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Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards
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When I say smaller, I'm talking about those half size cards as opposed to the full length ones.
Something like this: http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA/60422-GV-N950WF2OC-2GD
Something like this: http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA/60422-GV-N950WF2OC-2GD
No I don't think so. I think both the full size and the half size require help from the Mac Pro's power supply.
According to the sticky :
7) Are the PC cards forced to only use PCIe 1.0?
The PC cards used to be forced to only use PCIe 1.0 (2.5GT/s), but the most recent drivers from NVIDIA for Mountain Lion (304.00.00f20 for 10.8.1, 304.00.05f02 for 10.8.2) appears to remove this restriction under Mac OS X. The PC cards will still run at PCIe 1.0 speeds under Boot Camp, however. Note that this only affects the MacPro4,1 and MacPro5,1 models, earlier systems will still only run at PCIe 1.0 speeds.
My guess is that the PCIe bus speed is negotiated by the EFI, and defaults to PCIe 1.0 when there is no EFI on the card. The latest NVIDIA driver for OS X appears to work around this somehow, but the same fix hasn't been (and probably won't be) applied to the Windows drivers.
7) Are the PC cards forced to only use PCIe 1.0?
The PC cards used to be forced to only use PCIe 1.0 (2.5GT/s), but the most recent drivers from NVIDIA for Mountain Lion (304.00.00f20 for 10.8.1, 304.00.05f02 for 10.8.2) appears to remove this restriction under Mac OS X. The PC cards will still run at PCIe 1.0 speeds under Boot Camp, however. Note that this only affects the MacPro4,1 and MacPro5,1 models, earlier systems will still only run at PCIe 1.0 speeds.
My guess is that the PCIe bus speed is negotiated by the EFI, and defaults to PCIe 1.0 when there is no EFI on the card. The latest NVIDIA driver for OS X appears to work around this somehow, but the same fix hasn't been (and probably won't be) applied to the Windows drivers.
I tested all the above at El Capitan 10.11.6 on 5.1 and this post is not valid. I tested with a Kepler GT 640. So I think the sticky is a little bit obsolete. Am I right or no? The tool I used for the test was Ocean wave cl.
Does anybody have 5.0 GT speeds without EFI on El Capitan & Sierra with whatever nVidia card? It seems like an urban rule.
Does anybody have 5.0 GT speeds without EFI on El Capitan & Sierra with whatever nVidia card? It seems like an urban rule.
I know that getting the speed reported correctly is tricky. You are using one of the methods that is supposed to work, but maybe something has changed.
I would double or triple check your Oceanwave result with one of the other known working methods to properly check speed: http://www.macvidcards.com/50-pcie-speed1.html
But the Cuda-Z is unresponsive. The application says no cuda drivers installed. On the other hand I tried the same card at an old Hackintosh and it works at 5.0GT. My belief is that the sticky is obsolete. Have everybody else test these methods http://www.macvidcards.com/50-pcie-speed1.html with El cap & Sierra?
This one can be confirmed by someone who runs on El Capitan or Sierra with 4.1 or 5.1 with the latest drivers:
I can not see 5.0 GT speeds neither with cuda nor with ocean wave .
I am on Sierra with 5.1 and latest drivers and latest cuda
For me it is not valid (the particular piece of FAQ I have quoted) anymore. May it was on Mountain Lion. Today it is not.
Don't know what to tell you, the information stands: the NVIDIA web driver does something to enable PCIe Gen 2 (i.e. 5 GT/s) in 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros. The fact that an application you're using isn't showing that doesn't mean it isn't happening. You said CUDA-Z is unresponsive, maybe you should try and make it work?
I already did it.
So both methods (Oceanwaves & Cuda) shows me 2.5 GT/s
Another reliable test did, was that I performed a test with UNIGINE Valley & Heaven before and after Nvidia drivers installed. If we suppose that with drivers the card running at 5.0 GT/s then probably heaven & Valey would have give me me better results with the drivers. Unfortunately it happened exactly the opposite. I had some more fps (a little bit better score) without Nvidia drivers.
For me with a 5.1 tested with an Asus gt 640 and a gigabyte 720 it doesn't works. No benefits at valley & Heaven and no confirmation with cuda-z or ocean waves . At a core 2 duo old hackintosh the same GPUs shows a 5.0 GT/S
I repeat maybe happened at mountain Lion but noway on El Cap & Sierra at least with my particular GPUs.
