GTX480 running OSX in 1st Gen & Nehalem Pro !!!

[The Rominator]

I used parts of a couple threads to do this, wasn't sure which one to post in, decided to start my own darn thread.

Using the "leaked" Nvidia drivers AND Netkas little "ATY_Init" extension, I am staring at desktop rendered by a GTX480. After I read the Hackintosh stuff, I realized that it shuld work in real Mac as well.

So, I found a "just fell off a truck" sort of deal on CL for a GTX480, and ran it home.

With the same old Netkas ATY_Init that worked for GTX285, I got GTX480 working from OSX desktop on.

It behaves differently from Hackintosh reports. Perhaps I need to add Device ID into Netkas extension, or try some of the ones used by Hacky folk.

Scores are worse than GTX285 on everything I tried thus far.

More pix coming.

BTW...CS5 seems to know what it is, and I don't have current CUDA drivers.

[TheStrudel]

Fascinating.

If CS5 knows what it is, is it leveraging it in any way?

[Roman23]

Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 were ALL EFI32 only and can only run ati video based cards, as nvidia shut out those with efi32 as they only support EFI64?


I used parts of a couple threads to do this, wasn't sure which one to post in, decided to start my own darn thread.

Using the "leaked" Nvidia drivers AND Netkas little "ATY_Init" extension, I am staring at desktop rendered by a GTX480. After I read the Hackintosh stuff, I realized that it shuld work in real Mac as well.

So, I found a "just fell off a truck" sort of deal on CL for a GTX480, and ran it home.

With the same old Netkas ATY_Init that worked for GTX285, I got GTX480 working from OSX desktop on.

It behaves differently from Hackintosh reports. Perhaps I need to add Device ID into Netkas extension, or try some of the ones used by Hacky folk.

Scores are worse than GTX285 on everything I tried thus far.

More pix coming.

BTW...CS5 seems to know what it is, and I don't have current CUDA drivers.

[The Rominator]

Fascinating.

If CS5 knows what it is, is it leveraging it in any way?

I don't know how I would test this.

Per some hints at InsanelyMac, I have added the device id to the NVResman kext.

No change.

OpenGl test scores still much lower than GTX285.

I have tried Bioshock and Doom3. Oddly, Bioshock runs great, while Doom3 is sluggish.

Netkas posted that it was possible to add NVCap value to his ATY_Init, but I have no idea how to do that.

I will fix the VRAM amount next, but that isn't going to help much other than cosmetic.

[10THzMac]

You beat me to it! I will try this myself on Friday in an 08 Pro alongside the Mac 285, and see what numbers I get for various apps and CUDA/OpenCl progs. I have found all kinds of rations compared to earlier cards. I found a C2050 Tesla running a CUDA code the same speed as a 285, a 480 running 40% faster than a 285 in some single precision stuff, but 160% quicker in double. I suspect early drivers are well short of making full use of the card.

[netkas]

yay, now need to find at_init sources and update it for fermis.

The Rominator, can you try this ? (updated, forgot to add nvidia devid into plist in first version) http://mirror.netkas.org/ATY_Init.kext.zip

p.s. dont add dev-id to nvdaresman, some noobs at imac dont know what they talking about.

[The Rominator]

yay, now need to find at_init sources and update it for fermis.

The Rominator, can you try this ? (updated, forgot to add nvidia devid into plist in first version) http://mirror.netkas.org/ATY_Init.kext.zip

p.s. dont add dev-id to nvdaresman, some noobs at imac dont know what they talking about.

results in a KP

tried with 7300GT and 8800GT and by itself

[Cindori]

With the same old Netkas ATY_Init that worked for GTX285, I got GTX480 working from OSX desktop on.

does this mean you are using 7300 helper card? getting qeci?


you should have a look at these instructions:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=214219&view=findpost&p=1438518


I'm torn between picking up a 470 now or wait for macpro release in hopes of ati cards

[The Rominator]

I read that whole thread before i even started trolling cl for a Fermi.

Thing is, the Hack crowd uses a bootloader method. There is no such file for Mac Pro, so I just put the GTX480 in slot 1 and a 8800GT in slot 3. I already had ATY_Init in to run GTX285, etc. From that thread I downloaded the ORIGINAL Nvidia driver which came with Fermi support. Nvidia has since REMOVED the Fermi kexts, but once the horse is out of the barn...

I was more than a little surprised when I booted first time and GTX480 screen popped on at first blue screen, right before desktop appeared.

I looked at the hackintosh bootloaders but no idea where they would go. I am having similar performnce to what they claim. Not up to full speed yet.

But I am certainly enjoying a smoother experience than the 4890 crowd has been having. And while it may not test faster than an 8800, there is a particular room in Bioshock that I have been testing with. With the 8800GT the room is a slide show. 2560x1600 with everything MAXXED. There are 2 grenade turrets and some spider splicers in the room. While the 8800GTs have been CHOKING on this room (think Doom 3 on a GeForce 3) the GTX480 doesn't even slow down.

There is speculation from that thread that Fermi is staying in lower performance state. I can say that I have seen the "throttling" that we saw with GTX285, the OpenGl test bangs it up a notch. But maybe not all the way?

The Hack crowd has means to tell system it is a Mac Pro 3,1 or 4,1 and have found that has an effect on speeds / throttling. Might be interesting if there was a way to do this on REAL Mac. If I could convince machine that it was a 3,1 it might work better.

They also have a terminal command to see clocks on card. (Might be a neat feature to add to Zeus when you fix the Nvflash part...you could show real time Nvidia speeds)

Who else has a Fermi card and another Nvidia card and a real Mac Pro?

I don't know if anyone has been paying attention to my posts, but Netkas' little "ATY_Init" is a very useful little piece of software. I have used it to flash Nvidia cards in OSX and run a GT120 in my 1st Gen. Instead of writing it to work with specific Nvidia cards, it appears he wrote it to work more like a scattergun for Nvidia. I even found that Slot 3 card can be Non-EFI 8800GT with just BIOS ROM on it.

I will attach the two files you need to do this if anyone asks. I have a hacked Nvidia Installer that runs on any Mac Pro and the original ATY_Init, all you need.

[TMRaven]

21fps on cinebench? That seems kinda weak for a 480. My mobility 4850 got 50fps on the same benchmark.

[Cindori]

this is indeed an interesting turn, next gen graphics before next gen mac pro is released. i'm sad the drivers are not fully functional and that nvidia pulled them back, means we won't see any improvements until the card is launched

there are MacPro1,1.plist etc on real macs, but I don't know what the effect is to have them replaced

[macest]

Who else has a Fermi card and another Nvidia card and a real Mac Pro?

How are you powering the cards? I have the problem of the fan not working, but it boots in Windows ok, until it hits 110°C and then shuts off. Problem posted in the topic GeForce GTX 480 on a Mac PRO. Possible? (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=10220488#post10220488).

I have bought a MaxInPower PS-525 (http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/3299293/art/maxinpower/ps-525-300w-power-supply.html) power supply which fits in the optical bay. Unfortunately it only came with 6-pin cables, so I'm currently waiting on a 2 x 6-pin to 6+2-pin cable which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping this will work otherwise I might try an EPS 8-pin to PCI-E 8-pin splice of a couple of cables I have.

[The Rominator]

I am using the two motherboard connectors.

One goes to 6 pin, the other to a 6 pin splitter that allows ends to be either 6 or 8 pins.

