trs96
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Nvidia Cards that don't work with Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur. Avoid all of these cards.
- RTX 3090
- RTX 3080
- RTX 3070
- RTX 3060 Ti
- Titan RTX
- RTX 2080 Ti
- RTX 2080 Super
- RTX 2080
- RTX 2070 Super
- RTX 2070
- RTX 2060 Super
- RTX 2060
- GTX 1660 Ti
- GTX 1660 Super
- GTX 1650
- GTX 1080/Ti
- GTX 1070/Ti
- GTX 1060
- GTX 1050/Ti
- GT 1030
- GTX Titan X (GM200 Maxwell core)
- GTX 980/Ti
- GTX 970
- GTX 960
- GTX 950
- GTX 750/Ti
- GTX 745
- GT 645
- Quadro 600
- Quadro K620
- Quadro K1200
- Quadro K220
- Quadro M (all models)
- Quadro P (all models)
- Fermi cards (GF) (all models)
The GT 710, 730 and 740 (not Fermi versions) and the GTX 760, 770 and 780 plus the Ti versions.
There are also ten Kepler based Quadro cards that will work as well. See the list below for details.
High Sierra 10.13.6 will give you the option to use Pascal cards if you install the Nvidia Web drivers.
These include: GT 1030, GTX 1050, 1060, 1070, 1080 and the related Ti versions of these.
Apple has chosen AMD as their Dedicated Graphics Chip Manufacturer
The primary advice for new CustoMac builders is to use AMD cards that are natively supported by macOS. Graphics cards like the RX 570/580 or RX Vega 56/64 by AMD. Newer AMD 5000 series cards such as the RX 5700 XT only have support in Catalina or Big Sur and not Mojave. It appears that Apple will not add Nvidia support in the forseeable future.
We know that some people will still want to and may even need to use Nvidia graphics for whatever reason. Maybe because they already have one or they just want a lower cost alternative to a more expensive AMD Polaris or Vega card. This is why I've posted this list of supported cards and the question/answer section for your reference.
Nvidia Graphics Cards that still work with macOS
This question gets asked over and over here in Desktop Compatibility and in Buying Advice.
Q: Can I use a (fill in the blank) Nvidia graphics card with macOS Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur ?
A: That depends on which generation and series it is from.
If it is Kepler second gen based, manufactured from approximately 2012 to 2014, it's likely to work with Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur. The drivers are included in macOS. The specific Kepler models are listed below.
Apple used similar dedicated Nvidia graphics cards in many of the iMacs and Macbook Pros produced in the 2012/13 model years. Those iMacs and MBPs still have support in Mojave and Catalina and they also have Mini-DP/TH1 or TH2 outputs. Heres an example of the Nvidia Mobile GPUs in the 2013, 27" iMacs:
2013 iMac 27" Dedicated "Kepler" Graphics Processors
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Configurable to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB of GDDR5 memory.
Do not use the VGA port as it's not supported. Apple quit supporting VGA/analog video over ten years ago.
If the Nvidia card is Maxwell (745/750/Ti or second gen Maxwell 900 series), Pascal, Turing or Ampere based, there are no Mojave or Catalina drivers that you can use to make it work. For example, the newest RTX cards from Nvidia are unsupported in Mojave. The RTX 2060/70 and all related 16 series GTX cards will not work in any version of macOS as there are no web drivers. I have included the Maxwell Quadro workstation cards in the unsupported list. There are also newer Pascal Quadro cards that are not listed. If it is not a Kepler based Quadro card it won't have native support.
Apple no longer uses any Nvidia graphics hardware in any of the new Macs it produces, even the 2019 Mac Pro. Currently it looks as if they have no plans of ever working with Nvidia again. Sad but true.
Q: How long will these older Kepler based cards still be supported by macOS ?
A: Big Sur does support 2nd gen (700 series) Kepler cards but not the 600 series. There are no Macs with Nvidia 600 series Kepler mobile GPUs that still have support. First gen (600 series) Nvidia Kepler cards may still work with Big Sur but are not recommended for long term use. Many report frequent graphics glitching. These are the GT 630, 640, 650, 660.. cards. Better to use 2nd gen Kepler 700 series cards or upgrade to a newer supported AMD card. The GT 750M mobile graphics GK107, in the 2013 MBP are still supported in Big Sur. Good news for those that use 2nd generation Kepler cards such as the Nvidia GT 710/730/740.
AMD Polaris 20/21 cards such as the RX 560/570/580/590 as well as the Vega 10 RX Vega 56/64 should have continued support many years into the 2020s. Those are your safest bet. Full Metal 2 API Support, Vulkan and DX12.
The Newest RX5600/5700 (XT) cards from AMD will work with Catalina and macOS 11.0 Big Sur.
Q: Some cards in the supported list have Fermi variants. How do I determine whether my Nvidia card is Kepler based (GK) and not an unsupported Fermi (GF) card ? (GT 630, 640 and 730 cards can be from either series)
A: It's really important to determine that your graphics card from Nvidia is not Fermi based
Starting back in 2011, the Fermi series of cards caused major problems in hackintoshes. They suffered from regular freeze ups due to faulty drivers. Apple support ended with High Sierra. So if you are buying a GT 630/640 or GT 730 Check to make sure it's not Fermi based. Read about all of the issues with Fermi cards and hackintoshes here.
