MP 1,1-5,1 30” Apple Cinema Display with Radeon Pulse RX 580.. can it work?

[Diggi]

@Diggi - note there seem to be 2 different versions of the Club 3D adapter. They mention the one with HDCP OFF being specifically for Cinema Displays… so if one them works, it's most likely the version with HDCP off (because Cinema Displays don't support it and can act weirdly if the signal isn't "clean")

Club 3D CAC-1010-A Active DisplayPort to DVI-D HDCP OFF Adapter for Cinema Displays

The Club 3D CAC-1010-A active DisplayPort + USB Type-A to Dual Link DVI-D HDCP OFF version adapter for Apple Cinema displays or other displays WITHOUT HDCP support, which seamlessly connects a DisplayPort equipped source to conventional DVI displays, such as CRT or LCD monitors and projectors tha...

amzn.eu

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Well I’m very confused. I bought this exact adapter, and when I plug in the ACD DVI to the adapter, and the adapter display port to my Radeon pulse RX580 , there is no display. The screen is black.

 

[Canubis]

Well I’m very confused. I bought this exact adapter, and when I plug in the ACD DVI to the adapter, and the adapter display port to my Radeon pulse RX580 , there is no display. The screen is black.

Did you connect the USB-A cable from the adapter to a USB Port or USB power brick? This is most probably required for power (this was the same for the Apple mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter).
For my setup I also noticed it makes sense to connect the adapter's USB cable to power first, then wait a few seconds to let the adapter "boot" (at least that's what I think), then connect the adapter to the computer and then to the display.

 

[Diggi]

Did you connect the USB-A cable from the adapter to a USB Port or USB power brick? This is most probably required for power (this was the same for the Apple mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter).
For my setup I also noticed it makes sense to connect the adapter's USB cable to power first, then wait a few seconds to let the adapter "boot" (at least that's what I think), then connect the adapter to the computer and then to the display.

I’m so stupid. No, I hadn’t plug that in, and of course when I did it was exactly as you described.

I’m so sorry for wasting anybody’s time. I hate it and hate myself for it. forward!


May I ask what you think the best NVME adapter is if I want to run two of those tiny drives in a raid 0?

By mistake, I purchased an adapter that has an NVM slot, and a mini sata port.

 

[Canubis]

No worries. It doesn't come so often that these adapters need extra power, but apparently it's the case for Dual Link DVI – who knows what magic they do inside this tiny little brick… 😉

Re. NVME in Mac Pros I have no experience unfortunately and most such cards I ran into casually seem to just have 1 slot, so not sure if there even are Mac Pro compatible cards with 2 slots… but possibly there is… as said no real experience with that. Hope someone else more experienced with this topic could help here. 🙂

 

[Diggi]

No worries. It doesn't come so often that these adapters need extra power, but apparently it's the case for Dual Link DVI – who knows what magic they do inside this tiny little brick… 😉

Re. NVME in Mac Pros I have no experience unfortunately and most such cards I ran into casually seem to just have 1 slot, so not sure if there even are Mac Pro compatible cards with 2 slots… but possibly there is… as said no real experience with that. Hope someone else more experienced with this topic could help here. 🙂

Thank you. By “slots“, I meant a place on the card for two drives…

 

[joevt]

By mistake, I purchased an adapter that has an NVM slot, and a mini sata port.

They're both M.2 slots. One is Socket 3 or M Key for M.2 PCIe devices (NVMe or AHCI).
The other slot is Socket 2 or B Key for M.2 SATA devices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

There are M.2 adapters to convert different sockets / keys, but they won't work for your adapter since the B Key slot doesn't connect any PCIe lanes, and the M Key slot doesn't connect any SATA lanes.

May I ask what you think the best NVME adapter is if I want to run two of those tiny drives in a raid 0?

Have a look at this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pcie-ssds-nvme-ahci.2146725/
I suppose for two slots, the cheapest is one with a ASMedia bridge chip.

 

[Diggi]

They're both M.2 slots. One is Socket 3 or M Key for M.2 PCIe devices (NVMe or AHCI).
The other slot is Socket 2 or B Key for M.2 SATA devices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

There are M.2 adapters to convert different sockets / keys, but they won't work for your adapter since the B Key slot doesn't connect any PCIe lanes, and the M Key slot doesn't connect any SATA lanes.


