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Confirmed and Possible Flashable GTX 680 Models

It's fairly easy to splice together a working Mac Pro compatible ROM for any GeForce GTX 680 4GB graphics card. All you need to do is take a look at the EVGA GTX 680 2GB Mac Edition and NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4GB Mac Edition ROMs and compare them with their PC counterparts.

The most efficient way to do this is first to separate each ROM into individual modules, or sections, and then compare these sections one by one. Also, it is important to note that the GTX 680 Mac Edition is made of 5 modules, while the Quadro K5000 Mac Edition is made of 6 modules.

The GeForce GTX 680 2GB modules are:
  1. NVIDIA Header – first 1024 bytes – module #1
  2. graphics card settings such us clock speeds, RAM latencies, boost clocks, power draw, etc. – module #2
  3. uEFI (PC compatible video cards) or Mac EFI (Mac compatible video cards) – module #3
  4. GPU controller code – module #4
  5. NVIDIA certificate for ROM integrity check and authentication – module #5

The Quadro K5000 4GB modules are:
  1. NVIDIA Header – first 1024 bytes – module #1
  2. graphics card settings such us clock speeds, RAM latencies, boost clocks, power draw, etc. – module #2
  3. uEFI (PC compatible video cards) or Mac EFI (Mac compatible video cards) – module #3
  4. GPU controller code – module #4
  5. NVIDIA certificate for ROM integrity check and authentication – module #5
  6. Inforom – contains information about the ROM and is used to enable / disable ECC support
Because of time constraints, I won’t go into much more detail today, but as soon as I have some free time, I will post a more in depth writeup about how these ROMs are put together so that you guys can make your own for your specific GeForce GTX 680 4GB graphics cards.

Using GTX 680 4GB PC ROMs from TechPowerUP.com I have created five Mac Pro compatible ROMs that are fully functional, with all DVI ports and everything working properly.
I would also like to note that none of these ROMs contains the 6th module (Inforom), so they are safe to flash without the risk bricking your video cards. Just make sure that you save your old ROM image before flashing, in case there are RAM incompatibilities (or other compatibility related issues). I have selected 6 of the most common GTX 680 4GB models, with the EVGA GTX 680 4GB Plus ROM being probably the safest to flash on pretty much any card.

Below a list of the attached Mac Pro compatible ROMs, with a link to the original ROM files, along with details about the video cards that they came from. Please give them a try an post your feedback along with screenshots. I hope that this helps some of you, so enjoy an share :)

 

Attachments

  • evga_gtx680-plus_4gb_macpro_fw-80.04.47.00.82.zip
    170.7 KB · Views: 406
  • evga_gtx680-classified_4gb_macpro_fw-80.04.47.00.82.zip
    170.7 KB · Views: 339
  • asus_gtx680-directcuii_4gb_macpro_fw-80.04.5B.00.0D.zip
    171.1 KB · Views: 318
  • msi_gtx680-twinfrozr_4gb_macpro_fw-80.04.47.00.4F.zip
    170.7 KB · Views: 278
  • gigabyte_gtx680-gv-n680oc_4gb_macpro_fw-80.04.47.00.5A.zip
    170.7 KB · Views: 353
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Moonshot, would it be possible to point me towards a location to get the Quadro K5000 4GB Mac Edition ROM? I'd like to learn how this is done as well. Thanks in advance and congratulations on figuring it all out!!
 
Any Hex editor will do, preferably with binary comparing functionality. For modding the EFI, you'll also need a tool to decompress EFI files. Having a disassembler is handy, too.
 
Moonshot said:
It's fairly easy to splice together a working Mac Pro compatible ROM for any GeForce GTX 680 4GB graphics card. All you need to do is take a look at the EVGA GTX 680 2GB Mac Edition and NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4GB Mac Edition ROMs and compare them with their PC counterparts.

The most efficient way to do this is first to separate each ROM into individual modules, or sections, and then compare these sections one by one. Also, it is important to note that the GTX 680 Mac Edition is made of 5 modules, while the Quadro K5000 Mac Edition is made of 6 modules.

