Suggestions about GPUs

[zerom]

Greetings,

I am new here.

I would like to ask you a question. I own a Mac Pro 5.1 Mid 2012. My ATI 5770 is not enough anymore, it is very slow and lately, I am overusing it. Some days ago it would not give a signal to my monitor. Then it gives me violet and green bars and the monitor would turn on and off every 5 seconds.
Now seems to be working fine.

I would like to upgrade and I am not sure if I should go for a used GTX 970 flashed with EFI bios, or a GTX 1060 new, not flashed, straight from Nvidia store. Now, I need the boot screen since I use bootcamp and I usually press the alt button instead of booting from the bootcamp panel. (for unknown reasons, doing so would slow down the boot).
Thus, I am prone to buy that 970.
However, for the same price, the 1060 is more appetible.

Can I keep my 5770 alongside the 1060 for the boot, or connecting the 1060 to just one plug would overdrain it?

Kind regards,

 

[mikas]

Or you could buy a GTX 1060 with only one 6-pin plug, and keep both of your cards powered properly. For example an ASUS GTX 1060 6GB. I have used one in a Mac Pro 2009 with nvidia webdrivers in parallel with Ati 5770. Now it's inside a HP Z800 though, replaced by a Sapphire RX 580 Pulse. Didn't need cuda, so decided in favour to "supported in Mojave by Apple" card.

edit. link

 

[h9826790]

Greetings,

I am new here.

I would like to ask you a question. I own a Mac Pro 5.1 Mid 2012. My ATI 5770 is not enough anymore, it is very slow and lately, I am overusing it. Some days ago it would not give a signal to my monitor. Then it gives me violet and green bars and the monitor would turn on and off every 5 seconds.
Now seems to be working fine.

I would like to upgrade and I am not sure if I should go for a used GTX 970 flashed with EFI bios, or a GTX 1060 new, not flashed, straight from Nvidia store. Now, I need the boot screen since I use bootcamp and I usually press the alt button instead of booting from the bootcamp panel. (for unknown reasons, doing so would slow down the boot).
Thus, I am prone to buy that 970.
However, for the same price, the 1060 is more appetible.

Can I keep my 5770 alongside the 1060 for the boot, or connecting the 1060 to just one plug would overdrain it?

Kind regards,

If I were you, I will avoid the GTX1060. Despite some users seems OK with that, but still quite a few of 1060 users seems has lots of strange issue. If go for Nvidia, better go for GTX 1070 or above.

 

[zerom]

Or you could buy a GTX 1060 with only one 6-pin plug, and keep both of your cards powered properly. For example an ASUS GTX 1060 6GB. I have used one in a Mac Pro 2009 with nvidia webdrivers in parallel with Ati 5770. Now it's inside a HP Z800 though, replaced by a Sapphire RX 580 Pulse. Didn't need cuda, so decided in favour to "supported in Mojave by Apple" card.

edit. link

Or you could buy a GTX 1060 with only one 6-pin plug, and keep both of your cards powered properly. For example an ASUS GTX 1060 6GB. I have used one in a Mac Pro 2009 with nvidia webdrivers in parallel with Ati 5770. Now it's inside a HP Z800 though, replaced by a Sapphire RX 580 Pulse. Didn't need cuda, so decided in favour to "supported in Mojave by Apple" card.

edit. link

Thank you very much to both of you.

I would like to buy a 1070 but I am only a student and I cannot pay too much right now.

I found these options:

GTX 1060 from Nvidia store (founders edition) that has a 6Pin connector (it seems. I will attach a screenshot) so that I can use both 5770 and 1060.

or

A used gtx 1070 from Amazon by Gigabyte, the AORUS one. That, however, has 8pin plus 6. So bye-bye 5770. Or I may connect the 8pin to SATA drive slot (I have one unused)


Now, I cannot go over around 300eur, I have to replace also my iPhone (still iPhone 5 here, aiming to a new one..) and possibly my SSD to a bigger one.

Do you have any other suggestion about GPUs? Non-Nvidia are also ok.


Again thank you very much.

 

[h9826790]

A used gtx 1070 from Amazon by Gigabyte, the AORUS one. That, however, has 8pin plus 6. So bye-bye 5770. Or I may connect the 8pin to SATA drive slot (I have one unused)

DON'T DO THAT!!!

