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

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Hi omnious,

Thanks for the latest post! At least I am not alone in experiencing slow graphics with 10.8.3.

I checked the LuxMark database, and my scores actually look reasonable, and I wonder where the rest of you are finding your scores.

Please NVIDIA, get us the updated drivers for 10.8.3...
 
Killerbob said:
Hi omnious,
Thanks for the latest post! At least I am not alone in experiencing slow graphics with 10.8.3.
Click to expand...

I found a drop in the Luxmark scores between NVIDIA 10.8.2 and Apple 10.8.3 drivers as well for my 570.

10.8.2:
Luxball: 8539
Sala: 1186
Room: 626

10.8.3
Luxball: 8335
Sala: 1159
Room: 612

But the drop is by far not as drastic as you have on your 680.

Apple really screwed the OpenCL performance of the Kepler cards in their 10.8.3 driver. :(

Hopefully a new NVIDIA driver fixes the issue. Seems it takes a bit longer though this time ... :confused:

Till then the Fermi cards are probably still the better choice for GPGPU.

So Asgorath should wait a bit more before he updates the initial post.
 
Killerbob said:
I checked the LuxMark database, and my scores actually look reasonable, and I wonder where the rest of you are finding your scores.
Click to expand...

If you look closely at the Luxmark database, you see results for:

GeForce GTX 680 [32 units]: 1418 AVG.

and several blocks:

GeForce GTX 680 [8 units]: in the 700-800 AVG range.

Given the different unit numbers, the once with 32 units are likely done with the 10.8.2 driver, the once with the 8 units are done with the 10.8.3 driver.

So your results are in line with the Luxmark db and confirm, that something is seriously wrong with the Apple 10.8.3 driver for the Kepler cards.

Edit:

Just checked the Luxmark db for the 570 as well. Interestingly there are 3 blocks of results:

1.) GeForce GTX 570 [60 units]: 1167 AVG
2.) GeForce GTX 570 [15 units]: 1159 AVG
3.) GeForce GTX 570 [15 units]: 818 AVG

1. and 2. is roughly in line with my results in 10.8.2 and 10.8.3
3. is roughly in the range the 680 scores in 10.8.3

Interestingly the single score in 2. was a card with 2.5 GB, while the 11 scores in 3. all were 1.3 GB cards.

Mine is a 2.5 GB card.

So could it be, that the 570 cards with 1.3 GB RAM are affected as well from the big OpenCL performance drop in 10.8.3, while the 2.5 GB cards are immune? Sounds weird.

Could someone running 10.8.3 with an 570 card with 1.3 GB RAM post his Luxmark results ?
 
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Thanks Cecco, your response is exactly why I love this forum. We have great discussions and people are always ready to spend 5-30 min. putting together a proper response:)
 
Luxmark error

Hi all,

Since I have updated to 10.8.3 and updated CUDA to 5.0.45, the Luxmark app has stopped running. I have tried reinstalling and also dumping the preference saved state but to no avail.

This is the error i received

2013-04-08 19:37:10 - [LuxRays] [OpenCL device::GeForce GTX 680Intersect] QBVH Image Storage compilation error: error: definition of macro 'cl_khr_fp64' conflicts with an identifier used in the precompiled header
2013-04-08 19:37:10 - OpenCL ERROR: clBuildProgram(-11)

Anyone could help?

Thanks!!!

Mac Pro 5,1. 12-core 2.4, 28GB RAM, Apple GT120 and Leadtek Nvidia GTX 680 4GB (not overclocked).
 
Hey guys. I recently tried putting a Mac 5770 in with my nvidia 660 to do some litecoin mining and the Bluetooth takes forever to connect, in both windows and Mac. I also tried just a 6870 alone and same problems. Thinking it has something to do with have both 6 pin connectors hooked up. Front USB ports also sometimes work and sometimes don't. Is anyone else having this problem? I have a 2008.
 
Just ordered an eVGA GTX 680 Classified to replace my MSI GTX 670 2GB.


Looking for its arrival! Should be a beast!
 
Hi all,

I can confirm others' reports that the GeForce GTX 650 Ti works cleanly in a MacPro 5.1 running 10.8.3. Mine is an early 2009 Nehalem with a firmware upgrade to 5.1 in anticipation of a W3680 CPU. The 650 Ti worked fine, first time. With the well-described Adobe supported card hack, it uses the Mercury hardware engine for rendering Premiere CS6 projects far, far faster than I've ever seen with software rendering.
 
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ywchai said:
2013-04-08 19:37:10 - [LuxRays] [OpenCL device::GeForce GTX 680Intersect] QBVH Image Storage compilation error: error: definition of macro 'cl_khr_fp64' conflicts with an identifier used in the precompiled header
2013-04-08 19:37:10 - OpenCL ERROR: clBuildProgram(-11)
...
Mac Pro 5,1. 12-core 2.4, 28GB RAM, Apple GT120 and Leadtek Nvidia GTX 680 4GB (not overclocked).
Click to expand...

I was at the same situation.
Just remove GT120.
 
Chaps, I'm struggling here and I think I've come unstuck. I'm trying to get an EVGA 2Gb GTX670 to run on my MacPro and it boots but I get no outputs at all.