The GeForce GTX 680 2GB modules are:
  1. NVIDIA Header – first 1024 bytes – module #1
  2. graphics card settings such us clock speeds, RAM latencies, boost clocks, power draw, etc. – module #2
  3. uEFI (PC compatible video cards) or Mac EFI (Mac compatible video cards) – module #3
  4. GPU controller code – module #4
  5. NVIDIA certificate for ROM integrity check and authentication – module #5

The Quadro K5000 4GB modules are:
  1. NVIDIA Header – first 1024 bytes – module #1
  2. graphics card settings such us clock speeds, RAM latencies, boost clocks, power draw, etc. – module #2
  3. uEFI (PC compatible video cards) or Mac EFI (Mac compatible video cards) – module #3
  4. GPU controller code – module #4
  5. NVIDIA certificate for ROM integrity check and authentication – module #5
  6. Inforom – contains information about the ROM and is used to enable / disable ECC support
Because of time constraints, I won’t go into much more detail today, but as soon as I have some free time, I will post a more in depth writeup about how these ROMs are put together so that you guys can make your own for your specific GeForce GTX 680 4GB graphics cards.

Using GTX 680 4GB PC ROMs from TechPowerUP.com I have created five Mac Pro compatible ROMs that are fully functional, with all DVI ports and everything working properly.
I would also like to note that none of these ROMs contains the 6th module (Inforom), so they are safe to flash without the risk bricking your video cards. Just make sure that you save your old ROM image before flashing, in case there are RAM incompatibilities (or other compatibility related issues). I have selected 6 of the most common GTX 680 4GB models, with the EVGA GTX 680 4GB Plus ROM being probably the safest to flash on pretty much any card.

Below a list of the attached Mac Pro compatible ROMs, with a link to the original ROM files, along with details about the video cards that they came from. Please give them a try an post your feedback along with screenshots. I hope that this helps some of you, so enjoy an share :)

Click to expand...

From a brief glimpse, I don't think these roms will work.
 
Yes, I can confirm that at the very least, the classified rom does not work. No boot screen on any port, no pcie info.
 
MacVidCards said:
From a brief glimpse, I don't think these roms will work.
Click to expand...

That's real nice :), at least the guy posting this is not looking at it from a profit point of view and is sharing knowledge in greater extend than you are MVC.

I am interested in the theory behind this definitely, but most of all I would just want my GTX 680 4GB to work as if it were a Mac edition. And your cooperation even from a commercial approach is minimal.

To share my experience with your flexibility, I'll quote myself in the GTX 680 4GB thread:

bokkow said:
Thanks for pointing out where to start although it is roughly indeed the same information as in the thread of the guy with a 770. I can work with this and I will give it a shot :)

"Freebie fest" does have a negative tone to it, so I would like to address this and explain that I am not trying to undermine anything your selling :)

The thing is, living in the Netherlands makes buying from your business very, VERY expensive and therefore not interesting anymore. For example:

GTX 980 Ti: $880.- fair enough including your labour and research, would come down to:

CPylmCGl.png


Or $1200.- :-/

I am sorry but that is just too much. And it gets even worse if anyone from over the pond decides to ship their own graphics card over to you. You will pay shipping twice obviously, and if you're unlucky the authorities will charge you with the same import taxes and duty as when you bought the card immediately from MVC in the first place.

I would like to pay for a ROM file in my situation (no hardware modding required anyway) and work around unnecessary shipping/taxes/duty! So if you're willing to meet halfway please let me know!
Click to expand...

Where you did not respond even though another guy living in The Netherlands also showed interest. So I thought: Fair enough, I'll send a private message instead of calling you out openly. So I asked you over PM what the possibility would be without pointless shipping over and over and still paying you for your efforts. I believe I was being polite and I would want to be a customer of your services. The response I got was:

"We don't email roms. A $10 adapter is best option"

After which I tried to get a conversation going to no extend.

Of course it is your right to decide how to conduct your business but the short replies and lack of willingness to respond is astounding frankly. You don't want to sell? And if piracy (not my interest clearly) is of your concern; what's the difference between paying for only a ROM @ $90.- or sending it over for you to flash @ $90.- and then read out the ROM afterwards? To me the difference is $180.- in unnecessary shipping/authority costs, yet alone the amount of time this would take for a relatively simple procedure..

