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Frequently Asked Questions About NVIDIA PC (non-EFI) Graphics Cards
- Thread starter Asgorath
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Hmm, mine says "No updates", but I'm on 10.8.3. geforce.com doesn't know about 02f01.
The new NVIDIA driver (313.01.02f01) works fine in my MP3,1/GTX680 combination; Link Speed is still 5.0 GT/s.
However, the CUDA preference is telling me I need a new CUDA driver version, but there is not one available... So, at least CUDA 5.0.59 is not compatible with the new NVIDEA driver...
However, the CUDA preference is telling me I need a new CUDA driver version, but there is not one available... So, at least CUDA 5.0.59 is not compatible with the new NVIDEA driver...
I can confirm that this particular Gigabyte GTX 650 card works on my MacPro 3.1. with 10.8.3 and Nividia Web drivers it is just plug and play.
http://ee.gigabyte.com/products/page/vga/gv-n650oc-2gi/
http://ee.gigabyte.com/products/page/vga/gv-n650oc-2gi/
2.5 GB GTX 570 on sale
The 2.5 GB GTX 570 is usually very hard to find (luckily I have one).
There is currently one for sale on ebay for 153 €, which IMHO is a very good price. (Have no relationship with the seller and hope this is not against any spam policy on this board).
Keep in mind, that you have to modify the heatsink screws to fit the card into slot 1 of a Mac Pro (search for my post in this thread).
The 2.5 GB GTX 570 is usually very hard to find (luckily I have one).
There is currently one for sale on ebay for 153 €, which IMHO is a very good price. (Have no relationship with the seller and hope this is not against any spam policy on this board).
Keep in mind, that you have to modify the heatsink screws to fit the card into slot 1 of a Mac Pro (search for my post in this thread).
Hey Killerbob,
Do you know if this new driver (313.01.02f01) enables 5.0GT/s or did you have that link speed already?
Curious which version of the 680 you are running since my previous research on this thread indicates that MP3,1 can only run at 2.5GT/s with PC version GPU unless they are modded by someone like @MacVidCards.
This is a bit confusing since this thread also seemed to find that earlier versions of the Nvidia web driver enabled 5.0GT/s link speeds for pc cards running in MP3,1 / 4,1 / 5.1 but only under 10.8.2, and that this was brought back down to 2.5GT/s in 10.8.3 and 10.8.4, unless the Mac version of the GPU was installed.
Any clarification here would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers + thanks.
All signs point to whatever the NVIDIA driver is doing to enable 5.0 GT/s speeds only works on the MacPro4,1 and MacPro5,1 (i.e. 2009 and 2010 models) and not the MacPro3,1 (2008). I will update the OP to reflect this to avoid confusion.
Thanks much Asgorath as always for staying on top of this thread and managing this wealth of info. One thing is still unclear from Killerbob's post
(post #854) in which he confirms a link speed of 5.0GT/s on a 2008 MP3,1 with the GTX680.
Perhaps Killerbob has the Mac Version of the GTX680, but since the post is confirming a 5.0GT/s link speed after installing the new Nvidia driver (313.01.02f01), then it seems safe to assume Killerbob is using a PC version GTX680, since the MAC Version of the card should be expected to maintain PCIe speeds of 5.0GT/s.
Thanks again; here's hoping we hear back from Killerbob soon.
Yeah, the EFI version of the 680 should run at 5.0GT/s in all cases, even on a MacPro3,1 system. The driver tweak for non-EFI cards seems to only apply to the later 4,1 and 5,1 systems from what I've seen and read.
CUDA-Z doesn't understand the new web driver version, i.e. it's not aware that the web driver is now a separate bundle from the stock Apple driver. The version reported by CUDA-A is the version of the stock Apple driver, even when it is not active. Hopefully the authors of that app will fix this.
Hi people
Anyone could help me.... I'm not sure that works:
Mac pro 1.1 with 10.7.5
I want to change my Geforce 7300 :
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6570 (1GB DDR3)
But my seller only have :
Sapphire HD6570 - 2 GB GDDR3
(same that Amazon )
Anyone could help me.... I'm not sure that works:
Mac pro 1.1 with 10.7.5
I want to change my Geforce 7300 :
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6570 (1GB DDR3)
But my seller only have :
Sapphire HD6570 - 2 GB GDDR3
(same that Amazon )
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I have an EVGA GTX680, flashed with the Mac ROM. NVIDIA Driver is 313.01.02f01, and the CUDA driver is 5.0.61.
I have an MP3,1, and the graphics card is in Slot2 (I have an Accelsior card in Slot1, and a CalDigit USB3 card in Slot4).
Checking the PCI Cards properties the NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 card is at Link Speed 5.0 GT/s.
I have an MP3,1, and the graphics card is in Slot2 (I have an Accelsior card in Slot1, and a CalDigit USB3 card in Slot4).
Checking the PCI Cards properties the NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 card is at Link Speed 5.0 GT/s.
Hi all.
