{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Inaudible Discussion", "home_page_url": "https://blog.greggant.com", "feed_url": "http://blog.greggant.com/feed.json", "description": "", "icon": "http://blog.greggant.com/apple-touch-icon.png", "favicon": "http://blog.greggant.com/favicon.ico", "expired": false, "items": [ { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/28/apple-finally-killed-the-mac.html", "title": "Apple Finally Killed the Mac Pro", "summary": null, "content_text": "The Mac Pro is officially dead. After 20 years, it went out with a quiet whimper. I'd already eulogized the Mac Pro as I considered it dead but Apple finally made it official. I made a quick video with my thoughts.", "content_html": "

The Mac Pro is officially dead. After 20 years, it went out with a quiet whimper. I'd already eulogized the Mac Pro as I considered it dead but Apple finally made it official. I made a quick video with my thoughts.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/28/apple-finally-killed-the-mac.html", "image": "/images/posts/2026-03-29-macproisdead.webp", "tags": ["apple","mac-pro","opinion"], "date_published": "2026-03-28T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-28T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/17/hotline-navigator-and-mobiusadmin.html", "title": "Hotline Navigator Gets a Home, and MobiusAdmin is Here", "summary": null, "content_text": "Two quick updates on the Hotline front. First, Hotline Navigator now has a proper home at hotlinenavigator.com. Previously, if you wanted to find the client you had to dig through GitHub or my personal website. Now there's a landing page with an about, privacy policy, and a link to the source code, making it easier to find and share.Hotline Navigator is now at 0.1.8 and includes iOS/iPadOS and Android builds for anyone willing to sideload. The last few versions have included some nice tweaks: Large File support, Inline Image Previews, a proper error modal system, extended icon support, get info, hotline url support, live username updates, TLS support, and ton of UI/UX improvements for all screen sizes. It might be the most feature rich Hotline client on the planet. Markdown support is coming in the next version.MobiusAdmin: a macOS GUI for MobiusThe bigger news is MobiusAdmin, a native macOS app I built that wraps the Mobius Hotline server in a point-and-click interface. To be clear, I didn't write Mobius itself. Mobius is a modern, cross-platform Hotline server written in Go that's compatible with all the popular Hotline clients. What I did write is a SwiftUI front-end that lets you run and manage the whole thing without ever touching a terminal or hand-editing config files.If you've ever wanted to spin up a Hotline server on your Mac but didn't want to wrestle with YAML and command-line flags, this is for you. MobiusAdmin includes: A setup wizard that walks you through initial configuration. One-click start, stop, and restart. A visual account editor with toggles for all 35 Hotline permission flags, because nobody wants to memorize access bitmasks. A file browser for the server's shared directory. News and message board management. A live log viewer with real-time user monitoring. Ban management. Server settings (name, description, banner, tracker registration, port) without needing a restart.It ships as a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, fully signed and notarized. The whole thing is around 55 MB and uses minimal RAM since you're basically running a Go binary with a thin SwiftUI shell on top.One caveat: it requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later due to some SwiftUI APIs I leaned on. In theory you could back-port it to earlier versions, but I didn't want to maintain compatibility shims for older OS releases.The source is on GitHub and it's free and open source, same as everything else in this little ecosystem. If you're running a Hotline server or thinking about it, give it a shot. And if you just want to connect to one, hotlinenavigator.com has you covered.", "content_html": "

Two quick updates on the Hotline front. First, Hotline Navigator now has a proper home at hotlinenavigator.com. Previously, if you wanted to find the client you had to dig through GitHub or my personal website. Now there's a landing page with an about, privacy policy, and a link to the source code, making it easier to find and share.

Hotline Navigator is now at 0.1.8 and includes iOS/iPadOS and Android builds for anyone willing to sideload. The last few versions have included some nice tweaks: Large File support, Inline Image Previews, a proper error modal system, extended icon support, get info, hotline url support, live username updates, TLS support, and ton of UI/UX improvements for all screen sizes. It might be the most feature rich Hotline client on the planet. Markdown support is coming in the next version.

\"Hotline

MobiusAdmin: a macOS GUI for Mobius

The bigger news is MobiusAdmin, a native macOS app I built that wraps the Mobius Hotline server in a point-and-click interface. To be clear, I didn't write Mobius itself. Mobius is a modern, cross-platform Hotline server written in Go that's compatible with all the popular Hotline clients. What I did write is a SwiftUI front-end that lets you run and manage the whole thing without ever touching a terminal or hand-editing config files.

If you've ever wanted to spin up a Hotline server on your Mac but didn't want to wrestle with YAML and command-line flags, this is for you. MobiusAdmin includes:

It ships as a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, fully signed and notarized. The whole thing is around 55 MB and uses minimal RAM since you're basically running a Go binary with a thin SwiftUI shell on top.

One caveat: it requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later due to some SwiftUI APIs I leaned on. In theory you could back-port it to earlier versions, but I didn't want to maintain compatibility shims for older OS releases.