Ideally, I will make a special Mac connector that will go to the motherboard connector but end in an 8 pin, there will be less current loss over the reduced length.

Why your fans aren't going is very perplexing.

Mine fires up everytime, no issues. It is a PNY GTX480.

[netkas]

The Rom..

can you boot in verbose mode and make cam shot of panic message ?

[Spacedust]

Is there any way to run without second graphics card ?

[The Rominator]

The Rom..

can you boot in verbose mode and make cam shot of panic message ?

I decided to refresh my OS installs to get rid of any refuse from other experiments.

I now have a clean 10.6.3 w newer Nvidia drivers and a 10.6.4 w Nvidia drivers.

So, re-trying your newer ATY had a different result. It still did not function....but.....it DID make System Profiler see it properly as GTX480.

I put the OLD ATY_Init in and I can use the GTX285 as helper card for GTX480. As I posted before, there does NOT need to be an EFI card in slot 3, just an Nvidia card. So, a 1st Gen running a GTX285 AND a GTX480 at same time. If OpenCl ever works out, would be nice setup.

Ready to test whatever else. Before using GTX285, I tried 7300GT and 8800GT, same results.

Only difference in using EFI card in slot 3 is that ports work on EFI Helper card, while a PC BIOS helper card will not.

Screen shot with "Nvidia Graphic Card" was taken on Pro, others via Screen Sharing.

[netkas]

ioreg -l -w0 > dump.txt

with both aty_init kexts versions plz, so I can compare it

[The Rominator]

ioreg -l -w0 > dump.txt

with both aty_init kexts versions plz, so I can compare it

Certainly !!! And with a bonus, I saved the IORegistry Explorer reports. May be easier to read, though I suppose it's whatever you are used to.

I am attaching image of the IORegistry page for the GTX480 while running.

The things labeled "New ATY" are done from Screen Sharing on another Mac. The "Old ATY" are done with GTX285 in slot 3 and GTX480 in slot one. In that config, the ports on GTX480 work, the ones on GTX285 do NOT.

FInal set is of GTX480 with a 7300GT as EFI Nvidia card in slot 3. Those are labeled "w EFI". Ports on 7300 functional.

Let me know what else I can grab for you.

[macest]

Success! I moved the 480 to slot 2 and the fan works! Not sure why it won't work in slot 1, so I now have my 8800 in slot 1. Now I'm going to fire up Crysis and put the 480 through it's paces.

[The Rominator]

Wanna try the GTX480 in OSX?

[macest]

Wanna try the GTX480 in OSX?

Yeah that would be greet, although since trying to boot back into OS X I can't seem to get to the login screen, seems to get stuck on the blue screen.

[The Rominator]

Did you install the Nvidia Drivers with Fermi support and ATY_Init?

Idn't gonna work w/o

[macest]

Did you install the Nvidia Drivers with Fermi support and ATY_Init?

Idn't gonna work w/o

No I was just trying to boot with the display connected to my 8800. I haven't installed any drivers to try and get the 480 working yet, it should be ignored at the moment.

Can you post links for the required files?

[The Rominator]

Go to this thread (post #78) at Insanely Mac to find link to the drivers:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=214219&st=60

I will see if I can find a working link to ATY_Init...or maybe Netkas will come by and have a new one to test when he gets a minute to look at the ioreg stuff I posted.

Look in his thread "GTX260 / 280, etc working in any Mac Pro" for a working link.

Same package.

[netkas]

haha, my memory failz :D

check it out, should work now

[10THzMac]

haha, my memory failz :D

check it out, should work now

Dear netkas,

With my Mac 285+PC480 on an 08 Pro:

I have upgraded to 10.6.4, done the CUDA update, downloaded the 19.5.08f3 drivers from Nvidia and copied that latest kext you uploaded to /System/Library/Extensions.

No life yet, but I have just remembered there was a last step to set the permissions while root. I cannot find a note of the commands involving chmod and chown etc. Please would you note here the precise steps for us and I will try it as soon as you post? I have Googled it but got conflicting incantations for this.

Will report back as soon as I see this.

Thanks!

[netkas]

sudo chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions/ATY_Init.kext
sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/ATY_Init.kext
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions/ATY_Init.kext /System/Library/Extensions

p.s. the kext is 32-bit only at the moment

[Cindori]

so I can't let you guys do all the fun, ordered a GTX 470 now to try and get working in OSX.

[The Rominator]

Success !!!

Have combined best features of both kexts !!!

Now the id is correct and it works !!!
Next on to fix the reported VRAM.

Explain to me again how 0020 works out to 512 Megs? I know you told me once but I have forgotten.

to 10thz:

kext helper does same thing

but i have been having to force quit it everytime...

btw...don't forget that sometimes what card is in what slot influences injection

I have GTX480 in Slot 1, any Nvidia card helper in 3.

[10THzMac]

Thanks guys. I am in 32-bit mode under 10.6.4. This time I got grey screen of death and failed to make it to blue. This is with 285 at bottom (slot 1??) so I am going to swap the 480 and 285 now and see what happens.

By the way, I benchmarked my 285 before and after upgrading to 10.6.4 and the 19.5.08f3 and got about the same numbers from OpenGL tests.

More later, if I do not mangle the cards.....

[netkas]

Success !!!

Have combined best features of both kexts !!!

Now the id is correct and it works !!!
Next on to fix the reported VRAM.

Explain to me again how 0020 works out to 512 Megs? I know you told me once but I have forgotten.

to 10thz:

kext helper does same thing

but i have been having to force quit it everytime...

btw...don't forget that sometimes what card is in what slot influences injection

I have GTX480 in Slot 1, any Nvidia card helper in 3.

00 00 00 20 - its little endian, so we swap the order and get
20000000 - its 512 mb in hex

1536 will be i guess - 00 00 00 60

[10THzMac]

OK, so I got a KP with the cards either way round, so numbnutz-brain reread some posts and the penny has dropped that there seem to be two versions of the latest drivers around, the latest official version of which does not have, or does not install, any GF100.kext.

I presume that what Rominator meant by leaked was some transiently-available alternative with the extra stuff in? If so could someone tell me where I might find it (maybe privately) and how to process it to make sure all the Fermi bits are in fact there. Right now I have NO gf100.kext in SLE.

[The Rominator]

i tried 60 yesterday and got one of those nonsensical numbers

and yet....and yet....via those OSX86 bootloaders at insanely mac, somebodies 470 reports 1280 megs

so either the unsigned integer bug starts above 1280, or there is another way round

btw, our low performance issue may very well be due to not being able to trigger card into full 3D.

Decided to have a look at Nibitor's view of the GTX480 ROM.

Clock states are so much more complicated that they have to have a special FERMI page in Nibitor.

The 8800GT has 2 clock states on a Mac. The GTX285 has 2 or 3. I can't even figure out how many this actually is.

I was going to just put 3D values in for all settings to check my theory but I have no idea even how to do that.

So, quite likely that Mac OS doesn't know how yet either.

[The Rominator]

OK, so I got a KP with the cards either way round, so numbnutz-brain reread some posts and the penny has dropped that there seem to be two versions of the latest drivers around, the latest official version of which does not have, or does not install, any GF100.kext.

I presume that what Rominator meant by leaked was some transiently-available alternative with the extra stuff in? If so could someone tell me where I might find it (maybe privately) and how to process it to make sure all the Fermi bits are in fact there. Right now I have NO gf100.kext in SLE.

This is sort of thread where reading every post is important.

