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?
-The vega model is MSI 8gb - flashed from poland or around there.
- The monitor works with my windows only pc with rx580
-no error message just black screen
When connected with vga from adapter it is black screen with no recognition from windows or mac in the OS. The screen is black it knows its connected otherwise it would normally say no signal. I dont know if this because of the connnection it sends or not.
-The vega model is MSI 8gb - flashed from poland or around there.
- The monitor works with my windows only pc with rx580
-no error message just black screen
When connected with vga from adapter it is black screen with no recognition from windows or mac in the OS. The screen is black it knows its connected otherwise it would normally say no signal. I dont know if this because of the connnection it sends or not.
Does the monitor work with your Windows only PC with RX 580 using the same DisplayPort to VGA adapters?
Does the Vega 56 work in the PC?
Do you have a DisplayPort display to test?
Use Screen Sharing to see if the display is detected by macOS?
Use SwitchResX to view the timing info of the current resolution being sent to the VGA display (if it is detected as a display?)
Maybe there's a fix with Lilu + Whatevergreen.
Does the monitor work with your Windows only PC with RX 580 using the same DisplayPort to VGA adapters?
Does the Vega 56 work in the PC?
Do you have a DisplayPort display to test?
Use Screen Sharing to see if the display is detected by macOS?
Use SwitchResX to view the timing info of the current resolution being sent to the VGA display (if it is detected as a display?)
Maybe there's a fix with Lilu + Whatevergreen.
Does the monitor work with your Windows only PC with RX 580 using the same DisplayPort to VGA adapters?
Does the Vega 56 work in the PC?
Do you have a DisplayPort display to test?
Use Screen Sharing to see if the display is detected by macOS?
Use SwitchResX to view the timing info of the current resolution being sent to the VGA display (if it is detected as a display?)
Maybe there's a fix with Lilu + Whatevergreen.
-2nd Monitor only worked with vga as I used "dvi to vga" cable and worked for years and still does. I ran the 2nd monitor through Intel motherboard video out. So the RX580 did not touch that monitor (sorry for confusion)
**Moving on to my Mac Pro 5,1 originally I added the original Apple video card along side the Vega56 to run the vga 2nd monitor and it worked on windows PC only. However on Mac OS, I couldnt use the log in page as the 2nd monitor was now the main screen and nktbing would appear on said and monitor.
So at this point only Windows OS worked as I could log into windows because the log in screen appeared on the screen.
Another point was that I was unsuccessful in switching monitor priority as the old apple vid card always was default video in windows. I took out the apple video card and tried to just run straight out of the Vega56. To do that and to work with my VGA monitor I bought 2 different supposedly active DisplayPort to Vga adapters and did not work. At this point I am not doing something right, or both different adapters are shotty (you will find tons of reviews on this). These are the 2 possibilites I hope exist.
-Mac OS nor Windows 10 was able to recognize the 2nd display under both Displayport to VGA adapters that I purchased (see my earlier post for model)
-I ordered a display port cable and upgraded to a used monitor with display port. Hoping that works. However, as I am sure many choose to get a 5,1 for a more economic option so I am sure others might have this issue. Hope it gets solved. ?
I have offered to buy an AMD RX480 GPU, and I am wondering, if the AMD version of the card is the same as the sapphire version?
I wanted to put two of these in my mac pro 5,1, as they are narrow and can use standard power, although they are 15% slower than an RX580.
The card looks like this following pic, and it looks identical to a Sapphire branded version. Evidently if one has other cards, one can get a kernel panic. I would like two identical RX480s, but they seem hard to come by in decent condition.
Any advise would be appreciated. I tried to contact Snow Leopard who uses these cards but he may not have logged onto this site for some time.
Hi there, I hope I can get some advice, I can't find an answer that gives me enough confidence to move ahead with it.
I have a 2012 Mac Pro with a 5770 I am hoping to upgrade to a Sapphire RX580 8GB. But I'm confused about powering it because I also need to power a single Avid HDX card for Pro Tools.