Connect a 6pin to the SATA port still possible (it's a bad idea already). Despite the 6pin is rated 75W and the SATA port only rated up to 55W, a 1070 should not draw too much from the 6pin if a 8pin is there.

Connect a 8pin (rated up to 150W) to a SATA port (55W) may kill the SATA port or even kill the logic board.

Also, this card looks like wider than 2 slots.

 

[zerom]

DON'T DO THAT!!!

Connect a 6pin to the SATA port still possible (it's a bad idea already). Despite the 6pin is rated 75W and the SATA port only rated up to 55W. But a 1070 should not draw too much from the 6pin if a 8pin is there.

Connect a 8pin (rated up to 150W) to a SATA port (55W) may kill the SATA port or even kill the logic board.

Also, this card looks like wider than 2 slots.

! Thank you for the warning.

I saw people on YouTube connecting a 1080ti both to sata and the two 6pin on the board so I thought I could attach the 6 pin to the board and the 8 to the sata.

However....

Sad update: someone bought the 1070...

So I remain with the 1060 from nvidia (I will contact them to confirm the founders edition is 6 pin so I can pair it with the 5770).

Is the 1060 that bad..? I am not going to use it for gaming but mostly for 3D modelling, design, editing, drawing etc for the uni.

Other cards would be from AMD? Around 300 euros, any good option?

For now 1060 remains the sole option...

I wish I were not just a student

 

[mikas]

I've bought two RX 580 Pulses recently for around 250-270€. You have to look for a good deal patiently. You will want Sierra or High Sierra with it, because of native support (no boot screen though).
My Asus 1060 worked ok in my Mac Pro, but keep in mind what h9826790 said; there are reported problems with some of 1060's with some users in a Mac Pro cMP-versions. And you have to keep the webdrivers in tact after OS upgrades.

 

[bsbeamer]

If you're getting a NEW NVIDIA card, try to get a Founders Edition. They have the best compatibility with the NVIDIA Web Drivers for Mac. Best chance those will be supported in Mojave and future updates without issues.

Using a GTX 1080 FE without any issues.

As others mentioned, I would not recommend a GTX 1060.

 

[zerom]

I've bought two RX 580 Pulses recently for around 250-270€. You have to look for a good deal patiently. You will want Sierra or High Sierra with it, because of native support (no boot screen though).
My Asus 1060 worked ok in my Mac Pro, but keep in mind what h9826790 said; there are reported problems with some of 1060's with some users in a Mac Pro cMP-versions. And you have to keep the webdrivers in tact after OS upgrades.

Hello.

I found both Sapphire pulse Radeon RX580 and Nitro+ on amazon for a good price (285~320) eur.

Should I go with that instead?

I cannot pair it with ATI 5770 though. Should I forget about it then... I would like to buy a GT-120 only for the boot. But now I cannot afford both of them.

Do you suggest me nitro+ or pulse?

Edit: sapphire codename pulse
[doublepost=1531855993][/doublepost]

If you're getting a NEW NVIDIA card, try to get a Founders Edition. They have the best compatibility with the NVIDIA Web Drivers for Mac. Best chance those will be supported in Mojave and future updates without issues.

Using a GTX 1080 FE without any issues.

As others mentioned, I would not recommend a GTX 1060.

Thank you very much.

Cannot afford the 1080 FE right now.

I have to upgrade also SSD and my iPhone, my budget il limited.

I think I will go for the RX580 then, I found both Pulse and Nitro+ (and nitro+ special...? comes in a funky pop teal colour). Which one should I get?

I give up on bootscreen... I can try keeping alt pressed until a hear my windows wd velociraptor noise and try for the best.
I can always use Bootcamp control panel to boot in Windows, but from windows I cannot boot to OSX because it does not recognise the hdd... So, alt key, wait for a bit... press right and hopefully I see the windows logo. I can do it.

Thank you very much to both of you. I could have picked the wrong gpu and wasted my money.

 

[h9826790]

Hello.

I found both Sapphire pulse Radeon RX580 and Nitro+ on amazon for a good price (285~320) eur.

Should I go with that instead?

I cannot pair it with ATI 5770 though. Should I forget about it then... I would like to buy a GT-120 only for the boot. But now I cannot afford both of them.

Do you suggest me nitro+ or pulse?

Edit: sapphire codename pulse
[doublepost=1531855993][/doublepost]

Thank you very much.

Cannot afford the 1080 FE right now.

