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

[vasuk]

Thanks pastrychef. would check #24.
can i install windows (apart from yosemite ) . install nvidia drivers in that windows partition. then use yosemite . Do i STILL need to install nvidia drivers for this card for yosemite os ?
suggestions welcome . Thanks

 

[pastrychef]

There are versions of the drivers for windows and OS X. You will need to download and install corresponding versions to your operating systems.

 

[vasuk]

thanks for the response. really appreciate.

 

[MacGamver]

Hey I have two questions. For one, I saw two different EVGA 970 cards; Identical specs, but one uses a 6 pin and 8 pin, while the other uses two 6 pins cables. What's up with that?

Second question: So I made a bootable USB drive for Yosemite. How exactly can I update using this method if I cannot have access to the EFI options on boot? Sure I can specify in the startup pane, but can I then apply a system Patch and web drivers to the built in HD? How exactly does that work?

 

[pastrychef]

You will come across variations PCB design when shopping for video cards. This is not unusual at all. However, to keep thing simple, I suggest going with a card that uses two 6 pin power connectors because the Mac Pros only have 6 pin connections on the main logic board.

There are several methods to update and/or upgrade OS X:

1. Remove the Maxwell cards from your computer and plug back in your old video card to perform the update/upgrade. When done, install and activate Nvidia web drivers. Swap video cards again.
2. Refer to the first post in this thread, scroll down to item #24. Use those Terminal commands to assist your update/upgrade.
3. In this thread, Troy2000 has instructions on how to modify your USB flash drive to include the needed Terminal command so that you can perform an update/upgrade. This modified USB flash drive can also be used to boot into an disable the built-in drivers.

There may be other methods, but these are the ones I know.

 

[MacGamver]

You will come across variations PCB design when shopping for video cards. This is not unusual at all. However, to keep thing simple, I suggest going with a card that uses two 6 pin power connectors because the Mac Pros only have 6 pin connections on the main logic board.

There are several methods to update and/or upgrade OS X:

1. Remove the Maxwell cards from your computer and plug back in your old video card to perform the update/upgrade. When done, install and activate Nvidia web drivers. Swap video cards again.
2. Refer to the first post in this thread, scroll down to item #24. Use those Terminal commands to assist your update/upgrade.
3. In this thread, Troy2000 has instructions on how to modify your USB flash drive to include the needed Terminal command so that you can perform an update/upgrade. This modified USB flash drive can also be used to boot into an disable the built-in drivers.

There may be other methods, but these are the ones I know.

Thanks Pastry! Swapping the cards are a bit of a hassle, so I was looking for the simplest. Checking out the other thread...

 

[Asgorath]

Hey I have two questions. For one, I saw two different EVGA 970 cards; Identical specs, but one uses a 6 pin and 8 pin, while the other uses two 6 pins cables. What's up with that?

To follow up on what pastrychef said, I suspect OEMs use 8-pin connectors either for better overclocking potential, or to just make the card seem like a more powerful/higher end one. Maxwell is such an efficient architecture that even the 980 only has a 165W TDP, which is far less than the 225W from 2 6-pin connectors. There's no way a 970 needs anywhere near the 300W you can get from a 6/8-pin combo, even the 980 Ti is only in the 250W range.

TL;DR - Just get 2 6-pin connectors to avoid any problems.

 

[MacGamver]

To follow up on what pastrychef said, I suspect OEMs use 8-pin connectors either for better overclocking potential, or to just make the card seem like a more powerful/higher end one. Maxwell is such an efficient architecture that even the 980 only has a 165W TDP, which is far less than the 225W from 2 6-pin connectors. There's no way a 970 needs anywhere near the 300W you can get from a 6/8-pin combo, even the 980 Ti is only in the 250W range.

TL;DR - Just get 2 6-pin connectors to avoid any problems.

Yeah, just for the simple fact that the MacPro only has 6 pin slot is compelling enough. It was more out of curiosity. Thanks guys.

 

[pastrychef]

I just came across an interesting GTX 750 Ti. Single slot and no power cables needed. Might be good for those who need a video card for GUI and/or some extra Cuda cores without having to deal with looking for ways to power another video card.

 

[pigsyn]

24) I have a newer card that isn't supported by the Apple drivers, how do I install the web drivers that enable it if I can't even boot?

This is a common problem for people who buy bleeding-edge cards, but there's a pretty simple solution. The NVIDIA drivers, both the one from Apple and the web driver, will not load if you have nv_disable=1 in your boot args. That will let you boot to an unaccelerated desktop, at which point you should be able to install the web drivers for your current OS. You should then remove the nv_disable flag from your boot args and reboot, and you should be up and running.

Hello, this will not work if I don't have my original MacPro GPU (GT120) in a Pci-E slot with my GTX 970.

As I don't want to plug and remove this old gpu for each OS X update, editing nvidia driver package before upgrading is the only reliable way.

Regards.

 

[Asgorath]

Hello, this will not work if I don't have my original MacPro GPU (GT120) in a Pci-E slot with my GTX 970.

As I don't want to plug and remove this old gpu for each OS X update, editing nvidia driver package before upgrading is the only reliable way.

Regards.

nv_disable=1 is required in order to prevent the kernel panic due to the Maxwell card being unsupported by the Apple drivers. You will still need some method of driving a display, which usually means an EFI card like the GT 120 as you suggest. I'll update the answer to clarify this.

 

[pigsyn]

nv_disable=1 is required in order to prevent the kernel panic due to the Maxwell card being unsupported by the Apple drivers. You will still need some method of driving a display, which usually means an EFI card like the GT 120 as you suggest. I'll update the answer to clarify this.

