GTX-285: Can it drive a 3440x1440 monitor?

malcbo · Feb 2, 2015

Hi,

Title says it all.

I have a 5 years old GTX-285 in my Mac Pro (4,1->5,1) and I'm looking at the Dell U3415W to replace my Dell U2711.
Will the GPU handle the resolution of the 34" monitor?

Machines · Feb 2, 2015

malcbo said:
Hi,

Title says it all.
I have a 5 years old GTX-285 in my Mac Pro (4,1->5,1) and I'm looking at the Dell U3415W to replace my Dell U2711.
Will the GPU handle the resolution of the 34" monitor?

Nope . A GTX 285 Mac Edition has two DL DVI ports . Resolution peaks with DVI at 2560 X 1600 . Grab an AMD 7950 .

malcbo · Feb 2, 2015

Thanks for your answer, Machines.

Guess I'll need to upgrade my GPU (GTX-680 or 980) prior to acquiring the new monitor then.

Machines · Feb 2, 2015

malcbo said:
Thanks for your answer, Machines.

Guess I'll need to upgrade my GPU (GTX-680 or 980) prior to acquiring the new monitor then.

Good news if you spring for the 680 with your rig , you can get 4K60 support with a SST display (Samsung U28D590 ) . That's pretty impressive and not too expensive . Display uses TN , but it's from Sammy and costs only 500-550 USD .

----------

Machines said:
Good news if you spring for the 680 with your rig , you can get 4K60 support with a SST display (Samsung U28D590 ) . That's pretty impressive and not too expensive . Display uses TN , but it's from Sammy and costs only 500-550 USD .

The Maxwell GPUs (980, etc.) also support 4K (but at 60 Hz ?) in OS X according to another forum member , but the drivers are very immature and the GPU does not support ray tracing .

malcbo · Feb 2, 2015

Machines said:
Good news if you spring for the 680 with your rig , you can get 4K60 support with a SST display (Samsung U28D590 ) . That's pretty impressive and not too expensive . Display uses TN , but it's from Sammy and costs only 500-550 USD .

----------

TBH I don't feel the need for 4K60 displays as the pixel pitch on a 28" monitor is very small. On the other hand, if I use HDPi I'll only get a resolution of 1920*1080 and will lose desktop space.
Finally, as I do a bit of Lightroom and PS, an IPS monitor is preferable to me.

Machines said:
The Maxwell GPUs (980, etc.) also support 4K (but at 60 Hz ?) in OS X according to another forum member , but the drivers are very immature and the GPU does not support ray tracing .

I'm aware of the driver issues with 10.10.2, not very reassuring at the moment IMO
If eVGA decide to launch GTX-980 Mac Edition, that's what I'll go for.
If they take too long, I'll stick to the more modest GTX-680 (which will definitely be a big boost versus my current GTX-285).

Machines · Feb 2, 2015

malcbo said:
TBH I don't feel the need for 4K60 displays as the pixel pitch on a 28" monitor is very small. On the other hand, if I use HDPi I'll only get a resolution of 1920*1080 and will lose desktop space.
Finally, as I do a bit of Lightroom and PS, an IPS monitor is preferable to me.

I'm aware of the driver issues with 10.10.2, not very reassuring at the moment IMO
If eVGA decide to launch GTX-980 Mac Edition, that's what I'll go for.
If they take too long, I'll stick to the more modest GTX-680 (which will definitely be a big boost versus my current GTX-285).

There are no drivers in Mac OS X for the Maxwell GPUs . All the drivers must come from nVidia . And nVidia has immature Web and Cuda drivers for OS X for the Maxwells .

I dream of an eVGA GTX 980 Mac Edition . I bet they'll retail for 980 bucks lol , but the ROM Meisters will at least have a field day .

ToroidalZeus · Feb 2, 2015

So far my GTX 980 is working almost perfectly under OS X. Only issue I have is getting HDMI audio to work.

If you have the money to splurge on a 980 then definitely get it OP.
If cost is an issue and you just need a GPU to drive a 3440x1400 monitor than get a eVGA 750 ti.

malcbo · Feb 4, 2015

Machines said:
There are no drivers in Mac OS X for the Maxwell GPUs . All the drivers must come from nVidia . And nVidia has immature Web and Cuda drivers for OS X for the Maxwells .

I dream of an eVGA GTX 980 Mac Edition . I bet they'll retail for 980 bucks lol , but the ROM Meisters will at least have a field day .

I did see the post from MVC about driver issue with the update of Yosemite.
Not so much for me for the time being as I prefer p&p solutions.
Yes, I'm sure the price will be high if eVGA decide to launch a Mac Edition of the GTX-980

ToroidalZeus said:
So far my GTX 980 is working almost perfectly under OS X. Only issue I have is getting HDMI audio to work.

If you have the money to splurge on a 980 then definitely get it OP.
If cost is an issue and you just need a GPU to drive a 3440x1400 monitor than get a eVGA 750 ti.

As explained above, it's not so much a question of money, but more of "perfect integration" with the system.
And tbh I really do not want a middle/low end GPU as I like sometimes to launch a game (either in Maac OS or in windows).

ToroidalZeus · Feb 4, 2015

malcbo said:
As explained above, it's not so much a question of money, but more of "perfect integration" with the system.
And tbh I really do not want a middle/low end GPU as I like sometimes to launch a game (either in Maac OS or in windows).

you are making things more complicated than they need be; get a GTX 970 or preferably 980. done.

MacVidCards · Feb 4, 2015

ToroidalZeus said:
you are making things more complicated than they need be; get a GTX 970 or preferably 980. done.

