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Which GPU For Me?

M

MacinJosh

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 29, 2006
676
55
Finland
Yes, it's another one of these. I've read all these threads over the many years I've been here. I need specific help and I'm afraid that if I ask a question in a long thread it will get completely ignored as has happened numerous times.

I'm looking to get a GPU upgrade for my 5,1 which currently has a 5770 and is struggling with WoW Legion. I've been thinking of doing this for years. I'm on a budget. 200$ max is my limit. That'll get me a used R9 280x that I am capable of flashing or a used 2GB GTX 680 Mac Edition.

Which one should I go for in terms of performance in the following games: WoW, Diablo 3, Borderlands, upcoming Civ (maybe)?

I'd be gaming at 1080p. No interest or plans to go 4K in the near future. That's all I would need the GPU for.

In terms of support and drivers in current and future OSs, which one is a safer bet? Would I still benefit from Nvidia web drivers in the 680 even if the OS has built-in ones?

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd go for the 680 Mac Edition. Mine has been great for the last 3 years, and even plays current games like Doom 4 and No Man's Sky* reasonably well!

*As much as the game will allow..
 
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Draeconis said:
I'd go for the 680 Mac Edition. Mine has been great for the last 3 years, and even plays current games like Doom 4 and No Man's Sky* reasonably well!

*As much as the game will allow..
Click to expand...

Thank you. Sounds good. I'm starting to lean toward the 680 as well.
 
MacinJosh said:
I just noticed that! I'll have to make sure I get a compatible one, or should any reference card work?
Click to expand...

The 680 ROM is very forgiving. Any reference card will work, 2GB or 4GB (just use the right ROM for the right size). Many non-reference cards work too, but not all of them. The general rule of thumb is to be reference or near reference and have the same output port layout as the reference card. Don't get anything exotic.

If you can't find reference and you want to know for sure what will work, do a forum title search for 680 and you'll find cards that have been confirmed to work and not work.
 
Last week I bought a Mac Pro 2010 that came with a GTX 680. Many people will cringe at the thought but I got it mainly because I love the Apple and Mac ecosystem but also play WoW very regularly.

I've been very happy with WoW's performance with this machine. The 680 is a very capable card and I can finally run the game with most settings maxed out. Distance sliders, texture quality, etc. Ultra shadows can still get taxing but it's no big deal to me to bump it down a bit. I too game at 1080p and have no desire for 4K anytime soon. If you have any questions or concerns specific to WoW by all means let me know! Also, Legion performance is better now than before pre patch because of Metal support.
 
ActionableMango said:
The 680 ROM is very forgiving. Any reference card will work, 2GB or 4GB (just use the right ROM for the right size). Many non-reference cards work too, but not all of them. The general rule of thumb is to be reference or near reference and have the same output port layout as the reference card. Don't get anything exotic.

If you can't find reference and you want to know for sure what will work, do a forum title search for 680 and you'll find cards that have been confirmed to work and not work.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I think I now have a good grasp on which cards are a safe bet. Problem is, none of those cards are available locally at the moment. There are, however, two Zotac GTX 680 AMP! V2 https://www.zotac.com/product/graphics_card/gtx-680-amp except the the model is ZT-60105-10P. Can't find any information about it. Looks to have reference connectors. 6+6 power. Is this a risky buy?

PieTunes said:
Last week I bought a Mac Pro 2010 that came with a GTX 680. Many people will cringe at the thought but I got it mainly because I love the Apple and Mac ecosystem but also play WoW very regularly.

I've been very happy with WoW's performance with this machine. The 680 is a very capable card and I can finally run the game with most settings maxed out. Distance sliders, texture quality, etc. Ultra shadows can still get taxing but it's no big deal to me to bump it down a bit. I too game at 1080p and have no desire for 4K anytime soon. If you have any questions or concerns specific to WoW by all means let me know! Also, Legion performance is better now than before pre patch because of Metal support.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Just the information I was hoping to get. Metal support is awesome. I hope they can utilize it to the max in the future. Thanks for letting me know.
 
