to try. I don't care that much about flashing the GTX 680 to get it to work if that is required, since the 7970 functions really well. I'd just like to run some testing on the GTX 680 before handing it back to my friend if it doesn't work.
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I saw the boot screen with the GTX 680 unflashed in PCIe slot 2, and flashed R9 280X in slot 1. Not sure if that answers your question.
If you are running a GTX 680 non-flashed, I would assume you would have to download and install the drivers to properly utilize that card. Have you done this already?
I was looking into purchasing a 680 for my daughter's 3,1... and probably wasn't going to flash it right away (have too much going on right now). However, I would think the drivers for that graphics card would be a must if running an out-of-the-box PC Nvidia card
It's a 5 minute or less job on Windows, if you buy one of the Confirmed and Possible Flashable GTX 680 Models.
It's the easiest of all GPUs to flash for a Mac.
Webdrivers not available for 10.13.6 yet
??? Web driver was available just few hours after 10.13.6 released.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...graphics-cards.1440150/page-183#post-26227298
Oh that's really good! I checked a download portal for Nvidia webdrivers for cards like GTX 680 and it only had 10.13.5 Thanks for sharing...
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edit: I installed the latest web drivers and the GTX 680 still throws me into a login screen loop when hooked up to my second display via Displayport to Minidisplay port adapter (LED Cinema Display). If I move the mouse after it hits desktop, it takes me back to the account login screen to enter my password. Over and over again. I guess flashing is the only option. Is this common for an unflashed GTX 680?
I don’t think that’s a known error for GTX680.
If you suspect that’s web driver issue. Then you just use the native driver. If Apple driver doing the same thing. Then that’s nothing to do with the driver. May be the card, may be the OS, may be your user profile.
Anyway, you can try to create a new user profile to test if that’s profile related.
This appears to be an issue with two GPUs installed.
Check out this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...es-regularly-after-installing-rx-560.2127558/
Is your R9 280X flashed? Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but the guy in the other thread was running two ATI cards.
I tested a separate user profile and had the same issue. Btw my config was flashed R9 280X in slot 1, unflashed GTX 680 in slot 2, running latest Nvidia web drivers for 10.13.6. Primary display was plugged into slot 1 card, secondary display was plugged into slot 2 card (GTX 680).
I just tried GTX 680 in slot 1 with nothing in slot 2 and it works fine! No boot screen obviously; both primary and secondary display are plugged into this card. Shows in up System Information as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2047MB.
Then you better not to rum them together.
I also find that the recent macOS is not that good with multi GPU. If I install the GT120 with the RX580, the RX580 will has some very minor abnormal behaviour.
I'm about to try R9 280X in slot 2 to see if login screen issue comes back up. Also, when it comes to using Final Cut Pro X, do you happen to know if the application by default pushes most of the GPU processing to slot 1, or does it just send it to whichever card is hooked up to primary display regardless of slot 1 or 2 location?
Should be all cards. But for FCPX, GTX680 doesn't help much, pure R9 280X may work better (due to less unexpected issue).
Ok confirmed that GTX 680 by itself works. Also confirmed that with dual GPU setup (only tested with flashed R9 280X) the GTX 680 throws the machine in a login screen loop, regardless of what slot order the cards are in. So presence of dual GPU with unflashed GTX 680 was unsuccessful.
I switched back to R9 280X in slot 1 using external PSU for the pins, and an unflashed HD 7970 in slot 2 (for secondary display) using the dual 6 pins from the logic board and a 6-8 pin adapter. As I wrote earlier, based on its monitored usage the second card is pushed so low that I don't foresee an overdraw issue. If I encounter any problems I can report back.
Also, from my experience, with the 7970 hooked up to secondary display, when using Final Cut the application still primarily uses the R9 280X in slot 1 hooked up to primary display. There is little to no activity on the second card with the exception of the content that is being displayed on the second monitor (thumbnails, lists, maybe the viewer occasionally). The usage spikes if I drag a open Quick Time video over to the second screen. Otherwise, it doesn't appear that Final Cut is utilizing the card much at all, other than for the content that is being pushed to the second display. This is partially why I don't worry about an overdraw issue since the second screen has low processor / memory activity even during rendering and analyzation, etc.
____
edit: I'm doing further testing on Final Cut Pro and I can confirm that with certain projects the application definitely uses the second card a bit. This is good! It means I'm getting extra performance.
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So I have a bit of a mixed update to report...
