Does all this "built-in" support mean only for EFI-flashed or even non-EFI flashed cards? I don't care about boot screens, but it'd be nice to be able to update drivers without doing the "video card shuffle".
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Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards
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Does all this "built-in" support mean only for EFI-flashed or even non-EFI flashed cards? I don't care about boot screens, but it'd be nice to be able to update drivers without doing the "video card shuffle".
By built-in support, he's talking about drivers being included in OS X. Kepler based cards have built-in support whereas Maxwell based cards do not. This means that if you use a Maxwell based card, you must use the Nvidia web drivers for the card to work properly.
Yes. Since Apple shipped some Macs with Kepler video cards, you can assume built-in support until at least those models are no longer supported by future OS X releases.
Hi there, I recently got a Mac Pro 4,1 and I wanted to make sure that I was getting the right video card.
Will this card work as an upgrade? http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=1d53a8c5c21da94a4a40b8b57ff71dc1en02 (I have a $200 gift card to best buy and I couldn't find anything else good at best buy)
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...spx?path=340375bb28aa57ed5e43237c3f21e84ben02 This is also an option but I prefer spending less if I can. Which one would be easier to install? The 960 or the 970.
Do I need to buy any special wires or anything like that or do I just install the required driver and then install the card?
Will this card work as an upgrade? http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=1d53a8c5c21da94a4a40b8b57ff71dc1en02 (I have a $200 gift card to best buy and I couldn't find anything else good at best buy)
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...spx?path=340375bb28aa57ed5e43237c3f21e84ben02 This is also an option but I prefer spending less if I can. Which one would be easier to install? The 960 or the 970.
Do I need to buy any special wires or anything like that or do I just install the required driver and then install the card?
Your first link doesn't work for me. But try checking Newegg.com. They usually have very good prices.
Will the 2nd link work on the mac pro being that its 2 x dual molex to 6 pin pci-e adapter? I really don't understand that part.
I only wanted to get it from best buy because I have a gift card.
Thanks
That card should work. You will need to buy two power cables to power the card.
Here's a link to some:
http://www.amazon.com/JacobsParts-E...&keywords=power+mac+g5+video+card+power+cable
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
So what confuses me, is in the first post here it says:
"To be clear, the stock Apple drivers now contain basic support for all currently-shipping cards. This means that you no longer have to swap out the card when doing a Software Update to the next OS version."
and...
"As mentioned above, all stock OS drivers from Apple will now make stock NVIDIA PC cards work.
If you have installed a web driver from NVIDIA, it is likely that the OS update from Apple will overwrite them. Now that the stock drivers from Apple will still let your card function, this is not a deal breaker."
That tells me ALL stock PC cards should at least boot with basic video support.
But then, further down, it says:
"Here's a rough list of when new cards started working.
- GK110B (GTX 780, GTX 780 Ti etc) needs 10.9.2 and 331.01.01f01
- GM107 (GTX 750) and GM204 (GTX 970, GTX 980 etc) need 10.10 and 343.01.XX.XX
So, first it says ALL PC cards offer OS-level support, then it says certain ones do not work.
Now, I realize many people here are experts and know what does and doesn't work, but for me, reading the first post is very unclear.
I just started the 10.11 upgrade on my 4,1 and within seconds of starting the 10.11 install, it said it needed to reboot my Mac. Upon reset, I lost video, so I had no idea what was going on or whether it was even updating. After about 20 minutes (and unable to ping my Mac from my PC), I just turned it off and swapped out the video card with an Apple ATI 5770, fired it up, and it started the upgrade immediately. Not sure if it was in the middle of upgrading when I forced it off or not.
What am I missing? And, without a EFI card to swap in, how does one do a major OSX update?
That probably had to do with when the post was first written. At the time, Maxwell cards were not released yet.
This will happen if you have a Maxwell based card installed. Since the updater doesn't have Nvidia web drivers, it reverts back to the built-in drivers which will crash with the presence of a Maxwell based card and reboot. It will go in to this "boot loop" with he screen black because you don't have EFI firmware to be able to see what's going on in the boot sequence.
The easiest way to work around this is to install your old video card to do the OS X upgrade. Then install and enable the Nvidia web drivers. Then reinstall your Maxwell card.
