Can we all clear up graphics card compatibility together please guys?

[afrat]

Fans issue for reference designs is solved by a few methods.
1). The VGATAb utility which fixes fans but Also controls frequencies, voltage etc...
2). Powerstates editing has been an option for awhile.
3). There is a VegafanSpeedkext.

Some of the multi fan models but not all may still have the fan issue but Mojave 14.3 beta has shown some native fan control improvements.

AMD RX 470-580 models also had a brief fan issue in the early Sierra versions but they got worked out. Now they all run great.

The only AMD (current vintage) cards that don’t work are the RX 550 models (Lexa, not Polaris) and the XFX RX 460-560 models.

Polaris cards work great in High Sierra and Mojave, Vega cards work best in Mojave.

So are the only issues with the AMD cards the fans? I feel like it might be more future proof to get a Vega 64 card than another 1080ti or the likes.

 

[Gigamaxx]

If you get a reference model (single fan) there are fixes for the fan speed.

I have a Vega 64 reference and it works great. I’m also hoping to pick up the new Radeon 7 for testing on Feb 7. Vega 20 7nm 16Gb.

 

[zakklol]

There's no easy answer, it depends on what you want to do. If you care about stuff like accelerated H264/HEVC in FCPX, you'll want to get a AMD card, most likely a Vega. If you already have an Nvidia, you're going to be stuck on High Sierra.

Mojave is no better or worse to hackintosh than previous versions of macOS. They've all had little piddly issues that require tweaking depending on exactly what hardware you have. Vega fan issues are no different in this regard. If you're buying new hardware just be aware of what exact models people are reporting success for and try to get those. As an example my Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse has no fan issues and works great with power play tables for fan control and undervolting/overclocking.

Just be aware that when people say 'X card works great/out of the box!' they may not be doing the same thing you are. Polaris cards work great, unless you care about h264/hevc and then they don't really work at all. Consequently everyone would always say Nvidia+HS is rock solid but I got rid of Nvidia cards after continually running into their inability to render properly in games.

Some of these issues aren't even hackintosh specific, I'm pretty sure Polaris cards used as eGPUs in real MacBooks don't properly deal with encode/decode either.

 

[Gigamaxx]

Well put! Here’s a weird scenario, I tested my R7 265 (chopped R9 270x) in Mojave with VideoProc and h264, and HVEC h265 both have hardware excelleration. RX 480 no hardware excell. Googling HEVC and h264 says the R9 xxx cards do not have this feature but the RX xxx series does. Apple has deactivated this feature for RX but now for the Vega and R9 series which makes no sense.

 

[skittlebrau]

I was wondering this same thing, I was about to pull the trigger on a Vega 64 to start my Hackintosh build. I have a 1080ti right now in my gaming system but was under the impression the AMD cards worked out of the box since that's what Apple is currently using. You think I should stick to NVIDIA cards and not go to Mojave?

Don't bother ditching your 1080Ti. Stay on High Sierra for now and see what happens in regards to Mojave web drivers.

 

[alexjibcam]

Hi @Gigamaxx, So I'm in the process of creating a build for my company was looking at Dual Vega 64s. Can you recommend the most compatible cards? Or should I even hold out for the new Radeon 7s?

I was thinking about 2 x Sapphire VEGA 64 Nitro+ 8gb. I'll be running Mojave with a machine designed for the Adobe suite and FCPX.

Thanks,

Alex

 

[pastrychef]

Lets be real here. Mojave is a no-no for hackintosh, because:
1. Nvidia, which is the superior brand in terms of performance to power ratio, doesn't have drivers for Mojave yet
2. AMD cards are a hit or miss. No guarantee that it's going to work, and if it does, other issues such as heating can arise.

Get an Nvidia card, stick with High Sierra, and you'll be satisfied. Only difference between HS and Mojave is dark mode, which is awesome on my laptop btw, but is a worthy tradeoff for raw power imho.

1. Yes, Nvidia cards have better TDPerformance ratio.
2. I have been using a Vega 56 for close to a year now and I've been really, really happy with it. I've tweaked it so that performance is at least on par, if not better, than the GTX 1080 that it replaced and heat/temperatures have not been an issue at all.

I chose Vega 56 for lower power consumption and undervolted the card.

 

[Gigamaxx]

Hi @Gigamaxx, So I'm in the process of creating a build for my company was looking at Dual Vega 64s. Can you recommend the most compatible cards? Or should I even hold out for the new Radeon 7s?

I was thinking about 2 x Sapphire VEGA 64 Nitro+ 8gb. I'll be running Mojave with a machine designed for the Adobe suite and FCPX.

Thanks,

Alex

Actually, for a work machine it may be better to get Vega 56. They use less power but have very close performance levels. Pastrychef’s build and VGATab utility use proves that. IMO the 56 is better for a long term work card.
Also, the VGATab and other solutions seem to work best on the single fan models or reference models. Some of the multi fan cards still have the high speed fan issue at idle. Check out Pasteychef build it’s linked to his signature.

If you can wait for the Radeon 7 that would be a good idea but we won’t know for sure until it arrives whether it will be compatible. The sure bet right now is the Vega 56 for performance to watts/temps and long term durability. By undervolting, setting fan speeds and frequencies it has the best performance.

 

[alexjibcam]

Actually, for a work machine it may be better to get Vega 56. They use less power but have very close performance levels. Pastrychef’s build and VGATab utility use proves that. IMO the 56 is better for a long term work card.
Also, the VGATab and other solutions seem to work best on the single fan models or reference models. Some of the multi fan cards still have the high speed fan issue at idle. Check out Pasteychef build it’s linked to his signature.

If you can wait for the Radeon 7 that would be a good idea but we won’t know for sure until it arrives whether it will be compatible. The sure bet right now is the Vega 56 for performance to watts/temps and long term durability. By undervolting, setting fan speeds and frequencies it has the best performance.

Great thanks,

So if wanting to press ahead with the single fan vega 64 which one of the following would you recommend:

• 
  SAPPHIRE Radeon™ RX Vega64 8G HBM2 Liquid Cooling
  1677 MHz
  LEARN MORE
  
• 
  SAPPHIRE Radeon™ RX Vega64 8G HBM2 Limited Edition
  1546 MHz
  LEARN MORE
  
• 
  SAPPHIRE Radeon™ RX Vega64 8G HBM2
  1546 MHz

Thanks

 

[Gigamaxx]

If money is no object the liquid cooled. For that follow Jmonkeys thread for customizing performance.