MP 1,1-5,1 Running HD 5870 and RX 580 simultaneously in 2010 Mac Pro?

[Silly John Fatty]

Is there any danger if I run both of these cards in my Mac Pro 5,1? (I still have High Sierra)

I don't want to do this all the time, I just want to do some Apple Hardware Tests with both cards to see what's up with them and if they're okay.

I also want to run the Apple Hardware Test with two 5870s, of which I know that one is broken. I'd like to run the AHT with it, but since I get a black screen, I would have both 5870s in there and then I could see what the AHT is saying. Mabye I can find out what the Hardware Test says is wrong with the broken one this way.

What do you think?

 

[tsialex]

Is there any danger if I run both of these cards in my Mac Pro 5,1? (I still have High Sierra)

I don't want to do this all the time, I just want to do some Apple Hardware Tests with both cards to see what's up with them and if they're okay.

I also want to run the Apple Hardware Test with two 5870s, of which I know that one is broken. I'd like to run the AHT with it, but since I get a black screen, I would have both 5870s in there and then I could see what the AHT is saying. Mabye I can find out what the Hardware Test says is wrong with the broken one this way.

What do you think?

You can't power a HD 5870 and a RX 580 at the same time without dual Pixla's mod, just one RX 580 is already on the limit of what the PCIe AUX connectors can provide. You gonna burn your power traces and the SMD fuses of the backplane.

Also you can't run two HD 5870 at the same time without Pixla's mod.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

You can't power a HD 5870 and a RX 580 at the same time without dual Pixla's mod, just one RX 580 is already on the limit of what the PCIe AUX connectors can provide. You gonna burn your power traces and the SMD fuses of the backplane.

Also you can't run two HD 5870 at the same time without Pixla's mod.

Fortunately you told me that and I didn't go ahead and try it out myself, but I wasn't far from doing it. You saved my Mac I guess.

I am surprised you can not run two 5870s. What was Apple thinking? I mean, the Mac is literally made to run multiple GPUs. How was that possible without any mods?

 

[StuAff]

A GT 120 would be 'perfect' for this- yes, it's a POS, but they're cheap, run under HS, widely available even now, and work on slot power alone. £25 in the UK, but that's a lot cheaper than a new MP…

 

[Silly John Fatty]

A GT 120 would be 'perfect' for this- yes, it's a POS, but they're cheap, run under HS, widely available even now, and work on slot power alone. £25 in the UK, but that's a lot cheaper than a new MP…

Are you saying I could run both the 5870 and the GT 120 without a problem?

 

[StuAff]

Are you saying I could run both the 5870 and the GT 120 without a problem?

Yes, ran it and my RX 580 for a couple of years (120 for boot screen) until I got my RX 580 flashed.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Yes, ran it and my RX 580 for a couple of years (120 for boot screen) until I got my RX 580 flashed.

Alright, thanks!

Still have to think of another solution maybe, because buying a card just for doing an Apple Hardware Test is too much hassle and costs too much.

Does anyone know how I could get to see what the Apple Hardware Test tells me if I can't see the screen, since the GPU is broken? Maybe there's a way to save the results on a drive or make some kind of screenshot or something? Or connect another screen that doesn't need a GPU maybe?

 

[MarkC426]

I am surprised you can not run two 5870s. What was Apple thinking? I mean, the Mac is literally made to run multiple GPUs. How was that possible without any mods?

The Apple dual GPU option was two 5770's (one 6 pin each) which is what I had before my RX580.
Also dual Quadro 4000 / K5000 options with no additional power required.

 

[h9826790]

AHT cannot understand the reading from RX580. Even the card is 100% functioning, you will still get error return. Therefore, very meaningless to do that.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

AHT cannot understand the reading from RX580. Even the card is 100% functioning, you will still get error return. Therefore, very meaningless to do that.

Okay, too bad. I don't want to sell the RX 580 yet, I do want to sell the 5870s however. Will the AHT be able to tell if something is wrong with them?

 

[MarkC426]

Third party apps may help you.
I have TechTool Pro (but expensive to buy just for testing your GPU).
This tests my RX580 successfully.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Third party apps may help you.
I have TechTool Pro (but expensive to buy just for testing your GPU).
This tests my RX580 successfully.

Hmmm, it in fact costs more than my cards are worth, lol.

If anyone else has some other suggestions, keep them coming! Appreciating it.

I do believe the AHT should be able to test the 5870s, after all, they're stock Mac Pro cards.

My only problem is how to test a card that's not working and therefore how to see the test result without a screen (you may be wondering why test a broken card in the first place. Well, I was hoping there might be some details as to what exactly is broken. Then I could add this detail when selling it).

 

[MarkC426]

Does anyone know how I could get to see what the Apple Hardware Test tells me if I can't see the screen, since the GPU is broken? Maybe there's a way to save the results on a drive or make some kind of screenshot or something? Or connect another screen that doesn't need a GPU maybe?

Not sure if you can screen share your Mac Pro to another Mac, and then run AHT....?
As @StuAff suggests above, a GT120 for £25 is probably best bet.
This would then give you an EFI card when you insert your RX580.

 

[h9826790]

Okay, too bad. I don't want to sell the RX 580 yet, I do want to sell the 5870s however. Will the AHT be able to tell if something is wrong with them?

May I know why need AHT to tell you anything?

According to your description, that 5870 can't even display. It's clearly a faulty card. Of course, you can still sell it, but just listed as faulty card, and nothing can be displayed.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Not sure if you can screen share your Mac Pro to another Mac, and then run AHT....?
As @StuAff suggests above, a GT120 for £25 is probably best bet.
This would then give you an EFI card when you insert your RX580.