For instance, post #24 or 25

[10THzMac]

This is sort of thread where reading every post is important.
Point taken. Now have a visible GF100 kext and have edited info.plist to add the PCI ID for the 480 in resman.

I now boot OK to SL 10.6.4, without KP, but now if I go to OpenGL EV I see that the Apple software renderer has taken over, and now CUDA does not see any devices. The one good thing is that I CAN see both a 285 and a 480 in the System Profile under Graphics, but clicking PCI produces an error.

Unless I have missed some other detail methinks I am stuck for now.

[netkas]

signed integer overflow starts at 0x80 00 00 00

>to add the PCI ID for the 480 in resman.

DO NOT DO THAT

also, can u attach display to gtx480 and get output?

[10THzMac]

signed integer overflow starts at 0x80 00 00 00

>to add the PCI ID for the 480 in resman.

DO NOT DO THAT

also, can u attach display to gtx480 and get output?
No display output in fact, but as you have shouted at me not to edit the plist I will reinstall and leave it alone.

[The Rominator]

he shouted because the Insanely crowd has made that part of their Mantra.

By virtue of luck, I plopped card in and it worked before I tried that.

I DID however install their fermifix kext, which was likely why the first time i tried new ATY.init I got KP.

It worked BEFORE I did that so it is not necessary. I posted there about it, but perhaps not everything that works in OSX86 works in Mac EFI, and vice versa.

[10THzMac]

OK, so this time I left info.plist alone and on restart went back to KP before blue screen. I can confirm NVDAGF100Hal.kext is in S/L/E and I installed drivers from later link on insane forum. 480 is in slot 1. Here is the hopefully relevant bit of the crash log.


0x8d56bfc8 : 0x29f48d (0x160e5904 0x0 0x10 0x160e5904)
Kernel Extensions in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.nvidia.nvGF100hal(3.0.4)@0x900e5000->0x9064bfff
dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(3.0.4)@0x8ef82000
com.apple.NVDAResman(3.0.4)@0x8ef82000->0x8f263fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x84256000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.1)@0x8de6d000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.1)@0x8deb4000
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.1)@0x8deb4000->0x8ded5fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x84256000

So the net procedure I think have used is

1. upgrade to 10.6.4
2. install latest Nvidia drivers from the right place
3. Copy ATY_Init.kext to S/L/E and set the permissions according to netkas reminder.

I have not edited anything, and there is no PCI code for 480 in resman.

So what have I fouled up this time, or am I just trying this too soon with my config?

[netkas]

The Rom.
you have 5870 on habds, right?

wanna play with it ? :D

[The Rominator]

did you boot into 32?

do you have your old PC gtx285 or another nvidia card around?

I would not say you are too early, I would say you are trailblazing for the EFI64 crowd

if it is in fact a different deal for 3,1 and 4,1 machines vs the 1,1 and 2,1, you can be one to find that path

[The Rominator]

The Rom.
you have 5870 on habds, right?

wanna play with it ? :D


Sure...did you find something else in OS?

Happy to dig it out...been sitting forlornly on shelf

[netkas]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=10419889#post10419889

[The Rominator]

looking better

who's gonna help me decipher those clocks?

I have attached a VERY SLIGHTLY modded version of Netkas' latest ATY_Init

It has the VRAM hard cooded at 1536...so really meant for GTX480.

[slughead]

You magnificent bastards!

You had to wait until after I bought a 4970, didn't you?

[The Rominator]

You magnificent bastards!

You had to wait until after I bought a 4970, didn't you?

yes, yes, my folks were married in August, I was born the following January...but how does that always become public knowledge? I am really and truly, a bastard....

Anyhow...found a curious thin. There is an AGPM extension, Apple Graphics Power Management. Has entry only for Mac Pro 4,1 none of the earlier ones. Looks like 4 clock states for GTX285. Maybe 10thzMac is a 3,1?

Do we need to add for other Mac Pros?

Do we need to add GTX480 to tell it to get off it's butt and RUNNN !!!



Perhaps turn "Log Control" to 1 and see what it's logging and where?

Anyone have any ideas?

[Cindori]

netkas, aty init has support for 470? getting one on monday to help testing

[macest]

I have attached a VERY SLIGHTLY modded version of Netkas' latest ATY_Init

It has the VRAM hard cooded at 1536...so really meant for GTX480.

I'm successfully up and running in OS X with my 480, woohoo! It's quite a relief since my 8800 will only boot into a blue screen or a garbled display, I had to use a combination of SSH and Bootcamp to get the NVIDIA drivers and ATY_Init into place. I haven't tried the 8800 with both in place, but it wouldn't load up properly with just the new NVIDIA drivers.

The only issue with the 480 I have come across so far is that when waking from sleep the display won't turn on :-( Tried unplugging then replugging, that didn't work. Initially I had come out of sleep since last night and the fans in my 8800 were stuck on full blast, second time they didn't. I haven't done any testing beyond getting one display on at the moment so I will do some more later today.

[10THzMac]

So in desperation I finally put my Mac ed 285 back in slot 1 and the 480 above it and now I have life! This is Mac Pro 3,1 (early 08), 10.6.4, latest Nvidia drivers with fermi kext, netkas ATY thingy. I also have video now, but the 480 is not yet recognized by CUDA (maybe I need to go hunt for new bits) and I have not yet been able to benchmark OpenGL. Proof in shot. I have not used the edit to display the card memory properly but I suspect this is just cosmetic.

Thanks guys! I will let you know if I get life from CUDA etc.

[The Rominator]

So in desperation I finally put my Mac ed 285 back in slot 1 and the 480 above it and now I have life! This is Mac Pro 3,1 (early 08), 10.6.4, latest Nvidia drivers with fermi kext, netkas ATY thingy. I also have video now, but the 480 is not yet recognized by CUDA (maybe I need to go hunt for new bits) and I have not yet been able to benchmark OpenGL. Proof in shot. I have not used the edit to display the card memory properly but I suspect this is just cosmetic.

Thanks guys! I will let you know if I get life from CUDA etc.

Yay !! GTX480 in Mac Pro #3 !!!

I was worried that people were going to start thinking I had created a Photoshop 480 !!!

[10THzMac]

So I have managed to get to the next step and run the OpenGL Extensions viewer with the ACD 23 on the 480 as the primary monitor now (I switch after booting with the 285). As Rominator noted, the scores are not very good, but I think as a demo of early functionality it is very encouraging. OGLEV also sees the 1.5 memory OK and the same tests work as on the 285, albeit with much lower scores. My guess is Nvidia released these drivers before they were properly optimized, so I would not pay so much attention to the levels of the numbers as to the fact that the OpenGL stuff is working on a Pro now. No life from CUDA yet, though I am guessing the Mac release probably does not have the links yet - am looking around the libraries to see if there is a list of valid PCI IDs omitting the ones we want! If someone else gets CUDA or OpenCL up on this do tell!

[netkas]

5870 gets 3 times more.

[The Rominator]

not on a Mac it doesn't...not yet anyway

need another tester to see what problem is

[10THzMac]

Might just be a premature release of a first hack-up, with debug stuff in it.

Netkas - under the about this Mac, "PCI cards", I get an error message - I cannot see the link speed etc. Is this clue to problem?

[macest]

My 23 ACD is exhibiting screen tearing, there's no option in System Prefs to set the refresh rate. OpenGL Extensions Viewer reports the refresh rate as 0 as well. My projector on the other hand has the option and it is detected correctly by the system.

Has anyone got issues with coming out of sleep (i.e. display doesn't turn on)?

