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Upgrade graphics crd for mac pro 5,1

tracer1

tracer1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
240
38
SC
Looking to upgrade the graphics card for my mac pro. Currently running the GT120, which is old but is a very quiet card. Anyone know of a nvidia card that won't be too much louder that the 120. I know they will be but trying to keep it as quiet as possible. Looking for GTX770 & up.
Thanks
 
Thanks, I'll look into those as well. Have a friend that has a GeForce GTX770 SC 2gb that I can get for $100. Don't know if that's worth it or not. He says it quiet but louder than the 120, which I'm sure everything is louder these days. I have two 5,1s & both have the 120s running Sierra but will only upgrade one for now. Been looking at everything really from 960s & up but can't find out how quiet they would run. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind some fan noise just don't want it to be all I hear. One of the things I like about the mac pros is how quiet they are.
Again thanks
 
A GTX 680 is much more suitable for a Mac Pro than a 770 because the 680 can be very easily flashed with a Mac EFI ROM. Performance is about identical.

My 680 was very quiet when idling. At full load there can be some fan noise but it is not loud in my opinion unless you are working in a very quiet environment.
 
How does the 680 compare to the GTX960 ssc 4gb or even the sapphire radeon 7970 3gb. Actually have one of those pc cards lying around.
[doublepost=1481143104][/doublepost]BTW...looked at your instructions for the 680 flash. Might make a copy of it if you don't mind.
 
tracer1 said:
How does the 680 compare to the GTX960 ssc 4gb or even the sapphire radeon 7970 3gb.
Click to expand...

Performance-wise, I don't know. You could look for some benchmark comparisons. If you can't find any benches for the specific cards you want to compare, you can look here:
http://www.hwcompare.com/

It only does a rough estimate based on the hardware specifications of the card, but an rough estimate is better than nothing at all.

I will say that the 680 is easy to flash for Mac, the 7970 is flashable but much more involved process, and I don't think the 960 is self-flashable at the moment.

tracer1 said:
BTW...looked at your instructions for the 680 flash. Might make a copy of it if you don't mind.
Click to expand...

I don't mind at all. I wrote it to help as many people as possible in any way, so feel free to copy and spread it if you like.
 
I guess I will have to do some more research on these newer cards. Yea, I don't know about the 960s either. I think MVCards can do it now & some others but my big issue is not the card, per se, it's how loud it would be in a silver tower. I know nothing will probably be as quiet as the old 120 but I surely don't want another wind tunnel of years ago. But I do want to thank both of you guys for the replies & it really does give me some direction.
 
Maxwell cards are very quiet--nowhere close to wind tunnel. The 960 and 980 have been featured on SilentPCReview.com, a website dedicated to quiet computing.

At idle my GTX980 doesn't even spin its fans at all. EVGA had to include warning stickers telling owners that it is normal for the fans to not spin, so that people wouldn't assume the cards were defective and return them.
 
Not many people remember the old wind tunnel ( lol ), but that was actually the computer fans, not the card. Anyway, have looked around for the 680 & must say they are still proud of them, at least on the big auction site. Found my old 7970 sitting on a shelf in the closet, still runs like it should. Not bad for an old card with 3gb memory. BTW, just out of curiosity, why did you go to the 980. That and the 970 is actually what I have been interested in.
 
If you already have the 7970 on hand, that's worth to do some study and flash the card by yourself. It's a good performer in video editing. For gaming, it's not bad, but Nvidia usually better.

It may cost you few hours to study, few minutes to dump the ROM, about a min to run the script and create the Mac EFI ROM that 100% fit your card, and few more minutes to flash the card.

However, if you want to quiet card, reference 7970 obviously is not an good option. Anyway, no matter which 7970 you have, you know is that quiet enough to meet your expectation. It's on your hand now. You can now just install that into your cMP (it's 100% OOTB) and do your normal job to check if that's too loud for you.

For 7970, it's not that hard to reduce the noise, but it will cost few hours of work. Basically what you have to do is go to windows, and then perform lots of stress tests to check what's the minimum voltage that the card can run stalely, also find out what's the min fan speed that can keep the card away from overheat. And then edit the ROM image to create your own "quiet version" ROM.

I did that on my 7950, the difference is day and night. I keep it at the stock frequency, but down volt the card from the stock 1.094V to 0.888V (min stable voltage + little bit buffer). Before I create my own ROM, I can hear the fan spin up and down even just scrolling in Safari. And it sounds like a jet engine when under stress. Now, the card is very quiet and only a little bit of fan noise when under stress.