The screen share idea is interesting … I'll try to figure out something in that direction. Thanks!

Getting a GT120 is an idea, but the 5870s I want to sell aren't worth that much. I just want to give the new buyers as much infos on it as possible. And then I'd have to get rid of the GT120 as well … too much hassle I think.

What's an EFI card by the way, and what is it needed for?

May I know why need AHT to tell you anything?

According to your description, that 5870 can't even display. It's clearly a faulty card. Of course, you can still sell it, but just listed as faulty card, and nothing can be displayed.

I was hoping I would find out the reasons why it is faulty and could maybe add these informations in the listing. I know, kind of useless … but maybe it's only a minor problem and eventually I could sell it for more, or even fix it myself and sell it as not-faulty.

The question is of course also wether the AHT gives such precise details at all. If I recall correctly, it just gives error codes. And those codes stay for specific things, but they're not that precise: https://logi.wiki/index.php/Apple_Hardware_Test_(AHT)_and_Apple_Diagnostics_(AD)_Codes

I might just sell it as faulty I guess. Less hassle …

 

[h9826790]

The question is of course also wether the AHT gives such precise details at all. If I recall correctly, it just gives error codes. And those codes stay for specific things, but they're not that precise: https://logi.wiki/index.php/Apple_Hardware_Test_(AHT)_and_Apple_Diagnostics_(AD)_Codes

ATH result often very hard to understand. And sometimes even misleading.

The chance of using AHT result to fix a faulty 5870 is very very slim.

If you know electronics, and want to fix it. Open the card, and use your magniflying glass + multimeter should works better than using AHT. Even AHT give you an error code, it won't tell you which part on the PCB making that error. You still need to check the electronic devices one by one anyway.

 

[mateo14]

The Apple dual GPU option was two 5770's (one 6 pin each) which is what I had before my RX580.
Also dual Quadro 4000 / K5000 options with no additional power required.

What kind of cards in Mac Pro 5,1 allow me to safely use ATI in Mac OS X, and GeForce on Linux? I think about connecting these two cards to two different HDMI inputs in my monitor.

I plan to buy Radeon RX580 to use natively in Monterey. However, someone mentioned this will be dangerous if I want to use a much more powerful Geforce.

Can I use Quadro K5000 on Linux and Radeon RX580 on Mac OS X?

What are optimal combinations of two cards: ATI and NVIDIA in Mac Pro 5,1?

 

[MarkC426]

What's an EFI card by the way, and what is it needed for?

This is an Apple recognised GPU, which would give the boot screen and drive picker.
You will not have this without a flashed PC Card (although it is not essential, 90%+ of people do not need it).

 

[MarkC426]

What kind of cards in Mac Pro 5,1 allow me to safely use ATI in Mac OS X, and GeForce on Linux? I think about connecting these two cards to two different HDMI inputs in my monitor.

I plan to buy Radeon RX580 to use natively in Monterey. However, someone mentioned this will be dangerous if I want to use a much more powerful Geforce.

Can I use Quadro K5000 on Linux and Radeon RX580 on Mac OS X?

What are optimal combinations of two cards: ATI and NVIDIA in Mac Pro 5,1?

You cannot mix AMD and Nvidia cards with newer MacOS versions.
See post #980

Post in thread 'GPU Compatibility List for cMP'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gpu-compatibility-list-for-cmp.2174600/post-31925078

 

[mateo14]

You cannot mix AMD and Nvidia cards with newer MacOS versions.
See post #980

Post in thread 'GPU Compatibility List for cMP'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gpu-compatibility-list-for-cmp.2174600/post-31925078

Thank you for the answer.

High Sierra is one my favorite versions of Mac OS X that I keep for older applications. Unfortunately, using it for daily tasks isn't a comfortable solution.

I remeber that there was the application on Github that allowed user to switch between graphic cards on Apple laptops. Why it isn't possible on Mac Pro?

 

[tsialex]

You cannot mix AMD and Nvidia cards with newer MacOS versions.
See post #980

Post in thread 'GPU Compatibility List for cMP'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gpu-compatibility-list-for-cmp.2174600/post-31925078

It's possible to workaround this limitation with OpenCore, disabling the PCIe slot that the NVIDIA GPU is installed while running macOS, so macOS does not see the NVIDIA GPU.

Works best if it's a NVIDIA GPU that does not have Apple native drivers, like Maxwell/Pascal/Turing.

Pixla's mod will be a starting requirement for something like that.

 

[tsialex]

I remeber that there was the application on Github that allowed user to switch between graphic cards on Apple laptops. Why it isn't possible on Mac Pro?

Nope, this just disables a MUX on the logic board, Mac Pro doesn't have it.

 

[mateo14]

It's possible to workaround this limitation with OpenCore, disabling the PCIe slot that the NVIDIA GPU is installed while running macOS, so macOS does not see the NVIDIA GPU.

Works best if it's a NVIDIA GPU that does not have Apple native drivers, like Maxwell/Pascal/Turing.

Pixla's mod will be a starting requirement for something like that.

Thank you for the explanation and for correcting my mistake.

Can I use Open core legacy patcher to disable the PCIe slot with the GeForce card?

I don't want to cut cords in my Mac Pro 2012. It's still an expensive machine to me.

Is it possible to use EVGA Powerlink instead of the Pixlas mode in this case?

 

[tsialex]

Thank you for the explanation and for correcting my mistake.

Can I use Open core legacy patcher to disable the PCIe slot with the GeForce card?

AFAIK, not possible with OCLP. This is very advanced OC config and completely out of scope with OCLP.

I don't want to cut cords in my Mac Pro 2012. It's still an expensive machine to me.

Is it possible to use EVGA Powerlink instead of the Pixlas mode in this case?

No way!