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MP All Models SOLVED: 8k Displays Running on Mac Pro? Any? What Video cards would work that support 8k HDMI 2.1/Displayport 1.4/2.0 displays on Mac Pro? YES you can

ZombiePhysicist

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
Original poster
May 22, 2014
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2,807
UPDATE 2023-06-04:
Some discussion of dot pitch and distance from screen




What the set up looks like


UPDATE 2021-12-26: A first solution can be found here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...2-0-displays-on-mac-pro.2309750/post-30729673

UPDATE 2021-12-19: (Some failed tests I tried to get it to work) https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...2-0-displays-on-mac-pro.2309750/post-30712355



ORIGINAL POST:

So after following this thread, I'm thinking of finally replacing my 6 30" Cinema Displays with one or 2 8k displays. They have finally gotten cheap enough that it's worth a try. The question is, what graphics cards support 8k displays on the Mac Pro (mine is a 7,1 and currently has a 9100WX with 6 display ports that I dont think will do the job)?

The new AMD Radeon 6xxx series supports HDMI 2.1 (which supports 8k) on their native cards but apple's version seem to be only HDMI 2.0, which is astounding as they would have had to have worked more to cripple their displays:

www.apple.com

Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module

To push your graphics performance even further, choose the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module, which is ideal for even the most demanding multi-GPU pro applications. The module has two W6800X GPUs, each with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. The two GPUs are connected...
www.apple.com

www.apple.com

Radeon Pro W6800X MPX Module

For workstation-class graphics and demanding pro applications, choose the Radeon Pro W6800X MPX Module with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. You can install up to two in your Mac Pro using Infinity Fabric Link for enhanced multi-GPU performance in applications like...
www.apple.com

www.apple.com

Radeon Pro W6900X MPX Module

For the maximum workstation-class graphics and demanding pro applications, choose the Radeon Pro W6900X MPX Module with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. You can install up to two in your Mac Pro using Infinity Fabric Link for enhanced multi-GPU performance in...
www.apple.com

So one option is to ignore the apple offerings and just get one of the PC AMD 6000series cards with a confirmed 2.1 HDMI port. Or perhaps apple's cards do have HDMI 2.1 or can drive 8k monitors?


I was thinking of getting this 8k display and maybe some of these adapters would work?

buy.geni.us

Maxonar USB C to DisplayPort VESA Certified, 8K 60Hz Non-Bidirectional Type C to DP Cable 6.6FT/2M(4K 60Hz 144Hz 120Hz) 32.4Gbps 1.4 HBR3 Alt Mode Video Adapter for iM1 MacBook Pro Mac Mini, XPS 15

Compatible Devices (NOT A FULL LIST): Mac & PC: Apple MacBook Pro (Late 2016 and newer), MacBook (Early 2015 and newer), MacBook Air (Late 2018 and newer) iMac (Mid 2017 and newer), iMac Pro, Mac Mini (Late 2018 and newer) Surface Book 2, Surface Go; Google Chromebook Pixel (2015), PixelBook, Pix...
buy.geni.us

or these together might be better:

buy.geni.us

Cable Matters 48Gbps USB C to HDMI 2.1 Adapter, Support 8K 60Hz / 4K 240Hz HDR, Thunderbolt 4 to HDMI 2.1, HDMI 2.1 to USB C Adapter, Compatible with iPhone 16/15 - Max Resolution on Mac is 4K@60Hz

Cable Matters 48Gbps USB C to HDMI 2.1 Adapter, Support 8K 60Hz / 4K 240Hz HDR, Thunderbolt 4 to HDMI 2.1, HDMI 2.1 to USB C Adapter, Compatible with iPhone 16/15 - Max Resolution on Mac is 4K@60Hz
buy.geni.us
buy.geni.us

Highwings 8K 10K HDMI Cable 48Gbps 6.6FT/2M, Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable Braided Cord-4K@120Hz 8K@60Hz, DTS:X, HDCP 2.2 & 2.3, HDR 10 Compatible with Roku TV/PS5/HDTV/Blu-ray

8k hdmi
buy.geni.us

And might need this software to help:

This TV seems pretty nice and is currently $2900 and $500 amazon kickback, so $2400. Seems like a killer deal.
www.amazon.com

SAMSUNG 65-Inch Class Neo QLED 8K QN800A Series - 8K UHD Quantum HDR 32x Smart TV with Alexa Built-in (QN65QN800AFXZA, 2021 Model)

Discover Samsung innovation with our awe-inspiring QLED 8K TVs.
www.amazon.com


Has anyone tried any of this to work? Appreciate any pointers or thoughts.
 