I understand that this post would definitely close a door for me and possibly others (if there every was any) but I think it is only fair to ask you this question here after my efforts to become a customer.
 
eshiver said:
Yes, I can confirm that at the very least, the classified rom does not work. No boot screen on any port, no pcie info.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sending me your original PC ROM file for your EVGA GTX 680 4GB Classified, though it looks like it's the same as the one I've used from TechPowerUP.com. I re-did it one more time based on your just to be sure, and it came out exactly the same. If resetting your NVRAM doesn't help, then please give the ASUS or MSI one a try. I've left the individual modules in the zip file as well, so that anyone who downloads it can see how the ROM is put together, as well as the uncompressed Mac EFI from the GTX 680.

If anyone else tries the ROMs that I've posted, please give feedback and include the card make and model, as well as your original ROM version. You can get it from your original ROM file or it's also written on the back of your card.

Thank you.
 

Attachments

  • eshiver.zip
    679.4 KB · Views: 446
Moonshot: here is the original MSI rom for mine like requested. And also the original for my EVGA rom
 

Attachments

  • New folder.zip
    175.1 KB · Views: 316
This guy isn't even close.

He has much hubris asking you all to take the risk of testing things he actually has no experience whatsoever with.

There is risk of bricking, his attempt to sound knowledgable is merely (incorrectly) paraphrasing my post at Netkas. He even got that wrongand has mislabeled things.

You are of course welcome to follow this false prophet out into the desert. Take lots of water.
 
MacVidCards said:
This guy isn't even close.

He has much hubris asking you all to take the risk of testing things he actually has no experience whatsoever with.

There is risk of bricking, his attempt to sound knowledgable is merely (incorrectly) paraphrasing my post at Netkas. He even got that wrongand has mislabeled things.

You are of course welcome to follow this false prophet out into the desert. Take lots of water.
Click to expand...

But man, then just let me buy your service!
 
I don't think he even has a 680. I can tell from a glance that these roms are broken. He is doing experiments and letting MR members be the guinea pigs.

Not very honest approach.
 
ActionableMango said:
Have you actually tested and confirmed this?
Click to expand...

I don't have one of each graphics card, but the ROMs are pretty easy to make. I will do a more in-depth post about my findings thus far as soon as I have time, and I also need to get a GTX 680 4GB made by EVGA. Just got rid of my ASUS GTX 680 to get a used GTX 770. There are some bugs left, but that's why I have posted what I've worked on so far. None of these ROM files has an Inforom at the end of them, so they are not dangerous to flash. So far I have found that the EVGA ROMs don't work well, so it's back to the drawing board with those. Just sharing what I have, when I can, that's all. I welcome anyone who wants to help and collaborate.

MacVidCards said:
From a brief glimpse, I don't think these roms will work.
Click to expand...

From a brief glimpse at your posts in this threads, you haven't provided any useful info that could help any of the good people here. And I can understand as to why that is, considering that you're selling these video cards. If you have some useful input, please, by all means, share it, otherwise find something else to do instead of writing meaningless posts so that you can flash your signature.

MacVidCards said:
This guy isn't even close.
Click to expand...

That's utter BS, and you know it. Once again, if you have useful input, by all means, otherwise find something else to do.

MacVidCards said:
He has much hubris asking you all to take the risk of testing things he actually has no experience whatsoever with.
Click to expand...

Oh really? So no one here should try anything else, but rather everyone should just bow down to you, kiss your behind and fork over $$$ so that you can turn a profit.

MacVidCards said:
There is risk of bricking, his attempt to sound knowledgable is merely (incorrectly) paraphrasing my post at Netkas. He even got that wrongand has mislabeled things.
Click to expand...

Huh? Have you fallen on your head hard? What or who am I paraphrasing? Please stop spreading FUD to deter others from participating. Community members who want to help are more than welcome to do so, as I am sure that those who want a fully working product will continue to pay for your services. The only thing that I've done so far is share what I have learned. It’s not like I have to do this or put my time into voluntarily, and on top of that explain myself to you. Neither have I asked for anything from you, and by God, I did not start criticizing you. Nope, you started picking on me, so I would like to ask you respectfully to keep your distance.

You're also talking about me in the third person like I'm not even here reading this thread. Your tone is mean, condescending and insulting. I haven't asked you a single question, and for damn sure I don't need your permission to share information.