[Cindori]

rommy, clean your inbox

[The Rominator]

rommy, clean your inbox

but why?

so many people pm'd me with questions that REALLY needed to be public posts to help everybody.

once it filled up, the tedious PMs stopped

you have my email, feel free to use

[10THzMac]

Some questions

1. macest -

which version of mac pro do you have?

2. Everybody who has got it working -

can you see the link speed (usually 5 for mac cards, 2.5 for injected pc cards) under About this Mac: More Info: PCI cards,

because I get an error message when I try this. (Graphics is ok as already noted)

[macest]

Some questions

1. macest -

which version of mac pro do you have?

2008. I've also noticed the screen tearing is not limited to my ACD, it is present on my projector as well.

2. Everybody who has got it working -

can you see the link speed (usually 5 for mac cards, 2.5 for injected pc cards) under About this Mac: More Info: PCI cards,

because I get an error message when I try this. (Graphics is ok as already noted)

All I get in that section is "There was an error while gathering PCI card information.". I've always had this error when I have a PC card installed.

[10THzMac]

That's the error I get, but only with the 480. With 260 or 280 alongside 8800 or 285 helpers that revealed link speed and other data OK. Odd, given we have same Mac Pro. Have you run Open GL benchmarks and do you get same poor data I do?

[macest]

That's the error I get, but only with the 480. With 260 or 280 alongside 8800 or 285 helpers that revealed link speed and other data OK. Odd, given we have same Mac Pro.

I also have a Creative X-FI Titanium sound card in mine, I think that also breaks the PCI section.

Have you run Open GL benchmarks and do you get same poor data I do?

http://www.macest.com/benchmark.png

Do you have screen tearing or wake from sleep issues with yours?

[The Rominator]

I have been consumed with trying to get 5xxx series ATI cards working in our Pros, so Fermi has taken a back seat. I guess we all also feel that it's power will be felt in next OS or Driver update.

(10.6.5 seeds out yet?)

However, I have Bioshock running as a good place to test cards. The entrance to "Neptunes Bounty" area is quite a test.

It brings an 8800GT to it's knees. At 2560x1600 with all the EyeCandy maxxed, the 8800GT is a SLIDE SHOW. Almost impossible to get from VitaChamber to entrance. There is transparency, fire, flashing lights, all enemies of a struggling GPU.

So while the GTX480 scoes quite similarly to the 8800GT in our benchmarks, the difference here is MORE than night and day.

With the GTX480, there is no slow down, no sense of "lots of stuff going on, GPU can't keep up". In fact, the experience is of smooth gameplay, no jerks, stutters, etc. Even a 4870 has trouble with this place.

So, while we don't have good benchies from GTX480, I feel that it already is able to flex it's muscles.

I have found that it doesn't wake from a long sleep, but I don't see screen tearing.

With 5xxx still a pipe dream for Mac users, the Fermi "feels" like king.

Someone needs to figure out an automated timedemo for Bioshock. If nothing else so that PC users don't have such a laugh looking at Barefeats. I think Rob still uses Doom3/Quake4/UT2004...why? Because there isn't anything else.

[netkas]

well, now we can test in native hl2 ep2, cs:s and other source games, just need to figure out how to do it.

[ZennZero]

well, now we can test in native hl2 ep2, cs:s and other source games, just need to figure out how to do it.

Well, one of the nice thing about Source games is the common terminal system. Since there is nothing like FRAPS (that I am aware of) for Mac, you should be able to use some of the Source terminal commands to monitor and log framerates for you...

Then you just have to pick something people can run consistently (like a cut scene or scripted mod -- TF2 or Gary's Mod (etc.) would be well suited to the latter).

[10THzMac]

I have not seen any tearing, but did not put my system to sleep before taking it to bits to put back my 2x285 config. Will have another play with 480 after some hols. I agree with Rom's comments on benchmarks.

[The Rominator]

well, now we can test in native hl2 ep2, cs:s and other source games, just need to figure out how to do it.


done & done

I dropped $30 and got Orange Box through Steam.

HL2 EP2 has a timedemo function.

I recorded a short bit of play and then ran it on 4 different cards.

Ran it at 2560x1600, textures & shadows, etc maxed, AA and AF both @ 2X. Had to keep resetting for each new card.

8800GT 30 FPS

4870 1 Gig 44 FPS

GTX285 60 FPS

GTX480 60 FPS

So, at same time that OpenGl extension viewer rates it equal to 8800GT, 2 different heavy 3D games show GTX480 much higher.

When the drivers reach release stage, it's going to be something.

WIsh I could include 5870 but still no 3D on real Mac Pros.

I can attach a timedemo file but to compare,but you will have to pay for HL2 Episode 2 from Steam. ( $8 or $10, but a better deal at $30 for Orange Box)

[netkas]

looks like vertical sync is enabled, maybe that's why u have 60fps limit

share the demo, anyway there is a way to get ep2 it without buying(i hope i didnt say it too loud)

[Major Reeves]

looks like vertical sync is enabled, maybe that's why u have 60fps limit

share the demo, anyway there is a way to get ep2 it without buying(i hope i didnt say it too loud)

Still, seems quite a waste of resources, computing power and time caring so much about video games on a workstation.

Why not care about open cl benchmarks, cuda performance speedups on mathematica, matlab and labview. How's the cuda/open cl performance difference compare between a single and two quadro fx4800 to a single gtx480.

In other words, tests that fit a workstation. But if you guys are all over gaming, why not just get a pc or a console?

[netkas]

Why not care about open cl benchmarks, cuda performance speedups on mathematica, matlab and labview. How's the cuda/open cl performance difference compare between a single and two quadro fx4800 to a single gtx480.


because it's booring.

[Cindori]

because it's booring.

amen to that

[Major Reeves]

amen to that

Them there's absolutely no reason to justify owning a macpro.

[The Rominator]

Aside from which, neither OpenCl nor Cuda is working yet on this card.

Mybe next round of drivers.

Meanwwhile, we test where we can.

[Major Reeves]

Aside from which, neither OpenCl nor Cuda is working yet on this card.

Mybe next round of drivers.

Meanwwhile, we test where we can.

Oh well them, that's a much better and constructive reply instead of saying that "it's boring" or "agreeing that it's boring".

[cured.not.dried]

Them there's absolutely no reason to justify owning a macpro.

i think the justification lies in being able to play the newest games at high settings 4 or 5 years after you buy the machine, with nothing but a graphics card upgrade.

[Major Reeves]

i think the justification lies in being able to play the newest games at high settings 4 or 5 years after you buy the machine, with nothing but a graphics card upgrade.

Games = waste of time and who seriously buys workstations and macs for gaming.
Still, where's that video card upgrade? An overpriced and discontinued HD4870 and a gtx285?
Only the quadro fx4800 can be called an upgrade at this point, although it's a waste given how bad the drivers are.

[netkas]

Srsly, what are you going to test?

unreleased yet cards for macpro, which barely work for now ?

think twice before writing and you will not get answers like - it's booring.

[Cindori]

Them there's absolutely no reason to justify owning a macpro.

Games = waste of time and who seriously buys workstations and macs for gaming.
Still, where's that video card upgrade? An overpriced and discontinued HD4870 and a gtx285?
Only the quadro fx4800 can be called an upgrade at this point, although it's a waste given how bad the drivers are.


Then by all means, conjure a tower mac for me with desktop CPU and PCIE expandabilities, running OSX natively without hacks. I'd gladly buy it.

