Best way to drive 3x27" Apple Cinema Displays on cMP?

[-VoiceOfReason-]

Hi all,

I just acquired three 27", Mini DisplayPort powered Apple Cinema Displays that I would like to use with my 4,1->5,1 cMP tower.

Currently I have a flashed GTX 680. This card only has one DisplayPort, so I can only drive one display with it. I need the boot screens on at least one display since I am using FileVault.

Here's what I've tried:
- Adding in the OEM GT 120: resulted in graphics driver crashing for some reason
- Adding in a Quadro NVS 295 (two DP connections): resulted in no image with Nvidia web driver.

What are my options for being able to drive all these displays at once?

 

[bsbeamer]

Do you want to drive all individually at 2560x1440 (x3)?

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

Do you want to drive all individually at 2560x1440 (x3)?

Yes, hoping to use them all individually. Doesn't have to be on the same card either.
[doublepost=1518619940][/doublepost]It seems like the NVS 510 (4x mDP) might be a better choice. It's also Kepler based (same as GTX 680) so it might be supported by the Nvidia web driver. Found a post on these forums from 2013 saying it "works", but wondering if anyone has any experience with anything like this?

 

[bsbeamer]

I was driving two displays off GTX 680 (official Mac version) for awhile. ACD 27" at 2560x1440 via DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter (Startech DP2MDPMF6IN) and one via active HDMI adapter. Three may work via a lot of adapters/converter boxes, but unsure if it would be reliable or worth the expense.

Adding a GTX 9XX series or 10XX series may be the cheapest solution. The GTX 1080 will do 7680x4320@60Hz and has 3 DisplayPort (full size) on the Founders Edition. If you NEED to have FileVault, you could look at getting a flashed version.

If you are limited on PCI splots, there were reports the K1200 was working with MacPro. Cannot find the links at the moment, but was fairly cheap compared to other options for 4x Mini DisplayPorts.

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

I was driving two displays off GTX 680 (official Mac version) for awhile. ACD 27" at 2560x1440 via DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter (Startech DP2MDPMF6IN) and one via active HDMI adapter.

Do you have a link to the HDMI converter you were using? I took a look at a few but couldn't find a definitive answer if they would support 2560x1440.

Adding a GTX 9XX series or 10XX series may be the cheapest solution. The GTX 1080 will do 7680x4320@60Hz and has 3 DisplayPort (full size) on the Founders Edition. If you NEED to have FileVault, you could look at getting a flashed version.

Basically trying to avoid this as much as possible. I really just need screen real estate and not graphics horsepower. So a kludge of multiple adapters, cables and old GPUs seems preferable to dropping $500+ on something like a 1060 or 1070 I don't particularly need.

 

[Squuiid]

My choice would be an RX 580, hands down.

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

My choice would be an RX 580, hands down.

Well here's the issue:

1. I would need boot screens, so means leaving the GT 120 in slot #2. Right now I don't have a lot of faith in that card since it's causing WindowServer crashes for me and another user on these forums I saw. Not sure if this is a recent driver issue. I am on 10.13.3 (17D47)
2. I don't think it's possible to acquire these cards for a sane price right now. It looks like the going rate is ~$400. So if I take a gamble on a $100 workstation card and it doesn't work, it's not as big a deal.

 

[bsbeamer]

Do you have a link to the HDMI converter you were using? I took a look at a few but couldn't find a definitive answer if they would support 2560x1440.

Most do NOT support 2560x1440 at 60hz.

Was using this at one client's office for awhile. Does 3840x2160 at 30hz. Mostly was not an issue for working and design previews, but did switch resolution to 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200 at times) when doing intensive video playback. (Never got HDMI audio working with this adapter on Mac.)
https://www.startech.com/AV/Converters/Video/hdmi-displayport-adapter~HD2DP
[doublepost=1518625428][/doublepost]SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 580 8GB only has TWO native DisplayPort on board. Would need to use an adapter (HDMI or DVI-D) for the third monitor, unless you want to use in combination with GTX 680 you are currently running. Not sure if anyone is using that exact combination specifically at the same time with macOS 10.13.3. Most reports I see are dual NVIDIA.

 

[ActionableMango]

"5770 Eyefinity" has 5 mini display ports and "7950 Eyefinity" has 6 mini display ports. You'd have to flash it for bootscreens. I have no idea if you can flash an eyefinity model--I know nothing about AMD flashing.

