9/22/2019 Best Video Card For Mac Pro 2009
I'd like to use a 4K display with a 2009 mac pro (4,1) so I'll need a new videocard. I'm normally not really into fiddling with hardware but this seems easy enough. In this video, I will show how to install an Nvidia graphics card in a Mac Pro. This demonstrates the process for a GeForce 700, 800, and 900.
Looking to upgrade from my current official Apple 5870 video card on a Mac Pro 4,1. I'm probably going to do a processor swap and flash it to a Mac Pro 5,1 as well (going from an 8-core 2.93 GHz Nehalem to a 12-core 3.46 Gz Westmere -- and upgrade the RAM too).
What is the best video card that will work in such a beast? With external power? Without external power? With which minimum OS?
Nvidia 9 series cards are the best cards on the market, period (gtx 970 and gtx 980). They work in OS X thanks the wonderful folks at Nvidia providing downloadable drivers (and the drivers specify your system definition as appropriate (3,1 - 4,1 - and 5,1 are all noted ).
I am using a GTX 970 in my system, running Yosemite. I get mid to high 90's in FPS @ 3440x1440 resolution. Now here is the kicker.. You will have to do a little research to make sure your Mac Pro will be able to accept one of these cards. It will need an open PCIe x16 Slot, and ample power (500 W system power minimum requirement, the card will draw around 145 W's). The card is 10.5' long.
This list is for nVidia cards only. AMD cards are supported up to the R9 290X, but for simplicity, nVidia cards are the best bang for the buck.
If using Mavericks: Minimum OS: 10.9.5 Required Driver: http://us.download.nvidia.com/Mac/Quadro_Certified/334.01.03f01/WebDriver-334.01.03f01.pkg Cards Supported: 6xx, 7xx** Series ** GTX 780 Rev B. GTX 780 Ti, and Titan Rev B./Titan Black require this driver to function properly in Mavericks. If using Yosemite:: Minimum OS: 10.10.0 Required GPU Driver: http://us.download.nvidia.com/Mac/Quadro_Certified/343.01.01f03/WebDriver-343.01.01f03.pkg Cards supported: 6xx, 7xx**, 970/980** Series ** GTX 780 Rev B. GTX 780 Ti, and Titan Rev B./Titan Black require this driver to function properly in Yosemite. Note: 780 Rev B., Titan Rev B., Titan Black, 780 Ti, and all 9xx series cards presently have an OpenCL bug whereby if OpenCL is called the card will remain at maximum clock speed (full load) until you reboot. Under this condition the card will not downclock when idle but instead remain at full speed generating increased heat accordingly. This will not affect any apps' performance, but will obviously cause increased heat and power draw. The open source HardwareMonitor app can be used to monitor GPU and GPU fan speeds. It can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/hwsensors/ Note: DO NOT install FakeSMC on your Mac. It is an advanced tool designed for Hackintoshes and folks that are extremely tech savvy that know how to deal with the inner workings of the SMC. Uncheck the FakeSMC option by choosing a Custom install. ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP 『I never forget the feeling of helplessness. I never thought there could be anything worse than being all alone in the night. But there is. Being all alone in a crowd.』
HWsensors currently will not read out 9 series GPU temps/fan speeds, according to a few major hackintosh forums that feature should be available soon.
I personally have not had any issues with my 970 staying locked at load, I have read about it plenty on forums but haven't experienced it myself.
Requires Mac Pro (Early 2009 with 1066MHz DDR3 memory) or Mac Pro. Sapphire 11265-05-20G Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI / DVI-D / Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Cards. ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB DDR3 PCIe Video Card for Mac Pro. $94.99 (2 used offers) 4.1 out of 5 stars 20.
• At the next screen, look for 'Output 1' column and click the 'Effects' dropdown, selecting 'AUGraphicEQ'. Best equalizer for mac os x free apps.
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If HWSensors will not read the 9xx series cards, you probably don't realize when your card is running at max load constantly. Once that feature gets put in, you'll notice it pretty quickly.
Easy way to test once the feature is in: Open any JPG file in Preview or QuickLook. That'll trigger OpenCL and the bug. ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP Prime Directives: 1. Serve the public trust. 2. Protect the innocent. 3. Uphold the law. 4. Smash, Jay, Smash!
I'd imagine the card would run its fan appropriately for the additional heat at constant max load, but the fan remains quiet and at or near idle speeds even after OpenCL benchmarking via LuxMark.
Like I said, I've read about it, but it hasn't happened for me, and keeping an eye on graphics and post installation forums at hackintosh sites the issue seems to have dissipated, I don't see new threads on the topic. The main current issue with 9 series cards is CUDA. Everything else seems to have been ironed out, at least in the hackintosh world. Edit: I just want to add some tone to this reply. I'm not trying to butt heads with you here Tiapriestess, I'm just sharing my experience and what I see on hackintosh forums regarding the 9 series. Everything you've put up is valid and the OP is lucky to have someone like you post in this thread. What I am speaking to centers in the hackintosh world. It may be the tools we use for our systems that has alleviated the OpenCL bug, and the issue may still remain on real macs, I cannot speak to that end of the situation as that is not part of my experience. One more note for what its worth; Nvidia has released A LOT of OS X web drivers since the 9 series cards launched, which leads me to think two things, 1.) There are people at Nvidia who use OS X (be it on a real mac or something else) that are invested in having these cards work well on that operating system. 2.) Nvidia would like to get back into real macs which is currently a spot held by AMD. The above is simply my own thoughts on things, but either way the future of Nvidia and Mac looks promising. Edit: I just want to add some tone to this reply. I'm not trying to butt heads with you here Tiapriestess, I'm just sharing my experience and what I see on hackintosh forums regarding the 9 series. Everything you've put up is valid and the OP is lucky to have someone like you post in this thread. Eh, you're just sharing your experience with me. No negativity detected by me. :) The OpenCL bug resides in the drivers themselves. There are ways around it, but aren't for the faint of heart. :D ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP Prime Directives: 1. Serve the public trust. 2. Protect the innocent. 3. Uphold the law. 4. Smash, Jay, Smash!