[hexagonheat]

Then by all means, conjure a tower mac for me with desktop CPU and PCIE expandabilities, running OSX natively without hacks. I'd gladly buy it.

Speaking of which, when Pystar was in business of selling their clones, did anyone buy one?

I was always curious if their computers were hacked together and needed constant kext fiddling and broke after updates too. They would have had to do it that way right?

[Cindori]

Speaking of which, when Pystar was in business of selling their clones, did anyone buy one?

I was always curious if their computers were hacked together and needed constant kext fiddling and broke after updates too. They would have had to do it that way right?


They sold 768 machines. Yes, their machines were no different from a normal hackintosh, except they used EFI bootloader on a usb stick instead of the harddrive.

[Major Reeves]

They sold 768 machines. Yes, their machines were no different from a normal hackintosh, except they used EFI bootloader on a usb stick instead of the harddrive.

There's also the deutchland based pearC that also sells hackintoshes.
Link: www.pearc.de

edit: fixed

[Fiete5401]

There's also the Dutch based pearC that also sells hackintoshes.
Link: www.pearc.de

They're not from the Netherlands. They sit in Hamburg, Germany.

[Major Reeves]

Srsly, what are you going to test?

unreleased yet cards for macpro, which barely work for now ?

think twice before writing and you will not get answers like - it's booring.

I didn't know opencl and cuda weren't working, specifically cuda as nvidia launched new drivers on 07/02/10.

As for the barely working graphics cards, well just notice that the current support on the pro, configuration and design is beyond craptastic. Only 2x6 pins connectors instead of 4x8 pins, possibility to use the space between the processor board and the bottom of the 09 mac pro for hard drives, the raid card bandwidth cap, supplying the hd4870 and the gtx120 as the "offcial" apple supported cards when they're extremely bad performers on one of the technologies they (apple) were touting on 10.6 which was opencl.

The 4x8 pins connectors could be fixed by replacing the psu cable with an appropriate one since the cable is detachable from it.

As for a graphics card update, a new revision? They are long, long overdue, pc users have been enjoying new hardware for months now and better drivers may it be on windows, solaris or on linux distros while osX is being left in the cold.
Even the new cuda 3.1 drivers have problems, like cuda capable devices not showing on device query.

As side note, I have here the service manuals for all the pros, 2006 to 2009, if you guys want them just tell to where I should send them.

[cured.not.dried]

As side note, I have here the service manuals for all the pros, 2006 to 2009, if you guys want them just tell to where I should send them.

technically that's "need to know" information, and you agreed to not distribute it when you joined the certification program.

if i wanted to use the brand newest video card for games, i would. i did it for a year before apple released the 4870, then just flashed the rom. now i've got the patience to wait until apple releases the card before i go grab one to flash.

finally, you buy a mac because you want a machine that works. to be able to play games (which are a multi-billion dollar a year industry) and to design games on your mac is an added benefit of owning a workstation. i can tell you right now my mac compiles vrads (lights) in the source engine faster than any 4 year old peecee would.

[Tutor]

Clean up

[Cindori]

gt120 is not really saturated by 4x.

[The Rominator]

I didn't know opencl and cuda weren't working, specifically cuda as nvidia launched new drivers on 07/02/10.

As for the barely working graphics cards, well just notice that the current support on the pro, configuration and design is beyond craptastic. Only 2x6 pins connectors instead of 4x8 pins, possibility to use the space between the processor board and the bottom of the 09 mac pro for hard drives, the raid card bandwidth cap, supplying the hd4870 and the gtx120 as the "offcial" apple supported cards when they're extremely bad performers on one of the technologies they (apple) were touting on 10.6 which was opencl.



Do you really not so how pathetic and ridiculous it is to RANT in this thread?

We are TRYING to HELP get these cards running in Macs, and you are here whining about Apple.

Didn't realize that CUDA and OpenCl weren't working? Guess you didn't READ the thread before you took your crap in it.

No GO AWAY and offer your "Warez" elsewhere.

And again, WE ARE TRYING TO GET THESE CARDS WORKING !!! Why are you here trying to shoot down our efforts? Angry at Apple so you take it out on people trying to make better cards available? I believe they call that "transference". Go see a shrink. But in ANOTHER THREAD, please.

[Tutor]

Clean up

[The Rominator]

I do hardware rendering in Maya and 4x vs. 16x makes a big dirrence when I'm rendering a huge number of animation frames. In most other non-3d apps, I agree with you completely. When GTX 480 gets fully up to speed, 4x on the GT120 will not make a difference.

I don't think Netkas has ever tried very hard to figure out WHY Nvidia cards act the way they do with ATY_Init and slots.

I always thought it had something to do with "piggybacking" onto the EFI from slot 3. As I recently discovered, the card in slot 3 doesn't need to even have EFI, just be a post G70 Nvidia card.

So exact mechanism is unknown. BTW...this was actually first discovered by people who found that using a 7300 in slot 3 allowed other Nvidia G70 cards to woprk in slot 1. (7800GT, etc) So this cozy relationship between slot 1 and slot 3 has been there for awhile.

Doubtful that Netkas will bother with this. It "works" as is and he has an INFINITE quantity of requests for help on other, more pressing things.

I am very glad that you have a GTX480 going. Please continue to post observations, especially as drivers get updated.

[Tutor]

Clean up

[Tutor]

Clean up

[netkas]

so, next is gtx460, it was released today, also updated some info here - http://netkas.org/?p=457

[The Rominator]

Many thanks to you and to everyone else whose posts contribute to our collective knowledge base.

Thanks.

Now maybe you could help me out.

Did you ever run OpenGl Extension Viewer test?

I acquired a 4,1 2.26 Octo Pro earlier today in an effort to figure out if 5870 required it and AGPM. Proved that theory wrong...but....seems the AGPM extension may have created a problem for GTX480.

I moved the HD over from the 1,1 so eveyrthing else is same as before.

But while GTX480 booted same and seemed fine, it is permanently stuck in 1st Gear. The OpenGl scores are ...get this....1/4 of the speed of the GT120 !!!!

So, far worse than in the 1st Gen.

On 1st Gen, when the test starts the score is low, but then "jumps" upward drastically as the card moves into higher power state. This was same behavior as GTX285. However, it never "jumps" in the 4,1...at least I haven't seen it do it yet.

A quick try of Half Life 2 produced the expected slide show.

So, I need to figure out how to allow it to ramp up as it does in 1st Gen.

Guess the joke is on me. I got the 4,1 to hopefully move 5870 project ahead.

That was a "fail"

Instead, I have created new obstacle in GTX480 project.

I'm gonna guess 10thHz has a 3,1. Hopefully this is just some junk leftover software I have overlooked.

Will also try starting a new Disc from the pristine 10.6.2 install that came with machine.

EDIT: Forgot the other reason I know the GTX480 is stuck in Low Power mode. Get ready for ATI fanbois to go nuts. The other way I know the Fermi isn't running anywhere near 3D speed is the fact that I can easily touch the metal parts of heatsink while card is running. As much as it pains me to admit this....it is physically impossible to do so when card is running in 1st Gen. The entire metal part of fan is literally too hot to touch.

[Tutor]

Clean up

[The Rominator]

I just chucked out the AppleGraphicsPowerManagement kext and now my OGL scores are back at 1,1 levels.

Card getting warmer too.

Next i'll try placing an entry for GTX480 in the kext.