The Avid card is powered by a mini 6 pin from the Mac Pro motherboard to its 4 pin port with its included cable.
That leaves one mini 6 pin port to power the RX580. Is that enough power if I use a mini 6 pin to 8 pin cable?
Thanks for any info.
No, the RX580 needs the two mini 6 pin‘s attached to the 8 pin.
Sounds like the Avid doesn’t use much power if it’s only a 4pin, you could probably power that from sata ports, but not sure how many.
Thanks Mark! I'll investigate power requirements for the Avid card. The Avid power cable actually has three 4 pin connectors on it so you can connect up to 3 Avid cards off the one cable, so yes it's probably not very much power.
Indeed, very helpful info! ? And the Avid card only uses power for its fan, from what I've now read elsewhere.
Possibly wrong info, but I've since found this mini 6 pin to 8 pin cable on Amazon.ca, and in the Q&A two people claim it works with GPUs that only have a single 8pin. Any thoughts on that? I guess maybe it's possible because the 1070 is only 150W and the RX580 is 185W?
Otherwise, I can't seem to find a micro 4 port (or whatever Avid uses) to SATA adapter. So this might be a dead end anyway. Or I could go with a less powerful card, but I need more than two video outputs.
Thanks. And just let me know if I'm spouting nonsense.
I'm at the stage where I need a better card, and was looking at possibly a GTX 1080 or 1070, and then noticed the WX7100 and WX4100 mentioned in this thread a few posts back.
I have a 5,1 with 2 x 3.46 processors, SSD, 96GB ram. I'm running two NEC PA243W screens off a GTX680 2GB card, mainly doing work with FCP or iMovie editing 4K movie clips. I'm finding the GTX680 to be struggling. Other than FCP, I use Photoshop (only lightly). Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I'm at the stage where I need a better card, and was looking at possibly a GTX 1080 or 1070, and then noticed the WX7100 and WX4100 mentioned in this thread a few posts back.
I have a 5,1 with 2 x 3.46 processors, SSD, 96GB ram. I'm running two NEC PA243W screens off a GTX680 2GB card, mainly doing work with FCP or iMovie editing 4K movie clips. I'm finding the GTX680 to be struggling. Other than FCP, I use Photoshop (only lightly). Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
That reply really wasn't what I wanted to hear! ;-)
Thanks for the advice though, and since you've been fantastic in replies to my previous threads over the years, I will look for an RX580. Is there anything better though in the AMD camp that'll give a boot screen, not pull crazy power, and be relatively quiet? I'm looking for the best I can find, given the criteria above.
That reply really wasn't what I wanted to hear! ;-)
Thanks for the advice though, and since you've been fantastic in replies to my previous threads over the years, I will look for an RX580. Is there anything better though in the AMD camp that'll give a boot screen, not pull crazy power, and be relatively quiet? I'm looking for the best I can find, given the criteria above.
I'd love one of those, but the price is a little high here in Japan. Thanks for the reply nonetheless.
Looking at RX580's on Amazon.jp, there seems to a massive difference in price between Sapphire, MSI, and others. Are all card the same, is there anything I need to know in order to make an educated purchase?
So, it seems I can get the Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB for reasonable money. I see it has an 8 pin power connector. On my current MSI TwinFrozr GTX680, I have a power cable that comes from two sockets on the computer board, to two 8 pin connectors on the GTX680 card connectors. Would I use this existing cable for the RX580? Also, would the RX580 need any flashing? I'm on boot ROM 144.0.0.0.0. with Mojave 10.14.6 (if this helps).
In case you'd like to purchase a Sapphire RX 580 Pulse (which is recommended) : note that there's a "Lite" version available you should not buy, since it's known for issues in the MP. The lite version is easy to recognize : it misses the DVI connector (only 2x DP and 2x HDMI).
I have a power cable that comes from two sockets on the computer board, to two 8 pin connectors on the GTX680 card connectors. Would I use this existing cable for the RX580?
Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin - Graphics Card Power Cord for Mac Pro 18AWG | Computers/Tablets & Networking, Computer Cables & Connectors, Power Cables & Connectors | eBay!
In case you'd like to purchase a Sapphire RX 580 Pulse (which is recommended) : note that there's a "Lite" version available you should not buy, since it's known for issues in the MP. The lite version is easy to recognize : it misses the DVI connector (only 2x DP and 2x HDMI).
No, you'll need a 2X mini 6pin to 1X 8 pin cable.
Like this one:
Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin - Graphics Card Power Cord for Mac Pro 18AWG | Computers/Tablets & Networking, Computer Cables & Connectors, Power Cables & Connectors | eBay!
Thank you for the advice. I've actually found a Sapphire Nitro+ RX580, which has a 6 pin and an 8 pin connector, which I think are the same as my GTX680 card is using at the mo. Is this one worth a shot?
Hello,
I have to be honest that's not going through all those threads that deal with making the cheese grater mac compatible with Mojave and beyond.
All I know that I need a better graphics card to support Metal.
Now, I have a 4.1 -> 5.1 flashed Mac Pro 2x 3.33 GHz with 64 GB RAM and updated it with the following GPU:
AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB
Performance: 120% RPI. ~ 20% faster than HD 7970, but has much more memory. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 8 pins or 8 pins + 6 pins. Most cards does't work if mac 6 pins cable is plugged in 8 pins socket, the converter 6 pins - 8 pins is needed. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port.
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + two DP + two HDMI.
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. There are much models with different frequencies. That card is recommended by Apple for Mojave (SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8 ГБ GDDR5).
Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box. Can be flashed by MVC.
What does works out of the box mean?
My MacPro boots as normal as before. But is HW-Acceleration supported directly (e.g. for blender or for 3d games) or do I have to install Open Core for that?
[For existing OpenCore users, you can always download my latest OpenCore package at post #1314 for update] Full HWAccel achieved now! Everything is covered in the OpenCore thread. The step by step tutorial to enable AMD hardware acceleration is now at here, but I strongly recommend you go...
Missed an obvious one (apologies if someone has already brought this up):
31.5 Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 Ti 6 GB Founders Edition (FE)
Performance: 140% RPI. Additional information is needed.
OS Compatibility: 10.10.5 - 10.13.6
Power consumption: 8 pins + 6 pins. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port. Possible scheme: 6
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + three DP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There was no "original" mac version card. macOS 10.10.5 - 10.13.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC.
I had one of these in my 4,1 for a while. Worked like a charm. Its spec'd power draw is 250W, and without additional power at high loads I could get it to shut the whole system down. Once I gave it more power it was fine and I never had any more problems. Performance is a conservative estimate -- I don't have any way to measure it now. I replaced it with a GTX 1080 FE and that was definitely faster (and drew less power)
Rightio gents Id like a few opinions as to where I go
I purchased a Mac Pro 4.1 which came with no HDD no ram stock 2,26 CPus and a Nvidia Geforce 285 video card in it
I have never seen the machine operate and I assume its working on original bios
I have acquired all the parts to max it out
3.33 Matched Pair
96Gb ram
Aqua Kryo Evo 2 + 1Tb Samsung Nvme
256Gb Samsung Evo 860 Sata SSD Boot
I ended up acquring some original 1066Mhz ram and a USB drive for OS booting
Now I have the machine turning on and fans working and I see the GPU fan spining also but nothing on either outputs of the GPU. I have black screen
So my question is can I test to make sure video card is working correctly or should I bite the bullet and get a RX580 now I did buy the 6x6x8 cable for it already. Just wanna get this thing working
Content:
1. Summary
2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP
3. GPU power consumption
4. Color compatibility
5. Flashing nuances
6. What to choose?
7. Useful links.
1. Summary
1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/ 2006-2012). They are very different in performance, power consumption, features.
