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Upgrading GPU options for MacPro (2010) running Yosemite for photography and games
- Thread starter dadama
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Upgraded from what? The question I need answering is it any better than a GTX570 for video editing with Premiere Pro? If it were silent but equal performance that would be enough to make me upgrade as the GTX570 I have is definitely noisier than the original Mac cards that I had in my 3,1 over the years (Radeon HD 2600 GeForce 8800 GT, Radeon HD 5770).
Gav Mack
macrumors 68020
I can confirm that my 680 in my 3,1 is much quieter than a 570 with a little bit more performance. It's a Kepler which uses much less power than the Fermi 570.
Sounds good. Is that a PC GTX680? The Mac version is a bit too expensive for my pocket. Is it possible to flash a PC GTX680 to a Mac version?
Gav Mack
macrumors 68020
Yes. I bought an EVGA PC card 2Gb identical for less than half the Mac Edition card and DIY flashed it in bootcamp.
Gav Mack
macrumors 68020
You got it! Anything used with a return option on eBay that looks like the Mac edition card does for me. You will need two PCIe power extension cables but the 570 should have them anyway.
That ROM on that thread is the 4gb model, different ROM required for the 2gb 680.
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You can bootcamp - its a bit tricker since you can't hold down option and select the boot disk due to lack of bootscreen. But you can use the startup disk to flip between OSX boot and Windows boot.
Even better - use Bootchamp to boot into windows from OSX - it only holds true for 1 boot, so you don't have to use the startup disk setting to go back to OSX - next boot will do it. If for some reason windows can't boot up, this way you'll be able to get back to OSX without being hosed.
Still good to have a bootscreen card availible in case of emergencies -- my GTX 970 requires the nvidia web drivers to work, so if for any reason those don't work (OSX update), i need to put back in my GT 120 to be able to use the system.
Check out Quickboot. I find it more convenient than Bootchamp as you can boot from other Mac OS volumes (handy for rebuilding your directory with Disk Warrior) as well as a Windows Bootcamp. Either puts you back into Mac OS once you restart from Windows.
If not having a boot screen bothers you, just get your hands on a GT120 and leave it plugged into your Mac. The mac OS can have different video cards pulgged into them. Then when you need a boot screen, move the monitor cable to the GT120 and you are good to go.
Thats only if you don't want to flash your video card, or if the card in question doesn't have a Mac compatible ROM.
Actually having a cheap card like the GT120 on hand is also helpful if you are trying to troubleshoot video card problems.
Thats only if you don't want to flash your video card, or if the card in question doesn't have a Mac compatible ROM.
Actually having a cheap card like the GT120 on hand is also helpful if you are trying to troubleshoot video card problems.
That works fine for OSX, but when I have a GT120 and GTX 970 in my system at the same time, Windows 7 crashes during boot. Only workaround I found was to boot into safe mode and disable the GT120 card in the device manager -- but then the GTX970 won't start up correctly, so its unusable. I didn't have the same problem with a 7950 and GT120 coexisting, but maybe because they're two radically different drivers.
I agree having a GT120 available is a good idea, but it might cause problems in windows.
m4v3r1ck
macrumors 68030
I would like to add a tip to this helpful post!
Besides my - non flashed - GTX 670 connected to my main 24" HP monitor, I just connected my old 8800GT MAC to a even older 19" Syncmaster. You can buy 15-19" one for cheap
I use the 19" for maintenance purposes and e.g activity monitor and console.
Cheers
Another question regarding PC cards. Is there any reason to suspect that they cannot be colour calibrated accurately ? Would flashing the card or any other mod make a difference?
I'm thinking not or at least nothing that can't be addressed via hardware calibration (Spyder/Xrite).
I'm thinking not or at least nothing that can't be addressed via hardware calibration (Spyder/Xrite).
Hmm, now that is an interesting approach to using dual monitors.
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Ok, yeah I didn't realize that having two video cards installed when booting into Windows would cause Win7 to puke like that.
I don't ever boot into windows with the Mac Pro, I do have bootcamp installed though, but I just access windows via parallels. Since I haven't had a windows only game on my machine in a few years.
I have only been running this dual video card setup for the past couple of weeks, so I hadn't thought of the windows issues.
Does anyone esle out there run into the same problem?
Gav Mack
macrumors 68020
With the 680 the flash effectively changes the PC card into the EVGA Mac Edition. My PC EVGA 680 looks identical to the Mac version minus the sticker!
m4v3r1ck
macrumors 68030
Additional: Depending on the inputs on your monitor (DVI) you can als connect a 2nd video-cable from your 120GT to it and switch inputs #1 and #2, if available of-course.
Cheers
People were mentioning the PNY GTX 970 as an upgrade for the Mac Pro.
Understand that you won't have a boot screen with it, but it doesn't require to be flashed if you use the Nvidia drivers. However, does this card require an extra power supply?
I'm interested in getting this card just due to the ports and it seems like the GTX 970 is the sweet spot for price/performance right now.
Understand that you won't have a boot screen with it, but it doesn't require to be flashed if you use the Nvidia drivers. However, does this card require an extra power supply?
I'm interested in getting this card just due to the ports and it seems like the GTX 970 is the sweet spot for price/performance right now.
I run that card in my MacPro4,1 without any problem -- no need for extra power supply. You just need to use both of the motherboard auxiliary connectors with the cables (not included) that hook from there to the 6pin connectors on the card.
I like the port mix on the card - using 1mDP, DVI-D, and HDMI. Hoping MVC eventually has a flashing option for it.
chiefsucker
macrumors newbie
You mentioned that the GTX 770 is flashable and can show the boot screen. Do you have a link to a working ROM + tutorial (I have a Gigabyte 2GB model)?
The card works flawlessly in a MacPro4,1 for more than one year now, but I would really love to get rid of the the GT 120 and drive both displays with this card. Yosemite is too much for the GT 120 and stuttering even in Mission Control makes things just worse. The GTX 770 should drive both displays way better than my current combo.
I use FileVault and dual boot. The former is the main reason why I still need a boot screen. I could enter the password blindly, but my Mac seems to sometimes mess up the keyboard layout in the boot screen and I dont see how I could change it with a black screen in front of me.
The card works flawlessly in a MacPro4,1 for more than one year now, but I would really love to get rid of the the GT 120 and drive both displays with this card. Yosemite is too much for the GT 120 and stuttering even in Mission Control makes things just worse. The GTX 770 should drive both displays way better than my current combo.
I use FileVault and dual boot. The former is the main reason why I still need a boot screen. I could enter the password blindly, but my Mac seems to sometimes mess up the keyboard layout in the boot screen and I dont see how I could change it with a black screen in front of me.