Have a look at this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pcie-ssds-nvme-ahci.2146725/
I suppose for two slots, the cheapest is one with a ASMedia bridge chip.

Which adapter do you recommend?

 

[Diggi]

I get it, no one wants to say which one they like because if the person they recommend it to has a problem, the person making the recommendation thinks it may look bad for them.

Not to worry; I hold no one but me “responsible” for my decisions.

How about this one? It’s the most expensive one I could find while doing a cursory search of Amazon:

StarTech.com Dual M.2 PCIe SSD Adapter Card - x8 / x16 Dual NVMe or AHCI M.2 SSD to PCI Express 3.0 - M.2 NGFF PCIe (M-Key) Compatible - Supports 2242, 2260, 2280 - JBOD - Mac & PC (PEX8M2E2) https://a.co/d/60RoCZH

 

[joevt]

I get it, no one wants to say which one they like because if the person they recommend it to has a problem, the person making the recommendation thinks it may look bad for them.

Not to worry; I hold no one but me “responsible” for my decisions.

I would look at the x16 cards with PCIe gen 4 bridge. Then you can get near max performance from latest PCIe gen 4 NVMe devices.

How about this one? It’s the most expensive one I could find while doing a cursory search of Amazon:

StarTech.com Dual M.2 PCIe SSD Adapter Card - x8 / x16 Dual NVMe or AHCI M.2 SSD to PCI Express 3.0 - M.2 NGFF PCIe (M-Key) Compatible - Supports 2242, 2260, 2280 - JBOD - Mac & PC (PEX8M2E2) https://a.co/d/60RoCZH

I wouldn't buy an x8 device for an x16 slot but I think it's a good value. You'll get near max performance from a PCIe gen 3 NVMe device at least.
The product page at https://www.startech.com/en-ca/hdd/pex8m2e2 says it has the ASM2824 switch which is probably ok. Maybe google PEX8M2E2 in this forum to see what others who have actually used it say.

 

[Diggi]

I would look at the x16 cards with PCIe gen 4 bridge. Then you can get near max performance from latest PCIe gen 4 NVMe devices.


I wouldn't buy an x8 device for an x16 slot but I think it's a good value. You'll get near max performance from a PCIe gen 3 NVMe device at least.
The product page at https://www.startech.com/en-ca/hdd/pex8m2e2 says it has the ASM2824 switch which is probably ok. Maybe google PEX8M2E2 in this forum to see what others who have actually used it say.

Which 16x card do you like for this setup? Link me to one you think might be great…. Please.

 

[Diggi]

I would look at the x16 cards with PCIe gen 4 bridge. Then you can get near max performance from latest PCIe gen 4 NVMe devices.


I wouldn't buy an x8 device for an x16 slot but I think it's a good value. You'll get near max performance from a PCIe gen 3 NVMe device at least.
The product page at https://www.startech.com/en-ca/hdd/pex8m2e2 says it has the ASM2824 switch which is probably ok. Maybe google PEX8M2E2 in this forum to see what others who have actually used it say.

I don’t give a fly f#!?! about the price

 

[joevt]

I don’t give a fly f#!?! about the price

Then check these https://www.highpoint-tech.com/nvme-overview
The SSD7502 looks nice for two slots. Not sure if the heat sink is too thick for slot 2 of the Mac Pro if you have something in slot 3.

I got the SSD7505.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pcie-ssds-nvme-ahci.2146725/post-29483973
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/thunderbolt-3-m-2-nvme-ssd-enclosures.2027925/post-30814810

 

[Diggi]

Then check these https://www.highpoint-tech.com/nvme-overview
The SSD7502 looks nice for two slots. Not sure if the heat sink is too thick for slot 2 of the Mac Pro if you have something in slot 3.

I got the SSD7505.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pcie-ssds-nvme-ahci.2146725/post-29483973
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/thunderbolt-3-m-2-nvme-ssd-enclosures.2027925/post-30814810

Perfect.