Recommendations on Metal-capable graphics card for 5.1

[greg328]

As the title says, looking for Metal-capable graphics card recommendations for my Mac 5.1. I need HDMI for one of my TV displays and Apple display port for the 2nd monitor..
Thanks in advance,
Greg Giacona


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HCMarkus]

AMD RX 560, 570, 580, 590, or Vega cards. Models from any supplier will likely work as long as they have the AMD reference port layout.

560 is probably plenty unless you do video editing or game on your Mac Pro; it doesn't need aux power (power is supplied via PCIe slot) and is very quiet. I'm running a Gigabyte RX460 (predecessor to 560) under Sierra. It will almost certainly work under Mojave as well. Like any RX460/560 with reference layout ports, it has one each DP, HDMI and DV outputs.

If you need more GPU oomph, you will need special power cables to feed the more powerful graphics cards.

Also note the current AMD cards will not give you the initial boot screen; this is only an issue if you are running File Vault, which I understand is not supported under Mojave anyway. If you absolutely must have a boot screen, consider the 7950.

The following cards are known to be Metal-compatible:

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5
SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition
NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition

Apple also lists cards that "might also be compatible" with macOS Mojave:

AMD Radeon RX 560
AMD Radeon RX 570
AMD Radeon RX 580
AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100
AMD Radeon Frontier Edition

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208898

[mikehalloran]

[quote="HCMarkus"]AMD RX 560, 570, 580, 590, or Vega cards....
[quote]The following cards are known to be Metal-compatible:

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 5
The MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5 can be found for $179
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-RX-560-AERO- ... B072J422CZ

While the only SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition I can find is a used one for $760
https://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon- ... B00BW0XDU6

Hmmm... how badly does one need a boot screen?

[Releaux]

I just picked up a new Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB for $240 on Amazon. That was the card that kept popping up in nearly all of the "recommended" lists I found on upgrading a 5,1 Mac Pro, and I didn't need CUDA for anything.

[dix]

Hmmm... how badly does one need a boot screen?

I was never able to access Startup Manager (hold Option on start) before I had a card that showed a boot screen. Is that how it is for others? ...or a separate issue?

[greg328]

Thanks to all, just now back home and checking out this thread. Apologies for the messed-up up thread title, I started this on my iPhone and couldn't correct the title until I logged in on the Mac!

I'll check out recommendations, thanks again to all!!

Greg
Austin TX

[HCMarkus]

Hmmm... how badly does one need a boot screen?

I was never able to access Startup Manager (hold Option on start) before I had a card that showed a boot screen.

You are correct. OTOH, you can easily change startup drive once your computer is up and running, so unless you have to do this regularly and need it quickly, boot screen is not essential.

[HCMarkus]

I just picked up a new Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB for $240 on Amazon. That was the card that kept popping up in nearly all of the "recommended" lists I found on upgrading a 5,1 Mac Pro, and I didn't need CUDA for anything.

I trust you are powering it via the proper adaptor... As long as use dual mini 6pin to feed the 8pin everything will be fine.

[dix]

You are correct. OTOH, you can easily change startup drive once your computer is up and running, so unless you have to do this regularly and need it quickly, boot screen is not essential.

Thanks for that! It's actually more about the Recovery disk. Do you need a boot screen to access that too? I could never make that happen either with my previous, non boot-screened, card.

[HCMarkus]

You are correct. OTOH, you can easily change startup drive once your computer is up and running, so unless you have to do this regularly and need it quickly, boot screen is not essential.

Thanks for that! It's actually more about the Recovery disk. Do you need a boot screen to access that too? I could never make that happen either with my previous, non boot-screened, card.

I haven't tried it yet but, seeing as how Apple supports Mojave on the 5,1 Mac Pro but requires a Metal-capable card, and recommends the RX560 and 580 (which do not support boot screen), I cannot imagine you will be up the proverbial creek!

If you are worried, just make sure you save your Mac EFI GPU (ATI 5770 or Nvidia GT120 most likely) for emergencies.

EDIT: I see you have a 680. I think that card might support metal.

[dix]

If you are worried, just make sure you save your Mac EFI GPU (ATI 5770 or Nvidia GT120 most likely) for emergencies.

EDIT: I see you have a 680. I think that card might support metal.

Good idea!

It does support Metal, but as I've complained elsewhere, this card is less efficient in terms of DP redraws under High Sierra than with El Capitan (same as with my previous card). It may not be possible. but I'm still hoping to find a card that doesn't take a bite out of graphics performance on OSs newer than El Cap.

[stevenew]

I have just installed a MSI RX 560 AERO ITX 4GB OC GDDR5 in my Mac Pro 4.1 (Flashed to 5.1) and upgraded to Mojave 10.14.1. It was all pretty painless and everything seems to be running fine. Both DP 9.52 and Cubase 9.5 seem to run fine. In fact Mojave boots quicker and overall feels much snappier. I still have Sierra installed on another drive and have kept my GT120 in case of issues.

I chose the MSI RX 560 because here in the UK the other Apple recommended cards are very expensive, I got a good deal on the MSI and got it for the equivalent of about $100.

The only minor issue I am having is the Expansion fan (the one at the front you slide back when removing the graphics card) on occasion speeds up very high, not with DP but in safari on some sites. I have been told that installing Mac Fan control and setting this fan to be controlled by the ambient temp solves this issue.

[HCMarkus]

+1 on Mac Fan Control.

https://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

[mikehalloran]

If you created a volume by cloning, there is no Recovery partition until you reinstall the OS – upgrades don’t count.

Beginning with High Sierra, you cannot access the Repair partition if another OS is present on your system. If you need that, put them on removable drives and disconnect first.

[Gravity Jim]

I found an AMD Radeon HD 7950 (with Mac ROMs) on eBay for $125. Bought it, and it works great. Super quiet and fast, and I'm running 10.14.2 Beta 4, so it's definitely got all the Metal I need.