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MP 1,1-5,1 MAC PRO 5.1 RADEON VII NO VIDEO OUTPUT!!

B

Bob Lodge

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 22, 2021
26
1
Hello everyone! I need some help with my cMP 5.1
Bought a 2nd hand XFX Radeon VII, saw it working on the computer it was pulled off from.
Got home, replaced my RX 590 NITRO+ SE with the Radeon VII and got no boot screen on any output port on the GPU.
Plugged back my 590 and everything works as it should.
Tried running my machine without OpenCore, plugged my NVMe MacOS Catalina drive, unplugged the OC hdd and still no image on screen.
Plugged back the 590 without OpenCore and I had image on my screen.
Is there anything else left to try?

MP 5.1
CPU: 2x 3.46 Xeon
RAM: 20 GB
NVMe1: MAC OS CATALINA 10.15.7
NVMe2: WIN10 22H2
OC: 0.7.8 (Installed in HDD SLOT 4 EX FAT)
GPU: SAPPHIRE RX590 NITRO+ SE
 
Last edited:
Bob Lodge said:
Hello everyone! I need some help with my cMP 5.1
Bought a 2nd hand XFX Radeon VII, saw it working on the computer it was pulled off from.
Got home, replaced my RX 590 NITRO+ SE with the Radeon VII and got no boot screen on any output port on the GPU.
Plugged back my 590 and everything works as it should.
Tried running my machine without OpenCore, plugged my NVMe MacOS Catalina drive, unplugged the OC hdd and still no image on screen.
Plugged back the 590 without OpenCore and I had image on my screen.
Is there anything else left to try?

MP 5.1
CPU: 2x 3.46 Xeon
RAM: 20 GB
NVMe1: MAC OS CATALINA 10.15.7
NVMe2: WIN10 22H2
OC: 0.7.8 (Installed in HDD SLOT 4 EX FAT)
GPU: SAPPHIRE RX590 NITRO+ SE
Click to expand...
For boot screen, Radeon VII need DirectGopRendering, which the RX590 may not, you better check if you enabled this option in the OpenCore config.

Since Catalina cannot be run on the cMP without patching. If you pull out the OC drive but you can still boot to that with your RX590. This is only possible because you patched Catalina.

For patched macOS, the GPU driver somehow may be "locked" to the GPU that ran the macOS installer. This can also explain why the GPU driver doesn't load for the Radeon VII, and you can't see anything.

In your case, I will say the first thing to try is just enable DirectGopRendering.
 
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Bob Lodge said:
What's the correct way of installing a Radeon VII GPU?
Click to expand...
Should be just plug and play (assuming both 8pin are connected).

Bob Lodge said:
Seems like I already had it enabled.
Still not getting image, could there be another setting preventing me from getting image?
Click to expand...
May be you can try my pre-configured OpenCore package. I built that with my Radeon VII.

Activate AMD hardware acceleration

I created a new "easy to install package" as per many requested (based on the official OpenCore). [The attached package updated to 1.0.0] For those who only need HWAccel, post #594 has everything you need. This new package mainly offer HWAccel + boot screen. Also, this package should work in...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

It should allow your card to display the boot screen like this
 
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Bob Lodge said:
I started reading about Radeon VII's black screen issues, turns out there were certain versions that shipped without UEFI support, AMD later released a firmware update with UEFI support.
Could this be my problem?
I might have a chance to boot this from the pc it was plugged in and try to update the firmware and give it another shot.
So, could I be on to something here or am I just wasting time?
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I want to suggest next.

You may try the attachment. I found it from my data drive, should be my own Radeon VII's ROM image backup.

Or download the ROMs from here, and test them one by one (even you should only need the 016.004.000.038.011717 ROM)

TechPowerUp

Extensive repository of graphics card BIOS image files. Our database covers submissions categorized by GPU vendor, type, and board partner variant.
www.techpowerup.com
 

Attachments

  • Radeon VII.rom.zip
    184.2 KB · Views: 249
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Bob Lodge said:
Great, I will try this out but I've never upgraded a GPU firmware, just wanted to ask:
Is this just like a regular installer or are there any instructions I need to look to update the firmware?
Sorry for the dumb question.
Click to expand...
In Windows (native, not virtual machine), download ATIWinFlash, run it.

Then use it to dump your existing ROM image to backup.

And use it to load the new ROM image to flash your card.

I posted some info about how to mod the ROM and flash RX580 at here.

Sapphire PULSE RX580 8GB VBIOS Study

*** For info, this mod is NOT compatible with the OpenCore boot screen mod *** This thread is about how to mod the Sapphire PULSE RX580 8GB card's ROM image. If you worry about bricking the card, or void the warranty etc. STOP HERE! For those who has MVC flashed RX580. Do NOT perform this mod...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

For your Radeon VII, you only need to dump and flash the card. Those process are discribed in the procedure section (you can skip the steps related to PolarisBiosEditor).
 