If seen people report succes with flashing their Zotac GTX 680's on both netkas and this forum. However the model used in both was the ZT-60101-10P I believe.

I'd be inclined to go for it, although it's not my money.
 
PieTunes said:
Last week I bought a Mac Pro 2010 that came with a GTX 680. Many people will cringe at the thought but I got it mainly because I love the Apple and Mac ecosystem but also play WoW very regularly.

I've been very happy with WoW's performance with this machine. The 680 is a very capable card and I can finally run the game with most settings maxed out. Distance sliders, texture quality, etc. Ultra shadows can still get taxing but it's no big deal to me to bump it down a bit. I too game at 1080p and have no desire for 4K anytime soon. If you have any questions or concerns specific to WoW by all means let me know! Also, Legion performance is better now than before pre patch because of Metal support.
Click to expand...

I am playing WoW with this same set up and graphics quality is very decent, even in Legion beta areas. However, I just wanted to point out that NO Mac currently available is able to play WoW on max settings. If you want to play WoW on Ultra, unfortunately you need a PC or a well equipped Hackintosh.
 
OS-SEX said:
I am playing WoW with this same set up and graphics quality is very decent, even in Legion beta areas. However, I just wanted to point out that NO Mac currently available is able to play WoW on max settings. If you want to play WoW on Ultra, unfortunately you need a PC or a well equipped Hackintosh.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Are you saying that even a 3,46Ghz cMP with a GTX Titan cannot run WoW on Ultra? That would mean that the CPU would be the weakest link, am I right?
 
The GTX 680 is a great option you can find some for 100 dollars or less they are easy to flash using one myself got it in june for 90 dollars. extra note get the 5.134 flasher from 2013 so you don't drive yourself nuts trying to flash the card. the newer flasher doesn't work right!
 
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MacinJosh said:
Thanks for this. Are you saying that even a 3,46Ghz cMP with a GTX Titan cannot run WoW on Ultra? That would mean that the CPU would be the weakest link, am I right?
Click to expand...

Good question. According to the developers, it would take a Mac with a nVidia GTX 1070 to play on Ultra at 4k / 5k resolution. Now if you're playing at a lower resolution, perhaps it would be possible. I don't know if that statement is taking into account the aging processors in our CMPs. I expect as the new Metal engine for WoW is further developed, we'll see better results.
 
OSX games maybe, Windows games are multihreaded or not large enough to be played anyway - My gf plays on an i7-3770S (which is a cut down 3770 with around 3/4th of a X5675 bench) with zero issues (GTX 980 Ti, Full HD, settings eg. GTA V/Just Cause 3 etc. to maximum possible in game).
 
CapnDavey said:
The GTX 680 is a great option you can find some for 100 dollars or less they are easy to flash using one myself got it in june for 90 dollars. extra note get the 5.134 flasher from 2013 so you don't drive yourself nuts trying to flash the card. the newer flasher doesn't work right!
Click to expand...

Good tip, thanks!

I just ended up getting a 3-slot monster, ASUS GTX680-DC2T-2GD5 (https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX680DC2T2GD5/overview/). Looks like it's not a problem to flash and get going despite the increased power demand from the 8-pin power connector. Should run fine with 2x 6-pin connectors according to this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/confirmed-and-possible-flashable-gtx-680-models.1578255/page-6
 
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MacinJosh said:
I just ended up getting a 3-slot monster, ASUS GTX680-DC2T-2GD5 (https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX680DC2T2GD5/overview/). Looks like it's not a problem to flash and get going despite the increased power demand from the 8-pin power connector. Should run fine with 2x 6-pin connectors according to this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/confirmed-and-possible-flashable-gtx-680-models.1578255/page-6
Click to expand...

I'm glad you got a verified card.

You'll need to pick up a pair of power cables. Generally PC cards don't come with the right cables and adapters for a Mac Pro, although it might come with a 6-to-8 pin adapter which you can use on one of the cables.
 
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ActionableMango said:
I'm glad you got a verified card.

