Pixlas 4.1 Mac Pro mod

[AndreeOnline]

The riser I bought was pretty 'high end' or at least of good quality, It also seemed like it was as small as they can be.

I couldn't quite seat my graphics card on top of it. I'm thinking thornslack's 680 is simply slightly smaller over the 3rd PCI slot so it could fit.

BUT AS I'M WRITING THIS, I realise that you could actually put the gfx card in slot 2 on an additional riser itself! Just a small direct raiser without a cable. That would lift it up enough so that you could fit the cable attached raiser in slot 3 and it would have enough room to get out cleanly.

By lifting up the graphics cards in slot 2, you will shift its position towards the door so that the display contacts might not all be available on the back. This would not be a problem since it would be the "compute card" with no cables attached.

I checked the case and there seems to be enough room between a "lifted" card and the door, but you won't be able to use the PCI bracket with this card in place. The bracket is nice since it tightens everything down, but it isn't strictly necessary.

It's a solution worth considering.

I found this ugly ass bracket, only to illustrate the idea. The goal would be to find one as low profile as possible I guess, but something like this would most likely work.

 

[itdk92]

The riser I bought was pretty 'high end' or at least of good quality, It also seemed like it was as small as they can be.

I couldn't quite seat my graphics card on top of it. I'm thinking thornslack's 680 is simply slightly smaller over the 3rd PCI slot so it could fit.

BUT AS I'M WRITING THIS, I realise that you could actually put the gfx card in slot 2 on an additional riser itself! Just a small direct raiser without a cable. That would lift it up enough so that you could fit the cable attached raiser in slot 3 and it would have enough room to get out cleanly.

By lifting up the graphics cards in slot 2, you will shift its position towards the door so that the display contacts might not all be available on the back. This would not be a problem since it would be the "compute card" with no cables attached.

I checked the case and there seems to be enough room between a "lifted" card and the door, but you won't be able to use the PCI bracket with this card in place. The bracket is nice since it tightens everything down, but it isn't strictly necessary.

It's a solution worth considering.

I found this ugly ass bracket, only to illustrate the idea. The goal would be to find one as low profile as possible I guess, but something like this would most likely work.

View attachment 683915

Do you lose hdd slots 3 and 4?

What is your own solution/setup, if i may ask?

 

[AndreeOnline]

Currently I only have 1 gfx. But I will install a second RX 480 in slot 2.

I will move my USB up to slot 4.

I will sell my 1TB Apple/Samsung SSUBX blade.

I will boot to a normal SSD in bay 1. I will raid two (already have one) Samsung EVO 850 1TB SSDs in bay 2 and 3. This gives me 2TB fast work/project space. I might just consolidate this to the RAID and boot/work from the same drive.

I will use the remaining bay for a traditional 6TB HDDs. Cold storage for non active FCPX projects and media.

I will use additional optical bays for additional HDDs: Torrents and iTunes streaming.

----------

It's all a give and take. With HDDs in the optical bays someone might be fine with just one more HDD/SSD in bay 1 and then clear out 2-4 and use a gfx card there. I'm not worried about x16 vs x4.

But I'm leaving on vacation in a week and I've pushed this project out until after. Also waiting for news on Vega.

I love my PCIe blade, so I'm thinking about keeping it if a nice solution presents itself. But I know what I'll get from that other gfx card. It's not for every scenario.

 

[thornslack]

have any link to the raiser?

apparently I could find loads of them but looks like they are just cheap stuff..

I got the cheapest thinnest one I could find to be honest. You can see mine is still creased from when I had it installed. I think it was this item.

 

[Synchro3]

Best PCI-E riser cables are from 3M: http://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/3/3m-tc/pcie-twin-axial-cable-assembly

 

[itdk92]

Another mod carried out today!

I am on fire hahah

I need a longer cable though, cause it seems my sleeved cable is just a little too short, making everything kinda hard to fit

 

[Macinsquatch]

Well I pulled the plug on another 09 Mac Pro build. So far I have upgraded the processors to 5690's, put faster ram in and of course flashed the firmware.