The source is on GitHub and it's free and open source, same as everything else in this little ecosystem. If you're running a Hotline server or thinking about it, give it a shot. And if you just want to connect to one, hotlinenavigator.com has you covered.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/17/hotline-navigator-and-mobiusadmin.html", "image": "/images/posts/2026-03-05-hotlinebanner.webp", "tags": ["hotline","projects","retro"], "date_published": "2026-03-17T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-17T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/05/hotline-navigator-updates.html", "title": "Hotline Navigator Updates: v0.1.5 is out", "summary": null, "content_text": "I haven't written about Hotline Navigator since I first announced it, but the project hasn't been sitting idle. Over the past few days I've pushed out four releases, each one chipping away at rough edges and adding features that make the client feel more like a proper application and less like a proof of concept. If you tried v0.1.1 and bounced off it, now's a good time to give it another look.You can grab the latest release from the releases page. Builds are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux (ARM64) only at the time of writing this as my Linux VM died. Version 0.1.4 has a Linux x86_64 build, which doesn't have the UI polishes.The big additions@Mention notifications and watch words landed in v0.1.4. This existed in a earlier version but now has much more robust support. You can now get notified when someone mentions your name in chat, and if you want to track specific topics or mentions, you can add custom watch words in Settings that trigger the same notification. There's also a mute list if someone's being noisy. Pop-up toasts only appear when you're away from the tab, and everything gets logged to a notification history regardless.News management and broadcast messages came in v0.1.3. If the server grants you the permissions, you can create news categories, folders, and articles directly in the client. Admins also get a broadcast button for server-wide messages. Admin names now show up in red in chat to mimic the original Hotline client.Mobile-responsive UI and iOS builds were the focus of v0.1.2. The server UI now has a tab bar for Chat, Board, News, and Files on small screens, and there's a user list toggle with a live count badge. I also set up iOS build scripts and a GitHub Actions pipeline for iOS artifacts, it's not working yet but the groundwork is there. Whether that ever ships on the App Store is another question entirely. I'm not sure if it meets Apple's App Store guidelines for iOS apps, but it's there if you want to try it out.Improvements and fixesHere's an incomplete list of quality of life improvements: Simple animations for modals. Prefetching directories has now been removed as it caused more issues than it solved for file browsing. The performance gains came at the cost of unreliable behavior. Chat input auto-resizes as you type, and the view only auto-scrolls when you're already at the bottom. No more getting yanked away from something you were reading. Private messaging got a proper overhaul: text wraps, the input grows up to three lines, Enter sends, Shift+Enter adds a new line. Links in News, Boards, Server Agreement, and Chat are now clickable. Server agreements are now a proper modal. Previously you could just click around without agreeing. File browser no longer hangs on empty folders, and there's a configurable download directory in Settings. You can create folders in the file browser if the server allows it. Server banners now fade in after loading, and there's a toggle to hide them entirely. The icon picker got expanded with the full icon list, thanks to John over at the Hotline wiki. Linux Icon fixes.Under the hoodI've updated dependencies, either updated oradded ESLint, Vitest, and Rust-side tests with clippy warnings treated as errors. CI now gates on all of these before builds go out, it's completely broken as of writing this but I'll get it working eventually. The backend board parsing also got improvements for mixed UTF-8/Mac Roman content, which helps prevent garbled posts on older servers. Hotline's encoding situation is a perpetual adventure.What's nextA few things on my radar: user name changes don't propagate without a disconnect/reconnect, which is annoying. Hotline hotline:// link support would be nice. The biggest nut to crack is the is chat persistence. Chat history is the big weak point of the Hotline protocol itself, there's no server-side scrollback, so once it's gone, it's gone. I'm still mulling over what, if anything, I can do about that client-side or contributing to Morbius server-side support for chat persistence without breaking compatibility with the original Hotline protocol. If chat persistence is implemented, it would start to make Hotline a viable Discord alternative for chatting.Apple Media ArchiveYou can find my personal hotline server at hotline.semihosted.xyz. It's also listed in the remaining public trackers that I'm aware of. It has the Hotline Navigator client for download and a treasure trove of Apple media. It is only accessible via hotline.If you want to follow along or contribute, the project is on GitHub. And if you're running a Hotline server and want to test, I'd love to hear how it works for you.", "content_html": "

I haven't written about Hotline Navigator since I first announced it, but the project hasn't been sitting idle. Over the past few days I've pushed out four releases, each one chipping away at rough edges and adding features that make the client feel more like a proper application and less like a proof of concept. If you tried v0.1.1 and bounced off it, now's a good time to give it another look.

\"Hotline

You can grab the latest release from the releases page. Builds are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux (ARM64) only at the time of writing this as my Linux VM died. Version 0.1.4 has a Linux x86_64 build, which doesn't have the UI polishes.

The big additions

@Mention notifications and watch words landed in v0.1.4. This existed in a earlier version but now has much more robust support. You can now get notified when someone mentions your name in chat, and if you want to track specific topics or mentions, you can add custom watch words in Settings that trigger the same notification. There's also a mute list if someone's being noisy. Pop-up toasts only appear when you're away from the tab, and everything gets logged to a notification history regardless.

News management and broadcast messages came in v0.1.3. If the server grants you the permissions, you can create news categories, folders, and articles directly in the client. Admins also get a broadcast button for server-wide messages. Admin names now show up in red in chat to mimic the original Hotline client.

Mobile-responsive UI and iOS builds were the focus of v0.1.2. The server UI now has a tab bar for Chat, Board, News, and Files on small screens, and there's a user list toggle with a live count badge. I also set up iOS build scripts and a GitHub Actions pipeline for iOS artifacts, it's not working yet but the groundwork is there. Whether that ever ships on the App Store is another question entirely. I'm not sure if it meets Apple's App Store guidelines for iOS apps, but it's there if you want to try it out.

Improvements and fixes

Here's an incomplete list of quality of life improvements:

Under the hood

I've updated dependencies, either updated oradded ESLint, Vitest, and Rust-side tests with clippy warnings treated as errors. CI now gates on all of these before builds go out, it's completely broken as of writing this but I'll get it working eventually. The backend board parsing also got improvements for mixed UTF-8/Mac Roman content, which helps prevent garbled posts on older servers. Hotline's encoding situation is a perpetual adventure.

What's next

A few things on my radar: user name changes don't propagate without a disconnect/reconnect, which is annoying. Hotline hotline:// link support would be nice. The biggest nut to crack is the is chat persistence. Chat history is the big weak point of the Hotline protocol itself, there's no server-side scrollback, so once it's gone, it's gone. I'm still mulling over what, if anything, I can do about that client-side or contributing to Morbius server-side support for chat persistence without breaking compatibility with the original Hotline protocol. If chat persistence is implemented, it would start to make Hotline a viable Discord alternative for chatting.

Apple Media Archive

You can find my personal hotline server at hotline.semihosted.xyz. It's also listed in the remaining public trackers that I'm aware of. It has the Hotline Navigator client for download and a treasure trove of Apple media. It is only accessible via hotline.

