Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MP 1,1-5,1 GPU for Mac Pro 3,1 with Mojave support, cheap price? (Metal)
- Thread starter christiann
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Only one choice - GeForce GTX 680, which you can flash. See the specific threads for the best variants to choose.
Hi everyone, I found this:
A Nvidia 680. If I bought it and flashed it with the Mac Edition 680 FirmWare, would it work with full graphics acceleration and EFI boot screen?
ManLi Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 2GB GDDR 5 256bit 2 xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E Cuda (#4487) | eBay
Marke: Manli. HP 657106-001 649668-001 VIDIA GEFORCE GT530 1GB Grafikkarte HDMI DVI (#2609). Fujitsu Nvidia GT420 Grafikkarte PCIe 1GB DP DVI VGA S26361-D2422-V422 (#1106). Speicherart: GDDR5. Speichertyp: GDDR5.
www.ebay.com
A Nvidia 680. If I bought it and flashed it with the Mac Edition 680 FirmWare, would it work with full graphics acceleration and EFI boot screen?
By the way, these and a 680 are the ONLY options for a Metal GPU for Mac Pro 3.1? Thanks
Actually, there is no need to flash cards any more these days.
If you implement THIS, you will get a pre boot configuration screen, AKA "boot screen", with virtually any card produced in at least the last six years ... certainly with a GTX 680. The boot screen will not be the native Mac version but equivalent.
if you are running Mojave and newer, the RX580 is the poster child GPU.
Conventional wisdom is to use the Sapphire Pulse version.
The XFX version, which I use, is not recommended although mine works very well.
GTX680 is well regarded since it is possible to flash it for native bootscreen but as said, that was a major consideration before developments over the last year or so that have made boot screen widely available and has made flashing cards redundant.
If you implement THIS, you will get a pre boot configuration screen, AKA "boot screen", with virtually any card produced in at least the last six years ... certainly with a GTX 680. The boot screen will not be the native Mac version but equivalent.
if you are running Mojave and newer, the RX580 is the poster child GPU.
Conventional wisdom is to use the Sapphire Pulse version.
The XFX version, which I use, is not recommended although mine works very well.
GTX680 is well regarded since it is possible to flash it for native bootscreen but as said, that was a major consideration before developments over the last year or so that have made boot screen widely available and has made flashing cards redundant.
Thanks Dayo!
Saddly, my budget for a new GPU is around 140$. And for that money, you can't get a RX580. As far as I know. But I found a GTX680 for around that money.
And yes, I need to run Mojave or newer on my 3.1 Mac Pro. So I need a card, with support of Metal and the Mac its self.
Plus concidering, that I want the original Mac boot screen and I have the resources to do it, It's easier and cleaner to do it as I wrote earlier. Just flash the card with a Mac Edition FirmWare, which is currently free to download.
Saddly, my budget for a new GPU is around 140$. And for that money, you can't get a RX580. As far as I know. But I found a GTX680 for around that money.
And yes, I need to run Mojave or newer on my 3.1 Mac Pro. So I need a card, with support of Metal and the Mac its self.
Plus concidering, that I want the original Mac boot screen and I have the resources to do it, It's easier and cleaner to do it as I wrote earlier. Just flash the card with a Mac Edition FirmWare, which is currently free to download.
Then you can go for the 680 which should work well.
Was just answering your question and pointing out other options:
Was just answering your question and pointing out other options:
No, but the only "genuine" made-for-Apple-cards.
Some newer gpus will also have metal-support, but in most cases without startup-screen and partially/complete unsupported by driver in OS.
Hi everyone,
thanks for all of your great answers and recommendations!
So, I’m really close to buing a Nvidia 680. But do I need a Mac Edition card to have Metal support?
When I was thinking about the answer, I thought it could be “no”. Because, why would Nvidia made two versions of the GPU chip, one with Metal support and vice versa. But I’m not 100%:sure about that idea.
So I’m here, again, asking for your profesional opinion.
thanks for all of your great answers and recommendations!
So, I’m really close to buing a Nvidia 680. But do I need a Mac Edition card to have Metal support?
When I was thinking about the answer, I thought it could be “no”. Because, why would Nvidia made two versions of the GPU chip, one with Metal support and vice versa. But I’m not 100%:sure about that idea.
So I’m here, again, asking for your profesional opinion.
There are several offers on eBay of flashed GTX680. Be bold and go for it.
