GTX Titan X flash?

[PowerMike G5]

So I recently acquired a GTX Titan X for my Mac Pro and I have had 0 issues so far... nice card and the CUDA acceleration seems really nice and fast for Adobe Premiere Pro editing/rendering 4K video.

I'm using it the same way as my GTX 980... web drivers only. Never thought about flashing it.

I started looking into flashing, but it seems that the only benefit at this point is enabling a boot screen? Am I correct in this?

I noticed MacVidCard's site mention that it will fun at PCIe 2.0 speeds, but I believe the card already runs at 2.0 speed with the latest webdrivers. Can anyone else with the experience with this elaborate? Thanks!

 

[ActionableMango]

I have a list, but it is old and some of the items are now outdated due to more recent revelations like Clover boot screens and also changes in Sierra where it inits the GPU earlier than before.

It's not all positive change, some is negative. For example one person recently tested the PCIe 2.0 speed and noticed it is no longer true in OS X. If this is important to you I suggest you test it yourself to see.

So take this list with a grain of salt since it is historical--I do not keep it up to date:

------------------

• Proper listing of card model in OS X system information.

• Full PCI 2.0 speed in every operating system (without EFI, the PCIe speed is cut in half for Windows and for older versions of OS X).

• For Nvidia Maxwell cards, the ability to boot into OS X and see the GUI without default Apple drivers loaded.

• Ability to install Windows in EFI mode instead of BIOS emulation mode, with related benefits such as fast boot, faster drive access (AHCI mode), no weird hybrid partitions, support for more than 4 partitions, and support for partitions greater than 2TB in size.

• Ability to use the 1,1 to 2,1 firmware upgrade utility.

• Ability to use the 4,1 to 5,1 firmware upgrade utility.

• Boot screens:
  • Ability to do a clean install of an operating system.
  • Booting into the recovery partition so you can use one of its many features: restore from a Time Machine backup, reinstall OS X, set a firmware password, or use Disk Utility to repair your drive.
    
  • Selecting an operation system at boot time for dual-boot systems, or any time you insert a boot disk or USB thumb drive.
  • Ability to see in Safe Boot mode.
  • Ability to see in Single User mode.
  • Ability to see in Verbose mode.
    
  • Ability to see the password prompt for systems with the firmware password enabled.
  • Ability to see the password prompt for systems with Full Disk Encryption, such as Filevault.
  • Ability to see in any number of bootdisk-based utilities, such as AHT (Apple Hardware Test), MemTest86, CloneZilla, any number of Linux Live discs, etc.

 

[Synchro3]

For example one person recently tested the PCIe 2.0 speed and noticed it is no longer true in OS X. If this is important to you I suggest you test it yourself to see.

It's only a cosmetical problem with (flashed) Titan X. System Info indicates 2.5 GT/s, but CUDA-Z shows full 5 GT/s:

 

[ActionableMango]

It's only a cosmetical problem with (flashed) Titan X. System Info indicates 2.5 GT/s, but CUDA-Z shows full 5 GT/s:

View attachment 673367 View attachment 673368

Thanks Synchro--I'm actually aware of the cosmetic problem. The person tested PCIe speed by using both of MVC's two recommended methods (Oceanwaves OpenCL benchmark and CUDA-Z). In both cases it came up short, so he suspected that whatever driver changes enabled PCIe 2.0 in earlier versions of OS X might have stopped working in later revs of ElCap.

Just in case it was a 1-off anomaly, he asked other people to test too, but unfortunately nobody did. Are your screen shots from a recent test? It would be great if someone could do a new test and confirm his problem is his own, or if it's a new issue affecting everyone. (I'd do it myself, but this is about unflashed cards and I have a flashed card.)

Here is the beginning of the discussion, if you are interested:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...graphics-cards.1440150/page-136#post-23684499

 

[PowerMike G5]

Thanks guys for the info!

I just did what you asked and I'm also getting the full 5 GT/s on this card, so I guess we get full 2.0 speed on unfleshed cards.

 

[Synchro3]

Thanks Synchro--I'm actually aware of the cosmetic problem. The person tested PCIe speed by using both of MVC's two recommended methods (Oceanwaves OpenCL benchmark and CUDA-Z). In both cases it came up short, so he suspected that whatever driver changes enabled PCIe 2.0 in earlier versions of OS X might have stopped working in later revs of ElCap.

