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GPUs for cMP 5,1 that work with Mojave (incl. boot screen)?

T

Think77

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 14, 2015
187
170
Hi guys,

Sounds crazy, I know - but I simply cannot seem to find an answer to this question, even after having searched this forum and having read Apple's own recommendations (and discussion threads on other websites)

What GPUs work with classic Mac Pro 5,1, macOS Mojave AND the boot screen?
(I need to be able to boot up into my Windows boot drive every once a while).

There seems to be some general confusion as to what "compatible with Mojave" means. But what I'm specifically asking for here is a list of GPUs that work out of the box with Mojave AND will show boot options/Apple logo/status bar during start up. If such cards exist...

Hope some of you can help :)

Best

UPDATE, feb. 28 2019:

After having received and "analyzed" feedback from MR users, I've put together the following list of GPUs and their current Mojave/macOS compatibility status. Please note that I haven't done any work to confirm the different findings. I'm simply putting forward what our fellow MR users have stated. Please let me know if anything changes, or if something is missing/is not correctly presented! Then I'll update the list ASAP.

100% compatibility out-of-the-box (Mojave drivers + bootscreen):

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition (Apple recommended)
NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac (Apple recommended)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition (Apple recommended)

Partial compatibility out-of-the-box (Mojave drivers - but no bootscreen)

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5 (Apple recommended)
SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5 (Apple recommended)
In general: AMD RX, WX and Vega series

100% compatibility when flashed (Mojave drivers + bootscreen)

AMD R9 280X --- needs to be flashed - DIY possible (specifically, GV-R928XOC-3GD is proven to be working as per startergo's post)
Nvidia GTX Titan --- needs to be flashed - only MVC seems to be able to do this - no DIY
Nvidia GT 780 --- needs to be flashed

Partial compatibility out-of-the-box (no Mojave drivers - but succesful bootscreen)

Nvidia RTX series --- awaiting Mojave drivers from Nvidia/Apple
 
Last edited:
on apples recommendations > this 3 has bootscreen under mojave:



Screen Shot 2019-02-28 at 11.26.05.jpg
 
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Reactions: h9826790
Thanks a lot for the clarification in Apple's list, IndioX! Those cards seem rather old, however (5-7 years). Nothing newer?
 
R9 280X
GTX Titan
These are the newest cards which can show boot screen when flashed with EFI ROM .

RTX series show boot screen but no drivers for Mojave.
 
The GTX 780 3GB or 6GB and the GTX Titan 6GB (not the black or X editions) are the latest nvidia cards, that once flashed, can support boot screens and firmware flashing including filevault using my workaround (confirmed with the 780).

Both cards don't require nvidia web drivers as the drivers are included in macos.
 
I will call them "stronger", but not really "newer".

R9 280X and HD7950 belongs to the same GCN 1 family.

GTX 780, GTX Titan and GTX680 are also belongs to the same Kepler family.
 
h9826790 said:
I will call them "stronger", but not really "newer".

R9 280X and HD7950 belongs to the same GCN 1 family.

GTX 780, GTX Titan and GTX680 are also belongs to the same Kepler family.
Click to expand...

Newer or latest in relation to the supported list which is the subject of this discussion.
 
W1SS said:
Newer or latest in relation to the supported list which is the subject of this discussion.
Click to expand...

I wasn't particular reply to your post, but the whole thread (that's why I didn't quote it).

That's more like for OP's info.

We discussed about 7950 and 680 is post #1-5 already. So, just let him know these new suggestions are still belongs to the same GPU family. That's why my reply in #4 is "practically" no. Because stronger options do exist, but they are not really newer (which is for replying post #3).
 
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startergo said:
R9 280X
GTX Titan
These are the newest cards which can show boot screen when flashed with EFI ROM .

RTX series show boot screen but no drivers for Mojave.
Click to expand...

Does that mean that the R9 280X (from any vendor) works out of the box in the Mac Pro 5,1 (Mojave + boot screen)?

EDIT: If that's the case - how come the GPU is not on Apple's official recommended list?
 
tsialex said:
No, there are a lot of models that have various problems, some minor like DP not working, some major.

Check this thread before buying anything Flashing R9 280X for boot screens/PCI System Information
Click to expand...

So, does that imply that SOME R9 280X models from SOME vendors actually WILL work out of the box (Mojave + boot screen)? It's just that some won't because of various technical issues? In that case, could the working cards be listed here?
 