It is possible that Apple will drag their feet for a very long time on including Maxwell in OS.

Iirc, they went through Mavericks and never included Titan Black or 780Ti. Haven't tried in 10.10.2 yet but they weren't in 10.10.1.

They are in no hurry to include cards that make nMP look silly in their own OS.

So if you wait for them to include in base OSX it might be another year.

Fwiw, while it was still a nuisance moving to 10.10.2 with our GTX980 Mac Edition, it was easier than the non-EFI cards. 2nd set of 10 of these just shipped so more reports will be coming from the field.

And I will be testing 2nd attempt at EFI 970 today, fingers crossed.

ToroidalZeus · Feb 4, 2015

MacVidCards said:
It is possible that Apple will drag their feet for a very long time on including Maxwell in OS.

Iirc, they went through Mavericks and never included Titan Black or 780Ti. Haven't tried in 10.10.2 yet but they weren't in 10.10.1.

They are in no hurry to include cards that make nMP look silly in their own OS.

So if you wait for them to include in base OSX it might be another year.

Fwiw, while it was still a nuisance moving to 10.10.2 with our GTX980 Mac Edition, it was easier than the non-EFI cards. 2nd set of 10 of these just shipped so more reports will be coming from the field.

And I will be testing 2nd attempt at EFI 970 today, fingers crossed.

Apple bundled drivers would only help with installing the OS on a blank drive. With Nvidia constantly updating the drivers it makes little sense to stick with Apple's older drivers vs the modern web drivers on a running system.

Good luck on that EFI support.

MacVidCards · Feb 4, 2015

ToroidalZeus said:
Apple bundled drivers would only help with installing the OS on a blank drive. With Nvidia constantly updating the drivers it makes little sense to stick with Apple's older drivers vs the modern web drivers on a running system.

Good luck on that EFI support.

You didn't understand point I was making.

Right now using 960/970/980 has a unique issue that has also plagued 780Ti/Titan Black owners for awhile.

It is the original "Catch 22" all over.

To update to 10.10.2 is easy, but once you do there is no easy way to then update the web drivers. You need the web drivers to run the OS, but you have to install the OS first. So when you reboot after 10.10.2 with an unflashed 960/970/980 all you ever see is black. You need to remove the card and use a different one to install web driver. Or you could enable remote desktop before install.

In any case, it is easier with EFI on the 960/970/980. But until Apple lets Nvidia use newer drivers in base OS, it will be a pain in the butt for every OS update.

ToroidalZeus · Feb 4, 2015

MacVidCards said:
You didn't understand point I was making.

Right now using 960/970/980 has a unique issue that has also plagued 780Ti/Titan Black owners for awhile.

It is the original "Catch 22" all over.

To update to 10.10.2 is easy, but once you do there is no easy way to then update the web drivers. You need the web drivers to run the OS, but you have to install the OS first. So when you reboot after 10.10.2 with an unflashed 960/970/980 all you ever see is black. You need to remove the card and use a different one to install web driver. Or you could enable remote desktop before install.

In any case, it is easier with EFI on the 960/970/980. But until Apple lets Nvidia use newer drivers in base OS, it will be a pain in the butt for every OS update.

I just use pacifist to install the newest web drivers before upgrading the OS.

or

I attach the Mac Pro SSD to a USB 3.0 adapter and upgrade the software / use pacifist to install web drivers on a different Mac.

It's a minor hassle IMO for such a good GPU and not a deal breaker to stick with old obsolete cards.

malcbo · Mar 4, 2015

Hi,

Eventually got a second hand GTX-680 (eVGA flashed) and bought the Dell U3415W.

I first connected the monitor using DP cable., and it worked fine on first boot. But then, restarting the MP would leave the monitor black until getting on the desktop, I wasn't able to see the grey boot screen with the Apple.

Started scratching my head to identify the issue until I tried using the HDMI cable.
Problem solved now!

Getting the full 3440x1440 at 60Hz.

ActionableMango · Mar 4, 2015

malcbo said:
Started scratching my head to identify the issue until I tried using the HDMI cable. Getting the full 3440x1440 at 60Hz.

You're getting 3440x1440 at 60Hz over HDMI? Are you sure? If I'm not mistaken, you should only be able to get that with HDMI 2.0. The monitor I believe is HDMI 2.0, but the GTX 680 should be HDMI 1.3 or maybe 1.4.

I would appreciate it if you could double check and report back (3440x1440@60Hz over HDMI), because your answer has an impact on a project I'm doing.

malcbo · Mar 5, 2015

ActionableMango said:
You're getting 3440x1440 at 60Hz over HDMI? Are you sure? If I'm not mistaken, you should only be able to get that with HDMI 2.0. The monitor I believe is HDMI 2.0, but the GTX 680 should be HDMI 1.3 or maybe 1.4.

I would appreciate it if you could double check and report back (3440x1440@60Hz over HDMI), because your answer has an impact on a project I'm doing.

Hi,

I'm positive about 60Hz with HDMI.

Here is a screen taken right now:

The only cable connected between the GPU and the Monitor is an HDMI cable (supplied with the monitor)

BTW, the monitor menu also reports 60Hz

ActionableMango · Mar 5, 2015

malcbo said:
Hi,

I'm positive about 60Hz with HDMI.

Here is a screen taken right now:
Image

The only cable connected between the GPU and the Monitor is an HDMI cable (supplied with the monitor)

BTW, the monitor menu also reports 60Hz

Very nice of you to respond again, thank you. I'm going to change some things around and then give this a try myself.

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