Just in case it was a 1-off anomaly, he asked other people to test too, but unfortunately nobody did. Are your screen shots from a recent test? It would be great if someone could do a new test and confirm his problem is his own, or if it's a new issue affecting everyone. (I'd do it myself, but this is about unflashed cards and I have a flashed card.)

Here is the beginning of the discussion, if you are interested:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...graphics-cards.1440150/page-136#post-23684499

Ok, my first test was on my main system OS X El Capitan.

Now tested again in Sierra, with newest 367.15.10.15f01 driver. No abnormalities with my flashed card so far:

 

[666sheep]

Shouldn't OpenCL performance be much higher on the Titan X?
I'm getting twice as that with K5000 under the same OS and web driver version.

 

[Synchro3]

Shouldn't OpenCL performance be much higher on the Titan X?
I'm getting twice as that with K5000 under the same OS and web driver version.

You're right. On my main system El Capitan I get much more fps:



Software issue?

Luxmark 3 results in Sierra are afaik within the expected scope:

 

[PowerMike G5]

So regarding power usage, would flashing the card affect that in any way possible? As in, will it affect how the card draws its power between the PCIe slot, 8pin and 6pin connectors, distribution-wise? I assume no, but one of you guys may know otherwise.

I've been running of the internal power, using a 6 to 8 pin cable with no issues so far. But have been wondering if I should use a dual 6pin to 8pin cable and pull power from SATA in the optical bay for the 6pin connector.

 

[666sheep]

So regarding power usage, would flashing the card affect that in any way possible? As in, will it affect how the card draws its power between the PCIe slot, 8pin and 6pin connectors, distribution-wise? I assume no, but one of you guys may know otherwise.

Power draw is possible, but you'd need to undervolt BIOS of the card. Adding EFI to the stock BIOS won't affect power usage. Maxwells do undervolt quite well AFAIK.

 

[Theoprofil]

Thanks Synchro--I'm actually aware of the cosmetic problem. The person tested PCIe speed by using both of MVC's two recommended methods (Oceanwaves OpenCL benchmark and CUDA-Z). In both cases it came up short, so he suspected that whatever driver changes enabled PCIe 2.0 in earlier versions of OS X might have stopped working in later revs of ElCap.

Just in case it was a 1-off anomaly, he asked other people to test too, but unfortunately nobody did. Are your screen shots from a recent test? It would be great if someone could do a new test and confirm his problem is his own, or if it's a new issue affecting everyone. (I'd do it myself, but this is about unflashed cards and I have a flashed card.)

Here is the beginning of the discussion, if you are interested:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...graphics-cards.1440150/page-136#post-23684499

Guys i am the person that i ask from other people to do the same tests i did to my mac pro 5.1 So far no one respond. Finaly i did the test again at another mac pro 5.1 (i own 4 mac pro 5.1) and i discover that i had PCI 2.0 speeds. So i guess it was a mac pro 5.1 with a problematic board.
I will do also the test to the other 2 mac pros 5.1 i didn't test it yet to be 100% sure.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Shouldn't OpenCL performance be much higher on the Titan X?
I'm getting twice as that with K5000 under the same OS and web driver version.

We know that Kepler is fully supported by the driver. Maxwell is enabled but not optimised. Even in OpenGL the Titan X is performing well under expectations.

 

[jrev]

hey brother and fellow NY'er.

I too am trying to buy a 6gb or 12gb Titan X from eBay. I have a mac mid 2010, 5.1 .
I am reading a bunch of mixed reviews and since you say it's running just wanted to ask ya a few things.

A.what version Titan x are you using? a 6 or 12gb?
B. are there any setbacks to not having the Titan X flashed? I keep reading "boot up screen issues". Not really sure what the "issues" are.
C. can i buy a titan x and just use the web drivers and have everything running smoothly? like will i see the gray apple start up screen and will i be able to dual boot into my older drive using the web drivers?

Thank you so much for any help.