MacVidCards said:
You are of course welcome to follow this false prophet out into the desert. Take lots of water.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, you have a way with words. Steve Jobs was a master of the hyperbole, but you don’t know your way around metaphors, as yours are completely out of place. You must think that you're some community Guru or the Messiah himself, which is sad. If your entire existence revolves around making yourself look good on this forum, and you need the adulation and praises of others to feel better about yourself, then I feel sorry for you. I have yet to see a single meaningful post authored by you in this thread that helped anyone get their GTX 680 4GB working properly. I can, however, see the same GTX 680 4GB graphics cards on your website for sale for what looks to be a pretty steep price. So no, the irony isn’t lost on me. Trying to sabotage any community efforts to get these cards working properly without your paid assistance works well in your favor.

Look, if you know it all, then by all means, help this community. Otherwise stop spreading FUD and BS and give people a chance to help themselves.

I'm sure that by now you could have helped the folks on this thread if you wanted to. But from what I am seeing, the only reason you post is to get people to visit that website in your signature. That's not giving back to the community; that is using and abusing the community for your financial gain. I'm an enthusiast; I am passionate about trying new things, and I am trying to help others without any financial motivation behind my posts. That’s the difference between me and you. I might not have it all figured out yet, but I am trying, and I would like to enjoy this experience without having to butt into you every time I post something.

MacVidCards said:
I don't think he even has a 680. I can tell from a glance that these roms are broken. He is doing experiments and letting MR members be the guinea pigs.

Not very honest approach.
Click to expand...

Another post that proves that you are definitively not the poster boy of honesty. I wonder why you even bother if you don't have anything useful to contribute? Why would I use others as guinea pigs? I have nothing to gain. Neither do I have to fight you at every step so that I can work with other community members. If others want to collaborate with me, then I'm more than happy to work with them. But that's their choice, not something that you can take away by repeating the same thing over and over again.
 
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Oh, here we go again. Let's stop the Urinary Olympiad before it gets to the over flow mark. I recommend letting Moonshot either succeed or flop on his own. Let's get back to the topic of this thread...both of you.
 
TheStork said:
Oh, here we go again. Let's stop the Urinary Olympiad before it gets to the over flow mark. I recommend letting Moonshot either succeed or flop on his own. Let's get back to the topic of this thread...both of you.
Click to expand...

I'm all for it; let's get these cards working. All wanted to do is share what I have learned so far. Time is valuable for me, so I can't argue a point every second post. I will try and do a more in-depth write-up soon, as well as get an EVGA GTX 680 4GB and fix those two EVGA ROMs. I am doing this as a hobby, so the motivation for me is to have some fun and learn something new. When this stops being fun, I'll move on and do something else. And if I have to continue arguing, this will turn into a chore for me quick. Good night or good morning, wherever you are, talk you all later.
 
Moonshot said:
I don't have one of each graphics card, but the ROMs are pretty easy to make. I will do a more in-depth post about my findings thus far as soon as I have time, and I also need to get a GTX 680 4GB made by EVGA. Just got rid of my ASUS GTX 680 to get a used GTX 770. There are some bugs left, but that's why I have posted what I've worked on so far. None of these ROM files has an Inforom at the end of them, so they are not dangerous to flash. So far I have found that the EVGA ROMs don't work well, so it's back to the drawing board with those. Just sharing what I have, when I can, that's all. I welcome anyone who wants to help and collaborate.



From a brief glimpse at your posts in this threads, you haven't provided any useful info that could help any of the good people here. And I can understand as to why that is, considering that you're selling these video cards. If you have some useful input, please, by all means, share it, otherwise find something else to do instead of writing meaningless posts so that you can flash your signature.



That's utter BS, and you know it. Once again, if you have useful input, by all means, otherwise find something else to do.



Oh really? So no one here should try anything else, but rather everyone should just bow down to you, kiss your behind and fork over $$$ so that you can turn a profit.



Huh? Have you fallen on your head hard? What or who am I paraphrasing? Please stop spreading FUD to deter others from participating. Community members who want to help are more than welcome to do so, as I am sure that those who want a fully working product will continue to pay for your services. The only thing that I've done so far is share what I have learned. It’s not like I have to do this or put my time into voluntarily, and on top of that explain myself to you. Neither have I asked for anything from you, and by God, I did not start criticizing you. Nope, you started picking on me, so I would like to ask you respectfully to keep your distance.