If you want to follow along or contribute, the project is on GitHub. And if you're running a Hotline server and want to test, I'd love to hear how it works for you.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/05/hotline-navigator-updates.html", "image": "/images/posts/2026-03-05-hotlinebanner.webp", "tags": ["hotline","projects","retro"], "date_published": "2026-03-05T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-05T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/02/the-enshittening-part-2.html", "title": "The Enshittening Part 2: The Enshittificator", "summary": null, "content_text": "Back in 2018, I wrote about the Enshittening, now more accurately called the \"Enshittification\" of the internet, the observation that we're all surfing on a river of bullshit while each contributing our own tiny tributary of turds. For those uninitiated with the concept, it's a three-stage grift befitting of the underpants gnomes. Hook:: The platform lures you in with a good product. Lock-in: The platform keeps you in its walled garden through network effects and switching costs. Squeeze: The platform extracts every last cent out of you by making the thing you relied on progressively worse, as you're held hostage to the platform's business model.Most users of the internet are tacitly aware of the Enshittification cycle, even if they've never heard the word. When someone laments the state of the internet, it's enshifficiation. The Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) just released a brilliant PSA that deserves to be spread far and wide.The video accompanies the Council's report, Breaking Free: Pathways to a Fair Technological Future, replete with examples of the Enshittification cycle in action. Facebook and Instagram feeds are flooded with scams and fraudulent ads. Meta reportedly rakes in roughly $16 billion annually from fraudulent advertising on its platforms. Google Search is serving up AI-generated slop instead of actual results. Car companies charge you a subscription to heat your own car seats. OEM parts have DRM preventing repairs. Advertisements exist in operating systems. Customer service has been replaced with chatbots designed to deflect rather than help.In my 2018 post, I wrote about Amazon's counterfeit problem, Facebook's apathy toward its role in political manipulation, and the bot-infested simulacrum of an internet. Seven years later, every single one of those problems is worse. Not just a little worse, industrially worse. Amazon is still a landfill of counterfeits and fake reviews. Facebook (sorry, Meta) still doesn't give two shits about the damage it causes. It also has an AI chatbot shoved into every one of its apps. While I won't pretend that I was able to predict the rise of AI slop, I did write: Too lazy to make up your own bullshit? Want to build an empire of bullshit? There's an entire bullshit industry you're probably not even familiar with, even if you've heard of low-rent bullshit like Fiver. There are full-on bullshit mills to generate bullshit on your behalf!I didn't have any answers at the time, just an observation of the problem and a small platform to raise awareness. Now I'm happy to write that there's a growing group of people who are calling out the Enshittification cycle and demanding better regulation.What makes the Norwegian Consumer Council's effort notable is that this isn't just a funny video. They've coordinated with over 70 consumer groups across Europe and the US, and sent formal letters to policymakers in the EU, UK, and US, demanding action: stronger consumer rights, mandatory interoperability, data portability, the right to repair, and the actual enforcement of existing competition laws. You know, the kind of common-sense regulation that gets endlessly lobbied against by the same companies profiting from the enshittification cycle.This is the sort of activism I can get behind. Let's try to make the world less shitty.", "content_html": "

Back in 2018, I wrote about the Enshittening, now more accurately called the \"Enshittification\" of the internet, the observation that we're all surfing on a river of bullshit while each contributing our own tiny tributary of turds. For those uninitiated with the concept, it's a three-stage grift befitting of the underpants gnomes.

  1. Hook:: The platform lures you in with a good product.
  2. Lock-in: The platform keeps you in its walled garden through network effects and switching costs.
  3. Squeeze: The platform extracts every last cent out of you by making the thing you relied on progressively worse, as you're held hostage to the platform's business model.

Most users of the internet are tacitly aware of the Enshittification cycle, even if they've never heard the word. When someone laments the state of the internet, it's enshifficiation. The Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) just released a brilliant PSA that deserves to be spread far and wide.


The video accompanies the Council's report, Breaking Free: Pathways to a Fair Technological Future, replete with examples of the Enshittification cycle in action. Facebook and Instagram feeds are flooded with scams and fraudulent ads. Meta reportedly rakes in roughly $16 billion annually from fraudulent advertising on its platforms. Google Search is serving up AI-generated slop instead of actual results. Car companies charge you a subscription to heat your own car seats. OEM parts have DRM preventing repairs. Advertisements exist in operating systems. Customer service has been replaced with chatbots designed to deflect rather than help.

In my 2018 post, I wrote about Amazon's counterfeit problem, Facebook's apathy toward its role in political manipulation, and the bot-infested simulacrum of an internet. Seven years later, every single one of those problems is worse. Not just a little worse, industrially worse. Amazon is still a landfill of counterfeits and fake reviews. Facebook (sorry, Meta) still doesn't give two shits about the damage it causes. It also has an AI chatbot shoved into every one of its apps. While I won't pretend that I was able to predict the rise of AI slop, I did write:

Too lazy to make up your own bullshit? Want to build an empire of bullshit? There's an entire bullshit industry you're probably not even familiar with, even if you've heard of low-rent bullshit like Fiver. There are full-on bullshit mills to generate bullshit on your behalf!

I didn't have any answers at the time, just an observation of the problem and a small platform to raise awareness. Now I'm happy to write that there's a growing group of people who are calling out the Enshittification cycle and demanding better regulation.

What makes the Norwegian Consumer Council's effort notable is that this isn't just a funny video. They've coordinated with over 70 consumer groups across Europe and the US, and sent formal letters to policymakers in the EU, UK, and US, demanding action: stronger consumer rights, mandatory interoperability, data portability, the right to repair, and the actual enforcement of existing competition laws. You know, the kind of common-sense regulation that gets endlessly lobbied against by the same companies profiting from the enshittification cycle.

