Contribute
Register

AMD Radeon HD 7950 -- "Mac Edition" necessary?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
99
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
CPU
i7-3930K
Graphics
HD 7950
Mac
  1. MacBook Air
Classic Mac
  1. 128K
  2. Plus
  3. Power Mac
  4. SE
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
I just bought a used AMD Radeon HD 7950 from eBay — and only afterwards realized that Apple's list for Metal compatibility (with the new FCP X, etc.) specifies the "Mac Edition."

Is this actually a real difference? Is it firmware, or a different physical connection? Can I still re-build my Clover Hackintosh — currently running Sierra with an NVIDIA card — as a Big Sur machine that's Metal compliant?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Jordan
 
You very much do not want to use any "Mac Edition" card for any hackintosh. They are only necessary for actual Mac Pro's and won't work with a PC bios/uefi.
 
Oh wow — thank you! Glad I asked.

I'm assuming the used card I bought will work —

SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 Video Graphics Card 102C3864000

 
Last edited:
The OpenCore guide says that the 7950 is Big Sur compatible, so you should be good to go.
 
Great — thanks again!

What I'm particularly concerned with is Metal compatibility (which isn't the exact same thing, right? For FCPX etc.)
 
Also — will I have to switch from Clover to OpenCore? (I realize that's a big question...please don't trouble yourself if it's too involved an answer.)

Thanks again.
 
Also — will I have to switch from Clover to OpenCore? (I realize that's a big question...please don't trouble yourself if it's too involved an answer.)

Thanks again.

So metal compatibility has been a requirement to run anything later than Mojave. if you are able to run Big Sur at all, you have Metal. According to the Opencore guide, you are all set for Big Sur.

As far as FCPX goes. it will run. Hopefully it will run well. There Might be some GPU acceleration features that aren't taken advantage of because the card is relatively old, but that would be it.

and lastly, it appears Clover supports Big Sur, so you don't need to switch, just make sure you update clover and any kext you're using before upgrading.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top