MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 3,1 & FCPX 10.4.7

[ianhhh123]

Hi. I've upgraded a Mac Pro 3,1 to run Catalina (via dosdude1 method with video patch), it works but the graphics are very sticky. So I swapped out the graphics card (ATI HD4870 512mb) for a GTX680 2GB and thought this would let me run FCPX but no, it's made not much difference.

Am I wasting my time, is it impossible for me to get this machine to run the latest FCPX or has anyone else managed this? I want to use it as an extra machine to render proxies, exports, etc overnight but the latest FCPX needs to have Metal to run.

Thanks.

Thanks.

 

[LordeOurMother]

You answered your own question.

Get a metal-supported AMD graphics card.

 

[ianhhh123]

I read that the GTX680 supports Metal, that's why I tried it:

Metal-GPU for Mac Pro 3,1 (2008) - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[LordeOurMother]

I said AMD for a reason. This is an Nvidia card. Nvidia cards cannot be properly used in Catalina, and per my understanding there are not workarounds on the Mac Pros (there seem to be some on the Hackintosh side).

 

[LordeOurMother]

To further add, support for third party Nvidia cards stopped at High Sierra.

 

[ianhhh123]

Cool, thanks the clarification, that helps. Someone else has suggested a AMD Gigabyte Aorus RX580 - would you recommend anything different?

 

[LordeOurMother]

I'm happy with my 7950 - I don't do video editing or gaming so I'm not super familiar with what the best choices would be. The big thing you want is something metal supported and AMD. The card you were recommended fits those categories. I would also consider the video card's performance for your specific usage, video editing, as well. But in general any recent card should do.

Also consider whether you want to do the pixlas mod or not. I don't feel like doing something like that myself.

 

[ianhhh123]

Great, thank you, I've got a few ideas to research, appreciate the help?

 

[joevt]

Mojave and later still support NVIDIA Kepler GPUs like the GTX 680 (they have Metal acceleration) but they don't have the type of acceleration that FCP needs.

A newer AMD GPU will require the SSE patch that comes with the Catalina Patcher. I don't know if FCP will work.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

Also your final screenshot shows that you used the “legacy video patch” which breaks support for cards that do support metal. Which is why changing to the GTX 680 only helped a little. amd Polaris cards or newer are what macOS wants.

 

[joevt]

Also your final screenshot shows that you used the “legacy video patch” which breaks support for cards that do support metal. Which is why changing to the GTX 680 only helped a little. amd Polaris cards or newer are what macOS wants.

I thought that last screenshot looked weird.
To remove the legacy video patch, reinstall Catalina over the partition? It won't remove your apps, docs, and settings.

 

[ianhhh123]

Yes, the last screenshot shows how when I drag a window it 'ghosts', like the graphics are slow & sticky. I've ordered a AMD Radeon RX580 8GB to try. So to confirm, regarding the legacy video patch - when I get it I should try it and if it doesn't work re-install Catalina? Or do I need to re-install before trying the card?

 

[joevt]

Yes, the last screenshot shows how when I drag a window it 'ghosts', like the graphics are slow & sticky. I've ordered a AMD Radeon RX580 8GB to try. So to confirm, regarding the legacy video patch - when I get it I should try it and if it doesn't work re-install Catalina? Or do I need to re-install before trying the card?

GTX 680 should not have those artifacts after you reinstall. You probably need to reinstall for RX580 anyway. Then you can try RX580.

 

[LordeOurMother]

Mojave and later still support NVIDIA Kepler GPUs like the GTX 680 (they have Metal acceleration) but they don't have the type of acceleration that FCP needs.

A newer AMD GPU will require the SSE patch that comes with the Catalina Patcher. I don't know if FCP will work.

My understanding was the Nvidia web drivers stop working at High Sierra, but that could just be « officially ».

 

[Ludacrisvp]

My understanding was the Nvidia web drivers stop working at High Sierra, but that could just be « officially ».

Officially and unofficially.
the web drivers Are dead.
only Kepler based nvidia cards work with 10.14+

 

[LordeOurMother]

Officially and unofficially.
the web drivers Are dead.
only Kepler based nvidia cards work with 10.14+

Interesting, we learn something new everyday!

 

[LordeOurMother]

A RX580 with 8gb RAM is going to be a much better card, particularly since you're video editing, so it might not be all that bad of a choice anyways. The 3,1s are going to be naturally more temperamental than the 5,1s in Mojave, however. I think modern GPUs require SSE 4.2 emulation to run in the 3,1 as well, so performance in FCP could be questionable.

Do report back with how it goes, OP!