Go to this website http://www.gpuzoo.com/ and enter the make and model of your card. Make sure it is GK and not GF.
GK107 Graphics Core
GF = Fermi
GK = Kepler
GM = Maxwell
For a list of all GK106 core Nvidia cards click on the following link.
Nvidia Kepler Cards that are Natively Supported: (GT 630 through GTX 660 may have issues)
- GTX Titan (GK110)
- GTX Titan Black (GK110)
- GTX Titan Z
- GTX 780/Ti
- GTX 770
- GTX 760/Ti
- GT 740
- GT 730 (GK208 core)
- GT 720
- GT 710 (GK208 core DDR3 versions)
- GTX 690
- GTX 680
- GTX 670
- GTX 660/Ti (Avoid GK106 models)
- GTX 650/Ti (Avoid GK106 models)
- GT 640 (Kepler edition, GK107/208 core)
- GT 630 (Kepler edition, GK208 core)
- Quadro 410
- Quadro K420
- Quadro K600
- Quadro K2000/D
- Quadro K4000/D
- Quadro K4200
- Quadro K5000
- Quadro K5200
- Quadro K6000
- Quadro NVS510
Nvidia Ampere, Turing, Pascal and Maxwell Cards
These are Not Supported in Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur
- RTX 3090
- RTX 3080
- RTX 3070
- RTX 3060 Ti
- Titan RTX
- RTX 2080 Ti
- RTX 2080 Super
- RTX 2080
- RTX 2070 Super
- RTX 2070
- RTX 2060 Super
- RTX 2060
- GTX 1660 Ti
- GTX 1660 Super
- GTX 1650
- GTX 1080/Ti
- GTX 1070/Ti
- GTX 1060
- GTX 1050/Ti
- GT 1030
- GTX Titan X (GM200 Maxwell core)
- GTX 980/Ti
- GTX 970
- GTX 960
- GTX 950
- GTX 750/Ti
- GTX 745
- Quadro 600
- Quadro K620
- Quadro K1200
- Quadro K220
- Quadro M (all models)
- Quadro P (all models)
- Fermi cards (GF) (all models)
For a more detailed exploration of Mojave/Catalina compatible AMD graphics cards please see:
Radeon Compatibility Guide - ATI/AMD Graphics Cards
Radeon Compatibility Guide ATI/AMD Graphics Cards Last Change: December 2nd, 2017 The "boot to black screen" issue as well as the broken sleep/wake have been fixed! Read below for details. 0. Introduction Most of you might have noticed that the Buyer's Guide doesn't list a single...
www.tonymacx86.com
Q: I can't afford an Nvidia or AMD card now. Can I use just my Intel CPU's integrated graphics ?
A: Maybe. If you want to install Mojave/Catalina this depends on how new your Intel CPU is.
If your CPU is from 2011 or older (HD3000/Sandy Bridge), the iGPU will not have metal 2 support and not work with full QE/CI acceleration in Mojave/Catalina.
Ivy Bridge CPUs that have HD4000 are the cutoff point for the oldest supported Intel integrated graphics. The i7-3770 and i5-3570K are two examples of HD4000 CPUs. HD2500 CPUs (such as the i5-3470) do not have fully supported graphics.
Q. Which integrated graphics from Intel will still work in macOS Big Sur ?
A. Haswell CPUs with HD4600 graphics will work with iMac 15,1 SMBIOS and the correct ig-platform-ID. Many newer desktop CPUs will have supported Intel graphics. Examples are HD5000, HD530, HD630, UHD630 etc.
Here's a compilation of a few online articles about Nvidia support in Macs. It explains why Apple and Nvidia have parted ways for the foreseeable future.
The Nvidia/Apple relationship has been crumbling for over a decade
There was a bit of confusion when Apple announced the latest 2019 Mac Pro, as it eschewed super powerful Nvidia GPUs with hardware-accelerated ray tracing support to embrace AMD’s hardware.
The Nvidia/Apple relationship has been crumbling for over a decade. A little more than ten years ago Apple and Nvidia lost a whole lot of money due to a series of failed GPUs in the MacBook Pro line up. It went so poorly that Apple started to rely on AMD for its GPUs despite Nvidia’s popularity and typically better performance.
In 2008, Apple's MacBook Pro shipped with Nvidia graphics chips that revolutionized the MacBook by taking over the functions of the Northbridge and Southbridge controllers alongside actual graphics rendering. Because of it, Intel filed a lawsuit against Nvidia, making things a bit complicated for Apple.
In 2016, Apple said no to putting Nvidia processors in the 15-inch MacBook Pro and instead went with AMD, Apple publicly stated they did so because of performance per watt issues.
But despite the reliance on AMD hardware macOS still included support for Nvidia GPUs. If you wanted to cram a Nvidia card into your older Mac Pro or rely on it for your hackintosh, then Apple and Nvidia had you covered. Until last year, when Apple stopped supporting CUDA with the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave. That forced apps that relied on CUDA for hardware acceleration, like Adobe’s suite of software, to issue warnings and reminders to customers.
Nvidia ending support after CUDA 10.2 is really more tit for tat than any kind of major statement. Yet it does leave some people, like the aforementioned hackintosh users, in the lurch. It also means that it’s now going to make Apple devices a lot less appealing to some high-end developers and animation professionals.
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