[Tutor]

Clean up

[The Rominator]

Can ATY-Init.kext be modified so that my Apple GT 120 card can be placed in slot 2 which is 16 lanes rather than slot 3 which is 4 lanes? I have a dual monitor setup and desire that both video cards run at optimal speeds. When I install the GT 120 in lane 2 my system freezes and a dark overlay descends down my screen followed by a message advising me to do the obvious - reboot.

Try putting GTX480 in slot 2 and GT120 in slot 1.

Works for me.

[10THzMac]

My Mac Pro is indeed 3,1.

Can Rominator clarify what the level of OGL scores was when he threw out AppleGraphicsPower...kext? Was it even lower than the ones I reported? Is there any point in me experimenting discarding this kext in my 3,1 machine?

[4,1er]

Hey guys,

I got a MP 4,1 and would like to whack a GTX 480 in it but I'm worried about the power requirements.

I've got a 450w 5.25" supplemental PSU and have seen how to install these in 3,1s but see two problems:

1. Routing the cables is a nightmare - the only way that I can see to do it would be to cut an enlarged slot in the plate above HD1 (where the ODD drive SATA/power cables come up through).

2. I can't figure out which PSU line is equivalent to ATX pin 16 (my PSU needs ground and pin 16 to sync on with the main PSU - not a simple molex connector like others :rolleyes:)

Any advice would be handy!

[The Rominator]

My Mac Pro is indeed 3,1.

Can Rominator clarify what the level of OGL scores was when he threw out AppleGraphicsPower...kext? Was it even lower than the ones I reported? Is there any point in me experimenting discarding this kext in my 3,1 machine?

you may have misunderstood

my theory is that only the 4,1 machines suffer from this issue and that the scores go UP when AGPM gone

easy enough to try out

drag the kext to desktop, makes a copy

discard one from extensions folder, restart.

if you want to reinstall, use kexthelper to install one from desktop

[macest]

Hey guys,

I got a MP 4,1 and would like to whack a GTX 480 in it but I'm worried about the power requirements.

I've got a 450w 5.25" supplemental PSU and have seen how to install these in 3,1s but see two problems:

1. Routing the cables is a nightmare - the only way that I can see to do it would be to cut an enlarged slot in the plate above HD1 (where the ODD drive SATA/power cables come up through).


I currently have mine sat on top of my Mac Pro, but I do intend to have a go at putting it in the optical bay once I get some long cables. If you unscrew the backplane of the first hard drive bay you *may* be able to squeeze the cables through underneath it, it's quite tight though.

2. I can't figure out which PSU line is equivalent to ATX pin 16 (my PSU needs ground and pin 16 to sync on with the main PSU - not a simple molex connector like others :rolleyes:)


Can you provide a link to the manufacturers product page?

[10THzMac]

you may have misunderstood

my theory is that only the 4,1 machines suffer from this issue and that the scores go UP when AGPM gone
...

Thanks. I will try this when I get back from a trip. I remember fiddling with this kext in the early 285 days, and understand what you mean now.

Over on forums.nvidia.com a couple of people have been trying to press Nvidia to yield a proper beta test program for OS X fermi drivers. No luck so far but it might be worth keeping an eye on the OS X threads there as well. My guess is that this will all be under wraps until a Quadro level card with fermi innards is released.

[4,1er]

Can you provide a link to the manufacturers product page?

It's one of these: Thermaltake Expresspower 450w (http://www.thermaltake.com.au/Products/PowerSupply/W0157/Toughpower450WExpress.aspx)

It comes with an ATX splice to get GND and power on from the main PSU, but obviously that's no good in a mac pro :)

Right now I'm thinking of buying a 12v relay and tapping into the GND and +12VDC lines of one of the sata+power connectors in the ODD.

If you unscrew the backplane of the first hard drive bay you *may* be able to squeeze the cables through underneath it, it's quite tight though.

Yeah, that was what I thought would be the easiest - but fitting in both power cords and the AC line proved to be a pain without taking the whole "shelf" off - it sounds like you might know/have done it, any tips?

Cheers for the advice :)

[macest]

It's one of these: Thermaltake Expresspower 450w (http://www.thermaltake.com.au/Products/PowerSupply/W0157/Toughpower450WExpress.aspx)

It comes with an ATX splice to get GND and power on from the main PSU, but obviously that's no good in a mac pro :)

Right now I'm thinking of buying a 12v relay and tapping into the GND and +12VDC lines of one of the sata+power connectors in the ODD.


Perhaps a 2-pin to 4-pin molex adapter might work.


Yeah, that was what I thought would be the easiest - but fitting in both power cords and the AC line proved to be a pain without taking the whole "shelf" off - it sounds like you might know/have done it, any tips?

Cheers for the advice :)

I've only fed a molex extension cable through there, it wasn't easy. You may be better off feeding the AC cable out of the optical drive bay door. It'll be one less cable to squeeze through, you'll just have the two PCI express cables to feed through the hole then.

[mdmesadie]

Um, I hate to be dense, but what exactly have you done in order to install and run a 480 on your mac?

All I seem to see are lots of posts of people going "me too", but no-one anywhere kindly enough to explain how this feat of magic is achieved.

Could someone please point me to the explanation (for n00bs) of what processes you guys went through to get your improved GPU's working on your first gen mac pros?

[10THzMac]

Um, I hate to be dense, but what exactly have you done in order to install and run a 480 on your mac?

All I seem to see are lots of posts of people going "me too", but no-one anywhere kindly enough to explain how this feat of magic is achieved.

Could someone please point me to the explanation (for n00bs) of what processes you guys went through to get your improved GPU's working on your first gen mac pros?

If you read through the whole thread the info and links are all there, but my advice would be to wait until Nvidia improve the drivers - we are not getting good OpenGL performance right now, nor can I get CUDA up.

But you need 3 things

1. Drivers - not from Nvidia as they deleted the fermi stuff having released it briefly
2. Injector from netkas site
3. power

[Cindori]

I think that the leaked drivers are not meant for a Mac 480 GTX, but a Mac Quadro 400 GTX.


think about it, every release we have seen a quadro card. now we have 5000 drivers and 400 drivers but the 5000 got announced as both base card and middle card. it's seems like the 400 GTX quadro will come as top card and maybe that is where the drivers are heading.

[666sheep]

You mean these? http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro-fermi-overview.html It's quite possible, i think. From 1st rev of MP there always been Quadro option.

[10THzMac]

I also think high end Quadro will be first up, though I am not sure if this would explain why leaked ones do so badly on 480s we have tried so far. I'd be surprised if we get the QF 6000, due to power issues, unless the new Mac pro has more PCI power on board than the rubbish 2x 6-pin on the ones so far.

[TheStrudel]

I think that the leaked drivers are not meant for a Mac 480 GTX, but a Mac Quadro 400 GTX.


think about it, every release we have seen a quadro card. now we have 5000 drivers and 400 drivers but the 5000 got announced as both base card and middle card. it's seems like the 400 GTX quadro will come as top card and maybe that is where the drivers are heading.

Very plausible. Good call.

[Novablas]

Hey guys, I've read through the topic but am COMPLETELY new to this whole flashing video cards business so I have a few questions if you all don't mind.

Firstly, my rig is a 2007 Mac Pro Dual 3ghz with 6gb ram and the nVidia 8800 GT.

I'd love the be able to get this thing to have a more recent video card to be able to play some of the newer stuff on max settings, but Apple really abandoned the old Mac Pros as far as our upgrade choices go so I'm lead here.