I *think* I've done all the right things: installed the Nvidia drivers and rebooted whilst still running on the stock Radeon, bought two 6-pin power cables so I'd have enough for powering the 670, tried in both slots 1 and 2.

Original thread here

Would appreciate any and all assistance before I throw the goddamned thing out of the window! :eek:
 
Octogibbon said:
Chaps, I'm struggling here and I think I've come unstuck. I'm trying to get an EVGA 2Gb GTX670 to run on my MacPro and it boots but I get no outputs at all.

I *think* I've done all the right things: installed the Nvidia drivers and rebooted whilst still running on the stock Radeon, bought two 6-pin power cables so I'd have enough for powering the 670, tried in both slots 1 and 2.

Original thread here

Would appreciate any and all assistance before I throw the goddamned thing out of the window! :eek:
Click to expand...

Did you update to 10.8.3 yet?
 
These are the bits you should've read before parting with your (I'm guessing) dollars...

Asgorath said:
Note that the Fermi generation cards work with Lion, but in almost all cases the Kepler cards require Mountain Lion. You may find a GK107-based card that boots in 10.7.5, but it is highly recommended that you use Mountain Lion since there appears to be much better driver support in that OS in general.
Click to expand...

If you are stuck with a MacPro1,1 or MacPro2,1 then your options are slightly different, since the Kepler cards don't work in Lion.
  • If you have an unlimited budget, get a GTX 570.
  • Otherwise, get a GTX 560 or GTX 560 Ti.
I think it's unlikely that the Kepler cards will ever be supported on Lion, which does limit the options for older Mac Pro systems.
Click to expand...
 
Mountain Lion will solve your problem, I reckon.

I've got a 4,1 upgraded to 5,1 Hex. I'm running a GTX 670 and it works really well, in every application I've tried.






(Except for Civ 5. :mad: )
 
cal6n said:
Mountain Lion will solve your problem, I reckon.

I've got a 4,1 upgraded to 5,1 Hex. I'm running a GTX 670 and it works really well, in every application I've tried.
Click to expand...

Here's to hoping. All I care about is quad monitors on a single card, games and so on stay on my PCs, the Mac is purely for business. Sadly as they only see fit to offer four slots, and they're all full, I can't just slap a second card in there.
 
Asgorath said:
Read the first question in the FAQ post again, then :)
Click to expand...

And now you need to update your FAQ again: Another 670 running perfectly happily under ML :D

Thank you for all your help, deeply appreciated.


ETA: Ahem, may have spoken too soon...
 
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Successfully switched from a MSI GTX 670 to at eVGA GTX 680 Classified. Both cards work exceptionally well in both bootcamp under Windows 7 and in OS X.

I've also used Nvidia's Precision X software tool to overclock the already overclocked GTX 680 Classified by setting the GPU clock at +50 Mhz and the Memory clock +300 Mhz.

I can play Far Cry 3 on max with EVERYTHING like AA turned all the way up and achieve between 20-30 fps at 2500 X 1600.

So far, I'm quite pleased! :)
 
Asgorath said:
If you are stuck with a MacPro1,1 or MacPro2,1 then your options are slightly different, since the Kepler cards don't work in Lion.

I think it's unlikely that the Kepler cards will ever be supported on Lion, which does limit the options for older Mac Pro systems.
Click to expand...


WRONG, WRONG, and WRONG !

I have a MacPro 1,1 2.66
my 4890 is dying
(OFF Topic)
I've read this thread, then went for ati7870 hoping Netkas will resolve it on day.
I C'kd my Mac to install 10.8.3, then... no support of 78xx with Chameleon. Screwed
(/OffTopic)

In a desperate move, i plugged my Asus GTX 670 2G in my MacPro 1,1
and guess what? it works like a charm in 10.7.4 with MBP 2012 drivers, and in 10.7.5 NATIVELY !

Open CL working
QuartzExtreme working
Luxmark High : 600 / Medium 1100 / low 5700

Didn't tried before because i was in 10.6.8
So now, i have a nasty 7870 DCUII to sell ;)

And a fresh MacPro reborn.

Please, update the OP. thanks
 

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Wana said:
Please, update the OP. thanks
Click to expand...

Actually, I stand by what I said. The Kepler driver for 10.7.5 appears to have early/limited support only, and does not contain all the necessary bits to make the GK104 or GK106 cards work (i.e. I'd only expect GK107-based systems to really work well, if at all, since they were the only products that Apple released in the 10.7 timeframe). This is confirmed by the fact the driver doesn't have the correct name for your card, and lists it as an "NVIDIA GK104" instead of a "GeForce GTX 670". I've tried all 3 of my Kepler cards (EVGA 650, 660 and 680) and none of them worked for me. The Mountain Lion driver was used for many more products, including the Late 2012 iMac models, and therefore I'd expect to be much more likely to work well.

So, you might get lucky and it might kind of work, but don't be surprised if you see a lot more system crashes or other bugs like that. This is why I'm not recommending that folks with a MacPro1,1 or MacPro2,1 rush out and buy a Kepler card. I used a GTX 560 Ti for nearly a year on Lion, and it was rock-solid the entire time.
 
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