35 replies to this topic

[GreenElf]

Hi folks,

I have read many pages about how Apple now "officially unofficially" supports 3rd party (PC) GPUs; Is there some complied list of what works stright out of the box with which OSes? As in supported by 10.6.8/10.7.x/10.8.x.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[Rampage Dev]

Nvidia 8xxx GTX to the latest GTX 6xx Series

ATI 4xxx series (Mostly the 48xx series) through the latest AMD 7xxx series as of 10.8.3

Low end models of ATI/AMD have some issues.

[GreenElf]

Thanks for the response Rampage. What about a Radeon 6670? I've read a lot that these should be pretty plug-n-play in 10.8.x.  I'm considering it, but would rather not have to install hacks to have it run. This is a MacPro 3.1 (2008) I'm looking to put it in. Thank you again!

[styrian]

I have read about some cards, that work on Mac Pro. But you will mostly get gfx output after reaching the desktop. You might have no bootup screen.

[Rampage Dev]

Buy a AMD 6870 and then got to Netkas to flash the card with EFI to get the boot screen. Also Nvidia cards will work OOB with the Retail drivers so I would not get the AMD 6670 that you had said since I have never seen people getting that to work on a real mac.

[GreenElf]

So Any NVidia card, and with ML's drivers, or the ones from NVidia? Either is ok really. I don't mostly care for the EFI boot screen, though it would be nice, as much as having a stable working GPU for games & Photoshop.

[Rampage Dev]

For Games and Photoshop especially you should get a GTX 580. There are GTX 580's that work under Mac that you can buy which for you case would be the safest bet:

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1555.l2649

[GreenElf]

Thanks again Rampage, for taking the time to answer my noobish questions. How about an NVidia GT 630? There's a 4Gb card there for a decent price. What are the odds of that working?

[Rampage Dev]

They have sleep issues and it is just a rebranded fermi card. Look around for a GTX 560 Ti or non Ti. Also you will not be able to get the performance you need with a GT 630...

[GreenElf]

Heh! I bow to your munificence!  

Seriously, thanks for the help! (...and I might have other dumb questions to follow)

[GreenElf]

heh heh! Hey there, checking in again! What're your thoughts on non-EFI versions of Apple, sanctioned cards, e.g. a radeon 5770 by another vendor? Plug 'n play, or shaky?

[Rampage Dev]

No

[Giorgio_multi]

6670 works ootb in ML

[Rampage Dev]

Giorgio_multi, on 15 January 2013 - 11:40 PM, said:

6670 works ootb in ML

No

He is asking about a real mac.

[GreenElf]

Yes, a real Mac. Guess I should have said...

[GreenElf]

GreenElf, on 07 December 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Thanks for the response Rampage. What about a Radeon 6670? I've read a lot that these should be pretty plug-n-play in 10.8.x.  I'm considering it, but would rather not have to install hacks to have it run. This is a MacPro 3.1 (2008) I'm looking to put it in. Thank you again!

So wait... an ATI 4870 would be plug and play OOTB? (no EFI withstanding of course)

[Rampage Dev]

No

[GreenElf]

ha ha! OK, I though you said the ATI 4X series is compatible.

[Rampage Dev]

I did but that was before I knew it was for a real mac. The 48xx series needs flashing and is very risky since they do not have dual BIOS.

[GreenElf]

....And here I go again...   Thoughts on a Radeon 6870, workable without flashing in 10.8? and I'm sure I know the answer, but crossfire does not work with non-EFI cards?

Edit: Hrm... So some of these cards I see on NewEgg, e.g. an MSI GT620, list 96 cuda cores, but list it as a fermi card? I've done a lot of reading, but can't seem to find a definitive answer on what will work and what won't...  :/