Replacement graphics card for Mac Pro late 2013?

I'm pretty sure I've eliminated all other possibilities, looks like my orginal graphics card is not working. Nothing showing on my monitor but when I hit space bar on keyboard, I can hear the tutorial video I was watching start to play. The monitor works fine on a different computer. Tried different HDMI cables, nothing.


I know there are a few versions (quad core, 6 core, etc) of the late 2013 pro and I'm not sure which one I have. I did get my serial number off the bottom of mine if it helps. F*******94


[Edited by Moderator]

Mac Pro, macOS 12.7

Posted on Sep 3, 2025 09:44 AM

Reply
8 replies

Sep 3, 2025 09:57 AM in response to Bhowland

A different HDMI cable is a check against an HDMI cable that is completely broken. it does nothing for an HDMI cable that is less capable than the required spec.


HDMI cables you want for HDMI-only Displays (higher resolutions than 720p TV sets) are marked as Certified with an anti-counterfeiting tag and are labeled:


"PREMIUM High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "with Ethernet" (up to 4K at 30Hz) --OR--

“ULTRA High Speed HDMI cable" or that + "48G" (supports higher resolutions and backward-compatible)


Cables with No Certification tags are good for your standard 720p TV set, and not much more.


HDMI was invented for HD TV sets. it works great at its original resolution of 720i or 720p. At higher resolutions, it quickly develops issues that are complex to solve, and the cables and adapters required to solve are NOT intuitive.



Sep 3, 2025 10:44 AM in response to Bhowland

have you tried using an HDMI cable that is of sufficient spec?


the direct HDMI output is limited to HDMI 1.4, which can provide, at best, 4K display at 30 Hz.


Cards used were Mac Pro 2013-specific form factor AMD FirePro D300, D500, or D700 graphics cards (arranged in a PAIR of cards that were not identical).


cost from one site is from US$250/pair to over US$450 pair for the high end cards.


Advice:

Considering that the ENTRY level Apple-Silicon MacBook AIR outperforms the 2013 Mac Pro, that money would be better spent on a more modern machine.

Be certain your newer model has MORE than 8GB RAM, or it will be hobbled by lack of RAM.

Sep 3, 2025 10:19 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Okay thanks. So do you know what graphics card I need? Or somewhere I can enter serial number/other info to find out the name/numbers/letters, etc of the card I need? In case I do need to buy a used/tested card.


Seems like I'm reminded every 10 years or so how little I know about the inner workings of Apple computers, despite having worked with them solely since 1998 for graphic design..

Sep 3, 2025 11:58 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Apologies for firing off so many questions -I'm somewhat desparate and frustrated and you're responsive and knowledgable.


Assuming I can use the AMD Firepro D300, would I need 2 of them? I'm understanding or maybe misunderstanding it as 2 are needed only for whichever Mac Pro 2013 requires the D700.


I'll swiftly fork over 45bucks +S/H for one of these. Doubling that amount will have me considering a new machine.


[Edited by Moderator]

Sep 3, 2025 12:46 PM in response to Bhowland

FYI, the Late-2013 Mac Pro (aka Trash Can) has known GPU failures. Apple had a free repair program for a small number of them back in the day, but my most of my organization's Late-2013 Mac Pros had confirmed GPU failures (GPU related Kernel Panics) which were not covered by the Apple free repair program which indicates Apple's estimate of affected products was completely inaccurate including GPUs which Apple said were never part of the program.


In addition, there are two GPU boards in this Mac which work in tandem (each board does something a bit different). Either one, or even both of them could be bad. There is no way to know. Even Apple authorized techs had no clue since Apple never provided any way of confirming except by spending money replacing one, then the other board.


After all this time, I guess you could have a bad internal connection. Reseating the boards & cables may freshen up the internal connections. However, this specific computer is not easy to work on since it does not sit flat on a work bench. You must basically disassemble the whole device just to access the GPU boards with it rolling around. The connections used are also very fragile & easily damaged.....absolute terrible design. And some of the screw/bolts can easily be stripped during reassembly.


From what I saw with my organization's Late-2013 Macs......you should save your money and retire it. It


Just curious if you tried a PRAM Reset (hold for at least three chimes)?


Also, make sure to disconnect all Thunderbolt devices since two of those Thunderbolt ports (I forget which ones) share the bus with the HDMI Port and can easily interfere with one another.


Replacement graphics card for Mac Pro late 2013?

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