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

[orph]

the GTX 680 was one of the most common PC cards used in the macpro, do a search and you will see a lot of topics on it.
even the GTX770 has been fairly common in macpros (which is a slightly faster GTX680).

and the first page of this topic is still valid
5) What GPUs will work?
Note that many GTX 680 cards do have both a 6-pin and 8-pin power connectors, though their TDP is down in the 190W range and should work fine.

ps
i think the dual 8 pins on the card are partly because people will pay more for a card with two 8 pin's (as it must be faster !! like a stripe on a car) or to let you overclock hard ie give you the power room to push the card.

 

[ActionableMango]

You said that there's no concern for this specific card - I don't doubt you, but how did you arrive at that conclusion? Is there something I should look for on spec sheets in the future, or do you know this from experience?

Personal experience.

The 8-pin power socket on the card is keyed to accept either a 6-pin or 8-pin cable. I plugged in a 6-pin cable. I used software to monitor the power consumption of the card while doing a stress test using "Furmark". Furmark is known for drawing far more power than any other software. At no time did any of the power sources (PCIe, cable 1, or cable 2) exceed the normal spec of 75W. The card's performance was as expected and it did not throttle down.

You are encouraged to do this test yourself if you would like additional confidence for your own computer and card.

One thing to keep in mind is that Nvidia designed the 680 for two 6-pin connectors in the first place. I theorize that EVGA decided to put an 8-pin on there for marketing purposes and it doesn't actually do anything. It's the equivalent of cars with 4 exhaust ports, but 2 are real exhausts and 2 are fake ones.

Anyone reading this--I am talking about a specific model. I know that there are other cards with 8-pin sockets that really do need 8-pin power.

 

[howiest]

New Nvidia drivers. No Pascal support, yet.

El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1108): https://images.nvidia.com/mac/pkg/346/WebDriver-346.03.15f04.pkg
Siera 10.12.1 (16B2555): https://images.nvidia.com/mac/pkg/367/WebDriver-367.15.10.15f01.pkg

Strange, I just updated to Sierra 10.12.1, and tried to apply the 367.15.10.15f01 web driver, but because the 10.12.1 update is now version (16B2657) it won't install.

I can run with the Apple driver (luckily) until Nvidia gives us a newer web driver.

I mention this because it could really ruin someones day if they don't check the build number of the 10.12.1 update before installing with a non-EFI card.

 

[howiest]

Just ran across this article today...

Nvidia GTX 1080 & 1070 EVGA Cards Reportedly Catching Fire & Dying Due To VRMs Overheating

 

[flowrider]

^^^^Only EVGA and only those with the ACX cooler. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Lou

 

[ActionableMango]

Just ran across this article today...

Nvidia GTX 1080 & 1070 EVGA Cards Reportedly Catching Fire & Dying Due To VRMs Overheating

Suddenly, having a window on the side of the case makes sense--so you can see if anything is catching fire.

 

[flehman]

Suddenly, having a window on the side of the case makes sense--so you can see if anything is catching fire.

It's not a computer, it's a fireplace!

 

[koyoot]

I thought that AMD GPUs were the space heaters. Now you can have your personal chimney by your side with Nvidia GPUs.


.

 

[flehman]

I thought that AMD GPUs were the space heaters. Now you can have your personal chimney by your side with Nvidia GPUs.


.

Shots fired!

 

[i0sen]

Suddenly, having a window on the side of the case makes sense--so you can see if anything is catching fire.

Hahaha not the reason why i did it but a nice bonus ( https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-case-mod-transparent-side-panel.1983209/ )

 

[phone5g]

Made a thread but realized I should have posted this here:

Since it looks like no new mac pro is coming I am looking into purchasing a 2012 mac pro. My main concern is being able to power 4 monitors 1 34" ultrawide (3440x1440) and 3 27" 16:9 (2560x1440). Nothing too graphic intensive this is for coding and productivity. I have been looking at macvidcards.com and was wondering if the Nvidia GTX 960 would be able to handle this setup?

