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

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Hey! I read the OP and some of the later pages but I'm not sure I understand all of this Web Driver vs Native OS X drivers, which OS's use which, and which cards this matters with. ALthough it does sound much more convenient than when I looked into this years ago and you HAD to flash your card.

Anyway I've got an ATI HD 2600 in my Mac Pro 3,1 Octo. I want to mess around with some video editing for a music video; I think I can get by with Lightroom but some programs want OpenCL. I'm just curious what the cheapest OpenCL nVidia card I could grab on eBay would be and what I would have to do to install it correctly (not having to mess with molex power connectors would be nice too).

Thanks!
 
MacVidCards said:
Yes, please message us from our website for sales type stuff.

The reason we concentrated on the other MSI GTX760 is that it has Dual MDP.

So, it can run 2 @ Apple LED MDP displays, and now it can run 5K Dell at full res 60Hz. No other GTX7xx or even Kepler version of Titan or Titan Black can do that, makes it very unique. I actually have one of the cards you asked about here, haven't bothered writing an EFI for it but shouldn't be an issue.

Twin Frozr Gaming Series with 2GB. Looks like they may have planned a 4GB version as half RAM chips aren't on the board.
Click to expand...

I will trust you :)

Q: If the GTX 760 card you have already is good/the best for my purpose which is: Doing in future more intense semiPro photo/Videostuff using in future times shurely 2 high-resolution screens and perhaps using the MacPro for Music-NAS - this would be perfect!

Again: i am NOT a gamer, I think that will never interest me at all.
BUT if the performance of my MacPro will be better for photo/video stuff, I shurly will love it.

The card is not too loud? I love (nearly) silent computers...
Q: will the GTX 760 be much louder than my old GT120?

in slot 2, there is the Sonnet Tempo boosting with Samsung SSD on it (nice thing :) )
Q: Will the GTX 760 nevertheless fit in slot 1 without problems for the eSATA card in slot 2 (enough space)?

If "YES" for all answers: Please reserve this card for me.
will then buy it on your website.

Thanks for your answers
 
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Please contact us through our website, this isn't an appropriate place for sales talk.

On the subject of new Nvidia drivers, has anyone else used them with 5K? I'm getting horrible crashes at boot if connected but if I connect after boot I have full 5K and the massive list of resolution choices is back.

Anyone else?
 
MacVidCards said:
Please contact us through our website, this isn't an appropriate place for sales talk.

On the subject of new Nvidia drivers, has anyone else used them with 5K? I'm getting horrible crashes at boot if connected but if I connect after boot I have full 5K and the massive list of resolution choices is back.

Anyone else?
Click to expand...

What monitor are you using? The Dell one?
Also, have you tried running it on a gtx 970?
 
bobreborn said:
Hey! I read the OP and some of the later pages but I'm not sure I understand all of this Web Driver vs Native OS X drivers, which OS's use which, and which cards this matters with. ALthough it does sound much more convenient than when I looked into this years ago and you HAD to flash your card.

Anyway I've got an ATI HD 2600 in my Mac Pro 3,1 Octo. I want to mess around with some video editing for a music video; I think I can get by with Lightroom but some programs want OpenCL. I'm just curious what the cheapest OpenCL nVidia card I could grab on eBay would be and what I would have to do to install it correctly (not having to mess with molex power connectors would be nice too).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

nothin?
 
bobreborn said:
nothin?
Click to expand...

The OP has some good information for you:

6) What GPU should I buy?

This is a great question, and depends on your budget and what you'll be using the card for.
  • If you care more about gaming and have an unlimited budget, get a GTX 780 Ti.
  • If you care more about compute (CUDA/OpenCL) and have an unlimited budget, get a GTX TITAN Black or a GTX 570.
  • If you can only afford a mid-rage card, get a GTX 760.
  • If can only afford a low-end card, get a GTX 650.
In general, if you are buying a card now, I would recommend getting a Kepler card and using Mountain Lion. If you really care more about OpenCL or CUDA performance, then the GTX 570 or TITAN Black is probably the best choice. Brand of card does not matter, though I personally stick with EVGA in general.

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...

This pre-dates the release of the Maxwell generation of cards, but the basic advice is sound. That is, if you don't want to spend a lot of money, buy a cheap NVIDIA card like a GT 640 or GTX 650.
 
I really appreciate the OP but even after following this thread for months I still don't get understand the difference between the drivers etc.

