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Advice on AMD cards


arsradu
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Hi guys,

 

Is there any AMD card with full support OOB? Meaning plug and play, like my current GTX 650.

 

I got an offer for a R9 270x from a friend of mine. And...while it doesn't require drivers to work...it does't really fully work either. I get black screen if I'm not booting in verbose mode and I have FV enabled, it stays black screen after waking from sleep...and all kinds of issues...

 

So...while I don't really need to upgrade my video card, it might still be a good idea to think about future releases of MacOS which might drop the support for this card, in which case I'll be forced to upgrade anyway.

 

So, question is: is there any AMD video card (why AMD? well, cause Apple seems to like them..) with full, and I mean FULL support? I know what is it like to use a non-supported video card. I have a GTX 950 on another system. And it sucks! You need a ton of stuff just to make it work. And I don't want that. I'm looking for something working just as well as my GTX 650, from AMD (or it can be Nvidia too, but as I said, Apple seems to be set on AMD) without needing additional kexts, patches and all that.

 

Is there something like this? What about the new Vega cards? What about RX series? What do you know about them?

 

Looking forward to your replies.

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Hi there,

 

As far as I know your R9 270X should work OOB, mine does. I'm not sure about the FV it might cause the black screen issue.

 

But there are some developments regarding the AMD GPUs and now we can enjoy using them thanks to @Mieze for finding the solution and @Slice for implementation of the solution in new clover boot loaders.

 

 

We can use any supported GPUs (the ones that have the Device ID in AMDXXXXController.kext) like R9, RX and Vega Series.

 

Vega should have full support and there are plenty of users that confirm it.

 

If you use RadenonDeInt in clover under the graphic section (Requires newer Clover and clover configurator)

 

look here : http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/328549-tracing-back-the-amd-gpu-wakeup-issue-to-its-origin/

 

and

 

here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/328549-tracing-back-the-amd-gpu-wakeup-issue-to-its-origin/?p=2531915


in addition: R9 270X and R9 280X are supposed to work OOB without the need on ATIInject=True and choosing the FrameBuffer.

 

I didn't set anything in my config.plist and everything works just fine except the sleep which should be fixed by using @Mieze's DSDT patch or @Slice's SSDT/Clover implementation.

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I have RX 460, RX 480, and RX Vega 64, with the latest clover 4297 and Radeon deinit= true they all work oob.    For my Vega card all I need is FakeSMCkext, no other fixes, for the other RX cards I need the deinitiate=true.

 

For RX 460-560 models stay away from XFX brand.

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Is your board with UEFI (GOP) bios or legacy bios?

 
Try updating the bios from her to UEFI, then go to the motherboard bios put in "Windows 8 whql" and disable the module "CSM" in the "config.plist" of Clover set the framebuffer "Futomaki", "ATIInject = True "and" RadenonDeInt = True "
 
I use the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 card and do not need to do any editing / modification on the framebuffer (Futomaki)
It has bios UEFI and CSM on the motherboard disabled
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Hi there,

 

As far as I know your R9 270X should work OOB, mine does. I'm not sure about the FV it might cause the black screen issue.

 

But there are some developments regarding the AMD GPUs and now we can enjoy using them thanks to @Mieze for finding the solution and @Slice for implementation of the solution in new clover boot loaders.

 

 

We can use any supported GPUs (the ones that have the Device ID in AMDXXXXController.kext) like R9, RX and Vega Series.

 

Vega should have full support and there are plenty of users that confirm it.

 

If you use RadenonDeInt in clover under the graphic section (Requires newer Clover and clover configurator)

 

look here : http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/328549-tracing-back-the-amd-gpu-wakeup-issue-to-its-origin/

 

and

 

here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/328549-tracing-back-the-amd-gpu-wakeup-issue-to-its-origin/?p=2531915

in addition: R9 270X and R9 280X are supposed to work OOB without the need on ATIInject=True and choosing the FrameBuffer.

 

I didn't set anything in my config.plist and everything works just fine except the sleep which should be fixed by using @Mieze's DSDT patch or @Slice's SSDT/Clover implementation.

 

Thanks guys! Thanks a lot!

 

I'll try that parameter in Clover.

 

About Sleep/Wake issue...I would prefer to have a patch on the fly with Clover, rather than a custom DSDT or something... I've had pretty bad experiences with that. :) So, for Clover, what do I need to check to have Wake after sleep working too?

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Thanks guys! Thanks a lot!

 

I'll try that parameter in Clover.