Actually, it's terrible because a hackintosh is easier to upgrade.

 

[pastrychef]

Hello, this will not work if I don't have my original MacPro GPU (GT120) in a Pci-E slot with my GTX 970.

As I don't want to plug and remove this old gpu for each OS X update, editing nvidia driver package before upgrading is the only reliable way.

Regards.

Even if you have a GT 120 and a GTX 970 installed, the mere presence of the GTX 970 will still cause the built-in drivers to crash.

 

[pigsyn]

Even if you have a GT 120 and a GTX 970 installed, the mere presence of the GTX 970 will still cause the built-in drivers to crash.



Unless, Hackintoshes use different Nvidia drivers than OS X, they should crash too.

No with a hackintosh you just add "nv_disable=1" to your bootloader and you can boot to unaccelerated desktop and install nvidia webdrivers. You don't need to plug back a 2008 gpu ...

The sad part is than you can boot windows 8.1 in CSM mode without drivers (unaccelerated desktop) on a mac pro.

 

[Asgorath]

Updated with link to 10.10.5 driver, fixed a typo in question 24 and added some extra information about why nv_disable=1 is needed.

 

[Synchro3]

Security Update 2015-006 1.0 for OS X Mountain Lion broke Nvidia Web drivers 313.01.04f05. GTX 770 now running on OS X drivers. Waiting a few days for updated web drivers as usual.

 

[Socket]

Updated with link to 10.10.5 driver, fixed a typo in question 24 and added some extra information about why nv_disable=1 is needed.

Thanks a lot for your work!!!
I have a little question: why the new drivers for 10.5.5 are downloadables from website but if I check for updates on the nvidia control panel, I have no updates availables?

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Thanks a lot for your work!!!
I have a little question: why the new drivers for 10.5.5 are downloadables from website but if I check for updates on the nvidia control panel, I have no updates availables?

Should show, if you updated the OS first

 

[Asgorath]

Thanks a lot for your work!!!
I have a little question: why the new drivers for 10.5.5 are downloadables from website but if I check for updates on the nvidia control panel, I have no updates availables?

Right, the NVIDIA Driver Manager finds drivers for the currently-installed OS only, because the drivers are tied to a specific OS version/build (e.g. 14F27 for 10.10.5) to ensure binary compatibility with the rest of the system.

 

[Socket]

Right, the NVIDIA Driver Manager finds drivers for the currently-installed OS only, because the drivers are tied to a specific OS version/build (e.g. 14F27 for 10.10.5) to ensure binary compatibility with the rest of the system.

OK thanks, so the procedure is_
1- Download the new drivers and install on 10.10.4
2- Update Yosemite 10.10.5

It's correct? Or not?

 

[toke lahti]

Attention Experts!
I need to upgrade my friend's cMP to speed up his premiereProCC2015-work. He also does some AE work.

Are nVidia still far ahead of AMD in bang-fo-buck-for-premiere?

Anybody seen any comparisons between current nVidia and AMD cards in cMP?

 

[Asgorath]

OK thanks, so the procedure is_
1- Download the new drivers and install on 10.10.4
2- Update Yosemite 10.10.5

It's correct? Or not?

No, you need to update to 10.10.5 and then install the web driver for that OS. The 10.10.4 web driver will not work on 10.10.5 because it is locked to the earlier OS, and so it gets disabled and the stock Apple driver is used instead.

Attention Experts!
I need to upgrade my friend's cMP to speed up his premiereProCC2015-work. He also does some AE work.

Are nVidia still far ahead of AMD in bang-fo-buck-for-premiere?

Anybody seen any comparisons between current nVidia and AMD cards in cMP?

barefeats.com has good benchmarks, for example:

http://barefeats.com/gtx980ti.html

The major difference right now is that all the most recent NVIDIA cards like the 980 Ti or TITAN X pretty much work out-of-the-box (assuming you have the web drivers installed), but the latest AMD ones do not.

 

[Socket]

No, you need to update to 10.10.5 and then install the web driver for that OS. The 10.10.4 web driver will not work on 10.10.5 because it is locked to the earlier OS, and so it gets disabled and the stock Apple driver is used instead.

Thank you again!
Before installing 10.10.5 I must to set on "OSX Default Graphics Driver"? Or I can stay with Nvidia web driver setting?

 

[sseguin819]

Hello. I have a MacPro 1.1 running Lion. After reading much of this forum and other forums and sites, as well as consulting the FCP specs page for supported cards for Final Cut X, I still don't know which one to go for as an upgrade from the 7300GT.

The GTX 560 is well received on this forum for working out of box on Lion but it isn't supported by FCP. The Radeon 5770 seems to be hit and miss for getting it to work.

Ideally I like how Lion supports an idea out of the box so I can avoid flashing and the general uncertainty of it working or not.

Can I get your opinion on which card would work on FCP 10.0.8 and Lion on my MacPro 1.1. Ideally one that could work out of box, without flashing.

Other than 5770, my options seem quite limited according to Apple.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202239

Thanks for your help. I look forward to your advice.

 

[MacVidCards]

Thank you again!
Before installing 10.10.5 I must to set on "OSX Default Graphics Driver"? Or I can stay with Nvidia web driver setting?

Doesn't matter what you do with that. List of cards that worked for 10.7.5 on the day that 10.8 launched is same as the list today. Point is, unlike Windows OS X is locked to it's version as far as GPU & other drivers.

If you want a boot screen, fastest is 5870 in 10.7.5.

Not much faster then 5770 and no more RAM.

If you can live without boot screen, GTX480 is possible. Or, if you can mod two files you can run 10.10.5 on that little vixen. (And a much greater choice of GPUs)