MacPro 3,1 unstable with Nvidia GTX 570 or Quadro 4000

[peter321564]

Hi guys,

After reading these threads, I ordered a 'flashed' GTX 570 to speed up my CS6 work.

Unfortunately, although my system boots up nicely with the card, after a while (sometimes within 30 seconds after boot) the system simply shuts down (immediate black screen). Rebooting isn't possible, unless I unplug the power for at least 10 seconds.

Is this the result of a PSU not giving enough power, a driver issue, a faulty card, or is something else going on that I'm not aware of?

The threads I mentioned claim that a GFX570 1.3GB model doesn't require extra external power, as it should get enough power via the two 6pin mobo connected cables.

I have all the lastest OS/Cuda driver versions installed, and my system currently has these internals:
14 GB ram
4x HDD
1x SSD
1x LG Bluray
1x eSATA PCI card

As a test, I got a Quadro 4000 from a friend (which is supported officially by Apple), but it also results in the same crash. It seems like my MacPro simply doesn't like Nvidia cards

When put back the basic ATI Radeon HD 2600 card, then no crashes occur at all.

 

[666sheep]

If power cables you're using are OK (no visual damages etc), it seems you have faulty PSU. It isn't normal behavior, especially when people here are using 570s in these MPs without problem. You can try to reset SMC, but if it's PSU it won't help.

 

[MacVidCards]

Hi guys,

After reading these threads, I ordered a 'flashed' GTX 570 to speed up my CS6 work.

Unfortunately, although my system boots up nicely with the card, after a while (sometimes within 30 seconds after boot) the system simply shuts down (immediate black screen). Rebooting isn't possible, unless I unplug the power for at least 10 seconds.

Is this the result of a PSU not giving enough power, a driver issue, a faulty card, or is something else going on that I'm not aware of?

The threads I mentioned claim that a GFX570 1.3GB model doesn't require extra external power, as it should get enough power via the two 6pin mobo connected cables.

I have all the lastest OS/Cuda driver versions installed, and my system currently has these internals:
14 GB ram
4x HDD
1x SSD
1x LG Bluray
1x eSATA PCI card

As a test, I got a Quadro 4000 from a friend (which is supported officially by Apple), but it also results in the same crash. It seems like my MacPro simply doesn't like Nvidia cards

When put back the basic ATI Radeon HD 2600 card, then no crashes occur at all.

Please also try a fresh, unbuttered OS.

Some people get excited while waiting for card and start installing patches and fixes from various websites. Most aren't needed and simply mess up the system.

You either have a power problem or have messed up the drivers.

Did you attempt the OpenCl fix? Ot install ATY_Init or any other patch or fix you read about in an older thread?

Try s "safe" boot and see what happens.

 

[mymacpro]

sounds like you might be overloading the power supply. quite a bit of hardware

4x HDD
1x SSD
1x LG Bluray
1x eSATA PCI card

plus a GTX570

from memory each 2.8Ghz mac pro 3,1 cpu's use 150w under load

 

[peter321564]

@mymacpro: not sure why you edited your previous post and removed the actual solution to my problem I'm lucky that I got an email notification though.

Anyway your suggestion to try slot 2 seems to have fixed the issue.

The fan was indeed not spinning constantly when the GTX570 was installed in slot 1. The fan looked like it was trying to boot up (it spinned for a sec, and then no spinning for a a few secs). I replaced the card to slot 2 and all seems fine atm (at least the fan spins). I never heard this suggestion before, so I guess I owe you a beer for this great tip

Back to your edit mymacpro: will this setup cause me any power overloading in the future or not? Maybe MacVidCards has more experience on this matter.

Now that I got the card working, I quickly glansed at the Photoshop CS6 settings, and notice the USE OPENCL is greyed out. In AfterEffects CS6 I cannot enable the GPU option, so I guess I'm still missing some drivers/fixes/hacks?

 

[mymacpro]

GTX570 has fan issues in slot 1 on mac pro 3,1

Yes I re-edited my post because I looked at your post again and noticed you had a lot of hardware installed, But I know for sure that the GTX570 in slot 1 in mac pro 3,1 is problematic.
Here's my experience and also quite a few other GTX570 owners.

