Fastest Mac GPUs with full EFI boot screens, etc, GTX570 & GTX580

Discussion in 'Mac Pro' started by MacVidCards, Apr 20, 2012.

  1. zzzachi macrumors member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2012
    #201
    i am more interested in this :
    does it mean there is a boot screen with a gtx 580 if plugged in internally?
    macvid reported that there is none, even w the 570 which can be used internally as he says.
    --> ??
    if this is really true, plz report! what card do you use exactly? brand, etc...
    i pm'ed you already about this ;)

    my thinking says the termal issue is the same w the modded card. (and i dont think that's a problem)
    the power requirements might be a problem, but that is the same, too for retail or modded.
    right?

    btw... does anybody know why there is this price gap?
    $375 - GAINWARD GeForce GTX 580 3072MB Phantom, GeForce GTX 580, 3.0GB GDDR5, PCI-Express, Retail
    $550 - EVGA GeForce GTX 580 SC, 3.0GB GDDR5, PCI-Express, Retail

    @ kreispendl : what do you pay all in all to get it to austria?
     
  2. Asgorath macrumors 65816

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2012
    #202
    This is simply not true. The NVIDIA driver is managing power levels, GPU clocks, thermals etc just fine. As far as I can tell, AGPM handles all the official Apple cards, but the NVIDIA driver does all the power management for non-standard cards.

    Edit: The GTX 570 has a TDP of ~220W, which fits perfectly in the 225W budget of the Mac Pro. The GTX 580 is more like 240W, which is slightly higher than what the Mac Pro can deliver. As a result, the GTX 570 (or eventually the GTX 680) would be the safest choice.
     
  3. MacVidCards thread starter Suspended

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2008
    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    #203
    The Classified Ultra has 2 @ 8 pin AND a 6 pin.

    His method will FOR SURE burn out something.

    Keep a fire extinguisher handy.
     
  4. freeflywing macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2008
    #204
    yes correct, for 2008 model, it has two molex available in DVD bay, one is already occupied by DVD. all you need is a molex splitter, and connect the molex to a PCI-E 6 pin cable (which come with the GTX580)

    for 2009 model and above need SATA to molex adapter & molex splitter.
     
  5. freeflywing macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2008
    #205
    nope, you are wrong.

    It really depends on what you are running. for broswing the internet, office work, idle etc, classified ultra draws less than 50w in total tested with kill-a-watt directly through a corsair tx650. for those mini 6 pins connector on the motherboard has already provided 150w in total to the GPU, so it provides great enough of wattage for ur idle usage gtx580.

    however, I did mention this internal setup is not for gaming or intensive 3D rendering, (tested with cinema 4D rending, diablo 3 with full res best quality setup, AE & FCP rendering, parrelle 7 running league of legends high res etc), the GTX580 classy ultra draw somewhere from 310w-380w (it stick with the usage of 300w-320w most of the time), i have never seem it passed 400w. with more than 300w drawing, it is gonna be a big problem or it will burn ur motherboard.

    dont forget the cables that you get the power from are all from the motherboard, not directly from the PSU, so its not a good idea to connect a powerful gpu internally, external psu is always recommend.
     
  6. freeflywing macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2008
    #207
    1, non-flashed nvidia card has no boot screen; you have to choose ur OS/ CD-ROM to boot whatever OS you need under the Syterm Preferences/ Startup Disk (these wont work with raid setup)
     
  7. zzzachi macrumors member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2012
    #208
    Ok, but I would call this a booting issue ;)

    do you know if the EVGA Classified Ultra $550 is better than the GAINWARD Phantom $375?
     
  8. freeflywing macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2008
    #209
    brand isn't a matter, it will work. just download nvidia driver for mac from nvidia.com

    i did some research on this, ppl mostly recommend EVGA, it is outperform other brands of gtx 580.

    ----------

    i dont know, i have never tested it, but as i read through the spec, evga is better. and if you do some research, ppl are always compare the evga and the msi gtx 580, sometimes asus, it seems like these brands are way more popular/ or maybe better than others.
     
  9. FluJunkie macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2007
    #210
    Is the GTX570 noticeably faster for gaming than a 5870?
     
  10. MacVidCards thread starter Suspended

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2008
    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    #211
    So if you use the super high powered GTX580 3GB for browsing the internet, it works great. (or office work)

    But you advise against doing anything 3D with it. (As do I)

    What exactly would the point be then?

    Sort of like a Ferrari that will explode if you go faster than 50 MPH. I think most people would eventually "see what happens" and find out.

    The power connections on the 580 UC are good for 450 Watts. Mac Pro can be counted on for 225, exactly half. Not sure why this makes me "wrong".
     
  11. Mediah macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2012
    #212
    Hey Macvidcards,
    Sorry to ask you this in this thread but i need to know something. I just bought a gtx 480 from you for macpro 5.1. Is it just plug and play plus install cuda drivers? Or do i have to delete AGPM KEXT? Opencl hack? The instructions only tell me to plug it in. Let me know, i dont want to mess up my system
     
  12. MacVidCards, Jun 23, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2012

    MacVidCards thread starter Suspended

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2008
    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    #213
    You should ask future questions through Ebay but as this bears on many people I will answer here.

    We recently got some revelations on how Nvidia drivers work and were able to update our EFIs to enable AGPM to work with our cards.

    Thus, newly shipping GTX470 and GTX480 cards no longer require you to remove AGPM kext, that is why it is no longer mentioned in the description. (If your card has a handwritten "A" on the back it has this update)

    The OpenCl issue is a different thing. Apple has the whole OpenCl framework set to work with all of these Fermi cards, but then turns it off right before shipping the OS updates. Got to keep those dusty 5870s looking good I guess.

    Anyhow, the fix is a little more bother than I like but the good news is that you only need to do it if you are using OpenCl. If you got the card for CUDA, leave it turned off.

    Basically, you need to drag the "GeForceGLDriver.bundle" to your desktop to make a copy of it. Drag it also to another folder to make a 2nd copy in case you screw up the fix.

    The fix here is from Netkas.org.

    http://netkas.org/?p=1113

    Inside that bundle (right click to open it up) you need to find the actual file.

    Here is the path:

    /System/Library/Extensions/GeForceGLDriver.bundle/Contents/MacOS/GeForceGLDriver

    Drag "GeForceGLDriver" to a hex editor.

    Now do a search and replace.

    Find:

    EB A8 83 F8 02 7C 15

    Replace with:

    EB A8 83 F8 03 7C 15
    —
    Find:

    78 E8 83 F8 02 7C 11

    Replace with:

    78 E8 83 F8 03 7C 11

    Now save this file back to it's location on your desktop.

    Here is where it gets tricky.

    You can just drag it back to the Extension folder and overwrite the unpatched one but the permissions will be all mssed up and will require a couple runnings of "repair Permissions" to fix.

    Better to use "Kexthelper" or a similar app to install the bundle, and then run a "repair permissions" anyway. Kexthelper will need to be forced to quit, it just hasn't ever shut down by itself for me. Not sure why it never gets fixed. There are other utilities to do this, you can even do it in terminal if you know how (or Google it)



    Now restart and try to fire up FCPX or one of the Luxmark OpenCl benches.

    If it works, you did it right.

    if it doesn't, you screwed up and should just reinstall the original that you saved and stick to potato farming or whatever it is you do when not geeking out.

    If it works out, please consider sending Netkas a buck or 2. This isn't just to be nice, it is also because the 10.7.5 driver doesn't have these strings in it so someone smart (like Netkas) needs to figure out the next fix !!!
     
  13. Cindori, Jun 23, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2012

    Cindori macrumors 68040

    Cindori

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2008
    Location:
    Sweden
    #214
    yee um. had completely forgotten about this, but I fixed it now, .bundle, .plugin or .ppp should now work fine. just do a "Check for updates".
     
  14. degl macrumors member

    degl

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2010
    Location:
    Caracas
  15. Asgorath macrumors 65816

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2012
    #216
    Yes, this should work just fine.
     
  16. FluJunkie macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2007
    #217
    Anyone?

    Is there a noticeable benefit to a GTX570 or GTX580 outside of CUDA-specific applications?
     
  17. powervideo macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2010
    #218
    I just got my GTX 570 from Macvidcards. The 570 is enabled by default to 1 x DVI and 1 x Displayport unless you request a ROM rewrite to enable 2 x DVI.
     
  18. MacVidCards thread starter Suspended

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2008
    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    #219
  19. estrides macrumors regular

    estrides

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2012
    Location:
    New York
    #220
    I need to get my hands on a MacPro...Ive been working with my G5 for a while now, and I just need an Intel....I just really cant justify buying any of the new ones, for the pure fact of the video card...These hacks make it even more tempting!
     
  20. zzzachi macrumors member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2012
    #221
    jeez, i almost envy you for the experience you'll have :D
     
  21. estrides macrumors regular

    estrides

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2012
    Location:
    New York
    #222

    I mean, I have Intel based MBP...but nothing desktop worthy.
     
  22. TM(tm) macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2012
    #223
    I'm interested in this as well.
     
  23. Asgorath macrumors 65816

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2012
    #224
  24. FluJunkie macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2007
    #225

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