Mac Pro 2009 GPU upgrade issues (RX480)

[KameHouse95]

Hey everyone, first post here.

I recently acquired a 2009 Mac Pro (4,1 flashed to 5,1) successfully updated to High Sierra. I had an ASUS Dual OC RX 480 lying around and am having some trouble getting it running properly.

As far as I've researched, High Sierra is supposed to have built-in drivers for the 480, so the kext modifications suggested here (https://www.theitsage.com/install-radeon-rx-480-gpu-macos-sierra/) no longer need to be implemented.

Basically I plugged in the card, and the screen is all sorts of green and pink pixelated. I can boot into the desktop, but it's largely unresponsive and totally wacked.

Based on my past experience with drivers this looks like a classic driver issue. Everyone on youtube and at the forums seem to be able to plug and play these and the 580s into High Sierra.

Is there something I'm missing?

 

[SneakyTLoD]

I'm running an rx480 on a 2009 but it's a reference model. Some people who have had issues in the past have flashed the bios to a reference model bios with some luck. The driver is the same for the 480 and 580. You might also try changing cables and ports.

 

[h9826790]

You may burn a Ubuntu disc and boot from it (LiveCD mode).

If the card can work properly, then it's macOS driver issue.

If still have the same issue, then it's hardware problem.

Or if you have Windows, boot to Windows can also let you know if hardware / software issue.

Anyway, if you haven't re-seat the card / re-connect the cable yet. May be that's the first thing to do. Just in case.

 

[tpivette89]

Anyway, if you haven't re-seat the card / re-connect the cable yet. May be that's the first thing to do. Just in case.

^^This... sounds like something isn't connected properly. Re-seat the card, power cables, and all monitor cables connected to the card. I have a MSI reference RX480 that I have tested in both my 4,1 (flashed to 5,1) Mac Pro, and in a eGPU in my late 2018 Mini. No problems running it right out of the box.

 

[KameHouse95]

I tested in on my windows 10 PC and it works great, so no hardware issue.

I reconnected all cables and set it in the other PCIe x16 slot on the mac pro

This is what it looks like when it boots :/

 

[KameHouse95]

A little more info: It looks like the device id is 0x67df which is listed here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/amd-polaris-vega-gpu-macos-support.2083168/ as supported, and in system profiler it recognizes it as an RX480 that supports metal

 

[SneakyTLoD]

Do you happen to have freesync enabled on the monitor? There was a bug in HS 10.13.6 that caused that kind of artifacts if you leave freesync turned on.

 

[KameHouse95]

Do you happen to have freesync enabled on the monitor? There was a bug in HS 10.13.6 that caused that kind of artifacts if you leave freesync turned on.

Nope, just a regular old 1080p monitor connected with DVI (I also tried HDMI)

 

[startergo]

I tested in on my windows 10 PC and it works great, so no hardware issue.

I reconnected all cables and set it in the other PCIe x16 slot on the mac pro

This is what it looks like when it boots :/

View attachment 818921

I had played once with kext modification, started getting similar issues as pictured. I forgot about it and only when I booted from another drive (and it worked as designed) then I remembered and replaced the kext with the original one. So If I were you I would try to install clean OSX, boot from it and see if the problem persists.

 

[KameHouse95]

I had played once with kext modification, started getting similar issues as pictured. I forgot about it and only when I booted from another drive (and it worked as designed) then I remembered and replaced the kext with the original one. So If I were you I would try to install clean OSX, boot from it and see if the problem persists.

Yeah I’ve been thinking about giving that a shot. I’ve resisted it because I did a clean install like 10 minutes before I put the card in...but I guess it doesn’t hurt to try! Is it typical for these third party cards to have issues?

 

[startergo]

Yeah I’ve been thinking about giving that a shot. I’ve resisted it because I did a clean install like 10 minutes before I put the card in...but I guess it doesn’t hurt to try! Is it typical for these third party cards to have issues?

You may also try the Ubuntu Live CD as suggested by @h9826790