My Mac Pro 5.1 GPU might be dead?

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Level 1

6 points

My Mac Pro 5.1 GPU might be dead?

I have a Mac Pro 5.1 mid 2012 still with the GPU that came with it, the 5770.

I was thinking about upgrading it since this Mac still rocks and I am not getting rid of it.

However, today when I tried to boot it up, it did not give the signal to the monitor. disks etc where spinning, no strange beeps, normal startup sound.

I shut it down, tried to disconnect and then connect the cables again, and what showed up was pretty funky. The boot screen was there but violet and green with flickering black spots, and randomly flashing black. Shut it down again, third time is a charm and it works.

But, since I am a bit of heavyweight user since I use it for graphics and 3D modelling, I thought I might have killed that old GPU and I should upgrade soon to avoid further damage.

Is it dying?

Mac Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6), null

Posted on Jul 14, 2018 3:53 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 14, 2018 7:34 AM in response to ZeroM.

violet and green with flickering black spots, and randomly flashing black

artifacts that can be captured in a screenshot are sitting in the screen buffer on the card.

artifacts that appear, but can not be captured in a screen shot MAY be due to cabling or the display, or perhaps to the rasterization hardware on the card. So these need more investigation to eliminate cabling and the display.

NB> The Rasterization Hardware on the card has very fast clock rates, gets hot, and may be prone to failure after years of use.

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Answer 2

Jul 14, 2018 10:24 AM in response to ZeroM.

Executive Summary:

Any cards NOT on the list above may suddenly become plentiful and cheap, as Users rush to acquire better cards for future MacOS support.

The article below articulates the issues you face when upgrading these cards, and discusses the hurdles you must overcome when heading off the Apple beaten path and "into the woods" on your own:

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

.

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Answer 3

Jul 14, 2018 10:38 AM in response to ZeroM.

Setting the Mojave issue aside, ...

... the difference between the "latest and greatest" being pushed by a Vendor and the "plain and simple you can just plug in" will only be a few seconds difference in performance for most operations.

I strongly suggest you buy what you can "just plug in" now, and worry about what the future will bring when it gets here. Adding wonky power setups to cover ordinary Rendering needs makes no sense to me. (But I do not make my living on Rendering, so I have the luxury of choosing simplicity over everything.)

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Answer 4

ZeroM. Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 14, 2018 7:33 AM in response to ZeroM.

Greetings,

thank you very much for your assistance.

Unluckily I did not try to capture them with my iPhone.

I thought it might be the wiring, so I shut the Mac down, disconnected etc as I wrote, and the third time it worked fine but still... it was very crazy and the screen went black and then on again every, let's say.. 5 seconds?

Then, I noticed that if I put the GPU under stress it does not elaborate or render complex 3D again, instead, it makes a high pitch sound.

I can ensure you my display is fine. I use it as TV also, and it never does such things. I also play PS4 on this screen, and it works fine.

Now I am using the supposed Mac, seems fine, but I am worried. I also cannot finish my 3D project because it won't elaborate on things. It can render simple tasks but others are a simple no-no by the Mac.

Moreover, my Mac did this today after stressing tasks performed yesterday, so I thought I might have overstressed and bricked my GPU. Maybe it got too hot yesterday and now it is failing. I do not know. After 6 years, maybe it is time to upgrade to something better...

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Answer 5

ZeroM. Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 14, 2018 8:55 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Oh I am sorry. I misunderstood.

I did not log at all in the system, it was unusable so I shut it down. It arrived to the log in screen and then I pressed the shut down button.

I know what screen capture is, I just did not think about it when I read "capture".

Now it seems to work fine, so I cannot do that. I am not so sure about the GPU health anymore, moreover it cannot do tasks so I guess it is not good. 1GB GPU nowadays is too low, it is my fault if I bricked it. I would like to upgrade parts, but I am just a student. This time however money needs to be used.

If I will experience the same behaviour again I will try to log in and capture the screen.

Time to upgrade though.

Thank you for your help.

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Answer 6

ZeroM. Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 14, 2018 9:23 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I heard about Mojave, I tried to install the beta and I cannot use it with my card. (This was way before the funky glitch)

I was thinking about a Nvidia GTX 1050Ti with 4GB. It is not officially supported by Apple, but a company in the UK says it is a possible upgrade for my Mac. It costs around 300 dollars, I do not know the know if they flashed it to see the boot screen.

