"Approved" metal-capable GPUs for Mojave on Mac Pro 5,1-does "Approved" include boot screens?

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"Approved" metal-capable GPUs for Mojave on Mac Pro 5,1-does "Approved" include boot screens?

Just looking for clarification. I've gotten different answers to this question from different sources: the Display Processors Apple identifies as capable of running Mojave are all metal-capable, but given that they are primarily Radeon-chipset products, and given that Radeon drivers are built-in to the Mac OS, are they capable of supplying the Apple startup manager, or are they irrevocably black-screen-startup GPUs? The most prominent and highly recommended example is the Radeon Pulse RX580 8GB, of which I have two, and neither of them is capable of delivering the startup manager, in spite of the pre-installation Firmware update. So what should I expect with the 580? Boot options or no boot options? And what is the purpose of the firmware update?

Mac Pro

Posted on Sep 19, 2019 9:12 AM

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Answer 1

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Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,518 points

Sep 19, 2019 10:12 AM in response to Birck Cox

Per the list John linked to, most only support metal as a secondary card. You still need the original video card installed in order to see a boot screen. That I've been able to find on the subject, the only two that support a boot screen are:

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition

I had the GTX 680 in a 2010 Mac Pro and it worked very well. There are also tons of GTX 680 cards on eBay for sale. Most are PC versions, or PC cards flashed with Mac firmware that may, or may not work correctly. If you purchase this card, you must look for the Mac Edition.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

141,652 points

Sep 19, 2019 9:57 AM in response to Birck Cox

Refer to Install macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012).

Excerpt:

... Holding down Option while restarting doesn't allow you to choose an operating system on these Mac Pro models.

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Answer 3

Birck Cox Author

Level 2

191 points

Sep 19, 2019 12:38 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Thanks, Mr. Galt, for pointing out that passage in the Apple list. I don't know if the list was amended or what, but I don't recall seeing it previously. I'm not always particularly observant, though. That quote seems pretty clear.

Thanks, Mr. Lang, for citing those cards. I've read elaborations on the Apple list of approved cards, e.g., in Mac Rumors, but I could swear that Apple didn't clarify that detail, which, by omission, indicates that the Radeon RX580 may function fine in a Mojave OS, but not display the startup manager screens. Thanks to both of you. That answers my question.

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"Approved" metal-capable GPUs for Mojave on Mac Pro 5,1-does "Approved" include boot screens?

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