So I wanted to add another GPU, I had bought a 980Ti Hybrid and a 780Ti as well. Time to see if these will fit.....

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Rk6SV7]

These should fit nicely.

Looks like some dusting is in order. Got all the bits out of the way.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX5Ar]


Prepare yourself!
[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX5S8]

Separate the high voltage section and set it aside.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX68D]

This is the part I'm interested in.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX6q2]

The cable.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX6Cr]

Roughly how the soldering will be done.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX72c]

My soldering iron couldn't heat the existing solder enough to get a good bond. So I opted to solder to some bare sections of the wires instead. [url=https://flic.kr/p/RcX7jB]

I didn't take photos of the soldering job but just picture a perfect job, then imagine the opposite. That is about how it turned out. Thick wires and a cheap craftsman soldering iron don't make for the best result. I then coated all connections with hot glue an covered again with electrical tape.

This is the final result.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Q9UJ22]

I did have to sacrifice the first HDD bay for the radiator but it seems worth it.
Hope you enjoyed.[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

 

[gr8pics]

Hi, i was pointed to this thread for some help with a dual 7970 setup and powering.
All my SATA ports are occupied with raids, and the mods in this thread is to advanced for me to start fiddling with.

You guys have any other suggestions how to power these?
Apart from SATA ports, i think i have decent amount of free space for stuff.

Cheers

 

[itdk92]

The calm before the storm...

And things definitely not fitting.

one pcie card does not fit, as expected
(slot 3 is obstructed)


I cannot install the 2nd graphic card in slot 4 because of the dvi port not letting the card slide 100% into the pcie slot.

Looks like some bending or modding on the mac pro pcie holes is required

Atm the caldigit pro has been sacrified to get space

 

[h9826790]

I cannot install the 2nd graphic card in slot two because of the dvi port not letting the card slide 100% into the pcie slot.

I looks like your card is already in slot 2 now.

 

[itdk92]

I looks like your card is already in slot 2 now.

You are right, I meant slot 4! Will edit

 

[thornslack]

The calm before the storm...

Looks sweet! Thinking about temps. Do the PCIe SSDs run hot on the cMP? I've seen a lot of the PC m.2 variants running right at their thermal limits sometimes. Somewhat counter intuitively for the GPUs you'll find your bottom most card will run warmer. I'm not sure if it's because it's starved for air or heat from the CPU compartment or both. What will this machine be doing?

 

[itdk92]

Looks sweet! Thinking about temps. Do the PCIe SSDs run hot on the cMP? I've seen a lot of the PC m.2 variants running right at their thermal limits sometimes. Somewhat counter intuitively for the GPUs you'll find your bottom most card will run warmer. I'm not sure if it's because it's starved for air or heat from the CPU compartment or both. What will this machine be doing?

I heard a lot of complaints about the Samsung 951 module's temperatures.

These are HyperX Predator, so no probs (temps between 30-40 degrees max)

GPU-wise, I had zero probs for now, but AFTER i took away the GPU from slot 2, the fans went a little crazy. Had to reboot a couple of times to make the mac calm down

But yeah, it actually make sense to use the slots this way

slot 4: 2nd GPU
slot 3: another pcie card
slot 2: 1st GPU
slot 1: another pcie card

Thanks for the suggestion


-----EDIT
I just realised your suggestion is not viable if one wants to use all four slots.

A GPU in slot 2 will obstruct slot 3 of course.
------end EDIT



The Mac will do video and animations, maybe CGI at some point, but not now.

The titans were 100% overkill but I found a crazy deal + I sold my 980Ti for a good amount of money.

 

[itdk92]

Just FYI, power draw of 2 x Titan Xs (Maxwell) in FCPX under 4K render (few effects, some denoise, light grading) is about 405W from the PSU + ca 20W per mini6-Pin

These are slightly factory overclocked Titans.

I will downclock them in the near future and post findings, which can compare to regular Titan Xs.


Loving that PSU mod

 

[Plato65]

But yeah, it actually make sense to use the slots this way

slot 4: 2nd GPU
slot 3: another pcie card
slot 2: 1st GPU
slot 1: another pcie card

Thanks for the suggestion

Will they fit like that? Two GPUs & two other cards?