So I recently acquired a GTX Titan X for my Mac Pro and I have had 0 issues so far... nice card and the CUDA acceleration seems really nice and fast for Adobe Premiere Pro editing/rendering 4K video.

I'm using it the same way as my GTX 980... web drivers only. Never thought about flashing it.

I started looking into flashing, but it seems that the only benefit at this point is enabling a boot screen? Am I correct in this?

I noticed MacVidCard's site mention that it will fun at PCIe 2.0 speeds, but I believe the card already runs at 2.0 speed with the latest webdrivers. Can anyone else with the experience with this elaborate? Thanks!

 

[h9826790]

hey brother and fellow NY'er.

I too am trying to buy a 6gb or 12gb Titan X from eBay. I have a mac mid 2010, 5.1 .
I am reading a bunch of mixed reviews and since you say it's running just wanted to ask ya a few things.

A.what version Titan x are you using? a 6 or 12gb?
B. are there any setbacks to not having the Titan X flashed? I keep reading "boot up screen issues". Not really sure what the "issues" are.
C. can i buy a titan x and just use the web drivers and have everything running smoothly? like will i see the gray apple start up screen and will i be able to dual boot into my older drive using the web drivers?

Thank you so much for any help.

B. Cannot use recovery partition. Cannot use boot manager. Cannot use FileVault. Cannot show anything without web driver activated (completely black screen ONLY in macOS), which WILL happen after EVERY macOS update.

C. Yes, inside the OS, there is no difference regardless if the card is flashed or not. For some macOS, yes, you may able to see the fray apple during OS start up. Yes, you can dual boot with TitanX, that's nothing to do about flash, and web driver has nothing to do about Widnows. But the card will only run at PCIe 1,1 x16 in Windows if not flashed (still run at PCIe 2.0 x16 in macOS).

 

[jrev]

I forgot to ask but I think you guys are...
Are you running and editing in OSx or PC and windows ?

I also edit in adobe and have OS X El Capitan. I really need to upgrade my video card from the 1gb
ATI Radeon HD 5770.

Currently I have a sapphire 7950 3gb sitting next to me. I purchased it based on Macsales recommendation but was unaware that the mac 5.1's could possibly use newer or better cards.

So I'm just trying to figure out If I buy a titan 6gb or 12gb will I be able to install the drivers first, then the card and be up and running. It appears all the "boot manager" and "fileVault" is kinda more advanced system management that really doesn't bother my day to day editing. I've never used the "recovery partition" to save my macs so I doubt I'll be missing that feature. I don't really care to dual boot bad to older OSx unless I wanna dive into an old FCP project for some reason.

 

[h9826790]

I forgot to ask but I think you guys are...
Are you running and editing in OSx or PC and windows ?

I also edit in adobe and have OS X El Capitan. I really need to upgrade my video card from the 1gb
ATI Radeon HD 5770.

Currently I have a sapphire 7950 3gb sitting next to me. I purchased it based on Macsales recommendation but was unaware that the mac 5.1's could possibly use newer or better cards.

So I'm just trying to figure out If I buy a titan 6gb or 12gb will I be able to install the drivers first, then the card and be up and running. It appears all the "boot manager" and "fileVault" is kinda more advanced system management that really doesn't bother my day to day editing. I've never used the "recovery partition" to save my macs so I doubt I'll be missing that feature. I don't really care to dual boot bad to older OSx unless I wanna dive into an old FCP project for some reason.

Yes, in fact, you should install the Nvidia web driver BEFORE you install the card. So that, once you install the card, the computer can boot to desktop, and you can use it straight away.

Anyway, this is what I am running right now. Very smooth and flawless. And I only do editing in macOS. Windows for me is gaming only.

 

[jrev]

Yes, in fact, you should install the Nvidia web driver BEFORE you install the card. So that, once you install the card, the computer can boot to desktop, and you can use it straight away.

Anyway, this is what I am running right now. Very smooth and flawless. And I only do editing in macOS. Windows for me is gaming only.
View attachment 761143

Duuuuude, Thanks so much for helping me out. there are a lot of threads that go incomplete and unanswered. I see you are using a 1080Ti ... more powerful than the Titan?

looks like its time for me to return this sapphire 7950 and find an affordable titan. Do you think I will be ok with el capitan or will i need to upgrade that as well?

