Graphics issues with GTX 760 as well as Intel UHD 630

[georgebannerman]

I've gotten High Sierra to boot on my new Desktop hackintosh, but I'm having issues with the graphics. With nv_disable=1, I see a lot of flickering and a very low frame rate. When I try to play an MP4 with VLC, I see black frames and white frames appear on the screen in quick succession. (I imagine there are other problems too.)

With nv_disable removed, everything looks great, but my system crashes a few minutes after booting.

I've tried: removing the GTX 760, altering the EFI partition with MultiBeast, and booting. I still see the same problems, but I'm not sure whether I effectively changed from one graphics card to another.

I am also curious how to get the GTX 760 to export video from the HDMI port instead of the DVI port. I also tried switching my hardware definition to an iMac14,2 instead of a MacPro5,1.

Note that I didn't see these problems during the install process, so maybe UniBeast is setting it up correctly and MultiBeast isn't?

I haven't tried graphicsenebler=on, installing NVidia's drivers, removing EmuVariable64, or what @P1LGRIM said at https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/gtx-970-choppy-graphics-low-frame-rate.170412/#post-1543855

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I've gotten High Sierra to boot on my new Desktop hackintosh, but I'm having issues with the graphics. With nv_disable=1, I see a lot of flickering and a very low frame rate. When I try to play an MP4 with VLC, I see black frames and white frames appear on the screen in quick succession. (I imagine there are other problems too.)

With nv_disable removed, everything looks great, but my system crashes a few minutes after booting.

I've tried: removing the GTX 760, altering the EFI partition with MultiBeast, and booting. I still see the same problems, but I'm not sure whether I effectively changed from one graphics card to another.

I am also curious how to get the GTX 760 to export video from the HDMI port instead of the DVI port. I also tried switching my hardware definition to an iMac14,2 instead of a MacPro5,1.

Note that I didn't see these problems during the install process, so maybe UniBeast is setting it up correctly and MultiBeast isn't?

I haven't tried graphicsenebler=on, installing NVidia's drivers, removing EmuVariable64, or what @P1LGRIM said at https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/gtx-970-choppy-graphics-low-frame-rate.170412/#post-1543855

Hi there.

No, these problems are not caused by UniBeast or MultiBeast.

The NVidia GTX760 is a Kepler-based card that should be supported natively by macOS. Especially back in High Sierra. There are always brand exceptions though, if a modified VideoBIOS is used on the card etc., problems can creep in.

"nv_disable=1" is a command-line to disable any NVidia drivers. The system then falls-back to the standard VESA drivers and you get reduced resolution and non-accelerated graphics. This is a useful "toggle" for times when a tricky set-up is presenting a black-screen, or some other graphical problem you want to bypass.

For the system crashes a few minutes after boot, you need to examine the crash-logs. They can be found at:
~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/

If the crash occurs at a set period after boot - say ten minutes - check the fans on the card are turning. If they fail and the card overheats, this might cause a crash or shutdown.

However, after saying all that, you mention that even when you have removed the GTX760 the system still crashes?
If so, it can't be the GPU. You would still see flickering graphics until you have configured your onboard iGPU for full acceleration but that is a different subject.

 

[georgebannerman]

Thanks, @UtterDisbelief.

How would I go about switching to getting proper acceleration from my onboard iGPU?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Thanks, @UtterDisbelief.

How would I go about switching to getting proper acceleration from my onboard iGPU?

Well there is a lot of information on this site - just do a site Search for UHD630 and you'll find many builds using the i5-9600K.

For my own build - same CPU and similar motherboard - I didn't have to do much at all. Into BIOS and change primary graphics from PCIe to iGPU and check DVMT memory allocated. Turn off. Switch HDMI cable (I use one) from GPU to motherboard. Restart.

The latest Lilu and Whatevergreen do most of the heavy lifting nowadays.

Sometimes you get a black-screen at boot and this is to do with the 'framebuffer', or output port template for your iGPU as set by the motherboard. There are several different modifications you can make if needed and because you might not know in advance which is going to be needed, be prepared to swap back to your GTX760 if necessary and keep a UniBeast boot stick handy to boot your PC.