I have to upgrade also SSD and my iPhone, my budget il limited.

I think I will go for the RX580 then, I found both Pulse and Nitro+ (and nitro+ special...? comes in a funky pop teal colour). Which one should I get?

I give up on bootscreen... I can try keeping alt pressed until a hear my windows wd velociraptor noise and try for the best.
I can always use Bootcamp control panel to boot in Windows, but from windows I cannot boot to OSX because it does not recognise the hdd... So, alt key, wait for a bit... press right and hopefully I see the windows logo. I can do it.

Thank you very much to both of you. I could have picked the wrong gpu and wasted my money.

Don't install both GT120 and RX580 at the same time. It will cause some minor abnormal display issue (at least it's true in the latest 10.13.6).

Not sure why you want to co-install the 5770 at there. In general, unless you need FileVault, Mac EFI GPU is not required for daily use.

 

[zerom]

Don't install both GT120 and RX580 at the same time. It will cause some minor abnormal display issue (at least it's true in the latest 10.13.6).

Not sure why you want to co-install the 5770 at there. In general, unless you need FileVault, Mac EFI GPU is not required for daily use.

I use windows sometimes, to run windows-only software.

If I boot in windows via bootcamp control panel, I cannot boot back in OS X because Windows cannot see the MacOS disk (only recovery one, for some reasons to me unknown)

But I guess I will press alt, wait for a bit and select windows blindly. I cannot see it but the boot will be there.

So, between Pulse, nitro+ and nitro+ special, which one should I go for?

 

[skizzo]

Don't install both GT120 and RX580 at the same time. It will cause some minor abnormal display issue (at least it's true in the latest 10.13.6).

I have been using the GT120 and RX580 simultaneously for a few months now but have not had any display issues on past HS versions. I have only been on 10.13.6 for less than a week. Can you link me to anything about these issues or describe them?

So, between Pulse, nitro+ and nitro+ special, which one should I go for?

Pulse 8GB version. Don't get the Pulse 4GB version, the 8GB one is official supported by Apple, therefore, better compatibility. The Nitro versions will require some sort of additional method of receiving power, they are more than 225w. They are also 2.2 or 2.5 slot wide, so you will lose another PCIe slot. The Pulse 8GB is only 2 slot wide so you can still use all 4 slots if you want

 

[h9826790]

I use windows sometimes, to run windows-only software.

If I boot in windows via bootcamp control panel, I cannot boot back in OS X because Windows cannot see the MacOS disk (only recovery one, for some reasons to me unknown)

But I guess I will press alt, wait for a bit and select windows blindly. I cannot see it but the boot will be there.

So, between Pulse, nitro+ and nitro+ special, which one should I go for?

If you are using APFS, then that's the reason why Bootcamp apps (Windows) cannot see the macOS partition.

Bootchamp can be the work around.

Or you can simply use the bless command to switch between OS.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rn-of-microcodes.2126752/page-3#post-26234667

 

[zerom]

[/QUOTE]

If you are using APFS, then that's the reason why Bootcamp apps (Windows) cannot see the macOS partition.

Bootchamp can be the work around.

Or you can simply use the bless command to switch between OS.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rn-of-microcodes.2126752/page-3#post-26234667

From OSX to Windows, it works fine.

However, this happens when from Windows (see screenshot, sorry they are in Japanese).

It shows the label "Backup" on the OS X disk. I have not tried to boot from that, I am a bit scared.

I have been using the GT120 and RX580 simultaneously for a few months now but have not had any display issues on past HS versions. I have only been on 10.13.6 for less than a week. Can you link me to anything about these issues or describe them?




Pulse 8GB version. Don't get the Pulse 4GB version, the 8GB one is official supported by Apple, therefore, better compatibility. The Nitro versions will require some sort of additional method of receiving power, they are more than 225w. They are also 2.2 or 2.5 slot wide, so you will lose another PCIe slot. The Pulse 8GB is only 2 slot wide so you can still use all 4 slots if you want

Thank you very much, I will get the Pulse 8GB.
I was thinking, what if I connect the 5770 to the sata to power it and see the boot? Would I kill the motherboard? On idle the card consumes 18w, I read on the net.

 

[h9826790]

From OSX to Windows, it works fine.

However, this happens when from Windows (see screenshot, sorry they are in Japanese).

It shows the label "Backup" on the OS X disk. I have not tried to boot from that, I am a bit scared.



