MP 1,1-5,1 Titan X 12GB - Mac Pro 4.1

[ccrivia13]

Hey,

after planning a CPU upgrade for my Mac Pro 4.1 I am also looking forward to upgrade my GPU.

I found many great options, but one card that would really interest me is the GTX Titan X (12GB).
So far my only concern would be power consumption.

Can anyone possibly tell me if the Titan X will get enough power through the two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors?

Would be very thankful for your sight on this!

 

[AidenShaw]

I found many great options, but one card that would really interest me is the GTX Titan X (12GB).

Note that there are two very different "Titan X" GPUs. The original from 2015 had a GM200 Maxwell architecture chip.

The second generation from 2016 has a GP102 Pascal architecture chip. (Originally it was named "Titan X" as well - but due to the confusion they later changed it to the "Titan X Pascal" name.)

They both have 8+6 power, and are both rated at 250 watts - but in practice can have different power use profiles.

 

[ccrivia13]

The GPU from 2015 is the one I was looking at.

So if we stick to those estimated 250 watts, the card would definitely not get enough power, right? From the information I could gather the card would only get around 225 watts.

 

[AidenShaw]

The GPU from 2015 is the one I was looking at.

So if we stick to those estimated 250 watts, the card would definitely not get enough power, right? From the information I could gather the card would only get around 225 watts.

You may want to look at the EVGA PowerLink posts here. Some people say that it works for connecting an 8+6 GPU to the 6+6 power from the cMP.

 

[Demigod Mac]

+1 for PowerLink. It evens out the power draw to reduce the risk of a system shutdown from power overdraw on one connector.

Titan X (Maxwell) is what I have been using since it launched. Only twice has it shut down from overdraw, and both incidents happened before I got the PowerLink (5 years of use)

You will need two 6-to-8 pin adapter cables to connect to a PowerLink.

 

[ccrivia13]

Thank you for your answers!

+1 for PowerLink. It evens out the power draw to reduce the risk of a system shutdown from power overdraw on one connector.

The solution with the PowerLink sounds interesting, will definitely look into it! May I ask for what tasks you youse your Mac? I still fear that my heavy 3D work and rendering might still cause such a system shutdown.
That's the only reason why I even consider the card, it seems to be fantastic for such work.

I also read about the possibility to limit the power consumption of the card via software, can you recommend this method?

 

[yurc]

I had Titan X (Maxwell) previously, but I had abandoned it in favor with RX480 at 2016 to get Mojave access. Powerlink in my opinions is mandatory for balancing power on PCIe power connector. There's also Pixlas mod method, but it require some effort modding Mac Pro PSU.

I never had shutdown, because probably I am only do non complex small model 3D CAD.

 

[ccrivia13]

I had Titan X (Maxwell) previously, but I had abandoned it in favor with RX480 at 2016 to get Mojave access. Powerlink in my opinions is mandatory for balancing power on PCIe power connector. There's also Pixlas mod method, but it require some effort modding Mac Pro PSU.

I read about the Pixlas mod, but as someone who is all new to such work in computers this is too risky for me.
Regarding Mojave, I have no problems sticking with High Sierra, every software I use runs perfectly fine on High Sierra.

My other choice - or plan B - would have been the GTX 780 6 GB or the GTX 1070 8GB. As far as I know the GTX 780 would even allow Mojave access.

 

[KeesMacPro]

As far as I know the GTX 780 would even allow Mojave access.

All Kepler cards work natively with Mojave/Catalina .
I'm still using a (flashed) GTX 780 TI in one of my MP...

 

[ccrivia13]

All Kepler cards work natively with Mojave/Catalina .
I'm still using a (flashed) GTX 780 TI in one of my MP...

This may be a stupid question but I’m still trying to get my head around everything GPU and macOS related; is the flash you did optional (for the boot screen)?

 

[Demigod Mac]

Never really had to, but in Windows some tools like Nvidia Inspector can throttle the video card's electrical consumption. Kept under 225W it should never overdraw. Haven't had the issue in macOS.

One thing to keep in mind... macOS Catalina 10.13.6 is the end of the road for Nvidia on Mac.
No more updates after that, and it will soon no longer be supported.

 

[KeesMacPro]

Is the flash you did optional (for the boot screen)?

Yes, flashing is an option , the Kepler cards work out of the box .
I bought mine already flashed to have a boot screen some years ago.

 

[ccrivia13]

Yes, flashing is an option , the Kepler cards work out of the box .
I bought mine already flashed to have a boot screen some years ago.

Okay, thank you!!

 

[ccrivia13]

+1 for PowerLink. It evens out the power draw to reduce the risk of a system shutdown from power overdraw on one connector.

Titan X (Maxwell) is what I have been using since it launched. Only twice has it shut down from overdraw, and both incidents happened before I got the PowerLink (5 years of use)

You will need two 6-to-8 pin adapter cables to connect to a PowerLink.

So in summary you think I could use a Titan X with such a power link adapter and shouldn’t run in any problems?