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TomMuc

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2019
43
27
Munich, Bavaria
2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP

one card that you missed - and in my opinion has the best power/performance ratio is the amd radeon pro wx7100.

and moreover not only the max 130 watt power consumption is great but also the way the card extremly equally splits it between pci slot and 6-pin connector. and here are most of the consumer cards awful and overload one channel a lot risking to meltdown the mainboard.


 

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TomMuc

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2019
43
27
Munich, Bavaria
we ran it with 10.13.6 and now on 10.14.6. maybe 10.12.6 also works. el capitan and earlier mac os do not work.
and of course win7 and win10 work both.
 

kohlson

macrumors 68020
Apr 23, 2010
2,425
737
this card?
If by "this" you mean RX580, I have installed it in a 2012 dual CPU running 10.12.6. It works, but it is not fully optimized. And it does not report as an RX580. But it works. Things get better through 10.14.6. The 144 firmware is recommended, as on your way there the PCIe performance is improved.
 

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
771
121
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks for pointing this out Tom.

I'm looking at the WX5100 as replacement for my Quadro M4000 in order to be able to install Mojave on my 3,1. I want a single-slot, low power-draw GPU. Any idea if the 5100 would work too?

Cheers
Philip



one card that you missed - and in my opinion has the best power/performance ratio is the amd radeon pro wx7100.

and moreover not only the max 130 watt power consumption is great but also the way the card extremly equally splits it between pci slot and 6-pin connector. and here are most of the consumer cards awful and overload one channel a lot risking to meltdown the mainboard.


 

TomMuc

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2019
43
27
Munich, Bavaria
Thanks for pointing this out Tom.

I'm looking at the WX5100 as replacement for my Quadro M4000 in order to be able to install Mojave on my 3,1. I want a single-slot, low power-draw GPU. Any idea if the 5100 would work too?

Cheers
Philip

hi philip,

we only have the 7100 models but what i have heard from amd pro-support all wx models should work perfectly in mac os 10.13+ and win7/win10 as they use the exact same drivers that are in addition fully certified for cad (eg solidworks etc).

for us it‘s too late but you should also consider the wx4100: tdp 50w / cinebench4 compute 70.000 / cad settings up to 10 times faster than a 580 consumer card. the 4100 seems to be the best bang for the buck. you just have to go for one with a standard slot plate cause there is a version with half size for compact workstations.

cheers
tom

 
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pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
771
121
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hi Tom and thanks for the quick reply. That sounds great. I just noticed that Greg Gant lists these cards too.

I hadn't considered the WX 4100. That does seem like a great card, thanks for suggesting it and linking to that video.

Best
Philip

hi philip,

we only have the 7100 models but what i have heard from amd pro-support all wx models should work perfectly in mac os 10.13+ and win7/win10 as they use the exact same drivers that are in addition fully certified for cad (eg solidworks etc).

for us it‘s too late but you should also consider the wx4100: tdp 50w / cinebench4 compute 70.000 / cad settings up to 10 times faster than a 580 consumer card. the 4100 seems to be the best bang for the buck. you just have to go for one with a standard slot plate cause there is a version with half size for compact workstations.

cheers
tom

 
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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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12,866
Stick with Apple recommend list of GPUs, all of them will work with the backplane power connections. No need to mod anything. Learn about graphics cards supported in macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012):

  • MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5
  • SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
A Sapphire Pulse RX 580 will just need a dual mini-PCIe 6-pin to 8-pin cable. MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 will need just one 6-pin connection, AERO ITX 4G OC don't even need additional power,
but it's a very weak card for FCPx.

Some RX 580 made for overclockers (like Sapphire Nitro+ RX 580) or cards made specifically for Dell workstations use (Dell RX 480 and RX 580) won't work, but most others will be fine with a MP5,1.

You can boot 10.11.6 with 144.0.0.0.0 no problem, but almost all, if not all, modern GPUs won't work with it anymore and you will have to replace the GPU every time.

You can't mix NVIDIA and AMD GPUs with Mojave, if you thought of that, btw.
I can't seem to find that MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5 on MSI's website. Is it just going by another name?