1.2. There are:
"mac edition" GPUs (were officially made to work in cMP) which are fully compatible with cMP out of the box;
GPUs which are compatible with cMP out of the box with some nuances;
GPUs which can be easily flashed to be fully compatible with cMP;
GPUs which can be easily flashed to be compatible with cMP with some nuances;
GPUs which can be flashed by special hardware to be compatible with cMP;
GPUs which are not compatible with cMP at all.
1.3. What you may know to choose the right GPU:
most modern GPU are compatible with cMP, some of them - with nuances (for example - without Boot Screen);
AMD/ATI GPUs are better supported by modern macOS versions;
Nvidia GPUs are more power efficient;
several GPUs are compatible not with all cMP (for example - only with 1.1/2.1);
there are difficulties with powering GPUs (special cables, cable adapters, PSU mods);
as usual GPU performance in macOS is lower than in Windows;
original "mac edition" cards are much expensive than PC version. And in many cases the only difference is special firmware, which can be easily flashed to the PC version.
No GPU besides original Apple Mac Pro GPUs from 2008 to 2012 (HD 2600XT, 8800GT, Quadro FX 5600, GT120, HD 4870/5770/5870) or 3rd party Mac EFI cards like Sapphire HD 7950 Mac Edition, eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition, NVIDIA Quadro 4000/K5000 or self-flashed/MVC flashed cards have what are usually called boot screens - this is not the correct term and the correct denomination is pre-boot configuration support.
Mac Pro 1,1 to 5,1 supports UGA and a GPU that has UGA pre-boot configuration support has:
Single user support,
Verbose boot,
Startup Manager, the new name for the BootPicker/BootSelector,
FileVault support (for macOS versions before Mojave),
EFI shell support,
GPU OK backplane diagnostic with Apple OEM GPUs,
AHT and ASD support.
Any card that has native macOS drivers has Recovery support, no one has Internet Recovery - only Mac Pro late-2013 has Internet Recovery (MP6,1 has GOP pre-boot configuration support).
Nvidia cards that need web drivers don't have any pre-boot configuration support, Recovery support or createinstallmedia USB installer support.
AMD cards that have native macOS drivers don't have pre-boot configuration support but have Recovery and createinstallmedia USB installer support and work after the drivers are loaded by Recovery or USB installer.
2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP
The GPUs are placed due to their RPI performance - lower number means slower GPU.
The Relative Performance Index/Info - RPI - shows the difference between an average card performance and the performance of ATI Radeon HD 7970 = 100%. For example, 50% means that the card is two times slower than ATI Radeon HD 7970 (100%/2=50%).
The measures are based on average performance in mix typical apps in macOS and Windows: use information of barefeats.com, gpu.userbenchmark.com and the author own experience.
If the card is much stronger / weaker in special app - it is worth to note.
PS:
1. It’s a very hard and funny challenge to compare cards from different worlds: Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 256 Mb and AMD Radeon VEGA 64 8 Gb. If the RPI is 4+ times different, it doesn't mean that an app works 4x faster on the newer card. Highly likely:
NEW apps can’t work on the older card at all (different API, memory amount and so on);
OLD apps can’t use all newer card benefits.
2. cMP are very different. Example: one has 4 Clowertown cores at 2 GHz and runs 10.4.x, the other - 12 Westmere cores at 3,46 GHz and runs 10.14.x. It also affected the RPI measurement accuracy.
1. Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 256 Mb
Performance: 8% RPI.The slowest card.
Power consumption: from PCIE slot only. Has passive cooling system, very hot.
Other: 32 bit EFI only, occupies 2 slots. There is 4890 version with higher frequencies. There is "mac edition" of cards.
Unflashed (PC version): doesn't work; can be flashed.
10. ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 Gb
Performance: 58% RPI.
Power consumption: 6 pins.
Outs: DL-DVI + two mDP.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There is "mac edition" of cards.
Unflashed (PC version): doesn't work; can be flashed.
11. AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB
Performance: 68% RPI.
Power consumption: from PCIE slot only.
