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Nvidia GT120 connection/resolution question

Upgrader

Upgrader

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 23, 2014
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hi

I have a 2009 CMP 5,1 with a Nvidia GT120. The 120 has mini display and DVI ports.

The Dell monitors I plan to buy (U2715H) have HDMI inputs.

Can I use a basic DVI to HDMI cable to connect one of these monitors?

I’ve looked into this but nobody seems sure whether I’d achieve the 2560x1440 resolution native to the displays.

Any insight appreciated.

Thanks.

(I’d use a simple mini DP to DP cable for the other monitor.)
 
Upgrader said:
hi

I have a 2009 CMP 5,1 with a Nvidia GT120. The 120 has mini display and DVI ports.

The Dell monitors I plan to buy (U2715H) have HDMI inputs.

Can I use a basic DVI to HDMI cable to connect one of these monitors?

I’ve looked into this but nobody seems sure whether I’d achieve the 2560x1440 resolution native to the displays.

Any insight appreciated.

Thanks.

(I’d use a simple mini DP to DP cable for the other monitor.)
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly:

GT120 can output 2560x1440, from the specs the DVI max resolution is 2560 x 1600 (that is the resolution of the Apple 30" Cinema Display), but it's slow even working with 1920x1200 screens.

I have two Apple GT120s here as emergency backup cards but I can't use them today since they are so slow.
 
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Upgrader said:
Can I use a basic DVI to HDMI cable to connect one of these monitors?
Click to expand...

Yes but it has to be a dual-link DVI to HDMI cable.

Single-link DVI won't support 2560x1440@60.

A bigger problem might be GT120 not being compatible with upcoming versions of MacOS.
 
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tsialex said:
If I remember correctly:

GT120 can output 2560x1440, from the specs the DVI max resolution is 2560 x 1600 (that is the resolution of the Apple 30" Cinema Display), but it's slow even working with 1920x1200 screens.

I have two Apple GT120s here as emergency backup cards but I can't use them today since they are so slow.
Click to expand...
Hey,

Thanks. Damn, wasn’t expecting to hear they’d be slow. I’m currently using 2 Apple Cinema displays 1680x1050. These have always been fine for After Effects work. Was hoping I’d not need to upgrade my card.
[doublepost=1534804385][/doublepost]
ActionableMango said:
Yes but it has to be a dual-link DVI to HDMI cable.

Single-link DVI won't support 2560x1440@60.

A bigger problem might be GT120 not being compatible with upcoming versions of MacOS.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I’m planning to stick to High Sierra for the foreseeable. The issue I’m finding is that most affordable cables either don’t list as dual or single link or only say they’re single link. But by the sounds of what tsialex says I’m going to need a new card anyway.
[doublepost=1534804556][/doublepost]I’m not up on Apple compatible GPU’s (ie not cards like the 1080ti etc) so any suggestions on suitable and affordable cards that aren’t necessarily modern but will do the trick would be welcome. HD7870?
 
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Upgrader said:
Hey,

Thanks. Damn, wasn’t expecting to hear they’d be slow. I’m currently using 2 Apple Cinema displays 1680x1050. These have always been fine for After Effects work. Was hoping I’d not need to upgrade my card.
Click to expand...

I had to reduce transparencies just to bear with the GT120 last time I had to use it for sometime with two 1920x1200 screens with High Sierra.

You should look at a newer card, Mojave don't work with GT120/HD 5770/HD 5780
 
tsialex said:
If I remember correctly:

GT120 can output 2560x1440, from the specs the DVI max resolution is 2560 x 1600 (that is the resolution of the Apple 30" Cinema Display), but it's slow even working with 1920x1200 screens.

I have two Apple GT120s here as emergency backup cards but I can't use them today since they are so slow.[/QUOT
Click to expand...
tsialex said:
I had to reduce transparencies just to bear with the GT120 last time I had to use it for sometime with two 1920x1200 screens with High Sierra.

You should look at a newer card, Mojave don't work with GT120/HD 5770/HD 5780
Click to expand...
Bummer, ok. GTX680? I just need the adequate GPU power to run the screens adequately, After Effects doesn’t really use the GPU in any significant way. How is your 680?
[doublepost=1534805041][/doublepost]
tsialex said:
I had to reduce transparencies just to bear with the GT120 last time I had to use it for sometime with two 1920x1200 screens with High Sierra.

You should look at a newer card, Mojave don't work with GT120/HD 5770/HD 5780
Click to expand...
No chance then with 2 x 2560!
 
Upgrader said:
I’m not up on Apple compatible GPU’s (ie not cards like the 1080ti etc) so any suggestions on suitable and affordable cards that aren’t necessarily modern but will do the trick would be welcome. HD7870?
Click to expand...

Look for RX 560 or RX 580, like Apple recommended cards for Mojave.

mid 2010 and mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU, including MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 and Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 580)
Click to expand...


eVGA GTX 680 is a nice and fast card, I like it a lot. Has boot screens/selector/FV2 support and works with native macOS drivers OOTB. But if I'm buying a card today, RX 580 for sure.
 
tsialex said:
Lowest price I saw for the recommended RX580 card

Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E Dual HDMI / DVI-D / Dual DP OC w/ Backplate (UEFI), 100411P8GOCL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-202-278
Click to expand...
Great price. I found a similar price here in the UK. I think this card will be perfect for what I need. My only concern now after further reading is my OWC Accelsior SSD boot drive in slot 2 which will sit directly above the 580. Kind of concerned the fans on the card will force hot air onto it. But let’s see.
 
