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What's the easiest GPU upgrade for a 5.1?

Synchro3 said:
If you want to game at 2560x1440 get a GTX 680 or GTX 770. I doubt the RX 460 would run games adequate at this resolution: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-680-vs-AMD-RX-460/3148vs3641

The GTX 770 has native OS X support like the GTX 680, same chip. Much cheaper on eBay than the GTX 680.

You can send in the GTX 770 for flashing: http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p81/Nvidia_Flashing_Services.html

Once flashed it supports 2 x 6 pin cables, even if the card has 6 + 8 pin connector.

Quote: When there is a 6 pin and an 8 pin, things get more complicated. On many GTX680 cards the 8 pin is "optional". This means you can plug in a 6 pin and the card works fine. For many GTX770 and GTX780 cards we do a mod to the card that creates this same functionality. So you can just plug in the 2 @ 6 pin cables and it should boot right up.
http://www.macvidcards.com/blog/my-efi-card-starts-booting-but-stops-during-boot-and-then-crashes-and-reboots
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer.
It's not for gaming. It is for my MP 5,1 in my recording studio. No heavy lifting GPU needed.
My original 5770 is having problems to drive Pro Tools, leaving the CPU to do additional work, and therefore eventually overloading the DAW at lower buffer settings (that I need...). I just need something a little more powerful, that is available at my local vendor, and works well OOTB.
I don't live in the US so sending the card to MVC is impractical and expensive because of customs duties.
It is apparent that the RX 460 has built in drivers on Sierra 12.1. My questions regard the best brand (Gigabyte vs Sapphire), and if flashing is needed...
 
for a sound environment id get the rx 460 (the 680/770 will have much more fan noise)
i dont think brand is to important but having the reference display ports be the same is more important i think.
 
Does anyone know if the 680 has Displayport 1.1 or 1.2? I'm going to use a DP 1.2---HDMI 2.0 adapter to drive a 4k TV.
 
7Seas said:
Thanks for your answer.
It's not for gaming. It is for my MP 5,1 in my recording studio. No heavy lifting GPU needed.
My original 5770 is having problems to drive Pro Tools, leaving the CPU to do additional work, and therefore eventually overloading the DAW at lower buffer settings (that I need...). I just need something a little more powerful, that is available at my local vendor, and works well OOTB.
I don't live in the US so sending the card to MVC is impractical and expensive because of customs duties.
It is apparent that the RX 460 has built in drivers on Sierra 12.1. My questions regard the best brand (Gigabyte vs Sapphire), and if flashing is needed...
Click to expand...

What's the problem in Pro Tools you're having? Which version are you on?
 
JamesPDX said:
What's the problem in Pro Tools you're having? Which version are you on?
Click to expand...

I am on PT HD 12.6 now, (upgraded to Sierra and PT 12.6 to see if the problem went away).

The problem is rather strange, when recording at 96K 128 Buffer I get an overload msg. from pro-tools as soon as I move the cursor ... We got in touch with a friend that does post and he told me it could be the GPU. He also had a MP 5.1 (I have a MP 5.1 6 core 3.33 32G of ram). So I decided to start hunting for a GPU upgrade. I don't game, so I would not need anything very powerful (so I thought).
To somehow test the problem I recorded in 96K but reduced the window size of PT, the problem seemed to disappear. There where no big cpu spikes when moving inside the edit window. Changing the window to full screen would make the error return ... strange.
I just got a RX 460 (Gigabyte 460 4GB no problems installed OOTB, no boot screen...), but it appears that the GPU is not powerful enough . It functions ok if I go down to 720p resolution in my monitor, but doesn't work nice on 1080p. Now I am thinking of buying a wide 29inch or 32 inch monitor so this will not do.

Am now looking at alternatives to the RX 460 to change up. I was thinking of the RX 480 but it is not compatible yet (I think)...
 
Hands down GTX 680. Reliable, no drivers needed, has boot screens and is quick enough.
I honestly can't hear mine when on unless I run a benchmark such as Unigine Heaven.
 