But someone here has set up 10 monitors on a cMP this way.

 

[h9826790]

The Eyefinity card itself may able to work in macOS, however, I don't think it can be easily flashed properly.

The Eyefinity cards obviously have difference port layout (and framebuffer) than the reference card. Once flashed (with the "generic" Mac EFI), some (or even most) ports will be disabled.

Well here's the issue:

1. I would need boot screens, so means leaving the GT 120 in slot #2. Right now I don't have a lot of faith in that card since it's causing WindowServer crashes for me and another user on these forums I saw. Not sure if this is a recent driver issue. I am on 10.13.3 (17D47)
2. I don't think it's possible to acquire these cards for a sane price right now. It looks like the going rate is ~$400. So if I take a gamble on a $100 workstation card and it doesn't work, it's not as big a deal.

A flashed GTX960 from MVC cost $285. This card has 3 Display ports, boot screen, and 60 days warranty.

Anyway, when you add a GT120, the system crashed with both web driver and Apple driver?

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

"5770 Eyefinity" has 5 mini display ports and "7950 Eyefinity" has 6 mini display ports. You'd have to flash it for bootscreens. I have no idea if you can flash an eyefinity model, I know nothing about AMD flashing.

I did read about this while searching around for a solution. Though I couldn't find any definitive information on what the result was or what ports were supported. Also I recall reading the only way to get a boot screen from a flashed ATI card would be to use VGA.

But someone here has set up 10 monitors on a cMP this way.

Dang, legend.

At the moment I have bids on a Quadro NVS 510 and a Quadro K1200. These options are a bit more appealing to me since they don't require additional power (both PCI-e power cables are in use by the GTX 680).
[doublepost=1518635817][/doublepost]

A flashed GTX960 from MVC cost $285. This card has 3 Display ports, boot screen, and 60 days warranty.

It costs $285 when it's in stock . With the surge in GPU prices, I have doubts that MacVidCards will restock anytime soon, or at the very least not bump all their prices to match.

Anyway, when you add a GT120, the system crashed with both web driver and Apple driver?

Yes, that's correct. WindowServer crashes which kills all running user programs and kicks me back to the login screen. Not sure what the cause is. Might even be that the GT 120 is bad, but I have not used it much (pulled it from the system when I got the GTX 680)

Native OSX Driver:

Process:               WindowServer [18062]
Path:                  /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Versions/A/Resources/WindowServer
Identifier:            WindowServer
Version:               600.00 (312.23.4)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        launchd [1]
Responsible:           WindowServer [18062]
User ID:               88

Date/Time:             2018-02-08 17:16:39.419 -0500
OS Version:            Mac OS X 10.13.3 (17D47)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        131D0EE2-2010-ED64-6C9D-30D30D2EA760


Time Awake Since Boot: 14000 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes:       KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000104
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal:    Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process:   exc handler [0]

VM Regions Near 0x104:
-->
    __TEXT                 00000001091fa000-00000001091fb000 [    4K] r-x/rwx SM=COW  /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Versions/A/Resources/WindowServer

Application Specific Information:
StartTime:2018-02-08 17:15:15
GPU:NV
MetalDevice for accelerator(0x3707): 0x7fb6f3065e18 (MTLDevice: 0x7fb6f6809e00)
MetalDevice for accelerator(0x4f13): 0x7fb6f320cdc8 (MTLDevice: 0x7fb6f6809e00)
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU0@3/IOPP/PXS1@0/NVDA,Display-D@3/NVDA
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU0@3/IOPP/PXS1@0/NVDA,Display-B@1/NVDA
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU1@7/IOPP/PXS2@0/NVDA,Display-B@1/NVDATesla

Thread 0 Crashed:: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libGPUSupportMercury.dylib        0x00007fff628973d4 gpumRestoreTextureData + 76
1   com.apple.GeForceGLDriver         0x00007fff4483f8a7 gldRestoreTextureData + 208
2   libGFXShared.dylib                0x00007fff5370f88d gfxUploadPluginTextureLevel + 111
...

