MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 2,1 with 49" Ultrawide

[christophercarr86]

What do i need to be able to run a Samsung 49" Ultrawide monitor with my Macpro 2,1?
Willing to make the upgrades but just want to make sure I am ordering the right compatible parts.
Thanks!
Chris

 

[reader50]

Resolution is 5120 x 1440
Inputs: 1x DP 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1 (source: newegg)

Looks like any graphics card that can handle a 4K monitor, will handle your 49" ultrawide. In fact, it has only 89% of the pixels of a standard 4K monitor.

You'll need something later than the GPUs that came with your 2,1 originally. Those all top out with dual-link DVI. They're intended for resolutions up to 2560x1440. Half the pixels you need to drive.

 

[keksikuningas]

on what OS?

i saw people run these samsung ultrawides in PIP mode as two monitors to use with Powermacs, if the most recent GPU you can install on a 2,1 doesn't support it over a single cable, this could be an option

 

[christophercarr86]

Resolution is 5120 x 1440
Inputs: 1x DP 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1 (source: newegg)

Looks like any graphics card that can handle a 4K monitor, will handle your 49" ultrawide. In fact, it has only 89% of the pixels of a standard 4K monitor.

You'll need something later than the GPUs that came with your 2,1 originally. Those all top out with dual-link DVI. They're intended for resolutions up to 2560x1440. Half the pixels you need to drive.

Thank you for the info, my 2,1 has a ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB.
From what I found online it does do 4K through display port ? But its from 2009 way before 4K I think lol so not sure.

What GPU would you recommend that is compatible with the 2,1 and 49" Ultrawide? I am happy to upgrade to get this working cleanly

 

[christophercarr86]

on what OS?

i saw people run these samsung ultrawides in PIP mode as two monitors to use with Powermacs, if the most recent GPU you can install on a 2,1 doesn't support it over a single cable, this could be an option

My 2,1 is running 10.11.6 El Capitan.

What is the most recent GPU you can install in a 2,1? I wasnt able to find a definitive answer on Google for that ?

 

[reader50]

I'm not well informed on the MP 1,1 or 2,1 but I suspect you're at the highest macOS you can go with El Capitan. My usual patch-install sources all suggest Sierra or higher require a 3,1. So the GPU you can use is likely limited to what El Cap has drivers for.

I know a Radeon HD 7970 can run a 4K display, because I tried it (in a 4,1). It worked OK for 4K desktop use, but only gave 30Hz. And the graphics card fan went crazy each time I tried to game at 4K, or run YouTube full-screen at 4K. Both use cases worked, but the fan was too annoying for extended use.

You can certainly try with your 5770, let us know if it works at 30Hz (or 24Hz).

As to what GPUs you can upgrade to, a bit of research based on OS drivers suggests:
nVidia: GTX 780 (or GTX 980 with web drivers)
AMD: 7970 or a GCN 1 card, like R9 370X. GCN 2 or 3 GPUs might work in El Cap also, but I couldn't tell for certain. That would bring the R9 380X into the picture, or even the R9 Fury cards. note some of these higher-end cards need quite a bit of extra power.

It would be better to get an answer from someone familiar with a 1,1 or 2,1 system. Certainly before buying a card.

 

[christophercarr86]

Another idea would be to look at other 49" Ultrawide options from LG or Dell ? Maybe one that needs a less powerful GPU compared to the Samsung?

I just dont know exactly what works with what and would like to buy in the next couple days while Boxing Week sales are still going on.

Very much appreciate all the insight!

 

[christophercarr86]

on what OS?

i saw people run these samsung ultrawides in PIP mode as two monitors to use with Powermacs, if the most recent GPU you can install on a 2,1 doesn't support it over a single cable, this could be an option

I have been searching all day for people running these in PIP mode with 2 cables or something but cannot find anything. Any chance you can point me in the right direction? Thanks!

 

[mikas]

There was a Samsung 49" at 3840x1080, it's resolution is under 4K, but I don't own one, and haven't seen it sold as new for years.

I've got a Samsung G9 49", and PbP (Picture By Picture) mode works like two separate monitors. If your GPU can drive two 2560x1440 monitors, it can drive Samsung 5120x1440 in PbP mode too, it's essentially the same as two monitors.

I do own a Mac Pro 2,1 with GTX 680 4GB and a Samsung G9 49" 5120x1440, but they are at different locations right now, so I can't test this for you. I'm pretty sure you can get it to work IF your GPU is capable enough for the above mentioned resolutions (2x 2560x1440). You can use two GPUs too if you want to. Or you can hook up two different sources (different computers) even. I used to drive Mac Pro and Win HP Z4 side by side a few years ago.

And I think you'd want PbP, not PiP. PiP stands for floating small window in front of the bigger screen. PbP stands for two monitor views side by side. With Samsung they are sized identical 50x50%.

There are other monitors with different PbP ratios, like Dell 40" U4021QW, and you can divide it by 50x50%, 75x25%, 80x20%. This too works like two separate monitors, just without the frames in between.

 

[keksikuningas]

There was a Samsung 49" at 3840x1080, it's resolution is under 4K, but I don't own one, and haven't seen it sold as new for years.

I've got a Samsung G9 49", and PbP (Picture By Picture) mode works like two separate monitors. If your GPU can drive two 2560x1440 monitors, it can drive Samsung 5120x1440 in PbP mode too, it's essentially the same as two monitors.

I do own a Mac Pro 2,1 with GTX 680 4GB and a Samsung G9 49" 5120x1440, but they are at different locations right now, so I can't test this for you. I'm pretty sure you can get it to work IF your GPU is capable enough for the above mentioned resolutions (2x 2560x1440). You can use two GPUs too if you want to. Or you can hook up two different sources (different computers) even. I used to drive Mac Pro and Win HP Z4 side by side a few years ago.

And I think you'd want PbP, not PiP. PiP stands for floating small window in front of the bigger screen. PbP stands for two monitor views side by side. With Samsung they are sized identical 50x50%.

There are other monitors with different PbP ratios, like Dell 40" U4021QW, and you can divide it by 50x50%, 75x25%, 80x20%. This too works like two separate monitors, just without the frames in between.

yeah despite typing out the response on this very Samsung G9 monitor I misspelled the name of the feature. Also the G9 supports 3840x1080, my 5,1 with rx580 can only run this resolution when using HDMI instead of DP for some reason

 

[mikas]

^ Yes you can drive Samsung G9 5120 at 3840, but it looks muddy to my eyes, at least for work. Games might be ok though, I don't know.

 

[keksikuningas]

^ Yes you can drive Samsung G9 5120 at 3840, but it looks muddy to my eyes, at least for work. Games might be ok though, I don't know.

yeah I played mac version of SOMA and it was fine but normal computer stuff like reading or writing stuff felt pretty bad. Thankfully it worked normally through DP 5120x1440@120

 

[christophercarr86]

I dont do any gaming at all and this will be used in a recording studio so will be used to show DAW windows 99% of the time.
And I am wondering about looking at Dell or LG instead that have less curved options and will be more crisp for text, etc.
Also just use it as dual monitors instead of one large ome until I move to a 7,1. (Just avoiding for as long as I can lol upgrading software in studio life is always a nightmare) as dual monitors in my mind is feel like I could drag a window across to 2 monitors as sort of a work around in the mean time?