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mystery hill said:
What distance will you be sitting from the TV?
Click to expand...

I think somewhere between 24-32". That's how close my 6 30" displays are, so this should work well. Unfortunately none of the 8k displays are curved. However, my 3 across 30" screens span between about 75" and 80" wide, so the 65" screen will be much more in my field of view.
 
Note that QLED is not OLED and is essentially the same LED local dimming technology as the Pro Display XDR which you called "crap".

As far as I know the only 8k OLED screen is the LG 88 inch Z1 which costs $30k.
 
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jmho said:
Note that QLED is not OLED and is essentially the same LED local dimming technology as the Pro Display XDR which you called "crap".

As far as I know the only 8k OLED screen is the LG 88 inch Z1 which costs $30k.
Click to expand...

Agreed. There is no replacement for OLED for now (well there is micro led, but for now it's only available on Samsungs giant expensive wall product). And agree, it's crap compared to OLED, and probably even crappier than apple's XDR tech.

Color fidelity for me is not paramount. I'm currently living with my ancient 30" cinema displays which are frankly garbage by modern standards. Eventually I want to get 8k OLED, but right now LG is the only maker of a 77" and 88" models costing 20 or 30k.

And for now, I value desk space resolution over black level or color fidelity performance, so it's a compromise to be sure.
 
jmho said:
One option I guess is you could buy 4x LG C1 48 inch screens and then make one giant makeshift 8k 96" OLED monster that could be driven at 120hz if you have enough outputs.
Click to expand...

True, and and a cool idea.

Although I'd really love to move to full 8k. It basically would let me pare down (I think) from my 6 screens to 1. And there is something really nice (to my mind) and tidy about needing only one display (albeit a sizable one).
 
I found this article informative.

blog.startech.com

The IT Professional’s Guide to 8K Connectivity

From 1080p to 8K, the world of display resolutions has experienced impressive advancements. With our Guide to 8K Connectivity, we'll help take the guess work out of upgrading your workplace display systems to the latest resolutions.
blog.startech.com blog.startech.com

Enable8K-01.png

DataCapacity_Rev3.png


Display port 2.0 will have around 80gbps throughput and can support crazy stuff but still not coming out till later this year. HDMI 2.1 does 48gbps and supports 8k fully.

But, you only need around 25gbps to do 8k at 30fps and frankly that would be fine. So a lot of display port 1.4 ports in can support 8k at 30fps, and of course HDMI 2.1 does 8k as well.
 
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ZombiePhysicist said:
I found this article informative.

blog.startech.com

The IT Professional’s Guide to 8K Connectivity

From 1080p to 8K, the world of display resolutions has experienced impressive advancements. With our Guide to 8K Connectivity, we'll help take the guess work out of upgrading your workplace display systems to the latest resolutions.
blog.startech.com blog.startech.com

Enable8K-01.png

DataCapacity_Rev3.png


Display port 2.0 will have around 80gbps throughput and can support crazy stuff but still not coming out till later this year. HDMI 2.1 does 48gbps and supports 8k fully.

But, you only need around 25gbps to do 8k at 30fps and frankly that would be fine. So a lot of display port 1.4 ports in can support 8k at 30fps, and of course HDMI 2.1 does 8k as well.
Click to expand...
They mixed up data bandwidth and wire bandwidth but the conclusion remains unchanged.

24.48 Gbps and 49.65 Gbps may be valid data bandwidth (but it doesn't look like they used CVT-RB or CVT-RB2 or HDMI timings to calculate those).

