Mac Pro 2012 Graphics Card Upgrade

[Nanco]

Hi there,

I have a Mac Pro 2012 with a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphic cards installed. I’ve learned to put up with their limitations for a long time however I’m curious if it would be possible to replace these cards with newer and better ones rather than having to upgrade my entire system.

1) Can I use any graphics card in my Mac Pro? I was always under the impression that there were certain limitations meaning that I could only use select models or versions specifically configured for the system or the Mac OS itself.

2) I have seen a few videos on YouTube of people installing an RX 580 into their older Mac Pro systems which has further piqued my interest. Would this card support multiple displays like my HD 5770s?

3) My current setup consists of 3 monitors (the highest resolution I use on one of the displays currently is 1920x1080). Can anyone offer suggestions for graphics card upgrades that will support this monitor setup if the RX 580 cannot?

4) My Radeon HD 5770s work fine for regular use, however I am mainly feeling the strain when it comes to playing newer games in Bootcamp. Is the RX 580 a logical upgrade for this purpose or are there any suitable alternatives?


Kind Regards,
Matt

 

[pm-r]

I don't know other than no Nvidia GPUs will work with Macs running Mojave apparantly due to the Apple bosses not allowing any Nvidia software drivers with their ongoing and seemingly childish spat.

The old spport place that used to be THE place for such info and maybe still is and I would do some scouting around at:
Apple/Mac/OS X News, Tips and Tech Articles - xlr8yourmac.com

I'm sure they would have the answers you need, and maybe even OWC at Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More.


- Patrick
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[harryb2448]

Of course nVidia Graphic cards run with Mojave Patrick. For starters my former late 2013 i7 ran a 4GB nVidia GTX 780M and Mojave, Still runs just fine for my son.

Below Nanco are a list of Graphic cards that Apple advises will run with your Mac Pro and Mojave, including Radeon, nVidia and Sapphire cards:-


Apple Outlines Metal-Capable Cards Compatible With macOS Mojave on 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro Models - MacRumors

 

[pm-r]

Of course nVidia Graphic cards run with Mojave Patrick.

Thanks Harry for the updated info and it seems that there are a few nVidia GPU cards that will work with Mojave and later.

My post was in regards to some articles such as this and their comments:

Apple's management doesn't want Nvidia support in macOS, and that's a bad sign for the Mac Pro
... ... ...
And now, in 2019, there aren't any functional drivers for Mojave at all. And, it's Apple's fault. The only two Nvidia cards that work with Mojave are the GeForce GTX 680, and the Quadro K5000 —both several years old at this point. And, this is only a light brush over the history between the two companies.

Apple's management doesn't want Nvidia support in macOS, and that's a bad sign for the Mac Pro

Video: Nvidia support was abandoned in macOS Mojave, and here's why
Video: Nvidia support was abandoned in macOS Mojave, and here's why

etc. ...

The main point being that Apple sure isn't doing much to support their customers use of Nvidia cards in any Mac model, especially the older Mac Pros. And what little justification they may come up with for doing so sure doesn't make any sense.


- Patrick
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[harryb2448]

Depends on your anti Apple views I guess.

 

[pm-r]

Depends on your anti Apple views I guess.

Even though I do not need any high-end graphics card support, reading about their attitude towards Nvidia certainly doesn't help provide any positive attitude support for them for those that do need or want the ability to use some cards that Apple, for no real good reasons, doesn't seem to want to support in any way.

I guess that sort of attitude certainly can lead to some anti-Apple views from a good number of users!!! But I guess the super Apple fanboys wouldn't see the situation the same way.



- Patrick
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