Finishing the thread it seems like the real mac drivers for this particular card are not yet released? However, does this only affect the OS X side of things or will it affect my Windows 7 partition as well?

Would it be better off for a newbie like me to go with the ATI 4890 Sapphire, which seems to have a more comprehensive guide, or should I wait for this card to be completely solved as far as getting it working on an old Mac Pro?

Is it even possible for this card to work on my old Mac Pro?

[Cindori]

the 4890 is and will forever be the strongest single video card for 2006 and 2007 mac pro's.

The strongest dual video card setup would be a EFI nvidia card and a PC 285 GTX + netkas injectors. but you wont get bootloader screen.

[Novablas]

Okay, thank you then, I'll go for the 4890. Hopefully I can keep this old one going for a while longer before I need to replace it.

[paintmav]

Hey guys,

I've been following along and as a newb I'm trying to figure it out as I go. I've been reading everything I can from here, netkas.org, and insanely Mac and have tried to follow along. I'm trying to get an Nvidia GTX460 up and running. Is the "injector" you're referring to "ATI_INIT.kext" and if so, do I install it or place it in a certain folder ie. extensions folder? Again I appreciate any help you may provide.

[The Rominator]

Hey guys,

I've been following along and as a newb I'm trying to figure it out as I go. I've been reading everything I can from here, netkas.org, and insanely Mac and have tried to follow along. I'm trying to get an Nvidia GTX460 up and running. Is the "injector" you're referring to "ATI_INIT.kext" and if so, do I install it or place it in a certain folder ie. extensions folder? Again I appreciate any help you may provide.

use "kext helper" to place in extensions folder

may have to force quit

you should read up on 460...I can only guarantee that GTX480 works.


Hey guys, I've read through the topic but am COMPLETELY new to this whole flashing video cards business so I have a few questions if you all don't mind.

Firstly, my rig is a 2007 Mac Pro Dual 3ghz with 6gb ram and the nVidia 8800 GT.


Is it even possible for this card to work on my old Mac Pro?

Yes, but before doing anything I would wait a week or two on 5770/5870 news.

If it works in EFI32, you would better off with one of them.

Anyone calling themselves a "noob" should avoid the 4890, IMO.

[paintmav]

use "kext helper" to place in extensions folder

may have to force quit

you should read up on 460...I can only guarantee that GTX480 works.

Thanks for that info Rominator, I guess all I'm trying to do right now is get it to boot on the Mac side even if its just from the Apple 8800gt(can't get past the blue screen) without disconnecting power for now until there is more concrete evidence that the GTX460 is up and running.

[Achtepa]

Hi all,

I been reading pretty much all the posts both on here and insanelymac about getting 285 to work in osX.

I spent pretty much all day yesterday to get an EVGA 285 GTX SSC to work. but not luck. Never got KP and always got to the login screen and into the system ok. But past that, system profiler shows me the 285 (slot1) and the 8800gt (slot3) and that its running netkas. However no monitor plugged in is detected. I've tried swapping the monitor from 3 to 1 but it didnt work (i can see my desktop when its plugged into the 8800).

I'm running a early 2008 mac pro 8 core on Snow Leopard. For the steps i did, i installed ATY_Init.kext with kexthelper, installed the drivers from EVGA (i also tried NVIDIA to no avail) and rebooted. Again it boots fine, but just the monitor on the 8800 is detected and starts. Also i was wondering if using this method (and having it actually working) is possible to drive 3 monitors ? My current setup is 3x 24s

Thanks!

[Tutor]

Clean up

[CountlovE]

Hey guys, I have been snooping this thread. I just wanted to know if anyone had a 3 SLI GTX480 machine running where at least one of the 3 cards would work in OSX. I am looking to build an 3-SLI 480 setup for Windows 7 to use Maya/Vray 2.0 RT, and then boot in OSX to use Logic Pro. I don't care about using the 480 for games in OSX, I am mostly just interested in getting a working display and having things run decently for Logic.

Thanks!

[Pressure]

Hey guys, I have been snooping this thread. I just wanted to know if anyone had a 3 SLI GTX480 machine running where at least one of the 3 cards would work in OSX. I am looking to build an 3-SLI 480 setup for Windows 7 to use Maya/Vray 2.0 RT, and then boot in OSX to use Logic Pro. I don't care about using the 480 for games in OSX, I am mostly just interested in getting a working display and having things run decently for Logic.

Thanks!

The Power Supply in the Mac Pro is definitely insufficient to run three Geforce GTX480.

I don't see why you would want to try as SLI is not even supported in the Mac Pro, be in Mac OSX or Windows for that matter.

[Cindori]

The Power Supply in the Mac Pro is definitely insufficient to run three Geforce GTX480.

I don't see why you would want to try as SLI is not even supported in the Mac Pro, be in Mac OSX or Windows for that matter.

sli works in windows with hacked drivers

[CountlovE]

The Power Supply in the Mac Pro is definitely insufficient to run three Geforce GTX480.

I don't see why you would want to try as SLI is not even supported in the Mac Pro, be in Mac OSX or Windows for that matter.

My Bad. I am not using a Mac Pro. I would be building a System from Ibuypower.com. I am burnt out from buying Apple computers. For 6 Grand I get a hell of a lot more.

[666sheep]

I just wanted to know if anyone had a 3 SLI GTX480 machine running where at least one of the 3 cards would work in OSX.

Look here (http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/modifiedg5hackia.html)

[CountlovE]

Look here (http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/modifiedg5hackia.html)

Awesome! Thanks a ton for that link.. Wow, I wish I could do that to a Macpro, but warranty is super important to me. I hope they find a way to get openCL working.

Look what you can do with OpenCL:

http://shop.vray.info/siggraph-2010-chaos-group-end-user-event-demos.html

Check out the 3rd Video down. Thats Vray RT for Maya, but there is a Vray for Maya that will run under OSX, so it would be great to have 3 SLI's running under OSX using all GPU's.

[4,1er]

Wrestled with the supplementary PSU and failed to get it to fit, so I ordered a 6 to 8 pin PCIe converter instead.

OSX works great and no problems there so far running Eve Online or SCII.

Bootcamp works fine too, with multiple 3D apps windowed and spread over several displays.

The one problem I've run into is running furmark (admittedly I did this just to double check stability); it runs fine for 30s or so then trips the PSU and hard turns off the MP. It's a thermal reset so the PSU won't let the system power back on for ~60 seconds.

Verdict is that the 6-8 pin converter will work fine for most people, but be aware that it can trip your PSU.

[10THzMac]

For any CUDA fans out there doing scientific comp, I have managed now to run the same double precision code on the Quadro 4800, GTX 285 and GTX 480 (the last only under bootcamp, xp32, as the Mac fermi support described in this thread has not yet allowed me to get CUDA access to the 480) all in 2008 Mac Pros. Timings were, in ms,

Qu4800 3499
GTX285 2240
GTX480 1046

and the 480 was more than twice as fast as the 285 in several other DP codes I tried. I will try a Tesla when I can as its DP is supposed to be better still. :)

[cakesson]

Thanks for that info Rominator, I guess all I'm trying to do right now is get it to boot on the Mac side even if its just from the Apple 8800gt(can't get past the blue screen) without disconnecting power for now until there is more concrete evidence that the GTX460 is up and running.

I recently got a gtx 460 and put it in my macPro 2008 (3.1). My main goal was to use it with Octane Render in win 7 64 bit bootcamp. Everything worked well, until I applied the Snow Leopard graphics patch. When the pro rebooted, it would not get passed the blue screen.