 

About Sleep/Wake issue...I would prefer to have a patch on the fly with Clover, rather than a custom DSDT or something... I've had pretty bad experiences with that. :) So, for Clover, what do I need to check to have Wake after sleep working too?

I'm afraid there is no on the fly patch for sleep via clover except the RadeonDeInit=true. Use clover configurator 4.56.0.0 which has this feature under Graphics section and you'll need clover r4296 or newer which has the patch built in to it otherwise you need to use Lilu and whatevergreen to fix the sleep/wake issue which works great on my R9 270X (and any other AMD GPU that I tested so far)

 

The DSDT patch is pretty simple if you know how to add it, if not I might be able to help you with that. If you use the DSDT/SSDT patch remember that you'll need to dump you GPU's ROM and add it in your /EFI/Clover/ROM folder. You can dump the ROM using DPCIManager (macOS), TechPowerUp's GPUz (Windows).

<key>Graphics</key><dict>
<key>RadeonDeInit</key>
<true/>
</dict>
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I plan to buy an RX 550 soon. Anyone use this already?

PS: would an RX 560 not also an alternative for that R9 270X user?

Same speed , some slower (opengl)-  some much  faster (OpenCL) BUT RX 560 has much lower power consumption (75 Watt vs 180 Watt!!!) so  also lower noise :)

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I plan to buy an RX 550 soon. Anyone use this already?

PS: would an RX 560 not also an alternative for that R9 270X user?

Same speed , some slower (opengl)-  some much  faster (OpenCL) BUT RX 560 has much lower power consumption (75 Watt vs 180 Watt!!!) so  also lower noise :)

The thing about R9 270X and R9 280X is that they were working with Sierra and High Sierra without the boot to black screen issue, this was before the development of the WhateverGreen and the latest DSDT patch solution.

 

I tested an AMD RX 560 which was performing pretty much the same as my R9 270X except the need for WEG or the DSDT patch.

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I'm afraid there is no on the fly patch for sleep via clover except the RadeonDeInit=true. Use clover configurator 4.56.0.0 which has this feature under Graphics section and you'll need clover r4296 or newer which has the patch built in to it otherwise you need to use Lilu and whatevergreen to fix the sleep/wake issue which works great on my R9 270X (and any other AMD GPU that I tested so far)

 

The DSDT patch is pretty simple if you know how to add it, if not I might be able to help you with that. If you use the DSDT/SSDT patch remember that you'll need to dump you GPU's ROM and add it in your /EFI/Clover/ROM folder. You can dump the ROM using DPCIManager (macOS), TechPowerUp's GPUz (Windows).

<key>Graphics</key><dict>
<key>RadeonDeInit</key>
<true/>
</dict>

 

I thought you meant that I need one patch for the "black screen on boot" issue and another one for the "black screen after sleep" issue. But i just realised they could be actually the same issue.

 

I was already adding ReadeonDeInit. I was only waiting for the Wake patch, thinking it was a different one. But you know what? It wasn't! It's the same checkbox in Clover, fixing both issues. AWESOME!

 

So yeah, now I can boot properly with the R9 270X. And also, wake after sleep works. All with just a simple checkbox in Clover.

 

Now that's what I call efficiency.

 

I didn't mean this thread to be a "how to fix my card" kind of thread. :))) I was only asking for your recommendation on this card. But hey, it works! And I'm very glad for your help!

Now, i've got a question: do you guys have the second stage boot with these cards? Cause I used to have it with the GTX 650. Now it's just a black screen for a split second, then desktop.
 
UPDATE: wait, apparently there is a second stage boot. I just haven't noticed it since it was really fast.
 
One issue though: the screen flashes right when it initialises the second stage. Is that normal?
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I thought you meant that I need one patch for the black "screen on boot" issue and another one for the "black screen after sleep" issue. But i just realised they could be actually the same issue.

 

I'm glad that you are pleased with the result of the topic you created :)

 

Yes they are the same thing, Boot black screen and the Sleep/Wake issue can be fixed by selecting the RadeonDeInit.

 

I have the second stage boot progress in High Sierra  but there is a small gap in between the two stages. After the first stage display goes black and after a few seconds the progress bar comes back and then the desktop loads.

 

But in macOS Sierra I only have the first stage and after that the black screen and then the Desktop.

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I'm glad that you are pleased with the result of the topic you created :)

 

Yes they are the same thing, Boot black screen and the Sleep/Wake issue can be fixed by selecting the RadeonDeInit.

