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GTX 570 in Mac Pro

B

badsandwich

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 8, 2009
90
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I've installed a GTX570 in my 2006 Mac Pro. It works great in Boot Camp, much better than I expected in fact.

On the Mac side, I am running 10.7.2. I installed (prior to switching the cards out) ATY_Init from here, and the graphics driver bundle from here.

I've got a helper card en route from MacVidCards, but I thought I should at least be able to boot into the OS without it. However, the system boots Ok, I can ssh into it no problem, but the displays are blank. Can anyone offer any advice on this, or do I need to wait for the helper card to arrive?
 
I am planning to use a MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III Power Edition/OC, 1280MB GDDR5, PCI-Express for gaming under windows 7 on my 2006 Mac Pro.
But there remain some questions unanswered.

In another thread I have read that you will loose the bootscreen. How will I be able to start windows 7 / osx? Will I still be able to boot with the Tiger CD/USB?

These steps as described by the link will work for both osx and windows 7 on the mac pro?

So I don't need to flash the nvidia card itself and there is no risk in destroying the card by doing so?

Cheers,
Finn
 
You can use a "helper" card like the gtx120 to show the boot screen. Or you can do what I do, and just use an app called Bootchamp to boot into windows when you want.

Also here's a tip because that's the same card I have- you will need a second 6-pin PCIE power cable to run from the motherboard to the card (you can find them on ebay).
 
Thanks for the fast reply & the tip!
Will bootchamp and bootcamp work next to eachother?

Also, would it be possible to use the geforce 7300 gt, which I currently have in the mac as a 'helper card'? Will this card be used solely for the bootscreen?

Cheers,
Finn
 
Bootchamp just sits in your mac menu bar, you can just use it to restart into boot camp (you can set it so that it just reboots into boot camp one time, or so that it does it by default).

As for the 7300, if it doesn't require any power then you should be ok.
 
There are no power cables on the 7300 as far as I can see.
I will give it a try once I have the 570 here.

Will let you know.

One more question:
do I need to 'flash' the 570 like you had to in the previouse OSX versions? Or is it just adjusting the software in your mac in order to let the system recognize the card?

Cheers,
Finn
 
Last edited:
Ahh, I've been looking all over the net to see if GTX 4xx/5xx cards work on Mac Pro's.

So I need a helper card to do this? My Mac Pro 3,1 has a 8800GT, but since that requires a power cable, I'm guessing I can't use this as a helper card?
 
321estrellas said:
Ahh, I've been looking all over the net to see if GTX 4xx/5xx cards work on Mac Pro's.

So I need a helper card to do this? My Mac Pro 3,1 has a 8800GT, but since that requires a power cable, I'm guessing I can't use this as a helper card?
Click to expand...

not unless you use an extra PSU, or a 6 pin power cable splitter (gives you two 6pin from one 6pin). not sure if that is bad for the motherboard power pins though.
 
Last edited:
7300GT is a slightly troubled "helper" card in that it will see a display connected to it on boot, even if there isn't one

there is nothing to flash a GTX570 to

ATY_Init from Netkas is the only thing needed, beyond the kext hack
 
Last edited:
Finn109 said:
Could anyone comfirm if these 6 pin pcie cables are correct:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=32404&agid=157

I am unsure, think they are for the pc..
Most likely I need these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mac-Pro-PCI...874?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ef994d0a2

If you guys can point me out the right cable, I would order both cable and card. Looking forward to getting started.

Cheers,
Finn
Click to expand...

I don't think it matters actually. there aren't any mac specific GPU power cables. All 6 pin should work as cables don't have firmwares or softwares which need to be compatible.
 
The-Pro said:
I don't think it matters actually. there aren't any mac specific GPU power cables. All 6 pin should work as cables don't have firmwares or softwares which need to be compatible.
Click to expand...

Yes there are actually. Mac Pro uses a custom motherboard which require special PCIe Power cables. The ones in the first link wont work, but the Ebay one will.
 
Cindori said:
Yes there are actually. Mac Pro uses a custom motherboard which require special PCIe Power cables. The ones in the first link wont work, but the Ebay one will.
Click to expand...

seriously? damn. allright my bad, never heard of that before. I guess we learn something all the time. Thanks for correcting me.
Do they not work because they don't fit or because its a special cable?
 
The-Pro said:
seriously? damn. allright my bad, never heard of that before. I guess we learn something all the time. Thanks for correcting me.
Do they not work because they don't fit or because its a special cable?
Click to expand...

It's a special cable, smaller size at one end. So yes to both.
 
Well the 570 arrived today..
But I had to order the power cable somewhere else.. still waiting for it.

When I unpacked the card, I noticed 2 power cables (which obviously don't fit the mac).
Do I need to order a second cable?

Cheers,
Finn
 
would like to install a palit gtx 570 to my mac pro 2006

could you please describe more deeply how you managed to get
the gtx 570 working in your mac pro 1.1.
which card do you use.

help is appreciated

nick
 
I will get my second power cable tomorrow. But I would also be happy if someone could give an more detailed description of the software manupilation needed.

Cheers,
Finn
 
Hope this helps:

  1. See http://www.weezey.com/2011/10/os-x-lion-1072-with-nvidia-gtx-570.html specifically the part about adding the device ID to the IOPCIPrimaryMatch key list
  2. Get the modded nvidia driver here: http://www.osx86.net/view/1990-geforcegldriver.bundle_lion_10.7.2.html
  3. You need ATY_Init to bypass the need for a Mac EFI installed on the card. Get it from here: http://rghost.net/15474371
  4. Use the installer here: http://cheetha.net/ to install the geforcegldriver and the ATY_Init extension
  5. Possibly need to delete AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext to improve performance (http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,979.msg5810.html#msg5810 and http://macvidcards.com/2011/29/fermi-cards-come-to-the-mac-pro/)

I can't take any credit for any of this, but please post if you have problems or success to help others. Also a good idea is to have a second system running ssh or remote desktop in case there are problems when you install the card.

The steps above assume you are not using a helper card.
 
note that the need for helper card is present in 10.7.1 and may sporadically appear in future updates
 
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