MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 GPU DP vs HDMI

[Jigga Beef]

I have been running a Mac Pro 5,1 with AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB GPU with 3x Monitors connected via DisplayPort. (Using OCLP running Monterey)



I realized the fan has been catching on the top of the casing recently so I wanted to replace it and ordered

What I THOUGHT was the same graphics card on Amazon for pretty cheap.



But it ended up being Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB but the back ports only have 2 x DisplayPort and 2 x HDMI, unlike my current GPU which is 3 x DP and 1 x HDMI.



All 3 of my monitors have both DP and HDMI but I always liked that they were using the same connection. Am I overthinking this, will it really matter if I use the new GPU and 2 of the monitors are connected via DP and 1 via HDMI?

 

[h9826790]

In most cases, DP or HDMI doesn't really matter. For multi monitors setup, it's expected to mix DP, HDMI, or even DVI connections.

If something is wrong, you should able to see that straight away.

 

[mattspace]

I have been running a Mac Pro 5,1 with AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB GPU with 3x Monitors connected via DisplayPort. (Using OCLP running Monterey)



I realized the fan has been catching on the top of the casing recently so I wanted to replace it and ordered

What I THOUGHT was the same graphics card on Amazon for pretty cheap.



But it ended up being Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB but the back ports only have 2 x DisplayPort and 2 x HDMI, unlike my current GPU which is 3 x DP and 1 x HDMI.



All 3 of my monitors have both DP and HDMI but I always liked that they were using the same connection. Am I overthinking this, will it really matter if I use the new GPU and 2 of the monitors are connected via DP and 1 via HDMI?

An issue will come up if your displays treat Displayport differently to HDMI - for example, if they send a "monitor detached" signal when the computer sleeps. That's part of the DP spec, but not a part of HDMI.

When the system wakes, you can get window scrambling, because theres a lot of Mac software that doesn't return to a display when it's been forced off it by a disconection event - especially things like floating palettes for tools.

With that card, I ended using my main display on HDMI, and 2nd & 3rd displays on DP, because those displays didn't seem to issue the detach command, while the main one does.

Your 3xDP card is a bit of a unicorn - what part is the fan catching on?

 

[Jigga Beef]

An issue will come up if your displays treat Displayport differently to HDMI - for example, if they send a "monitor detached" signal when the computer sleeps. That's part of the DP spec, but not a part of HDMI.

When the system wakes, you can get window scrambling, because theres a lot of Mac software that doesn't return to a display when it's been forced off it by a disconection event - especially things like floating palettes for tools.

With that card, I ended using my main display on HDMI, and 2nd & 3rd displays on DP, because those displays didn't seem to issue the detach command, while the main one does.

Your 3xDP card is a bit of a unicorn - what part is the fan catching on?

So I've used the card for at least 4 years with no issue but a few months ago I got one of those Sonnet PCIE 4x4 Cards but I was having trouble getting it to fit in PCIE port #2 right above the GPU and. heard the fan clicking against the top of the plastic housing.

Posted about it here and that was a few months ago and I just went back to the regular PCIE NVME card I was using.

so perhaps the plastic was always catching and its not a problem but when the fan spins it seems to get hitting the top of the plastic just made me nervous so I wanted a backup GPU on hand.

I remember a few years ago on here I posted about my card having 3 DisplayPorts and a person was like "No that card has 2 x HDMI and 2 x DP" so I sent a picture.

 

[Jigga Beef]

Ended up finding the same card I have for $129 but now I am trying to figure out if I am going to spend that should I get a better card or different card?

 

[tsialex]

Only you can really answer that.

If you only boot Monterey, RX 6600 is a much better choice, equivalent power requirements/envelope with double the performance of a RX 580.

If you need to boot previous macOS releases, another RX 580 will get you accelerated since Sierra. RX 6600 is dreadful - I have one - when booting Big Sur and earlier unaccelerated.