W1SS said:
The GTX 780 3GB or 6GB and the GTX Titan 6GB (not the black or X editions) are the latest nvidia cards, that once flashed, can support boot screens and firmware flashing including filevault using my workaround (confirmed with the 780).

Both cards don't require nvidia web drivers as the drivers are included in macos.
Click to expand...
Can these cards only be flipped by Macvidcards? Or maybe you have another solution ...
 
Think77 said:
So, does that imply that SOME R9 280X models from SOME vendors actually WILL work out of the box (Mojave + boot screen)? It's just that some won't because of various technical issues? In that case, could the working cards be listed here?
Click to expand...

NO, absolutely NO OOTB GPU that can do "Mojave + boot screen" apart from that three mentioned in post #2.

SOME flashed card can work, but lots of them have different kind of minor issues.
 
Think77 said:
So, does that imply that SOME R9 280X models from SOME vendors actually WILL work out of the box (Mojave + boot screen)?
Click to expand...
No R9-280X have pre-boot configuration support, you have to flash it with Mac EFI. Some R9 280X models work perfectly.
It's just that some won't because of various technical issues? In that case, could the working cards be listed here?
Click to expand...
GPU vendors change things, like ports configuration, layout etc. You have to check if the model you gonna buy is one that works correctly after flashed.

Check the thread, it's the best resource to buy a GPU that will work correctly.
 
Think77 said:
So, does that imply that SOME R9 280X models from SOME vendors actually WILL work out of the box (Mojave + boot screen)? It's just that some won't because of various technical issues? In that case, could the working cards be listed here?
Click to expand...

I can confirm GV-R928XOC-3GD works great. After flashing all ports still work fine.
GTX TITAN 06G-P4-2790-KR works great in HS and Mojave too. I did not test the boot screen yet. Waiting on the macvidcards flash and the return back to me.
 
zozomester said:
Can these cards only be flipped by Macvidcards? Or maybe you have another solution ...
Click to expand...

Only by MVC. You could also find some MVC flashed cards being sold on ebay if you are lucky but make sure you get proof ie. copy of paypal's invoice of either the card or flashing service.
 
W1SS said:
Only by MVC. You could also find some MVC flashed cards being sold on ebay if you are lucky but make sure you get proof ie. copy of paypal's invoice of either the card or flashing service.
Click to expand...
R9 280X can be flashed with the netkas's script. 680 and 780 Kepler's can be DIY flash too. Titan needs MVC.
 
startergo said:
R9 280X can be flashed with the netkas's script. 680 and 780 Kepler's can be DIY flash too. Titan needs MVC.
Click to expand...

He was asking about the 780 and Titan. I have not seen nor have heard of anyone successfully flashing a 780 as it not only requires a modded rom but also soldering/switching chips/modding the power circuit - link

So no, the 780 nor the titan can be simply flashed or are DIY.
 
W1SS said:
He was asking about the 780 and Titan. I have not seen nor have heard of anyone successfully flashing a 780 as it not only requires a modded rom but also soldering/switching chips/modding the power circuit - link

So no, the 780 nor the titan can be simply flashed or are DIY.
Click to expand...
Maybe I am wrong. I thought 780 could be flashed with the 680 ROM. It looks like 780's chip is not big enough and has to be replaced.
 
Using 5,1 in this day and age, you have to compromise if you want the latest OS an GPUs. There's no way around it.

Want boot screen, stay with HS and go with Macvid cards. You have your choice of top of the line cards like the Titan X.

Upgrade to Mojave but no boot screen, you get plug and play with Vega 64 and probably the next couple gens of AMD cards. Having no need for the boot screen, this is my hassle-free route.
 
After having received and "analyzed" feedback from MR users, I've put together a list of GPUs and their current Mojave/macOS compatibility status. Please see/read the updated original post. Please let me know if the list contains any errors or is missing anything.
 
Think77 said:
After having received and "analyzed" feedback from MR users, I've put together a list of GPUs and their current Mojave/macOS compatibility status. Please see/read the updated original post. Please let me know if the list contains any errors or is missing anything.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of cards which work in Mojave without boot screen (RX and WX and Vega series AMD), which are not on the approved Apple list.
MVC is focused on NVIDIA cards so checkout this post:
http://www.macvidcards.com/blog/met...ut-driver-quadro-k5000-coming-to-mvc#comments
 
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