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Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards

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Hi all and thanks for support, I have an Imac 2,93 24 inch early 2009 that will burn the graphics card (ati hd 4850) and buy a nvidia GTX 260M works well except that the brightness and contrast do not work properly , it's like looking at the sun directly and although I have managed to lower the minimum all the brightness and contrast still be properly and still much brightness and contrast. The function keys used to lower and raise the brightness not working , it may be that the graphic was a dell has a 30-pin connector that obviously can not connect to the iMac ?
Any ideas?
Thank you
 
havell said:
Hi all and thanks for support, I have an Imac 2,93 24 inch early 2009 that will burn the graphics card (ati hd 4850) and buy a nvidia GTX 260M works well except that the brightness and contrast do not work properly , it's like looking at the sun directly and although I have managed to lower the minimum all the brightness and contrast still be properly and still much brightness and contrast. The function keys used to lower and raise the brightness not working , it may be that the graphic was a dell has a 30-pin connector that obviously can not connect to the iMac ?
Any ideas?
Thank you
Click to expand...
I suppose those two GPUs might use slightly different sockets. If you had a Thunderbolt iMac, you could just plug in an eGPU. But since that's not an option, we'll have to carry on with the iMac's mobile GPU socket.

I'm not sure if that ATI HD 4850 always has the same socket or if they used a special socket just for the Mac version. And you might only be able to use an AMD graphics card in that socket; that's how it is with CPUs.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
Hi Ive bought a EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 2GB GDDR5 few months ago. The seller on eBay said fastest Apple Mac Pro Graphics Card Upgrade. I discover when I received it that it is a SC Signature. I had a 27" Cinema Display, it worked like a charm. Now I just move to a 4k screen, Samsung U28D590DS 28", with display port and HDMI. Display Port no boot screen and t's ok for HDMI. But HDMI has a low refresh rate. I can't use it make my eyes bleed.
Well Im not very pleased with that card even it worked well before with apple display and now I know it's not a genuine GTX680 from EVGA for mac. I've been fooled and for 380€ few months ago!
I tried to flash it on Windows but no glory, I guess i don't have the right serie...
Well I ask some advice, to sell this one and buy a decent one. I spend my day on my computer and it hurts my eyes at
60Htz and 2560*1440. Maybe I have to sell the 4K too. What do you think?
 
Help404 said:
Hi Ive bought a EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 2GB GDDR5 few months ago. The seller on eBay said fastest Apple Mac Pro Graphics Card Upgrade. I discover when I received it that it is a SC Signature. I had a 27" Cinema Display, it worked like a charm. Now I just move to a 4k screen, Samsung U28D590DS 28", with display port and HDMI. Display Port no boot screen and t's ok for HDMI. But HDMI has a low refresh rate. I can't use it make my eyes bleed.
Well Im not very pleased with that card even it worked well before with apple display and now I know it's not a genuine GTX680 from EVGA for mac. I've been fooled and for 380€ few months ago!
I tried to flash it on Windows but no glory, I guess i don't have the right serie...
Well I ask some advice, to sell this one and buy a decent one. I spend my day on my computer and it hurts my eyes at
60Htz and 2560*1440. Maybe I have to sell the 4K too. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Currently, the only Nvidia cards that will give you a boot screen via DisplayPort are the Maxwell based video cards sold by MacVidCards. If you really need boot screen, boot up with the monitor connected via HDMI. After the computer has fully booted in to OS X, you can plug in the DisplayPort cable and then unplug the HDMI. You will now have 4K@60Hz.

If 2560x1440@60Hz hurts your eyes, I doubt changing video cards will help you.
 
pastrychef said:
Currently, the only Nvidia cards that will give you a boot screen via DisplayPort are the Maxwell based video cards sold by MacVidCards. If you really need boot screen, boot up with the monitor connected via HDMI. After the computer has fully booted in to OS X, you can plug in the DisplayPort cable and then unplug the HDMI. You will now have 4K@60Hz.

