MP 1,1-5,1 early 2009 Mac Pro graphics card trouble shooting

[Rosecroft]

i have a Mac Pro early 2009 model running el Capitan, i purchased a card from owc. It is a Radeon RX 580 8gb card. Is this supposed to be a plug in a go? or do i need an update? The card is installed it's running, and the mac is booting up i'm just not getting a picture. But when i reinstall the old card every thing is fine! thanks in advance.

 

[StuAff]

You need to upgrade your OS, as El Cap has no support for RX580s. You need 10.12.6 or later.

 

[rodedwards]

I'd suggest updating your Mac Pro 2009 v4,1 to firmware v5,1 and then go up to High Sierra. You can then update to Mojave. Not 100% sure if RX 580 is supported until Mojave so you may need to do this. Upgrade your ram and your hard drive to an SSD and you'll be laughing. I did my 2009 v4,1 and it's now as fast as fastest black trash can Mac Pro but with more storage.

 

[StuAff]

I'd suggest updating your Mac Pro 2009 v4,1 to firmware v5,1 and then go up to High Sierra. You can then update to Mojave. Not 100% sure if RX 580 is supported until Mojave so you may need to do this. Upgrade your ram and your hard drive to an SSD and you'll be laughing. I did my 2009 v4,1 and it's now as fast as fastest black trash can Mac Pro but with more storage.

As per my previous answer, 10.12.6 or later works fine (earlier versions of Sierra work with kext mods). I've only just upgraded to Mojave, never had any bother with my 580 on Sierra & High Sierra…
Either way, firmware upgrade will be needed if not already done.

 

[MIKX]

i have a Mac Pro early 2009 model running el Capitan, i purchased a card from owc. It is a Radeon RX 580 8gb card. Is this supposed to be a plug in a go? or do i need an update? The card is installed it's running, and the mac is booting up i'm just not getting a picture. But when i reinstall the old card every thing is fine! thanks in advance.

Your RX 580 8gb MUST be powered with this Dual Mini 6pin to ONE 8 pin US$ 7.95 + shipping, cable.

( EDIT : I'm assuming that you actually had your RX 580 connected with a power cable )

Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable

Features: Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI-e cable is to connect a PCIe video graphics card with 8 pin port to Mac motherboard with mini 6 pin port; Specification: Cable Length: 15-inches/(38cm) ; Connector 1: standard GPU 8 Pin male ; Connector 2 : 2x mini 6 pin male ( not standard 6 pin male); Gaug...

www.amazon.com

Don't get sucked in to using any other cable, you'll risk having your cMP suddenly shutting down.