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What's the easiest GPU upgrade for a 5.1?

nigelbb said:
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
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As the GTX680 does work with DP1.2 to deliver 60Hz@4K I would suspect that the DP-HDMI adapter is the problem.
Click to expand...

I have the same monitor - 5770 works just fine with it at 2560x1440 @ 60hz, but 4k @ 30 hz. My GTX780 works just fine with the adapter (4k @ 60hz) on a 4k HDMI 2.0 TV. 5770 doesn't work at all with the adapter. The 680 worked only at 24hz at higher resolutions. I totally believe that the 680 would have driven my 4065 monitor via DP only, but since that wasn't my goal, I didn't test it. Also, my 680 was an unflashed 680 "Classified" version. Not sure if that would make a difference.
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Squuiid said:
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
Click to expand...

The adapter that I got was made by Club3D, and successfully works 4k @ 60hz using my GTX780. The problem I'm having with all this is that my 5770 is outperforming my GTX780 with Pro Tools. I ran a Cinebench R15 test, and the 5770 scored higher than my MacVidCards flashed 780, which makes no sense to me.
 
Synchro3 said:
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 PP279Q), 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
Click to expand...

Is yours Mac flashed? Because in addition to the spec on that website, I had to set the Dell monitor to DP1.1 to get it to work at all. It wouldn't work with my 680 when set to DP1.2.

I have no other explanation, unless there are DP1.1 specific cables and that's what I had.
 
ActionableMango said:
Is yours Mac flashed? Because in addition to the spec on that website, I had to set the Dell monitor to DP1.1 to get it to work at all. It wouldn't work with my 680 when set to DP1.2.

I have no other explanation, unless there are DP1.1 specific cables and that's what I had.
Click to expand...

No, it's not flashed, it's an original 'Mac Edition' GTX 680 2GB card. I can definitely confirm that the info about DP 1.1 on the EVGA site is wrong.

EVGA GTX 680 MAc Edition.png

I made sure that I bought DP 1.2 cables. And I had to activate DP 1.2 on my Asus PB279Q monitor (default was DP 1.1).
 
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Squuiid said:
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.
Click to expand...

I can't get a new GTX 680, it was the first thing I looked at.

h9826790 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Honestly I don't know why, if it has to do with Metal or how Pro Tools calculates waveforms in the newer versions.
This does not happen in Mountain Lion and PT 10. Though I cannot record at low buffer sizes in PT 10 as I can with PT 12 with the new GPU.
I am now testing a RX 480 and it seems to work well.
My only problem is getting the RX 480 to work in Mountain Lion for compatibility reasons with PT 10, that some clients still require. Using both 5770 and RX 480 is not possible because I need the PCIe slots.
Maybe if I copy the alteres 4100 kext to mountain lion?? Any suggestions??
 
i mentioned it on the first page of this topic, i cant use any RX 4xx because of software (thanks adobe).
 
Can I ask some stupid questions? The graphics card thing has always given me a headache, even when I think I understand it, it wriggles out my brain like some slippery worm :D

My current set-up: Mac Pro 2010 5,1 Quad 2.8GHz(stock), ATI Radeon HD 5770(stock), 16GB RAM, SM951 in a Lycom adapter(slot3), Inateck KT4004 USB 3.0 card(slot 4).

1) I don't really game on my mac much so that's not a big deal, and I like the sound of the Gigabyte RX460. I am also thinking I might finally get around to adding more RAM and upgrading my CPU to the W3680 soon, and wonder about any extra power and heat, especially as I use an SM951 as my boot drive. Am I right in saying the RX460 should produce lower heat and consume less power than my stock ATI Radeon HD 5770?

2) I currently run two displays: an LG Ultrawide (2560x1080) and a 'normal' LG (1920x1080). I would assume they will run fine on the RX460(?) but would I have the potential for running a 4K display at 30Hz and/or 60Hz from it in the future (either in addition to or instead of one of the existing displays)?

3) Also, just to confirm I know what I'd be losing, when people say 'no boot screen' is it what Apple call the 'Startup Manager', i.e. you hold down option when you restart to pick which disk you boot from?

4) Is there any difference between the 2GB or 4GB RX460 other than the obvious (2GB more!)? The prices don't seem very far apart so I'd probably just go for the 4GB unless there's any reason not to...?

Thanks for any replies or advice.
 
Porco said:
Can I ask some stupid questions? The graphics card thing has always given me a headache, even when I think I understand it, it wriggles out my brain like some slippery worm :D

My current set-up: Mac Pro 2010 5,1 Quad 2.8GHz(stock), ATI Radeon HD 5770(stock), 16GB RAM, SM951 in a Lycom adapter(slot3), Inateck KT4004 USB 3.0 card(slot 4).

1) I don't really game on my mac much so that's not a big deal, and I like the sound of the Gigabyte RX460. I am also thinking I might finally get around to adding more RAM and upgrading my CPU to the W3680 soon, and wonder about any extra power and heat, especially as I use an SM951 as my boot drive. Am I right in saying the RX460 should produce lower heat and consume less power than my stock ATI Radeon HD 5770?