DisplayPort 1.2 is actually 17.28 Gbps because 8b/10b (it takes 10 bits on the wire to encode 8 bits of data).
DisplayPort 1.4 is actually 25.92 Gbps because ditto.
DisplayPort 2.0 is actually 77.37 Gbps because 128b/132b and FEC.
HDMI 2.1 is actually 42.67 Gbps because 16b/18b.

They mentioned DSC which can effectively double the bandwidth (I think 3:1 is possible but Apple does 2:1 if they enable DSC at all - Big Sur doesn't enable DSC in some (most?) situations). Another way to double the bandwidth is to use 4:2:0 chroma sub sampling (chroma sub sampling reduces color resolution but luminance is still max resolution). DisplayPort 1.2 can't do 4:2:0 but it can do 4:2:2 which allows for 150% bandwidth.

I don't think anyone has shown 8K60 support in macOS from DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.1 adapters. There's a couple of these conversion chips:
- Synaptics VMM6100 as in the Cable Matters 201388.
- Realtek RTD2173 as in the Club 3D CAC-1085.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ransfers-recommendation.2278473/post-29466205

I don't think anyone has shown 8K60 support in macOS from HDMI 2.1 ports of AMD 6000 series cards? (not MPX modules)

I can get 8K30 from DisplayPort 1.4 (RGB, no DSC) in macOS at least. I don't have any display that can do 8K60 yet.
 
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joevt said:
They mixed up data bandwidth and wire bandwidth but the conclusion remains unchanged.

24.48 Gbps and 49.65 Gbps may be valid data bandwidth (but it doesn't look like they used CVT-RB or CVT-RB2 or HDMI timings to calculate those).

DisplayPort 1.2 is actually 17.28 Gbps because 8b/10b (it takes 10 bits on the wire to encode 8 bits of data).
DisplayPort 1.4 is actually 25.92 Gbps because ditto.
DisplayPort 2.0 is actually 77.37 Gbps because 128b/132b and FEC.
HDMI 2.1 is actually 42.67 Gbps because 16b/18b.

They mentioned DSC which can effectively double the bandwidth (I think 3:1 is possible but Apple does 2:1 if they enable DSC at all - Big Sur doesn't enable DSC in some (most?) situations). Another way to double the bandwidth is to use 4:2:0 chroma sub sampling (chroma sub sampling reduces color resolution but luminance is still max resolution). DisplayPort 1.2 can't do 4:2:0 but it can do 4:2:2 which allows for 150% bandwidth.

I don't think anyone has shown 8K60 support in macOS from DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.1 adapters. There's a couple of these conversion chips:
- Synaptics VMM6100 as in the Cable Matters 201388.
- Realtek RTD2173 as in the Club 3D CAC-1085.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ransfers-recommendation.2278473/post-29466205

I don't think anyone has shown 8K60 support in macOS from HDMI 2.1 ports of AMD 6000 series cards? (not MPX modules)

I can get 8K30 from DisplayPort 1.4 (RGB, no DSC) in macOS at least. I don't have any display that can do 8K60 yet.
Click to expand...

do you have a display doing 8k@30. That would be enough for me for now. What card/display setup are you using. Thanks!
 
ZombiePhysicist said:
do you have a display doing 8k@30. That would be enough for me for now. What card/display setup are you using. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I think any AMD card supporting DisplayPort 1.4 should work. I have W7500 and RX 580.

The display is an Acer XV273K. It's a 4K display but it accepts a 8K 30Hz signal from DisplayPort 1.4. SwitchResX and AGDCDiagnose and the display's onscreen menu show the output signal is 8K30. The scaling to 4K is done by the display. The Dell UP3218K is a real 8K display that also support 8K30 from macOS (with help from SwitchReX). It has a dual tile 8K60 mode but macOS doesn't support arbitrary dual tile displays (macOS supports dual tile SST for 5K60 and 6K60 and dual tile MST for 4K60 but not dual tile SST 8K60 or 4K144). The Acer XV273K has a dual tile 4K144 mode but I haven't gotten it to work in macOS.

You'll probably be wanting a HDMI 2.1 display. Support for 8K on those might be problematic because of macOS limits for HDMI. We need people to report their failures or successes. Maybe a patch can fix it (Lilu + Whatevergreen) if there's a problem.
 