Outs: DL-DVI-D + DP + HDMI (analog output is not possible with passive adapters).
Other: reference model occupies 2 slots. There was no "original" mac version card. There are a lot of different variants of the card: different frequencies, amount of memory, cooling system, power requirements (there are cards with 6 pins connector).
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen. The card can be flashed with RX 560 firmware to support Metal 2.
12. ATI Radeon HD 5870 1 Gb
Performance: 69% RPI.The chip's characteristics look like to have 2x power of HD 5770, but in ordinary use is only ~ 20% faster.
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: DL-DVI + two mDP.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There is "mac edition" of cards.
Unflashed (PC version): doesn't work; can be flashed.
13. ATI Radeon HD 6870 1 Gb
Performance: 72% RPI.
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: two DL-DVI + two mDP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There is no "mac edition" of the card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed with some issues (Boot Screen only on one DL-DVI).
Unflashed (PC version): additional information is needed.
14. Nvidia Quadro 4000 2 Gb
Performance: 71% RPI. Has PRO positioning.
Power consumption: 6 pins.
Outs: DL-DVI + two mDP.
Other: occupies 1 slot. There is "mac edition" of cards.
Unflashed (PC version): additional information is needed.
15. AMD Radeon RX 560 4 Gb
Performance: 71% RPI.Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: from PCIE slot only.
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + DP + HDMI.
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. There are much models with different frequencies. That card is recommended by Apple for Mojave (MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-бит 4 ГБ GDRR5).
Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box (version with 128 bit 4 Gb memory).
16. Radeon HD 7850 / 7870 / 270 / 270x
Performance: 72% RPI (61%-82% for different versions).Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: as usual two DL-DVI + DP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There are o lot versions of these card, the differences are in cooling system, frequencies. There is no "mac edition" of the card.
Unflashed (PC version): additional information is needed.Can be flashed using HD 7950 ROM, but loose HDMI support.Several cards can't work in Mojave (black screen).
17. Nvidia Quadro K4200 4 Gb
Performance: 73% RPI.Has PRO positioning. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 6 pins.
Outs: DL-DVI + two DP.
Other: occupies 1 slot. There is no "mac edition" of the card.
Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box without the BootScreen.
18. Nvidia Quadro K5000 4 Gb
Performance: 75% RPI.Has PRO positioning. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 6 pins.
Outs: two DL-DVI + two DP.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There is "mac edition" of cards.
Unflashed (PC version): additional information is needed.
19. ATI Radeon HD 7950 3 Gb
Performance: 86% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: DL-DVI + two mDP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There is "mac edition" of cards with DUAL BIOS (mac / PC).
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen, can be flashed.
20. Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 2 Gb
Performance: 91% RPI. A very good card for power / price / performance ratio. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
OS Compatibility: 10.8.3+
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: original card has two DL-DVI + DP + HDMI.
Other: as usual occupies 2 slots, but there are models that occupy 2+ slots. There is "mac edition" of cards. There are card with different cooling system.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen, can be flashed.
21. Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 4 Gb
Performance: 95% RPI. A bit faster than GTX 680 2 Gb due to higher frequencies and more memory. Support Metal 2 (Mojave).
OS Compatibility: 10.8.3+
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins or 6 pins + 8 pins.
Outs: original card has two DL-DVI + DP + HDMI.
Other: as usual occupies 2 slots, but there are models that occupy 2+ slots. There are card with different cooling system.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen, can be flashed.
22. AMD Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X 3 Gb
Performance: 100% RPI. A very good card for power / price / performance ratio. ~ 10% faster than GTX 680 2 Gb, has more memory. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 6 pins + 8 pins. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port. Possible scheme: 6 pins -> 8 pins and 6 pins + SATA -> 8 pins via dual 6 pins to 8 pins adapter).
Outs: as usual card has DL-DVI + two mDP + HDMI.
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: as usual occupies 2 slots. There are Gigabyte and Sapphire versions that have two slots brackets but don't block the nearest PCIE slot. There are cards with dual BIOS (mac / PC). There are cards with different cooling system. There is an overclocked version AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHZ which is ~ 7% faster.