You're also talking about me in the third person like I'm not even here reading this thread. Your tone is mean, condescending and insulting. I haven't asked you a single question, and for damn sure I don't need your permission to share information.



Oh boy, you have a way with words. Steve Jobs was a master of the hyperbole, but you don’t know your way around metaphors, as yours are completely out of place. You must think that you're some community Guru or the Messiah himself, which is sad. If your entire existence revolves around making yourself look good on this forum, and you need the adulation and praises of others to feel better about yourself, then I feel sorry for you. I have yet to see a single meaningful post authored by you in this thread that helped anyone get their GTX 680 4GB working properly. I can, however, see the same GTX 680 4GB graphics cards on your website for sale for what looks to be a pretty steep price. So no, the irony isn’t lost on me. Trying to sabotage any community efforts to get these cards working properly without your paid assistance works well in your favor.

Look, if you know it all, then by all means, help this community. Otherwise stop spreading FUD and BS and give people a chance to help themselves.

I'm sure that by now you could have helped the folks on this thread if you wanted to. But from what I am seeing, the only reason you post is to get people to visit that website in your signature. That's not giving back to the community; that is using and abusing the community for your financial gain. I'm an enthusiast; I am passionate about trying new things, and I am trying to help others without any financial motivation behind my posts. That’s the difference between me and you. I might not have it all figured out yet, but I am trying, and I would like to enjoy this experience without having to butt into you every time I post something.



Another post that proves that you are definitively not the poster boy of honesty. I wonder why you even bother if you don't have anything useful to contribute? Why would I use others as guinea pigs? I have nothing to gain. Neither do I have to fight you at every step so that I can work with other community members. If others want to collaborate with me, then I'm more than happy to work with them. But that's their choice, not something that you can take away by repeating the same thing over and over again.
Click to expand...


Serious drivel.

You posted these roms as working.

Here is what you said:

Moonshot said:
"Using GTX 680 4GB PC ROMs from TechPowerUP.com I have created five Mac Pro compatible ROMs that are fully functional, with all DVI ports and everything working properly."
Click to expand...

They don't.

All I'm asking is that you present them honestly.

You haven't tested a single solitary one of them, it's obvious by looking at the errors, they wouldn't work for anyone.

Just be honest with the folks here, these are 100% untested. You are asking people here to be your guinea pigs, they need to know that is the case and that these are not "fully functional, with all DVI ports and everything working properly".

Not honest.
 
Last edited:
MacVidCards said:
Serious drivel.

You posted these roms as working.

They don't.

All I'm asking is that you present them honestly.

You haven't tested a single solitary one of them, it's obvious by looking at the errors, they wouldn't work for anyone.

Just be honest with the folks here, these are 100% untested.
Click to expand...

The roms DO work. The EVGA roms have an issue, and it is being worked on. The Asus and MSI roms work, but still need work. If you don't want to help, thats fine. If you would like to help, please shed some light on what you see in your casual glance. This is hard and frustrating enough without someone heckling everyone who tires to make progress.
 
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Moonshot said:
"Using GTX 680 4GB PC ROMs from TechPowerUP.com I have created five Mac Pro compatible ROMs that are fully functional, with all DVI ports and everything working properly."
Click to expand...

Do you guys really not see that these are 2 completely different phrases?

Rankel said:
The roms DO work. The EVGA roms have an issue, and it is being worked on. The Asus and MSI roms work, but still need work. If you don't want to help, thats fine. If you would like to help, please shed some light on what you see in your casual glance. This is hard and frustrating enough without someone heckling everyone who tires to make progress.
Click to expand...

I am just saying that asking people to test your trials is a different thing then presenting them as done & tested.

Fact is, you still haven't any clue as to the DVI issue, that is more then obvious.

If you compare first post here to the Ruminator sections of :

http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,8809.0.html

You may see some similarity.
 
Last edited:
pastrychef said:
I am anxiously awaiting your write up on how you have progressed to this point. Hopefully, I will be able to help and contribute to your efforts.
Click to expand...

I just have to write it right so that readers understand how to do this the first time around, without creating allot of confusion. Will get to it as soon as I can.
 
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