How to connect 8 gb RX 580 card to old MacPro 2012?

[rawbob]

My dual 6-core MacPro 2012 has 2 6-pin power connectors, but the RX 580 expects 2 8-pin power cords. What is the best way to hook up this graphics card? I have an open 2.0 16-bit pci-e slot and an open 2.0 4-bit slot for additional bus power. What should I put in one of those slots to provide additional power, and what cables should I be buying?

Thanks.

 

[eidairaman1]

My dual 6-core MacPro 2012 has 2 6-pin power connectors, but the RX 580 expects 2 8-pin power cords. What is the best way to hook up this graphics card? I have an open 2.0 16-bit pci-e slot and an open 2.0 4-bit slot for additional bus power. What should I put in one of those slots to provide additional power, and what cables should I be buying?

Thanks.

Whats the specific rx580?

Also you may need a specific firmware that may not be in the database here.

Thats the biggest drawback with crapple, they may have gone x86 but they still require specific firmware on accessories

Proprietary bs.

Get a picture of the power supply label.

 

[oobymach]

You probably need to upgrade the psu and since it's apple you need a compatible apple psu, a normal one probably won't work.

I can find replacements online but not sure what is and isn't compatible with your machine.

Mac power supply for all Apple computer systems

Mac power supply for all Apple computer systems

www.dvwarehouse.com

 

[eidairaman1]

You probably need to upgrade the psu and since it's apple you need a compatible apple psu, a normal one probably won't work.

I can find replacements online but not sure what is and isn't compatible with your machine.

Mac power supply for all Apple computer systems

Mac power supply for all Apple computer systems

www.dvwarehouse.com

Its always the firmware that makes apple a headache to work with.

 

[rawbob]

Here's what it says:

MSI Radeon RX 580 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card RX 580 GAMING X 4G​

• 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5
• Boost Clock 1393 MHz (OC)
• 1380 MHz (Gaming)
• 1340 MHz (Silent)
• 1 x DL-DVI-D 2 x HDMI 2 x DisplayPort
• 2304 Stream Processors
• PCI Express x16

I don't have the card yet. It's on the way. My computer has 2 6-pin power connectors, and I found this item on Amazon. Do you think it will work?
The computer puts out 75 watts on each power socket.

Wait a minute! I thought I was buying an 8GB card. OK, I should be fine, right?

 

[eidairaman1]

Crossfire is dead, but anyways let me check the card specs,

 

[skizzo]

I used several modern GPUs in my cheesegrater Mac Pro. only difference is mine is a 2009 model and the only difference there was a wireless card included and I think 1033 vs 1333 MHz ram. so what I did will work for you too. you need to get a Y-adapter that will combine the two mini 6-pin aux connectors into a single 8-pin. Should be called something like dual mini 6-pin to single 8-pin....folks have been doing this for years and these are readily available. That will cover just one of the 8-pin connectors on the GPU though. Next steps is up to you but there are several methods

1) Need to have two SATA bays available
This method takes power from two SATA power connectors with another Y-adapter. Need to get a dual SATA to single 6-pin connector cable.
One SATA port does ~50W so this is why you need two. with ~100W that will be sufficient to run the 75W that potentially can go to that 6-pin connector
I ran a RX 5700 XT like this for the better part of year. internal mini 6-pins went to the 8-pin on GPU, and this dual SATA to single 6-pin did the other 6-pin on GPU

2) Spare/aux PSU
You need a 2nd PSU to do this. Just use your 2nd PSU to power both of the connectors on the GPU. alternatively you can have spare/aux PSU power just 1 GPU connector and the other GPU connector by the normal internal mini 6-pin connectors
Ran the same RX 5700 XT like this for a few weeks until the cables I needed for the above #1 method arrived
This was not clean because you will need to snake the cables in from the rear or leave the side panel off the case
You will need to jumper this spare/aux PSU with the old and trusty paper clip trick and you will need to make sure to turn it on first, and off last so your system boots and shuts down safely as intended

3) Pixlas Mod
These PSUs are rated for 980W so there is plenty of juice....Apple just never thought ppl would still be sticking in new GPUs over a decade later that consume more than 225W apparently lol
This looked like a major rabbit hole to me. Hence I went with the more basic methods. This is a good method....just is more technical and time consuming. Google it for details


I always point Mac Pro users to https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/mac-pro.1/ also. those forums have a plethora of info, guides and where I really learned the most from the community. Be sure to check that out

Here's what it says:

MSI Radeon RX 580 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card RX 580 GAMING X 4G​

• 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5
• Boost Clock 1393 MHz (OC)
• 1380 MHz (Gaming)
• 1340 MHz (Silent)
• 1 x DL-DVI-D 2 x HDMI 2 x DisplayPort
• 2304 Stream Processors
• PCI Express x16

I don't have the card yet. It's on the way. My computer has 2 6-pin power connectors, and I found this item on Amazon. Do you think it will work?
The computer puts out 75 watts on each power socket.

