GPU PCIe 2.0 Speed in OS 10.8.2

[mrak1979]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum and was wondering if anybody can clear something up for me. I'm running a single GTX 580 Classified in Mac OS 10.8.2 with Cuda Driver 5.0.37, and NVidia GPU Driver 1.3.4.0 (304.00.05f02).

Under Cuda-Z I do get PCIe 2.0 transfer rates, but in my system profiler, my GPU only shows PCIe 1.0 link speed of 2.5 GT/s. Am I really getting PCIe 2.0 with my GPU? And also I do notice that sometimes the CUDA-Z shows PCIe 1.0 numbers occasionally, but soon ramps up to normal PCIe 2.0 numbers.

Attached is photo of system profiler and cuda-z.

Any input is appreciated. thanks.

 

[Asgorath]

Am I really getting PCIe 2.0 with my GPU.

Yes. I'd focus more on the actual benchmark numbers, as opposed to a simple status reading. Does your card have an EFI?

 

[mrak1979]

Hi Asgorath.

I'm not sure what EFI is, but my GTX 580 Classified is just the retail PC card. No mods.

Also, should I be concerned about Cuda-z numbers sometimes dipping into PCIe 1.0 range? They pop back up after a while though.

I'm guessing all my Nvidia/Cuda drivers are the right ones for my system. Any confirmation would be appreciated.

thanks again.

 

[Asgorath]

Hi Asgorath.

I'm not sure what EFI is, but my GTX 580 Classified is just the retail PC card. No mods.

Also, should I be concerned about Cuda-z numbers sometimes dipping into PCIe 1.0 range? They pop back up after a while though.

I'm guessing all my Nvidia/Cuda drivers are the right ones for my system. Any confirmation would be appreciated.

thanks again.

PCIe numbers dipping sounds like a power management thing, i.e. when the card isn't being fully utilized they probably lower the PCIe clocks to save power. Sounds like you have all the correct driver components installed.

 

[fouel]

hi all. I'm new to this forum and was wondering if anybody can clear something up for me. I'm running a single gtx 580 classified in mac os 10.8.2 with cuda driver 5.0.37, and nvidia gpu driver 1.3.4.0 (304.00.05f02).

Under cuda-z i do get pcie 2.0 transfer rates, but in my system profiler, my gpu only shows pcie 1.0 link speed of 2.5 gt/s. Am i really getting pcie 2.0 with my gpu? And also i do notice that sometimes the cuda-z shows pcie 1.0 numbers occasionally, but soon ramps up to normal pcie 2.0 numbers.

Attached is photo of system profiler and cuda-z.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

post your original rom.
Let me try it to get 5.0gt/s without efi part.

 

[Asgorath]

post your original rom.
Let me try it to get 5.0gt/s without efi part.

If you have a MacPro4,1 or MacPro5,1 the NVIDIA cards will run at PCIe 2.0 speeds, the driver does something to unlock this as far as we can tell. Someone like MacVidCards can probably explain in more detail, but as I understand it the PCIe speeds are initialized by the EFI and so default to 1.0 speeds for standard PC cards. The NVIDIA driver does something to fix that, so all you need to do is install their latest driver.

 

[fouel]

If you have a MacPro4,1 or MacPro5,1 the NVIDIA cards will run at PCIe 2.0 speeds, the driver does something to unlock this as far as we can tell. Someone like MacVidCards can probably explain in more detail, but as I understand it the PCIe speeds are initialized by the EFI and so default to 1.0 speeds for standard PC cards. The NVIDIA driver does something to fix that, so all you need to do is install their latest driver.

I have tested that get nvidia card running 5.0GT/s without EFI part.
The rom revision is preset 1.0 but the PCI card info is 5.0GT/s.

 

[mrak1979]

Thanks for all the input. I'm running a hackintosh with MacPro 3,1 definition. Am I still getting PCIe 2.0 speeds as Cuda-Z reports and the dips are still just power management?

Excuse my ignorance, but where do I find the 'original ROM'?

Thank again guys.

 

[fouel]

Thanks for all the input. I'm running a hackintosh with MacPro 3,1 definition. Am I still getting PCIe 2.0 speeds as Cuda-Z reports and the dips are still just power management?

Excuse my ignorance, but where do I find the 'original ROM'?

Thank again guys.

Dump it from your card.
Maybe it needs to boot into windows to use GPU-Z to dump it.
To get 5.0GT/s, you need some knowledge about flashing card.
If don't , the current situation is better for you.
Flashing card is your own risk.

 

[mrak1979]

under my system reports, the gtx 580 has:

Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 70.10.34.00.90

 

[fouel]

If you have a MacPro4,1 or MacPro5,1 the NVIDIA cards will run at PCIe 2.0 speeds, the driver does something to unlock this as far as we can tell. Someone like MacVidCards can probably explain in more detail, but as I understand it the PCIe speeds are initialized by the EFI and so default to 1.0 speeds for standard PC cards. The NVIDIA driver does something to fix that, so all you need to do is install their latest driver.

Maybe I was wrong.

 

[mrak1979]

Hmmm... My mac pro definition is 3,1 and not 4,1 or 5,1 but my Cuda-z is reporting PCIe 2.0 speeds. Do I still trust Cuda-Z and assume I'm getting PCIe 2.0?

thx.

 

[fouel]

That is fine now.
Do not waste time for only view 5.0gt/s but performance is identical.

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Am I still getting PCIe 2.0 speeds as Cuda-Z reports and the dips are still just power management?

Thank again guys.

Yes.... The card throttles back when not stressed. It will jump back to pci-e 2 as soon as it's needed. My 680s do the same in Win & OSX.

 

[xcodeSyn]

... I'm running a hackintosh with MacPro 3,1 definition. Am I still getting PCIe 2.0 speeds as Cuda-Z reports and the dips are still just power management?

I was curious with your original post until you revealed that you acyually have a hackintosh instead of Mac Pro. Your GPU does provide PCIe 2.0 link speed. You should try the hackintosh forums if you have any questions regarding the GPU and other hardware components.

 

[mrak1979]

Hey thanks Dr. Stealth and xcodeSyn for the confirmation. Sounds like my GPU is running PCIe 2.0.