Unflashed (PC version): additional information is needed, can be flashed.
23. Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 4 GB
Performance: 104% RPI.
Metal Compatibility: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v4.
OS Compatibility: 10.10.5 - 10.13.6
Power consumption: 6 pins + 6 pins.
Outs: Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2.
Other: can be flashed only by MVC, occupies 2 slots (standard). There was no "original" mac version card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC.
24. Nvidia Geforce GTX 780 3 GB / 6GB
Performance: 110% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Metal Compatibility: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v4.
OS Compatibility: 10.8.3+ for the 3GB and 10.9.5+ for the 6GB version.
Power consumption: 6 pins + 8 pins.
Outs: DVI-I + DVI-D + DP + HDMI
Other: can be flashed only by MVC, occupies 2 slots (standard). There was no "original" mac version card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC which adds boot screen support from all ports on non-4K monitors. 6 GB version recommended for multi-4K displays.
25. Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan 6GB
Performance: 115% RPI. Has 384 more CUDA cores/shaders than GTX 780.
Metal Compatibility: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v4
OS Compatibility: 10.9.5+
Power consumption: 6 pins + 8 pins.
Outs: DVI-I + DVI-D + DP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots (standard). There was no "original" mac version card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC (NOT X editions).
26. AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB
Performance: 115% RPI.
Power consumption: 6 pins or 8 pins.
Outs: three DP + HDMI (no DVI, analog output is not possible with passive adapters).
Other: reference model occupies 2 slots. There was no "original" mac version card. There are a lot of different variants of the card: different frequencies, amount of memory, cooling system, power connectors.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen. The card can be flashed with RX 580 firmware to support Metal 2.
27. Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan Black 6GB
Performance: 117% RPI. Has 576 more CUDA cores/shaders and faster memory than GTX 780.
Metal Compatibility: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v4
OS Compatibility: 10.9.5+
Power consumption: 6 pins + 8 pins.
Outs: DVI-I + DVI-D + DP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots (standard). There was no "original" mac version card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC (NOT X editions).
28. Nvidia Geforce GTX 780 Ti 3 GB
Performance: 120% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Metal Compatibility: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v4.
OS Compatibility: 10.8.3+.
Power consumption: 6 pins + 8 pins.
Outs: DVI-I + DVI-D + DP + HDMI
Other: occupies 2 slots (standard). There was no "original" mac version card.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC.
29. AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB
Performance: 120% RPI. ~ 20% faster than HD 7970, but has much more memory. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 8 pins or 8 pins + 6 pins. Most cards does't work if mac 6 pins cable is plugged in 8 pins socket, the converter 6 pins - 8 pins is needed. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port.
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + two DP + two HDMI.
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. There are much models with different frequencies. That card is recommended by Apple for Mojave (SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8 ГБ GDDR5).
Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box. Can be flashed by MVC.
30. AMD Radeon RX 590 8 GB
Performance: 130% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 8 pins or 8 pins + 6 pins. Most cards does't work if mac 6 pins cable is plugged in 8 pins socket, the converter 6 pins - 8 pins is needed. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port.
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + two DP + two HDMI.
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. There are much models with different frequencies. macOS fully supports the card from 10.14.6.
Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box.
31. Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 4 GB
Performance: 120% RPI.Additional information is needed.
OS Compatibility: 10.10.5 - 10.13.6
Power consumption: 2 x 6 pins.
Outs: as usual has DL-DVI + three DP + HDMI.
Other: occupies 2 slots. There was no "original" mac version card. macOS 10.5 - 10.13.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. NVIDIA chipset - Pascal. NVIDIA CUDA cores - 2560. User guide.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC.
36. AMD Radeon VEGA 64 8 GB
Performance: 260% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 8 pins + 8 pins. Additional power is required (PIXLAS mod; dual mac 6 pins to 8 pins adapter).