 

[howiest]

Still no web driver for build (16B2657) of Sierra 10.12.1

 

[orph]

@phone5g if your looking at macvidcards then send him a email he has contact info on his site, he will provide support and help that's what your paying for when you use him.

only think i can think of is check the card has correct ports for your displays.

 

[nigelbb]

Made a thread but realized I should have posted this here:

Since it looks like no new mac pro is coming I am looking into purchasing a 2012 mac pro. My main concern is being able to power 4 monitors 1 34" ultrawide (3440x1440) and 3 27" 16:9 (2560x1440). Nothing too graphic intensive this is for coding and productivity. I have been looking at macvidcards.com and was wondering if the Nvidia GTX 960 would be able to handle this setup?

A GTX680 is about the same performance as a GTX960 & will drive your four monitors & you can flash it yourself for the Apple boot screen. A used GTX680 will cost about a third of the price of a GTX960 from MVC.

 

[navaira]

Still no web driver for build (16B2657) of Sierra 10.12.1

I'm waiting too... at least Sierra FINALLY supports my GPU out of the box. Like, full resolution supports. I imagine NVidia are busy putting out fires – literally.

 

[ActionableMango]

will drive your four monitors

The HDMI port will run 1440P?

When I had a 680 I could get 1440P out of the dual-link DVI ports or the DisplayPort, but not the HDMI port.

 

[nigelbb]

The HDMI port will run 1440P?

When I had a 680 I could get 1440P out of the dual-link DVI ports or the DisplayPort, but not the HDMI port.

The HDMI port on the GTX680 will run at least 2160p.

 

[flowrider]

Still no web driver for build (16B2657) of Sierra 10.12.1

Nope, Not YET However there is a new Cuda Driver:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/macosx-cuda-8.0.51-driver.html

Released this morning

Lou

 

[phone5g]

A GTX680 is about the same performance as a GTX960 & will drive your four monitors & you can flash it yourself for the Apple boot screen. A used GTX680 will cost about a third of the price of a GTX960 from MVC.

Thank you - this is helpful

 

[Synchro3]

A GTX680 is about the same performance as a GTX960 & will drive your four monitors & you can flash it yourself for the Apple boot screen. A used GTX680 will cost about a third of the price of a GTX960 from MVC.

Yes, the GTX 680 and the GTX 960 have about the same performance, but some things should be considered:

GTX 680:
- You can flash yourself the card EFI for boot screens (but anyway no boot screen on a 4K monitor and above!)
- works with native OS X drivers (Nvidia web drivers optional)

GTX 960:
- EFI can only be flashed by MVC, but boot screen works also on 4K monitors and above
- works only with Nvidia web drivers

 

[nigelbb]

If the OP flashes a GTX680 the boot screen will appear on one of the three monitors that are not 4K.

 

[phone5g]

Seems there are quite a few models, any input on the best option? Ebay?

 

[ActionableMango]

Seems there are quite a few models, any input on the best option? Ebay?

I'd get a model that someone else has confirmed to work already in one of the following threads.

2GB models:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/confirmed-and-possible-flashable-gtx-680-models.1578255/

4GB models:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ens-full-clock-rates-pci-e-2-0-5gt-s.1603260/

Personally I got an EVGA since EVGA made the ROM in the first place and was the only company to sell Mac Edition 680s.

 

[phone5g]

Perfect, thanks for the links. Would the 2gb model be fine since I am not doing anything graphic intensive?

 

[ActionableMango]

Perfect, thanks for the links. Would the 2gb model be fine since I am not doing anything graphic intensive?

Well four 1440P monitors is an awful lot of pixels, but honestly I don't know how that relates to VRAM.

BTW you should avoid the LG 34" 1440P ultrawide, both flat and curved models. They have known problems with Macs that have never been fixed. The Dell is okay.