I do not know if it supports Metal 2 either but it should support Metal, I do not know which version.

The problem now is that, if my card fails and causes damages to other components, that would be a disaster. It makes very high pitch sounds when it is elaborating things and that is a bit alarming to me (maybe it is normal though). Moreover, I need to finish a project now and it seems it cannot perform a task. I mean it seems to be loading but nothing happens.

Do you think the GTX 1050 Ti is a good option?

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Answer 7

ZeroM. Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 14, 2018 10:50 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

You are very right.

I do not make living on rendering either, I just study design at university.

I guess an upgrade after 6 years is something that happens. I take care of my machines but, being electronics, they fail.

I was thinking about the 5870 also, but I hoped I could upgrade to Mojave as well. So the GTX 1050 Ti seemed a good and not so expensive option, considering the price of others. Still uncertain about the cable situation but on the site, they say: "we will ship your selected parts straight to you ready to be installed. All required parts for installation included."

I should upgrade my iPhone instead though, still iPhone 5 here...

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Answer 8

Jul 14, 2018 8:12 AM in response to ZeroM.

Unluckily I did not try to capture them with my iPhone.

Not your phone or any camera.

I mean for you to use Command-Shift-4 from the Mac keyboard to capture a picture from INSIDE your Mac. It will be stored in a file named with date&time and placed on your Desktop.

These screenshots use the information directly from the display buffer, and bypasses the rasterization, cabling and display hardware.

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Answer 9

Jul 14, 2018 9:05 AM in response to ZeroM.

The market for add-on graphics cards for these Macs is currently in an uproar.

Apple has announced that MacOS "Mojave", to be released later this year, will require a graphics card with support for "Metal" API. But they have not spelled out EXACTLY what level (Metal-1 or Metal-2), and whether there will be any add-on software to extend support to older cards.

The mojave requirements are preliminary, and that MacOS has not been publicly released. It may be a mistake to invest money now for requirements that could change before its official release.

On macOS, Metal supports Intel HD and Iris Graphicsfrom the HD 4000 series or newer, AMD GCN-basedGPUs, and Nvidia Kepler-basedGPUs or newer.

AMD links:

GCN is fabricatedin 28 nmand 14 nmgraphics chips, available on selected models in the

Radeon HD 7000,

HD 8000,

200,

300,

400and

500series

of AMD Radeon graphics cards. GCN is also used in the graphics portion of

AMD Accelerated Processing Units(APU), such as in the PlayStation 4and Xbox OneAPUs.

NVIDIA links:

Kepler was Nvidia's first microarchitecture to focus on energy efficiency. Most

GeForce 600 series,

most GeForce 700 series, and

some GeForce 800M seriesGPUs were based on Kepler, all manufactured in 28 nm. Kepler also found use in the

GK20A,

the GPU component of the Tegra K1 SoC, as well as in the

QuadroKxxx series, the

Quadro NVS 510, and

Nvidia Teslacomputing modules.

Kepler was followed by the Maxwellmicroarchitecture and used alongside Maxwell in the

GeForce 700 seriesand

GeForce 800M series.

from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_(API)

and links therein to other wikipedia pages

Executive Summary:

Any cards NOT on this list may suddenly become plentiful and cheap, as Users rush to acquire better cards for future MacOS support.

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Answer 10

ZeroM. Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 14, 2018 10:24 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yeah, I am bit scared actually. I have never upgraded a GPU, only RAM and SSD etc.

I know that the GTX 1050 Ti cannot be connected natively to the motherboard but I need a cable to do it.

That company I was telling about (not naming it though, I do not want to promote or anything), they work with Mac Pros so I guess they prepare the card ready to be installed into the machine. I sent them an email about the matter.

The Apple approved cards cost more or, if not, it is because they are older (I guess? I do not know a lot about it)

If I replace the GPU this year, I hope to keep using this machine for at least 4 years or so.

I also have a MacBook Pro 2017, but a desktop is way better to work with heavy duty programs.

I also know that at some point in the future I will be forced to upgrade my Mac Pro to a newer one, still keeping this though. It has been 6 years, and I still love it.

However, thank you very much.

282 euros, (I am at the Uni in Europe right now) are not that much compared to the ones approved by Apple, still expensive for me being a student, but if it means to keep my Mac Pro in working order, I am willing to pay those. and get lost in the woods

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My Mac Pro 5.1 GPU might be dead?

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