I've been running the flashed R9 280X in slot 1 driving an UHD 55" TV and the unflashed 7970 in slot 2 running the secondary LED Cinema Display. I've tested the computer with rendering, sitting idle, etc. and everything has mostly been fine. There was one day (2 days ago) when I let it sit for awhile and I came back and the computer was off. I didn't remember turning it off so I was like huh. I turned it back on and the fan on the 79790 wouldn't spin up nor would one of the two fans on the MSI R9 280X (the one closest to the I/O). So I thought hm that's not right and I removed the 7970 and put back in my 5870 to see if I fried anything.
Nope; it started right up and worked fine. So I tried the 7970 again and same problem, the fan won't turn on and one of the two fans on the R9 280X wouldn't turn on either. Then I tried a few more configurations. I tried the R9 280X in slot 2 by itself and it started fine. I also tried the 7970 in slot 1 (using logic board 6 pins) with the R9 280X in slot 2 using external power supply, and everything started fine. I monitored the machine and the processor usage of the 7970 was spiking a little higher than I was comfortable with while playing back a timeline in Final Cut Pro (7970 again running the LED Cinema Display and the R9 280 X running the primary UHD TV), so I didn't want to risk anything like the machine shutting down again (still not sure why that happened since I wasn't in the room... and if I remember correctly the machine was at idle and not rendering anything).
So I didn't fry anything but I did just take the 7970 out and am back to using the R9 280X by itself to drive both. My ideal config was 7970 in slot 2 running the LED Cinema Display, but now I can't seem to get the cards to start up properly in that configuration. I also can't figure out why the R9 280X in slot 1 would be affected by that setup (one ofd the fans won't turn on, it keep trying to and clicks but one of the two fans just won't spin up) when the card has no problems on its own. Reversing the slot order boots up and works fine but the levels spike a bit higher than I'm comfortable with given that the machine already shut itself down once.
I'm back to my old setup. It was a fun experiment I guess. Not sure what went wrong with it. I was switching cards so many times (10-20 times) that maybe that had something to do with it, because a few days ago before I really tried to get the 680 GTX to work the 7970 setup with the R9 280X was fine without issue and no shut-downs, and now I can't even get the fans to spin up. I can flash the GTX 680 but I'd kind of rather wait until next year for an RX 580 successor so I can do a proper upgrade.
That's my update folks. I'm here to answer any questions if you have them.
I've been running the flashed R9 280X in slot 1 driving an UHD 55" TV and the unflashed 7970 in slot 2 running the secondary LED Cinema Display. I've tested the computer with rendering, sitting idle, etc. and everything has mostly been fine. There was one day (2 days ago) when I let it sit for awhile and I came back and the computer was off. I didn't remember turning it off so I was like huh. I turned it back on and the fan on the 79790 wouldn't spin up nor would one of the two fans on the MSI R9 280X (the one closest to the I/O). So I thought hm that's not right and I removed the 7970 and put back in my 5870 to see if I fried anything.
Nope; it started right up and worked fine. So I tried the 7970 again and same problem, the fan won't turn on and one of the two fans on the R9 280X wouldn't turn on either. Then I tried a few more configurations. I tried the R9 280X in slot 2 by itself and it started fine. I also tried the 7970 in slot 1 (using logic board 6 pins) with the R9 280X in slot 2 using external power supply, and everything started fine. I monitored the machine and the processor usage of the 7970 was spiking a little higher than I was comfortable with while playing back a timeline in Final Cut Pro (7970 again running the LED Cinema Display and the R9 280 X running the primary UHD TV), so I didn't want to risk anything like the machine shutting down again (still not sure why that happened since I wasn't in the room... and if I remember correctly the machine was at idle and not rendering anything).
So I didn't fry anything but I did just take the 7970 out and am back to using the R9 280X by itself to drive both. My ideal config was 7970 in slot 2 running the LED Cinema Display, but now I can't seem to get the cards to start up properly in that configuration. I also can't figure out why the R9 280X in slot 1 would be affected by that setup (one ofd the fans won't turn on, it keep trying to and clicks but one of the two fans just won't spin up) when the card has no problems on its own. Reversing the slot order boots up and works fine but the levels spike a bit higher than I'm comfortable with given that the machine already shut itself down once.
I'm back to my old setup. It was a fun experiment I guess. Not sure what went wrong with it. I was switching cards so many times (10-20 times) that maybe that had something to do with it, because a few days ago before I really tried to get the 680 GTX to work the 7970 setup with the R9 280X was fine without issue and no shut-downs, and now I can't even get the fans to spin up. I can flash the GTX 680 but I'd kind of rather wait until next year for an RX 580 successor so I can do a proper upgrade.
That's my update folks. I'm here to answer any questions if you have them.
You can try to install the 7970 in slot 3. That shouldn't make any performance difference in real world.
I had to do some digging but I found this that I read a few days ago. Thoughts? http://old-macs.com/misc/MacProPCIePower.html