If 2560x1440@60Hz hurts your eyes, I doubt changing video cards will help you.
Click to expand...

Thanks you. Well I don't really care about boot screen because its working on HDMI if needed. And I change my story a bit, I just see that the same seller on eBay still sell it at the same price and others too.
Well I think 4K isn't for me and I have to change the monitor then.
 
Hey guys, quick question. Reading the first post, are those nVidia product numbers current? For example I went to find a GTX 770 or 780 and nobody has them new, looks like they were replaced by the 970/980? I haven't kept up on GPU's forever so not sure what the "current gen" model numbers are.

For reference, I'm looking to replace my R5870 1GB with something new in a Mac Pro 5,1. The beefiest card I can get that doesn't require a second/upgraded PSU.
 
adversus said:
Hey guys, quick question. Reading the first post, are those nVidia product numbers current? For example I went to find a GTX 770 or 780 and nobody has them new, looks like they were replaced by the 970/980? I haven't kept up on GPU's forever so not sure what the "current gen" model numbers are.

For reference, I'm looking to replace my R5870 1GB with something new in a Mac Pro 5,1. The beefiest card I can get that doesn't require a second/upgraded PSU.
Click to expand...

Are you talking bout #6 in the OP? I added a note saying the information is very out of date and I'm not going to keep it maintained. These days it just comes down to budget, buy the biggest GPU you can afford. A GTX 980 would be an excellent choice for a MacPro5,1 system as it only requires 165W if I remember correctly.
 
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Asgorath said:
Are you talking bout #6 in the OP? I added a note saying the information is very out of date and I'm not going to keep it maintained. These days it just comes down to budget, buy the biggest GPU you can afford. A GTX 980 would be an excellent choice for a MacPro5,1 system as it only requires 165W if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...

Yes that's what I was referring to. Thanks for the reply! I missed the blurb about it not being up to date, sorry about that :)
 
Hey guys!

I have installed a nVidia GTX 970 on my Mac Pro 3,1 2008 and every thing is working properly on my end.

What is bugging me out though, is that every time I upgrade to the new OS X of the moment, the native drivers override the nVidia drivers and I have to open my mac, put back the old card, change back to the new card and start up my Mac.

So is it a better way to do this? For example I have now Os X El Capitan 10.11 and I would like to upgrade to 10.11.2 so is there anything I can do first before updating it so the card will be automatically detected , and then I will not have to go through the hassle of switching cards? o_O

Also, about the black screen, I am aware that because of the lack of Mac EFI, we have to deal with the famous black screen, with no "mac boot screen " available. It never bother me until now. I REALLY need to access the Recovery Mode of my Mac, and unfortunately, I have tried to hold the Option key, the Command + R keys, the Shift key, holding both before and after the chimes, just in case, and with no results.

In each case I still see the black screen and then I end up on my desktop, in regular mode. So here is my question : Is there any way, or any work around, with a PC NON EFI card installed, to access the boot screen where you can chose the drive you want to boot? Or is there a specific "time" when I am supposed to hold these keys then release them?

Thank you in advance! :)
 
Nemotronik said:
Hey guys!

Is there any way, or any work around, with a PC NON EFI card installed, to access the boot screen where you can chose the drive you want to boot? Or is there a specific "time" when I am supposed to hold these keys then release them?

Thank you in advance! :)
Click to expand...

A solution could be to have another mac and install drivers via screen sharing...but I don't know how it's possible, so I wait more info with you
 
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Nemotronik said:
In each case I still see the black screen and then I end up on my desktop, in regular mode. So here is my question : Is there any way, or any work around, with a PC NON EFI card installed, to access the boot screen where you can chose the drive you want to boot?
Click to expand...

The only answer is here:

http://www.macvidcards.com/store/c2/Nvidia_GPUs.html

He's flashed my last two Nvidia cards. I bought the cards (both Gigabyte 3 fan cooler models) forwarded them to him to be flashed and Viola. He's a member here and an excellent source of information.

