IMO, 2x8 pin is actually a better config. Because 2x8 pin doesn't mean that the card will (and can) draw 300W from the 8pins. However, it should have a more balanced power draw between the two 8pins (which means, more balance loading for the mini 6pin).
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MacPro 5.1 GTX 980Ti
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IMO, 2x8 pin is actually a better config. Because 2x8 pin doesn't mean that the card will (and can) draw 300W from the 8pins. However, it should have a more balanced power draw between the two 8pins (which means, more balance loading for the mini 6pin).
Thanks a lot for all the detailed information and its great to see some other people are having their questions answered here too. Thanks again for all the people taking the time to share their knowledge.
So I think Ill try the
Cable A: 2x SATA -> 6pin
Cable B: 2x mini 6pin -> 8pin
Suggested by h9826790
Just to visualise, it will look like this (But with 2 connections to the top HDD bays not one)
I found a dual male Sata > 8pin cable but haven't been able to find a Dual Female > 8pin (Or in this picture above it looks like it is a connector that just goes onto what Im assuming is the power pins of the Sata port)
I have found some Dual mini 6pin > 8pin cables but these cables are much nicer. Does anyone know where you can source nice sleeved cables like these in dual mini 6pin > 8pin?
Thanks
So I think Ill try the
Cable A: 2x SATA -> 6pin
Cable B: 2x mini 6pin -> 8pin
Suggested by h9826790
Just to visualise, it will look like this (But with 2 connections to the top HDD bays not one)
I found a dual male Sata > 8pin cable but haven't been able to find a Dual Female > 8pin (Or in this picture above it looks like it is a connector that just goes onto what Im assuming is the power pins of the Sata port)
I have found some Dual mini 6pin > 8pin cables but these cables are much nicer. Does anyone know where you can source nice sleeved cables like these in dual mini 6pin > 8pin?
Thanks
Hi,
Quick question for those who have a 980ti - at what speed your graphic card is running under Windows?
I've installed GPU-z and surprisingly the GPU is running at PCIe x16 1.1 instead of 2.0
I thought this problem affected only macOS or the only way to get the full speed is to have the card flashed.
Also I did run a quick cinebench and my card scored 93fps. I was expecting more ± 130fps or more. what are your scores?
My card is powered by 2x6pin => 1x8pin and from the optical bay 2xSATA => 1x6pin.
Thanks!
Quick question for those who have a 980ti - at what speed your graphic card is running under Windows?
I've installed GPU-z and surprisingly the GPU is running at PCIe x16 1.1 instead of 2.0
I thought this problem affected only macOS or the only way to get the full speed is to have the card flashed.
Also I did run a quick cinebench and my card scored 93fps. I was expecting more ± 130fps or more. what are your scores?
My card is powered by 2x6pin => 1x8pin and from the optical bay 2xSATA => 1x6pin.
Thanks!
Search Cinebench, then you will know the WHY.
And PCIe 1.1 is actually in Windows ONLY. The Nvidia web driver can enable PCIe 2.0 in OSX for few years already.
Wow, thanks so much for the detailed info!
Sorry if I misunderstood, or I make you repeat, I just don’t want to break the card or my Mac.
I have a Mac Pro (2012) and just bought the EVGA GTX 980 T that has 2 x 8-Pin Power inputs. I just want to triple check it will work okay with using the following combined power:
2x SATA -> 6pin
1 x slot
2 x Motherboard 6pin
Will this be okay?
This is the card: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019P30XRC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks so much for your help with this!!!
Sorry if I misunderstood, or I make you repeat, I just don’t want to break the card or my Mac.
I have a Mac Pro (2012) and just bought the EVGA GTX 980 T that has 2 x 8-Pin Power inputs. I just want to triple check it will work okay with using the following combined power:
2x SATA -> 6pin
1 x slot
2 x Motherboard 6pin
Will this be okay?
This is the card: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019P30XRC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks so much for your help with this!!!
You link shows that's a 6+8pin card (I just look at the pictures, didn't check the spec), not 2x 8pin card.
Actually within the Amazon description + the one from evga's website your graphic card is powered by 2x 8pins.
My ti has only one 8pin and the other is a simple 6pin.
My personal opinion would have avoided this version for a one less hungry
.
My configuration won't work for you I guess.
My ti has only one 8pin and the other is a simple 6pin.
My personal opinion would have avoided this version for a one less hungry
. My configuration won't work for you I guess.
Actually within the Amazon description + the one from evga's website your graphic card is powered by 2x 8pins.
