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GPU (metal compatible) power consumption consideration

racer

racer

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2004
43
21
Thessaloniki,Greece
Looking for an economical GPU option for a 2009 cMP, I see a that a few of the older GPUs will support Mohave.

R9 28X,29X
7950,7970
GTX 680

But compared to the more modern RX560,580 they are really power hungry!!
We are talking two and three times more, 300W-400W under load and even 100W in idle!

Is this a consideration for anyone using these older cards?

I am thinking about one of these older cards as a cheap option for desktop work and occasional photo editing but am skeptical with the power needs.
 
racer said:
Looking for an economical GPU option for a 2009 cMP, I see a that a few of the older GPUs will support Mohave.

R9 28X,29X
7950,7970
GTX 680

But compared to the more modern RX560,580 they are really power hungry!!
We are talking two and three times more, 300W-400W under load and even 100W in idle!

Is this a consideration for anyone using these older cards?

I am thinking about one of these older cards as a cheap option for desktop work and occasional photo editing but am skeptical with the power needs.
Click to expand...

Where you get these numbers from?

A 7950 usually only draw 140W-170W under very high stress. Nowhere near 400W. And only idle at 15W.
 
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h9826790 said:
Where you get these numbers from?

A 7950 usually only draw 140W-170W under very high stress. Nowhere near 400W. And only idle at 15W.
Click to expand...

eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition has even better idle numbers than HD 7950, around 8W, with target of 170W and board power limit of 225W.

300/400W is crazy numbers, only dual GPUs get this power consumption.
 
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racer said:
Looking for an economical GPU option for a 2009 cMP, I see a that a few of the older GPUs will support Mohave.

R9 28X,29X
7950,7970
GTX 680

But compared to the more modern RX560,580 they are really power hungry!!
We are talking two and three times more, 300W-400W under load and even 100W in idle!

Is this a consideration for anyone using these older cards?

I am thinking about one of these older cards as a cheap option for desktop work and occasional photo editing but am skeptical with the power needs.
Click to expand...

Why not just get an RX580?
 
Yes, of course you guys are right.

Was totally looking at the wrong numbers on this link (total system power consumption in a PC).
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6...ndforce-3gb-oc-video-card-review/index16.html

Not to make this thread a total waste of space, bellow are the prices I find locally for used and new cards mentioned above.

Sapphire RX 580 4GB Pulse €220 (new)
MSI Radeon RX 560 4GB €140 (new)
R9 280 €90-€100
7950 €80-€90 (non-Mac)
GTX 680 €100 (eg. ASUS GeForce GTX 680, non-Mac)
 
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BlackScorpion said:
Quick question, i'm looking to buy this card today, i'm concerned with the power requirement , is my mac pro 4,1>5,1 able to poser it?
Click to expand...

It depends on the brand of RX580 you get. If you want to play it safe get the Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB (DO NOT GET THE 4GB VERSION!)

We all know this GPU is in the capability of the cMP. You will need a cable(s) that use both of the mini6 pin connectors on the logic board that go to the single 8 pin port on the GPU. I am not familiar with other brands versions but some may have a higher TPD and would therefore require additional mods or an external power supply to properly power it.
 
I can 100% tell you the 11265-05-20G model of the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB works fine with dual mini 6-pin to standard 8-pin in Mac Pro 5,1. MANY users will report the same. This is the card Apple recommended for Mojave.
 
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skizzo said:
It depends on the brand of RX580 you get. If you want to play it safe get the Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB (DO NOT GET THE 4GB VERSION!)

We all know this GPU is in the capability of the cMP. You will need a cable(s) that use both of the mini6 pin connectors on the logic board that go to the single 8 pin port on the GPU. I am not familiar with other brands versions but some may have a higher TPD and would therefore require additional mods or an external power supply to properly power it.
Click to expand...


Thanks for responding , i ended up getting this
ASUS Radeon RX 580 OC 8gb
s-l1600.jpg


I hope i didn't make a mistake.
 
racer said:
Looking for an economical GPU option for a 2009 cMP, I see a that a few of the older GPUs will support Mohave.

R9 28X,29X
7950,7970
GTX 680

But compared to the more modern RX560,580 they are really power hungry!!
We are talking two and three times more, 300W-400W under load and even 100W in idle!

Is this a consideration for anyone using these older cards?

I am thinking about one of these older cards as a cheap option for desktop work and occasional photo editing but am skeptical with the power needs.
https://downloader.vip/itunes/ https://inro.in/mobdro/ https://inro.in/tutuapp/
Click to expand...
A 7950 usually only draw 140W-170W under very high stress. Nowhere near 400W. And only idle at 15W.
 
Last edited:
zinogarphy said:
A 7950 usually only draw 140W-170W under very high stress. Nowhere near 400W. And only idle at 15W.
Click to expand...
zinogarphy

Any idea of the idle consumption for the Sapphire Dual-X 7970 3 gb ? I have Googled but haven't found anything like the 15 W. of the 7950.
 
tsialex said:
eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition has even better idle numbers than HD 7950, around 8W, with target of 170W and board power limit of 225W.

300/400W is crazy numbers, only dual GPUs get this power consumption.
Click to expand...
Even my R280x (aka 7970) has a TDP of 225W, but there are probably other variants more power hungry with 2- 8 pin slots instead of 8+6
 
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