IFAIK, you can now run Maxwell cards on Apple drivers, but with no acceleration. Once the new OS is installed, simply install the proper Nvidia Web Driver, and restart, and you are good to go.

Lou
 
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flowrider said:
The only answer is here:

http://www.macvidcards.com/store/c2/Nvidia_GPUs.html

He's flashed my last two Nvidia cards. I bought the cards (both Gigabyte 3 fan cooler models) forwarded them to him to be flashed and Viola. He's a member here and an excellent source of information.

IFAIK, you can now run Maxwell cards on Apple drivers, but with no acceleration. Once the new OS is installed, simply install the proper Nvidia Web Driver, and restart, and you are good to go.

Lou
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the speedy answer! ;)

I'll definitively consider buying a card from MVC as it seems that it is ZE answer to all my problems.

Cheers,

Nemo
 
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Will add an entry to the OP about driver breakages on beta OSes, as a lot of people seem to be hitting and then complaining about these with 10.11.2 in particular. TL;DR - don't use beta OSes if you don't want to deal with issues like this.
 
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jhero said:
Safe to update Yosemite to security update -005?
Click to expand...

Looks like the Yosemite driver hasn't been updated yet, still version 14F1021. New one will probably go live today/tonight, the older OSes usually lag behind the most recent one by a day (I'm assuming they have to do final testing once each OS gets released, and they're obviously prioritizing the most recent one).
 
It seems like it's better to just find a driver which works well and stick with it.
 
flowrider said:
Nvidia really speedy this time. New Driver for El Cap 10.11.2:

http://us.download.nvidia.com/Mac/Quadro_Certified/346.03.04f01/WebDriver-346.03.04f01.pkg

Lou
Click to expand...

I thought one had to update the graphic driver before updating the OS (I have a PC nVidia card) but the installation package says that OS X 10.11.2 is required.

UPDATE: Nevermind, I re-read the first post and understand the stock drivers will provide basic functionality, allowing me to boot and install the web driver after OS update.
 
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fiatlux said:
UPDATE: Nevermind, I re-read the first post and understand the stock drivers will provide basic functionality, allowing me to boot and install the web driver after OS update.
Click to expand...

Well, no :-(

Upgraded to 10.11.2 and have a pitch black screen. Have to hunt for that good old GT120 now :-/
 
I was going to install a Zotac GTX 980 in my Mac Pro until I found this card, cooler and more silent.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...8&qid=1450008894&sr=8-1&keywords=GTX+980+EVGA
Is it possible to install this card in slot 1 in a Mac Pro 5,1? I am worried about the 6 pin connectors.
Other slots have a GT120, an USB3-esata and an Accelsior SSD installed.
I can't install this card in slot 2 since in this case I loose slot 3.
Please help.
 
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Mac Hammer Fan said:
I was going to install a Zotac GTX 980 in my Mac Pro until I found this card, cooler and more silent.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...8&qid=1450008894&sr=8-1&keywords=GTX+980+EVGA
Is it possible to install this card in slot 1 in a Mac Pro 5,1? I am worried about the 6 pin connectors.
Other slots have a GT120, an USB3-esata and an Accelsior SSD installed.
I can't install this card in slot 2 since in this case I loose slot 3.
Please help.
Click to expand...

I purchased the non-SC version of this card (i.e. just "ACX 2.0") from Newegg and I am using it in my 4,1->5,1 in slot 1. It uses two 6-pin plugs. I could not be happier - this card is killing it, temps are low, and I hardly ever hear the fans. I intend to contact MVC to flash it in the new year. I keep a flashed ATI 6870 and a OEM GT120 onhand as backups for the moment - I just finished switching out the 980 for the 6870 last night to install 10.11.2 and the new web drivers, popped the 980 back in and I am back in business.

Link to the EVGA ACX 2.0 iteration of the card that I bought from Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=EVGA_04G-P4-2981-_-14-487-078-_-Product

Link to 6-pin connectors I bought from Amazon, $5 each with free shipping:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OSLGBIC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
 
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