Sapphire Nitro+ RX580 4GB $209.99 Labor Day only

[Wingfat]

 

[icepickjazz]

How does this compare? Amazon has a Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 580 8G Graphics Card GV-RX580AORUS-8GD for $229.00 plus a $20.00 rebate. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y46X4L9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[Stork]

How does this compare? Amazon has a Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 580 8G Graphics Card GV-RX580AORUS-8GD for $229.00 plus a $20.00 rebate. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y46X4L9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

The Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB card is supported by Apple who used it in their Developers' eGPU peripheral. The current models have different part #s, and require config.plist mod. So, get the Sapphire, IMO.

Note: Post #1's Nitro version will also work with the config.plist patch.

 

[haanuman]

How does this compare? Amazon has a Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 580 8G Graphics Card GV-RX580AORUS-8GD for $229.00 plus a $20.00 rebate. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y46X4L9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

This one is much better!

 

[trs96]

This one is much better!

Why ?

 

[Gigamaxx]

Why ?

Actually, the pulse has a lower max overclock frequency 1366MHZ versus some of the other models. Some going up to 1450Mhz or so (Nitro+). This can equate to a 3% performance boost. So in Windows there are better performing cards but not by much.

Whether or not it matters in MacOS is a different story. Compatibility or ease of use may outweigh higher frequency, and the controller Kexts may not utilize the higher clocks? A side by side comparison is in order. But someone will need to have 2 cards or 2 people with the exact same hardware except for the cards.

 

[NZRichard]

The Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB card is supported by Apple who used it in their Developers' eGPU peripheral.

Does the Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB in the Buyer's Guide require a config.plist patch or does it run OOTB in 10.13.6?

TIA

 

[Stork]

Does the Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB in the Buyer's Guide require a config.plist patch or does it run OOTB in 10.13.6?

TIA

I had to use a config.plist patch to get my "later" version of the Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB graphics card to use the "Orinoco" frame buffer. The first production models part #s are native to macOS as that's what Apple tested. Sapphire change the part #s in the card's VBIOS in the newer cards, thus causing macOS to use the default Radeon frame Buffer. No big deal to change the frame buffer in the config.plist. Here's what I did and documented in my build description:

For Sapphire RX 580 Pulse graphics card users:

Run DCPIManager. If you get this result, skip the rest of these instructions as you have an early, macOS supported Sapphire RX 580 Pulse. If you don't get this result, the proceed, otherwise you are good to go.

​

Add the FBName = Orinoco and Inject > ATI=true & Intel=True to config.plist which you can do with Clover Configurator or Xcode or PlistEditor Pro (which I use):

    <key>Graphics</key>
    <dict>
        <key>FBName</key>
        <string>Orinoco</string>
        <key>Inject</key>
        <dict>
            <key>ATI</key>
            <true/>
            <key>Intel</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NVidia</key>
            <false/>
        </dict>
    </dict>

Add Lilu and Whatevergreen kexts to /Library/Extensions/ with KextBeast.​

 

[NZRichard]

Add the FBName = Orinoco and Inject > ATI=true & Intel=True to config.plist which you can do with Clover Configurator or Xcode or PlistEditor Pro (which I use):

Thanks for very clear guide.

Noticed that the Framebuffer name is "ATY,AMD,RadeonFramebuffer" for a Sapphire Pulse RX 580 after making the changes in PlistEditorPro and installing latest kexts in /Library/Extensions per your guide - same as before changes.

Is the Framebuffer name = Orinoco in DPICManager essential to get this working correctly?

 

[Stork]

Thanks for very clear guide.

Noticed that the Framebuffer name is "ATY,AMD,RadeonFramebuffer" for a Sapphire Pulse RX 580 after making the changes in PlistEditorPro and installing latest kexts in /Library/Extensions per your guide - same as before changes.

Is the Framebuffer name = Orinoco in DPICManager essential to get this working correctly?

Yes.