Also, the advice about the cards is far from complete and for example doesn't even mention the GTX660, which was a perfect solution for me, not to mention silent and cheap. (I was looking for a card that would enable my 3,1 Mac Pro 2008 to use a 4K UHD monitor)
 
snipper said:
I really appreciate the OP but even after following this thread for months I still don't get understand the difference between the drivers etc.

Also, the advice about the cards is far from complete and for example doesn't even mention the GTX660, which was a perfect solution for me, not to mention silent and cheap. (I was looking for a card that would enable my 3,1 Mac Pro 2008 to use a 4K UHD monitor)
Click to expand...

It's not my intention to track a complete buyer's guide for what GPU you should get. The basic gist is that any modern NVIDIA GPU should just work, so feel free to read review sites like AnandTech etc. to figure out what the best option is for your price range and needs.

The NVIDIA web drivers are required for any GPU that the Apple OS doesn't support. A good rule of thumb here is that if Apple shipped a product with the given GPU, then the stock Apple drivers should work fine. If Apple did not ship a product with that GPU, then you'll likely need/want to run the NVIDIA web driver instead. For example, a GK104-based product like the GTX 770 should just work. A GM204-based product like the GTX 980 will not work without the web driver.

As always, when in doubt, try it both ways. Some folks have trouble with multiple displays on older GPUs with the web drivers, but the stock Apple driver works fine for them, so that's what they use.
 
guys, what are the good flashed PC card that has EFI boot screen over dvi without with Vga adapter?

just bought a PC ati radeon hd 5770, bad move? i just want a card that is slightly better than 8800GT and i really need EFI boot screen. i don't mind ati or nVidia.

My mac pro is 2,1. cheers
 
reddemonic said:
guys, what are the good flashed PC card that has EFI boot screen over dvi without with Vga adapter?

just bought a PC ati radeon hd 5770, bad move? i just want a card that is slightly better than 8800GT and i really need EFI boot screen. i don't mind ati or nVidia.

My mac pro is 2,1. cheers
Click to expand...

I'm sure you will find a convenient card here: http://www.macvidcards.com/index.html
I would recommend a GTX 760. The GT 640 is equal to the old 8800GT in terms of performance, but needs much less power.

Update: Sorry, I noticed you have a MP 2,1. Check the models in the shop for compatibility.
 
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When I have to compare graphics cards, one of the first thing I look at is Tom's Hardware's Graphics Cards Hierarchy Chart which is updated monthly (links is constant). It's a good source of information to begin determining how much graphics processing power you need. It has kept me from overbuying.

The 5770 is on the same "tier" as the HD 4870, 4890, 5830, 6770, 6790, 7750 (GDD5), R7 250 (GDD5) AMD cards and GTX 260, 275, 280, 460 192-bit, 460 SE, 550 Ti, 560 SE, 650, GT 740 GDDR5 nVidia cards.

Interesting to note that R7 250, GTX 650 and GT 740 are in the same "tier" and are newer. However, the 5770 is still a good card; I'm still using one in my 2010 Mac Pro.
 
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AMD Radeon R9 390X limited to 4GB of VRAM

AMD Radeon R9 390X limited to 4GB of VRAM because of HBM limitations?

Could the first generation of HBM memory limit the Radeon R9 390X to just 4GB of VRAM?
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/43742/amd-radeon-r9-390x-limited-4gb-vram-hbm-limitations/index.html

In view of modern games like GTA V can consume already now 4 GB with full details in 1080p, seems like GTX cards will stay competitive. It is said that even today for current titles in 4k are quite 6GB needed.
 
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When you say "web drivers" what does that mean? My first instinct is "driver downloaded from the manufacturers website" but how can you do that if the video card isn't working? This hasn't been cleared up for me yet. And how does one go about discovering that the OS drivers deliver dual monitor support and the web driver doesn't? Do you not START with the OS driver? Do they then go get the web driver and find a problem and then somehow revert back to the OS driver?

Thanks
 
Yep

bobreborn said:
When you say "web drivers" what does that mean? My first instinct is "driver downloaded from the manufacturers website" but how can you do that if the video card isn't working? This hasn't been cleared up for me yet. And how does one go about discovering that the OS drivers deliver dual monitor support and the web driver doesn't? Do you not START with the OS driver? Do they then go get the web driver and find a problem and then somehow revert back to the OS driver?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah, web drivers are drivers downloaded from the manufacturer's website. On OS X, you test it without them first. Though, the web drivers are usually recommended, though I still don't know why.

