MP 1,1-5,1 How can I be sure my GPU is working right?

[eicca]

Specs in signature.

My 2010 Mac Pro with the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 is TREMENDOUSLY slower than my 2011 MacBook Pro 13” at exporting video from iMovie and Final Cut. It also will not play videos from ANY streaming service in Safari, but said MacBook will.

Lately the cMP has even been struggling to play regular old 1080p 30fps YouTube videos. Creating a fresh user account doesn’t fix anything, and Chrome plays all of the above just fine (but switching to Chrome isn’t an option).

In System Report it does say that Metal is supported, “Feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1.” Games seem to run ok, but Call of Duty 4 (yes, the 2007 one) drops down to around 40fps sometimes.

Meanwhile, in Windows, everything works fine and Halo, Battlefront and Squadrons all play at 1440p 60fps. Haven’t tried streaming there but I’m sure it works fine.

Anything else I should check?

 

[tsialex]

Specs in signature.

My 2010 Mac Pro with the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 is TREMENDOUSLY slower than my 2011 MacBook Pro 13” at exporting video from iMovie and Final Cut. It also will not play videos from ANY streaming service in Safari, but said MacBook will.

Lately the cMP has even been struggling to play regular old 1080p 30fps YouTube videos. Creating a fresh user account doesn’t fix anything, and Chrome plays all of the above just fine (but switching to Chrome isn’t an option).

In System Report it does say that Metal is supported, “Feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1.” Games seem to run ok, but Call of Duty 4 (yes, the 2007 one) drops down to around 40fps sometimes.

Meanwhile, in Windows, everything works fine and Halo, Battlefront and Squadrons all play at 1440p 60fps. Haven’t tried streaming there but I’m sure it works fine.

Anything else I should check?

1) MP5,1 Xeons don't have QuickSync like your 2011 MacBook Pro i5/i7, so, no QuickSync CPU assisted VideoToolbox hardware encoding/decoding acceleration.

2) RX 580, or any other modern AMD GPU since RX 460, on a standard/vanilla MP5,1 macOS install don't have VideoToolbox hardware encoding/decoding acceleration. So, no DRM support or hardware decode acceleration with Safari.

You need OpenCore and spoofing an iMac Pro to have it.

 

[eicca]

1) MP5,1 Xeons don't have QuickSync like your 2011 MacBook Pro, so no CPU VideoToolbox hardware encoding/decoding acceleration.

2) RX 580, or any other modern AMD GPU since RX 460, on a standard/vanilla macOS install don't have VideoToolbox hardware encoding/decoding acceleration. So, no DRM support or hardware decode acceleration with Safari.

You need OpenCore and spoofing an iMac Pro to have it.

I'm reading the thread on installing the hwaccel via OpenCore, and it looks easy enough, except for a few mentions mentions of dual booting not working.

Since I have no boot screen, I currently use System Preferences to select my startup disk if I want to get into Windows 10, and from Windows I use Bootcamp Assistant if I want to get back to macOS.

If I install this hwaccel patch, am I going to wreck my ability to get back and forth between OSs?

 

[tsialex]

I'm reading the thread on installing the hwaccel via OpenCore, and it looks easy enough, except for a few mentions mentions of dual booting not working.

Since I have no boot screen, I currently use System Preferences to select my startup disk if I want to get into Windows 10, and from Windows I use Bootcamp Assistant if I want to get back to macOS.

If I install this hwaccel patch, am I going to wreck my ability to get back and forth between OSs?

Depends.

OpenCore only support UEFI Windows installs, so if you have BootCamp, your Windows 10 install won't work anymore.

OpenCore have pre-boot configuration support for a RX 580 that have a non-modded ROM/fully working GOP firmware. So, you can have Boot Picker working with OpenCore and your non-flashed RX 580.

I recommend that you read a lot before doing anything. OpenCore is a complex system and you have to know how to configure it and have a fully compatible config before hand.

Start here:

OpenCore on the Mac Pro

This guide explains how to use the excellent OpenCore boot loader to install, run, and update the latest version of macOS on the MacPro5,1, resulting in a clean, unaltered operating system just like on a supported Mac.

forums.macrumors.com

Good luck.

 

[eicca]

Depends.

OpenCore only support UEFI Windows installs, so if you have BootCamp, your Windows 10 install won't work anymore.

OpenCore have pre-boot configuration support for a RX 580 that have a non-modded ROM. So, you can have Boot Picker working with OpenCore.

