MP 1,1-5,1 Installing Mojave on 5,1MP WITHOUT a Metal card?

[Rico Muerte]

Sorry is this has been covered somewhere, but I recently upgraded the GPU card on my 2012 5,1 MP from the stock 1GB HD5770 to a 8GB Sapphire RX480 for some gaming & to upgrade to Mojave (currently High Sierra).
Didnt realize the RX480 wasnt a Metal card so I cant do it natively, & the Dosdude patcher says that it is only for "unsupported" machines when I tried to run it.
I used the patch a few months ago on my 2009 MBP & it worked great!
Dont know how to make it work on the 5,1 MP though...

Any advice/suggestions?

I really dont want to look for another GPU just so I can have Mojave on the 5,1.
After using Mojave on my 2009 MPB & now 2012 MBP I NEED dark mode on the Mac Pro! Especially with the 30" Cinema Display...

 

[KeesMacPro]

Unfortunately the RX 480 is known to risk destroying the backplane of a MP 4,1 /5,1.
The power consumption from the PCIe slot of this card is too high and will burn the LogicBoard...

I recommend to take a look at this thread:

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Rico Muerte]

Unfortunately the RX 480 is known to risk destroying the backplane of a MP 4,1 /5,1.
The power consumption from the PCIe slot of this card is too high and will burn the LogicBoard...

I recommend to take a look at this thread:

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

im not just getting power from the pcie slot - Im also using both mini 6pin sockets

 

[KeesMacPro]

AFAIk there seem to be a few versions of the RX 480 that stay within the limits of powerdraw from the slot, but i dont know for sure which one.

A metal compatible card doesnt have to cost (much) more than the RX 480...
e.g. the msi RX 560 4GB or the sapphire pulse RX 560 4GB / RX 580 8GB...

 

[KeesMacPro]

im not just getting power from the pcie slot - Im also using both mini 6pin sockets

Yes, but the amount of powerdraw from the PCIe-slot depends on the card.

 

[MIKX]

An AMD HD 7970 can be EFI flashed, is Metal capable. Runs 10.14.6 without issue.

I have the EFI ROM for the Sapphire Dual-X 3gb. I have one of these as a spare GPU.

Great card in my opinion : More info :

EVGA PowerLink with AMD GPUs

Just got the EVGA PowerLink working with my Sapphire Dual-X 7970 3gb. IMPORTANT : The power input sockets on the PowerLink are 2 X 8 Pin female and cannot be changed. The EVGA PowerLink ensures that exact power demanded by a GPU is supplied. That said, one must still supply enough power to...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[tsialex]

RX 480 is fully METAL compatible, it's the first AMD high-end Polaris GPU and have the same Polaris GPU as the RX 580, just an older and slightly slower revision.

The problem with RX 480 is that reference design cards will damage the backplane with overconsumption from the PCIe slot. Don't use RX480 cards that have just only one PCIe 6-pin power input.
[automerge]1595012483[/automerge]

im not just getting power from the pcie slot - Im also using both mini 6pin sockets

All cards are powered from the PCIe slot…

 

[Rico Muerte]

Ok so my card is the Sapphire Radeon Nitro+ RX 480 8gb card.
Showing as Metal supported on high sierra system report, & according to this website:
https://www.mwave.com.au/product/sa...8gb-video-card-ab85413#detailTabs=tabOverview
power consumption is 150w...which seems a little low?

 

[tsialex]

Ok so my card is the Sapphire Radeon Nitro+ RX 480 8gb card.
Showing as Metal supported on high sierra system report, & according to this website:
https://www.mwave.com.au/product/sa...8gb-video-card-ab85413#detailTabs=tabOverview
power consumption is 150w...which seems a little low?

View attachment 934940

It's not the reference model and it's a 8-pin card, so your PCIe slot is safe. For sure it's more than 150W, reviews from the time tested it at around 215W+ running Furmark.

 

[Rico Muerte]

...so your PCIe slot is safe. For sure it's more than 150W, reviews from the time tested it at around 215W+ running Furmark.

THANK F%@K!

Was worried because I thought I wasted money on a card that wasnt Mojave compatible (not on the apple list of GPUs), & was gonna kill my 5,1 😭

But now that I know it wont kill my cMP, AND Mojave is installed...

...Im ultra happy! 😀

I LOVE the dark theme on Mojave & have gotten used to it on my 2009/2012 MBP!

Mojave on my 5,1 should help preserve the pannel on my 30" Cinema Display!

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[KeesMacPro]

It's not the reference model and it's a 8-pin card, so your PCIe slot is safe.

This is valuable information.
Maybe someone with the permissions could add this and the info about the RX 550 to the GPU thread?

 

[tsialex]

This is valuable information.
Maybe someone with the permissions could add this and the info about the RX 550 to the GPU thread?

What about RX 550? Most RX 550 don't work at all, only the RX 550 models that are made from RX 560 chips binned with less CUs - i.e. cards that have the same PCIe ID of RX 560. Normal easy to find RX 550 PCIe ID is not on the Apple AMD drivers.

These RX 550 that work with macOS are now practically impossible to get since production moved to NAVI.

 

[KeesMacPro]

Exactly ,but the GPU thread doesnt mention anything about compatibility.

8. ATI Radeon RX 550 4 Gb
Performance: 44% RPI. Supports Metal 2 (Mojave).Power consumption: from PCIE slot only. It's the coolest card with Mojave support - 50W only.Outs: DL-DVI, DP, HDMI.Compatibility: DirectX 12.0, OpenGL 4.6, Metal 2.Other: occupies 2 slots, no Boot Screen. There are much models with different frequencies.Unflashed (PC version): works out of the box.

 

[tsialex]

Exactly ,but the GPU thread doesnt mention anything about compatibility.

The text is right for the binned RX 560 sold as RX 550, not for the normal easy to find RX 550 on the market for around an year now.

I've edited that thread before, I think that I still have permission to edit it, I'll check it tomorrow.