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Please advise me choose a GPU upgrade

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Joined
Mar 17, 2013
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Motherboard
Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
CPU
Intel i7-3770K
Graphics
GTX 660
Mac
  1. Mac mini
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Hello,

I have an old hackintosh. I would like to upgrade my GPU.
Unfortunately, I can't upgrade everything except the GPU.

My current configuration:
  • CPU: Intel i7-3770K,
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
  • RAM: 32 GB
  • SSD: 256 GB Samsung Evo 850
  • HDD: 2 TB
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-DS3H

I have two candidates:
  • RX 580
  • RX 5700 XT
I am aware that I choose the RX 5700 XT then I need to install Catalina.

My workflows: PS, AI, AE, FCPX
I never play, so no games!

My questions:
  • Which GPU (RX 580 x RX 5700 XT) is worth buying for this old hardware mentioned above.
  • Does it make any sense to put the more expensive card in this machine?
  • Will it work on this old machine?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hello,

I have an old hackintosh. I would like to upgrade my GPU.
Unfortunately, I can't upgrade everything except the GPU.

My current configuration:
  • CPU: Intel i7-3770K,
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
  • RAM: 32 GB
  • SSD: 256 GB Samsung Evo 850
  • HDD: 2 TB
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
I have two candidates:
  • RX 580
  • RX 5700 XT
I am aware that I choose the RX 5700 XT then I need to install Catalina.

My workflows: PS, AI, AE, FCPX
I never play, so no games!

My questions:
  • Which GPU (RX 580 x RX 5700 XT) is worth buying for this old hardware mentioned above.
  • Does it make any sense to put the more expensive card in this machine?
  • Will it work on this old machine?

Thanks in advance.

The choice is up to you. Both cards should work.

Personally I would choose the RX 580 since I would want to run a non-Catalina MacOS. The RX 580 supports MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 and later. Do you want or need to run a MacOS older than Catalina?

If you are currently running MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 or later you should be able to install the RX 580 and the system should boot up after the graphics card replacement. In the case of Sierra you will need the Lilu and WhateverGreen kexts for the card to work.
 
I have the same motherboard CPU and memory, currently setup as Windows machine with an AMD RX 580 and they seem well matched with a possibility that the CPU cant quite keep the GPU full on busy in some games (but close). I think this because its only when I overclock the 3770K to 4200 that I can get the GPU to register 149 Watts of power use, (at the standard 3900Mhz, the highest it gets to is 145 Watts.
In single monitor use and doing non graphics stuff the GPU uses less than 13 watts but goes up to 36 watts as soon as you add a 2nd monitor because both the GPU and memory clock speeds jump up as soon as 2nd monitor is connected.
Whether this windows experience translates to the mac I dont know.
The biggest improvement I made was jumping to a ssd and then a smaller but still significant jump when I added a PCI card and Nvme drive into the 4xPCI slot. If you are using it for graphics things then it might be worth asking for advice in the software forums for your software.
 
Last edited:
If I choose the RX 580, I will buy the RX 580 Sapphire Pulse.

If I buy the RX 5700 XT, I thought of the following two.
  • Sapphire 5700 XT nitro+
  • AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary

The 50th Anniversary is cheaper about 90 $
Which is better?
Is the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary version good?
 
I purchased and installed the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 into my G5 a couple of weeks ago. The power draw is no more than 225W, according to the description, very happy with it.
 
I purchased and installed the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 into my G5 a couple of weeks ago. The power draw is no more than 225W, according to the description, very happy with it.

Thanks for writing this.
The RX 580 is still competing.
 
The power draw is no more than 225W...
Hi Craig - have you got any sort of power measurement capabilities on your mac? This is from a pc and the XFX rx580 in mine I can only get to 149 Watts measured with HWmonitor - I will dig out the electrical measuring thingy and see what it says at the plug.
 

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