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The Dell UP3218K will get you 8K@30Hz with a single DP cable.

Other option is to wait for the ViewSonic VP3286-8K, which should work at 8K@60Hz with a single cable and DSC.

UPDATE: I got the Dell UP3218K working at 8K @ 60Hz by plugging in both cables and use one-key-hidpi to enable HiDPI and then used SwitchResX to change both sides of the screen to 1920x2160 HiDPI mode.
 
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Pressure said:
The Dell UP3218K will get you 8K@30Hz with a single DP cable.

Other option is to wait for the ViewSonic VP3286-8K, which should work at 8K@60Hz with a single cable and DSC.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm trying to use a TV. I think the 8K TVs are really good for the amount of display area I want. With the 27-32" monitors, the resolution will either be way too small, or at a level of sharpness that is meaningless to me. Plus, they are at better price points right now.
 
ZombiePhysicist said:
The question is, what graphics cards support 8k displays on the Mac Pro (mine is a 7,1 and currently has a 9100WX with 6 display ports that I dont think will do the job)?
...
The new AMD Radeon 6xxx series supports HDMI 2.1 (which supports 8k) on their native cards but apple's version seem to be only HDMI 2.0, which is astounding as they would have had to have worked more to cripple their displays
...
Has anyone tried any of this to work? Appreciate any pointers or thoughts.
Click to expand...

I have an AMD 6800 XT card in a Chroma egpu box, as well as a Samsung Q800 75" 8K monitor. I do get an 8K virtual desktop, but still not able to transfer an 8K signal to the TV. Even with SwitchResX it gets downsampled to 4K over either HDMI or Displayport 1.4. The card itself should support 8K, s well as the TV - so it seams there is a limitation in the MacOS or the AMD 6800/6900 driver that Apple has developed. I have tried different versions of MacOS Big Sur and Monterey.

Any news from others in the Mac community about getting 8k on MacOS?
 
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ZombiePhysicist said:
Thanks. I'm trying to use a TV. I think the 8K TVs are really good for the amount of display area I want. With the 27-32" monitors, the resolution will either be way too small, or at a level of sharpness that is meaningless to me. Plus, they are at better price points right now.
Click to expand...
Only problem with 8K right now is that the support functions like menu bars, dialog boxes, dock and other non size-adjustable displays are really tiny!!.......& hard to read.
 
Tbro2 said:
Only problem with 8K right now is that the support functions like menu bars, dialog boxes, dock and other non size-adjustable displays are really tiny!!.......& hard to read.
Click to expand...

Right, but Dell's 32" 8k display is 4k@2x which should theoretically be fine in terms of legibility.

Also, the Dock is literally size adjustable.
 
Last edited:
mattspace said:
Right, but Dell's 32" 8k display is 4k@2x which should theoretically be fine in terms of legibility.

Also, the Dock is literally size adjustable.
Click to expand...
It is extremely usable. I can't imagine having less real estate after using 4K HiDPI for the last few years on a 32" monitor.
 
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mattspace said:
Right, but Dell's 32" 8k display is 4k@2x which should theoretically be fine in terms of legibility.
Click to expand...
"Looks like 3840x2160" is probably usable but the Dell UP3218K has a higher DPI than even the UltraFine and XDR displays. But considering that I use the XDR's default "Looks like 3K" HiDPI mode on a 27 inch 4K display, I think it would be fine.
 
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joevt said:
But considering that I use the XDR's default "Looks like 3K" HiDPI mode on a 27 inch 4K display, I think it would be fine.
Click to expand...
3840×2160 HiDPI on a 27" 5K is fun too, although that's pushing it just a bit for me.
 
Last edited:
Arvine said:
I have an AMD 6800 XT card in a Chroma egpu box, as well as a Samsung Q800 75" 8K monitor. I do get an 8K virtual desktop, but still not able to transfer an 8K signal to the TV. Even with SwitchResX it gets downsampled to 4K over either HDMI or Displayport 1.4. The card itself should support 8K, s well as the TV - so it seams there is a limitation in the MacOS or the AMD 6800/6900 driver that Apple has developed. I have tried different versions of MacOS Big Sur and Monterey.

