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New Nvidia GTX 970 and 980 - cMP?

Have you got a Windows machine you can test the card in to see if it is actually functioning correctly?
 
No I don't, but I do have another Mac Pro 3.1, currently running OS X 10.9.5

It only has a Radeon HD 2600 in it. There are 2 6-pin sockets on the motherboard, but I don't have leads.

Guess I could try using the leads from the 5.1 Mac Pro.

If the machine is on 10.9.5, what drivers etc do I need for a GTX970?
 
I remember reading somewhere that was the case.

Can someone tell me that has a working GTX970, which version of Yosemite they are on, and which version of the nvidia driver and CUDA they are using (and where to get those specific versions)?
 
I am on 10.10.3 and am running the web drivers version WebDriver-346.01.02f04.

Evga GTX 970 (bottom slot [1?])

I have a eSata PCIe card (slot 4) and the stock GT120 installed as well. (slot 2)

I am using PCIe power cables I bought off of Ebay.

DP-mini DP cable to coupler, to 23 inch ALD. (usb extension)
 
Same drivers that aren't working for me.

Might try new 6-pin leads from eBay, but strange that the leads in the mac pro work fine with the Radeon card.
 
mitchino said:
Same drivers that aren't working for me.

Might try new 6-pin leads from eBay, but strange that the leads in the mac pro work fine with the Radeon card.
Click to expand...

I've read through all your posts and I'm confused about how you are powering the GTX 970.

Can you confirm that you have two 6-pin power cables, both with one end connected to the motherboard and the other end connected to the video card?
 
Sorry to harp on about this but have you tried to move to another pci slot or reseated the card?
 
Thanks for trying to help guys. Feel free to harp on!

I'm powering the card using the two 6-pin leads from the motherboard that were in the mac when I bought it and which successfully power the current Radeon Card.

I've tried the card in Slot 1 and Slot 2.

Another note of interest is that the mac uses a 480GB Mercury Accelsior card as it's boot disk - could that affect things?
 
mitchino said:
Another note of interest is that the mac uses a 480GB Mercury Accelsior card as it's boot disk - could that affect things?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't know.

If you have a spare hard drive laying around, for troubleshooting purposes I suggest trying a clean install of Yosemite. Remove the Mercury and any other optional hardware completely.

This will eliminate software issues and hardware compatibility problems.

If it doesn't work, I'd assume you have a bad card. If it does work, start adding the hardware back one by one.
 
Actionable Mango (great name btw) I've already started that process, got an HD and bunged it in another mac, and installed 10.9.5 onto it. About to update to Yosemite 10.10.3 onto it, and then install the nvidia web driver and see if it works.

MacVidCards - already enabled screen sharing a while back and posted this info from system profiler:

Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
Vendor: nVidia (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x13c2
Revision ID: 0x00a1
Kernel Extension Info: No Kext Loaded
Displays: Display:
Resolution: 1280x1024 @ 60Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes

seems to recognise it's nvidia at least!
 
OK think I'm going to give up on the 970. No-one seems interested anymore!

Today I installed Yosemite 10.10.3 on a clean HD, then installed nvidia driver 346.01.02f04, switched to the nvidia web driver, installed the 970 and as usual got no monitor signal. Screen sharing shows the limited information on the nvidia graphics card that I posted earlier.

Shut down and replaced 970 with original Radeon, started up and weirdly system profiler has 'no information' for the graphics card.

Uninstalled the nvidia driver, restarted, still 'no information' for Radeon.

Reinstalled my Mercury Accelsior pic-e start-up card, started up, and now the Radeon is fully recognised.

I don't think the problem is anything to do with power. It's something to do with the latest nvidia driver, 10.10.3 and this particular model of GTX970.

----------

One last thing I'd like to try is using an earlier version of Mavericks alongside an earlier version of the nvidia driver. Which versions of each work well with each other and the 970?
 
mitchino said:
One last thing I'd like to try is using an earlier version of Mavericks alongside an earlier version of the nvidia driver. Which versions of each work well with each other and the 970?
Click to expand...

I don't think Nvidia ever made GTX 970 (Maxwell) drivers for Mavericks.

If you tried a fresh install in a MP with all other optional hardware removed, I'm suspecting a bad card. Many people drop these in and they work just fine with the drivers.

If at all possible, I'd try to drop it in a Windows PC--I know you said you don't have one, but maybe a friend can help out for an hour or so. Just to see if the card is DOA! It happens.
 
Didn't mean Mavericks - meant to say earlier version of Yosemite, 10.10.1 and whichever version of the nvidia driver works with that.
 
mitchino said:
Didn't mean Mavericks - meant to say earlier version of Yosemite, 10.10.1 and whichever version of the nvidia driver works with that.
Click to expand...

We have a listing on our website of driver version by build number.

I will be updating it today with latest, but already has the older ones.

Won't work in 10.9.

The fact that your Radeon didn't work in System Profiler is significant. Was it outputting to a screen or only visible via screen sharing?

Which exact 970 is it? I have tried 6 or more different ones, they all worked.
 
Last edited:
It's a Radeon HD5870 1GB

Seems to have been a glitch as now it's showing up in System Profiler whether I start up from my Mercury PCi-e card or my HD with clean 10.10.3 on it.

I'm going to try an install of an earlier Yosemite and an earlier driver.

Meanwhile I have ordered an EFI flashed GTX680 from apple cards.co.uk

I need something working to trial Octane for c4d. I have a job coming up where it could make a big difference. If I like Octane, I'll be looking to buy a top end card like a Titan.

Maybe you should contact applecards to see if they could be your European agent?
 
I second that it might be a bad card. Do you have a card revision number or a web addy of the exact card?

Mine is EVGA and is running well.

Also, have you tried running the card without CUDA drivers? I forgot to mention that that is what I am doing.
 
I have tried without CUDA, no difference.

Where would I find the revision number - or indeed the 'web addy' (whatever that is)?
 
FWIW I have 2 970's (an evga SC and a FTW) along with a gt 120 and all are working under 10.10.1 and 10.10.2. Haven't bothered to upgrade to 10.10.3 but others have and have not been having problems. No idea why yours is not working, although I did have problems with an evga gtx 970 SSC (atx 2.0), although I think this was from not having a correct 6->8 pin power adapter. Afaik, all 970's that take 2 6 pin power sources have worked.
 
web addy - doh!

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-3973-KR

would like to find someone with this exact model running in a mac pro

I am currently trying earlier combos of OS and drivers:

10.10 + 343.01.01f01
10.10 + 343.01.01f02
10.10 + 343.01.01f03

None of those work. Now going to test 10.10.1 and 343.01.02f01

One thing that I keep wondering about. The 6-pin power leads that were already in the mac pro have wires to all six pins. The leads that came with the GTX970 have 6 wires going to the plug, but 2 wires are going to the top middle contact and the bottom middle contact has no wire. I can't use these leads as they have molex connectors on the other end, but is this info relevant?
 
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