Though, if the graphics card is going to be connected either through Thunderbolt or ExpressCard, the OS drivers have to be altered to support such use.

Yeah, you start with the OS driver. I don't know how to revert back to the OS driver. The best way to find out which drivers allow dual-displays is to search the web for people who have used the same card in the same operating system with and without the web drivers. There are some cards, like the GTX 570 and the GTX 690 which can't use two displays simultaneously when the web drivers are used. So, as long as you don't use those two cards, the web drivers should be fine.


Regarding the difference between the web and OS drivers, I did a quick search and found a thread where the original poster said that the OS drivers are working better on his Mac. Another poster said that the OS drivers are older than the web drivers. So, it seems like the OS drivers are sometimes better, but not always. Also, it seems like the original poster is talking about using the Nvidia Control Panel to enable the web drivers. I forgot about that program. I guess you can test the two types of drivers pretty easily with that utility. If you'd like to see that thread, here's a link: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1614685/

I'm sorry if this was a bit long.
 
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You guys are over-thinking this.

Put your 570 in, OS X enables it.

See how it runs.

Download and install Nvidia Web Driver.

See how it runs.

At any point you can switch back to the OS X version, 1 click, enter password and reboot.

And if that is too complicated, just do a PRAM/NVRAM reset. BANG ! You are back on OS X drivers.

The only people who HAVE to use the Web Drivers are the Maxwell folks and the later Kepler folks (780Ti, Titan Black)

Everyone else gets to choose. There is no gun to your head to use them if using any other card.
 
Hey guys!

I spun the wheel and grabbed an Asus GTX 750 TI OC card for my Mac Pro 4,1 yesterday. There have been a few snags along the way. I haven't read all 88 pages of this thread, so it maybe covered previously but I will go over what I discovered.

Firstly, if you do get an overclocked 750 card it will require 6 pin PCIe power. The original Radeon 4870 that came in my mac has its 6 pin power connection at the opposite end to the DVI connectors. The Asus GTX 750 TI has its 6 pin power connection on the top edge of the card just behind the DVI connectors. You will need a 6 pin PCIe power extension cable! The two that come inside a mac pro 4,1 are only about half as long as they need to be.

The second issue I have hit is a bit of a doozy, but it is something that I should have been aware of having spent the last 4 years dealing with similar problems in the world of hackintosh computers. Not every card is made the same. An Asus GTX 750 TI will differ to a Gigabyte GTX 750 TI which will differ from a MSI, etc, etc. You will find a large amount of info on this if you search for hackintosh related threads with the GTX 750 TI. I went through similar things with an Asus GT 430 prior to the drivers being included with Lion. What you will find is the bios/firmware within each manufacturers card is inherently different and will work in different and slightly less predicable ways.

I only get a black screen. My Asus GTX 750 TI has installed correctly, confirmed via screen sharing. The latest web & cuda drivers are installed and all appears as normal except that the detected display is appearing as some kind of internal display. The Asus GTX 750 TI contains a number of video outputs. Thus far I have only tried HDMI and DVI outputs - I will buy a VGA -> DVI cable in the coming hours to see if the card will function using the VGA output.

Does anyone have an thoughts about this? When using the GT 430 under snow leopard a chap posted several lines of code to add to your hackintosh's DSDT which would allow use of all of the video outputs on the card. Could it being something simply to shake the GTX 750 TI alive on all its outputs? Members of the hackintosh community have also claimed success by flashing various GTX 750 TI cards with the appropriate Palit GTX 750 TI bios.

I have attached some screenshots of how my system is appearing.
 

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Your issue has to do with display routing in the rom.

It is possible that another BIOS rom will have a better mix for OS X. The trick will be finding one that works on that card. I would suggest looking on the VGA database and find one with same clock speeds and ports.
 
Where is the beta driver that works with 10.10.3? I can't seem to find it on the NVidia driver page; I have not done any of the supplemental updates still because the stock drivers don;t work with my 650ti
 
Just an update on my Asus GTX 750 TI OC findings.

VGA works as standard straight out of the box. It is the only video port on the card that functions though.
Flashing the card with a rom from the Palit GTX 750 TI has disabled the one VGA port, but now allows dual monitors to run on one of the DVI ports and the HDMI port.

Can't complain about that. I could try other roms to see if I can get more ports working, but this is fine for now.