Outs: as usual has three DP + HDMI (no DVI, analog output is not possible with passive adapters).
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. Many models have problem with fan speed - flashing is needed. There is a model with Liquid Cooling, a model with higher frequencies and 16 Gb.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen.
37. AMD Radeon VII 16 GB
Performance: 290% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).
Power consumption: 8 pins + 8 pins. Additional power is required (PIXLAS mod; dual mac 6 pins to 8 pins adapter).
Outs: three DP + HDMI (no DVI, analog output is not possible with passive adapters).
Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2. macOS 10.14.5+.
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen.
38. Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Founders Edition (FE)
Performance: 300% RPI.
Power consumption: 8 pins + 6 pins. Additional power is recommended, as minimum - from SATA port. Possible scheme: 6 pins -> 8 pins and 6 pins + SATA -> 8 pins via dual 6 pins to 8 pins adapter).
Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. NVIDIA chipset - Pascal. NVIDIA CUDA cores - 3584.
Unflashed (PC version): works without Boot Screen; can be flashed only by MVC.
3. GPU power consumption
3.1. The GPU must be properly powered to work correctly.
The symptoms of power deficiency:
the card doesn't start at all (but the decorative LEDs may flash);
the cMP shuts down during high load on GPU;
the card makes strange noise (the power elements on PCB are "whistling").
3.2. By default cMP can power GPU with PCIE slot(75W) + two MicroFit 6 pins connectors, which are placed on the motherboard. There is no official information on how much power these connectors can provide.
3.3. MicroFit 6 pins connectors are unstandard - they are differ from ordinary PCIE 6 pins connectors. By default PCIE 6 pins connector has only two +12V lines and bigger pins; cMP's MicroFit 6 pins connector has three +12V lines and smaller pins.
There are two points of view
cMP's MicroFit 6 pins connector must be used as ordinary PCIE 6 pins connector - each of them can provide up to 75W. So, by default, cMP can provide to GPU 225W (PCIE slot 75W + 2x75W from dual MicroFit 6 pins connectors). This power consumption is 100% safe for cMP;
cMP's MicroFit 6 pins connector can be used as ordinary PCIE 8 pins connector - can provide more power, up to 150W (see the spoiler below). So, by default, cMP can provide to GPU 375W (PCIE slot 75W + 2x150W from dual MicroFit 6 pins connectors). Theoretically this power consumption can damage cMP.
NB: cMP has a protection from the overload of MicroFit 6 pins connectors. The system simply shuts down when it is overload.
1. The reason people say the mini six pins are designed to provide 75W is because they're falsely equating it to a standard 6 pin PCIE cable. Apple never said that, it's not documented anywhere what the actual rated power is, and per VESA standard any unspecified PCIE connection should provide 40w per powered cable, hence the 120W per mini six pin, and this has been empirically proven by dozens of people, including myself...One last note, no one has ever provided even the slightest shred of evidence that you can damage the traces on the backplane based on GPU choice, and it doesn't even make sense. A power connection cannot provide more than it's max, you can't make it supply more than 120W, thats what causes the shutdowns, if something needs more than 120W.
Links: one, two
2. The author tried to power VEGA 56 with two MicroFit 6 pins connectors only (with adapters to 8 pins) - the system shuted down due to overload of power lines.
3.4. The GPU's TDP and power possibility of PCIE connectors are "approximate" values. Nvidia's TDP is not equal to AMD/ATI's TDP. The GPU can run out of TDP limits for a while during high load.
3.5. Cards use connectors of 2 types: 6 pins and 8 pins. 6 pins connector is called "PCIE 6 pins" and can provide up to 75W. 8 pins - "PCIE 8 pins" and up to 150 watts.
cMP's motherboards has non standard sockets - Micro-Fit 6 pins.
3.6. Some cards can't use all the power provided with the PCIE slot. For example AMD Radeon VEGA cards take less than 30W from the PCIE.
