MP 6,1 MXM adaptor card for GPU replacement?

[PsychoSync]

Hi

First of all, i don't even own a trashcan Mac Pro. But that idea has been in my head for a while and now i just want to ask the community if what i'm thinking of is feasible.

One of the biggest culprit of the MP 6,1 from what i've seen on many review videos and discussions are the only proprietary GPU options. But wouldn't it be possible to design a PCB which has the exact same shape as a D300 with screw holes in the exact same places to mount the card and on that card there would be an MXM connector to slot in any GPU?

I know it's easier said than done but once all precise measurements are done, screw holes in the exact spot, power posts and the big connector to interface GPU daughter card, the project could be sent to a company like PCBway or any other.

The cooling is another thing to think about...

What do you think? Possible? Nonsense?

 

[tsialex]

Hi

First of all, i don't even own a trashcan Mac Pro. But that idea has been in my head for a while and now i just want to ask the community if what i'm thinking of is feasible.

One of the biggest culprit of the MP 6,1 from what i've seen on many review videos and discussions are the only proprietary GPU options. But wouldn't it be possible to design a PCB which has the exact same shape as a D300 with screw holes in the exact same places to mount the card and on that card there would be an MXM connector to slot in any GPU?

I know it's easier said than done but once all precise measurements are done, screw holes in the exact spot, power posts and the big connector to interface GPU daughter card, the project could be sent to a company like PCBway or any other.

The cooling is another thing to think about...

What do you think? Possible? Nonsense?

First of all, it's not just a simple MXM format conversion adapter, like using an MXM GPU with a desktop PC PCIe slot.

MacPro6,1 GPUs are extremely complex circuitry and require muxes to DisplayPort/Thunderbolt, PCIe switch connection for the flash storage 12+16 slot, direct DXO connection between A&B GPU, etc etc. Everything needs to interact and work perfectly. Also, forgot another very important thing, it's a two PCB project, since the GPU A and GPU B have different functions and completely opposing power input connections, I doubt that would be possible to do just one PCB.

Possible? As I always say, anything is possible with enough money and hours of development invested. Thus, it is definitely possible to recreate MacPro6,1 GPUs with modern GPU processors.

Viable? Even with all the reverse engineering already done by @CodeJingle a few years ago and published in a 45 pages thread here, I would say that it is not feasible due to the complexity and cost of the project. If it were feasible within a reasonable economic cost, some hardware company would have done it years ago. Doing it nowadays is just throw money away, since the project will never pay for itself.

 

[appltech]

There is a solution, sure thing a costly one:

Use an external graphics processor with your Mac - Apple Support

Learn how to access additional graphics performance by connecting to an external graphics processor.

support.apple.com

 

[deconstruct60]

There is a solution, sure thing a costly one:

Use an external graphics processor with your Mac - Apple Support

Learn how to access additional graphics performance by connecting to an external graphics processor.

support.apple.com

Apple's technical support requirements are right there in the first sentence. "Your Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac ..."
Apple doesn't support this on 6,1 (It is one of the very first TBv2 systems; not TBv3). There is hackery to force it to work over Thunderbolt 2 , but there are good reasons why Apple doesn't support it (substantially slower).

If 6,1's GPUs are not indicating any problems , then TBv2 may bring more issues than already have.



P.S. MxM really isn't a formal standard. The sockets are not necessarily multigenerational. Even if someone came up with a Rube Goldberg clone card .... long term there would be MxM issues also.

 

[TheBigHunt]

Nothing is impossible ;-)
The idea is just crazy and a crowdfunding would be so cool...
I dont have a clue about the complexity of a such adventure... and I guess it must be super complex...
But
Maybe another idea could be to "bridge" one of the TB2 port to a "standard" GPU that we would replace the 2nd GPU (that is mainly used for calculation as only the first one is use for the display) and then switch to this second GPU for the display?

I would imagine a small factor modern GPU connected using an interface we can find in eGPU cases, all this stick in place of the second GPU. Of course, it would requiers electricity as well... but each original GPU as elec coming to it.

Small factor GPU can be very small, and modern are not so hot in terms of temp!

What do you think about this?