Which Graphics Card?

[cscotto]

Hi,
I have a 2010 5,1 quad core soon to be upgraded to hex core mac pro with 16 GB of RAM. I want to upgrade my video card. I mainly use my machine for audio work, Logic Pro X, and many other audio program. I am hoping an upgraded graphics card will speed up things moving across the screen. For example, large scores scroll slowly.

The two cards I am considering are the Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition and I am assuming flashed Radeon HD 7970. MacVidCards has one on ebay. I only want to choose between these two. I like my boot screen. They are both about the same price, so that is not really an issue. Which one and what will be the benefit of one over the other?

thanks in advance.

 

[ActionableMango]

I don't think Logic uses GPU acceleration, in which case neither card will help you attain your specified goal.

I suspect you either need more memory or a faster drive such as an SSD, but I don't know enough about Logic to be sure.

 

[cscotto]

I don't think Logic uses GPU acceleration, in which case neither card will help you attain your specified goal.

I suspect you either need more memory or a faster drive such as an SSD, but I don't know enough about Logic to be sure.

Thanks for the reply. I am not sure whether Logic does or does not use GPU acceleration, but I read somewhere that a faster graphics card can help it. I am already booting from a Samsung 840 Pro SSD on a Velocity PCIe card.

 

[gpzjock]

This thread postulates GPU use for Logic, doesn't really confirm anything though: http://logicrumours.com/mac-pro-gpu-to-integrate-with-logic-x/

 

[Macman45]

The CUDA drivers for nvidia cards are not as yet supported by any audio application in Mac, so the card upgrade isn't going to make any difference to it's performance.

Apps have to be specifically coded to use the CUDA driver set, and I've yet to hear anything about Logic being supported that way.

 

[ActionableMango]

Thanks for the reply. I am not sure whether Logic does or does not use GPU acceleration, but I read somewhere that a faster graphics card can help it.

That would really surprise me, but if you want to try I'd get the 7970. If they are the same price anyway, it's the faster card.

The CUDA drivers for nvidia cards are not as yet supported by any audio application in Mac, so the card upgrade isn't going to make any difference to it's performance.

Apps have to be specifically coded to use the CUDA driver set, and I've yet to hear anything about Logic being supported that way.

OP is asking about AMD cards.