This is the sort of activism I can get behind. Let's try to make the world less shitty.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/03/02/the-enshittening-part-2.html", "tags": ["digital politics","enshittification"], "date_published": "2026-03-02T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-02T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/01/26/to-use-migration-assistant-or-not-to-use-migration-assistant.html", "title": "To use Migration Assistant or not to use Migration Assistant", "summary": null, "content_text": "You've got a new Mac. The box is open, the screen is pristine, and you're staring at the setup screen, wondering: Should I use Migration Assistant?Whether to use Migration Assistant is a constant debate on Mac communities. Before I answer whether you should use it, we need to take a peek under macOS's hood.The APFS Architecture: Why Your System Stays SafeModern Macs use APFS (Apple File System), which creates a container structure with multiple volumes. I highly recommend for an in-depth breakdown , and it has downstream reprocussions for Migration Assistant.The /System volume is a read-only sub-partition that's sealed and cryptographically hashed. Your macOS installation files are signed, and the system volume cannot be modified by Migration Assistant, or by anything else, for that matter, outside of Apple-distributed updates. Even if Migration Assistant wanted to alter your OS, System Integrity Protection (SIP) prevents it. Even if SIP is disabled, and system file are modified, updating macOS will replace any modified files with the Apple-hashed versions.The operating system you get on your new Mac stays exactly as Apple installed it. Migration Assistant can't touch it, and that's a feature, not a limitation.For the nerds out there, in older versions of macOS (Dating back to OS X),to bring more recent versions of OS X/macOS to older hardware or Hackintoshes, people would build scripts. Popular ones in include Pike's Script and DosDUDE1's scripts. However, due to Apple's shifting focus towards a non-modifiable core operating system, scripts became an impediment, as any update would render the computer unbootable by replacing key modified system files with non-modified versions. As this avenue became more precarious, the strategy shifted to bootloaders like Clover and later OpenCore. Prior to booting macOS, the bootloader would launch and perform active memory modifications, load in kernel extensions (Kexts) to bring driver support for unsupported hardware, bypass the Don't steal macOS protection, among other things. This had the benefit of never modifying physical files in macOS, only altering or replacing them in active memory. In short, it's safe to use Migration Assistant on Macs running OpenCore as none of the modifications are transferrable as they only exist on the EFI partition, something that Migration Assistant is unaware of, and does not exist on Apple Silicon Mcas/What Migration Assistant Actually MovesSo what does Migration Assistant actually transfer? Here's the complete list: User Home folders: Everything in ~/, including documents, desktop, downloads, and all your personal files ~/Library: User-level settings, preferences, application support files, caches, and all the hidden configuration that makes your Mac feel like your Mac /Library: System-wide support files, preferences, and application data (non-system files) /Applications: Third-party applications (Apple's system apps are already on the new Mac, so they don't get migrated) Documents and user data: All user-created content across your home directories, anything that exists in ~/ Root-level user-created folders.Migration Assistant also identifies incompatible files during the process. Intel-only apps on Apple Silicon Macs will be flagged, though they may still run via Rosetta. Apple will likely flag them as incompatible in future macOS versions, but for now, they'll transfer and you'll get a heads-up about potential issues.What Migration Assistant Doesn't Do: The Housekeeping ProblemHere's where things get interesting: Migration Assistant is not a janitorial service. It's a wholesale transfer tool. Everything moves over, including years of digital clutter, old preferences, cached data, and files you probably forgot existed.You're still on the hook for cleanup in these areas: /Library: System-level caches, old preference files, duplicate support files from applications you've long since deleted ~/Library: User caches, old application preferences, obsolete support files, and remnants from apps you uninstalled years ago /usr: Third-party binaries and libraries that may no longer be needed or compatible Invisible files in ~/: Dotfiles like .bashrc, .zshrc, .gitconfig, and other hidden configuration files that accumulate over timeThe burden of decluttering falls on you. Migration Assistant preserves your data, not your good decisions. Years of accumulated files, old preferences, and cached data come along for the ride, and you'll need to clean house afterward if you want a truly optimized Mac. Tools like Onyx can assist in dumping caches for orphaned utilities.When Migration Assistant Works BestMigration Assistant works best under certain conditions: Migrating during initial setup: Running Migration Assistant at first boot is ideal, though you can also run it later from /Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant.app Update macOS first: It's recommended to update macOS on the new Mac before migrating, though it's not strictly required to match versions between the two Macs Clean source Mac: A source Mac with no disk errors or corrupted files will migrate more reliably. Boot into recovery mode and run the disk utility. Reasonable file count: Hundreds of thousands of files to even millions is fine, but many millions may cause the process to struggle. Doing a bit of house cleaning is a wise move.When to Reconsider Using ItMigration Assistant isn't always the right choice: Years of accumulated cruft: If your old Mac has become a digital hoarder's paradise, you might want a fresh start with selective migration instead Selective control: When you want to cherry-pick what comes over rather than transferring everything wholesaleWhen your new Mac's volume is smaller than the source drive.One thing that's not a blocker: architecture differences. Intel apps still run via Rosetta on Apple Silicon Macs, and Apple will flag incompatible apps in future versions. Migration Assistant handles this gracefully by flagging potential issues rather than blocking the migration.Practical Tips for SuccessIf you decide to use Migration Assistant, here's how to set yourself up for success:Before Migrating Update macOS on the new Mac first and the old Mac (recommended) Disable antivirus, firewall, and VPN software temporarily during the transfer Ensure both Macs are on the same network and have Wi-Fi enabled Have a Time Machine backup as a safety net.During Migration Keep both Macs on the same network Close all applications on both Macs Be patient, large migrations can take hoursAfter Migrating Plan time for cleanup of /Library, ~/Library, /usr, and hidden files Check for flagged incompatible files and decide what to do with them Test your applications to ensure everything works as expectedAlternativesMigration Assistant isn't your only option: Time Machine restoration: You can use a Time Machine backup as the source for Migration Assistant, which gives you more control over timing. Selective manual transfer: Fresh install plus cherry-picking what you need gives you the cleanest start Third-party cloning tools: Tools like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper can create complete duplicates, though they come with the same housekeeping challengesWait, you didn't tell me if I should use Migration Assistant!I'd argue that for most users, most of the time, you should use Migration Assistant. It's a transfer tool, but the rest of the data is your responsibility to manage. It isn't a cleaning tool, thus years of digital baggage will be along for the ride.For more technical deep-dives on macOS migration, check out The Eclectic Light Company's excellent article on the subject, or Apple's official Migration Assistant guide.For a tutorial on how to tame your System Data, check out my guide Reclaiming storage/space from 'System Data' in macOS: A tutorial on understanding the System Data usage.", "content_html": "

You've got a new Mac. The box is open, the screen is pristine, and you're staring at the setup screen, wondering: Should I use Migration Assistant?

Whether to use Migration Assistant is a constant debate on Mac communities. Before I answer whether you should use it, we need to take a peek under macOS's hood.

The APFS Architecture: Why Your System Stays Safe

Modern Macs use APFS (Apple File System), which creates a container structure with multiple volumes. I highly recommend for an in-depth breakdown , and it has downstream reprocussions for Migration Assistant.

