Help replacing graphics card/ORIGINAL 2010 APPLE MAC PRO TOWER 5.1 (Mid 2010) OS High Sierra v.10.13.6.

What Grant said.

https://graphicscardhub.com/graphics-card-pcie-power-connectors/

You only need a dual mini 6-pin split cable for 8-pin cards such as a typical RX 570 / 580. For a 6-pin card your mini to standard cable is the correct one.

In addition to the MSI 560 and Sapphire Pulse 580 specifically listed by Apple (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208898) I can also personally vouch that the Gigabyte Windforce and PowerColor Red Dragon cards work with the native MacOS drivers and have seen second hand-reports that the XFX issue is limited to the 460/560 with 570/580 cards working.

The Apple logo and progress bar should appear at ~50% progress when the GPU drivers load.

Emergency power-down occurs when the graphics card over-draws the power. If you did not connect ALL the power inlets the card requires, overdrawing the power supply was the likely result.

Do not fret over the drivers, they should be included in MacOS. Drivers never cause a power-down, just possibly lack of picture.

the 5,1 logic board provides 75W from the PSU to the PCI, 75W from the logic board to the power directly to the board, so 150W total power

if the draw from the 560 exceeds 150W then you will need to use a cable with two mini 6 pin attached to the logic board that meet into on 6pin GPU power cable, provided the card does not exceed 225W

and the 5770 would have to be pulled (since the power from the logic board that went to it is now going to the 560 and the 75W on the PCI is not enough to power it alone) and removed entirely (which would leave you without a boot ROM to watch the apple logo and the progress bar or boot into multi boot screen AFAIK), find a card that runs with less than 75W (the GT120's that shipped with the 5,1's did) or you could power the 560 with an external PSU

There are a few different 560 models, do you know what the power requirements are for the one you have?

Grant is this the case?

While most Polaris cards just work the XFX 460/560 cards are an exception. Those use a custom vbios that doesn't work with the native MacOS drivers.

I'd suggest returning/exchanging the cards for a different brand or model.

I may be wrong but this is the one apple recommends

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-RX-560-AERO-ITX/dp/B072J422CZ

the power from the logic board is recommend at between 60 - 80 w so for a single mini6 from the logic board you should be able to power this card and leave the 5770 in there as well since the EFI Bios (that makes the boot screens visible) in the 560 doesn't work out-of-the-box unless you hack it. I tend to stay clear of that stuff.

The two 6-in ports on the mainboard are identical. Each can supply 75W of additional Power.

Some cards need none, like the GT120 that shipped in a few of those Macs (but it not much of a card). Some require two like the 4870 and 5870 that shipped with some of those Macs. Some require only one like the 5770.

The ports are all 12 Volts on one side of the connector and 12V return on the other side.

A concern is if you have an 8-pin receptacle on the card, but only a 6-pin cable powering it.

as others have said:

75W from the slot

75W for a six-pin connector, and you can connect two if the card has two.

if the card has an 8-pin connector, those are said to be good for 150W (and yes I realize that math does not work out correctly).

A number like 400W is more likely to be a spec for the power supply required, not the power budget for one card (although I guess it is possible, it just does not seem likely).

the MSI card appears to draw 65W at peak and does not have a 6 or 8 pin plug. Theoretically the card should operate directly from the PCIe slot and not need to be connected to any other power. Different providers may have different power requirements so make sure you have the right cable, however in the case of this MSI card it would not need any cable, it's getting all it's power from the slot.

the mini6 to mini6 that fits into the 5770 was very specific to that mac and that time period, newer cards will need a mini 6 to a 6-8 pin adapter.

Many of the 8 pin cables allow you to detach the last two (making it 6) or don't connect the card's slot but will fit and work anyway.

If you find a mini6 to to whatever cable that the vendor lists as "mac G5" it will work on the cheese-grater cMP's, they have the same power sleeve for the mini6 on the logic board.

Always check with the vendor.

One other quick tip is I bought my first MSI card this summer, I was an ASUS connoisseur in all my prior PC builds ;-) it's a Nvidia 1660ti, I need it for windows not mac.

The MSI in my 5,1 Mac, but it did NOT fit in the bottom slot without being forced into some slight angle. I kept the 5770 on the bottom and put the MSI on top, which is fine, I still need the 5770 because I'm using the 1660ti for a single display and a single purpose, I run the other displays on the 5770 for palettes and web browsers and less intensive stuff.

terrencefromhayward wrote:

it seems like the 5770 can't keep up, or else something else is causing the hangups, LONG pauses and beach balling when I'm moving thru links on various websites.

Nonsense. That card can run three BIG displays with ease. If you are seeing slowdowns, it is not because of the graphics card, unless they are slow shading, slow cross-fades, slow wireframe analysis. Running displays is simple for a card like the 5770.

On the 5770 uninstallation: Sounds right. I've heard the Mojave installer won't run if any non-Metal cards are installed.

On the MSI RX 560 Price: That card has been discontinued and only scalpers have inventory remaining. I'd strongly suggest using a different card. The Biostar RX 560 has amazon verified purchase reviews claiming it works, while the 6-pin Sapphire Pulse RX 570 ITX has the same branding as Apple's endorsed 580 and has positive reddit reviews.