Besides the low profile card, they list the Radeon RX 560 Aero ITX 4G OC and the Radeon RX 560 Aero ITX 4G OCV2.


Are either of these that Apple-recommended video card? The Aero ITX 4G OC is the one that shows up when I search for MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5. The port layouts of the OC and OCV2 are different.

OC:

1024.png


OCV2:

1024.png
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,454
13,601
I can't seem to find that MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5 on MSI's website. Is it just going by another name?

Besides the low profile card, they list the Radeon RX 560 Aero ITX 4G OC and the Radeon RX 560 Aero ITX 4G OCV2.


Are either of these that Apple-recommended video card? The Aero ITX 4G OC is the one that shows up when I search for MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5. The port layouts of the OC and OCV2 are different.

OC:

1024.png


OCV2:

1024.png
MSI had several models of RX-560 cards, all seem to work fine with macOS. It's the four output ports that are the equivalent to the Apple frame buffer personality.

The point is, forget RX-560, it's been more than a year that AMD EOL the line and today the cards when found NOS are stupidly expensive. From Polaris Islands GPU generation that work with macOS, only RX-580 is easily found brand new nowadays.
 
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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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12,866
MSI had several models of RX-560 cards, all seem to work fine with macOS. It's the four output ports that are the equivalent to the Apple frame buffer personality.

The point is, forget RX-560, it's been more than a year that AMD EOL the line and today the cards when found NOS are stupidly expensive. From Polaris Islands GPU generation that work with macOS, only RX-580 is easily found brand new nowadays.
Thanks. One reason I was considering the RX 560 was just because someone was selling a used MSI one locally for not too much money. However, I'll hold off for now, until I actually have a MP5,1 to use it in. Right now my two Mac Pros are a flashed and upgraded 1,1 and a true 2,1 (the one with the B08 firmware).
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,897
12,866
I recently picked up a 30" Cinema HD Display for cheap. It's a power sucking beast, but nonetheless I like it a lot. ?

I have a Mac Radeon HD 5770 in a MacPro2,1 running 10.11 El Capitan, and it works great with this display over dual-link DVI at its native 2560x1600. Works fine in Windows 10 too. However, I can't get the Radeon's mini-DisplayPort to work with it at all.

I have confirmed the mini-DP ports on that card do actually work at 2560x1440 with my 2010 iMac in Target Display Mode, using a mini-DP cable. However, when I tried Apple's active mini-DP to dual-link DVI adapter I get nothing on the Cinema Display. Here is Apple's active adapter:


That same adapter (which is massive BTW) works perfectly with both my 2009 13" MacBookPro5,5 as well as with my 2017 MacBook10,1, the latter through a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter.

Is there something about the Radeon HD 5770's mini-DP ports I'm missing here? I had thought these ports support 2560x1600 at 60 Hz with the proper active adapter.
 
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joevt

macrumors 604
Jun 21, 2012
6,964
4,259
I recently picked up a 30" Cinema HD Display for cheap. It's a power sucking beast, but nonetheless I like it a lot. ?

I have a Mac Radeon HD 5770 in a MacPro2,1 running 10.11 El Capitan, and it works great with this display over dual-link DVI at its native 2560x1600. Works fine in Windows 10 too. However, I can't get the Radeon's mini-DisplayPort to work with it at all.

I have confirmed the mini-DP ports on that card do actually work at 2560x1440 with my 2010 iMac in Target Display Mode, using a mini-DP cable. However, when I tried Apple's active mini-DP to dual-link DVI adapter I get nothing on the Cinema Display. Here is Apple's active adapter:


That same adapter (which is massive BTW) works perfectly with both my 2009 13" MacBookPro5,5 as well as with my 2017 MacBook5,1, the latter through a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter.

Is there something about the Radeon HD 5770's mini-DP ports I'm missing here? I had thought these ports support 2560x1600 at 60 Hz with the proper active adapter.
You say the mini-DP of the 5770 in a MacPro2,1 works but not with the dual-link DVI adapter.

Did you compare the two timing settings shown by SwitchResX of the Apple 30" Cinema Display at 2560x1600 connected to:
a) the dual-link DVI of the 5770
b) the dual-link DVI adapter connected to the mini-DP of the 5770

Did you try the 1280x800 timing?