Thank you very much, I will get the Pulse 8GB.
I was thinking, what if I connect the 5770 to the sata to power it and see the boot? Would I kill the motherboard? On idle the card consumes 18w, I read on the net.

Did you try Bootchamp yet?

https://www.kainjow.com

If you only use the 5770 for boot screen, power draw from SATA should be OK. However, still not sure if there will be any driver issue.

The latest macOS is not that good for running multiple different GPU.
[doublepost=1531889186][/doublepost]

I have been using the GT120 and RX580 simultaneously for a few months now but have not had any display issues on past HS versions. I have only been on 10.13.6 for less than a week. Can you link me to anything about these issues or describe them?




Pulse 8GB version. Don't get the Pulse 4GB version, the 8GB one is official supported by Apple, therefore, better compatibility. The Nitro versions will require some sort of additional method of receiving power, they are more than 225w. They are also 2.2 or 2.5 slot wide, so you will lose another PCIe slot. The Pulse 8GB is only 2 slot wide so you can still use all 4 slots if you want

I've seen bugs in Photos myself, not from any forum / post / link. If GT120 is co-installed, RX580 may unable to display photo correctly.

The Nitro+ power draw is fine for cMP, the 6pin is optional. A user can only connect the 8pin to use the card. Since no OC available in macOS, power draw won't be an issue. But 2.2 slot wide is still a big downside on cMP.

 

[mpta3d]

Hi,
If you want I have gtx 680 (flashed for mac) for sale for 120$. If you are interested just pls contact me on my email - mpta3d@gmail.com

 

[zerom]

Did you try Bootchamp yet?

https://www.kainjow.com

If you only use the 5770 for boot screen, power draw from SATA should be OK. However, still not sure if there will be any driver issue.

The latest macOS is not that good for running multiple different GPU.
[doublepost=1531889186][/doublepost]

I've seen bugs in Photos myself, not from any forum / post / link. If GT120 is co-installed, RX580 may unable to display photo correctly.

The Nitro+ power draw is fine for cMP, the 6pin is optional. A user can only connect the 8pin to use the card. Since no OC available in macOS, power draw won't be an issue. But 2.2 slot wide is still a big downside on cMP.

Hello,

Sorry for the late reply and thank you so much for assisting me.

Okay then, sata to the 5770 just for boot.

I will get the pulse 8Go since it is smaller, although I will not use more than 2 GPUs. The nitro+ has features that are worth the additional space requirement?

About bootchamp, I will take a look later today.

Hi,
If you want I have gtx 680 (flashed for mac) for sale for 120$. If you are interested just pls contact me on my email - mpta3d@gmail.com

Thank you for your offer. GTX 680 is a nice card but the RX580 is newer and more powerful su I will go for it.

Thank you for your message.

 

[h9826790]

I will get the pulse 8Go since it is smaller, although I will not use more than 2 GPUs. The nitro+ has features that are worth the additional space requirement?

Better cooling.

Dual ROM design. It means the Nitro+ is basically fail safe for flashing, which is good if you want to further fine tune the card (Most AMD cards come with unnecessarily high preset core voltage, which makes the card running hot and even easily get into thermal throttling. In macOS, edit the VBIOS and flash the modded ROM back into the card is the only way to fine tune the card).

 

[zerom]

Better cooling.

Dual ROM design. It means the Nitro+ is basically fail safe for flashing, which is good if you want to further fine tune the card (Most AMD cards come with unnecessarily high preset core voltage, which makes the card running hot and even easily get into thermal throttling. In macOS, edit the VBIOS and flash the modded ROM back into the card is the only way to fine tune the card).

I see. Then maybe I may opt for the Nitro+ special edition that is just 20 eur more that pulse. I will then put the AMD 5770 in the upper port, connected to sata.

Here in Italy I cannot find the cables.... I have to order them from America.

Are these correct?

 

[mikas]

I believe they are not the right decision.
What I would by in your situation:

1) Dual Mini 6pin to 8pin PCI-e power cable for Mac Pro
- this is for Sapphire Pulse (or Nitro), from motherboard 2xmini 6pins to RX580 8-pin.
- this should give 225W guaranteed power to the RX580 (75W(m6pin)+75W(m6pin)+75W(slot))

2) Dual SATA Power to 6pin PCIe power cable
- this is for RadeonHD 5770 6pin connector
- this should give 165W guaranteed power to the HD5770 (45W(satapwr)+45W(satapwr)+75W(slot))
(I’m not quite sure about 15-pin SATA power, maybe it’s even a little bit more than 45W, but thats enough already)
- It seems this adapter needs some knife to fit it in Mac Po HDD SATA slot connectors. I have yet to connect my cables.