I recommend that you read a lot before doing anything. OpenCore is a complex system and you have to know and have a fully compatible config before hand.

Good luck.

I seem to remember installing Windows 10 in "legacy BIOS mode" or something like that. I installed the Windows OS and Bootcamp drivers via VirtualBox and then used native booting ever since.

If I'm understanding correctly, that's going to be a problem, and to fix it I'd have to reinstall Windows 10 using UEFI.

 

[tsialex]

I seem to remember installing Windows 10 in "legacy BIOS mode" or something like that. I installed the Windows OS and Bootcamp drivers via VirtualBox and then used native booting ever since.

If I'm understanding correctly, that's going to be a problem, and to fix it I'd have to reinstall Windows 10 using UEFI.

You have to install and get OpenCore working FIRST. If you start with Windows UEFI, you will trash your BootROM.

 

[eicca]

You have to install and get OpenCore working FIRST. If you start with Windows UEFI, you will trash your BootROM.

Weeeeeelllll it looks like I'll just live with it then. If I'm going to be reinstalling OS's and reconfiguring everything then I'm going to build a dedicated gaming computer first.

 

[eicca]

Also, from what I understand about the "bless" command, I'm guessing that using the Startup Disk selector will ruin the OpenCore setup, correct? That's how I get to Windows and back in my current setup.

Or is that a workaround that'll let me bypass the OpenCore boot picker, keep hwaccel and still be able to use my legacy BIOS Win10 install?

 

[Dayo]

Use this method to get OpenCore and keep your existing Legacy Windows (actually prefers Legacy Windows)

 

[jack070767]

Specs in signature.

My 2010 Mac Pro with the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 is TREMENDOUSLY slower than my 2011 MacBook Pro 13” at exporting video from iMovie and Final Cut. It also will not play videos from ANY streaming service in Safari, but said MacBook will.

Lately the cMP has even been struggling to play regular old 1080p 30fps YouTube videos. Creating a fresh user account doesn’t fix anything, and Chrome plays all of the above just fine (but switching to Chrome isn’t an option).

In System Report it does say that Metal is supported, “Feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1.” Games seem to run ok, but Call of Duty 4 (yes, the 2007 one) drops down to around 40fps sometimes.

Meanwhile, in Windows, everything works fine and Halo, Battlefront and Squadrons all play at 1440p 60fps. Haven’t tried streaming there but I’m sure it works fine.

Anything else I should check?

I have no problems in my cMP 5.1 my 2010 3,33 ghz 48GB Ram and Mojave on ssd nvme with GPU R9 tri flashed.
Works fine on iMovie and it is better (much) of my mackbook air 2012.
Works fine on Safari and videos online.

 

[eicca]

Use this method to get OpenCore and keep your existing Legacy Windows (actually prefers Legacy Windows)

If I’m reading this right, this method will put all the extra boot loader stuff on a completely separate drive, so if I have issues I just yank that drive, reset the NVRAM and my computer is back to normal?

I like minimally invasive surgeries.

 

[Dayo]

If I’m reading this right, this method will put all the extra boot loader stuff on a completely separate drive, so if I have issues I just yank that drive, reset the NVRAM and my computer is back to normal?

MyBootMgr doesn't put things anywhere by itself. You are advised to implement it on such a disk for the reason you stated and you don't need to reset NVRAM once you shutdown and disconnect the disk.

Actually, if you "Soft Bless" during setup as advised, you don't even need to disconnect and only have to reboot to return things to where they were. Disconnecting the disk is only needed after you have "Firm Blessed" which is advised to be done only after being satisfied that everything is working as it should.

 

[eicca]

MyBootMgr doesn't put things anywhere by itself. You are advised to implement it on such a disk for the reason you stated and you don't need to reset NVRAM once you shutdown and disconnect the disk.

Actually, if you "Soft Bless" during setup as advised, you don't even need to disconnect and only have to reboot to return things to where they were. Disconnecting the disk is only needed after you have "Firm Blessed" which is advised to be done only after being satisfied that everything is working as it should.

Seems pretty low-risk. I think I'll give it a whirl.

Can I re-enable SIP when finished?

 

[Dayo]

Can I re-enable SIP when finished?

Yes. This and most other likely queries are covered in the guide.

 

[eicca]

GPU acceleration has changed my world. My last export from Final Cut, a 15-minute 1080p video, took almost two hours to render. After enabling GPU acceleration via Dayo's super easy and super safe method, Final Cut exported my latest 5 minute 1080p video with a buttload of effects in just over a minute.

So now I know my GPU is working properly.