2) I currently run two displays: an LG Ultrawide (2560x1080) and a 'normal' LG (1920x1080). I would assume they will run fine on the RX460(?) but would I have the potential for running a 4K display at 30Hz and/or 60Hz from it in the future (either in addition to or instead of one of the existing displays)?

3) Also, just to confirm I know what I'd be losing, when people say 'no boot screen' is it what Apple call the 'Startup Manager', i.e. you hold down option when you restart to pick which disk you boot from?

4) Is there any difference between the 2GB or 4GB RX460 other than the obvious (2GB more!)? The prices don't seem very far apart so I'd probably just go for the 4GB unless there's any reason not to...?

Thanks for any replies or advice.
Click to expand...

1) don't know what you mean "I like the sound". But 460 use less power and generate less heat is true.

2) the 460 can run 4K 60Hz via the display port.

3) yes, but not 100%, AFAIK, single user mode also need "boot screen", otherwise you can only type in blind.

4) my understanding is "just more VRAM".
 
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h9826790 said:
1) don't know what you mean "I like the sound".
Click to expand...

By "I like the sound of it" I just mean that 'from what I have heard and read I think the Gigabyte RX460 would be a good choice for me'.

Thanks for your answers :)
 
you only need more vram if you do tasks that use a lot of vram, id gess 2GB is fine for normal use.
you do need to run osx10.12 for the RX460
 
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orph said:
you only need more vram if you do tasks that use a lot of vram, id gess 2GB is fine for normal use.
you do need to run osx10.12 for the RX460
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm sure I'd be fine for now with the 2GB, but there isn't much price difference from what I've seen, so I might just go for the 4GB anyway in case I wish I had later (it's certainly possible I could use the extra).

Yep, I'm already on 10.12 (begrudgingly, preferred Mavericks... but nevermind)
 
Hi, OP here. Just to update, thanks for the advice. I went with the 460 and pretty pleased with it; the only momentary confusion was spending 5 minutes looking for the 6 pin slot only to realise eventually that there wasn't one! So it's usefully quicker than the 5770 and uses less power - result.

All in all, for 100 or so GBP I'd recommend it as an effortless upgrade.
I went with the Gigabyte 4GB version, incidentally.
 
hay relay happy it worked for you ^^ for normal use i think that's the hot card at the mo
 
orph said:
hay relay happy it worked for you ^^ for normal use i think that's the hot card at the mo
Click to expand...

Reading all this chatter about the rx460.
Quick question, I currently have 2 5770 in a 5.1 quad.
1. Could I add a 2gb card (no 6 pin) as a third gpu?
2. Or could I replace one 5770 with 4gb card (6 pin required) to maintain boot screen from 2nd 5770.

Thanks
 
MarkC426 said:
Reading all this chatter about the rx460.
Quick question, I currently have 2 5770 in a 5.1 quad.
1. Could I add a 2gb card (no 6 pin) as a third gpu?
2. Or could I replace one 5770 with 4gb card (6 pin required) to maintain boot screen from 2nd 5770.

Thanks
Click to expand...

It's possible to just put an extra RX460 in the 4th slot, but you'll need a single slot card like the one.

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-940.shtml

Didn't heard anyone use this card yet. So, no guarantee it can work as good as the Gigabyte card. Anyway, my HIS R9 280 works good in my 4,1. So, I assume this card should work as expected.
 
h9826790 said:
It's possible to just put an extra RX460 in the 4th slot, but you'll need a single slot card like the one.

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-940.shtml

Didn't heard anyone use this card yet. So, no guarantee it can work as good as the Gigabyte card. Anyway, my HIS R9 280 works good in my 4,1. So, I assume this card should work as expected.
Click to expand...

Don't particularly need a third card, just curious.
With one 5770 and one rx460, would there be any conflicts or issues that are known?
 
Just question, is Radeon 460 mentioned in this thread actually same with 460 used touchbar Macbook? Is they have same DeviceID? Just to clarify.
 
MarkC426 said:
Reading all this chatter about the rx460.
Quick question, I currently have 2 5770 in a 5.1 quad.
1. Could I add a 2gb card (no 6 pin) as a third gpu?
2. Or could I replace one 5770 with 4gb card (6 pin required) to maintain boot screen from 2nd 5770.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi, OP here - just so you know, I bought the 4gb Gigabyte rx460 and it doesn't need a 6 pin.

No idea on the third graphics card plan though; others may have a view
 
i dont know why you even want 3 GPU's?
and not even matching ones, 10 displays?

id gess you can plug in 3 but unless your using a pro app that can use 3 then there just going to sit there making heat and useing power for no gain
and if your using pro apps un matched low power gpus are not ideal
but to drive a lot of displays i gess it will work
 
nigelbb said:
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]
As the GTX680 does work with DP1.2 to deliver 60Hz@4K I would suspect that the DP-HDMI adapter is the problem.
Click to expand...
I'm curious..how common is it to find monitor that supports 1.2 dp? I'm not familiar with various monitors.
 
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