Will my Nvidia Graphics Card work with macOS ? List of Desktop Cards with Native Support

[trs96]

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If you are considering using an Nvidia graphics card read through this post carefully. It will save you from possibly wasting your time and money on the wrong card from Nvidia that will not work with macOS. 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. 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.

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 or Catalina ?

A: That depends on which generation and series it is from.

If it is Kepler 6th or 7th Gen based, manufactured in approximately 2012 through 2014, it's likely to work in Mojave. The drivers are included in macOS. Apple used similar dedicated Nvidia graphics cards in many of the iMacs produced in the 2012/13 model years. Those iMacs still have support in Mojave and Catalina and they also have Mini-DP/TH2 outputs.

DisplayPort should be your first choice for an output on your Nvidia card. Second best choice is HDMI.
Do not use the VGA port as it's not supported. Apple quit supporting VGA/analog video over ten years ago.

Gen 2 Kepler cards like the GT 710, GTX 760, 770 etc. work best and have fewer issues than the 6 series cards such as the GTX 660/670. When searching for used/refurbished Nvidia cards, go with the 7 series if possible. Some 6 series cards will produce graphics glitches.

If the Nvidia card is Maxwell, Pascal or Turing 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 not included the Quadro workstation cards in the unsupported list. If it is not a Kepler based Quadro card it won't have native support.

Q: How long will these older Kepler based cards still be supported by macOS ?

A: It is not currently known whether macOS in latter 2020 will still support these 6th and 7th Gen Kepler cards. It depends completely on what Apple decides to do. We will know by mid June of 2020. It is possible that they might stop supporting 6th gen and keep support for 7th gen. It's likely a sure thing by the release of 10.17 in 2021. Kepler 6th and 7th gen will both have lost their support in macOS. AMD Polaris 20/21 cards such as the RX 560/570/580 as well as the Vega 10 RX Vega 56/64 should have continued support many years into the 2020s. Those are your safest bet longer term.

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 quite easy. Go to this website http://www.gpuzoo.com/ and enter the make and model of your card.

GK107 Graphics Core​

Important Note:

You will want to avoid using any of the GK106 Core variants of the following cards. They will still work but do have VRAM memory leakage issues. This can lead to instability when using models with that GPU. The GT 740, GTX 660, GTX 650/Ti and GTX 645 can all potentially have the GK106 core.

Nvidia Kepler Cards that are Natively Supported:

• GTX Titan (GK110)
• GTX Titan Black (GK110)
• GTX Titan Z
• GTX 780/Ti
• GTX 770
• GTX 760/Ti
• GT 740
• GT 730
• GT 720
• GT 710
• GTX 690
• GTX 680
• GTX 670
• GTX 660/Ti
• GTX 650/Ti
• GTX 645 (GT 645 is Fermi)
• 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 Turing, Pascal and Maxwell Cards that are Not Supported:

• 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
• 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

There are still Nvidia Web drivers available from Nvidia that work in High Sierra if you have a Maxwell GTX 745 through Pascal 1080 Ti card. There will likely never be any Mojave or Catalina web drivers released for these cards.

For a more detailed exploration of Mojave 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.

Haswell CPUs with HD4600 graphics will also work. Many newer desktop CPUs will likely have supported Intel graphics. Examples are HD5000, HD530, HD630, UHD630 etc.

 

[trs96]

This Thread is Open for General Comments only

Not a support thread - Post in the Graphics Forum for Help/Support

Graphics

Enabling Full Acceleration- QE/CI

www.tonymacx86.com

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[trs96]

Research the Specs of any Supported Graphics Card
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If you want to know the detailed specs of any Kepler based Nvidia card you should visit techpowerup.com/gpuz to determine if it will meet your needs. Search for the specific card you want to buy and determine whether it will work well in your hackintosh build. You can also reserch any AMD card that is macOS compatible for comparison purposes.

TechPowerUp

GPU-Z is a lightweight system utility designed to provide vital information about your video card and graphics processor.

www.techpowerup.com

Here's an example page with all of the specs for a GTX 780. Apple used a GTX 780M in some 27" 2013 iMacs.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Specs

NVIDIA GK110, 902 MHz, 2304 Cores, 192 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 3072 MB GDDR5, 1502 MHz, 384 bit

www.techpowerup.com

 

[trs96]

Here is a maxed out iMac from 2013 with a GTX 780M MXM type graphics card. Has 4GB of Vram. Sells for $1200 on Ebay. The 780M is still a very capable graphics card. Especially if you need Cuda cores. These iMacs have mini-DP outputs.

Late 2013 iMac 27" 3.5GHz i7/32GB/1TB Flash/GTX 780M 4GB MF125LL/A | eBay

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB VRAM. 3.5 GHz Quad Core i7 CPU "Haswell". Apple iMac. GRADE C: This grade is an ‘acceptable’ condition. This does include scratching, scuffing, chipping, and denting.

www.ebay.com

 

[almenara1331]

Nvidia GT 640 is full compatible in Mojave and Sta Catalina

 

[trs96]

Nvidia GT 640 is full compatible in Mojave and Sta Catalina

Yes, but it must have the GK 107 or GK 208 core. GPU Zoo calls it the "Die name." Check the card brand and model/part number at www.gpuzoo.com to find out.

Here is an example of a MSI GT 640 with a GK 107 core.

 

[Methanoid]

People should also beware... many 730/630/720/620/710/610 sold on eBay are fake cards sold from China. The BIOS is also faked to make it seem to be the real deal but comparing GPU-Z shaders etc is a good way to check. Do NOT trust those Chinese sellers!!

 

[trs96]

People should also beware... many 730/630/720/620/710/610 sold on eBay are fake cards sold from China. The BIOS is also faked to make it seem to be the real deal but comparing GPU-Z shaders etc is a good way to check. Do NOT trust those Chinese sellers!!

Not all of them are from China. It's possible to buy fake cards from US sellers. One out of every five 1050 Ti cards sold on Ebay are fake. It's pretty easy to spot them if you look closely. The key to avoid scams is to not click "buy now" on the lowest priced card of the specific model you want. Take some time to really check out the card and the seller. The fake ones will usually have the lowest price you can find on Ebay. The shroud of the card will also look very generic.

The following video goes in depth on how to spot a fake card to avoid falling for these scams. You can be 100% sure by buying from Newegg/Amazon as they normally won't even show up for sale on those sites.

 

[trs96]

Here's an example of a potentially fake GT 730 card. It's likely some older Nvidia card that no one wants and is worthless so they try to make buyer's believe it's real. They flash a GT 730 BIOS to it and pack it up.

Here's an example of a real MSI GT 730. The description tells you it has the older Fermi Architecture so avoid it.

 

[LaChris]

my gtx 1080ti works fine in Catalina