But the problem does not exist in High Sierra or previous macos
so maybe ppartially hardware and partially driver problem
Maybe waiting for m1 Mac Pro is more interesting
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MP 6,1 Mac Pro 6,1 - 12core /D700 flicker issue
- Thread starter daveedjackson
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so maybe ppartially hardware and partially driver problem
Maybe waiting for m1 Mac Pro is more interesting
Just wondering if anyone is having any luck with their MacPros and this issue?
I am trying so hard not to throw mine away. Doing a render in P.Pro today and the output is getting lines added to it, what looks like the GPU struggling.
Still have a single 4K 60 display connected via mDP AND the HMDI port connect also (to the same display) so the mac thinks there are two displays.
Really at my wittsend with this.
![Screen Shot 2021-03-20 at 2.00.11 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2021-03-20 at 2.00.11 PM.png")
I am trying so hard not to throw mine away. Doing a render in P.Pro today and the output is getting lines added to it, what looks like the GPU struggling.
Still have a single 4K 60 display connected via mDP AND the HMDI port connect also (to the same display) so the mac thinks there are two displays.
Really at my wittsend with this.
a hardware issue. To the point Apple refunded me my system 6 years on, because it was a fault I reported as soon as I had it. A "legacy" fault if you will. And because I'd reported it whilst under it's warranty, and persisted for so long with it after. Waiting for an update to fix it. I didn't let it go, and they refunded me. IT was a painful. As a long term Apple customer I've realised on my most expensive purchases both the Mac Pro trash can costing over 6k and now the new 7,1 Mac Pro costing the better part of 10k Apple frankly don't I've a crap how much you're spending. Once they have your money, any reason or excuse to delay, drag their feet or no refund/repair they will take it. I don't remember them ever being like this. It's made me question my loyalty to them as a customer tbh.
Maybe some early build systems had a problem or the GPUs are just heat damaged. Mine is a 2017 model and I keep an eye on the GPU temperatures. We can blame Apple for the problem because their fan profile does not protect the Tahiti GPUs from overheating, but it is also the user's fault for not monitoring the GPU temperatures and letting them overheat.
I had GPU's replaced. thermal core replaced. Every single replaceable thing in the system was swapped.
How can this ever be a user's fault? The design of the Trashcan is made to fail; if it's overheating the GPUs then it's not fit for purpose, pure and simple. I know, because I owned one.
How many users out there monitor their Mac's GPU temperatures? Why should they? It's not like they bought a load of parts and built it themselves. The 6,1 Mac Pro was an outrageous act of egotistic design - it didn't serve it's target market and was simply a vehicle for Ive's vanity at the time.
Don't excuse Apple for it. It was contemptuous form over function, simple as that.
Oh my. You had quite the lemon. That's got to be exceedingly uncommon.
Speak your mind. Don't hold back.
Most computers have design limitations. Many computers have GPUs that are prone to overheating. Tahiti GPUs are notorious for running hot. The 6,1 thermal design seems to be adequate for the Pitcairn GPUs, but those have other issues like drivers that Apple never really put much effort into polishing. I'm perfectly content with my 6,1s operating within the parameters of the design limitations.
The number of faults you can run into with this system is certainly worrying. Mine is a mid-2018 and had the D500 GPUs replaced after a year. And some other stuff a while later... I was so sure I had gotten one of the later, hopefully fixed models but nada (first owner too).
It must have been Monday every day for years at the Apple factory. Either that or it's simply a flawed design. Trouble free for now. It would not trust this design as a workstation (flat-out rendering) long term. Looks nice and is still capable as a regular desktop though. Which was all I ever required it to do.
Btw. are we sure Ive can be blamed for this? I know people like to put all the minimalistic anti-user design of the last decade on him but the Trashcan development must have been going on under Jobs already. Just saying. Same guy who approved the Cube.
It must have been Monday every day for years at the Apple factory. Either that or it's simply a flawed design. Trouble free for now. It would not trust this design as a workstation (flat-out rendering) long term. Looks nice and is still capable as a regular desktop though. Which was all I ever required it to do.
Btw. are we sure Ive can be blamed for this?
I know people like to put all the minimalistic anti-user design of the last decade on him but the Trashcan development must have been going on under Jobs already. Just saying. Same guy who approved the Cube.What always confused me was they never replaced the cpu. Seemed logical to replace the entire system which again, they wouldn’t do. Almost like they knew it was an issue. I mean, they must have given they couldn’t fix it and refunded me. Why do they if it could be swapped for a new unit. I think I’m done with Apple “pro” the only thing pro is the cost. Support certainly isn’t. I’ve bent over backwards and proved issued. And still made me jump over hurdles and miles of politics internally. The customer should never have that much to deal with, with a faulty product. But they made my life hell.Oh my. You had quite the lemon. That's got to be exceedingly uncommon.
Speak your mind. Don't hold back.
Most computers have design limitations. Many computers have GPUs that are prone to overheating. Tahiti GPUs are notorious for running hot. The 6,1 thermal design seems to be adequate for the Pitcairn GPUs, but those have other issues like drivers that Apple never really put much effort into polishing. I'm perfectly content with my 6,1s operating within the parameters of the design limitations.
I had a new CPU riser. That didn't fix it. I had everything replaced in the system. Apart from the Actual CPU.
This was the exact issue I had. Apple know about the problem. It's why they refunded me.
My best guess is that whatever you were doing with the machine caused it to overheat and damaged the GPUs again.
8 core with D700 here. I have this issue with displayport, 4k @ 60hz. Switch to HDMI its gone, but stuck with 30hz. I've done some research on this there seems to have no fix. Some say original Apple Thunderbold display would solve, but I'm not going to spend that money for risk.