1280x800@59.910Hz 49.306kHz 71.00MHz h(48 32 80 +) v(3 6 14 -)
2560x1600@59.860Hz 98.529kHz 268.00MHz h(48 32 80 +) v(3 6 37 -)

You may need to use screen sharing in case the screen goes black while you do your testing.
 
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jaksemasch

macrumors member
Aug 29, 2020
61
2
Hi,

What does it mean if a GPU can only be flashed by MVC. What is MVC doing that others cannot?

I flashed a GTX 680 some years ago so it works with the Mac Pro EFI and shows a preboot screen. I vaguely recall that more modern GPU's cannot be flashed because there needs to be some chip replacement. What is the real story here. I suppose only those GPUS can be flashed that have Mac counterparts.

Anyway, I have a MSI GTX 1080 Gaming 8 GB. I would like to have a preboot screen and apparently rEFind GOP or + or OpenCore can use GOP to work around the preboot issues. I haven't had any luck with the GTX 1080 so far. The problem according to the debug log is that no compatible GOP can be found.

I see there are somewhat newer BIOS versions available from Techpowerup, for what looks like the same card. I thought I would give it a try. Has anyone succeded to get a GOP preboot screen with a GTX 1080?

Can you use nvflash to dump and nvflash -6 to upgrade the firmware like on other NVIDIA cards?

Thanks.
 

jaksemasch

macrumors member
Aug 29, 2020
61
2
I updated the firmware using nvflash as usual. Didn't fix the GOP problem though. Since it's the same board ID, I did not need to specify -6.
 

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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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You say the mini-DP of the 5770 in a MacPro2,1 works but not with the dual-link DVI adapter.

Did you compare the two timing settings shown by SwitchResX of the Apple 30" Cinema Display at 2560x1600 connected to:
a) the dual-link DVI of the 5770
b) the dual-link DVI adapter connected to the mini-DP of the 5770

Did you try the 1280x800 timing?

1280x800@59.910Hz 49.306kHz 71.00MHz h(48 32 80 +) v(3 6 14 -)
2560x1600@59.860Hz 98.529kHz 268.00MHz h(48 32 80 +) v(3 6 37 -)

You may need to use screen sharing in case the screen goes black while you do your testing.
No I had not done any timing comparisons, as I don't have SwitchResX installed, and I don't know what the 1280x800 timing means either. I wasn't expecting to have to do any manual adjustments, since all three products are OEM Mac products: Apple 30" Cinema Display, Mac Radeon HD 5770, and Apple mini-DisplayPort to dual-link DVI active adapter.

BTW, I also tried my 2017 iMac Mojave via a USB-C to mini-DP adapter, connected to that Apple mini-DP to DL-DVI active adapter, and it works fine too. It's only the Radeon HD 5770 mini-DP that doesn't work with this 30" Cinema Display.

Three monitors.jpg


I guess Apple doesn't expect two external monitors to be attached to an iMac in Mojave, because it cuts off the second external monitor in the displays information window:

Screen Shot 2020-08-31 at 9.38.03 PM.png
 
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joevt

macrumors 604
Jun 21, 2012
6,964
4,259
No I had not done any timing comparisons, as I don't have SwitchResX installed, and I don't know what the 1280x800 timing means either. I wasn't expecting to have to do any manual adjustments, since all three products are OEM Mac products: Apple 30" Cinema Display, Mac Radeon HD 5770, and Apple mini-DisplayPort to dual-link DVI active adapter.
You can use SwitchResX for free. Some features are limited but it should be enough to check the timings or add a custom timing.

The Apple 30" Cinema Display supports a single link DVI timing of 1280x800. My suggestion is to test that timing (make sure it exists using SwitchResX - add it manually if it does not).

When you connect the Apple 30" Cinema Display, is it detected by the Radeon HD 5770 and macOS - but outputs as blank? In other words, if screen sharing is enabled, does the display appear as working and connected but just outputs black?

I guess Apple doesn't expect two external monitors to be attached to an iMac in Mojave, because it cuts off the second external monitor in the displays information window:
In Catalina, there's an ugly horizontal scroll bar that appears when there's 3 or more displays connected.
 