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I can try but I really don't know how to do it, should I just look it up like that?
How to burn a Linux Live CD?
 
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Bob Lodge said:
So I managed to boot up a cMP system I work with in a recording studio using the Radeon VII I bought.
What I did to boot was what I was asking, I plugged my M2 drive and the Radeon VII into a PC, configured the MOBO to run in UEFI, booted my win10 partition in UEFI mode and turned the pc off after I got image.
Plugged the Radeon VII to the cMP on the studio and this time I got a boot screen (with stutters) and I could boot into Mac OS or Windows 10. The card was working flawlessly and did some tests using UE5 and some benchmarks.
Came back home and plugged the Radeon VII back into my own cMP but to my surprise I wasn't getting image again.
Thoughts? :p
Click to expand...
Either OpenCore is not properly installed / config on your home cMP (which we went through before, so, shouldn't be the root cause).

Or the card is not powered correctly in your home cMP (high chance now. In fact, this happen from time to time. Even some people did Pixlas mod, but the cable / connector may not properly connected. This often cost them days to find out.).
 
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Bob Lodge said:
Is there a way to make my win10 or MacOS partitions the one that appears selected on the opencore bootscreen?
whenever I boot my machine its always selecting the EFI partition and sometimes I miss the 10 second window, before I switched to 0.8.8 the first selected partition was the win10, i would like to configure it to have it like that, is it possible?
Click to expand...
Select your default entry, and press Control + Enter.

Or simply select your macOS as the default boot drive in system preferences. OpenCore boot picker will obey that.
 
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rivangom said:
Dear both, I have a similar challenge with the Radeon VII where with the OC v. 0.9.1 from Martin Lo I don't get the bootscreen and it goes direct to the logon screen of Monterey. I have DirectGopRendering in the config.plist line 1329 on line 1330 <true/>. Do I miss anything to get the OC bootscreen/picker with this Radeon VII? It also fails to have the other DP ports (2,3) connected. Untouched the config.plist with my Radeon Vega 64 I has the OC bootscreen/picker and also the two DP ports connected with dual Display setup.
Click to expand...
Do this to enable other Display ports

If your Radeon VII cannot display boot screen, most likely it's with the older incompatible firmware. You may go to TechPowerUp, download the newer firmware, and flash your card.
 
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tootansimooon said:
Hi @h9826790

Thanks so much for all your help. It was great to test this card's compatibility out, hopefully others will be able to learn from this that the Radeon PRO VII is not natively compatible with mojave. I was hoping to have a non-pixlas mod, plug-and-play version of the VII.

I think the wisest thing to do (for me) is to buy a card which is compatible, as above. A 6800? a 5700?

Realise I'm changing the topic here, and that it's been well documented elsewhere, but what is the current recommendation for the most powerful card which fulfils the above requirements (non-pixlas mod, plug-and-play, native to mojave)? Entirely for Davinci Resolve with heavy colour grading.

I will upgrade to OPENCORE soon enough, but at the moment I'm in the middle of several big editing projects and don't want to rock the ship. I'd like to spend time to learn about it properly before actioning it when I have more time to dig into it.

Thanks again!! Lemme know what you think about an alternative.

S
Click to expand...
No worries, totally understand that you just want a working machine, but not works like a developer to make the Radeon Pro VII works in Mojave.

Anyway, for Mojave, if you also put power draw into account, and don't even consider use kext to undervolt the graphic card, then the best option should be Vega56.

Anything above Radeon VII need newer macOS.

Radeon VII itself need Pixlas mod or downvolt. Otherwise, under very high stress, may hard shutdown the cMP.

So, the next option will be Vega56 and Vega64. Vega64 of course is stronger, but same problem as Radeon VII, may trigger the shutdown protection. That will be a nightmare in the middle of a DV project. Therefore, Vega56 should be the best bet.
 
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tootansimooon said:
@h9826790 do you think the same applies if I were to use the following combination:
DUAL mini 6pin -> Single 8pin + Single 8pin FEMALE -> DUAL 6+2 pin

i.e. as per your recommendation but with an 8 pin rather than 6 pin bridge? I have this cable lying around, and I'm going to buy a Vega 56 now.
Click to expand...
Absolutely no problem to use 8pin bridge. I use 6pin bridge simply because that's less unnecessary wires, and that cable was cheaper.

But in general, it's much easier to buy the 8pin cables for this purpose.
 
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h9826790 said:
This is the RadeonBoost kext created by CMMChrist, but I modified it a bit to fit Radeon Pro VII. Hopefully the extra device properties injected can make Mojave ident your GPU as a Metal device. If you don't mind, you may try this kext. It's a codeless kext, should be no harm. And you can open the info.plist to see what's injected.

If you are OpenCore user, you may simply inject the property via OC config. Or inject this kext via OC should also work.