Any news from others in the Mac community about getting 8k on MacOS?
Click to expand...
Short update here. Still no 8K signal to monitor/tv using AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT using latest version of MacOS Monterey 12.0.1. Resulr is the same as for the beta versions. The desktop is 8K but the signal transferred to Samsung Q800 8k TV over hdmi 2.1 (or DisplayPort 1.4 using HDMI 2.1 converter) is 4K@60hz. Looks like HDMI 2.0 timings. Needless to say, both the GPU and the TV supports 8K HDMI 2.1.

Have anyone tried the new MacBook Pro M1 Pro / Max with 8K over Thunderbolt 4 / DisplayPort ?
 
Arvine said:
Short update here. Still no 8K signal to monitor/tv using AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT using latest version of MacOS Monterey 12.0.1. Resulr is the same as for the beta versions. The desktop is 8K but the signal transferred to Samsung Q800 8k TV over hdmi 2.1 (or DisplayPort 1.4 using HDMI 2.1 converter) is 4K@60hz. Looks like HDMI 2.0 timings. Needless to say, both the GPU and the TV supports 8K HDMI 2.1.

Have anyone tried the new MacBook Pro M1 Pro / Max with 8K over Thunderbolt 4 / DisplayPort ?
Click to expand...
Have you tried with SwitchResX?
 
Pressure said:
The Dell UP3218K will get you 8K@30Hz with a single DP cable.

Other option is to wait for the ViewSonic VP3286-8K, which should work at 8K@60Hz with a single cable and DSC.

UPDATE: I got the Dell UP3218K working at 8K @ 60Hz by plugging in both cables and use one-key-hidpi to enable HiDPI and then used SwitchResX to change both sides of the screen to 1920x2160 HiDPI mode.
Click to expand...
Hi there!

Highly interested in your setting! :) I was considering buying the XDR because of the screen resolution (I do mainly coding), but if you managed to get it running Mac OS with a 8k monitor, I think many of us would be interested in knowing your configuration, if you don't mind? ?
 
Lee2111 said:
Hi there!

Highly interested in your setting! :) I was considering buying the XDR because of the screen resolution (I do mainly coding), but if you managed to get it running Mac OS with a 8k monitor, I think many of us would be interested in knowing your configuration, if you don't mind? ?
Click to expand...
Sure thing, you can read about it here.
 
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Pressure said:
Have you tried with SwitchResX?
Click to expand...
Yes I got a tip from @joevt to use SwitchResX. It helped to choose an 8K virtual desktop, as the MacOS Display Prefs has no option to choose 8K. But still it is only a 4K@60hz video signal that gets transferred to the TV. A screendump though will create a perfect 8K desktop image.

@Pressure here reports 8k@60hz but this is to "fool" the MacOS into believing the Dell UP3218K is actuallly two monitors (if I understand it correctly). But not all 8K monitors/TVs can spilt the screen into two (PiP).

I have not yet heard of anyone being able to get a "single desktop" 8K signal to a TV/monitor from a Mac. Not even a 8K@30hz signal. Seams to be limitations in MacOS og video drivers. Limitations connected to HDMI 2.1 and/or DSC?
 
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Arvine said:
Yes I got a tip from @joevt to use SwitchResX. It helped to choose an 8K virtual desktop, as the MacOS Display Prefs has no option to choose 8K. But still it is only a 4K@60hz video signal that gets transferred to the TV. A screendump though will create a perfect 8K desktop image.

@Pressure here reports 8k@60hz but this is to "fool" the MacOS into believing the Dell UP3218K is actuallly two monitors (if I understand it correctly). But not all 8K monitors/TVs can spilt the screen into two (PiP).

I have not yet heard of anyone being able to get a "single desktop" 8K signal to a TV/monitor from a Mac. Not even a 8K@30hz signal. Seams to be limitations in MacOS og video drivers. Limitations connected to HDMI 2.1 and/or DSC?
Click to expand...
I can drive the Dell UP3218K with a single DP cable at 8K@30Hz, so the limitation must be HDMI.
 
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