Upgrader said:
Great price. I found a similar price here in the UK. I think this card will be perfect for what I need. My only concern now after further reading is my OWC Accelsior SSD boot drive in slot 2 which will sit directly above the 580. Kind of concerned the fans on the card will force hot air onto it. But let’s see.
Click to expand...

I will tell you if that card in slot #2 is long enough to cover either fan on the RX580 then it is going to overheat the RX580. That or the fans will actually make contact with the card above it, regardless of it overheating or not that will be incredibly noisy. I have purposely left slot #2 open and only use #1, #3, and #4 because of these issues.
 
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skizzo said:
I will tell you if that card in slot #2 is long enough to cover either fan on the RX580 then it is going to overheat the RX580. That or the fans will actually make contact with the card above it, regardless of it overheating or not that will be incredibly noisy. I have purposely left slot #2 open and only use #1, #3, and #4 because of these issues.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight.

I’m using slot 2 for boot drive and slot 4 for media drive. I need to use slot 2 for my boot drive as it gives the best boot times. Putting it in slot 3 means sharing a bus with slot 4, which will slow me down.

If this fan blocking issue really is a thing then it sounds as if there’s no real upgrade path for the setup I’m on unless I switch my media pcie SSD drive to a SATA drive and move the boot drive to slot 3.

Also, the RX takes two slots right?
 
Upgrader said:
Thanks for the insight.

I’m using slot 2 for boot drive and slot 4 for media drive. I need to use slot 2 for my boot drive as it gives the best boot times. Putting it in slot 3 means sharing a bus with slot 4, which will slow me down.

If this fan blocking issue really is a thing then it sounds as if there’s no real upgrade path for the setup I’m on unless I switch my media pice SSD drive to a SATA drive and move the boot drive to slot 3.

Also, the RX takes two slots right?
Click to expand...

My Angelbird Wings is in the slot 2 too and my MSI HD 7870 is considered a hot card even when not in use.

90% of the time, the first fan of the card stays off, just the second one runs full time. Pulse RX580 is a dual fan exactly like my HD 7870. So, if you don't use the 3D part of the card full time, the fan will stay at the minimum RPM.

I don't think you will have problem, PCIe adaptors are small cards and Pulse RX580 is a enormous one.
 
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For PULSE RX580, the fan may not even spin at all if not using 3D
Screen Shot 2018-08-22 at 15.43.52.png

P.S. that total power is really the whole cMP's total power, not the GPU's power draw
 
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Ok this is good news then. I mainly use After Effects and sometimes Cinema 4D which hardly use the GPU. In fact when I check the GT120 graph on iStat over the past 7 days it rarely goes over 50% useage. I’m not a gamer which is where I’d imagine the card gets hammered.
 
Upgrader said:
Ok this is good news then. I mainly use After Effects and sometimes Cinema 4D which hardly use the GPU. In fact when I check the GT120 graph on iStat over the past 7 days it rarely goes over 50% useage. I’m not a gamer which is where I’d imagine the card gets hammered.
Click to expand...

Are you sure After Effects and Cinema 4D hardly use the GPU?
 
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h9826790 said:
Are you sure After Effects and Cinema 4D hardly use the GPU?
Click to expand...
Overall yeah, AE rarely taxes it unless you're using a GPU specific plugin and Cinema will hog it only when using GPU based renderers like Octane etc. I don't use either of those things. Both apps are predominantly CPU and RAM intensive.
 
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One last question - do I need to buy a separate power cable for the RX580 to hook it up to my 2009 Mac Pro? I’m reading I need a dual 6 pin to 8 pin. The card itself has arrived without cables.

Cheers.
 
Upgrader said:
One last question - do I need to buy a separate power cable for the RX580 to hook it up to my 2009 Mac Pro? I’m reading I need a dual 6 pin to 8 pin. The card itself has arrived without cables.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
Yes, you need the dual miniPCI-6pin to 8pin.
 
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tsialex said:
Yes, you need the dual miniPCI-6pin to 8pin.
Click to expand...
This cable is virtually impossible to find in the UK! They're there but are all unavailable. For example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connector-LHT-Linked-Male-Male-2006-2012/dp/B0749DQ3VX

If anyone reading has a decent source for these cables I'd appreciate the link. Cheers!
[doublepost=1538241375][/doublepost]Does anyone know if this cable will be ok?

http://tinyurl.com/yc2654lp

Could I just leave the extra extra 2 pin plugs on the 6+2 pin connections unplugged and still have the card work?

Cheers.
 
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Upgrader said:
This cable is virtually impossible to find in the UK! They're there but are all unavailable. For example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connector-LHT-Linked-Male-Male-2006-2012/dp/B0749DQ3VX

If anyone reading has a decent source for these cables I'd appreciate the link. Cheers!
[doublepost=1538241375][/doublepost]Does anyone know if this cable will be ok?

http://tinyurl.com/yc2654lp

Could I just leave the extra extra 2 pin plugs on the 6+2 pin connections unplugged and still have the card work?

Cheers.
Click to expand...
You can't use just one miniPCIe 6pin to feed your RX-580. You will damage the logic board.
 
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