The /System volume is a read-only sub-partition that's sealed and cryptographically hashed. Your macOS installation files are signed, and the system volume cannot be modified by Migration Assistant, or by anything else, for that matter, outside of Apple-distributed updates. Even if Migration Assistant wanted to alter your OS, System Integrity Protection (SIP) prevents it. Even if SIP is disabled, and system file are modified, updating macOS will replace any modified files with the Apple-hashed versions.

The operating system you get on your new Mac stays exactly as Apple installed it. Migration Assistant can't touch it, and that's a feature, not a limitation.

For the nerds out there, in older versions of macOS (Dating back to OS X),to bring more recent versions of OS X/macOS to older hardware or Hackintoshes, people would build scripts. Popular ones in include Pike's Script and DosDUDE1's scripts. However, due to Apple's shifting focus towards a non-modifiable core operating system, scripts became an impediment, as any update would render the computer unbootable by replacing key modified system files with non-modified versions. As this avenue became more precarious, the strategy shifted to bootloaders like Clover and later OpenCore. Prior to booting macOS, the bootloader would launch and perform active memory modifications, load in kernel extensions (Kexts) to bring driver support for unsupported hardware, bypass the Don't steal macOS protection, among other things. This had the benefit of never modifying physical files in macOS, only altering or replacing them in active memory.

In short, it's safe to use Migration Assistant on Macs running OpenCore as none of the modifications are transferrable as they only exist on the EFI partition, something that Migration Assistant is unaware of, and does not exist on Apple Silicon Mcas/

What Migration Assistant Actually Moves

So what does Migration Assistant actually transfer? Here's the complete list:

Migration Assistant also identifies incompatible files during the process. Intel-only apps on Apple Silicon Macs will be flagged, though they may still run via Rosetta. Apple will likely flag them as incompatible in future macOS versions, but for now, they'll transfer and you'll get a heads-up about potential issues.

What Migration Assistant Doesn't Do: The Housekeeping Problem

Here's where things get interesting: Migration Assistant is not a janitorial service. It's a wholesale transfer tool. Everything moves over, including years of digital clutter, old preferences, cached data, and files you probably forgot existed.

You're still on the hook for cleanup in these areas:

The burden of decluttering falls on you. Migration Assistant preserves your data, not your good decisions. Years of accumulated files, old preferences, and cached data come along for the ride, and you'll need to clean house afterward if you want a truly optimized Mac. Tools like Onyx can assist in dumping caches for orphaned utilities.

When Migration Assistant Works Best

Migration Assistant works best under certain conditions:

When to Reconsider Using It

Migration Assistant isn't always the right choice:

One thing that's not a blocker: architecture differences. Intel apps still run via Rosetta on Apple Silicon Macs, and Apple will flag incompatible apps in future versions. Migration Assistant handles this gracefully by flagging potential issues rather than blocking the migration.

Practical Tips for Success

If you decide to use Migration Assistant, here's how to set yourself up for success:

Before Migrating

During Migration

After Migrating

Alternatives

Migration Assistant isn't your only option:

Wait, you didn't tell me if I should use Migration Assistant!

I'd argue that for most users, most of the time, you should use Migration Assistant. It's a transfer tool, but the rest of the data is your responsibility to manage. It isn't a cleaning tool, thus years of digital baggage will be along for the ride.

For more technical deep-dives on macOS migration, check out The Eclectic Light Company's excellent article on the subject, or Apple's official Migration Assistant guide.