 

I have the second stage boot progress in High Sierra  but there is a small gap in between the two stages. After the first stage display goes black and after a few seconds the progress bar comes back and then the desktop loads.

 

But in macOS Sierra I only have the first stage and after that the black screen and then the Desktop.

 

Yep, it was there. I just didn't realise it was there. But...now I've got another issue. Well, it was there before. I just had bigger problems before. :))

 

The screen flashes (like short white screen, then black) before displaying the loading bar and going into the Desktop. From what you're saying, I understand this is not how it should be... So..any idea what's causing it and how to fix it?

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Yep, it was there. I just didn't realise it was there. But...now I've got another issue. Well, it was there before. I just had bigger problems before. :))

 

The screen flashes (like short white screen, then black) before displaying the loading bar and going into the Desktop. From what you're saying, I understand this is not how it should be... So..any idea what's causing it and how to fix it?

Well that's not unusual some times the screen gets distorted on the second stage boot but it mainly happens in the installer. once the macOS is installed it's not happening anymore (in my case at least) but if there is no flickering or flashes in the macOS once it's loaded completely I don't think it's a big deal. The second stage boot is where macOS is loading the exact framebuffer and the sensors for your AMD GPU, in other word it gets initialized.

 

So unless you experience a poor performance and/or graphic glitches in macOS itself there is no need to be alarmed.

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Well that's not unusual some times the screen gets distorted on the second stage boot but it mainly happens in the installer. once the macOS is installed it's not happening anymore (in my case at least) but if there is no flickering or flashes in the macOS once it's loaded completely I don't think it's a big deal. The second stage boot is where macOS is loading the exact framebuffer and the sensors for your AMD GPU, in other word it gets initialized.

 

So unless you experience a poor performance and/or graphic glitches in macOS itself there is no need to be alarmed.

 

It looks pretty bad though... I made a video here (00:05-00:06). It's like a camera flash, for a split second.

 

Also, I've got no sound after sleep. Which...used to be fixed with RehabMan's CodecCommander.kext. Which is already present in S/L/E where it belongs. Still, this issues seems to be a different problem.

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It looks pretty bad though... I made a video here (00:05-00:06). It's like a camera flash, for a split second.

 

Also, I've got no sound after sleep. Which...used to be fixed with RehabMan's CodecCommander.kext. Which is already present in S/L/E where it belongs. Still, this issues seems to be a different problem.

Can you run a test?

 

Can you use WEG and lilu without the RadeonDeInit flag and see it makes any difference?

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What about kext and kernel cache clean up?

 

Although now that I pay attention to my rig I see a very fast and somewhat similar behavior but it's not as bad as what I see in the video you posted.


P.S.

 

About the audio after sleep set darkwake=8 it works on my Skylake rig and I use CodecCommander v. 2.4.0 it is the only version that solved audio after sleep for me.

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What about kext and kernel cache clean up?

 

Although now that I pay attention to my rig I see a very fast and somewhat similar behavior but it's not as bad as what I see in the video you posted.

P.S.

 

About the audio after sleep set darkwake=8 it works on my Skylake rig and I use CodecCommander v. 2.4.0 it is the only version that solved audio after sleep for me.

 

Oook. Few things I've learned today:

 

1. WEG doesn't really work for me, for sleep. It just bounces back into the system when I try to put it to sleep. Works fine with RadeonDeInit in Clover though.

2. No, it doesn't make any difference for the screen flashing issue, whether or not the kernel caches are cleared.

3. darkwake=8 seems to solve the sound issue after sleep. Thank you very much for that!

4. I've got CodeCommander 2.6.3 so...maybe an update is alright on your side? :P Joking, of course.

 

So, one thing remaining...the flashing.

 

By the way, do you have a GOP VBIOS? Any idea where can i get one, in case this card doesn't have one? I don't know if it has one yet, cause the only way I know to do that is from Windows, using GPU-Z. Which...I can't really use, since the only Windows I have is a virtualised one. So...unless there is another way, I think I'll have to install Windows to rule out the possibility of this being a BIOS issue.

 

What do you think?

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You'er welcome :)

 

I have a MSI R9 270X Hawk and if you have the same GPU I can send you the VBIOS. If not you can use DPCIManager and dump the ROM or you can just use techpowerup's GPU database collection and download the ROM from there or use the F6 key in clover's boot menu and it will save the ROM in "misc" folder under the EFI partition.

 

What is the brand and the exact model of your GPU?