First of all, hi, I am new here. I wanted to register to the forum for giving my insight in this flicker issue. We had that problem at work. I own myself a Mac Pro 6,1 with D300 as well.
For giving a background:
At work we had a total of 7 Mac Pro 6,1 - 5 of them with D300 and 2 of them with D500. (I never ordered a D700.)
The D300 were connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors: one 2k monitor and 1 HD monitor
The D500 were connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors: one 4k monitor and 1 HD monitor
(my personal D300 was connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors to a DCI 4k monitor with no issues)
However, we had a problem with two machines at work, both of them D300, with a flicker issue.
All the machines at work were brand new. Indeed, we contacted Apple about those two machines, and I should recognize that Apple was “a bit” frustrating.
So, I found that, in our case, the problem was the mini DP to DP cable!
In our case, the “cheap” cables were causing the issue. Since we changed to the Startech mini DP to DP and to the Eizo mini DP to DP “PM200” cable the issue completely disappeared in those machines.
Maybe not all the issues comes from there, but in our case that was the problem. I hope that helps.
For giving a background:
At work we had a total of 7 Mac Pro 6,1 - 5 of them with D300 and 2 of them with D500. (I never ordered a D700.)
The D300 were connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors: one 2k monitor and 1 HD monitor
The D500 were connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors: one 4k monitor and 1 HD monitor
(my personal D300 was connected through mini DP to DP to 2 monitors to a DCI 4k monitor with no issues)
However, we had a problem with two machines at work, both of them D300, with a flicker issue.
All the machines at work were brand new. Indeed, we contacted Apple about those two machines, and I should recognize that Apple was “a bit” frustrating.
So, I found that, in our case, the problem was the mini DP to DP cable!
In our case, the “cheap” cables were causing the issue. Since we changed to the Startech mini DP to DP and to the Eizo mini DP to DP “PM200” cable the issue completely disappeared in those machines.
Maybe not all the issues comes from there, but in our case that was the problem. I hope that helps.
I wonder if you can provide more details regarding cheap/good cables? What are specs? Price point? I looked at Eizo they aren't that much more expensive.
Unfortunately I do not remember that. But maybe “cheap” was not the right word neither.
That happened like 5 years ago. I remember that the StarTech cable was a bit more expensive, but nothing unacceptable indeed, like $5 or $10 more than the cables that I tried before. This one worked for us.
The PM200 comes along with certain Eizo models, so I didn’t need to order/buy them separately. This one worked as well (And that’s the one that I currently have in my own machine as well, with no issues at all)
I do not want to say that changing the cable the problem will be gone, even if in our particular case (D300), it was exactly what happened. But for the price of a cable maybe it worth to try it, and then... fingers crossed.
hmm, so the system could sit cold all weekend, off. And as soon as it started up the glitching was present. I love that you can come to that conclusion, yet it went to the highest engineers on the system to investigate, and nothing like that was ever mentioned. But of course it's totally something "I've done" causing it to overheat. A "Professional system" running professional bits of software!
Maybe not the solution you would like to hear but I purchased one of these speed-mac-pro-cooling-base to extend the life of my NMP 12 Core D700 in along with istat menus. When rendering in BlackMagic Design Resolve /Fusion or Houdini I start up the device. While not as quiet as I would like it, does the deed in keeping the system cool.
I thought this to be the case too, however I did purchase StarTech mDP-mDP and mDP-DP cables and the problem on my system still flickers.
Still can't get it to do it on macOS 10.13.6 or newer.
I am sorry to hear that it didn’t work..
When I was reading the thread and I have seen that many things were tried already.
Not sure if it was done already, but baybe something that could be tried is to check the system from the most basic configuration, and then going up. I mean, to remove all but 1 module of RAM (and the ssd), and to have only the keyboard, mouse and the screen plugged in. with a clean installation of the OS indeed. Bluetooth and wifi disabled.
Then trying to plug the monitor to different DP bus and to see what happen, trying to reproduce the problem you have. if no flicker issue appears, the next steps are to add every hardware element at once and to test again every time something is added. Bluetooth on -> test. Reset. bluetooth off and wifi on -> test, reset. etc.
second ram module added -> test. Third ram module added -> test, etc
With every single thing that has to be connected and installed in the machine
I use to do that a lot with an Intel server board (that was a pain of a motherboard, I should say) when something went wrong, for trying to isolate and to identify from were the problem came - hardware or software. Maybe it could worth to try it...
Even, I would check if there is an electromagnetic source in the place where the machine is located, and from were the cables goes through, that could potentially cause an interference in the signal.
I hope that makes sense and that it could helps...
When I was reading the thread and I have seen that many things were tried already.
Not sure if it was done already, but baybe something that could be tried is to check the system from the most basic configuration, and then going up. I mean, to remove all but 1 module of RAM (and the ssd), and to have only the keyboard, mouse and the screen plugged in. with a clean installation of the OS indeed. Bluetooth and wifi disabled.
Then trying to plug the monitor to different DP bus and to see what happen, trying to reproduce the problem you have. if no flicker issue appears, the next steps are to add every hardware element at once and to test again every time something is added. Bluetooth on -> test. Reset. bluetooth off and wifi on -> test, reset. etc.
second ram module added -> test. Third ram module added -> test, etc
With every single thing that has to be connected and installed in the machine
I use to do that a lot with an Intel server board (that was a pain of a motherboard, I should say) when something went wrong, for trying to isolate and to identify from were the problem came - hardware or software. Maybe it could worth to try it...
Even, I would check if there is an electromagnetic source in the place where the machine is located, and from were the cables goes through, that could potentially cause an interference in the signal.
I hope that makes sense and that it could helps...
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