Wait a minute! I thought I was buying an 8GB card. OK, I should be fine, right?

lmao I write all that above and you don't even need two 8pin power connectors. this card only has one 8pin connector. The internal mini 6pins are sufficient for this card!
if that is indeed the GPU you will be using, this single cable is all you will need for it

For Mac Pro Video Card 18 AWG Dual Mini 6 Pin To 8 Pin Male PCI-E Power Cable | eBay

This item is compatible with for 18AWG Dual Mini 6pin male to 8Pin male PCI-e For Mac Pr;. Connector A: Dual Mini 6pin Male. Compatible Model: For Mac Pro. Connector B: 8 pin male. Quantity:1 pcs power cable.

www.ebay.com

 

[eidairaman1]

That card by itself is just 1 8pin connector, 8 pins were mainly for overclockers. Minimum psu is 500 wats,

Powerdraw is 185Watts.

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/Radeon-RX-580-GAMING-X-4G/Specification

You can just get a 6 to 8 pin adapter or try it with just the 6 pin.

 

[rawbob]

Its always the firmware that makes apple a headache to work with.

I'll check it. Thanks!

 

[eidairaman1]

I used several modern GPUs in my cheeserate Mac Pro. only difference is mine is a 2009 model and the only difference there was a wireless card included and I think 1033 vs 1333 MHz ram. so what I did will work for you too. you need to get a Y-adapter that will combine the two mini 6-pin aux connectors into a single 8-pin. Should be called something like dual mini 6-pin to single 8-pin....folks have been doing this for years and these are readily available. That will cover just one of the 8-pin connectors on the GPU though. Next steps is up to you but there are several methods

1) Need to have two SATA bays available
This method takes power from two SATA power connectors with another Y-adapter. Need to get a dual SATA to single 8-pin connector cable.
One SATA port does ~50W so this is why you need two. with ~100W that will be sufficient to run the 75W that potentially can go to that 8-pin connector
I ran a RX 5700 XT like this for the better part of year

2) Spare/aux PSU
You need a 2nd PSU to do this. Just use your 2nd PSU to power both of the 8-pins or just 1 and the other by the normal internal connectors
Ran the same RX 5700 XT like this for a few weeks until the cables I needed for the above #1 method arrived
This was not clean because you will need to snake the cables in from the rear or leave the side panel off the case

3) Pixlas Mod
These PSUs are rated for 980W so there is plenty of juice....Apple just never thought ppl would still be sticking in new GPUs over a decade later that consume more than 225W apparently lol
This looked like a major rabbit hole to me. Hence I went with the more basic methods. This is a good method....just is more technical and time consuming. Google it for details


I always point Mac Pro users to https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/mac-pro.1/ also. those forums have a plethora of info, guides and where I really learned the most from the community. Be sure to check that out




lmao I write all that above and you don't even need two 8pin power connectors. this card only has one 8pin connector. The internal mini 6pins are sufficient for this card!

Yeah for its age the 580 sips power unlike the 3060+ today

I'll check it. Thanks!

@skizzo is on to something

 

[rawbob]

Going to bed folks. I'll digest all this tomorrow.

 

[eidairaman1]

Going to bed folks. I'll digest all this tomorrow.

Keep us informed please

 

[rawbob]

Yeah for its age the 580 sips power unlike the 3060+ today


@skizzo is on to something

I found this Y connector on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P82ZH22/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There were two RX580 customer reviews from cheesegrater owners who bought and used this connector satisfactorily, at least at the time they wrote their reviews. I hope I will be able to use the card I bought at less than full power. Can that be done successfully? Would I be safer return that item and buy an RX 480 instead? And I'll check out the Pixlas mod also.

I'll check out your macrumors forum recommendation also. Thank you very much.

