Are all GPU brands created equal?

[mg21202]

I'm buying a graphics card for the first time and confused about selecting a card when so many brands seem to make the same thing.

For example, I'm looking at GTX 1060s (NVIDIA) but do I buy a Gigabyte? EVGA? MSI?

Similarly, when considering RX580 (AMD) options there's Sapphire, XFX, PowerColor, ASUS.

• Is this a situation like buying distilled water where there are several brands but each product is basically identical, or is it more comparable to choosing a brand of Pilsner, where the difference between Budweiser and Pilsner Urquell is significant even though it's accurate to call them both a Pilsner?

• If the difference between brands is substantial, what metrics are useful for comparing one brand—of GTX 1060 for example—to another?

• Are there Hackintosh-specific factors to be aware of when choosing?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[e-troc]

I am in the same position. As far as I have learned, generally AMD is the way going forward for native support in macOS. All brands will work except a number of XFX cards (RX 560, for example). Here's a recent thread with some info:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/ati-graphics-advice.264323/

There are certainly differences between brands (and models) when it comes to performance, efficiency, cooling, connectivity. Best to check out test reports, which in the gamer world tend to be quite detailed and include benchmarks.

I have narrowed it down to Sapphire Nitro+ cards because my priority is quiet operation without much hassle. These cards have superior cooling according to tests and offer a native silent BIOS that can be enabled with a hardware switch (I do not want to install Windows just to be able to load a different BIOS onto my graphics card).

As far as the chip is concerned, the RX 570 seems like a good choice. Not much more expensive than RX 560 but way better performance, and you can easily save 50 bucks compared to an RX 580.

 

[Adrian B]

The AMD cards are supported in macOS Mojave - the Nvidia cards do not have driver support.

There are certain cards from AMD that do work better. All brands of RX560 work except XFX models - Originally a Gigabyte model was found to work, but it is now understood that for the lower spec RX560 avoid the XFX cards. Apple do not officially list the RX560 as being supported.

For the RX 570 and RX 580 generally the Sapphire Pulse, Powercolor Devil or XFX models should be your first choice for easiest macOS compatibility as Apple specifically support these models, these gpu socket layouts and pcb board types. Use 'search' for more information.

Sapphire , powercolor and XFX produce only AMD graphics cards. Asus, Gigabyte and MSI also make AMD cards. EVGA only produce Nvidia cards.

https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersgu...the-ultimate-buyers-guide/#AMD_Graphics_Cards
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208544

The two biggest Nvidia 1060 variants are the 3GB and 6GB Video memory models. The 6GB model performs better and is a full spec card. The 3 GB model has less video RAM, and is a cut down version (lower performance due to lower cost). More can be found in the following article:
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/2604-gtx-1060-3gb-vs-6gb-benchmark-review?showall=1

Now that we set out the difference between the two main versions of the base spec GTX 1060 card, we can move onto discussing the board partners different specifications.

A board partner is a manufacturer other than Nvidia, such as Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI.....

Lets take EVGA as an example. The base card is often a twin fan, short compact card or a slightly longer (full length) card with 2 fans. You may see ACX 2.0 or ACX 3.0 and this refers to the number of fans used for the cards cooling system. They then have several models that have various levels of 'overclock' applied at the factory.

Standard (Nvidia reference clocks) often marked as 'single fan'
SC or "superclocked" (small overclock),
SSC or "super super clocked" (quite overclocked),
FTW or "For The Win" (bigger overclock) and
FTW+ (biggest overclock)

So what is best? look at all card models and see what is available in stock and at which price - you might get a slightly better card for less money or only a minor difference in price. Other manufacturers use different names, but generally the cheaper cards have a less expensive cooling option than the highest spec cards and the lower clock speeds.

The Nvidia cards will work with high Sierra, but a recent security update from Apple has left Nvidia card users with some issues - Nvidia have not updated the drivers, folk have found a short term workaround, but this isn't an ideal solution, nor is it a permanent solution!
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...-after-todays-10-13-6-security-update.263774/

 

[mg21202]

Thanks so much for the thorough responses.

So it seems like NVIDIA was the way to go previously but now since Apple's recent updates it's more future-proof to choose an AMD card, is that right?

I'm still a bit confused about what would be the best step right now. Since this is my first computer build, I want to make it as simple for myself as possible. Should I keep the Gigabyte 1060 3gb card (paid $260 CAD) that I already bought, or return it and get a Saphire Pulse RX 570 or 580?

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thanks so much for the thorough responses.

So it seems like NVIDIA was the way to go previously but now since Apple's recent updates it's more future-proof to choose an AMD card, is that right?

I'm still a bit confused about what would be the best step right now. Since this is my first computer build, I want to make it as simple for myself as possible. Should I keep the Gigabyte 1060 3gb card (paid $260 CAD) that I already bought, or return it and get a Sapphire Pulse RX 570 or 580?

Yes, AMD cards should be the way to go if you plan on running MacOS High Sierra, Mojave, and future versions. If you can return the 1060 I suggest you do so and replace it with a Sapphire RX 570 or RX 580.

 

[mg21202]

Thanks, I'll do that!