 

[itdk92]

Will they fit like that? Two GPUs & two other cards?

No they will not. ( See the edit in the post )

A couple of PCIE raisers will do probably

 

[itdk92]

I am having a machine with unusual PSU temperatures on the "part 2" of the power supply (info from Mac Fans Control)

Is there any maintenance I can do myself on the PSU component to lower the temp?

I guess some kind of cleaning, but perhaps something else is possible / beside changing the PSU with another?

 

[h9826790]

I am having a machine with unusual PSU temperatures on the "part 2" of the power supply (info from Mac Fans Control)

Is there any maintenance I can do myself on the PSU component to lower the temp?

I guess some kind of cleaning, but perhaps something else is possible / beside changing the PSU with another?

How unusual is it?

 

[Atmos4]

Has anyone experimented with switching out 12V lines between the 6-pin to 8-pin and 6-pin to 6-pin wires to even out the load or providing only a single 12V on the 8-pin from SATA and the rest from the two mainboard GPU PCIe connectors?

I've recently upgraded from 2x2.26GHz Quadcore Nehalem + GTX680 to 2x3.46GHz Hexacore Westmere + Titan Xp and my Mac Pro routinely powers off under graphics load.

 

[Plato65]

Has anyone experimented with switching out 12V lines between the 6-pin to 8-pin and 6-pin to 6-pin wires to even out the load or providing only a single 12V on the 8-pin from SATA and the rest from the two mainboard GPU PCIe connectors?

I've recently upgraded from 2x2.26GHz Quadcore Nehalem + GTX680 to 2x3.46GHz Hexacore Westmere + Titan Xp and my Mac Pro routinely powers off under graphics load.

This seems relevant:
http://www.macvidcards.com/blog/titan-xp-might-be-too-much-for-cmp

 

[AndreeOnline]

I've recently upgraded to 2x3.46GHz + Titan Xp and my Mac Pro routinely powers off under graphics load.

Just to verify: is this a modded or unmodified Mac Pro?

 

[Prince134]

This seems relevant:
http://www.macvidcards.com/blog/titan-xp-might-be-too-much-for-cmp

Look at post #163.

I got 2 titan x (pascal + maxwell) and 2 pcie SM951s.
For these two Titan X, I put two 6pin power from SATA bays, two 8pin power from the 2 onboard 6pin cable.
I ran FCP BruceX, Octane bench, Luxmark. Without issues. I don't need extra works on PSU.


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/whats-occupying-your-pci-e-slots.1614365/page-7

 

[Plato65]

Look at post #163.

I got 2 titan x (pascal + maxwell) and 2 pcie SM951s.
For these two Titan X, I put two 6pin power from SATA bays, two 8pin power from the 2 onboard 6pin cable.
I ran FCP BruceX, Octane bench, Luxmark. Without issues. I don't need extra works on PSU.


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/whats-occupying-your-pci-e-slots.1614365/page-7

Sure, but if you looked at the link, we're talking about Titan Xp and someone very experienced with these cards.

 

[h9826790]

Has anyone experimented with switching out 12V lines between the 6-pin to 8-pin and 6-pin to 6-pin wires to even out the load or providing only a single 12V on the 8-pin from SATA and the rest from the two mainboard GPU PCIe connectors?

I've recently upgraded from 2x2.26GHz Quadcore Nehalem + GTX680 to 2x3.46GHz Hexacore Westmere + Titan Xp and my Mac Pro routinely powers off under graphics load.

A simple bridge in between should able to share the load effectively.

e.g.

Dual mini 6pin -> single 8pin -> dual 6+2

The single 8pin can act as a bridge to evenly distribute the loading to both mini 6pin, which should able to avoid trigger the shutdown protection.

I know about the pin2 theory, I want to test it as well. I've already study about how to mod the cable, however, I don't have any 8pin card on hand. So can't run the test at this moment.

 

[Surrat]

I did the pixlas mod quite a while ago, and now its effortlessly powering my brand new Titan Xp (2017 version).