I took the card out and tried to restore from time machine, but something must have been corrupted. Long story short, I ended up doing a clean install with snow leopard and patching up to 10.6.4. I have not applied the graphics patch. Right now I am waiting for a usb hd so I can make a bootable hd clone of my clean install. I will then reinsert the GTX 460 and give it another go.

1. paintmav - do you have yours up and running?
2. Does anyone know of the reason why everything went to crap only when I performed the graphics update with the card slotted (It worked fine up to that point)? Do I remove the card every time I apply a Snow Leopard patch?

Thanks for any insights,

/Christian
MacPro 2008(3.1) | 14GB RAM | 8800GT & GTX 460 | OSX 10.6.4 & Windows 7 64 bit

[10THzMac]

10.6.5 has caused my GTX 480 to stop driving my ACD 23 under the netkas injector and June GF100 kext release. Anyone else got this problem? I think the problem is 10.6.5, but cannot be completely sure due to my incessant fiddling with my config - I might have broken something elsewhere I guess......

[macest]

10.6.5 has caused my GTX 480 to stop driving my ACD 23 under the netkas injector and June GF100 kext release. Anyone else got this problem? I think the problem is 10.6.5, but cannot be completely sure due to my incessant fiddling with my config - I might have broken something elsewhere I guess......

I just updated to 10.6.5 and installed the following patch (http://aquamac.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=osx86driversandkexts&action=display&thread=1133), all seems to be working like before. Unfortunately I'm still having vsync issues (screen tearing) like I did with 10.6.4.

EDIT: Had no sound, had to revert AppleHDA.kext to one from 10.6.2 as described here (http://3rr0rists.com/macintosh/how-to-update-osx86-to-10-6-5.html).
EDIT2: Still having wake-from-sleep issues where the display won't turn on.

[cakesson]

I gave up on this for a while, but I recently saw nvidia post a new driver, and people saying that the latest snow leopard and Lion has native 4XX support.

Anyone running GTX 460 in their macPro with latest snow leopard or Lion?

Thanks,
/Christian

[MacVidCards]

I gave up on this for a while, but I recently saw nvidia post a new driver, and people saying that the latest snow leopard and Lion has native 4XX support.

Anyone running GTX 460 in their macPro with latest snow leopard or Lion?

Thanks,
/Christian

The way it works is, if you install the last Nvidia update for 10.6.8 Quadro, and then install ATY_Init, you will suddenly have MAGIC at your fingertips.

Most Nvidia cards will work...they just won't show you the boot screens.

In Lion, you still need a helper card.

For the most part, the 4xx cards are better supported then the 5xx cards.

And if you want OpenCl, you need to do some patching.

Details at Netkas.org.

[florianuhlemann]

I am running a MacPro4,1 with 12GB Ram, 2,66ghz W3520 Xeon Single-QuadCore and a EVGA GTX 285 for Mac...

Now i just ordered myself a GDDR5 1024MB GT440 card and trying to get it working. However, so far no luck at all.

GTX285 is on slot 1, slot 2 is GT440.

the card won't even activate at all, no 2D, nothing.

I tried things like natit, nvenabler, nvinject, but nothing seems to work, except it's doing kernel panics ;)

So, how shall i do this? you guys mention ATY_init ? what's that for? where can i get the latest version for it?

I'm running lion 10.7.1 btw... and using latest cuda drivers from nvidia. fermi drives are oob from apple (they come with lion now)

how does a helper card work? Maybe I need to switch around my cards? from slot 1 to 2 and vice versa?

byebye
Florian

[florianuhlemann]

So, how shall i do this? you guys mention ATY_init ? what's that for? where can i get the latest version for it?

This was the key! I got it working, now just patched the GeForceGL for OpenCL and added my device ID to the power management kext. Looking good. OpenGL is working, Cuda is working. THANK YOU netkas ;)

Although I still get an OpenCL error when using Luxmark with GPUs.

OpenCL ERROR: clBuildProgram(-11)

trying to figure out what that is. ;)

Florian

[Tibbar]

Although I still get an OpenCL error when using Luxmark with GPUs.
Did you do this tweak to fix OpenCL?
http://netkas.org/?p=794

You'll need a hex editor like PeekIt.
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/14207/peekit

[florianuhlemann]

yes, i have tried the patch and it does make opencl work, i just get the luxmark error because it's not capable of handling SM2.1... there is a patch to make it 2.0 but then it would change the version for my gtx285 as well, which is only SM1.3 i think. and that certainly breaks opencl for that one. tried it already.

Maybe there's going to be added support for 2.1 soon, that's my only hope to getting a fully functional GT440 / GTX285 combo ;)

[VanneDC]

anyone making any further headway with these cards? Interested in single card setups without helper cards :)

[themax]

Can anybody please get some things straight for me!

Hey Rom if you're still somewhere around man, do something cause this is really confusing. We need a conclusion here!


Questions!

1.) Did you manage to get the GTX470/GTX480 or which ever one of those you where having fun with, to run inside a genuine MacPro Tower?

2.) What's this thing about having two cards inside and that having an effect on making the other one wakeup how does that roll??
( one makes the boot screen and the other gets to be woken up afterwards how does it go step by step)

Finally!!!!
Flashing? Rom File? DOS Booting USB Stick?
3.) Did you, or you not have preformed the flashing in your GTXes??

4.)Isn't there a EFI conflict, because any one of You guys haven't bean clear on that matter!!!( the whole third slot thing wow! )

5.) What about the chip size that I'd read about somewhere around?
Dose the new rom file fit inside? (without the soldering :eek:)

6.)Can You preform the flashing on the Apple machine ?
(usb boot stick, nvflash) Crating a guide would be appreciated!

7.)Where the ******* is the rom file from the Quadro4000 I just cant find it and it's supposed to be out there! (netkas)

or ar all those thigs you've all being talking about only post flashing issues

There are Flashed GTXs 470's and 480's on the market, some one had to make it happen and still there's no sign of how its preformed it in the web.... so WTF?

Cheers!

[Cindori]

http://forum.netkas.org/



There are Flashed GTXs 470's and 480's on the market, some one had to make it happen

I'ts rominator who sells them ;)

[avkdm]

Here is what I did,
Mac Pro 2008 3.1 OS X Lion 10.7.3
ECS GTX 460 Dual DVi, Mini HDMI

Install latest mac drivers from Nvidia website - will overwrite the native ones that come with 10.7.3
macosx-270.00.00f01-driver
If you have problems you can back out of it after restart - read the documentation that come with the drivers!
If all good......
Install latest Cuda drivers for Mac
Install Cuda-Z to see if its working
Install this driver bundle below using Kext Helper
http://www.osx86.net/view/2408-geforcegldriver.bundle_for_nvidia_4.1.29.html
Fix extension permissions with Kext Utility and reboot.
No boot screen but wait for login screen and your good to go.
Worked for me anyhow.
Open GL, Cl, Cuda et al, can run Luxmark,Cinebench,Open GL, Unigine benches at 15fps-68fps full settings
Good Luck

[Eidorian]

The EVGA GTX 480 was down to $210 on NewEgg just last week.

[avkdm]

I gave up on this for a while, but I recently saw nvidia post a new driver, and people saying that the latest snow leopard and Lion has native 4XX support.

Anyone running GTX 460 in their macPro with latest snow leopard or Lion?

Thanks,
/Christian

Read my post above to see how I got it working