Help with 4k display and Mac Pro

[aajeevlin]

I have read many post on this topic. Can someone definitively say which video card can do 4K? Or at least drive the LG 34 inch wide screen with the 3440 x 1440 screen?

I believe I have the default one that came with the low end Mac Pro 2009. I think it can only push 2560 x 1440 max...

 

[JedNZ]

I've got a Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380X 4GB running in my cMP 1,1>2,1, connected to a Samsung 28" U28E590 4K monitor, and it works beautifully at 60Hz (actually it's running at 64Hz HiDPI) via DP (full system in my sig) at 3840 x 2160 dpi. The 28" screen is crisp, but the content (Menus etc) is extremely, extremely small - lucky I have perfect eyesight, but it can be a strain after viewing the screen for a few hours. If I were to get another screen I would get a ~40" that was capable of 60Hz.

 

[nigelbb]

I've got a Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380X 4GB running in my cMP 1,1>2,1, connected to a Samsung 28" U28E590 4K monitor, and it works beautifully at 60Hz (actually it's running at 64Hz HiDPI) via DP (full system in my sig) at 3840 x 2160 dpi. The 28" screen is crisp, but the content (Menus etc) is extremely, extremely small - lucky I have perfect eyesight, but it can be a strain after viewing the screen for a few hours. If I were to get another screen I would get a ~40" that was capable of 60Hz.

I have the Philips BDM4065UC 40" which runs 4K@60Hz from a GTX680 that I flashed for the Apple boot screen. The GTX680 will not boot 4K@60Hz via DP 1.2 though & requires either some juggling about with first connecting by HDMI for 4K@30Hz to boot then changing to DP 1.2 or more simply just have another monitor connected to DVI or HDMI for the boot screen. The 40" 4K screen is a nice compromise between extra pixels & actually being able to read the txt & see the icons. I have been using a 30" 2560x1600 for many years so the 40" 3840x2160 is not very different in terms of pixel density. The Philips screen quality is excellent & is extremely good value (I got mine for just over £500) but has been superseded by the BDM4350UC 43" model that has HDMI 2.0 rather than the HDMI 1.4 of the 40" model.

 

[ActionableMango]

something wasn't working. I tried 2 adapters and 2 video cards. Friend of mine tried it with his nuc and it worked perfectly over hdmi 2.0 port without adapters running windows 10.

Did you try Windows on the Mac Pro? If Windows worked and OS X didn't (on the same computer), then it is most likely an EDID mismatch, which is correctable with an override. OS X is very bad with EDID, especially with TVs, and using adapters probably makes things worse.

Edit: Found the article about OS X and EDID. It describes the problem, how to check for it, and how to fix it:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/to...-or-wrong-resolution-laptop-display-problems/

 

[kalex]

Did you try Windows on the Mac Pro? If Windows worked and OS X didn't (on the same computer), then it is most likely an EDID mismatch, which is correctable with an override. OS X is very bad with EDID, especially with TVs, and using adapters probably makes things worse.

Edit: Found the article about OS X and EDID. It describes the problem, how to check for it, and how to fix it:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/to...-or-wrong-resolution-laptop-display-problems/

I didn't try windows on it. Just OSX. Already returned the Samsung and will be getting something with native DP

 

[pastrychef]

Can someone definitively say which video card can do 4K?

I've used GTX 680, GTX 980, and GT 640 video cards with my 4K monitor.

 

[aajeevlin]

I've used GTX 680, GTX 980, and GT 640 video cards with my 4K monitor.

Would I have to perform any additional work on those or they are more of plug and play (maybe except getting the right driver)? I don't mind actually doing some work to get them to work, but if I can find one that WILL just work, I'd put down the money on that. Thanks.

 

[pastrychef]

Of the three I listed, the GTX 680 is probably the most hassle free if you flash it with Mac EFI firmware.

The GT 640 and GTX 680 both work with the built-in OS X drivers.

The GTX 980 requires more care and work to maintain due to the fact that it NEEDS the Nvidia web drivers.