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EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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You can use SwitchResX for free. Some features are limited but it should be enough to check the timings or add a custom timing.

The Apple 30" Cinema Display supports a single link DVI timing of 1280x800. My suggestion is to test that timing (make sure it exists using SwitchResX - add it manually if it does not).

When you connect the Apple 30" Cinema Display, is it detected by the Radeon HD 5770 and macOS - but outputs as blank? In other words, if screen sharing is enabled, does the display appear as working and connected but just outputs black?
Problem solved! Working via mini-DP at full 2560x1600. Thanks for all the help, but I didn't need to install SwitchRes. There were a few factors at play that confused me:

1. One of my two mini-DisplayPort ports on the video card is a bit loose. If it gets nudged, it loses the connection. Or if it is not perfectly plugged in, the screen won't get detected and I get nothing. Damn.

2. You have to be sure the USB cables are attached, in the right orientation. One USB cable goes from the monitor to the active adapter, and then the USB cable from the active adapter must be attached to the computer. I knew that, but below is the other main factor that screwed me up:

3. Even if the USB cables are properly attached, they have to be attached in the right sequence or it may not work. To ensure it works, every time you swap ports, it's best to remove the USB cable and re-insert it. If you don't, the display will not be detected. So for example, let's say I had it very briefly working in mini-DP port 1 but didn't notice it because it went off after I nudged it. If I then move the adapter to mini-DP port 2 but leave the USB plugged in, I get nothing at all. It's a black screen and it's not even detected. However, if I then unplug the USB and the plug it back in again, then it is detected.

BTW, I bought a Cable Matters mini-DP to dual-link DVI active adapter as well. I was skeptical of this so-called active adapter since it does not use external power and was less than US$15. While some people seem to have had some luck with it, it was a complete failure for me. It worked neither from my 2017 MacBook with USB-C to mini-DP dongle, nor from my 2009 MacBook Pro with built-in mini-DP port.
 

fedism

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2012
10
1
Hello all, here is my setup.
Mac Pro 5,1 - Efi Flashed Vega 56 - 34inch ultra wide 2k via hdmi - 19 inch vga 2nd monitor.

Just purchased 2 different supposed "active" display port to vga adapters and now going on my third which will be the amazon basics adapter.

First item:

Monoprice DisplayPort 1.2a to VGA Active Adapter, Black (112790)

  1. Monoprice DisplayPort 1.2a to VGA Active Adapter, Black (112790)
2nd item:
BENFEI DisplayPort to VGA, Gold-Plated DP to VGA Adapter (Male to Female) Compatible for Lenovo, Dell, HP, ASUS
SmartSelect_20200904-151509_Amazon Shopping.jpg


Hopefully the third one will work out as I undersrand its common some are not active regardless of claims.

Or...... am I doing this wrong? Perhaps there is a recommendation for a good adapter? The second monitor wont work with either mac os or win 10 on my cmp.
 
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MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
3,693
2,096
UK
I havn’t connected a vga monitor for at least 15 years.
Even my G5 Powermac doesn’t have vga...... ?
 
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joevt

macrumors 604
Jun 21, 2012
6,964
4,259
Hello all, here is my setup.
Mac Pro 5,1 - Efi Flashed Vega 56 - 34inch ultra wide 2k via hdmi - 19 inch vga 2nd monitor.

Just purchased 2 different supposed "active" display port to vga adapters and now going on my third which will be the amazon basics adapter.

First item:

Monoprice DisplayPort 1.2a to VGA Active Adapter, Black (112790)

2nd item:
BENFEI DisplayPort to VGA, Gold-Plated DP to VGA Adapter (Male to Female) Compatible for Lenovo, Dell, HP, ASUS


Hopefully the third one will work out as I undersrand its common some are not active regardless of claims.

Or...... am I doing this wrong? Perhaps there is a recommendation for a good adapter? The second monitor wont work with either mac os or win 10 on my cmp.
Don't you have a DisplayPort monitor to test?

What's wrong with those adapters? Are you not getting a picture on the second monitor? Does the second monitor show an error message on the screen? Does the second monitor work when connected to something else?

What model Vega 56 do you have?
 
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