RX 460 and High Sierra... Where do we stand?

[DPUser]

I am running a Gigabyte RX460 4G GPU in my studio's trusty 4,1>5,1 hex Mac Pro. After having to use SwitchResX to get 60Hz 4k via Display Port to HDMI active adaptor when running early versions of Sierra, when testing 10.12.6 from another boot drive that had not been modified by SwitchResX I found that 60Hz 4k was supported natively from the RX460 DP output. So all is well at the present, but what does the near future hold in store?

My concern stems from reports I have seen suggesting High Sierra is not working properly with RX460 GPUs. I would appreciate i greatly if folks who have tested an RX460 with High Sierra let us all know what they have encountered. If possible, please specify HS OS (Beta) version and the version of the RX460 tested.

Thanks!

 

[DPUser]

This is apparently where we stand at present:

"Meanwhile, the search for a solution to why the RX460 does not boot in High Sierra continues."

http://forum.netkas.org/index.php?P...252fohv75mkbk93&topic=13649.msg37197#msg37197

Wondering if the brand of RX460 makes a difference... I don't know which version of this GPU nekton1 is using.

 

[DPUser]

Yes. I see the same thing too. A Safe boot allows my efi flashed 5870 and even an RX 460 to reach the 10.13 desktop but no accelerated video so useless in real world.

Since a Safe boot works, the problem has to be due to a GPU driver kext but I can't find a fix so we have to rely/wait on Apple. In the case of the RX 460 not booting, I think the problem is in the AMDRadeonX4000GL driver bundle.

 

[nekton1]

DPUser,
A Sapphire Nitro RX460 4 GB has worked fine in macOS 12.6 but so far I have not been able to get it to boot to an accelerated desktop with any beta of High Sierra from beta 1 to beta 6 either as the sole GPU in slot 1 or 2, or with an HD2600 XT as a helper card in slot 1 and the RX460 in Slot 2 and vice versa. When using the HD 2600 XT as a helper card with the display connected to the HD2600 XT, it either manages to reach the log-in screen of the desktop where it beach balls forever, or the boot reaches about 1 cm from the right end of the boot progress bar and then a spinner shows (forever).
Using Safe boot, it is possible to get the RX460 to a desktop but it is unaccelerated, suggesting the issue is a kext file. My bet is on a problem with AMDRadeonX4000GLDriver.bundle.

if you do try with a MacPro 5,1 running a High Sierra public beta and the RX460 and find it does not work, be sure to use Feedback Assistant to notify Apple—the more we draw their attention to this with sysdiagose files, etc., the more likely they are to fix the problem.

 

[zoltm]

nekton1,

Thanks for the heads up about issues of RX460 with High Sierra. I am very happy with the Gigabyte RX460 4GB with the macOS 12.5 and 12.6 on a cMP 5,1.

 

[DPUser]

Yes, thank you Nekton. I am running the same card as zoltm; wondering if the Gigabyte card might work with High Sierra... time will tell.

I'm not one to install a beta OS, but appreciate those here who report on their findings.

 

[theitsage]

@nekton1 I believe it's unique to your setup. I swapped a Sapphire RX 460 2GB into my 5,1 and it booted right up. Full native support and works at 4K@60Hz. Scaling at lower resolutions is also working well.

 

[nekton1]

Thanks theitsage. This is weird. A number of people (Rominator among them) have reported the RX 460 not booting in the 5,1 so I wonder what the delta is. The only difference I immediately see is that you are using a Sapphire 2 GB card while I and others are generally using the Sapphire 4 GB model. Could this be the problem? Whatever is stopping the 460 is minor because a Safe boot allows it to reach an unaccelerated desktop.
Thanks for the information.

 

[h9826790]

Thanks theitsage. This is weird. A number of people (Rominator among them) have reported the RX 460 not booting in the 5,1 so I wonder what the delta is. The only difference I immediately see is that you are using a Sapphire 2 GB card while I and others are generally using the Sapphire 4 GB model. Could this be the problem? Whatever is stopping the 460 is minor because a Safe boot allows it to reach an unaccelerated desktop.
Thanks for the information.

Totally possible, just like the 7970 3GB works fine in cMP, but 7970 6GB never work.