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7Seas said:
I am on PT HD 12.6 now, (upgraded to Sierra and PT 12.6 to see if the problem went away).

The problem is rather strange, when recording at 96K 128 Buffer I get an overload msg. from pro-tools as soon as I move the cursor ... We got in touch with a friend that does post and he told me it could be the GPU. He also had a MP 5.1 (I have a MP 5.1 6 core 3.33 32G of ram). So I decided to start hunting for a GPU upgrade. I don't game, so I would not need anything very powerful (so I thought).
To somehow test the problem I recorded in 96K but reduced the window size of PT, the problem seemed to disappear. There where no big cpu spikes when moving inside the edit window. Changing the window to full screen would make the error return ... strange.
I just got a RX 460 (Gigabyte 460 4GB no problems installed OOTB, no boot screen...), but it appears that the GPU is not powerful enough . It functions ok if I go down to 720p resolution in my monitor, but doesn't work nice on 1080p. Now I am thinking of buying a wide 29inch or 32 inch monitor so this will not do.

Am now looking at alternatives to the RX 460 to change up. I was thinking of the RX 480 but it is not compatible yet (I think)...
Click to expand...

Monitor size has nothing to do with the GPU power right? It's all about resolution, but not size.

Anyway, the 460 cannot drive a 1080P monitor smoothly? You mean 3D gaming? Even a GT120 can drive a 1440P monitor without any issue (normal OS environment). It's hard to believe that the 460 can't handle this simple job.
 
RX 460 is the easiest and most affordable upgrade GPU for a 5,1. Once more people have the MBP with Radeon Pro 460, we'll have a chance to look at its vBIOS. Boot Screen is likely possible.
 
RX 460 is a relay good option, you will have warranty too which is nice

a gtx6xx or gtx7xx card will be 3 years old be hotter and make more nose with no warranty
 
thats nice but he's using pro tolls (audio work) so seems a tad overkill + he's working with audio so low power low sound low heat is a big plus id gess
 
nigelbb said:
DP 1.2
Click to expand...
Thanks. So I got a used GTX680 card (Classified), using external power supply, and with the DP1.2 --> HDMI 2.0 adapter it didn't do 4k @ 60hz. My 5770 does 2560x1440 @ 60hz, which might be enough for me, but only with DP cable and 40" 4k DP only monitor, does not work with DP-HDMI 2.0 adapter on larger 4k HDMI 2.0 only TV's.

GTX780 (external power supply) flashed by MacVidCards does all resolutions fine and adapter works, but there is a glitch using ProTools when moving the cursor in the edit window. 5770 has no issues. So strange. Thinking of trying the RX460 to see if it works. Any thoughts?
 
khoop2112 said:
Thanks. So I got a used GTX680 card (Classified), using external power supply, and with the DP1.2 --> HDMI 2.0 adapter it didn't do 4k @ 60hz. My 5770 does 2560x1440 @ 60hz, which might be enough for me, but only with DP cable and 40" 4k DP only monitor, does not work with DP-HDMI 2.0 adapter on larger 4k HDMI 2.0 only TV's.

GTX780 (external power supply) flashed by MacVidCards does all resolutions fine and adapter works, but there is a glitch using ProTools when moving the cursor in the edit window. 5770 has no issues. So strange. Thinking of trying the RX460 to see if it works. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
680 does do 4k at 60hz? which connector did you use?
 
pat500000 said:
Aren't 680 suppose to perform 4K at 60hz?
Click to expand...
That was my understanding. Maybe it does via DP 1.1, but I needed it to work DP 1.2---> HDMI 2.0 adapter to power a 65" 4k TV. I didn't bother trying to my 40" 4k DP monitor because that's not what I need the new card for....
 
khoop2112 said:
That was my understanding. Maybe it does via DP 1.1, but I needed it to work DP 1.2---> HDMI 2.0 adapter to power a 65" 4k TV. I didn't bother trying to my 40" 4k DP monitor because that's not what I need the new card for....
Click to expand...
A lot of those adapters will only do 4K@30Hz.
Try this one:
https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adap...o-hdmi-4k-60hz-active-adapter-converter-p9448
Or this one:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/clu...nverter-cable-supports-8bit-4k-uhd-60hz-and-f
 