Macvidcards have you experienced this issue? I know of at least 4 cases of the same issue!


The GTX 570 in slot 1 in a mac pro 3,1 does not function properly. The fan doesn't work and causes the system to shutdown, ie. the GTX570 overheats in slot 1, The fan doesn't even spin on start up. Pop the card in slot 2 and presto everything works normally.

So anyone having issues with a mac pro 3,1 and a GTX570, try it in slot 2

original fan issue post:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1377313/


open cl is disabled by default in OSX for the nvidia GTX570. To enable it read here from netkas.org

http://netkas.org/?paged=2

no that setup shouldn't cause an power overload, mac pro has a 1000w power supply

Also where did you get your flashed GTX570 from?

 

[jasonvp]

In AfterEffects CS6 I cannot enable the GPU option, so I guess I'm still missing some drivers/fixes/hacks?

You need to find the cuda_supported_cards.txt file that lists supported CUDA cards in it, and add:

GeForce GTX 570

to it. The GTX 570 isn't a known/supported card on the Mac platform for Adobe, so it's not listed in the text file (it is listed on the Windows version of the same software).

jas

 

[MacVidCards]

I know a solid tech guy who has a 3,1 and is about to receive a GTX570 from us, so I should have more info on this soon.

I have not heard of this issue other than the two of you mentioning it.

My first thought is that "AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext" is not designed to function with 3,1 machines.

We recently updated all Fermi roms to be compatible with AGPM, but all we did turn on something, we did not turn anything off.

I would like to ask the OP to try the Quadro 4000 again and see if the fan is running on it. Could be very valuable info for many people.

And if everyone reporting this issue could indicate which version of 570 they have it would also be helpful to figure out if it is a specific model or ALL of them.

Most of the 570s we have sold have been from EVGA. They come on one of 2 basic PCBs. The early model was based on GTX580 with a RAM chip left off. These are large and heavy and have the fan at the opposite end from where the DVI ports are. The power plugs are on the TOP edge of card. And these always have had 2 @ DVI ports. These are always 1.28 GB cards.

The later model uses a smaller PCB that was designed to be a 570, so no components are missing or "unpopulated" on the PCB. These are smaller and lighter and have the fan near the center of the card and the power plugs pointing out the back of the card (end opposite the DVI & DIsplayport connectors) These can be 1.28 GB or 2.56 GB.

 

[mymacpro]

these posts has some of us with the same GTX 570 issues

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1373177/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1377313/

4 users so far

 

[peter321564]

And if everyone reporting this issue could indicate which version of 570 they have it would also be helpful to figure out if it is a specific model or ALL of them.

Most of the 570s we have sold have been from EVGA. They come on one of 2 basic PCBs. The early model was based on GTX580 with a RAM chip left off. These are large and heavy and have the fan at the opposite end from where the DVI ports are. The power plugs are on the TOP edge of card. And these always have had 2 @ DVI ports. These are always 1.28 GB cards.

The later model uses a smaller PCB that was designed to be a 570, so no components are missing or "unpopulated" on the PCB. These are smaller and lighter and have the fan near the center of the card and the power plugs pointing out the back of the card (end opposite the DVI & DIsplayport connectors) These can be 1.28 GB or 2.56 GB.

See attached photos for my 570 model. I guess it's the early model as you described it.

 

[mymacpro]

Hey guys, further testing of a GTX480 in my mac pro 3,1. It does the same thing as gtx570 in slot 1. Fan doesn't spin at all. Could it be nvidia's latest drivers doing this? I might try and roll it back to 10.7.3 just to see if it still does it with the 570 and the 480. Can anyone else report issues with other nvidia cards in slot 1 and the mac pro 3,1?

 

[sjmadsen]

I have the later model of GTX 570 as described by MacVidCards. It is a stock 1.25 GB EVGA PC card, without his EFI BIOS. I have the card in slot 1 in my Mac Pro 3,1 and it has been working fine under gaming loads for several weeks. I don't use it for any OpenCL or CUDA work yet.

I installed Nvidia's graphics and CUDA drivers and modified GeForceGLDriver and libclh.dylib so that the card is seen as a valid OpenCL device. I did not make any changes to AGPM or install ATY_Init.

