For the Mac User who wants to or are using a Nvidia GPU, we understand that you have a lot of questions. This post is for you. We have collated as many of the most common questions we got about the Nvidia graphics cards and brought them together in a single post. If you do have an issue that isn’t answered below, please feel free to get in touch with us.
I just installed my new Nvidia XXXX graphics card, and the screen just stays black?
The first thing to check is to see if you have installed the drivers for the card.
Do you have them installed?
No – Install the drivers
Yes – Ensure you have correct drivers, full power and no hardware faults.
I went to the Nvidia Website, found my graphics cards, but there is no OSX driver?
All the drivers for the Nvidia cards come under the Nvidia Quadro K5000.
The drivers are not card specific but OSX version specific.
Where can I find the drivers for my Nvidia Card?
All the drivers for each version of OSX / MacOS can be found at the link below.
Click here
How do I know what driver is the one for me?
The driver is specific to the build number of the operating system you are running. Just looking for a driver for version 10.10.5 might not get you what you need.
How to reveal your OS X build number:
Fr34k, a crafty developer over on eGPU.io, has created a super easy to use script that will enable NVIDIA GPU support on any Mac running High Sierra. Will the Nvidia XXXX get enough power in my Mac Pro 3,1 / 4,1 / 5,1? Check the manufacturer specification of the card to see the TDP. We recommend no more than a 250W TDP for Nvidia Graphics cards. Can I install a Nvidia graphics card in my Mac Pro 1,1 / 2,1? Any of the newer cards will not work as they require 10.9.2 or newer. Apple NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT MA567Z/A 256MB Video Graphics Card Mac Pro P345 2122 $34.99 Apple iMac A1225 2009 NVIDIA GeForce GT120 256MB GPU w/ Heatsink 661-4991.
- Click the Apple logo to the far left of the menu bar.
- Click ‘About this Mac.’
- Click ‘Version XX.XX.X’ to reveal build number
Once you have your build number, you can see exactly what driver you need.
If you visit the link above you can see each version and build split with the driver available.
I have installed my Nvidia card, connected all the cables and installed the drivers but it won’t boot?
Firstly, check you have installed the correct version of the driver. A common mistake is to install the latest driver and not the correct one for your build of OSX.
If that doesn’t work check your card is supported in the version of OSX you are running, double check you are getting enough power to the card, and then last resort is check for faulty hardware.
GTX 780Ti & GTX Titan Black require 10.9.2 or later
GTX 750Ti, GTX 950, GTX 960, GTX 970, GTX 980, GTX 980Ti, and Titan X (Maxwell) Require 10.10 or later
I’m trying to use Nvidia XXXX in my Mac Pro and only have one power cable connected. My machine chimes/doesn’t boot?
You will need to fully power the graphics card for it to function. Plug both auxiliary power connections into the graphics card.
I have installed the CUDA drivers without any issues, but I get an error saying that the web driver is incompatible with my operating system?
The driver you have downloaded is not the correct version for your build.
Please see above guide on selecting the correct driver.
I have purchased a overclocked/super clocked (or other more powerful version) of Nvidia 9XX series graphics card, and my machine crashes/no longer boots?
The crashes are most likely the machine shutting itself down as the card is drawing too much power. If your system no longer boots you may have damaged something.
I recommend testing the graphics card in another system to ensure that it isn’t just faulty hardware. Also, check the manufacturer specification of the card to see the TDP. We recommend no more than a 250W TDP for Nvidia Graphics cards to be stable and fully functional.
Will the Nvidia XXXX work in my Mac Pro 3,1 / 4,1 / 5,1?
Most Nvidia cards will work in all three models it’s the version of OSX you are running which will make the difference.
GTX 780Ti & GTX Titan Black require 10.9.2 or later
GTX 750Ti, GTX 950, GTX 960, GTX 970, GTX 980, GTX 980Ti, and Titan X (Maxwell) Require 10.10 or later
Will the Nvidia XXXX get enough power in my Mac Pro 3,1 / 4,1 / 5,1?
Check the manufacturer specification of the card to see the TDP. We recommend no more than a 250W TDP for Nvidia Graphics cards.
Can I install a Nvidia graphics card in my Mac Pro 1,1 / 2,1?
Any of the newer cards will not work as they require 10.9.2 or newer. The older systems are also 32bit not 64bit so require a GPU with a 32bit BIOS.
I’m running a Mac Pro X,X with the following CPU will I need to upgrade my CPU to fit a new graphics card?
No, you do not, the only thing that matters is that your system is a 3,1 or newer and running the correct operating system for your choice of GPU.
How is the power draw from the card handled?
We select specific cards which draw within the power limit of the Mac Pro. Certain graphics cards will draw too much and can only be run with an additional GPU.
So when you install the Nvidia GPU how do you update the drivers when a new version of OSX comes out?
You will need to swap back to the Apple GPU, update OS X, update drivers and then swap to the Nvidia GTX GPU.
I have a modified Nvidia card do I still need the drivers?
Yes, you still need the drivers. The Mac EFI just gives you a boot screen.
I’m not getting audio over HDMI / Display Port in my Mac Pro with the Nvidia card?
Nvidia doesn’t support audio over HDMI or Display Port you will need to output via digital or 3.5mm.
I have one Nvidia XXXX graphics card installed in my system I want to add another one?
If you would like to install another GPU you MUST go one of these two routes:
Route 1 – Get an external power supply unit to power the card
Route 2 – Get an external PCI-e chassis such as the Xpander Elite from Cubix.
There is not enough power inside the Mac Pro to power GPUs, and you are just asking for trouble. We recommend the Cubix route purely as it is a much more reliable solution.
List of supported Nvidia GPU for the Mac Pro 5,1
GTX Titan X 12GB (Maxwell)
GTX 980TI 6GB
GTX 980 4GB
GTX 970 4GB
GTX 960 2GB/4GB
GTX 780 3GB/6GB
GTX 770 2GB/4GB
GTX 760 2GB
GTX 750Ti 2GB
GTX 680 2GB/4GB
GTX 780Ti & GTX Titan Black require 10.9.2 or later
GTX 750Ti, GTX 950, GTX 960, GTX 970, GTX 980, GTX 980Ti, and Titan X (Maxwell) Require 10.10 or later
*Please note not all variations from all manufacturers work.
Are you running a model, not on this list? Let us know!
We have tried our best to answer as many of the most common questions above. If we have not answered your questions above comment below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Nvidia Video Cards For Mac Pro
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Very good question, cdecde12. My best answer is: it depends. Usually Apple has graphics card drivers built into the OS, so it *may* work or *may not*. They haven't exactly published a list of which ones do and don't work for sure. Maybe in Bootcamp or VMware Fusion or Parallels it might work, but that's if you're setting up a virtual machine.
Out of the box---no, probablly not. I haven't heard of a Mac compatible GTX 1060/1070/1080 yet. One may come along in the future. Usually what you'd have to do is get the card flashed with a Mac compatible ROM, which requires a PC and a whole lot of knowledge, none of which I have, or you could send it to MacVidCards.com and see if they'll flash it
which probably will cost you some money. Also, check out xlr8yourmac.com for reports of compatible graphics cards
as reported by Mac users. Darn shame, too. I have a Radeon Sapphire 7950 video card which works fine, but it has 3 gigs of video ram on board and that's it. The R9 series have been reported to work okay, but I can't verify that one way or the other. If that card does *sorta* work out of the box (no guarantees), you probably won't see anything on the screen until the graphics drivers load, so should you run into problems on startup, you're basically out of luck, unless you can live with that
hope that helps a bit
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