Ok, it seems most agree the GTX 970 or 980. Any particular brand of card? It seems the local Fry's stocks EVGA and ASUS. Will one of these work (I'm assuming yes), and is one better than the other and why?
970/980 will work, but will require Yosemite. It will function at a reduced capability level until you install the nVidia web drivers, which are far more up to date than Apple's.
As for the brands, I'd go with EVGA. Their support trumps everyone else out there, plus if you register your card online with them within two weeks of purchase, you get the opportunity to use their 'step up' program for 90 days from purchase date in case something better comes out that you want. I would not recommend getting the card at Fry's though. Look online at Newegg and Amazon first. Check Newegg so that you can easily filter search criteria (Amazon's filtering sucks) so you can get a look at what is out there. If you're using a real Mac Pro, you'll need to choose one of the models with two 6-pin connectors unless you are comfortable with and know how to use an external power supply (they mount in your optical bay). If you are using a Hackintosh in a full height case, go with the 980 Classified. You won't be disappointed. ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP Uh-oh! The truck have started to move.
Ok, almost there. If I go with an EVGA 980 GTX, which form factor? It seems the only difference is the cooling system. Since it's going in a real mac pro, I don't want a noisy card, but keeping things cool is important obviously.
Thoughts? Ok, almost there. If I go with an EVGA 980 GTX, which form factor? It seems the only difference is the cooling system. Since it's going in a real mac pro, I don't want a noisy card, but keeping things cool is important obviously. Your only choices will be whichever forms use dual 6-pin connectors. If it has even one eight pin connector, you should avoid it. These models have dual 6-pin connectors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487079 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487067 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487087 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487078 I would go with either the first or third. If your monitor is DVI and is higher resolution than 1920x1200 and you don't want to spend money on a DP->Dual Link DVI adapter, get the third one. ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP Official Mac Tech Support Forum Cookie™ (Mint Chocolate Chip) Guaranteed tasty; Potentially volatile when dipped in General Forums Syrup® Caution: This cookie bites back.
Thanks -- The 3rd one it is! I'm hooking this up to an Apple 30', so yes, I have higher than 1920x1200.
Though it looks like more than one of them supports dual-link DVI. Thanks -- The 3rd one it is! I'm hooking this up to an Apple 30', so yes, I have higher than 1920x1200. The reason I went with 'first or third' is also the core/boost clock rate. The other two are of lower clock rates. ________________________________________________ Technical Support MVP Uh-oh! The truck have started to move.
Yes, saw that. Given the price is essentially identical, it seems the best way to go. Thank you for the help.
Hi there.. I know I'm reviving a pretty old thread here, but this felt like the most appropriate place to ask without starting a new thread.
I'm looking to get back into WoW within the next few months, and have the opportunity to buy a Mac Pro 5,1 from 2013 for just $600 through my employer (I work at a University, they're from a student computer lab). Can anyone provide any insight on whether this would be worthwhile? 2x2.4 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 12 GB RAM ATI Radeon HD 5770 Alternatively, I could also get a 2010 5,1 model with the following specs for $550.. 2x2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 8 GB RAM ATI Radeon HD 5870 From what I've been able to gather so far, it sounds like most iMacs now would actually provide better performance. But at $600, the Mac Pro is less than half the price of an iMac, and would be upgradable. Any thoughts would be *greatly* appreciated.
Buy the second one -- the processors are faster and the video card is better. RAM is cheap. The 2010 and the 2012 machines are essentially identical.
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Thanks a ton. That's what I did!
By the way, I ended up picking up a GTX 980 Ti flashed to run on Mac OS X. It's being held prisoner by the post office right now (2-day delivery will, if all goes well from this point, end up being 6-day delivery. Fault shared by both the post office and the party I bought it from).
Will see how well it works. Loaded up the drivers with minimal issues on 10.11.1 (somehow installing the drivers horked the permissions on System Preferences -- easily worked around/fixed). A full report once it's up and running.
Did you get yours up and running? I had a 980 ti flashed by the guys at MacVideoCards, and I installed it yesterday. It's amazing for windows games, but OS X games are a bust right now. WoW doesn't seem to detect it, and appears to be doing software rendering. If you got yours working, I'd love to know how.
it should work fine in OS X but you NEED to install the nvidia web driver for it. it sounds like you haven't done so yet. the 980ti does NOT have a built in driver in OS X since apple insists on shipping a still grossly out of date nvidia driver with OS X 10.11 10.10 and 10.9 since their current hardware all use AMD they seem to think there is no reason to update nvdia drivers included with factory installs (even though the same web driver offers significant performance improvements to macs using 700 and 600 series GPUs too)
I use a 980ti in OS X just fine and it just requires that every OS X update, you get latest nvidia driver that works for it. It also requires 10.10.5 or later since nvidia web drivers before 10.10.5 didn't have 980ti support.
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