 

[nekton1]

So if Apple does not fix the driver, perhaps flashing the RX 460 4 GB ROM with a 2 GB ROM would fix it! Or sell and buy the 2 GB! Can someone else with a RX 460 2 GB version of any brand confirm that their unit is working too?

 

[krakman]

Hi All,

I only use Sapphire branded cards as they seem to be the most compatible.

The boot disk is from my beta test 4.1>5.1 mac pro running High Sierra.

I installed the boot drive into one of the production Mac Pros in the office normally running Sierra 10.12.6 - fitted with a Sapphire Nitro RX460 4GB

High Sierra beta 6 booted fine, so maybe the problem is your card....?

I recall last year when Sierra was originally released, the XFX branded RX580 would not work in a mac pro but the sapphire ones were OK

 

[nekton1]

Thanks—time to look for another cause.

 

[h9826790]

Thanks—time to look for another cause.

How about Revision ID?

 

[krakman]

Thanks—time to look for another cause.

The boot disk I used had a fresh install of High Sierra, perhaps this might help you?

 

[namethisfile]

I am not sure if this the case now, pre-10.12.6, Gigabyte RX460's were the ones known to work OOB. And, this is the same now with 10.12.6.. I am not sure if the Gigabyte cards carry over to the RX 560 line, or whethere 10.12.6 has made a difference with what brand you go with.

But, it seems that if the card reads the Device ID instead of the "RX 460" moniker under Windows, then, it will work in MacOS. My Gigabyte RX460 under windows 10 shows the Device ID Name, instead of, RX 460. But, not sure.

 

[nekton1]

The Sapphire RX 460 4GB I am using has no problems in Sierra 10.12.6 in which it has the correct Device ID of 0x67ef and Rev ID of 0x00cf. So not sure what is going on—I'll try a fresh install of HS when the next beta appears on Monday (hopefully). Another thing is that there is a USB 3.1 card on the PCIe bus and I wonder if that is messing with the boot somehow.

How about Revision ID?

 

[DPUser]

It seems that if the card reads the Device ID instead of the "RX 460" moniker under Windows, then, it will work in MacOS. My Gigabyte RX460 under windows 10 shows the Device ID Name, instead of, RX 460. But, not sure.

Encouraging for this Gigabyte RX460 (4Gb) owner. My system is running great at 4k under Sierra; I hope this continues as we go High!

Thanks all for taking the time to register your experiences here.

 

[krakman]

The Sapphire RX 460 4GB I am using has no problems in Sierra 10.12.6 in which it has the correct Device ID of 0x67ef and Rev ID of 0x00cf. So not sure what is going on—I'll try a fresh install of HS when the next beta appears on Monday (hopefully). Another thing is that there is a USB 3.1 card on the PCIe bus and I wonder if that is messing with the boot somehow.

The mac pro I tested High Sierra on has an Inateck 4 port usb 3 card fitted as well as the Sapphire Nitro RX460 4GB

This particular USB card does not require any drivers.

What USB3.1 card are you using?

 

[mennobroere]

I'm running a ASUS DUAL-RX460-O2G on slot one of a Mac Pro 3.1 running Sierra. It works right out of the box with dvi connected but Final Cut and Cinebench R15 crash pretty hard. Final Cut freeze's the whole system except mouse movement.

Cinebench R15 says the GFX board = AMD Radeon HD Baffin Prototype Open GL engine. When starting the OpenGL test, it runs for a couple of frame's and the software crashes.

Als Quicktime is really choppy.

Inside the system prefference's it says Graphics AMD R9 xxx 2048mb.

Any idea how to solve this?

 

[Softsand]

I'm running a ASUS DUAL-RX460-O2G on slot one of a Mac Pro 3.1 running Sierra. It works right out of the box with dvi connected but Final Cut and Cinebench R15 crash pretty hard. Final Cut freeze's the whole system except mouse movement.

Cinebench R15 says the GFX board = AMD Radeon HD Baffin Prototype Open GL engine. When starting the OpenGL test, it runs for a couple of frame's and the software crashes.

Als Quicktime is really choppy.

Inside the system prefference's it says Graphics AMD R9 xxx 2048mb.

Any idea how to solve this?

I have a Gigabyte RX460 in a 5,1 and the firmware won't take. Seems I need to beg/borrow/buy a GT120 or something similar to install HS ?

