Best AMD gpu for High Sierra 10.13.1 for video/animation

WilksBooth · Jun 22, 2022

Now that Nvidia's High Sierra drivers have expired making my GTX970 useless, I want to exchange it for an AMD gpu that can handle 3d animation and video editing. Been looking for a bit and saw the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB is pretty good but I guess they stopped being produced so they're mostly used or marked up pretty high.
I'm new to the AMD gpu world so I dunno the best ones/what to look for and if there will be crucial bootflags/kexts to add...
I DID do a bunch of trouble shooting to figure out the problem and explored other options for the expired drivers; repackaging, back dating the main clock, etc. but most seem a little sketchy to me so I figure I'd try a new method and reach out to this super helpful group for any advice/recommendations.
Thanks in advance!
p.s. If there's anything my profile is missing or questions you have/clarity I can add, let me know!

p.s.s. alot of people might recommend update my OS - it IS an option but I'd prefer not to since I run old adobe CS apps on there

Bustycat · Jun 22, 2022

For your need, just avoid Radeon VII, RX 5000 series, and RX 6000 series. The highest you can use on High Sierra is Vega 64.

Middleman · Jun 22, 2022

WilksBooth said:
Now that Nvidia's High Sierra drivers have expired making my GTX970 useless, I want to exchange it for an AMD gpu that can handle 3d animation and video editing. Been looking for a bit and saw the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB is pretty good but I guess they stopped being produced so they're mostly used or marked up pretty high.
I'm new to the AMD gpu world so I dunno the best ones/what to look for and if there will be crucial bootflags/kexts to add...
I DID do a bunch of trouble shooting to figure out the problem and explored other options for the expired drivers; repackaging, back dating the main clock, etc. but most seem a little sketchy to me so I figure I'd try a new method and reach out to this super helpful group for any advice/recommendations.
Thanks in advance!
p.s. If there's anything my profile is missing or questions you have/clarity I can add, let me know!

p.s.s. alot of people might recommend update my OS - it IS an option but I'd prefer not to since I run old adobe CS apps on there

Well before you do anything, you could try this. Nvidia actually provided a new set of certified driver downloads for High Sierra here. Check out the top post > https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...-graphics-certificates-expired.320609/page-14

Other than the official Nvidia drivers I would not recommend any other installation method.

If you decide to forego your Nvidia card, then the choice is obvious - go for AMD. With the latest OS you could run cards like the RX5700XT or RX6600 with Monterey in the very least. If you decide to keep your Nvidia and still get an AMD it means you could still run your CS apps with High Sierra and a newer OS with a secondary boot drive (but disable the Nvidia beforehand with a SSDT).

antieatingactivist · Jun 22, 2022

WilksBooth said:
Now that Nvidia's High Sierra drivers have expired making my GTX970 useless, I want to exchange it for an AMD gpu that can handle 3d animation and video editing. Been looking for a bit and saw the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB is pretty good but I guess they stopped being produced so they're mostly used or marked up pretty high.
I'm new to the AMD gpu world so I dunno the best ones/what to look for and if there will be crucial bootflags/kexts to add...
I DID do a bunch of trouble shooting to figure out the problem and explored other options for the expired drivers; repackaging, back dating the main clock, etc. but most seem a little sketchy to me so I figure I'd try a new method and reach out to this super helpful group for any advice/recommendations.
Thanks in advance!
p.s. If there's anything my profile is missing or questions you have/clarity I can add, let me know!

p.s.s. alot of people might recommend update my OS - it IS an option but I'd prefer not to since I run old adobe CS apps on there

The Vega 56 is pretty easily flashable with a Vega 64 vbios. The performance boost is almost that of a 64 minus a few compute cores.

Jamesbond007 · Jun 22, 2022

WilksBooth said:
Now that Nvidia's High Sierra drivers have expired making my GTX970 useless, I want to exchange it for an AMD gpu that can handle 3d animation and video editing. Been looking for a bit and saw the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB is pretty good but I guess they stopped being produced so they're mostly used or marked up pretty high.

I'm new to the AMD gpu world so I dunno the best ones/what to look for and if there will be crucial bootflags/kexts to add...
I DID do a bunch of trouble shooting to figure out the problem and explored other options for the expired drivers; repackaging, back dating the main clock, etc. but most seem a little sketchy to me so I figure I'd try a new method and reach out to this super helpful group for any advice/recommendations.

Thanks in advance!
p.s. If there's anything my profile is missing or questions you have/clarity I can add, let me know!

p.s.s. A lot of people might recommend update my OS - it IS an option but I'd prefer not to since I run old adobe CS apps on there

I am not telling you to update the OS beyond High Sierra. I run High Sierra 10.13.6 and Sierra 10.12.6 myself on my systems (in addition to Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina 10.15.7).

Is there a reason to stay on 10.13.1 rather than going to 10.13.6 with the latest security updates?

As far as I can see, Adobe CS6 (if it is what you have) should run on High Sierra 10.13.6.

As to the GPU, you can use a RX 460 / RX 470 / RX 480 / RX 560 / RX 570 / RX 580 / RX Vega in High Sierra. These cards are older generation and only second hand cards are available.

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Best AMD gpu for High Sierra 10.13.1 for video/animation

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