Can my 2012 Mac Pro support a Samsung UHD 4k Monitor?

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Level 1

5 points

Can my 2012 Mac Pro support a Samsung UHD 4k Monitor?

I have a MacPro that I purchased at the end of 2012 and just had to replace my LED monitor. Found out that the Thunderbolt is not backwards compatible and will not work with my MacPro (not even with a converter). I just purchased a Samsung 4k Ultra High Definition monitor but I can't get it to display any higher than 1920 x 1080. Is this because of my graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB)? If so, what upgrade do I need to buy?

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Oct 12, 2015 2:42 PM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Oct 12, 2015 2:57 PM in response to bfrenchy

Yes, with the proper card. For cards see:

User Tip: Mac Pro silver tower (2006-2012) Replacement Graphics cards

For more info on using PC Nvidia cards see:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1440150

As discussed, PC cards only display on screen when the drivers are loaded so that you can't use only a PC for special startups like Option or booting to Recovery.

You can look at the PC cards that are supported (less expensive than Mac Flashed cards) that support 4K and use one of those. Some card will even drive a 5K screen

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Answer 2

heisetax

Level 1

8 points

Dec 10, 2016 2:05 PM in response to bfrenchy

I am currently using an AMD Radeon R9 280X with 3 GB of memory in my 5,1 2012 3.06 GHz Mac Pro. This video card is currently hooked up to 2 UHD 3840X 2160 displays & 2 30" displays running 2560 X 1600 with no problems.

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