There might be, and probably are, some other cable variations you can use too, but I think this is the most straightforward way to go, and if I have understood it right, there should be enough power to satisfy both cards, while not burning anything anywhere.

But please wait for a second opinion first.

ps. Personally I would prefer the Pulse over Nitro because it’s on Apples list for Mojave right now. I can see the firmware flashing benefit though.

 

[zerom]

I believe they are not the right decision.
What I would by in your situation:

1) Dual Mini 6pin to 8pin PCI-e power cable for Mac Pro
- this is for Sapphire Pulse (or Nitro), from motherboard 2xmini 6pins to RX580 8-pin.
- this should give 225W guaranteed power to the RX580 (75W(m6pin)+75W(m6pin)+75W(slot))

2) Dual SATA Power to 6pin PCIe power cable
- this is for RadeonHD 5770 6pin connector
- this should give 165W guaranteed power to the HD5770 (45W(satapwr)+45W(satapwr)+75W(slot))
(I’m not quite sure about 9-pin SATA power, maybe it’s even a little bit more than 45W, but thats enough already)
- It seems this adapter needs some knife to fit it in Mac Po HDD SATA slot connectors. I have yet to connect my cables.

There might be, and probably are, some other cable variations you can use too, but I think this is the most straightforward way to go, and if I have understood it right, there should be enough power to satisfy both cards, while not burning anything anywhere.

But please wait for a second opinion first.

ps. Personally I would prefer the Pulse over Nitro because it’s on Apples list for Mojave right now. I can see the firmware flashing benefit though.

Hello,

Thank you for your answer.

OK for the 2x mini6 to 8pin, I will get it then.

About the sata, I cannot use 2 SATA slots. I have just one single left.

I was going to buy a time capsule but I use the internal HDD to store the documents, instead of the ssd I use for MacOS.

Is it a problem if I use just one SATA until I get the time capsule?

I am not going to use the ati for tasks so it should not ask for much power. Although if it is not safe, I will plop out the data hdd and keep only windows and ssd.

I have to rearrange windows hdd to the 2nd slot but that is easy.

I was going to buy the nitro+, I hope it could be used for mojave... does it support metal?
It has better cooling, more features, for just 20eur I was tempted but.

 

[Squuiid]

ps. Personally I would prefer the Pulse over Nitro because it’s on Apples list for Mojave right now. I can see the firmware flashing benefit though.

The Pulse is also a 2 slot card whereas the Nitro will occupy 3 slots, blocking use of PCIe slot 3.
I personally think that the Nitro card is a bad fit for the cMP.

 

[mikas]

About the sata, I cannot use 2 SATA slots. I have just one single left.

Optical drive bay has got two SATA connectors. You don't use two optical drives, do you?
That's where I'm gonna put my backup disk (2.5" FireCuda 2TB), and maybe I swap the only ODD-drive too to another SSD. I have had no use for optical disc drives for years.

 

[zerom]

The Pulse is also a 2 slot card whereas the Nitro will occupy 3 slots, blocking use of PCIe slot 3.
I personally think that the Nitro card is a bad fit for the cMP.

OK! So, Pulse 8Go it is.

Thank you.

Optical drive bay has got two SATA connectors. You don't use two optical drives, do you?
That's where I'm gonna put my backup disk (2.5" FireCuda 2TB), and maybe I swap the only ODD-drive too to another SSD. I have had no use for optical disc drives for years.

Oh Optical drive. Yeah I just use the upper one. My bad.

Thank you for the punctualisation.

Then I will connect the ati to the optical 2x sata.

Thank you also for the cables.

 

[mikas]

You would need to route the SATA power cables somehow to the card. You can do it, but not with those in my link, I believe they are too short for that.

I think it might be easier to put your drives in optical bay. If they are 3.5" HDDs, then I would use a physical adaptor of some kind. If your drives are 2.5" SSDs, they can rest there almost or without anything supporting them. There are adapters for different kind of installations to optical bay in a cMP. I bought some adapters from OWC, but I have not yet tried them.