MacPro 5,1 and 5k

[javinv]

Hello,

I've been following a lot of the advices and guides on this forum, and I have been able to upgrade my MacPro 5,1 with a new processor, two SSD hard drives, a Lycom controller, new 1333Mhz DDR3 memory... it really feels like a new computer !

But, I cannot decide on which graphic card should I choose.

I've bought a Dell UP2715K display , so I've been trying to find which models would be compatible with 5K. If I'm not wrong, the most recommended graphic card is the gtx 680, but I've came to the conclusion that is not compatible with 5K.

The nvidia cards that I think would work are the 970 and the 980; I've discarded the TITAN X since it is way too expensive. I would like to connect a 4k display as secondary screen, but I'm not sure about how much memory should they have or if it would improve performace because of the higher resolutions of both displays.

I haven't been able to confirm if any ATI (or AMD) card would work at 5K.

I do most of my work with Photoshop, Illustrator and Maya, so I guess that CUDA and OpenGL are the most important characteristics that I should have in mind.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on which model would be the best one.

Thank you !

 

[between2tides]

Hello,

I've been following a lot of the advices and guides on this forum, and I have been able to upgrade my MacPro 5,1 with a new processor, two SSD hard drives, a Lycom controller, new 1333Mhz DDR3 memory... it really feels like a new computer !

But, I cannot decide on which graphic card should I choose.

I've bought a Dell UP2715K display , so I've been trying to find which models would be compatible with 5K. If I'm not wrong, the most recommended graphic card is the gtx 680, but I've came to the conclusion that is not compatible with 5K.

The nvidia cards that I think would work are the 970 and the 980; I've discarded the TITAN X since it is way too expensive. I would like to connect a 4k display as secondary screen, but I'm not sure about how much memory should they have or if it would improve performace because of the higher resolutions of both displays.

I haven't been able to confirm if any ATI (or AMD) card would work at 5K.

I do most of my work with Photoshop, Illustrator and Maya, so I guess that CUDA and OpenGL are the most important characteristics that I should have in mind.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on which model would be the best one.

Thank you !

Would like to hear more about what you've done with your processor and controller. Getting ready to do the same as well as the GPU. What about the 1080 or 1070? I've got a 2.66 12C that I want to speed up. Appreciate your thoughts.

 

[flowrider]

I would certainly wait for the GTX 1080.

Lou

 

[javinv]

The problem with the GTX 1080 is that we don't know for sure how much time will it take to Nvidia to release its drivers, or if it will release them at all. Yesterday someone wrote that last year it was like 5-6 months.

I already have my 5K display, so, or I keep on using it at 4k@30Hz until Nvidia releases the new drivers or I upgrade now to a graphic card currently supported.

And why are you so sure about waiting for the GTX 1080 ? what about the 1070? and the 980 ti ? the 1070 and 980 ti have the same price right now in Amazon and have a similar performance.

I was almost convinced to buy the 980 ti and a 6 to 8 pin adapter... why should I wait? and what should I do in the meantime ? use windows 10 ?

 

[h9826790]

The problem with the GTX 1080 is that we don't know for sure how much time will it take to Nvidia to release its drivers, or if it will release them at all. Yesterday someone wrote that last year it was like 5-6 months.

I already have my 5K display, so, or I keep on using it at 4k@30Hz until Nvidia releases the new drivers or I upgrade now to a graphic card currently supported.

And why are you so sure about waiting for the GTX 1080 ? what about the 1070? and the 980 ti ? the 1070 and 980 ti have the same price right now in Amazon and have a similar performance.

I was almost convinced to buy the 980 ti and a 6 to 8 pin adapter... why should I wait? and what should I do in the meantime ? use windows 10 ?

Be careful the power management, a high loading on the 980Ti's 8pin may shut down your Mac if you only do it via a 6->8pin adaptor.

 

[javinv]

I understand. I don't want to install an auxiliary PSU in the optical drive... so then I should discard the ti version and choose a simple 980 instead ?

The GTX 980 has just 4gb; would that be enough for the 5K main display and the secondary 4K ?

Would there be any performance difference for apps such as Maya (openGL) or Photoshop/Illustrator (CUDA) between the 980 and the 970 ?