@ dmylrea. Study the Wiki sheets.
To the best of my knowledge.
GTX 600 series
All of these chips are Kepler or older (GK104 is used in GTX 680) are supported by built in OS X driver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_600_series
GTX 700 series
A mix of older and newer Kepler chips, and first Maxwell chip (GM107). Afaik all indicated chips from the former 600 series, e.g. GK104, GF 119, GK107, GK 208 are supported. The newer ones not, e.g. GK110 **, GM107: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_700_series
Supported by OS X means built in OS X drivers will work, doesn't matter if the card is EFI or not. Of course with an Non-EFI-card you will have no boot screen. Support from OS X 10.8.5 - OS X 10.11.x.
GTX 900 series
All new Maxwell chips, not supported by built in OS X driver (GM1xx and GM2xx), except the low cost mobile chips GF117 and GK208 used in the GeForce 920M (not relevant for OS X use):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_900_series
** Only the very first GK110 chip generation, used in the first generation of the GeForce GTX 780, is supported. GK110 (b) not supported.
To the best of my knowledge.
GTX 600 series
All of these chips are Kepler or older (GK104 is used in GTX 680) are supported by built in OS X driver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_600_series
GTX 700 series
A mix of older and newer Kepler chips, and first Maxwell chip (GM107). Afaik all indicated chips from the former 600 series, e.g. GK104, GF 119, GK107, GK 208 are supported. The newer ones not, e.g. GK110 **, GM107: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_700_series
Supported by OS X means built in OS X drivers will work, doesn't matter if the card is EFI or not. Of course with an Non-EFI-card you will have no boot screen. Support from OS X 10.8.5 - OS X 10.11.x.
GTX 900 series
All new Maxwell chips, not supported by built in OS X driver (GM1xx and GM2xx), except the low cost mobile chips GF117 and GK208 used in the GeForce 920M (not relevant for OS X use):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_900_series
** Only the very first GK110 chip generation, used in the first generation of the GeForce GTX 780, is supported. GK110 (b) not supported.
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^^^^Slight correction. There are two versions of the GK110 (GK110a and GK110b) The GK110a works with stock Mac OS Drivers. The GK110b does not. My GTX780 has the (a) version, so it works with both Mac and Nvidia Web drivers. I'm still waiting on the Nvidia Web driver for 10.11.1 (15B22c) but in the meantime I am running my machine with the stock drivers.
Lou
Lou
You are a lucky owner of the last supported GK 110 (a) chip. A pity that there are no 4 GB versions of the first generation of the GTX 780 card. I need all the 4 GB Video RAM, that's why I have a GTX 770.
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^^^^Yep, I know. I don't plan on updating my card until, and if, Apple stock drivers start supporting Nvidia's latest offerings. AFAIK the GTX 780 was never offered with 4GBs of RAM - only 3GBs or 6GBs. And yes, I have a 3GB Gigabyte 3 fan accelerated model.
Lou
Lou
Hey, so I ended up getting the Zotac Geforce GTX 960, and I was wondering if I still need 2 of the power cables that you sent me to power the card?
I attached some pictures, it says on the requirements I need to have one 6-pin PCI Express, does that mean I only need 1 of the power cables you sent me to power the card?
I think right now the mac pro has a ATI Radeon 4770 in it.
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I think Zotac makes about half a dozen variations of GTX 960s. I don't know which one you got... But I'm pretty sure you will need at least one of the power cables.
Seeing that the first post gets regularly updated, I assumed that the content in the post would be current. Bad assumption on my part!
Thanks.
Sorry, I thought it was just one of them.
Here is the card - http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...spx?path=12313bb4c35a38c813832ecab919fd1den02
Also do you know where else I could get the cable in Canada? It would be $45 shipping and handling from the link you sent me. Sorry for all the questions
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Yes, you will need one of those power cables.
I have no idea where to get one of those cables in Canada.
On ebay.ca you can find the cable: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-6-pin-t...-Video-Card-/151450438011?hash=item234326497b
Thank you so much for all the help guys! Very new to video cards so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.
This is the same right? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-PCIe-6P...ss-6-Pin-Video-Card-Power-Cable-/280780582649
It's just about $15 cheaper for shipping
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