For what it's worth, my system is comparable to the OP's: 22 GB of RAM, eSATA card, SSD + HD. I don't have a BluRay, but I did keep the original ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT installed (it's driving one of the two displays so I still get the grey boot screen).

 

[pixteur]

Can anyone help me out with hex editing the opencl file they talk about here. I can't seem to do it right so I can get open cl working again on my 570gtx.

open cl is disabled by default in OSX for the nvidia GTX570. To enable it read here from netkas.org

http://netkas.org/?paged=2

 

[Michael Perez]

Slot 2 fixed it for me

I had bigtime instability in slot 1 with my EFI flishe GTX570, but in slot 2 it's right as rain. Perfect.

Michael

 

[ejde]

Hi Peter,

I'm curious if you are still running smoothly on your 3,1, with the 570 in the 2nd slot?

I am experiencing identical problems with my 3,1 and both a GTX 470 from Macvidcards and a new 660 Ti, which I purchased right off the shelf. When I place either card in either slot, the machine suffers from big instability, with constant crashes and reboots. When I take them both out and put the OEM ATI card back in, everything is crash free. What's especially odd, is that the OS doesn't even need to be booted for the crashes to happen with the Nvidia cards. It can crash during the boot, and I've tried Safe Boot with identical results as well. I know this would suggest a hardware problem, but what kind of hardware problem? I am using two different cards, in two different slots. So, could it be my power supply or logic board?

This is workable to a point, but so much of my work now requires GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro, that I can't handle this setup for too much longer, and might be forced to replace the entire machine, heaven forbid.

So, please.... Anyone with additional help on how to get back to some kind of stability, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Reflex 980]

I Just plug a GTX 570HD in My macpro 3,1 2008, on slot 2, and seems to work fine...
System profile recognizes it, but I can't use neither open cl or cuda on afx,premiere and ps...I've tryed out a terminal computing from here http://legacy.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=62702
but don't works....Any suggestions? I'll mustly use davinci resolve, but If I can enhance ps,afx and the others is better!!

 

[Gregd7]

I have a GTX570 1.28GB and when I had it in slot 1, the screen would go black in my macpro 3,1. When I put it in slot two it seems to work great. Only problem is I need the extra slot for another card I have. Has there been a resolution to this issue?

 

[flowrider]

My Gigabyte GTX570 with MacVid Cards EFI works great in slot 1 on my 3,1 Mac Pro. Maybe it's the 3 fan cooler. I've had it now for a couple of months with no issues.

Lou

 

[Gregd7]

What OS are you running?

 

[flowrider]

^^^^OS 10.8.2 with Nvidia drivers. I have another start-up disk with OS 10.7.5 on it. It works fine on both disks. Ya know, this may be just a guess here, but from all I'm seeing on the net about this issue, it seems to be random. My machine was a late model build, I bought just after the 2009, 4,1 machines were introduced. Maybe it's a time related thing or maybe it's a firmware issue. I assume you have updated to Firmware 1.3?

Lou

 

[Gregd7]

I checked and I have the latest boot firmware. Very weird.

 

[MacVidCards]

It is a known issue with SOME 3,1 machines.

I think most are immune. I have a tester with a 3,1 who just verified perfect function with an EFI GTX570 in his 3,1 in slot 1. But I am pretty sure that this problem has been identified on cards without EFI that just rely on Nvidia self init drivers.

It is something between cards and the machines themselves. I have heard of it on GTX570 and GTX480 but likely affects others.

 

[Gregd7]

I have the GTX 570 card tweaked by MacVidCards. The fan starts to turn then immediately turns off in slot 1. Slot 2 works fine. Guess I have one of the unlucky MacPros. Card works great with Premiere Pro and the whole Adobe Suite. I'm a very happy user, except for losing a pci slot.

 

[Kevin808]

I would just like to add that I have a EVGA GTX 570 HD 2.5GB card working well in SLOT 1 of my mac 4, 1. (Netkas Kext file patch applied as well as card added to list of accepted adobe cards for AE and PR)

 

[Gregd7]

gtx580?

I wonder if a macvidcards GTX580 would work in slot1 of macpro 3,1 that don't work properly with a GTX570. Has anyone tried this?