If you installed this kext to /L/E, then something goes wrong, then a NVRAM reset to re-enable SIP should automatically disable this kext.
Click to expand...
There is a mistake in code and so plist file can't be opened. Seems you forgot to add <integer>0</integer> after <key>PP_DisableULV</key>

Here is correct version:
Code: 
            <dict>
                <key>model</key>
                <string>AMD Radeon Pro VII</string>
                <key>@0,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>@1,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>@2,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>@3,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>@4,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>@5,name</key>
                <string>ATY,Donguil</string>
                <key>ATY,Copyright</key>
                <string>Copyright AMD Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2005-2020</string>
                <key>ATY,FamilyName</key>
                <string>Radeon Pro</string>
                <key>ATY,DeviceName</key>
                <string>Vega II</string>
                <key>ATY,EFIVersion</key>
                <string>01.01.186</string>
                <key>ATY,Rom#</key>
                <string>113-D160BW-444</string>
                <key>ATY,EFIVersionB</key>
                <string>113-D163A1XT-045</string>
                <key>ATY,EFIVersionROMB</key>
                <string>113-D163A1XT-045</string>
                <key>PP_DisableULV</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
            </dict>
 

Attachments

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    Screen Shot 2024-10-29 at 2.00.57 AM.jpg
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h9826790 said:
Since Catalina cannot be run on the cMP without patching. If you pull out the OC drive but you can still boot to that with your RX590. This is only possible because you patched Catalina.

For patched macOS, the GPU driver somehow may be "locked" to the GPU that ran the macOS installer. This can also explain why the GPU driver doesn't load for the Radeon VII, and you can't see anything.

In your case, I will say the first thing to try is just enable DirectGopRendering.
Click to expand...
Thank you for responding so fast!
Seems like I already had it enabled.
Still not getting image, could there be another setting preventing me from getting image?
What's the correct way of installing a Radeon VII GPU?
 
Last edited:
Im actually using your package since I first heard from OC few years ago, great stuff btw.
So I'm still not getting any image whatsoever.
Plugged the rx590 back, made a brand new Mojave install on an empty HDD and removed the OC HDD, and as expected I dont get a bootscreen but I can get to the log screen and work normaly from there.
Removed the rx590, plugged the Radeon VII and again no screen.
I was using your 0.7.8 package and updated to the most recent (0.8.8) but I'm still not having luck.
I started reading about Radeon VII's black screen issues, turns out there were certain versions that shipped without UEFI support, AMD later released a firmware update with UEFI support.
Could this be my problem?
I might have a chance to boot this from the pc it was plugged in and try to update the firmware and give it another shot.
So, could I be on to something here or am I just wasting time?
Thanks in advance Martin, really appreciate the help.
 
Great, I will try this out but I've never upgraded a GPU firmware, just wanted to ask:
Is this just like a regular installer or are there any instructions I need to look to update the firmware?
Sorry for the dumb question.
 
I went to see my friend, we tried all roms and I still dont have any image coming out from the gpu, I tried booting the system using my native mojave partition without OC or through OC trying to boot catalina or win10.
I verified that I was installing a different firmware every single time (the tool doesnt allow you to install the same one either way).
Right now the card has your ROM and it worked perfectly in my friends PC, every single rom worked with the card.
What else could I be missing?
 
Did you try another PCIe slot, or another Display Port output on the card?

And I assume you do power both 8pin on the Radeon VII, correct?
 
Yes I've tried the 1st and 2nd PCIe slots and all outputs on the gpu.
GPU is powered by both 8pin connectors.
It works great on windows on PC, ran several benchmarks and works as expected.
 
I'm currently using Martin's 0.8.8 package (started this thread with 0.7.8 and upgraded to latest version).

Here are my current partitions:
OpenCore 0.8.8 on HDD SATA slot 2
Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6 on HDD SATA slot 3
Mac OS Catalina 10.15.7 on NVMe through adapter PCIe slot 3
Windows 10 on NVMe through adapter on PCIe slot 4

XFX Radeon VII with vBIOS v105 (provided by Martin as well) on PCIe slot 1 (both 8pin power cables)

Right now the cMP wont output any image from any of the 4 outputs of the Radeon VII(3 DP 1 HDMI).
This same GPU boots and works just fine in a PC i helped my friend build.
It worked fine after I flashed every single vBIOS file, 3 from the TechPowerUp site, 1 from Martin's own Radeon VII and 1 more from the TechPowerUp site from an ASRock version which was the 1st with UEFI support which according to the flashing utility is the same as the one Martin provided, still I flashed every single one and tried it on my cMP with the same result every time.

Is it possible i have to plug my NVMe drive (a UEFI Win10 partition) into my friends PC, boot into BIOS and set it to UEFI (I think its also called legacy mode) so the card switches to UEFI mode after rebooting and logging back to Win10?
 
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