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MP 1,1-5,1 RX 580, 5700, or 5700 XT Cards that don't block the second PCIE slot?

I

igmgentry

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2016
24
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Ellijay, GA
I'm looking for cards that have actually been tried that are not blocking the second PCIE slot in your cheese grater. I have the Sapphire Pulse Nitro RX580 at the moment and while it has been rock solid in both Mojave and Catalina it blocks the second slot which I would like to use. So I'm looking for specific models of cards that you have used that don't block the slot. I may upgrade to the 5700 or 5700 XT if it's not going to cause me headaches. But I'm interested in 580 models that don't block the slot as well.

Thanks in advance!


Editing this first post with the answers received so far in case it helps anyone else and saves them some time.

Cards that don't block the second PCIe slot.
RX580 Family
Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB (Blower Style - May need to remove two screws on PCIe connection side to fit)
MSI Armor RX 580 8GB
Gigabyte Aorus RX580 8GB (Macvid cards sells a version of this that gives boot screens)


RX5700 Family
Sapphire RX 5700 XT 8GB (Blower Style)
 
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Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB model. Some machines require removing two screws on the PCIe connection side on the card to better "fit" in the machine.

See these threads:
forums.macrumors.com

MP5,1 & Sapphire PULSE RX580 8GB - Spacer/Wedge for PCIe Slot 2?

Does anyone know of a legitimate non-conductive spacer or wedge to use with the Sapphire PULSE RX580 8GB in an official MacPro 5,1 (Mid-2012) for the card in PCIe Slot #2? Looking for some kind of pad in the area around the first fan so it does not knock, hit or interfere with the PCIe card...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com

RX580 Audio interference

So, anyone else getting hum from speakers connected to their 4,1 or 5,1 when doing graphical things since installing the RX580? By which I mean, when I quicklook an image in finder, I have a buzz coming from the attached speakers while the image is opening out, or in Aperture, the speakers hum...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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I used a Sapphire RX 5700 XT as well as a same model recommended in post #2, Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB

The RX 5700 XT is a reference model blower cooler card and is only 2 slots. I haven't really paid attention to any of the AIB card version so no idea if for example the RX 5700 XT Pulse model is 2 slot or not. RX 580 Pulse is also 2 slot, but for whatever reason some folks have had challenges putting certain cards directly above it in slot #2. YMMV I guess because I never expierenced that issue and I installed a Nvidia GT120, Sonnet USB 3.0 card, and an Aquacomputer PCIe NVMe adapter for a 970 EVO....all of them fit just fine in slot #2 so I have no idea why anyone else struggled
 
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I've been using a Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 XT 8GB in a Sonnet eGFX 650 OC eGPU and it's a quiet GPU. There is a BIOS switch on the GPU for silent mode, but there is very little difference under load. Personally think it's quieter than Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB.
 
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Separate machine/setup. Just providing additional info to the OP who's considering these.
Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB in MP5,1 Slot #1 as noted in #2 above.
 
Without going OT, does eGPU work well in a mini?
(noticed your sig is no longer shown)
 
AMD 5XXX series drivers do not work well in Catalina 10.15.2, especially with METAL. Apple (and AMD?) have serious work to do before W5700X is made available for MP7,1.
 
My MSI Armor RX 580 8gb is a 2 slot card in slot 1.

I have a Samsung 970 EVO Plus on an adapter in slot 2 with a little clearance left.
 
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bsbeamer said:
AMD 5XXX series drivers do not work well in Catalina 10.15.2, especially with METAL. Apple (and AMD?) have serious work to do before W5700X is made available for MP7,1.
Click to expand...
Oooh! I didn't realize this, I have seen several posts with people who are using them and figured it was a good upgrade. Sounds like I might be better off just hunting down a slimmer RX580.
 
igmgentry said:
@skizzo How is the noise on that blower style 5700 XT?
Click to expand...

I can't provide a great answer for a use case in macOS because I haven't used it much in macOS. I actually now have that GPU H20 cooled in my hackintosh, the majority of it's use is games in Windows 10. And it got 99% of it's use in Windows 10 when it was using the stock cooler in the Mac Pro. Under standard office conditions its super quiet. in macOS I mainly just do audio/music related stuff and that doesn't stress the GPU. when using the stock cooler I insisted on undervolting and slight underclock with a custom fan curve to have the quietest possible experience while keeping the card reasonably cool (hot spot/junction temp stayed under 90*C), but again that was Windows. I never ended up using any custom power play table to create those same adjustments in macOS but they are out there if you want to use them. I do think it can get loud under extended heavy loads without those adjustments I mentioned. The stock fan curve favors high temps in exchange for a quiet GPU and of course no one likes a loud GPU so I thought it did do a good job finding a middle ground with said adjustments
 
Thanks everyone for the answers so far, I've made a short list of what you have responded with so far in the first post just to make it easy if anyone else is looking. I'll update it if I get more responses.
 
^^^^Old post! As I recall the fee to flash the card was $150. And I furnished the card.

Lou
 
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igmgentry said:
I'm looking for cards that have actually been tried that are not blocking the second PCIE slot in your cheese grater. I have the Sapphire Pulse Nitro RX580 at the moment and while it has been rock solid in both Mojave and Catalina it blocks the second slot which I would like to use. So I'm looking for specific models of cards that you have used that don't block the slot. I may upgrade to the 5700 or 5700 XT if it's not going to cause me headaches. But I'm interested in 580 models that don't block the slot as well.

Thanks in advance!


Editing this first post with the answers received so far in case it helps anyone else and saves them some time.

Cards that don't block the second PCIe slot.
RX580 Family
Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB (Blower Style - May need to remove two screws on PCIe connection side to fit)
MSI Armor RX 580 8GB
Gigabyte Aorus RX580 8GB (Macvid cards sells a version of this that gives boot screens)


RX5700 Family
Sapphire RX 5700 XT 8GB (Blower Style)
Click to expand...
I want to add also my experience. Also the Radeon rx 5700 xt 50th anniversary edition fits well: it's exactly 40 mm. See pictures (here with a nvidia quadro for mac in the second slot).
 

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MarkC426 said:
That ’completely‘ blocks the 5700 fan..... 😬
Click to expand...
I put the nvidia quadro only to demonstrate it's possible to use the second slot :)
with that beast of 5700 you don't need an additional graphics card: I'm going to use the second slot for a nvme adaptor so the fan is free.
 
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My XFX AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS XXX Edition 8GB GDDR5 doesn't block one PCIe slot.
This is my configuration: GPU, Innateck USB 3.0; NVME, SATA card. No issues at the moment. Both fans working.
 

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