My ti has only one 8pin and the other is a simple 6pin.
My personal opinion would have avoided this version for a one less hungry
My configuration won't work for you I guess.
Ha ha, yeah, less hungry would perhaps have been better, but I am stuck with this one now :s
Any idea on how to get it powered correctly? Sorry, pretty new to the hardware/power side of things and worry about breaking something.
Thanks for your help with this!
You have two options
First one, with good knowledge in electricity, you could create a mod from which you will add an additional 8pin from the current macpro PSU.
There is a post here which describes exactly how to do it:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pixlas-4-1-mac-pro-mod.1859652/
The second option is about adding an external PSU to get you additional power.
First one, with good knowledge in electricity, you could create a mod from which you will add an additional 8pin from the current macpro PSU.
There is a post here which describes exactly how to do it:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pixlas-4-1-mac-pro-mod.1859652/
The second option is about adding an external PSU to get you additional power.
Third option, simply run the card by the dual mini 6pin. The card has dual 8pin input doesn't mean that it will draw more power than a 6+8pin card.
In fact, it may simply means the card will evenly draw power from the 8pins, but not heavily rely on the 8pin more than the 6pin. For cMP, which may be a good news.
e.g. A 250W 6+8pin 980Ti. It may draw power as follow.
65W from slot + 65W from 6pin, 120W from 8pin
So, total 250W, but a simple mini 6pin to 8pin won't work in this case, because 120W from a single mini 6pin means hard shut down.
On the other hand. A 250W dual 8pin 980Ti may do the following.
60W from slot + 95W from each 8pin.
Total still 250W, but a simply mini 6pin to 8pin will work perfectly. In fact, in this config, the cMP can support higher power draw without any issue.
e.g. 70W from slot, and 110W from each 8pin. Total 290W.
So, dual 8pin not necessary a disadvantage for the cMP. The power draw distribution is actually more important than the overall power draw.
Of course, this 3rd option only works if the card do evenly distribute the power draw. However, no guarantee for that. So, not necessary work as expected.
h9826790 and superparati, thank you so much for your advice and knowledge, really really appreciate it!! I will see how it goes. The card came with two adapters (both dual 6 pin inputs to 8 pin), I will see if there is something I can do there.
I was originally going to get the combined power via :
- the two 6 pin outputs from the motherboard (using the dual adapter to one of the cards 8 pin inputs)
- power from the slot
- then draw power from 2 x SATA (using this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007Y91B80/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
That won't overload it will it?
use a 2x SATA -> 8pin sure is safer setup.
What I will do is to power the card with only the both mini 6pin -> 8pin.
Then run Luxmark 2 (NOT Luxmark 3). It's less demanding, so less chance to shutdown the Mac if the max power draw is really high.
During the power draw test, use iStat or HWMonitor to capture the max power draw of each 6pin.
Hopefully the power draw is quite even distributed.
In any case, after the test, let the 2x mini 6pin to drive the more demanding 8pin, and 2x SATA drive the less demanding 8pin.
And now you should able to safely run Luxmark 3, Unigine Valley, or Unigine Heaven, etc... and monitor the power draw again. The 6pins should be well within the limit (75W each). Pay more attention on the SATA port power draw, the standard limit is 54W from each of the SATA port (or <4.5A if you monitor the current via iStat). Since you only use the SATA ports to drive the less demanding 8pin, they should stay within the limit. Or in worst case, just slightly over the limit (if your 980Ti do make good use of the PCIe slot power).
Of course, you can run the Luxmark 2 test with the 2x SATA -> 8pin + 2x mini 6pin -> 8pin (random order), and find out if it's drawing too much from the SATA port, and then swap cable if require. However, we know that there is a safety mechanism in the mini 6pin to protect the Mac, but we don't know if there is any protection for the SATA port. So, IMO, it may be actually safer to run this power draw test with just the mini 6pin -> 8pin adaptor (as long as the power draw is not extreme).
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Wow, thank you so much for your help and advice with this. Really really appreciate it!!
Since NVIDIA came up with an upgrade to the driver, does the 980ti still get by without as much power?
I am trying to get this same config to work. (Mac Pro 5,1, High Sierra) I'm a PC guy that is out of his depth trying to upgrade my son's Mac.
I'm hoping I can find some help so I can do this. I don't know the names if all the Mac utilities. If I can get a) super detailed instructions or b) direct support, there can even be cash involved.
I'm hoping I can find some help so I can do this. I don't know the names if all the Mac utilities. If I can get a) super detailed instructions or b) direct support, there can even be cash involved.