For a tutorial on how to tame your System Data, check out my guide Reclaiming storage/space from 'System Data' in macOS: A tutorial on understanding the System Data usage.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/01/26/to-use-migration-assistant-or-not-to-use-migration-assistant.html", "image": "/images/posts/2026-01-26-transfer.webp", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2026-01-26T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-01-26T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/01/02/i-gave-a-2003-powermac-g4-a-2026-web-browser.html", "title": "Using X11 to run a modern web browser on a PowerPC Mac", "summary": null, "content_text": "The closest thing to a modern browser a PowerMac can run is ancient forks of Firefox from roughly 2014. The forked browsers like TenFourFox, InterWeb PPC, and AquaFox all ship with band-aid fixes to attempt to cobble together more modern features. Modern browsers, these are not. While a PowerPC Mac can't run a modern browser in OS X, it can display one.This isn't OS X specific even, as X11 exists on multiple Unix-like systems and these instructions should be adaptable to other Unix-like systems as well, like SunOS.The trick: let another computer do the heavy lifting (Firefox + modern TLS + modern JS), and have the PowerMac act like a dumb terminal that just draws windows and sends keyboard/mouse input. For this example, I'll be using a Raspberry Pi 5 with an NVMe expansion (aka Hat), but any Linux computer will do. If you don't have an always on Linxu box, the Raspberry Pi 5s are fast enough and can be had for about $100~ for the 8 GB version (recommended for this project), consume only about 4 watts idling and NVMe is entirely optional, if you're looking to do this on the cheap, just get a 32+ GB MicroSD card. Plus, you'll be able to do plenty more with a Pi 5 like PiHole for DNS level adblocking, hosting docker etc.This project uses old-school X11 remote display technology, not VNC which largely streams pixels. The way X11 works is it sends commands like \"create a window, draw text here, render this image, handle this click.\" The results in real-time window updates on the PowerMac, and functionality that feels like an application running (almost) natively on the Mac.What you need Linux computer on the same local network as your Mac A PowerPC Mac running OS X (I'm on 10.5 Leopard but this should work in 10.4 Tiger) XQuartz installed on the Mac (Leopard's built-in X11 is old and may not behave) SSH access to the PiStep 1: Install X11 + Firefox on the Raspberry PiOn the Pi:sudo apt updatesudo apt install -y firefox-esr x11-apps x11-utilsx11-apps gives you quick sanity-test tools like xclock. x11-utils as well as xdpyinfo so you can confirm you're actually communicating with the Mac's X server.Step 2: Install XQuartz on the PowerPC MacLeopard shipped with X11, but it's old. When I tried to use it, it didn't play nice with the Pi. Install XQuartz's X11 instead.Grab XQuartz 2.6.1 (this appears to be the last release for Leopard):https://www.xquartz.org/releases/XQuartz-2.6.1.htmlIf on Tiger, you'll probably need to experiment with older XQuartz versions; See the archiveInstall it, then launch X11. You'll get an xterm window (this is NOT the same as the Mac Terminal). If it doesn't launch with a terminal open, from the menu select New Xterm window.Step 3: Allow network clientsWe'll have to make some security concessions during setup to eliminate any possible complications due to network restrictions. In the OS X preferences, open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall, then click the lock to make changes. Click Firewall Options... and disable it.In X11: Open X11 Preferences Go to the Security tab Check Allow connections from network clientsThen restart X11 (quit and re-open it). This setting often doesn't fully take effect until you relaunch.Next, in the X11 xterm, run:xhost +That basically says \"anyone on my LAN can open windows on my X server.\" You can be more strict, but for a retro Mac on a home LAN, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. Once you've set up X11 you can always return to the security settings and tighten things back up.Step 4: Confirm what X11 port you're listening onX11 uses port 6000 + display number. :0 = port 6000 :1 = port 6001 etc.From the X11 xterm on the Mac:netstat -an | egrep '\\.600[0-9] ' | egrep 'LISTEN|listen'If you see 6000, you're on display :0. If you see 6001, that's display :1.If you see a higher than 6001, often this will create issues; reboot the Mac and try again.Step 5: From the Pi, confirm you can reach the Mac's X11 portOn the Pi, test the port (replace with your Mac's IP and the port you saw above):nc -vz 192.168.50.134 6001If it connects (doesn't time out), you're almost done.Now confirm X11 is really responding:DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:1 xdpyinfo | headYou should get output that looks similar to:name of display: 192.168.50.134:1version number: 11.0vendor string: The X.Org Foundation...Step 6: Test a simple X app (the victory lap)On the Pi:DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:1 xclockIf a little clock window pops up on the PowerMac, congrats — you've got remote X working.Step 7: Launch Firefox ESR on the Pi, display it on the MacOn the Pi:DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:0 \\GDK_BACKEND=x11 \\MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1 \\MOZ_DBUS_REMOTE=0 \\firefox-esr --new-instance --no-remoteA quick breakdown of the flags: DISPLAY=... tells the Pi where to draw the GUI (your Mac's XQuartz display), the :0 specifies the display number, which we confirmed earlier. 0 = port 6000, 1 = port 6001, etc. GDK_BACKEND=x11 forces GTK onto X11 MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1 avoids Wayland paths on the Pi MOZ_DBUS_REMOTE=0 + --new-instance --no-remote prevents Firefox from trying to \"reuse\" an existing local GUI instanceIf you do not see anything, try flipping between :0 and :1 based on what your Mac is actually listening on (remember: :0 => 6000, :1 => 6001).TroubleshootingWhile AI is a bit of scourge, the recent models of Claude and Chat GPT are excellent at debugging terminal scripts. Even as an advanced technical user, I used it quickly debug my issues when working on this project as I'm new to X11, as I was able to display xclock but not Firefox ESR.OS X is a bit janky, I'd highly recommend 10.5 as it's supported by xQuartz officially, but I've heard that it can be hacked to work on Tiger. Ports can get \"occupied\" and cause issues, so a reboot can sometimes help.Bonus: Launching Firefoxwith X11 from the PowerMac with a scriptTo make life more convenient, it's pretty easy to make a script to launch FireFox X11 from your PowerPC Mac. One gotcha: Leopard's built-in SSH can be too old to communicate to modern OpenSSH a modern system. You can lower your security settings on said system but the smarter move is to update SSH to a newer version. I'm using a homebrew OpenSSH binary. To install OpenSSH, install TigerBrew onto your 10.4/10.5 Mac.#!/bin/sh# Assumes XQuartz is already running on the Mac.# Allows the Pi to open X11 windows, then SSH into the Pi and launch firefox-esr.set -euPI_HOST=\"192.168.50.224\"PI_USER=\"me\"detect_mac_ip() { ip=\"$(ipconfig getifaddr en0 2>/dev/null || true)\" [ -n \"${ip:-}\" ] && { echo \"$ip\"; return; } ip=\"$(ipconfig getifaddr en1 2>/dev/null || true)\" [ -n \"${ip:-}\" ] && { echo \"$ip\"; return; } echo \"\"}MAC_X11_HOST_IP=\"$(detect_mac_ip)\"if [ -z \"${MAC_X11_HOST_IP:-}\" ]; then echo \"ERROR: Could not detect this Mac's LAN IP.\" exit 1fiBREW_PREFIX=\"$(brew --prefix)\"SSH_BIN=\"${BREW_PREFIX}/opt/openssh/bin/ssh\"if [ ! -x \"$SSH_BIN\" ]; then echo \"ERROR: Expected brewed ssh at: $SSH_BIN\" exit 1fi# Wide open version (matches the blog post steps):# DISPLAY=:0 xhost +## Slightly less wild: allow only the Pi:DISPLAY=:0 xhost +\"$PI_HOST\" >/dev/null 2>&1\"$SSH_BIN\" -t \"${PI_USER}@${PI_HOST}\" \" export DISPLAY='${MAC_X11_HOST_IP}:0' export GDK_BACKEND='x11' export MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1 export MOZ_DBUS_REMOTE=0 exec firefox-esr --new-instance --no-remote\"Then run it:chmod +x launch-x11-firefox.sh./launch-x11-firefox.shYou can take this even further by enabling AFP on your Raspberry Pi and serving up the downloads as a network volume for your Mac.That's itYour 2003 PowerMac is now \"running\" a modern browser… in the same way a monitor is \"running\" Photoshop. It's stupid, it's fun, it's absolutely not efficient, and it works way better than it has any right to.Updates2026-01-03: Cleaned up language and syntax highlighting, added troubleshooting tips and added links to retro browsers. ", "content_html": "

The closest thing to a modern browser a PowerMac can run is ancient forks of Firefox from roughly 2014. The forked browsers like TenFourFox, InterWeb PPC, and AquaFox all ship with band-aid fixes to attempt to cobble together more modern features. Modern browsers, these are not. While a PowerPC Mac can't run a modern browser in OS X, it can display one.

This isn't OS X specific even, as X11 exists on multiple Unix-like systems and these instructions should be adaptable to other Unix-like systems as well, like SunOS.


