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MacYeti

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 24, 2019
5
2
Hey everyone, need some advice on some things and I figured this was the place.

I have a Mac Pro 2010 5,1 that I have had for a few years now. Purchased a MSI AMD Radeon R9 390X series to bump up the graphics. I also have a Late-2009 27" iMac sitting around that I was hoping to use in Target Display Mode as a second monitor. Still works but at a snail's pace. I bought an HDMI to Mini DisplayPort cable hoping that might work but, of course, it did not.

Just to check, I have used the HDMI port to my 4K monitor with a normal HDMI cable and it works fine. I'm currently using the DisplayPort out to my monitor. I have run all sorts of setups and I can't get Target Display Mode to work at all. And yes, I have used Command+F2.

Just as another attempt to get Target Display Mode, I have a 15" 2015 MacBook Pro and that was able to get the iMac in Target Display using a Mini Display to Mini Display cable, but not the HDMI to Mini DisplayPort.

I also have the original 5770 graphics card that came with the Mac Pro but I don't even know if it's worth trying to put both cards in the Mac Pro to try and get Target Display Mode.

I don't necessarily need the second monitor. I just wanted to use it since it's sitting here basically collected dust at this point.

So my dilemma, I don't do a lot of graphic intensive work anymore (I used to edit a lot of videos) and I'm thinking of a couple options and was hoping to get some advice.

1) Sell the iMac and the Mac Pro and just buy a new Mac Mini.
2) Sell the Mac Pro, buy a Mac Mini, and try Target Display Mode with a Thunderbolt to Mini Display cable (I have seen this work in YouTube videos)
3) Strip my iMac, sell the parts (if they are worth anything), and pay the $50 or whatever it is to buy the graphics controller board to just use the old iMac as a monitor.
4) Any other suggestions would be welcomed.


I'm concerned that both of these computers are running out of life and it's time to do something with them. I enjoy my Mac Pro but I feel like I don't need the power anymore and it's just a waste of space. All the port expansions are awesome but once I've updated the Bluetooth to 5.1, I really haven't needed to update anything else. I have a few hard drives in it but I can always just get an external drive adapter or something to put them in.

So that's my situation. Hopefully, someone out there can lend some advice and tell me what they think I should do. Thanks everyone for reading.
 
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