 

[georgebannerman]

@UtterDisbelief I got the GTX760 refurbished, so there could be something wrong with it. The fans run, but maybe there is something else wrong with the card? Do I need to reflash its BIOS or something? I'm honestly not sure how to identify the VideoBIOS that it's running.

There doesn't appear to be anything relevant at ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports or /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

That leads me back to it being MultiBeast, or at least a wrong choice I made in what drivers to put on the EFI.

What other trees could I bark up?

 

[georgebannerman]

@UtterDisbelief FWIW, I did try to move to the iGPU and set the DVMT to the max. It's still not able to play a simple movie on VLC.

I forgot to mention that in order to get the EFI partition to boot without the USB, I had to copy the drivers64UEFI folder from my Unibeast USB to my hard drive EFI partition. That had these files in it:
- ApfsDriverLoader-64.efi
- AppleImageCodec-64.efi
- AppleKeyAggregator-64.efi
- AppleUITheme-64.efi
- AptioMemoryFix-64.efi
- DataHubDxe-64.efi
- FirmwareVolume-64.efi
- FSInject-64.efi
- PartitionDxe-64.efi
- SMCHelper-64.efi
- VBoxHfs-64.efi

I suppose one of them could be causing the problem?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

@UtterDisbelief I got the GTX760 refurbished, so there could be something wrong with it. The fans run, but maybe there is something else wrong with the card? Do I need to reflash its BIOS or something? I'm honestly not sure how to identify the VideoBIOS that it's running.

There doesn't appear to be anything relevant at ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports or /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

That leads me back to it being MultiBeast, or at least a wrong choice I made in what drivers to put on the EFI.

What other trees could I bark up?

If the fans run then the card is likely fine.

If there are no crash-logs then it's not a software crash and maybe a deeper system issue that occurs before it has time to actually record the crash. These are usually hardware caused, but what and where ...?

Do some tests ...

Is the GPU reported correctly in "About this Mac"?

Boot the system without the "nv_disabled" flag and don't run anything. See if you can time when it crashes and any noises of activity when it does. Is this consistent?

Does your GPU need an external power supply from the main PSU? Is it seated properly?

Do you run dual-boot? If so does Windows exhibit the same behaviour?

You could always try installing the NVidia web-drivers in case your particular card is an odd-ball one that needs them. That's why I suggested checking "About theis Mac" to ensure the system sees the card correctly.



Edit: The files list of *.efi from your drivers64UEFI folder looks fine.

 

[georgebannerman]

@UtterDisbelief I don't have a dual boot unfortunately. The graphics card does require additional power, but that is hooked up and has an LED light that appears to indicate that the power is functional.

I think I'd rather just get this machine working than debug the NVidia card. I can't figure out what could be causing the issue once I am using the onboard graphics. Is there some EFI that I need? I've read through some of the other forum posts about i5 GPUs and nothing obvious jumps out at me.

 

[georgebannerman]

@UtterDisbelief I just spent several hours trying to get the onboard GPU to work, and the attempt borked my EFI. I've restored to where I was at the beginning, but it's feeling like getting the i5 9600K GPU to work with High Sierra is more trouble than it's worth.

I tried your experiment with seeing how long it takes before the system crashes. Surprisingly, it doesn't! Indeed, it seems the only thing that causes the system to crash is VLC.

The system is recognizing my card correctly.

So...maybe it's all working? I don't know what the deal with VLC is—maybe I need to set it up specially somehow?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

@UtterDisbelief I just spent several hours trying to get the onboard GPU to work, and the attempt borked my EFI. I've restored to where I was at the beginning, but it's feeling like getting the i5 9600K GPU to work with High Sierra is more trouble than it's worth.

I tried your experiment with seeing how long it takes before the system crashes. Surprisingly, it doesn't! Indeed, it seems the only thing that causes the system to crash is VLC.

The system is recognizing my card correctly.

So...maybe it's all working? I don't know what the deal with VLC is—maybe I need to set it up specially somehow?

Good news. Glad you've pinpointed the cause of the crashes.

I haven't used VLC myself recently so can't advise on that.