Single slot GPU for a Mac Pro 3,1

[pullman]

My 3,1 uses an ATI HD 5870 (Mac version) which so far runs well though it seems to run the fans very fast occasionally.

I mainly work in Photoshop and other image-related programs so I don't need an extreme graphics card. I don't do any gaming.

While the 5870 seems a good card I'd like one that is at least as powerful (shouldn't be difficult, methinks) and which only takes up one slot. If possible, I'd prefer a Mac card but a PC card that can easily be flashed might work too so, with that in mind, what would you suggest?

Thanks in advance
Philip

 

[casperes1996]

Something like an RX 560 or something would probably be a good option. There's official support in macOS, but I don't know about getting an EFI card.

 

[Pressure]

Something like an RX 560 or something would probably be a good option. There's official support in macOS, but I don't know about getting an EFI card.

The Mac Pro 3.1 (Early 2008) only works officially up to El Capitan, which has no drivers for the RX 560.

High Sierra requires SSE4.2 which Penryn/Harpertown does not support, so it won't work.

The best bet is getting an old AMD Radeon 7870 that is supported in El Capitan.

 

[casperes1996]

The Mac Pro 3.1 (Early 2008) only works officially up to El Capitan, which has no drivers for the RX 560.

High Sierra requires SSE4.2 which Penryn/Harpertown does not support, so it won't work.

Ooops. Well caught there, mate. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[pullman]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yes I'm running El Cap, apologies for omitting that.

I looked up the 7870 but it looks to be as wide as my 5870. Are there any cards that don't block off another PCI-E slot?

The Mac Pro 3.1 (Early 2008) only works officially up to El Capitan, which has no drivers for the RX 560.

High Sierra requires SSE4.2 which Penryn/Harpertown does not support, so it won't work.

The best bet is getting an old AMD Radeon 7870 that is supported in El Capitan.

 

[Pressure]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yes I'm running El Cap, apologies for omitting that.

I looked up the 7870 but it looks to be as wide as my 5870. Are there any cards that don't block off another PCI-E slot?

You may need to go 3rd party cooler to find something that satisfies your needs. I use some passive arctic cooler on my 5870 and it doesn't block the other PCIe slot.

 

[pullman]

Thank you. I'm sorry I realise my initial post was unclear. What I mean by "which only takes up one slot" is that the card shouldn't be so thick that it prevents installing another card in the adjacent slot. My old nVidia Geforce 8800 GT was such a "thin" GPU. I'm basically looking for a more powerful card with the same form factor, which works well with Photoshop. But perhaps all better cards are thicker cards?
br
Philip

You may need to go 3rd party cooler to find something that satisfies your needs. I use some passive arctic cooler on my 5870 and it doesn't block the other PCIe slot.

 

[jbarley]

Not sure I understand your problem.
The 2008 MacPro3,1 is designed to accept a double wide GPU in slot #1 and still allow the unimpeded use of slot#2 as show in this picture.
Am I missing something?
In the past I've used a couple of different double wide GPU's in slot #1 and had my Kingston HyperX PCIe card in slot #2 with no problems.

 

[pullman]

Thank you for your post. The thing is I have a Sonnet Tempo in slot #1. I believe I has to be installed there, but I will see what happens benchmark-wise if I switch places of it and the GPU.

Not sure I understand your problem.
The 2008 MacPro3,1 is designed to accept a double wide GPU in slot #1 and still allow the unimpeded use of slot#2 as show in this picture.
Am I missing something?
In the past I've used a couple of different double wide GPU's in slot #1 and had my Kingston HyperX PCIe card in slot #2 with no problems.


View attachment 768306

 

[pullman]

I've now tested both cards in both slots 1 and 2. Amorphous Disk Mark show that the SSDs on the Tempo card perform equally well regardless of whether the Tempo is in slot 1 or 2. But if I put the Tempo in slot 2 the boot will be considerably slower, 30+ seconds to 15-17 seconds in slot 1. Plus all fans in the computer rev like mad during boot if I have the Tempo in slot 2 and the 5870 in slot 1. Ideally I'd therefore like to keep the Tempo (which holds OS X and the home folder) in slot 1. So the hunt is still on for a slim GPU for slot 2.

 

[Naimfan]

Not sure there is one.

A GT120 would fit, but is (much) slower than a 5870.

A Firepro W7000 fits, but does not provide boot screen, etc.