Metal-capable graphics cards for my Mac0Pro5,1

Thanks!

That's the level of summary information I needed at this stage.

When it gets nearer to release, and they nail down the EXACT requirements, and finally decide when/whether/which they are going to support certain older graphics cards (as has been rumored) I can come back and look at the underlying data for more information.

I am still confused after reading the whole thread and several others on here and general internet about Mojave-Metal2 on MacPro5,1. I still do not know what Mojave-Metal2 GPU I need to buy.

This is extremely frustrating. I'd really would like to see a list of Metal2 GPU for MacPro5,1 for MacOS Mojave.

And I strongly believe Apple has a obligation to expand their official statement:

Mac Pro (Late 2013, plus mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)

"Recommended" is in past tense. I've hunted all the web and do not see any GPU "recommended" from Apple anywhere.

It should not take more than 2 man-hours for Apple to put down a cogent purchaseable list. Which is less than the time I've been on the internet hunting for "recommended Metal-capable GPU."

So... get on it......

After much digging, there are only two official cards for a 5,1 Mac Pro that support Metal. That is, cards that were designed for these Macs. Not flashed PC cards.

AMD Sapphire HD 9750 for Mac

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Editition

The GeForce is much easier to find, and roughly half the price the Sapphire goes for.

I have a MacPro 5,1 and am keen to be able to install MacOS Mojave on it, so I raised a ticket with Apple Support to ask which Metal-capable GPUs are recommended for use with my system. The answer I got was that MacOS Mojave has not yet been released in production and that Apple has no formal recommendation regarding GPUs for Mac Pro 5,1 systems at this time. I found this a very frustrating answer as Apple's statement that MacOS Mojave will be certified on Mac Pro mid-2012 models with a "recommended Metal-capable GPU" suggests that they should be able to say what that recommendation is. I notice that Apple has since released an approved eGPU solution for more modern Macs, see: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/18/blackmagic-egpu-hands-on/ I'm hoping that around the time of the Mojave release, something will be announced regarding the formally approved and recommended solutions for older Mac Pro systems.

The answer I got was that MacOS Mojave has not yet been released in production and that Apple has no formal recommendation regarding GPUs for Mac Pro 5,1 systems at this time.

You got that answer because Mojave is in beta, and the final specs can always end up being different at the time of the official release.

That said, Apple themselves noted that 2010 Macs that include Metal capable graphics would be getting Mojave support when the OS reached the public beta stage. And it does. I put an EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition card in my 2010 Mac Pro (replacing the stock AMD 5770) all of a week before the first public beta. With the EVGA in place, Mojave installed and runs as expected. The beta 2 release was a few days ago.

As Sendil and myself noted, the AMD 9750 Mac version also works, but is expensive. I had purchased one on eBay for $470, but it was bad (video kept blanking out and coming back) and had to return it. Others were difficult to find and all hung around the $500 range, except for the silly people who think you'd pay nearly $1000 for one.

The EVGA Mac version is much easier to find, and much cheaper. I paid $230 from an eBay seller for mine. Works perfectly. Make sure to get the real Mac version, not one of the flashed PC cards Sendil shows an image of. None of those have drivers included with the OS for them. Meaning, you have to try and track down third party Mac drivers to get the card to run properly, and many of those are not well written. Translated - your Mac will be flaky.

The general price the EVGA card is going for on eBay is $240, such as this one. There are many very similar looking cards. If it's not a GTX 680 Mac version, ignore it. There is a PC 680 version with virtually the same name. Do not buy it.

I just don't trust Apple anymore.

Can't trust them to possibly no longer support 8 year old hardware? Just how long do you think any company should continue to pour resources into any product that old? Especially the computer industry, where "old" applies to any hardware or software made 3 years ago.

That Apple does support a 2010 Mac Pro that has a metal capable card installed is pretty darn generous.

Great explanation, but a suggest a slight refinement about one minor point:

If you were to try to put a second card in, even if it didn't need the secondary power, you wouldn't be able to seat it because the third slot up from the bottom would prevent you from installing the card.

After looking at some of these cards, I think you would be able to seat a double-wide card in slot 2, but it would preclude using slot 3 for any purpose. It appears to me that the typical double-wide card does not have anything that projects into the connector area, but definitely would completely block the connector and the back-plate for any other use.

**My observation is based on 4870, 5770 and 5870 cards I have on hand.

You may be right. But something else I just noticed are the two tall (transistor?) pots near the back of the computer. Such as the one just above and to the right of the short card installed.

Looking in my 2010 Mac Pro just now, they appear to be about a half inch tall. The extended body of the EVGA card isn't that far off the main board. I'm pretty sure it would hit that pot before you could push the card all the way in.

No, please answer Kurt's questions!

We are all 'wandering in the woods' and are trying to create a list of what works and what does not. Anything you learned will be eagerly received by the Mac Pro silver tower community.

This may sound like an odd question, but that doesn't make it any less valid (I hope). Can a 2010 Mac Pro support 2(Two) Sapphire cards?

That answers my question perfectly! Thanks, Kurt!

You're welcome. 🙂

I have Nvida GTX 680 and it is not working for Majove ?