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nMP GPU Mezzanine Connector
- Thread starter jonisign
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I doubt it will ever happen.
The cards have more in common with MXM cards as the display outputs are also on there. May also be something connected to the TB2 switches.
And obviously the PCIE SSD is routed through one.
They are delicate connectors, when I busted out my Torx Security set and removed them I was impressed by 2 things.
1. Much more involved and dangerous procedure than taking out a cMP card.
2. A ham handed idiot could damage those cables and/or connectors.
The cards have more in common with MXM cards as the display outputs are also on there. May also be something connected to the TB2 switches.
And obviously the PCIE SSD is routed through one.
They are delicate connectors, when I busted out my Torx Security set and removed them I was impressed by 2 things.
1. Much more involved and dangerous procedure than taking out a cMP card.
2. A ham handed idiot could damage those cables and/or connectors.
Right, my google searching hasn't found anyone who has done this.
In theory, it should be possible to figure this out, and if you did, you could hook up GPU of your choosing into the nMP provided that you pick one that fits and you can line it up with the heat sink.
This would involve making your own circuit board which pulls in PCIe signals from the PCIe slot on the GPU and DisplayPort signals from the traditional DisplayPorts on the back end of the GPU, and sending them to the mezzanine connector in the right way. Similarly, you'd want to know which pins correspond to power, which you would pull off the mezzanine connector and route up to 6/8 pin PCIe power for the GPU.
This is no task for the "ham handed" idiot and would be a significant home engineering project.
In theory, it should be possible to figure this out, and if you did, you could hook up GPU of your choosing into the nMP provided that you pick one that fits and you can line it up with the heat sink.
This would involve making your own circuit board which pulls in PCIe signals from the PCIe slot on the GPU and DisplayPort signals from the traditional DisplayPorts on the back end of the GPU, and sending them to the mezzanine connector in the right way. Similarly, you'd want to know which pins correspond to power, which you would pull off the mezzanine connector and route up to 6/8 pin PCIe power for the GPU.
This is no task for the "ham handed" idiot and would be a significant home engineering project.
You would then have to deal with the cooling system that your off the shelf card isn't meant to work with... And in anycase, except for really cheap low power GPUs there isn't any card that would fit in the case except maybe some MXM but those are also hard to get. This would also instantly void any waranty.
And all this for a machine that isn't really all that popular (in number sold) in the first place.
Pretty obvious that Apple never intended anyone other than an Apple Certified Parts Swapper from working on them.
I don't see anyone other than Apple, AMD or Nvidia making these, or adapters to use MXM or external cards.
Would be amazing if Nvidia decided to offer modern GPUs for 6,1. Imagine if they even included a 2nd PCIE SSD for M2 connection on 2nd card, giving users greater upgrade options. Cupertino would NEVER FORGIVE THEM. Keep in mind Nvidia could do this, they have an MXM version of 980 that is as fast as their desktop reference 980.
Especially upsetting if they could somehow pipe their HDMI 2.0 support to the built in HDMI. We can dream...
There's also the issue that the small power supply on the MP6,1 might have trouble running even one interesting off the shelf GPU.
True–– a brief google check says that the D700 is 130W, which is pretty close to the GTX 970's 140W, and definitely enough for the GTX 960 120W. You could probably do dual GTX 970's down clocked a bit and hit the 130W power target just fine. As mentioned, there are MXM versions of the GTX 970 that might fit.
As for the cooling solution, it looks like there are copper contacts on the heat sink and where the GPU, memory, and power circuitry connect. Not sure what the other black material is around those copper contacts. Is that aluminum, or some kind of plastic?
Anyways, figuring out the mezzanine connector I/O is the most pressing thing for this project I think. Any one friends with a Mac Pro engineer?
Page 44-45 has the pinouts for MXM:
www.nvidia.com/object/IO_13290.html
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Obviously not, but as Apple was able to oversubscribe the existing lanes for the TB2 ports, could add a PCIE switch for 2nd drive. My second D300 sits for days on end doing nothing, meanwhile requiring 16 PCIE 3.0 lanes. Many better uses for them, like a 2nd drive.
Presumably those PCIe lanes for the SSD could be passed right from the mezzanine connector to the PCB of the GPU to the SDD, without actually touching the logic of the GPU.
Actually they are - there are four unused pCIe 2.0 lanes on the PEX in the 6,1.
I hear Apple is going to build a new MacPro with 4 PCIE slots, Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, and offer everyone who bought a MacPro6,1 a trade in program.
That's more likely to happen than the 6,1 ever getting a GPU upgrade. Face it, Apple decided to build disposable MacPro's, when their space heater AMD cards fail, it will be time to toss them in the recycle bin.
That's more likely to happen than the 6,1 ever getting a GPU upgrade. Face it, Apple decided to build disposable MacPro's, when their space heater AMD cards fail, it will be time to toss them in the recycle bin.