MP 1,1-5,1 Help me make my 1,1 not suck anymore, 4K Video

[NZXTInerTia]

Hello all, I've been using my 1,1 Mac Pro running an EFI modified El Capitan as my main media server/HTPC for about four years now and its been great. HD5870, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 4x2TB RAID-0 drives, etc.

Well, I just bought a house and my 42" 1080p TV just wasn't cutting it anymore so I bought a 65" 4K Sceptre TV (U650CV-U) and I've been running it off my primary gaming rig. So in order to make the Mac Pro more capable, I bought a Zotac GTX960 2GB (at a steal I may add, $40 shipped!) to replace the aging non-4K capable HD5870. With the newest version of Nvidia web drivers I could find for my OSX version as well.

So I'm having a few issues.

First off I can not for the life of me get audio to play through HDMI. None of the tricks I've found online seem to be working, so I'm stumped.

Secondly I can't get it to scale. Running the 5870 at its maximum resolution with this TV I was given an option to scale everything to fit. But now that option is gone?

Lastly, I'm running a new HDMI cable capable of 4K video, the GTX960 is HDMI 2.0 which is completely capable of 4K 60hz, but I am not given this option.

I really don't want to build a different HTPC, because I seriously love this machine. Its age coupled with the power it still has is mighty appealing to me, and if I can use it I absolutely will for many years to come.

 

[throAU]

I had an issue with 4k out of my vega card (similar era) and ended up using a DP to HDMI converter because the onboard HDMI wouldn’t work at 4k

Might be worth a shot.

 

[NZXTInerTia]

I had an issue with 4k out of my vega card (similar era) and ended up using a DP to HDMI converter because the onboard HDMI wouldn’t work at 4k

Might be worth a shot.

I actually did try this, although then the resolution wouldn't go anywhere NEAR 4K. I was basically limited at 1080p, so I'm assuming its just an outdated/cheap adapter. I stole it from my gaming rig, which has two 1080p/60 monitors so that could definitely be why.

DVI to HDMI cable also provided 4K, but still stuck at 30Hz. Seems like this is a common issue.

 

[throAU]

I actually did try this, although then the resolution wouldn't go anywhere NEAR 4K. I was basically limited at 1080p, so I'm assuming its just an outdated/cheap adapter. I stole it from my gaming rig, which has two 1080p/60 monitors so that could definitely be why.

DVI to HDMI cable also provided 4K, but still stuck at 30Hz. Seems like this is a common issue.

If you do that, you will need to ensure that the converter is also HDMI2.0 (and from memory, DP1.4(?) compliant.

So yeah, i feel your pain (and your situation may be a little different - could even be your TV?), good luck.

 

[orph]

99% of the time it's the cable, it's kind of a mess with most the cables not labeled with what gen they are

 

[MVMNT]

My main question is... why? Something a 100th the volume can output 4K now.

 

[orph]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Versions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#Versions

over time there has been updates to both HDMI and DP, in the past DVI,VGA,USB2 have all been static but now there being updated over time so we hit the problem that one port can cover 6+ versions or not support all 6 versions and at the same time a cable is locked to one version and below.

we used to see a lot of people use DVI cables and get confused when they needed DVI-D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#Connector

so now you need a port on the GPU that is able to output the resolution or features you need as well as a cable that is able to take that signal to the device.

also there have been a few displays that have been 'buggy or not ideal for 4K needing dual inputs or settings toggled to work correctly.

also worth trying something like https://www.madrau.com/ to check what display outputs you have

never mind the NVIDIA drivers are sometimes buggy with the installer

PS to me the biggest mess is now USB 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0#USB_3.1 & USB C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C#Related_USB-IF_specifications
why rename USB 3 it was some what simple and now there's a lot of hardware in the wild with wrong labels