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Sorry I don't have cycles to help. It has some tricky stuff and I would imagine you and your son can spend some bonding time learning how to do all of this.
First I would get a Mac Pro 2009 or later. 2010 is better
Then I would read up on the firmware update from 4,1 to 5,1 if you need to do it for a 2009.
Then I would order a flashed NVIDIA card from macvidcards.com or purchase an ATI video card of some sort
From this place I would look at getting the latest OS on that system from apple.
Are you sure you don't want to just setup a gaming box for your son using a PC?
First I would get a Mac Pro 2009 or later. 2010 is better
Then I would read up on the firmware update from 4,1 to 5,1 if you need to do it for a 2009.
Then I would order a flashed NVIDIA card from macvidcards.com or purchase an ATI video card of some sort
From this place I would look at getting the latest OS on that system from apple.
Are you sure you don't want to just setup a gaming box for your son using a PC?
Thanks. He has a Mid-2010 updated to 5,1 and High Sierra. I got the 980Ti off eBay. I did install the Nvidia pkg from their site. I don't know what it means to flash the video card (in this context). If it's not flashed, does that mean it can't work in a Mac? Would I have to get into some utilities I'm unfamiliar with? I keep seeing references to "Clover Configurator"
Thanks again,
No, you do not need clover or anything else like that. The issue is when your system boots, it does not know what the card is and you are facing a black screen.. Macvidcards.com can flash the card for you if you want and have it back to you in a week for $150. In regards to non-flash, if you have the old graphics card, you can swap it out when you do an os update. The other option is to make sure you have screen sharing on and log into that computer from another mac at home. My laptop can do that for me.
In regards to the right power cables you will need the 6pin to 6pin and the 8 pin to 8 pin cable that plugs in the aux power on the mother board
Here is the link to the best power config and cables to use
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-4-1-and-5-1-pcie-aux-power.2035519/
In regards to the right power cables you will need the 6pin to 6pin and the 8 pin to 8 pin cable that plugs in the aux power on the mother board
Here is the link to the best power config and cables to use
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-4-1-and-5-1-pcie-aux-power.2035519/
To be clear, a flashed card allows it to boot as normal and you see the boot progress and the apple logo. This can be done by getting a preflashed card or having macvidcards.com flash your card for you.
Option 2 is you can boot your system with a non-flashed system and just have your system already setup to allow remote access or screen sharing from another mac on the network. Then you can remote into your system and load the NVIDIA drivers and reboot and it should work fine. The other option is to have a second video card next to the NVIDIA you have. When it does not work you just plug your monitor into the old card and then run the update for the new NVIDIA driver and then reboot.
***Whenever Apple does an OS update, always download the latest driver from NVIDIA that comes out about 4 days after the update drops. Do not do automatic updates or you will not give NVIDIA time to update the driver and fix what APPLE will break.
Option 2 is you can boot your system with a non-flashed system and just have your system already setup to allow remote access or screen sharing from another mac on the network. Then you can remote into your system and load the NVIDIA drivers and reboot and it should work fine. The other option is to have a second video card next to the NVIDIA you have. When it does not work you just plug your monitor into the old card and then run the update for the new NVIDIA driver and then reboot.
***Whenever Apple does an OS update, always download the latest driver from NVIDIA that comes out about 4 days after the update drops. Do not do automatic updates or you will not give NVIDIA time to update the driver and fix what APPLE will break.
I ordered the flashing service and a 6+2 power cable. It just sounded so much easier.
Thanks for your help.
Thanks for your help.
Hi guys,
Did not want to start a new thread so hoping it is fine to ask this question here:
Is the 980Ti still the best option to get the highest GPU performance out of a Mac Pro 5,1?
I do not have one, but am looking at purchasing a 12-core used one later this year.
I do not do video editing but do handle anywhere from 42MP to +100 MP raw photo files and edit them in several different programs and will be driving at least one 4K monitor.
Thank you and great info already here on this thread. A big thumbs up to all that shared their knowledge.
Did not want to start a new thread so hoping it is fine to ask this question here:
Is the 980Ti still the best option to get the highest GPU performance out of a Mac Pro 5,1?
I do not have one, but am looking at purchasing a 12-core used one later this year.
I do not do video editing but do handle anywhere from 42MP to +100 MP raw photo files and edit them in several different programs and will be driving at least one 4K monitor.
Thank you and great info already here on this thread. A big thumbs up to all that shared their knowledge.