P.S.

 

here is the link for techpowerups GPU database:https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

 

and about the sleep I never put my computer to sleep so sound after sleep is no issue for me anyways, but I'll give CodecCommnader 2.6.3 a try and see how it plays out.

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You'er welcome :)

 

I have a MSI R9 270X Hawk and if you have the same GPU I can send you the VBIOS. If not you can use DPCIManager and dump the ROM or you can just use techpowerup's GPU database collection and download the ROM from there or use the F6 key in clover's boot menu and it will save the ROM in "misc" folder under the EFI partition.

 

What is the brand and the exact model of your GPU?

P.S.

 

here is the link for techpowerups GPU database:https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

 

and about the sleep I never put my computer to sleep so sound after sleep is no issue for me anyways, but I'll give CodecCommnader 2.6.3 a try and see how it plays out.

 

Well, yeah, I can dump the ROM...but what I'm trying to do is first see if the ROM is or isn't a UEFI ROM. After that, we can see if there is any update on it. Can I do that with DPCIManager?

 

The card is a Gigabyte R9 270X.

 

Also, how do I dump the ROM with DPCIManager? I can't seem to find the option.

 

I will also try Clover's option. :D

 

Update: managed to dump the video BIOS with DarwinDumper. :) I forgot how awesome that tool is. Still that doesn't really tell me much... Does it?

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I’ll send you some screenshots on how to dump the rom using dpcimanager as soon as I get back to my desk, it’s pretty simple. All you need to do is to click on the icon of the AMDController’s info page.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I’ll send you some screenshots on how to dump the rom using dpcimanager as soon as I get back to my desk, it’s pretty simple. All you need to do is to click on the icon of the AMDController’s info page.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No need. I figured it out. :D

 

Same result as with Darwin Dumper, though. :) Problem is...how do I know if this is a UEFI VBIOS or not...without Windows? Version on the Techpowerup website is a lot larger (131KB vs 66KB) but...I don't know if that one is a UEFI VBIOS either, or whether or not it's compatible...

 

Update: wait, they're not identical... The one dumped with DarwinDumper is actually 62KB. The one dumped with DPCIManager is 66KB... I'm confused. Also, I still don't know if any of these is UEFI VBIOS. :)))

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Well in that case the easiest way to figure that out wether it's UEFI or not is to set the BIOS to boot from UEFI only if the GPU has a UEFI BIOS it will boot otherwise you'll hear some loud beeps from the PC speaker if you have it.


Update:

 

From what I see in techpowerup all the Gigabyte R9 270X versions that listed in there are UEFI support. 

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Well in that case the easiest way to figure that out wether it's UEFI or not is to set the BIOS to boot from UEFI only if the GPU has a UEFI BIOS it will boot otherwise you'll hear some loud beeps from the PC speaker if you have it.

Update:

 

From what I see in techpowerup all the Gigabyte R9 270X versions that listed in there are UEFI support. 

 

Ok, well, the BIOS is set to boot UEFI only. So....I guess it is a UEFI card then? Also, can I just flash a BIOS from Techpowerup? And if so...how? Can I do that without Windows?

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Ok, well, the BIOS is set to boot UEFI only. So....I guess it is a UEFI card then? Also, can I just flash a BIOS from Techpowerup? And if so...how? Can I do that without Windows?

Yes you can use the BIOSes from TechPowerUp to flash your GPU, but why do you need to do that?

 

The safest way to flash the BIOS is using the ATIFlash under DOS, you can use FreeDOS ISO image and use Rufus to create a bootable USB disk using your virtual machine to create the bootable disk and then boot from the USB disk and then flash the BIOS.

 

Do it with caution and do so if ONLY you know how to recover from a BAD flash. Otherwise it might brick your GPU.

Before you do make sure that you dump the original BIOS on the GPU just in case you need to refresh it.

 

You can use WinATIFlash which is risky and may things can go wrong.

 

once DOS is loaded run:

ATIFlash.exe -I 

which will give you the information on your ATI GPU such as the device number (X in the next command) and the ROM information.

ATIFLASH -f -p X (The identifier of the ATI GPU) YOUREDITEDBIOS.ROM

You can also use Rufus and the Windows ISO image to create a Windows To Go USB disk and easily boot from Windows on the USB disk. It really comes handy from time to time. Then you can use GPUZ from windows or any other app that you need, If you use a USB 3.0 compatible USB disk it's better and can save you a lot of time for creating the disk and booting from it.

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