MP 7,1 GPU Options 2024 for MacOS and Windows

[Tony Danger]

Fantastic. Mine is literally just being used as my home system, monitor will be connected with either DP or HDMI. Now I've just got to find a 6800 or 6800xt that will fit in the UK. Not easy!

 

[avro707]

I have a USB-C to DP 1.4 cable for my DIY 5k display, and that cable does not support video in the other direction.
And I think almost no monitors have USB-C connections, other than Apple.

That’s my problem - LG 5K and Apple 5K, both thunderbolt connections. So I’m stuck with the MPX modules.

Fantastic. Mine is literally just being used as my home system, monitor will be connected with either DP or HDMI. Now I've just got to find a 6800 or 6800xt that will fit in the UK. Not easy!

Try the blue coloured W6800 32GB Radeon pro - it fits on the old Mac Pro 5,1 so probably will in this too.

You will need the aux power cable kit from Belkin.

yeah, except that AMD specifically calls it out as not being "supported"' for Mac Pros. Hence I'd be curious if there's any "issues" with it - ie like it having more display outs than the Apple version.

Probably more they want you to buy the expensive Apple only MPX modules, which of course isn’t possible as they don’t exist except as spare parts these days.

 

[Tony Danger]

That’s my problem - LG 5K and Apple 5K, both thunderbolt connections. So I’m stuck with the MPX modules.



Try the blue coloured W6800 32GB Radeon pro - it fits on the old Mac Pro 5,1 so probably will in this too.

You will need the aux power cable kit from Belkin.



Probably more they want you to buy the expensive Apple only MPX modules, which of course isn’t possible as they don’t exist except as spare parts these days.

lol it’s like £1500-£2000! As I said previously, budget is about £400 max!

 

[Dolphins1972]

6900XT działa bez żadnych problemów.
Even two work great.


View attachment 2461959

I assume you have multiple monitors? My 2nd GPU sits idle 99% of the time because I only have a single monitor for the 7,1. I tried changing settings in Topaz Video AI to allow for dual GPU but that caused my secondary GPU to run without fans for some reason? The 6900's reach temps over 230F = 110C which can't be good for other internal components. I bought this recently with dual RX 6900 XT's already installed.

 

[Dolphins1972]

Fantastic. Mine is literally just being used as my home system, monitor will be connected with either DP or HDMI. Now I've just got to find a 6800 or 6800xt that will fit in the UK. Not easy!

I use Displayport: https://www.rtings.com/monitor/learn/hdmi-vs-displayport

 

[ArtRev]

I assume you have multiple monitors? My 2nd GPU sits idle 99% of the time because I only have a single monitor for the 7,1. I tried changing settings in Topaz Video AI to allow for dual GPU but that caused my secondary GPU to run without fans for some reason? The 6900's reach temps over 230F = 110C which can't be good for other internal components. I bought this recently with dual RX 6900 XT's already installed.

I use only two monitors. DaVinci Resolve utilizes both GPUs very effectively. The 6900XT can indeed get quite hot, but the Mac’s fans handle it exceptionally well. My machine has been running under heavy load since April 2020 and is rarely turned off, yet I’ve never experienced any thermal issues.

Of course, the power supply is also under significant strain—at full load, it can draw over 1000W. However, in my opinion, the Mac Pro 7.1 is an exceptionally well-designed machine, capable of handling such loads for hours, weeks, and years. It’s an outstanding workstation.

 

[Dolphins1972]

I use only two monitors. DaVinci Resolve utilizes both GPUs very effectively. The 6900XT can indeed get quite hot, but the Mac’s fans handle it exceptionally well. My machine has been running under heavy load since April 2020 and is rarely turned off, yet I’ve never experienced any thermal issues.

Of course, the power supply is also under significant strain—at full load, it can draw over 1000W. However, in my opinion, the Mac Pro 7.1 is an exceptionally well-designed machine, capable of handling such loads for hours, weeks, and years. It’s an outstanding workstation.

Thanks, I started a new thread because the fans on the secondary GPU are not spinning when they should be. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gpu-fan-issue.2445360/

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

So I’ve picked up one of these recently and am looking at making it my main machine. I want to upgrade the GPU from the 580MPX.

Currently I have an RTX 4060, I could use that in the MP but I don’t want to deal with 2 cards, outputs and disabling one in MacOS and the other in Windows.

I’d rather have 1 card that works in both OS.

I’ve read the 6600XT and 6800XTs are pretty good cards for this for performance / budget. I’ve also read a bunch of them are too big to fit.

Are there any recommended specific models that work well with the system and fit nicely?

Thanks

Please see this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...o-restarts-if-so-which-graphics-card.2247014/

I had an aftermarket 6600 in my 7,1 for awhile, but from Monterey to Sequoia, I get frequent 3 second screen freezes that I didn't get with the RX580. So I pulled the 6600 and reinstalled the RX580. YMMV, but I thought you should know.

 

[Tony Danger]

Please see this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...o-restarts-if-so-which-graphics-card.2247014/

I had an aftermarket 6600 in my 7,1 for awhile, but from Monterey to Sequoia, I get frequent 3 second screen freezes that I didn't get with the RX580. So I pulled the 6600 and reinstalled the RX580. YMMV, but I thought you should know.

So from what I gather, the peopole who have issues it all seems to revolve around sleep and disabling sleep solves the problem.

That's fine for me. I shutdown my system when I'm not using it anyway.

 

[MisterAndrew]

My 7,1 came with the W6900X and it's covered by AppleCare+, but if something went wrong with it I don't know if they would replace the GPU (I recall reading they don't have any left, but I don't know for sure.) So I think it would be better to buy an aftermarket card that has a warranty rather than a rare second-hand MPX GPU.

 

[avro707]

So from what I gather, the peopole who have issues it all seems to revolve around sleep and disabling sleep solves the problem.

I have that with the W6800X duo as well, provided you don’t let it sleep everything is fine. But with sleep enabled sometimes the machine won’t wake up.

 

[Tony Danger]

My 7,1 came with the W6900X and it's covered by AppleCare+, but if something went wrong with it I don't know if they would replace the GPU (I recall reading they don't have any left, but I don't know for sure.) So I think it would be better to buy an aftermarket card that has a warranty rather than a rare second-hand MPX GPU.

I've never mentioned buying an MPX card. They're stupid money.