 

[ianhhh123]

Hi. In case anyone else is struggling with this problem, I've installed the AMD RX580 8GB and it works.

At first the machine didn't recognise it and I had a black screen, so I switched back to the previous card, did a clean re-install of Catalina 10.15.6 via Dosdude1. In the post install I applied the patches for 3,1 & double checked the SSE4.2 patch was installed, but I did not install the Video Card Legacy patch (I read there's a conflict with it). I put the RX580 back in and it restarted perfectly. FCPX 10.4.9 is running perfectly and the machine seems glitch free so far.

Thanks to everyone who's helped me with this!?

 

[farikatik]

Hello dear friends!



Sorry, I don't speak English well, so I use google translator.

I have 2 MAC computers.

1- macbook 17 сore i7 16Gb

2- MAK PRO 3.1 – 32Gb

I want to prepare a video FINAL CUT SOFT on MACBOOK, and then send the file rendering to the MAC PRO 3.1 COMPRESSOR SOFT

I will have 5 monitors connected to Mac Pro 3.1

90% VIDEO MATERIALS 1080p QUALITY

I have read a lot of information about grandfather mac, but I want to clarify about the video card:

• I want to install the Catalina mac os, which video card is better to install?:
• ASUS ROG Radeon RX 580 1411MHz PCI-E 3.0 8192MB 8000MHz 256 bit - Polaris 20 XTX core
• PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 550 1071MHz PCI-E 3.0 4096MB 6000MHz 128 bit video card - Polaris 20 XTX core
• PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 580 1350MHz PCI-E 3.0 8192MB 8000MHz 256 bit - Polaris 20 XTX core
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN

SERIES: GeForce 700 GPU ARCHITECTURE: Kepler

GPU MODEL: GK110-400

CUDA CORE: 2688

BASE STOCK FREQUENCY (BOOST): 837 MHz (876 MHz)

MEMORY SPEED: 6 Gbps

MEMORY: 6 Gb GDDR5 (384-bit)

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770

SERIES: GeForce 700

GPU ARCHITECTURE: Kepler

GPU MODEL: GK104-325

CUDA CORE: 1536

BASE START FREQUENCY (BOOST): 1046 MHz (1085 MHz)

MEMORY SPEED: 7 Gbps

MEMORY: 2 Gb GDDR5 (256-bit)

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780

SERIES: GeForce 700

GPU ARCHITECTURE: Kepler

GPU MODEL: GK110-300

CUDA CORE: 2304

BASE STOCK FREQUENCY (BOOST): 863 MHz (900 MHz)

MEMORY SPEED: 6 Gbps

MEMORY: 3 Gb GDDR5 (384-bit)

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690

SERIES: GeForce 600

GPU ARCHITECTURE: Kepler

GPU MODEL: 2 × GK104-400

BASE STOCK FREQUENCY (BOOST): 915 MHz (1019 MHz)

MEMORY SPEED: 6 Gbps

MEMORY: 4 Gb GDDR5 (512-bit)


Many Thanks!

 

[jngphoto]

Hi. In case anyone else is struggling with this problem, I've installed the AMD RX580 8GB and it works.

At first the machine didn't recognise it and I had a black screen, so I switched back to the previous card, did a clean re-install of Catalina 10.15.6 via Dosdude1. In the post install I applied the patches for 3,1 & double checked the SSE4.2 patch was installed, but I did not install the Video Card Legacy patch (I read there's a conflict with it). I put the RX580 back in and it restarted perfectly. FCPX 10.4.9 is running perfectly and the machine seems glitch free so far.

Thanks to everyone who's helped me with this!?

Hi, I'm trying to upgrade my 3,1 to run FCPX too. How are you powering the RX580? I read additional power is recommended.

 

[ianhhh123]

Hi. I think I bought a different cable to connect it to the Mac:

Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin Graphics Card Power Cable Mac Pro 18AWG GPU | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin Graphics Card Power Cable Mac Pro 18AWG GPU at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I'm not 100% sure so please do some more research - i'm away from the Mac for a few weeks but when I get back I can check for you.

 

[jngphoto]

Hi. I think I bought a different cable to connect it to the Mac:

Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin Graphics Card Power Cable Mac Pro 18AWG GPU | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dual Mini 6 Pin PCI-e Male to 8 Pin Graphics Card Power Cable Mac Pro 18AWG GPU at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I'm not 100% sure so please do some more research - i'm away from the Mac for a few weeks but when I get back I can check for you.

Ok, it looks like you just used proper cables. I also have a GTX 680 and might upgrade to the AMD RX 580. Don't they use the same cable?