I kindly ask from every user to give feedback to this thread and do those test at El Cap & Sierra.
Tests=Cuda-z & Ocean wave CL & VALEY + Heaven before and after drivers to learn if it is my GPUS or every GPU.
Thank you Guys!
DAMNIT!!!!
Finally after enough research, I went out today and got myself a GTX 950. I loaded it into the 4,1 and it works ... YAY!
BUT IT'S NOISY! Quite a lot noisier than the GT-120. One of the reviews I read said it was extremely quiet and that the fan wouldn't even spin up until 60 degrees or so. Of course I have no recourse with my dealer because no one ever promised any Mac standards of performance.
I've got a recording studio so these noise levels are impossible unless someone knows a way for software to tell the thing to shut up?
Thanks.
Finally after enough research, I went out today and got myself a GTX 950. I loaded it into the 4,1 and it works ... YAY!
BUT IT'S NOISY! Quite a lot noisier than the GT-120. One of the reviews I read said it was extremely quiet and that the fan wouldn't even spin up until 60 degrees or so. Of course I have no recourse with my dealer because no one ever promised any Mac standards of performance.
I've got a recording studio so these noise levels are impossible unless someone knows a way for software to tell the thing to shut up?
Thanks.
^^^^
1. Reset PRAM / SMC?
2. Perhaps using http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control you can controle the overall temps in your Mac which could lower the temp of your GTX and thus reduce the overall noise.
Cheers
1. Reset PRAM / SMC?
2. Perhaps using http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control you can controle the overall temps in your Mac which could lower the temp of your GTX and thus reduce the overall noise.
Cheers
Thanks for that.
I've already got iStat Menus and TG Pro (which appears to be the same sort of product as what you've linked to).
I've got the Mac's fans on minimum to keep noise down. Are you suggesting turning up the Mac's fans to cool the video card? I don't think the GTX 950 is warm because it's making too much noise even from a cold start, before it's done any work.
I've already got iStat Menus and TG Pro (which appears to be the same sort of product as what you've linked to).
I've got the Mac's fans on minimum to keep noise down. Are you suggesting turning up the Mac's fans to cool the video card? I don't think the GTX 950 is warm because it's making too much noise even from a cold start, before it's done any work.
Then you might try resetting the PRAM & SMC then, done that already too?
As you didn't mention you OS version:
https://support.apple.com/kb/index?...cale=en_US&q=reset+pram&src=globalnav_support
Cheers
As you didn't mention you OS version:
https://support.apple.com/kb/index?...cale=en_US&q=reset+pram&src=globalnav_support
Cheers
Hi pastrychef.
The Mac is a 4,1 single CPU quad 2.66. So it's a X3500 series according to Apple specs.
No it doesn't have a backplate. I thought they were more for looks than for acoustic quietening.
The Mac is a 4,1 single CPU quad 2.66. So it's a X3500 series according to Apple specs.
No it doesn't have a backplate. I thought they were more for looks than for acoustic quietening.
There's no reason your video card should be running hot at startup. You may want to try launching an app that will stress the video card (such as LuxMark or Unigine Heaven or Valley) a little and then quit the app to see if it helps get the fan to slow down. This has helped others in the past. You can also try running the video card in PCI-e slot 2 to see if it exhibits the same symptoms.
Ok I've reset the SMC (which appears to be little more than pulling the AC, waiting and then putting it back and powering up.
I've reset the PRAM but now the machine won't boot up - as in the new video card won't power the screens.
Did resetting the PRAM reset the Nvidia drivers? Surely not, that's software I installed.
I've tried twice and I've definitely got no video. Also, the new video card has gone quiet. It's supposed to be quiet but is it dead? <sigh>.
I've reset the PRAM but now the machine won't boot up - as in the new video card won't power the screens.
Did resetting the PRAM reset the Nvidia drivers? Surely not, that's software I installed.
I've tried twice and I've definitely got no video. Also, the new video card has gone quiet. It's supposed to be quiet but is it dead? <sigh>.
Yep. Resetting the NVRAM removes the setting that tells OS X to use the Nvidia web drivers, which are required for Maxwell cards.
Hopefully you have your old video card or had set up screen sharing so that you can reenable the drivers.
Damn - no screen sharing pre-setup so I'll reinstall the old GT-120 and enable the Nvidia drivers again.
Thanks for the tipoff.
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