 

[OEMPT]

You must install a OEM Apple graphics card to be able to update the firmware... in my case I used the original ATI 5770 apple card that came with my mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1. Firmware update runned flawlessly and booted back to Sierra to continue with the update to High Sierra.

Installing High Sierra went well, no hickups, I did keep in the 5770 in though. After the install and finally into High Sierra, checked if everything was working ok, did a reboot, etc.., and all was ok.

So then I shutdown the Mac, removed the 5770, replaced back the GIGABYTE RX 460 4gb, hooked up my triple monitor setup as I had before in Sierra (2 x QHD 2560x1440 on HDMi and DP outputs + 1 x 2048x1152 DVi output)... and booted the system. Blank screen throughout and no login screen afterwards. So suspecting that I needed to reboot again so that the drivers would activate for the new card (I recall having to do that when I first installed this card in Sierra), I did a hard shutdown on the button and rebooted. ALL OK ! Screen showed up for the login just as before on Sierra and all 3 monitors turned on and perfectly as before.

After testing the system further, playing some games (metal versions too)... all is ok! HS + RX460 Gigabyte rocks !

 

[Softsand]

You must install a OEM Apple graphics card to be able to update the firmware... in my case I used the original ATI 5770 apple card that came with my mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1. Firmware update runned flawlessly and booted back to Sierra to continue with the update to High Sierra.

Installing High Sierra went well, no hickups, I did keep in the 5770 in though. After the install and finally into High Sierra, checked if everything was working ok, did a reboot, etc.., and all was ok.

So then I shutdown the Mac, removed the 5770, replaced back the GIGABYTE RX 460 4gb, hooked up my triple monitor setup as I had before in Sierra (2 x QHD 2560x1440 on HDMi and DP outputs + 1 x 2048x1152 DVi output)... and booted the system. Blank screen throughout and no login screen afterwards. So suspecting that I needed to reboot again so that the drivers would activate for the new card (I recall having to do that when I first installed this card in Sierra), I did a hard shutdown on the button and rebooted. ALL OK ! Screen showed up for the login just as before on Sierra and all 3 monitors turned on and perfectly as before.

After testing the system further, playing some games (metal versions too)... all is ok! HS + RX460 Gigabyte rocks !

Thanks - confirmed what I was hoping wasn't the case ! Just ordered an original Apple GT120 which I expect will still keep its value...

 

[DPUser]

After testing the system further, playing some games (metal versions too)... all is ok! HS + RX460 Gigabyte rocks !

Thanks for confirming this!

 

[Softsand]

You must install a OEM Apple graphics card to be able to update the firmware... in my case I used the original ATI 5770 apple card that came with my mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1. Firmware update runned flawlessly and booted back to Sierra to continue with the update to High Sierra.

Installing High Sierra went well, no hickups, I did keep in the 5770 in though. After the install and finally into High Sierra, checked if everything was working ok, did a reboot, etc.., and all was ok.

So then I shutdown the Mac, removed the 5770, replaced back the GIGABYTE RX 460 4gb, hooked up my triple monitor setup as I had before in Sierra (2 x QHD 2560x1440 on HDMi and DP outputs + 1 x 2048x1152 DVi output)... and booted the system. Blank screen throughout and no login screen afterwards. So suspecting that I needed to reboot again so that the drivers would activate for the new card (I recall having to do that when I first installed this card in Sierra), I did a hard shutdown on the button and rebooted. ALL OK ! Screen showed up for the login just as before on Sierra and all 3 monitors turned on and perfectly as before.

After testing the system further, playing some games (metal versions too)... all is ok! HS + RX460 Gigabyte rocks !

Forgot to say, that is a impressive monitor setup. I went with the RX460 for the low power use and that it would run 3 monitors. I'm feeling a bit inadequate with 1x 1920x1200 and 2x 1280x1024's !

 

[OEMPT]

Yup, 3 25" Dell Ultrasharp U2515h monitors (WQHD). I cant get 2560x1440 on the DVi output... but I think that it is a normal limitation. I am using a Direct DVI cable to HDMi.

I am hopping that in the near future High Sierra will support daisy chaining for external GPU's... which would include us cMP users... I haven't tested it though. With Sierra it was not a possibility as I tried and failed (only got 1 screen/desktop across the 3 monitors). With daisy chain support I could get the 3 seperate monitors under 1 display port output which would get my 3rd monitor to full ress QHD.