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docone_DK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2018
11
3
Hi
I have just got a used AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU. I have installed it in my 4.1 - 5.1 2009 cMP running Mojave.

But it has some dropouts where my screen goes black in 1-2 sec and the turns on again.

The GPU is not flashed so no boot screen and the power is 6 pin to 6 pin and 6 pin to 8 pin cable. My monitor, Eizo EV 3237 (32" 4K) is connected with a 5 meter mini DP to a DP an the resolution is set to 3840 x 2160 60 hz

The problem is almost the same if I set it to 30 Hz.

Have I got a faulty card og do it need more power or what?
 
Last edited:

MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
1,815
691
Japan
Which maker for your HD 7970 ? EDIT : Sapphire ? Gigabyte ? MSI ? etc.

Are all of your internal SATA bays being used ? ( 4 in the PCI slot are and 2 in the DVD drive/PSU area) ?

Currently I use an MSI Armor RX 580 8gb but I flashed a Sapphire Dual-X 7970 for the rare occasion if I need to use Windows.

I have NO drives at all connected to my internal SATA bays ( 1 ~ 4 ).

When using the Sapphire 7970 it is powered like this ..

a. 2 X Mini 6 pin to 1 x 8 pin
+
b. 2 x SATA to 1 x 6pin ( NOT 2x SATA to 8 pin ! )

Both of the above cables go to an EVGa PowerLink's "Power Inputs "

From the PowerLink i use ( EDIT ) 1 x 8 pin male to female + 1 x 8 pin to 1 x 6 pin to the 7970.

EVGA Powerlink With Sapphire Dual-X HD 7970 in 2009 Mac Pro.jpg


Note 1 : I had to cut away a small piece of the Sapphire's fan shroud to fit the EVGa Powerlink
to the 7970.

Note 2 : To use the 2x SATA to 1 x 6 pin cable you can move two HDDs / SSDs to the DVD drives cage
there are even 4 spare, standard HDD drive screws attached to the DVD drive cage.
Note 2.1 : This assumes that you will now be without an internal DVD drive - I use an external ASUS
USB powered DVD drive, works faster than my original drive.

Note 3. The EVGa PowerLink comes with a spare 6 pin power input socket which can be used to replace
the factory installed 8 pin power input socket.
The reason that I replaced the standard 8 pin input power socket is that if one uses a 2 x SATA to 1 x 8 pin you run the risk of drawing too much power from the two cMP SATA ports for the 7970's 6 pin socket.

Note 4 : You don't have to use an EVGa powerLink but I endorse it as if will 'smooth out' power surges.
 
Last edited:

docone_DK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2018
11
3
Thanks for your reply I will add more power.This week I moved the computer closer to the screen and therefor also changed to a shorter DP cable and then it all worked.
Could it be that the combination of the 5 meter cabled not enough power is the problem?
 

MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
1,815
691
Japan
No matter what, your 7970 should still be powered correctly.

Which brand is your 7970 ? Sapphire ? Gigabyte ? MSI ? etc.
 
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