Jtuner77

Q: Can 2008 Mac Pro run 4K or HD screens with the right video card?

Hello guys,

 

I have been running my  2008 Mac Pro(2x2.8ghz Quad Core) for a while now with the basic ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB card in it. I do a lot of photo editing on my computer and was thinking of upgrading the memory, installing a SSD drive and upgrading the video card to either support 4K or HD monitors.

 

I have found very little on the subject of 4K monitors and which video card could support it or HD for that matter.

 

Also wondering how I could run my computer to my 1080P HD TV and possibly put a blu ray drive in my tower as well.

 

If anyone could shine some light on this it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

MBP & MP, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 9, 2014 9:26 PM

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Q: Can 2008 Mac Pro run 4K or HD screens with the right video card?

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  • by mc0m,

    mc0m mc0m Jan 4, 2015 5:41 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 4, 2015 5:41 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

     

    That is a Mini DisplayPort. You can convert directly to [full sized] DisplayPort with a cheap (US$10) cable/adapter that has NO active components. On some displays, you need to change settings inside the display (typically with on-screen Menus) to support DisplayPort 1.2 for higher data rates.

     

    I recommend you stay away from HDMI if you want to go wider that 1920 by 1080p, or faster than 30Hz refresh.

     

    You CAN convert to Dual-Link DVI, but that adapter costs US$100.

    I've gone through all of your posts and don't really have the background to understand everything you're saying, but read several articles and finally stumbled on this video which was really helpful to me and I thought it might be helpful to other users:

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMVDejZH4kw

     

    Having done all of this, I still don't fully understand why my monitor doesn't work

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Jan 4, 2015 7:41 PM in response to mc0m
    Level 9 (60,884 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 4, 2015 7:41 PM in response to mc0m

    At least once, you got the Displays control panel to acknowledge that the display was present. But it seemed to be stuck at TV-set resolutions.

     

    You will get best results with DisplayPort (or Mini DisplayPort) inputs on the display, but you need to be very careful, as this display also has a DisplayPort OUTPUT that will look identical, but will not work.

     

    What cables and adapters you are attempting to use?

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 29, 2015 1:18 AM in response to DPArt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 29, 2015 1:18 AM in response to DPArt

    I am able to get 3840x2160@30Hz with my non Mac firmware Radeon HD7950.

    Is there a possibility that I might be able to get the same resolution at 60 Hz with Mac formware in the graphics card?

     

    I do get 60 Hz refresh rate in BootCamp, using 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium.

     

    A

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 29, 2015 2:03 AM in response to Jtuner77
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 29, 2015 2:03 AM in response to Jtuner77

    An observation I made yesterday was that in BootCamp, when I'm able to get 3840x2160@60Hz on the Dell UP2414Q, I only get 1280x960 or someting like that on the LG W3000H that otherwise supports 3560x1600.

     

    Would it be worth disconnecting the LG W3000H before I try the Dell with MST enabled in OS X?

     

    A

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Apr 29, 2015 7:17 AM in response to Anaesthisia
    Level 9 (60,884 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 29, 2015 7:17 AM in response to Anaesthisia

    Be methodical. Test a new display by itself when possible.

     

    Once you know it is working, you can check for "plays nice with others".

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 29, 2015 7:23 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 29, 2015 7:23 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    I guess that's as good recommendation.

     

    Would it be reasonable to expect the video card Radeon HD7950 not to be able to support both the Dell at full resolution with 60 Hz and the LG at its native resolution? The Dell connected using mini displayport and the LG with dual-link dvi.

     

    A

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Apr 29, 2015 7:35 AM in response to Anaesthisia
    Level 9 (60,884 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 29, 2015 7:35 AM in response to Anaesthisia

    If it can support one at those high resolutions, it will generally support several in a similar way. It puts very little additional load on the graphics card, and the ones that support those higher resolutions tend to have tons of display memory, so there is no shortage of resources on the card, except for one thing I will mention below.

     

    The real problem is compatibility with the displays. Display makers have not had their preferred amount of time to tweak the displays for Mac Pro hi-res support at good refresh rates. In some cases, changing settings on the display itself (not on the Mac) is needed -- in other cases the display cannot currently be made to work at full resolution or full refresh rate.

     

    The problem I alluded to above is power to run complex adapters. If you want to run more that TWO "legacy" displays, you need to use ACTIVE adapters, from about US$40. ["Legacy" in this context means other than DisplayPort family (Full size or Mini DisplayPort).] Dual-Link DVI (for displays over 1920 wide) always requires a very expensive Dual-Link DVI ACTIVE adapter with USB power input, about US$100.

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 30, 2015 12:51 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 12:51 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    With MST enabled and my LG detached, I still don't get any video on the Dell UP2414Q.

     

    Would it be reasonable to expect that thos using Radeon HD7950 with Mac firmware could fare better in this respect, or is it likely that Apple has disabled MST support in OS X for older systems even if they're capable of handling it from a performance viewpoint?

     

    A

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 30, 2015 12:53 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 12:53 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    What I use is a dedicated dual-link dvi cable, as my current graphics card has such output.

     

    Previously, I used a mini displayport to dual-link dvi adapter and that worked after replacing it due to buggy firmware that couldn't be user-replaced.

     

    A

  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Apr 30, 2015 3:14 AM in response to Anaesthisia
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 3:14 AM in response to Anaesthisia

    A Classic Mac Pro can use GTX 9xx and handle 5k

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1850606

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 30, 2015 4:21 AM in response to The hatter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 4:21 AM in response to The hatter

    But I guess 4K monitors like the Dell UP2414Q cannot handle dual cables?

     

    Would adding any parameters to NVRAM(how wouldI I even do that?) make it possible for me to get 3840x2160 working on my MacPro 4,1 system with Radeon 7950 3GB?

     

    A

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 30, 2015 4:51 AM in response to The hatter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 4:51 AM in response to The hatter

    Also, the GTX980 and a new 5K monitor comes in at a combined price that I might not find justifiable upgrading a system from early 2009. ;-)

     

    A

  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Apr 30, 2015 5:06 AM in response to Anaesthisia
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 5:06 AM in response to Anaesthisia

    The 2009 can be upgraded to the hilt and do things a 2013 6,1 cannot do!

    GTX / faster SSDs / 12-core 3.4GHz are possible on 4,1 (after flashing 5,1 firmware), newest AMD GPUs.

    Which can be better cost/benefit ratio than 6,1 and having to invest in Thunderbolt and stuck with AMD.

     

    There is a thread on 5k and AMD graphic cards though as to which Dell and other monitors work, in some cases monitor might need firmware I think.

  • by Anaesthisia,

    Anaesthisia Anaesthisia Apr 30, 2015 6:21 AM in response to The hatter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 6:21 AM in response to The hatter

    Are there any benefits from just flashing 5,1 firmware without upgrading the hardware?

     

    I don't really need more power; it'd just be nice to get 60 Hz refresh rate on the Dell monitor.

     

    A

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Apr 30, 2015 7:46 AM in response to Anaesthisia
    Level 9 (60,884 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 30, 2015 7:46 AM in response to Anaesthisia

    These shortcomings are often caused by the display manufacturers' slow response to adding the needed features and tweaks to features.

     

    There are several posts in the Mac Pro forums from Users who bought a few different models of Dell displays in particular, who have not been able to get them to work in a satisfactory way, despite the fact that they SHOULD work. A search for Dell and/or the specific model number should quickly turn these up for you. Some may have work-arounds.

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