GPU upgrades is a lot more confusing than I thought. What with the choice, (are there differences), between reference cards and 3rd party offerings. Ones that support OSX out the box and those that need upgrades.
Finally decided I might do a 7950/7970 but can't find any apart from the wallet shattering offering at OWC. The GTX 680 is old but a possibility.
 
khoop2112 said:
That was my understanding. Maybe it does via DP 1.1, but I needed it to work DP 1.2---> HDMI 2.0 adapter to power a 65" 4k TV. I didn't bother trying to my 40" 4k DP monitor because that's not what I need the new card for....
Click to expand...

The Mac Edition GTX 680, and I assume any 680 flashed with Mac EFI, is Display Port 1.1:
http://www.evga.com/articles/00730/#3682

In fact my GTX 680 wouldn't work with my monitor at all if the monitor was set to DP1.2.

A couple of years ago when I had one of these cards, it could do 4K60 in Windows via displayport, but only 4K30 in OS X due to limitations in OS X. I don't know if those limitations in OS X have gone away and I don't have the card any more to try it.
 
H2SO4 said:
GPU upgrades is a lot more confusing than I thought. What with the choice, (are there differences), between reference cards and 3rd party offerings. Ones that support OSX out the box and those that need upgrades.
Finally decided I might do a 7950/7970 but can't find any apart from the wallet shattering offering at OWC. The GTX 680 is old but a possibility.
Click to expand...

The 7950 and 7970 was re-branded to R9 280 and R9 280x respectively few years ago. May be that's why you can't find them.

Anyway, there should be plenty of used card on the net.
 
pat500000 said:
Aren't 680 suppose to perform 4K at 60hz?
Click to expand...
The GTX680 does do 4K@60Hz via DP1.2 I am using it on my Philips BDM4065UC 40" monitor. There are some quirks with the GTX680 with 4K monitors.- Even if flashed for an Apple boot screen you will not see one @60Hz but will see one @30Hz. The HDMI only does 4K@30Hz
[doublepost=1479894010][/doublepost]
khoop2112 said:
That was my understanding. Maybe it does via DP 1.1, but I needed it to work DP 1.2---> HDMI 2.0 adapter to power a 65" 4k TV. I didn't bother trying to my 40" 4k DP monitor because that's not what I need the new card for....
Click to expand...
As the GTX680 does work with DP1.2 to deliver 60Hz@4K I would suspect that the DP-HDMI adapter is the problem.
 
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ActionableMango said:
The Mac Edition GTX 680, and I assume any 680 flashed with Mac EFI, is Display Port 1.1:
http://www.evga.com/articles/00730/#3682

In fact my GTX 680 wouldn't work with my monitor at all if the monitor was set to DP1.2.

A couple of years ago when I had one of these cards, it could do 4K60 in Windows via displayport, but only 4K30 in OS X due to limitations in OS X. I don't know if those limitations in OS X have gone away and I don't have the card any more to try it.
Click to expand...

The info on the link above is wrong. Every GTX 680 has DisplayPort 1.2: http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-680/specifications
Quote: 4 - 3840x2160 at 30Hz or 4096x2160 at 24Hz supported over HDMI. 4096x2160 (including 3840x2160) at 60Hz supported over Displayport. Support for 4k tiled MST displays requires 326.19 driver or later.

I had to activate DP 1.2 on my 4K monitor (Asus PB279Q), but yes, the card is capable of 4K/60 Hz.

My GTX 680 eGPU @ 4K/60 Hz: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-mini-4k-tv.1644192/page-3#post-23656730
 
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h9826790 said:
The 7950 and 7970 was re-branded to R9 280 and R9 280x respectively few years ago. May be that's why you can't find them.

Anyway, there should be plenty of used card on the net.
Click to expand...
Never knew that. Thanks for the info.
 
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