3.7. Mechanically standard PCIE 6 pins plug can be inserted in PCIE 8 pins socket. But some cards check what type of cable they are powered by, they don't start with 6 pins plug in 8 pins socket. For example: ATI Radeon VEGA series make the check; most ATI Radeon HD 7000 - don't.
If you gonna power 8 pins socket on GPU correctly, you may:
use one cable "dual MicroFit 6 pins -> PCIE 8 pins";
use two cables "MicroFit 6 pins -> PCIE 6 pins" plus a converter "dual PCIE 6 pins -> PCIE 6 pins".
3.8. Not all cables and adapters give the same profit. Strange "dual MicroFit 6 pins -> PCIE 8 pins" adapters were found. Each MicroFit 6 pins socket on the motherboard has three +12V lines = six lines in summary. PCIE 8 pins plug has three +12V lines. But those strange adapters don't use all available lines to power the plug - only 3 or 4 lines are connected to the plug.
3.9. Need more power for GPU? There are four ways! 3.9.1. Additional line from SATA port in DVD bay. It can provide 30-50W. This way is suitable for ATI Radeon HD 7970, overclocked Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 and other GPUs that need "some more power". 3.9.2. PIXLAS (or PIXLA's) mod. It can provide 150W+ (there are comments that somebody makes two additional PCIE 8 pins connectors, and on high load achieved ~ 300W of additional power). Note: cMP power supply is rated to 980W, so we can get additional power from it. 3.9.3. Connect additional PCIE 8 pins line(s) directly to power supply PCB. 3.9.4. And using of additional power supply - external or in DVD bay - is possible too.
4. Color compatibility
4.1. Color depth in macOS:
all Geforce GPUs - 8 bit color;
AMD/ATI GPUs - 10 bit color support from HD 7000 series.
4.2. HDR support in macOS:
all Nvidia GPUs - no native HDR support, only 8 bit dithered HDR in modern GPUs;
AMD/ATI GPUs - native HDR support from RX 500 series.
5. Flashing nuances
5.1. Choosing the right PC GPU to be flashed. The card must be maximum identical to “mac edition” or reference one which is recommended by Apple. Look at:
outputs;
amount of memory;
cooling system;
PCB design;
power connectors.
5.2. Some flashed GPU can show the BootScreen only on certain outputs (as usual - on DVI-I).
5.3. Backup original PC firmware.
5.4. Choose the capable firmware - 32/64 bits (important for old GPUs).
6. What to choose?
6.1. For MacPro 1.1 - 2.1: Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280x if using 10.8 or greater, Radeon HD 5770 or Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT otherwise.
Note: these cMP have 32 bit EFI and don’t show the Boot Screen on modern GPU with 64 bit EFI.
6.2. For MacPro 3.1: Nvidia Geforce GTX 680.
Note: that cMP doesn’t support SSE4.2 which is used in AMD/ATI modern GPU drivers.
6.3. For MacPro 4.1 - 5.1
The best price/performance/troubles ratio cards with Boot Screen:
for GUI and 2D - ATI Radeon 5770,
for 3D - Nvidia GTX 680, ATI Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280x.
The best price/performance/troubles ratio cards with Metal 2 (Mojave) support:
for GUI and 2D - ATI Radeon RX 560,
for 3D - ATI Radeon VEGA 56.
7. Useful links
7.1. cMP modern GPU compability list in the table form.
7.2. Apple's recomendation of GPU for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
I am now considering upgrading this GPU with an RX 580 which is what I think will keep an aceptable power draw without pushing the cMP too much during video editing.
(a flashed Zotac running on Mountain Lion (FCP7 and some Logic mastering), High Sierra and Mojave (DaVinci Resolve & Logic), after the 144 Boot ROM update)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 4096 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x1184
Revision ID: 0x00a2
ROM Revision: phx3.systems
Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v3
Displays:
PA272W:
Resolution: 2560 x 1440 (QHD/WQHD - Wide Quad High Definition)
UI Looks like: 2560 x 1440 @ 30 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 24-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Display Serial Number: 46106424TW
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
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