MP 1,1-5,1 Gpu upgrade (3,1)

[HeadstrongZodiac]

Hey all,

I know the 3,1 requires a kepler gpu to even run, but will a non flashed gpu work? I've been scouting out the gtx 770 as an upgrade, but I've noticed threads saying I won't have a boot screen. Will I be able to just plug and play with it? I don't need the boot menu, (where you select which drive to boot from) as I have the stock gpu in it, and I can just boot to the boot menu from there.

TLDR: Will I be able to use a gtx 770 even though I can't access the boot menu? (I already patched mojave using dosdude's methods)

 

[M-Serhio]

Hi everybody! I'm joining the question.
MacPro 3.1 in 2023 can't run modern OSX, so it's almost usless as a *Mac* (of course, if you're not a FCS 2 user or something like this).
But, as it still alive, it can be Win10/Linux PC. I've used flashed GTX680 for years, but it dead now.
So, how do you think - if we (I and topic starter) doesn't need a mac boot menu, which GPU is justified to use in MacPro 3.1? I've read that despite the fact that Nvidia 10x0 series will work on that machine, GTX960 is the recommended maxim as CPU will be a bottleneck.
Thank you!

 

[AlexMaximus]

On eBay there are tons of good GPUs out there that are flashed and somewhat reasonable priced. I would not go with a non flashed card because of Windows and bootcamp. Even the 3.1 is still a great machine that runs very well. I’d go with a flashed Nvidia 780Ti or better for that occasional game.

 

[M-Serhio]

On eBay there are tons of good GPUs out there that are flashed and somewhat reasonable priced. I would not go with a non flashed card because of Windows and bootcamp. Even the 3.1 is still a great machine that runs very well. I’d go with a flashed Nvidia 780Ti or better for that occasional game.

Thank you, AlexMaximus! Could you please tell a bit more about flashed cards? As I know, GTX680 was the last with official mac rom version. So, how you can have flashed 780Ti? What rom you use?
Thank you.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Thank you, AlexMaximus! Could you please tell a bit more about flashed cards? As I know, GTX680 was the last with official mac rom version. So, how you can have flashed 780Ti? What rom you use?
Thank you.

Where are you located, in Europe or in the US ??

Today, you can find flashed cards on eBay if you search for Mac Pro 4,1/5.1 gpu cards. Usually the flashed versions come up. In the past you have been bound to either local or internet computer geeks that do a flash. Later on a site called MacVideoCards.com was born to help with the high demand in the US. Years later a second service popped up in Europe as well. Here are the two:

In Europe:

MacVidCards Europe

MacVidCards store in Europe. The latest and fastest graphics cards upgrades for your Apple Mac Pro computer.

www.macvidcards.eu

In the USA:

MacVidCards Store

The #1 place for Mac Pro graphics cards. GPU upgrades from AMD and Nvidia.

www.macvidcards.com

E-Bay:

Apple Mac Pro GeForce GTX 780 3GB Metal GPU Big Sur,Monterey,Ventura Boot Screen | eBay

This is the perfect card to maximize performance. This video card is Plug ’n Play. (gpu power cables are mandatory ). Support starts with Mac OS X 10.8.3 Mountain Lion using official Nvidia drivers all the way up to Mac OS X Monterey 12.x.

www.ebay.com

 

[OS6-OSX]

MacPro 3.1 in 2023 can't run modern OSX, so it's almost usless as a *Mac*

 

[OS6-OSX]

MacPro 3.1 in 2023 can't run modern OSX, so it's almost usless as a *Mac*

 

[M-Serhio]

Well, ok, I put it wrong )
I know about dosdude1 and OpenCore. I've meant - is it worth it? I've installed High Sierra and FCPX - it works, yes, but not as smooth as it can and should be. I can say, it is noticeably laggy, and when it comes to color correction - it seems that a little more, and everything will hang at all. On MBP 2012 (8GB) everything looks much better.
For the sake of experiment, I even installed the latest version of OS X, which OpenCore allows you to install - the system has started, but the responsiveness of the interface leaves much to be desired. Of course, it could be because of the GTX285 I'm using, but I have no way to check it.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Well, ok, I put it wrong )
I know about dosdude1 and OpenCore. I've meant - is it worth it? I've installed High Sierra and FCPX - it works, yes, but not as smooth as it can and should be. I can say, it is noticeably laggy, and when it comes to color correction - it seems that a little more, and everything will hang at all. On MBP 2012 (8GB) everything looks much better.
For the sake of experiment, I even installed the latest version of OS X, which OpenCore allows you to install - the system has started, but the responsiveness of the interface leaves much to be desired. Of course, it could be because of the GTX285 I'm using, but I have no way to check it.

Yap, the 3.1 is old, it's ancient. The 5.1 is already ancient. But with most of us, it bacame a kind of sport to prolong its live as much as possible. Thats what the enthusiast crowed does. Many of us are not entirely professional. I don't live from making videos, but its fun.

 

[M-Serhio]

Yap, the 3.1 is old, it's ancient. The 5.1 is already ancient. But with most of us, it bacame a kind of sport to prolong its live as much as possible. Thats what the enthusiast crowed does. Many of us are not entirely professional. I don't live from making videos, but its fun.

Totally agree! And to keep it fun, I'd like to keep expenses at an acceptable level. Checking MacVideoCards now )

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I would just go for a RX580 8GB Saphire Pulse. Flash it and you have boot-screen, even on MP 1,1.
Running Windows 10, it would still a decent PC for many purposes, at reasonable cost.