The trick: let another computer do the heavy lifting (Firefox + modern TLS + modern JS), and have the PowerMac act like a dumb terminal that just draws windows and sends keyboard/mouse input. For this example, I'll be using a Raspberry Pi 5 with an NVMe expansion (aka Hat), but any Linux computer will do. If you don't have an always on Linxu box, the Raspberry Pi 5s are fast enough and can be had for about $100~ for the 8 GB version (recommended for this project), consume only about 4 watts idling and NVMe is entirely optional, if you're looking to do this on the cheap, just get a 32+ GB MicroSD card. Plus, you'll be able to do plenty more with a Pi 5 like PiHole for DNS level adblocking, hosting docker etc.

This project uses old-school X11 remote display technology, not VNC which largely streams pixels. The way X11 works is it sends commands like \"create a window, draw text here, render this image, handle this click.\" The results in real-time window updates on the PowerMac, and functionality that feels like an application running (almost) natively on the Mac.

What you need

Step 1: Install X11 + Firefox on the Raspberry Pi

On the Pi:

sudo apt updatesudo apt install -y firefox-esr x11-apps x11-utils

x11-apps gives you quick sanity-test tools like xclock. x11-utils as well as xdpyinfo so you can confirm you're actually communicating with the Mac's X server.

Step 2: Install XQuartz on the PowerPC Mac

Leopard shipped with X11, but it's old. When I tried to use it, it didn't play nice with the Pi. Install XQuartz's X11 instead.

Grab XQuartz 2.6.1 (this appears to be the last release for Leopard):

https://www.xquartz.org/releases/XQuartz-2.6.1.html

If on Tiger, you'll probably need to experiment with older XQuartz versions; See the archive

Install it, then launch X11. You'll get an xterm window (this is NOT the same as the Mac Terminal). If it doesn't launch with a terminal open, from the menu select New Xterm window.

Step 3: Allow network clients

We'll have to make some security concessions during setup to eliminate any possible complications due to network restrictions.

In the OS X preferences, open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall, then click the lock to make changes. Click Firewall Options... and disable it.

In X11:

Then restart X11 (quit and re-open it). This setting often doesn't fully take effect until you relaunch.

Next, in the X11 xterm, run:

xhost +

That basically says \"anyone on my LAN can open windows on my X server.\" You can be more strict, but for a retro Mac on a home LAN, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. Once you've set up X11 you can always return to the security settings and tighten things back up.

Step 4: Confirm what X11 port you're listening on

X11 uses port 6000 + display number.

From the X11 xterm on the Mac:

netstat -an | egrep '\\.600[0-9] ' | egrep 'LISTEN|listen'

If you see 6000, you're on display :0. If you see 6001, that's display :1.

If you see a higher than 6001, often this will create issues; reboot the Mac and try again.

Step 5: From the Pi, confirm you can reach the Mac's X11 port

On the Pi, test the port (replace with your Mac's IP and the port you saw above):

nc -vz 192.168.50.134 6001

If it connects (doesn't time out), you're almost done.

Now confirm X11 is really responding:

DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:1 xdpyinfo | head

You should get output that looks similar to:

name of display:    192.168.50.134:1version number:    11.0vendor string:    The X.Org Foundation...

Step 6: Test a simple X app (the victory lap)

On the Pi:

DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:1 xclock

If a little clock window pops up on the PowerMac, congrats — you've got remote X working.

Step 7: Launch Firefox ESR on the Pi, display it on the Mac

On the Pi:

DISPLAY=192.168.50.134:0 \\GDK_BACKEND=x11 \\MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1 \\MOZ_DBUS_REMOTE=0 \\firefox-esr --new-instance --no-remote

A quick breakdown of the flags:

If you do not see anything, try flipping between :0 and :1 based on what your Mac is actually listening on (remember: :0 => 6000, :1 => 6001).

Troubleshooting

While AI is a bit of scourge, the recent models of Claude and Chat GPT are excellent at debugging terminal scripts. Even as an advanced technical user, I used it quickly debug my issues when working on this project as I'm new to X11, as I was able to display xclock but not Firefox ESR.

OS X is a bit janky, I'd highly recommend 10.5 as it's supported by xQuartz officially, but I've heard that it can be hacked to work on Tiger. Ports can get \"occupied\" and cause issues, so a reboot can sometimes help.

Bonus: Launching Firefoxwith X11 from the PowerMac with a script

To make life more convenient, it's pretty easy to make a script to launch FireFox X11 from your PowerPC Mac. One gotcha: Leopard's built-in SSH can be too old to communicate to modern OpenSSH a modern system. You can lower your security settings on said system but the smarter move is to update SSH to a newer version. I'm using a homebrew OpenSSH binary. To install OpenSSH, install TigerBrew onto your 10.4/10.5 Mac.

#!/bin/sh# Assumes XQuartz is already running on the Mac.# Allows the Pi to open X11 windows, then SSH into the Pi and launch firefox-esr.set -euPI_HOST=\"192.168.50.224\"PI_USER=\"me\"detect_mac_ip() { ip=\"$(ipconfig getifaddr en0 2>/dev/null || true)\" [ -n \"${ip:-}\" ] && { echo \"$ip\"; return; } ip=\"$(ipconfig getifaddr en1 2>/dev/null || true)\" [ -n \"${ip:-}\" ] && { echo \"$ip\"; return; } echo \"\"}MAC_X11_HOST_IP=\"$(detect_mac_ip)\"if [ -z \"${MAC_X11_HOST_IP:-}\" ]; then echo \"ERROR: Could not detect this Mac's LAN IP.\" exit 1fiBREW_PREFIX=\"$(brew --prefix)\"SSH_BIN=\"${BREW_PREFIX}/opt/openssh/bin/ssh\"if [ ! -x \"$SSH_BIN\" ]; then echo \"ERROR: Expected brewed ssh at: $SSH_BIN\" exit 1fi# Wide open version (matches the blog post steps):# DISPLAY=:0 xhost +## Slightly less wild: allow only the Pi:DISPLAY=:0 xhost +\"$PI_HOST\" >/dev/null 2>&1\"$SSH_BIN\" -t \"${PI_USER}@${PI_HOST}\" \" export DISPLAY='${MAC_X11_HOST_IP}:0' export GDK_BACKEND='x11' export MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1 export MOZ_DBUS_REMOTE=0 exec firefox-esr --new-instance --no-remote\"

Then run it:

chmod +x launch-x11-firefox.sh./launch-x11-firefox.sh

You can take this even further by enabling AFP on your Raspberry Pi and serving up the downloads as a network volume for your Mac.

