GPU upgrade for 5,1 need help.

[REDOV]

Bought a 5,1 mac pro. early 2009, have 10.13 os, processor 3.46GHz quad-core
it has a Nvidia Geforce GT 120 512 MB GPU,

Found a great deal with GeForce GTX 1070
heres the specs
Bus Standard: PCI Express 3.0
OpenGL: OpenGL®4.5
Video Memory: GDDR5 8GB
Engine Clock: OC Mode - GPU Boost Clock : 1860 MHz , GPU Base Clock : 1657 MHz
Gaming Mode (Default) - GPU Boost Clock : 1835 MHz , GPU Base Clock : 1632 MHz
*Retail goods are with default Gaming Mode, OC Mode can be adjusted with one click on GPU Tweak II
CUDA Cores: 1920
Memory Clock: 8008 MHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
Resolution: Digital Max Resolution:7680×4320
Interface: DVI Output : Yes x 1 (Native) (DVI-D)
HDMI Output : Yes x 2 (Native) (HDMI 2.0b)
Display Port : Yes x 2 (Display Port 1.4)
HDCP Support : Yes (2.2)
Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin
Accessories: 2 x ROG Cable Ties
1 x CD
1 x Quick Guide

will this work on the 5,1
any recommendations or suggestions with the GPU?

Thank you.

 

[h9826790]

Check this sticky thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...out-nvidia-pc-non-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/

 

[Flint Ironstag]

- OS up to date?
- Nvidia drivers up to date?
- got the right cables to deliver power to that 8 pin connector?

Go for it. 1070 is a great card.

 

[pb69]

I am very happy with my EVGA GTX 1050 ti.

 

[REDOV]

- OS up to date?
- Nvidia drivers up to date?
- got the right cables to deliver power to that 8 pin connector?

Go for it. 1070 is a great card.

cables I can get, I think I up date with the os. high sierra 10.13.2. what does it mean nvidia driver up to date?
Thanks for your comment!

 

[Fooze]

I always been very happy with the nvidia cards I've been using in my 2010 Mac Pro, but I've been having major sluggishness in High Sierra with my current GTX970. At first I though it was caused by also switching to APFS when I did a clean install but I went back to HFS and still experiencing slowness when opening folders, opening photos, switching between tabs or apps, and going to full screen in YouTube or other videos online. Turns out the drivers aren't working great with nvidia cards in High Sierra. There's a too, out there to roll back to a previous version of the driver, but it's still not perfect. I've actually thought about sellin my 970 because its making the entire system feel so old and tired, but I keep crossing my fingers it will get fixed in a driver update. Definitely consider this before buying any nvidia card.

 

[REDOV]

I always been very happy with the nvidia cards I've been using in my 2010 Mac Pro, but I've been having major sluggishness in High Sierra with my current GTX970. At first I though it was caused by also switching to APFS when I did a clean install but I went back to HFS and still experiencing slowness when opening folders, opening photos, switching between tabs or apps, and going to full screen in YouTube or other videos online. Turns out the drivers aren't working great with nvidia cards in High Sierra. There's a too, out there to roll back to a previous version of the driver, but it's still not perfect. I've actually thought about sellin my 970 because its making the entire system feel so old and tired, but I keep crossing my fingers it will get fixed in a driver update. Definitely consider this before buying any nvidia card.

Would radeon work better for a mac then?

 

[Fooze]

I wait for some others to chime in. I keep hoping that it will be released in a driver update but even the latest .158'driver update onnWednesday didn't help one bit.

 

[h9826790]

Did you check the VRAM usage? It seems High Sierra is very VRAM demanding on Nvidia card, and once run out of VRAM, the system will become very sluggish. Those MacBook Pro users are complaining about this issue.

 

[REDOV]

Did you check the VRAM usage? It seems High Sierra is very VRAM demanding on Nvidia card, and once run out of VRAM, the system will become very sluggish. Those MacBook Pro users are complaining about this issue.

I got 16gb of ram on computer and the 1070 has 8gb of vram
[doublepost=1519572406][/doublepost]

I always been very happy with the nvidia cards I've been using in my 2010 Mac Pro, but I've been having major sluggishness in High Sierra with my current GTX970. At first I though it was caused by also switching to APFS when I did a clean install but I went back to HFS and still experiencing slowness when opening folders, opening photos, switching between tabs or apps, and going to full screen in YouTube or other videos online. Turns out the drivers aren't working great with nvidia cards in High Sierra. There's a too, out there to roll back to a previous version of the driver, but it's still not perfect. I've actually thought about sellin my 970 because its making the entire system feel so old and tired, but I keep crossing my fingers it will get fixed in a driver update. Definitely consider this before buying any nvidia card.

I got 16gb of ram on computer and the 1070 has 8gb of vram

 

[AlexMaximus]

I always been very happy with the nvidia cards I've been using in my 2010 Mac Pro, but I've been having major sluggishness in High Sierra with my current GTX970. At first I though it was caused by also switching to APFS when I did a clean install but I went back to HFS and still experiencing slowness when opening folders, opening photos, switching between tabs or apps, and going to full screen in YouTube or other videos online. Turns out the drivers aren't working great with nvidia cards in High Sierra. There's a too, out there to roll back to a previous version of the driver, but it's still not perfect. I've actually thought about sellin my 970 because its making the entire system feel so old and tired, but I keep crossing my fingers it will get fixed in a driver update. Definitely consider this before buying any nvidia card.

I was in a similar situation like you. I used to have only El Capitan on my machine only with absolutely no Problem. Since about two month I have put High Sierra on a separate PCIE SSD as a third OS besides a Windows 7 for my HTC VIVE goggles. I had problems because of different variations in High Sierra Versions and different Nvidia Webdriver versions. One Nvidia driver was junk and OSX switched back to standard.
That switched back mode was unworkable, and I think thats what you experience at the moment.

#1 Re check the Nvidia webpage for web driver versions & variations and notes regarding High Sierra compatibility.

 

[h9826790]

I got 16gb of ram on computer and the 1070 has 8gb of vram
[doublepost=1519572406][/doublepost]


I got 16gb of ram on computer and the 1070 has 8gb of vram

Sorry I didn’t make it clear, I was relying Fooze’s issue about the GTX970.

But 1070 should be good for High Sierra. At least my reference 1080Ti work flawlessly so far (I use this card since last November). And my Mac is ON 24/7. So far, I can’t see any issue with the Pascal card. All desktop (macOS and Windows), video editing (MacOS), video encoding (Windows), and gaming (Windows + macOS) are fine.

 

[itdk92]

Yes, also no bad experiences at all with 1070/1070TI/1080/1080TI here.

If you can find a 1070 at non-mining prices, it's definitely recommended.

 

[Fooze]

Are either one of you using your cards on a 4K display. I run my 970 on a 4K display scaled slightly down to 3200x1800.

 

[h9826790]

Are either one of you using your cards on a 4K display. I run my 970 on a 4K display scaled slightly down to 3200x1800.

I am running a 49” 3840x1080 144Hz Display (CHG 90, link in my signature), but I am using 7680x2160 to achieve better “font smoothing” effect. And the 1080Ti can do that at 144FPS without problem.

However, by using this super resolution, the VRAM usage is definitely much higher than native resolution. Usually hover between 3-4GB, and occasionally go up to around 8GB.