MP 1,1-5,1 Radeon VII in Mac Pro 5,1 ?

[macguru9999]

I am thinking of trying a Radeon VII in one of my Mac Pro 5,1s running latest mojave. I have the bits to do a pixlas mod so powering it should not be a problem. My question, for those that have this card is: Is the card quiet in normal operation ? Apart from the lack of boot screen, are there any compatibility issues? OR, if you have a Vega 56/64 instead, was there a fan noise issue and how did you solve it ? Thanks in advance

 

[kohlson]

The answers are here...do a quick search for "Radeon VII"

 

[chezheng]

I use Vega frontier edition in Mojave10.14.6,it can work well ,but the fan noise can't settle。

 

[h9826790]

That’s actually my main concern before I purchased my Radeon VII.

Turn out the card is much quieter than I expect. I think it’s mainly because the pitch of the noise isn’t that high. Therefore, even though I can hear it (when under stress), it isn’t that annoying.

Anyway, I wrote a guide at here about how to downvolt the Radeon VII, this will lower the fan noise a lot.

How to - downvolt a Radeon VII

Just upgraded from RX580 to Radeon VII (it's just $350 from a local seller, like new condition, with 2 years+ warranty. I really can't skip it :D) Anyway, as usual, all AMD GPU are seriously overvolted from factory (Default setting in Wattman shows 1801MHz @1093mV). Properly downvolt the card...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[macguru9999]

The answers are here...do a quick search for "Radeon VII"

simpler to answer the questions if you know the answers... actually by the time i get round to trying one it looks like it will be unavailable and replaced with the 5700 series, which means running catalina under the dosdude patch ....

 

[macguru9999]

I use Vega frontier edition in Mojave10.14.6,it can work well ,but the fan noise can't settle。

I assume you mean by " cant settle" that the fans keep spinning up and down periodically even when you are just web browsing and doing regular stuff ??

 

[chezheng]

ye

I assume you mean by " cant settle" that the fans keep spinning up and down periodically even when you are just web browsing and doing regular stuff ??

yes.

 

[macguru9999]

I think I will wait for radeon 5700 support in Catalina and wait until i upgrade my mac pro. For now the rx580 mvc is working fine.

 

[AlexMaximus]

I used to have the Vega 64, now I have the Vega VII.
Regarding the fan noise, the Vega 64 duct fan is noisier and a lot less effective. The 64 got very hot, I do not recommend that card. The Vega VII is a lot better in terms of cooling and also a bit less noisy while having a lot more power than 64. At least it feels this way. To best describe the current fan noise, it is not super quiet as an iMac but it got better with the last OSX iterations. The question is how much of a low noise fan system do you need? The standard fans of the Mac Pro can be heard somewhat already. How much noise will be tolerable for you is relative, so assume you are in an audio-studio environment that demands low noise systems? My suspicion is also the MP PCIe Bay Boost fan that gives off some of the fan noise.

What might be interesting for you is the fact that I am currently in discussions with AlphaCool Support to check on a hydro cooling system upgrade for the Vega7. Unfortunately, they sell the system only with a 240mm radiator at the moment. I would need the 120mm to put it inside the tower by loosing one HDD bay. I can customize it, but if would be more expensive. If you are interested in something like that, let me know and I will keep you updated on this question and send more info on that.

HWConfig - German

www.hwconfig.com

 

[h9826790]

I think I will wait for radeon 5700 support in Catalina and wait until i upgrade my mac pro. For now the rx580 mvc is working fine.

I assume you know the 5700 not necessary perform better than RX580, really depends on usage.

 

[PowerMike G5]

I upgraded to a Radeon VII from a Vega Frontier Edition and the performance increase has been noticeable. Also it is quieter overall... probably due to the much more efficient open cooler on the Radeon VII.

 

[zozomester]

I assume you know the 5700 not necessary perform better than RX580, really depends on usage.

View attachment 864297

I used to have the Vega 64, now I have the Vega VII.
Regarding the fan noise, the Vega 64 duct fan is noisier and a lot less effective. The 64 got very hot, I do not recommend that card. The Vega VII is a lot better in terms of cooling and also a bit less noisy while having a lot more power than 64. At least it feels this way. To best describe the current fan noise, it is not super quiet as an iMac but it got better with the last OSX iterations. The question is how much of a low noise fan system do you need? The standard fans of the Mac Pro can be heard somewhat already. How much noise will be tolerable for you is relative, so assume you are in an audio-studio environment that demands low noise systems? My suspicion is also the MP PCIe Bay Boost fan that gives off some of the fan noise.

What might be interesting for you is the fact that I am currently in discussions with AlphaCool Support to check on a hydro cooling system upgrade for the Vega7. Unfortunately, they sell the system only with a 240mm radiator at the moment. I would need the 120mm to put it inside the tower by loosing one HDD bay. I can customize it, but if would be more expensive. If you are interested in something like that, let me know and I will keep you updated on this question and send more info on that.

HWConfig - German

www.hwconfig.com

Hi, AlexMaximus!
I managed to get a Radeon VII. Isn't it a problem to have a Crest I / O card above the x16 slot? Don't block the air supply to the fans?
Thank!

 

[AlexMaximus]

Hi, AlexMaximus!
I managed to get a Radeon VII. Isn't it a problem to have a Crest I / O card above the x16 slot? Don't block the air supply to the fans?
Thank!

That's how I do it, - by losing a slot, to have max speeds on those SSD blades and max airflow on the backplate.

 

[zozomester]

View attachment 896537

That's how I do it, - by losing a slot, to have max speeds on those SSD blades and max airflow on the backplate.

Unfortunately I need all 4 slots ....

 

[jameslmoser]

ye

yes.

Have you tried VGTab? I use it for a MSI RX Vega 56 Airboost that has the same problem. Disable SIP, install, rebuild cache, then you can renable SIP and forget it.

[TOOL] VGTab: Control your Vega in macOS without flashing the vBios

Now you can control your Vega on macOS without flashing the vBios As we know, the Vega graphics cards have native support in macOS HighSierra and Mojave. emmm...and some glitch :( But AMD uses a function called "SoftPowerPlayTable" to control the Vega cards. "Soft" means it can be stored in the...

www.tonymacx86.com

 

[h9826790]

Have you tried VGTab? I use it for a MSI RX Vega 56 Airboost that has the same problem. Disable SIP, install, rebuild cache, then you can renable SIP and forget it.

[TOOL] VGTab: Control your Vega in macOS without flashing the vBios

Now you can control your Vega on macOS without flashing the vBios As we know, the Vega graphics cards have native support in macOS HighSierra and Mojave. emmm...and some glitch :( But AMD uses a function called "SoftPowerPlayTable" to control the Vega cards. "Soft" means it can be stored in the...

www.tonymacx86.com

VGTab won't work for Radeon VII.

 

[jameslmoser]

VGTab won't work for Radeon VII.

Good to know. I thought I had seen someone talking about using it for the Radeon VII when I was investigating the problem... apparently not.

I was actually replying to chezheng about his Vega Frontier edition.

 

[zozomester]

Before me, I was Vega 64. The Radeon VII is completely silent when turned on. No fan noise. Nothing. During work, however, the fan noise comes under load .... At almost as loud a load as the Vega 64.
Idling, however, is almost silent.

 

[CMMChris]

Check my solution for Radeon VII macOS Overclocking and Undervolting: https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/t...ii-powerplay-table-generator-oc-uv-fan-curve/

You can use a property injector kext to inject the PowerPlay Table in case you don't use Clover or OpenCore on your real Mac.