You'll need to pick up a pair of power cables. Generally PC cards don't come with the right cables and adapters for a Mac Pro, although it might come with a 6-to-8 pin adapter which you can use one on of the cables.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I ordered 2x6-pin cables and a 8-pin cable just in case.

I also ordered a x5677 CPU, 4-core 3,46Ghz. Same as X5690 except 4-core and soooo much cheaper, also much cheaper than a w3690. For gaming, it's just as good.

Edit: Oh wait, you'd know. You're the guy who wrote the CPU compatibility guide. That was super helpful.
 
Ok, so I need some help here please. Absolutely nothing has worked out for me so far. I'm having the worst possible time installing Boot Camp. I know it's easy but things are not working out. I finally managed to get it installed. Now, after installing the Apple drivers from the USB, it craps out on BSOD. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL -

Ok, so I had tried Windows 7 Professional 64bit. This time I installed Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. It didn't even install Apple drivers. But I do have a working windows installation I think I can flash from.

I'm investigating that, but my real problem is powering the GTX 680 that just arrived.

From the posts here I thought it would work with 2x6pin powers. I get a red light from the 8-pin connector. I tried switching cables around and the 6-pin stays green. Is it because this is the TOP model, the most OC'd card? My 8-pin cables haven't arrived yet.

Should've read more carefully. It does require an 8-pin connector.

I'm thinking of going to the local PC-store to buy these: https://www.jimms.fi/fi/Product/Show/25530/ak-cb051/akasa-6-pin-pci-e-8-pin-atx12v-virta-adapteri - Will it do the trick?. No, that's just 6-pin pci-e to CPU power adapter. I can't seem to source any locally...

I gotta wait now till my cables arrive. :(

Another question. Will the card lose the OC-settings when I flash a generic Mac rom in it? Thanks in advance.

 
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Ok, so a little update.

I finally found a store open on Saturday that had a 6-pin to 8-pin power cable adapter. I got the card running and flashing went without a hitch. So everything is in order.

I did a PRAM reset and tried Heaven 4.0. I only got 38.8 FPS and a score of 977. It didn't seem to make a difference whether I used the web drivers or built-in ones. Although it's a nice improvement over the 5770, it doesn't really seem to be where I expected it to be according to this: http://barefeats.com/gpu680v.html It does have a 3.33Ghz cpu over my 2.8Ghz but I'm running at 5870 performance according to that.

WoW gave me jack **** improvement after the upgrade. After a PRAM reset it got better. After deleting cache and wtf it got better but stuttery af.

I've now bought a new 500GB 850 EVO. Clean-installed El Capitan 10.11.6. Am running on latest Web Drivers. My Heaven score didn't improve. I'm currently downloading WoW and clean-installing that. I'll try a couple of other games.

Edit 1: So I'm basically talking to myself here again. I found this helpful post: #10 With Tessellation off, I got these results. So I guess that's settled then. Thanks to everyone who helped.

Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0
FPS:
51.4
Score:
1295
Min FPS:
10.4
Max FPS:
92.2

Edit 2: WoW has installed now. No CPU hogging processes. Smooth as silk. Excellent. Happy happy.
 

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MacinJosh said:
Good tip, thanks!

I just ended up getting a 3-slot monster, ASUS GTX680-DC2T-2GD5 (https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX680DC2T2GD5/overview/). Looks like it's not a problem to flash and get going despite the increased power demand from the 8-pin power connector. Should run fine with 2x 6-pin connectors according to this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/confirmed-and-possible-flashable-gtx-680-models.1578255/page-6
Click to expand...

( that is a monster card for sure )Cool you will be happy with the GTX 680 I get the same benchmarks with mine
 
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yes if you flashed your 680 you will have the clocks that come with the bios, use gpuz in windows https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ to see your cards clocks etc.
just want to ask why did you flash the mac bios on to the card?

just for fun this is my gtx660 score (with some apps open)

so iv got to ask dose that 3 slot card fit well? & how loud is it?
i want to upgrade my 660, just waiting for a cheep card on ebay.
 

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