I just buy a old PC GTX 680 2GB and flash it.
The remaining issue is how you gonna power it. Have you got the power cable already?
Hi,
my plan is to buy a PC 680 and flash it for Mac boot screen support.
And I think, that all 680s have a double 6-pin connector. And my Mac has also double 6-pin plug.
So powering the card shouldn’t be a problem. ?
There are several offers on eBay of flashed GTX680. Be bold and go for it.
I just buy a old PC GTX 680 2GB and flash it.
The remaining issue is how you gonna power it. Have you got the power cable already?
Really? Mine needs 6-pin+8-pin combo.
If you already have the cable, that would be good.
Other wise, you will need to buy one or two cables.
It's called mini 6-pin to 8-pin PCIE power cable. Check well with the seller before ordering.
New mini 6pin male to pcie 8pin male video card 6 pin to 8 pin power cable for Mac Pro G5 GTX680 GTX480|pcie mini|pcie to pciemini pcie to pcie - AliExpress
Mini 6 Pin to PCI E 6Pin Graphics Video Card Power Cable Connector for Apple IOS Mac G5 Mac Pro Computer Accessories|Computer Cables & Connectors| - AliExpress
Check this post for more options:
GPU Compatibility List for cMP | MacRumors Forums
Last edited:
Better sell yours.
Where I live, these are sold like hot cakes, their prices are double of the PC GTX680
Hi, does the 5770 help in hardware acceleration ? Does it do any good for your FCPX ?
Hi,
as far as I know, Metal is not supported by 5770. That’s proprably why jngphoto is going to upgrade to 680.
So hardware acceleration should not be its strong point.
Hi thanks for your reply. So using a flashed 5770 will not do any good for FCPX ?
Well, FCPX is using Metal for it’s hardware acceleration. And if the 5770 is not officialy supported by Metal, the experience will not be any good.
I recently installed the GTX 680 card made for MAC EFI on my Mac Pro 2008 3,1. upgraded to Mojave using OSdude patcher. Start-up screen works fine, Everything seems to work alright except to one or two tiny things.
#1 However, when I try to open FCPX version 10.3.6 (which is what worked on Captian 10.11.6 with a Radeon 5770 card), it gives me this message "Graphics Configuration not supported" (see attachment) and the app won't start. Any ideas why? This card is Metal supported and I assume has hardware acceleration capability. How do I change the so-called graphics cofiguration? Any fix for this? I run FCPX 10.4.10 on a 2012 27 inch Imac without problem, so the older hacked Macpro is basically for emergency use as a backup machine in case of Imac failure I am going to try and reinstall FCPX on the 2008 machine and see if that fixes it. [UPDATE: Installing FCPX 10.4.10 also gives me the same message]
#2 BTW there is also a bug in the Microsoft Word and Power Point (2016) .. no text shows up when opening previous Word files and no text shows up when typing in a new document. An internet search showed it to be a well known problem. None of the fixes I tried repaired the issue. The OLD version Word 2008 works fine even with Mojave. 2016 Word version works perfect on the 2012 Imac with Mojave and 2012 Macbook Pro with Catalina.
Thanks in advance for any ideas..I see this is an old thread but giving it a shot.
#1 However, when I try to open FCPX version 10.3.6 (which is what worked on Captian 10.11.6 with a Radeon 5770 card), it gives me this message "Graphics Configuration not supported" (see attachment) and the app won't start. Any ideas why? This card is Metal supported and I assume has hardware acceleration capability. How do I change the so-called graphics cofiguration? Any fix for this? I run FCPX 10.4.10 on a 2012 27 inch Imac without problem, so the older hacked Macpro is basically for emergency use as a backup machine in case of Imac failure
I am going to try and reinstall FCPX on the 2008 machine and see if that fixes it. [UPDATE: Installing FCPX 10.4.10 also gives me the same message]#2 BTW there is also a bug in the Microsoft Word and Power Point (2016) .. no text shows up when opening previous Word files and no text shows up when typing in a new document. An internet search showed it to be a well known problem. None of the fixes I tried repaired the issue. The OLD version Word 2008 works fine even with Mojave. 2016 Word version works perfect on the 2012 Imac with Mojave and 2012 Macbook Pro with Catalina.
Thanks in advance for any ideas..I see this is an old thread but giving it a shot.
Last edited: