MP 1,1-5,1 2009 Mac Pro video card upgrade

[emendoz1]

Hello. I bought a used 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 Rom that was upgraded to 2010 Rom 5,1 6 core and a new faster processor and 32 gigs of memory. However, they did not upgrade the graphics card and it still has the GT120 which only has 512MB and even worse it does not play well with the newest Photoshop. Adobe says the GT120 is supported but I can't use certain processes in PS like the oil painting option. I don't want to spend a ton of money to upgrade so I'm looking for the bare minimum as an upgrade. Is the Radeon HD5770 a working option? Adobe recommends Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or GTX 1660.

Thanks!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hello. I bought a used 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 Rom that was upgraded to 2010 Rom 5,1 6 core and a new faster processor and 32 gigs of memory. However, they did not upgrade the graphics card and it still has the GT120 which only has 512MB and even worse it does not play well with the newest Photoshop. Adobe says the GT120 is supported but I can't use certain processes in PS like the oil painting option. I don't want to spend a ton of money to upgrade so I'm looking for the bare minimum as an upgrade. Is the Radeon HD5770 a working option? Adobe recommends Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or GTX 1660.

Thanks!

Read here:

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[emendoz1]

Thanks! That is one long list. The problem is not whether Apple supports these video cards as much as Adobe. They seem to have only 3 cards on their website that work well with Photoshop. But thank you for the link, I will read up some more tonight.

Ed

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks! That is one long list. The problem is not whether Apple supports these video cards as much as Adobe. They seem to have only 3 cards on their website that work well with Photoshop. But thank you for the link, I will read up some more tonight.

Ed

Opencore, then.
However, it's easier to get a AMD card to work on cMP4,1.

 

[TheIguana]

Thanks! That is one long list. The problem is not whether Apple supports these video cards as much as Adobe.

Not many modern NVIDIA cards work on MacOS because drivers do not exist for them. There has been an ongoing spat between NVIDIA and Apple for years on this. As a result, both the 1050 and 1660 you raised above will not work. The 5770 will offer some performance increase but not a lot over your GT120, perhaps consider an RX580.

 

[emendoz1]

Thanks! I gotta get something because the current card does not provide what I need!

 

[tsialex]

Thanks! I gotta get something because the current card does not provide what I need!

Without modifying your Mac Pro PSU with Pixla's mod, the current high end cards that work with High Sierra/Mojave are AMD RX 580 and the reference model of VEGA 56. VEGA 56 will require an eVGA PowerLink to balance the load/power draw.

Anything newer requires Pixla's mod (AMD VEGA 64/FE) or Pixla's mod plus Mojave (AMD VII) or Pixla's mod plus Catalina (AMD RX 57xx cards / NAVI).

 

[emendoz1]

Thanks! I think I'll look for the AMD RX580 then. Do you know if the machine I have can take a 4 or even 8 gig card? If I'm going to upgrade I might as well get the card with the most ram. Or is this what you mean by having to update the power supply?

Ed

 

[tsialex]

Thanks! I think I'll look for the AMD RX580 then. Do you know if the machine I have can take a 4 or even 8 gig card? If I'm going to upgrade I might as well get the card with the most ram. Or is this what you mean by having to update the power supply?

Ed

AMD RX 580 with 4GB works too.

I'd try to get a reference (reference model is the blower one, see the image) VEGA 56 + an eVGA PowerLink. You won't need to modify the PSU and you will get a lot powerful GPU without spending much more than what you'd spend with a RX 580.

 

[tsialex]

Don't get a non-reference VEGA56, non-reference models use another PCB design (NANO PCB design), with power connections on the middle of the card and you can't use an eVGA PowerLink.

Btw, the reference VEGA56 is thinner than a RX 580 and you can use PCIe slot-2 without any interference of the GPU.

AMD RX-580 = 2,2 slots wide
AMD VEGA56, reference model = 2 slots wide

 

[emendoz1]

Does this one require one or two wires connected to the motherboard for power? I'm not a gamer so I don't know much about these cards. I am a photographer who's been using a Macbook Pro for years but with this pandemic, I've been stuck at home doing some editing and need a more powerful machine. Funny thing is the laptop is not as powerful as the Mac Pro but does work well with PS.

Thanks for your help!

 

[tsialex]

Does this one require one or two wires connected to the motherboard for power?

Both RX 580 and VEGA56 requires the usage of the two PCIe AUX Boost connectors (the two power cables). VEGA56 requires that you use an eVGA PowerLink to balance the load.

Don't forget that:

AMD RX-580 = 2,2 slots wide and will interfere with the slot-2
AMD VEGA56, reference model = 2 slots wide

 

[emendoz1]

There are a few versions or manufacturers that make the RX580 right? I found one called Saphire on ebay. Does it matter which brand I get?

 

[tsialex]

There are a few versions or manufacturers that make the RX580 right? I found one called Saphire on ebay. Does it matter which brand I get?

Read this:

Install macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Apple Support

Learn how to prepare your Mac Pro (Mid 2010) or Mac Pro (Mid 2012) for macOS Mojave.

support.apple.com

SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5 is one of the Apple recommended GPUs. It's 2,2 slots wide and partially blocks slot-2.

 

[emendoz1]

Yeah, I saw that before. The Mac Pro I have is a 2009 model 4,1 that was upgraded to a 2010 model 5,1 with 6 cores and 32 gigs of memory. It has 10.13.6 High Sierra installed and works well. The video card is what came in it from the factory, a GT120 with 512MB which runs fine even on PS but I can't use certain features like oil painting. I don't know if I'll be able to get further than High Sierra because of its configuration.

 

[minifridge1138]

I have almost the same hardware and I'm running this RX 580 with no trouble for over a year:

SAPPHIRE Radeon 11265-05-20G Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/ DVI-D/ Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Cards

Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8 GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/DVI-D/Dual DP OC w/backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card.

www.amazon.com

I did have to buy a 2 min 6 pin to 1 8 pin power adapter like this:

COMeap Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)

COMeap Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)

www.amazon.com

As for the Vega 56, I thought the recommendation was to use the Pixlas mod. At least that's what was said in this thread:

Using Vega 56 in MP 5,1 - questions

Hey guys, I've done some research on the Vega 56 being the highest card you can use without modifying the MP 5,1’s PSU and need some advice. I’ve managed to get hold of the Sapphire Pulse Vega 56 version (see pics) and it has a wattage of 180w power draw in the website. It has two 8 pin...

forums.macrumors.com

I didn't think the eVGA power link was enough to run the card safely. I'm not trying to argue, I'd love to upgrade to a 56 but don't want to splice wires so I've avoided the Pixels mod. Is there new evidence that the Vega 56's power draw is safe if evenly distributed across both 6 pin ports on the backplane?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I didn't think the eVGA power link was enough to run the card safely. I'm not trying to argue, I'd love to upgrade to a 56 but don't want to splice wires so I've avoided the Pixels mod. Is there new evidence that the Vega 56's power draw is safe if evenly distributed across both 6 pin ports on the backplane?

Believe me, Pixlar Mod is fun.
It's easy to do, too. You just need the correct T-joint for aesthetic purpose, or solder/crimp the wires if you don't care about appearance. (they are hidden behind the ODD anyway.)

 

[emendoz1]

I have almost the same hardware and I'm running this RX 580 with no trouble for over a year:

SAPPHIRE Radeon 11265-05-20G Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/ DVI-D/ Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Cards

Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8 GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/DVI-D/Dual DP OC w/backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card.

www.amazon.com

I did have to buy a 2 min 6 pin to 1 8 pin power adapter like this:

COMeap Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)

COMeap Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)

www.amazon.com

As for the Vega 56, I thought the recommendation was to use the Pixlas mod. At least that's what was said in this thread:

Using Vega 56 in MP 5,1 - questions

Hey guys, I've done some research on the Vega 56 being the highest card you can use without modifying the MP 5,1’s PSU and need some advice. I’ve managed to get hold of the Sapphire Pulse Vega 56 version (see pics) and it has a wattage of 180w power draw in the website. It has two 8 pin...

forums.macrumors.com

I didn't think the eVGA power link was enough to run the card safely. I'm not trying to argue, I'd love to upgrade to a 56 but don't want to splice wires so I've avoided the Pixels mod. Is there new evidence that the Vega 56's power draw is safe if evenly distributed across both 6 pin ports on the backplane?

Good to know! Every piece of advice helps. Does it matter the brand? I've seen a few RX580 cards on sale from different makers or maybe they're just different models? Thanks again!

 

[minifridge1138]

Good to know! Every piece of advice helps. Does it matter the brand? I've seen a few RX580 cards on sale from different makers or maybe they're just different models? Thanks again!

The Sapphire Pulse RX 580 is the one Apple Recommends.
There are reports of some other brands working well and some brands that do not.

 

[Uranga]

Is the consensus to use the sapphire pulse rx 580 safely without doing any mods?

Im running:

Flashed 4,1 to 5,1 (2009)
Mojave
Upgraded to 2x 3.33ghz westmere (12 cores)
32gb
Evo 970 nvme
2tb hd raid storage
Msi Geforce gt 740
hq UHD 32" MONITOR

I mainly use it for graphics and audio production so I don't game, BUT there is no nvidia/CUDA drivers for mojave. I would LOVE the msi rx vega 56, but I do not want to modify anything. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

 

[mikas]

Short version: Safe bet is Sapphire RX 580 Pulse with PCIe dual mini 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin.

Long version:
If you really need more graphics power without a mod, there is a cable combination you can use with some Vega 56 models. The card would be a non overclocked version, probably equipped with 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power sockets, and it would need to have a dip switch for switching it to power saving bios.

This is what I have used for over 8 months already.
Powercolor Vega 56 Red Dragon, switched to powersave bios on, and PCIe dual mini 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin AND 2 x SATA power to PCIe 6-pin.

You have to find out if there is the switch available. Some cards do have it, some don't. There might be two dip switches and you have to know which one is the right one. There might be labels with switches, or maybe there aren't.

Performance is good even with low bios mode, and it's faster than RX 580. Please note that I do not use any SATA devices with this combination, I have a NVMe SSD in PCIe slot.

If you don't do some 3D GPU rendering or maybe heavy video compression, I think RX 580 would be a good option.

ps. Now I have couple of Radeon VIIs waiting for suitable clips to do Pixlas mod. You can run the VII with above mentioned power feed from motherboard and dual sata, but it would not be safe to load GPU that way. It would eventually burn something, or at least shut down the machine.

 

[Uranga]

Short version: Safe bet is Sapphire RX 580 Pulse with PCIe dual mini 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin.

Long version:
If you really need more graphics power without a mod, there is a cable combination you can use with some Vega 56 models. The card would be a non overclocked version, probably equipped with 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power sockets, and it would need to have a dip switch for switching it to power saving bios.

This is what I have used for over 8 months already.
Powercolor Vega 56 Red Dragon, switched to powersave bios on, and PCIe dual mini 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin AND 2 x SATA power to PCIe 6-pin.

You have to find out if there is the switch available. Some cards do have it, some don't. There might be two dip switches and you have to know which one is the right one. There might be labels with switches, or maybe there aren't.

Performance is good even with low bios mode, and it's faster than RX 580. Please note that I do not use any SATA devices with this combination, I have a NVMe SSD in PCIe slot.

If you don't do some 3D GPU rendering or maybe heavy video compression, I think RX 580 would be a good option.

ps. Now I have couple of Radeon VIIs waiting for suitable clips to do Pixlas mod. You can run the VII with above mentioned power feed from motherboard and dual sata, but it would not be safe to load GPU that way. It would eventually burn something, or at least shut down the machine.

Thank you. Being that I use it for music production and graphic design (possibly begin video editing) ill stick with sapphire pulse rx 580. Ill pick on up on ebay.

I do have another question. Current set up is a 2009 dual upgraded to dual 3.33ghz (westmere) as I previously mentioned, but I just got my hands on a 2012 SINGLE 3.2ghz (I believe nephalem.) It is newer and I can update it to 3.46ghz 6 core, should I still stick my multiple core 2009 as my main? I didn't know if the newer one could be quicker moving the rest of my upgrades to it. I love these older mac pros, so I wanted a spare incase of an issue.

 

[tsialex]

Thank you. Being that I use it for music production and graphic design (possibly begin video editing) ill stick with sapphire pulse rx 580. Ill pick on up on ebay.

I do have another question. Current set up is a 2009 dual upgraded to dual 3.33ghz (westmere) as I previously mentioned, but I just got my hands on a 2012 SINGLE 3.2ghz (I believe nephalem.) It is newer and I can update it to 3.46ghz 6 core, should I still stick my multiple core 2009 as my main? I didn't know if the newer one could be quicker moving the rest of my upgrades to it. I love these older mac pros, so I wanted a spare incase of an issue.

Early 2009 CPU trays only work with early-2009 backplanes, SMC versions need to match. You can't transplant the CPU tray, but you can do with everything else to your mid-2012.

 

[Uranga]

Early 2009 CPU trays only work with early-2009 backplanes, SMC versions need to match. You can't transplant the CPU tray, but you can do with everything else to your mid-2012.

Thank you, yes I did understand that. I've read somewhere that a single 6 core 3.46ghz (once updated) could be as fast or faster, but since I have dual 3.33ghz in my 2009, would it be better to keep using my 2009? and leave my 2012 as back up incase of an issue. Ideally I would have loved a dual 3.45ghz 2012, but thats for the future.

 

[tsialex]

Thank you, yes I did understand that. I've read somewhere that a single 6 core 3.46ghz (once updated) could be as fast or faster, but since I have dual 3.33ghz in my 2009, would it be better to keep using my 2009? and leave my 2012 as back up incase of an issue. Ideally I would have loved a dual 3.45ghz 2012, but thats for the future.

Only for single core, but not for jobs that can benefit from more cores.

If you don't convert videos, does render or long compile jobs, the single CPU tray with a X5690 will be faster for everything that is not heavy multi-threaded.