From memory, in Furmark test:
Stock volt and fan profile - 78C max with >50% fan
After under volt - 76C max with <40% fan
 
I have a GTX 670 at the moment. Wondering if getting a GTX 680 as an upgrade is a good idea...?
 
h9826790 said:
It may cost you few hours to study, few minutes to dump the ROM, about a min to run the script and create the Mac EFI ROM that 100% fit your card, and few more minutes to flash the card.

However, if you want to quiet card, reference 7970 obviously is not an good option. Anyway, no matter which 7970 you have, you know is that quiet enough to meet your expectation. It's on your hand now. You can now just install that into your cMP (it's 100% OOTB) and do your normal job to check if that's too loud for you.

For 7970, it's not that hard to reduce the noise, but it will cost few hours of work. Basically what you have to do is go to windows, and then perform lots of stress tests to check what's the minimum voltage that the card can run stalely, also find out what's the min fan speed that can keep the card away from overheat. And then edit the ROM image to create your own "quiet version" ROM.
Click to expand...


If I even tried to do that it would make me a nervous wreck. Would have no idea to know where to start. Except going to the windows part, lol.
 
I just installed a Gigabyte 4GB RX460... no boot screen, but otherwise fully supported under Sierra. I have tested DVI and DP with positive results; once additional cables arrive, I will be connecting three monitors and testing. Should also be 4k 60Hz compatible. Got it for $90.00 after rebate at New Egg. Rebate has, I believe, expired however.
 
Hey ActionableMango.....Got the GTX770 also. I have two 6 pin cables for the 7970 in one of MPs. So I need another 6 pin for my other one for the 770. If I remember correctly the 770 is about the same as the 680 so I think I can run it with 2 6 pin connectors, right? So where would be a good place to get one except OWC or china. Not really interested in paying $18 for one because it's from apple or waiting for a month for one from china. If I do need a 8 pin to run from the sata connectors where can I get both from the same place? Any thoughts?
Thanks
 
tracer1 said:
Hey ActionableMango.....Got the GTX770 also. I have two 6 pin cables for the 7970 in one of MPs. So I need another 6 pin for my other one for the 770. If I remember correctly the 770 is about the same as the 680 so I think I can run it with 2 6 pin connectors, right? So where would be a good place to get one except OWC or china. Not really interested in paying $18 for one because it's from apple or waiting for a month for one from china. If I do need a 8 pin to run from the sata connectors where can I get both from the same place? Any thoughts?
Thanks
Click to expand...

It should run on 2x6-pin connectors unless it is an unusual model.

There are plenty of cables on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=mac+video+power+cable

Personally, I bought my cables here:
http://www.svideo.com/x1900.html
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Oh, OK. So the mac G5 (3,1, etc) use the same mini 6 pin as the 5,1? Thinking they were the larger connectors for some reason. Also, would it be beneficial to get a 6 to 8 pin or just a waste? Will the flashing for the 680 work for the 770 also? This is a 3GB
51SZ3Dj3TOL.jpg
 
The cables are the same.

No, you cannot flash the 770 with the 680 ROM.

The vast majority of 680's with an 8-pin socket work fine with a 6-pin cable plugged in, no adapter. A couple of 680 models that are very far from reference do require an adapter.

I have no experience with the 770. Most people around here get the 680 because it's the same speed and can be flashed for Mac support.
 
tracer1 said:
Thanks so much for the info.
Click to expand...
ActionableMango said:
The cables are the same.

No, you cannot flash the 770 with the 680 ROM.

The vast majority of 680's with an 8-pin socket work fine with a 6-pin cable plugged in, no adapter. A couple of 680 models that are very far from reference do require an adapter.

I have no experience with the 770. Most people around here get the 680 because it's the same speed and can be flashed for Mac support.
Click to expand...



Hey Action...........glanced back at the post & thought I might clarfy it. I know you can't use the 680 rom but was wondering if the guide for the 680 would be the same guide for the 770 but with the 770 rom. Is that right or am I still wrong?
Thanks
 
tracer1 said:
Hey Action...........glanced back at the post & thought I might clarfy it. I know you can't use the 680 rom but was wondering if the guide for the 680 would be the same guide for the 770 but with the 770 rom. Is that right or am I still wrong?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I've never seen a Mac 770 ROM available nor heard of anyone flashing one DIY style. I suspect the procedure would be similar, but I don't know.
 
Last edited:
No I haven't either but haven't really looked that hard. I'm sure one can be located though. I know macvidcard can flash them. Might go that route if can't find anything for it. Thought I might give it a try. Only have $50 in it so not much to lose if I mess up. I do have my 7970 as a backup card.
Anyway, thanks for the reply.
 
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