Moms were found here: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/...model=GTX+750+Ti&interface=&memType=&memSize=

I used the most appropriate based on the I/O of the card, and the stock rom it shipped with.
ie: the asus came with firmware 82.07.32.00.20, as viewable in 'about this mac's' system report.

I replaced it with 82.07.32.00.60, rather than the 82.07.25.00.82 that is available for the same model card.

Its the first time I have ever flashed a card before. Took about 10 minutes, including installing and removing the card. Its pretty straight forward if you can follow instructions and aren't scared of the windows command prompt.
 
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Hello,

I am new the group and looking for help with my 2GB Asus GTX 750Ti OC video card.

I have a Mac Pro 4,1, running a Nvidia GT 120 and the new GTX 750Ti. Problem is, I only get a black screen with the 750Ti on all ports (DVI, HDMI, VGA).

I have Yosmite 10.10.3, and have downloaded the latest Nvidia video driver and CUDA files. I had the files downloaded before I installed the 750Ti. I have even tried the Apple drivers with 10.10.3.

I have tried resetting the PRAM, I have tried the 750Ti in slot 1 and slot 2...nothing. This is very frustrating.

Does anyone know how someone new to the "PC-card in a Mac" can make this work? Has anyone been successful with the same video card?

Even more frustratingly, I had better video performance with my ATi 1900XT on my old Mac Pro 1,1 than with the GT 120 on a 4,1.

Thx
Tim
 
tdunn81 said:
Hello,

I am new the group and looking for help with my 2GB Asus GTX 750Ti OC video card.

I have a Mac Pro 4,1, running a Nvidia GT 120 and the new GTX 750Ti. Problem is, I only get a black screen with the 750Ti on all ports (DVI, HDMI, VGA).

I have Yosmite 10.10.3, and have downloaded the latest Nvidia video driver and CUDA files. I had the files downloaded before I installed the 750Ti. I have even tried the Apple drivers with 10.10.3.

I have tried resetting the PRAM, I have tried the 750Ti in slot 1 and slot 2...nothing. This is very frustrating.

Does anyone know how someone new to the "PC-card in a Mac" can make this work? Has anyone been successful with the same video card?

Even more frustratingly, I had better video performance with my ATi 1900XT on my old Mac Pro 1,1 than with the GT 120 on a 4,1.

Thx
Tim
Click to expand...
All I can say is that I find your situation rather odd. Most folks can get a PC card running without much difficulty. I've read that the Maxwell graphics processors require the drivers from Nvidia's website, but they should work fine once those drivers are installed. You probably mentioned this, but did you try using the VGA port with the card in either the bottom slot or the top slot? I forget which, but it might be either the first slot or the bottom one which usually works. It almost seems like people are having an easier time with external graphics cards than internal ones.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
 
jblagden said:
All I can say is that I find your situation rather odd. Most folks can get a PC card running without much difficulty. I've read that the Maxwell graphics processors require the drivers from Nvidia's website, but they should work fine once those drivers are installed. You probably mentioned this, but did you try using the VGA port with the card in either the bottom slot or the top slot? I forget which, but it might be either the first slot or the bottom one which usually works. It almost seems like people are having an easier time with external graphics cards than internal ones.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Click to expand...


Yeah, this is why I find it so confusing. I've followed the instructions as I have seen them posted. There seems to be no reason why it doesn't work essentially right out of the box. I have all the current Nvidia files, current OSX, no cabling issues, no monitor problems and it just won't display.

I'm not an expert, but I've tried a number of methods outlined here. I'm really out of ideas at this point. I though it could be a 10.10.3 issue, but there's new Nvidia driver/CUDA files since the release. I'd be interested in hearing some other user experiences with 10.10.3 and the latest Nvidia files. A lot of posts predate these releases.
 
tdunn81 said:
Yeah, this is why I find it so confusing. I've followed the instructions as I have seen them posted. There seems to be no reason why it doesn't work essentially right out of the box. I have all the current Nvidia files, current OSX, no cabling issues, no monitor problems and it just won't display.

I'm not an expert, but I've tried a number of methods outlined here. I'm really out of ideas at this point. I though it could be a 10.10.3 issue, but there's new Nvidia driver/CUDA files since the release. I'd be interested in hearing some other user experiences with 10.10.3 and the latest Nvidia files. A lot of posts predate these releases.
Click to expand...

I think the best course of action would be to return the GTX 750 Ti and buy an older card, like a GTX 670.
 
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