 

[h9826790]

Duuuuude, Thanks so much for helping me out. there are a lot of threads that go incomplete and unanswered. I see you are using a 1080Ti ... more powerful than the Titan?

looks like its time for me to return this sapphire 7950 and find an affordable titan. Do you think I will be ok with el capitan or will i need to upgrade that as well?

According to UserBenchmark

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-Titan-X-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1080-Ti/3282vs3918

1080Ti is way faster than Titan X (Maxwell).

Little bit faster than Titan X (Pascal)

And Tiny bit slower than TitanXP.

 

[Synchro3]

GTX Titan X = Maxwell
Titan X = Pascal rev.1
Titan Xp = Pascal rev. 2

 

[jrev]

Yes, in fact, you should install the Nvidia web driver BEFORE you install the card. So that, once you install the card, the computer can boot to desktop, and you can use it straight away.

Anyway, this is what I am running right now. Very smooth and flawless. And I only do editing in macOS. Windows for me is gaming only.
View attachment 761143

Hey Everyone Thanks for all the Help and support. You guys are super killer!

I ended up scoring a nice
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB (Maxwell)
that the user says went very VERY unused in a system.

Do you guys know what kind of power supply cables I need to order to set this up to a mac pro 5.1 ??
thanks again

 

[h9826790]

Hey Everyone Thanks for all the Help and support. You guys are super killer!

I ended up scoring a nice
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB (Maxwell)
that the user says went very VERY unused in a system.

Do you guys know what kind of power supply cables I need to order to set this up to a mac pro 5.1 ??
thanks again

Few methods.

1) Easiest and safest

DUAL mini 6pin -> SINGLE 8pin
DUAL SATA -> SINGLE 6pin

2) Work but considered risky (I am using this method)

DUAL mini 6pin -> SINGLE 8pin
single 8pin FEMALE -> DUAL 6+2 pin

3) Work, considered safer than method 2, but require hardware mod.

Pixlas mod

4) work, considered safer than method 2 and 3, but not "elegant"

extra PSU

 

[jrev]

Few methods.

1) Easiest and safest

DUAL mini 6pin -> SINGLE 8pin
DUAL SATA -> SINGLE 6pin

2) Work but considered risky (I am using this method)

DUAL mini 6pin -> SINGLE 8pin
single 8pin FEMALE -> DUAL 6+2 pin

3) Work, considered safer than method 2, but require hardware mod.

Pixlas mod

4) work, considered safer than method 2 and 3, but not "elegant"

extra PSU

[doublepost=1527541348][/doublepost]hello everyone. So I finally got this titan x 12 gb and all the power cables. I updated my Ssd to mac os 10.13.4 and the lates cuda installer cudadriver_396.64_macos and nvidia drivers WebDriver-387.10.10.10.30.107. I installed all of this jazz and then shutdown and pulled all the plugs. Then I installed the titan x and all the proper internal and external power stuff. I def get a black screen but after a minute or so nothing happens. I can press keys and get the apple "dunk" sound. I am also using a monitor that is a DVI... its an old monitor maybe 8+years old. Do i need to be using an HDMI monitor? Anyone have any tips or advice? I am thinking of maybe installing the last few drivers and then upgrade to the latest just so any older files are in the system. Also I am willing to wipe the drive, it's brand new and since my other boot is el capitan maybe i can get the card to run on el capitan????

 

[h9826790]

Did you setup remote control?

If yes, use that to check the following info, and see if there is anything can confirm the GTX TitanX is working.

 

[jrev]

Did you setup remote control?

If yes, use that to check the following info, and see if there is anything can confirm the GTX TitanX is working.View attachment 763383View attachment 763384View attachment 763385View attachment 763386View attachment 763388

[doublepost=1527544265][/doublepost]Does remote control require me to have a 2nd computer to remote in? I only have this Mac.

 

[h9826790]

[doublepost=1527544265][/doublepost]Does remote control require me to have a 2nd computer to remote in? I only have this Mac.

No.

Smart phone can do it well.

Setup Chrome Remote Desktop on your Mac, then you can use the Client apps on your mobile phone to remote control the Mac.