Nvidia Web Driver:

Process:               WindowServer [11799]
Path:                  /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Versions/A/Resources/WindowServer
Identifier:            WindowServer
Version:               600.00 (312.23.4)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        launchd [1]
Responsible:           WindowServer [11799]
User ID:               88

PlugIn Path:             /Library/GPUBundles/GeForceGLDriverWeb.bundle/Contents/MacOS/GeForceGLDriverWeb
PlugIn Identifier:       com.nvidia.web.GeForceGLDriverWeb
PlugIn Version:          10.29.10 (10.2.9)

Date/Time:             2018-02-13 17:34:20.599 -0500
OS Version:            Mac OS X 10.13.3 (17D47)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        131D0EE2-2010-ED64-6C9D-30D30D2EA760


Time Awake Since Boot: 16000 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes:       KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000104
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal:    Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process:   exc handler [0]

VM Regions Near 0x104:
--> 
    __TEXT                 00000001038b6000-00000001038b7000 [    4K] r-x/rwx SM=COW  /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Versions/A/Resources/WindowServer

Application Specific Information:
StartTime:2018-02-13 17:18:06
GPU:NV
MetalDevice for accelerator(0x3807): 0x7fe37ad52dd8 (MTLDevice: 0x7fe380801800)
MetalDevice for accelerator(0x4e13): 0x7fe37c325928 (MTLDevice: 0x7fe380801800)
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU0@3/IOPP/PXS1@0/NVDA,Display-D@3/NVDA
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU1@7/IOPP/PXS2@0/NVDA,Display-B@1/NVDATesla
IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/IOU0@3/IOPP/PXS1@0/NVDA,Display-A@0/NVDA

Thread 0 Crashed:: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libGPUSupportMercury.dylib        0x00007fff6f3743d4 gpumRestoreTextureData + 76
1   com.nvidia.web.GeForceGLDriverWeb    0x00000001517d0b37 gldRestoreTextureData + 208
2   libGFXShared.dylib                0x00007fff601ec88d gfxUploadPluginTextureLevel + 111
...

 

[kohlson]

A friend has a 2010 5,1, with original 5770 (single slot). I was poking him to upgrade his monitor from an older Dell 24. He really admired my Dell P2715Q, so he bought the current model (P2717Q, I think). Works great at 1440p. He loves it, using it with Adobe Premiere. Worked well with the included mDP-DP cable. If these are affordable/available, and there are enough slots, this might be a solution.

Also, I ordered 2 GT120's with my 4,1 all those years ago, and that worked. Perhaps 3 of these (and no GTX680s) may provide the real estate you need.

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

So the NVS 510 came in and works under the native MacOS driver (no bootscreens obviously).

Unfortunately with this card, if I have a monitor plugged into the GTX 680 and any monitor hooked up to the NVS 510, it immediately crashes WindowServer upon login. However, if I switch all monitors to the NVS 510, it seems to work fine.

Very odd and annoying. I'll just place the blame on High Sierra and move on, this is good enough for me.

 

[bsbeamer]

since you have this setup, curious if you can add the two monitors on the 510 after the GTX 680 fully boots

 

[-VoiceOfReason-]

since you have this setup, curious if you can add the two monitors on the 510 after the GTX 680 fully boots

Not sure what you mean. I have two monitors hooked up to the NVS 510 and one to the GTX 680. So after I put in my FileVault password and the system boots, I switch the monitor over to the NVS 510 and all come up without crashing. So the GTX 680 is kind of a waste right now, but hoping after a few more updates the crashing will stop.

 

[bsbeamer]

Boot with one monitor on 680. Once booted, connect two on 510. Leave them physically disconnected until boot is complete. SOME machines are ok with this and will detect, others are not.

If all is working and you don’t need boot screens, stick with 510.

 

[devon807]

So the NVS 510 came in and works under the native MacOS driver (no bootscreens obviously).

Unfortunately with this card, if I have a monitor plugged into the GTX 680 and any monitor hooked up to the NVS 510, it immediately crashes WindowServer upon login. However, if I switch all monitors to the NVS 510, it seems to work fine.

Very odd and annoying. I'll just place the blame on High Sierra and move on, this is good enough for me.

Interesting. I have this issue when I run the RX 580 and GTX 980. When I hookup any monitor to the GTX 980 it crashes immediately.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Have you tried flashing the 510 to get the boot screens?

 

[saulinpa]

VoiceOfReason - What is wrong with a MAC or flashed 5770? You stated you don't need horsepower.