NVDIA GPU for Mac Pro 3.46GHz CPU's

[MassMacMan]

I searched for far longer than 15 minutes and came up empty. That particular Aux-PS was an ideal solution!

I got lucky a few years ago and scored one. I used it to run two GPU cards - a flashed 580 and a 680. Then the Nvidia 970 came along. The 970 can run 4 monitors by itself, is faster on CUDA applications, and doesn't need the internal 450w PS. I just disconnected the power to the aux PS, removed both older cards, and replaced everything with the 970 card. My office is MUCH quieter and much cooler now.

 

[itdk92]

Then don't set it under stress. With normal applications (CUDA/OpenCL/gaming) GTX 980/GTX Titan X reaches max. 233 Watt: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti,4164-7.html

No, even 150W is unsafe, cause the GPU could draw them all from the 8 pin, which is connected to a mini6 pin, which -per specs- should only deliver 75W.
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I personally won't consider Pixlas is a "safe" recommendation. We don't even know what the actual limit is. It's way outside Apple's official recommendation. Officially, any hardware mod are unsafe. But we know is that just work.

Not a big difference then pulling 100W from the mini 6pin. It's hard to call it safe. But we know it works.

If by "officially" you mean "according to Apple PR", then sure - Apple will tell you it's not safe. Hell, no user-servicing is safe, not even installing a SATA SSD into our cMPs by yourself, according to Apple.

Truth is that this mod has for obvious reasons never been officially approved (if they even know about its existence ) but it is technically electrically safe.

Point being that electronics don't need to be officially approved, for them to work and be safe.

On top of that, installing this mod, or drawing having extra power from SATA ports or using an external PSU are unequivocally safer methods than pulling more than 75W on a connection which per spec should deliver max 75W.

Personally, we have had many customers who experienced shutdowns, because they installed GPUs the way Create Pro and MacVidCards told them (At a point that Create Pro changed their policy, and are now providing a special cable for that 8 pin, which draws power directly drom the two CD bay sata ports)

These shutdowns were not a problem anymore after the Pixlas PSU mod (which, for those who don't know it, just splits power from the Mac Pro's PSU 12V rails and its grounds to two additional 8 Pin cables).

 

[Dr. Stealth]

VisionTek 450W Aux PSU for CD-ROM bay received in the mail today. Brand new factory sealed. I'm sure it's probably old stock that's been floating around. I found this one on Amazon, maybe I just got lucky. I bought it as a backup, because they are pretty hard to find, just in case mine ever fails.

My current aux psu is a different brand but specs are nearly identical. And I've been running 2 overclocked GTX 1080 TI's with no issues. I can run Furmark till the cows come home with no shutdowns. I can CUDA render at 100% utilization on both cards for days with NO issues. It really is the best solution (IMO) for powering high draw GPU's in a cMP.

P.S. The 1080 TI's are dual 8-pin each with a TDP of 280w each.

 

[TheStork]

VisionTek 450W Aux PSU for CD-ROM bay received in the mail today. Brand new factory sealed. I'm sure it's probably old stock that's been floating around. I found this one on Amazon, maybe I just got lucky. I bought it as a backup, because they are pretty hard to find, just in case mine ever fails.

My current aux psu is a different brand but specs are nearly identical. And I've been running 2 GTX 1080 TI's with no issues. I can run Furmark till the cows come home with no shutdowns. I can CUDA render at 100% utilization on both cards for days with NO issues. It really is the best solution (IMO) for powering high draw GPU's in a cMP.

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I am soooo jealous! I can't find a VisionTek or FSP Booster X5 anywhere! If anybody comes across one of these auxiliary power supplies, please let me know.