I just tried to install a gtx 660 ti card to my 3,1 Mac Pro. I had upgraded my os to 10.8.4 prior to installing the card, but did not install any nvidia drivers yet
I power it up and hear the initial start up sounds but that's it. Monitor stays black and never loads the desktop.
Did I miss a step? I tried different slots but same results. I do have two power cables connected and the card is a evga card that I got from amazon.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
George
I just tried to install a gtx 660 ti card to my 3,1 Mac Pro. I had upgraded my os to 10.8.4 prior to installing the card, but did not install any nvidia drivers yet
I power it up and hear the initial start up sounds but that's it. Monitor stays black and never loads the desktop.
Did I miss a step? I tried different slots but same results. I do have two power cables connected and the card is a evga card that I got from amazon.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
George
can you try the card in another computer? OSX supports the 660 ti, so it may be a faulty card.
How long are you waiting for the system to boot? Cards without an EFI will sit at a black screen for quite some time, especially on older systems that take a long time (by today's standards) to boot. I second the suggestion of checking your monitor inputs, to ensure that the correct input is being used.
Thanks for the reply everyone. I definitely waited enough to see if it would finally load expecting the black screen initial with the non efi card.
When i put my old 8800gt card back in, the monitors work fine. I also connected it to the new cable to see if maybe the extra power cable for the 660ti was faulty, but seems to getting power to run the 8800.
when using the 660ti the monitor says there is no signal coming from the computer. I wonder if it's just not getting enough power even though i have both power cable adaptors hooked up to it.
I might pick up another card to test it. If that doesn't work then there's definitely something wrong with my system. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks,
George
When i put my old 8800gt card back in, the monitors work fine. I also connected it to the new cable to see if maybe the extra power cable for the 660ti was faulty, but seems to getting power to run the 8800.
when using the 660ti the monitor says there is no signal coming from the computer. I wonder if it's just not getting enough power even though i have both power cable adaptors hooked up to it.
I might pick up another card to test it. If that doesn't work then there's definitely something wrong with my system. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks,
George
have you checked that the card is seated properly? without the back support plate, some people don't fully seat the card in the slot.
do the fans turn on at all when the computer is started? or does the card get warm at all after sitting on the black screen?
do the fans turn on at all when the computer is started? or does the card get warm at all after sitting on the black screen?
With Non-EFI cards another good idea is to try the volume key test.
You should be abke to hit volume up & down and hear the little click sounds, lets you know the computer finished booting.
If you have another Mac on same network you can enable screen sharing while 8800GT is in, make sure it is working and then boot with 660 in and fire up screen sharing (if the volume key test worked)
Then you can see what the machine thinks is in slot where 660 is
You should be abke to hit volume up & down and hear the little click sounds, lets you know the computer finished booting.
If you have another Mac on same network you can enable screen sharing while 8800GT is in, make sure it is working and then boot with 660 in and fire up screen sharing (if the volume key test worked)
Then you can see what the machine thinks is in slot where 660 is
Well, I just experienced the same constant "black screen" issue on a GTX 680 that had been working previously (unflashed) on a MacPro5,1. Let it sit a LONG time (it's usually a 15-20 second boot, MAX). Nothing. Reset PRAM. Nothing. Wasn't getting volume controls after chime/boot either. The drives would show up on the network from other Macs, but could not access screen sharing and the system would simply not login.
Left with no other way to troubleshoot, I resorted back to the original configuration and swapped in a stock 5770. There were no issues booting, system showed desktop perfectly fine. Volume controls worked, all drives were accessible, etc. The only sign of a problem was a random date/time error. Appears that the "watch" battery on the motherboard might be dead (or dying). I'll swap that out later today.
It's worth checking out the battery or replacing it. It's located behind the graphics card slot, so you'll need to remove the graphics card to swap out. Stock battery says BR2032 on it.
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Update: Just replaced the battery with a CR2032 and added the GTX 680 back to the machine and it's working fine, just as it had been previously. The package for the "2032" from Energizer says replaces all size 2032 batteries.
Update #2: After a system restart, the screen is once again black and not booting into OSX with the GTX 680 installed. Not entirely sure what's going on. Card is fairly new on this machine and was working perfectly fine for over a week. Attempting to troubleshoot.
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Final Update: This GTX 680 card is being returned. After one solid week of use, this issue appeared and no reliable remedy after a few hours of troubleshooting. The "random" solid black screens after full boot aren't worth the cost savings and I will be getting the EFI version. First time I've ran into this type of an issue with a GTX 680, and it figures it's on my own machine this time (and not a client's). I need reliability, and hopefully the "Mac Version" of this card will provide more of that. Was finally in-stock again, so went for it...
The non-flashed GTX 680 will boot fine the first time immediately after it is swapped with the 5770 (installed, booted, used briefly and then shut down). But the GTX 680 will not boot after it has been shutdown. Tried removing all cards, removed all but main system SSD, and all resets. It wasn't the power cables - both independently powered the 5770 without a problem (only one 6-pin required).
Will not be getting rid of this stock 5770. Reliable backup that works and good to have around, if needed.
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