You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Upgrade graphics card on my Mac Pro 5.1. it has Apple Cinema Display 27” / Model A316

I have a Mac Pro 5.1 with Apple Cinema Display, Model A316 and need to upgrade it to a metal capable graphic card that is also compatible with the Cinema Display. Any suggestions, as I did by one on eBay and had to send it back, because it was faulty.

I have looked at some on eBay, which say they’re compatible with Mohave, Monterey, Sonoma and Ventura. They state they work with 4.1/5.1 and are Metal 2 API compatible and have a full efi boot screen. 🤷‍♀️ Any help would be much appreciated, as there are so many choices.

Mac Pro, macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 8, 2024 2:19 AM

Reply

Similar questions

3 replies

Mar 8, 2024 8:32 AM in response to ljmm1968

Hi, ljmm1968,

I have a few suggestions for you

a 7950 HD is a good starting graphics card… either Mac Flashed or Mac native is OK… you can try some of the other video cards on this list : Graphics card compatibility for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor - Apple Support (CA)… please note the Vega 56,64, Vega frontier edition and radeon VII will require the Pixlas Mod to work at all…


John B


Mar 8, 2024 8:49 AM in response to ljmm1968

This article is also very important.


You must be running 10.13.6 at the time you want to update (actually, I think as long as you have run it at least once before and installed 10.13.6 firmware update you will be fine.)


Turn off FileVault, or you will get a permanent black screen.


There is a list of 'stock' graphics cards (available at the time of that article's writing) included.


Install macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Apple Support


.


Mar 8, 2024 7:36 AM in response to ljmm1968


I use this as my search term:

(mac, pro, apple) (boot, appleboot) (metal, mojave)

... in category Graphics/Video cards


Then I restrict to my geographical area (for me that's US only) and sort by Price plus shipping.


There are no drivers for NVIDIA (including GTX cards) beyond Mojave, so that might not be the best choice unless your work demands NVIDIA.


The DVI interface (that you need on those cards) gets hotter than the more commonly-used Mini-DisplayPort, so it is not a complete surprise if you got a card with a blown DVI interface. Most sellers won't have a setup that includes a way to test the DVI, so sometimes a return is the solution.


OWC (Central US) sells a few used card with a 90-day warranty. the 5770 and GT120 are NOT Metal cards. The W5700 is not available. The other two cards, both RX580 variants, are available SOON at under US$300, BUT Note: "Ships In !5 days":


https://eshop.macsales.com/search/?filter.catidpath=4315&filter.dimension_video_card_interface_242=PCIe


.





Upgrade graphics card on my Mac Pro 5.1. it has Apple Cinema Display 27” / Model A316

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.