 

[eidairaman1]

I found this Y connector on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P82ZH22/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There were two RX580 customer reviews from cheesegrater owners who bought and used this connector satisfactorily, at least at the time they wrote their reviews. I hope I will be able to use the card I bought at less than full power. Can that be done successfully? Would I be safer return that item and buy an RX 480 instead? And I'll check out the Pixlas mod also.

I'll check out your macrumors forum recommendation also. Thank you very much.

No dont return the 580 for a 480 there is no reason to

 

[rawbob]

Thanks. I feel more hopeful now.

 

[rawbob]

Successfully installed with 11" dual mini y cable to 8-pin power cable from Newegg. System boots fine. Thanks for the help guys.

I was hoping to get to Mojave with this, but Apple wants to stay in High Sierra.

 

[skizzo]

Successfully installed with 11" dual mini y cable to 8-pin power cable from Newegg. System boots fine. Thanks for the help guys.

I was hoping to get to Mojave with this, but Apple wants to stay in High Sierra.

2012 5,1 models can run Mojave fine, in fact, it is the most recent macOS X version you can run natively. even the 2010 models, which are also 5,1 can run Mojave.
so if you're saying the app store is telling you that you cannot download it or you got the installer and it will not install, then you have an earlier Mac Pro model.
2009 4,1 models or earlier need to be hacked to run Mojave.
there is a caveat that you need a Metal compliant GPU to run Mojave though....ie, you will at best have a system running without hardware acceleration or will boot to a black screen if you have a GPU installed that is too old. But you have a RX 580 which is Metal compliant so you're fine there

 

[rawbob]

My machine reports as 5,1 dual 6-core 2012. 1333 mhz 64GB ram.

12-Core Apple Mac Pro - 6TB - 64GB RAM - 1 Year Warranty - macOS High Sierra | eBay

HUGE Enterprise-Grade 6TB Hard Drive. A HUGE 6TB Hard Drive is installed for a vast amount of storage space, and it is an enterprise-grade, high-reliability drive. For video-intensive applications, such as 4K video editing, a higher performance video card can be installed, allowing the Mac to...

www.ebay.com

“Powerful TWELVE-CORE Intel Xeon processing power, 64GB memory, HUGE 6TB ENTERPRISE-GRADE storage, and ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics. Loaded with a fresh install of macOS High Sierra! Need to run a macOS version newer than High Sierra (even Big Sur)? Contact me about a graphics card upgrade so that the Mac can support Big Sur, and I can have it ready with Big Sur for you. With the exception of scratches, and possibly a few small dents, this Mac is in great shape! Thoroughly tested and upgraded by an Apple-Certified Technician, so that it is ready to be used for many years to come.”

I guess I should've let the seller do the upgrade for me.

 

[skizzo]

My machine reports as 5,1 dual 6-core 2012. 1333 mhz 64GB ram.

12-Core Apple Mac Pro - 6TB - 64GB RAM - 1 Year Warranty - macOS High Sierra | eBay

HUGE Enterprise-Grade 6TB Hard Drive. A HUGE 6TB Hard Drive is installed for a vast amount of storage space, and it is an enterprise-grade, high-reliability drive. For video-intensive applications, such as 4K video editing, a higher performance video card can be installed, allowing the Mac to...

www.ebay.com

“Powerful TWELVE-CORE Intel Xeon processing power, 64GB memory, HUGE 6TB ENTERPRISE-GRADE storage, and ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics. Loaded with a fresh install of macOS High Sierra! Need to run a macOS version newer than High Sierra (even Big Sur)? Contact me about a graphics card upgrade so that the Mac can support Big Sur, and I can have it ready with Big Sur for you. With the exception of scratches, and possibly a few small dents, this Mac is in great shape! Thoroughly tested and upgraded by an Apple-Certified Technician, so that it is ready to be used for many years to come.”

I guess I should've let the seller do the upgrade for me.

if you want to upgrade the operating system to Mojave it's very simple even for the most basic of computer users. you can follow normal installation procedures for macOSX. you are totally capable of making that upgrade yourself. but yes, you could have had the seller do this for you but coulda shoulda woulda is always obvious in hindsight lol. now that you got the RX 580 installed you can download Mojave 10.14.6 from the App Store and then install it and enjoy your new system on the newest macOS that is natively supported

 

[rawbob]

LOL! All I had to do was log out of my Apple account and log back in again. Now Mojave is downloading after all. Sometimes I hate computers. Duh.
Thanks again.