That's it

Your 2003 PowerMac is now \"running\" a modern browser… in the same way a monitor is \"running\" Photoshop. It's stupid, it's fun, it's absolutely not efficient, and it works way better than it has any right to.

Updates

2026-01-03: Cleaned up language and syntax highlighting, added troubleshooting tips and added links to retro browsers.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2026/01/02/i-gave-a-2003-powermac-g4-a-2026-web-browser.html", "image": "/images/posts/2026-01-02-ff.jpg", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial","retro"], "date_published": "2026-01-02T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-01-02T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/12/22/installing-windows-11-on-unsupported-mac.html", "title": "The easiest way to install Windows 11 on an Unsupported Mac (Bypassing TPM 2.0)", "summary": null, "content_text": " What You'll Need A Mac or PC Windows 10 already installed via Boot Camp or other means Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft A USB thumb drive Credit Where It's Due These instructions are based on a post by Darall on Reddit, so credit to them for figuring this out. The Process You'll need to be already booted into Windows 10 for this to work. Here's the step-by-step: Go to microsoft.com and download the Windows 11 ISO. Copy the ISO onto your USB drive. Disconnect from the internet. For me, that meant unplugging Ethernet and disconnecting from Wi-Fi. Double-click the ISO you copied onto your USB drive to mount it. Make note of the drive letter it mounts as. For me, it mounted as I. Yours will probably be different. Open Run from the Start menu (or press Windows + R). The Command That Makes It Work In Run, enter: X:\\sources\\setupprep.exe /product server Replace X with your ISO's drive letter. setupprep.exe is a Windows setup helper used to start an in-place upgrade from inside an existing Windows session. When you run it against a Windows 11 ISO, it still installs Windows 11 — but this mode is commonly used because it bypasses (or relaxes) some of Windows 11's hardware checks, like TPM, Secure Boot, and CPU checks. Those checks are what normally block installs on unsupported hardware. Installing This will launch the installer. It'll take a bit. Then click Install and let it do its thing. It'll reboot a few times, and that's basically it. Important Notes As always, if you have important data, back it up before you start. This doesn't just apply to Macs, it'll work on any unsupported computer. But I'm a Mac guy, so that's what I went with.", "content_html": "

What You'll Need

Credit Where It's Due

These instructions are based on a post by Darall on Reddit, so credit to them for figuring this out.

The Process

You'll need to be already booted into Windows 10 for this to work. Here's the step-by-step:

  1. Go to microsoft.com and download the Windows 11 ISO.
  2. Copy the ISO onto your USB drive.
  3. Disconnect from the internet. For me, that meant unplugging Ethernet and disconnecting from Wi-Fi.
  4. Double-click the ISO you copied onto your USB drive to mount it. Make note of the drive letter it mounts as. For me, it mounted as I. Yours will probably be different.
  5. Open Run from the Start menu (or press Windows + R).

The Command That Makes It Work

In Run, enter:

X:\\sources\\setupprep.exe /product server

Replace X with your ISO's drive letter.

setupprep.exe is a Windows setup helper used to start an in-place upgrade from inside an existing Windows session. When you run it against a Windows 11 ISO, it still installs Windows 11 — but this mode is commonly used because it bypasses (or relaxes) some of Windows 11's hardware checks, like TPM, Secure Boot, and CPU checks. Those checks are what normally block installs on unsupported hardware.

Installing

This will launch the installer. It'll take a bit. Then click Install and let it do its thing. It'll reboot a few times, and that's basically it.

Important Notes

As always, if you have important data, back it up before you start.

This doesn't just apply to Macs, it'll work on any unsupported computer. But I'm a Mac guy, so that's what I went with.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/12/22/installing-windows-11-on-unsupported-mac.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-12-22-windows-11.jpg", "tags": ["off topic","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-12-22T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2025-12-22T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/12/11/mobius-hotline-vps-wireguard-pi.html", "title": "Hosting a Hotline server with a VPS and WireGuard to a Raspberry Pi", "summary": null, "content_text": "Time for a massive info dump.Hotline is dated, and that complicates things as servers are very public. It was designed in a very different era of the internet. Hosting a server means exposing an IP. This isn't a huge deal, but I wanted to be able to host my files on my NAS without exposing said NAS to the internet. This is where a VPS comes in. The Mobius binary is happy on a small VPS, but storage costs money, and besides, I already have a Raspberry Pi 4 on a VLAN with my NAS as my data warehouse. The issue is I need to connect my VPS to my Raspberry Pi, which has limited access to NAS.The trick: WireGuard stitches the two together, SSHFS mounts the Pi storage onto the VPS, and Mobius thinks everything is local. Trackers see the VPS IP, my LAN stays closed, and if the VPS dies, I can swap in a new one without touching the files, as the configuration lives on my home network. It's incredible how useful AI is when it comes to a project like this, as AI pretty much stepped me through setting up Wireguard and SSHFS.My original plan was to use Cloudflare tunnels, as you get all the benefits of Cloudflare, and I could have skipped the VPS and hosted the server on my Raspberry Pi, but Hotline requires multiple TCP ports, which makes the tunneling more or less impossible unless you throw a lot of money at the problem. I'm not paying $10k a year to host a hotline server. But I am willing to pay $10 a year. That's where the VPS comes into play.What this setup doesTime for the bullet points: Public address like hotline.example.com:5500/5501. All Mobius config, users, and files live on a Raspberry Pi at home. VPS is only the front door; it reaches the Pi over WireGuard. Mobius on the VPS reads/writes through an SSHFS mount.Result: clients and trackers only see the VPS IP, while the Pi keeps the actual data tucked away on its own VLAN. For the remainder of these instructions, I'm going to skip the VLAN setup details as it's noise that doesn't matter for this guide. You can always add your own VLAN if you want. Also, to avoid over-complicating something that's already complicated, I'm writing the instructions as if you have an external HDD connected to your Pi.1. High-level architectureVPS: Ubuntu (I used 24.04) running Mobius, I found that CloudServer.net charged all of $10 a year for a tiny VPS (1 Core, a few gigs of RAM, 10 GB of storage)Domain Name: I use Cloudflare to manage my DNS, but it doesn't matter who you use, though. You can find my server at Hotline.semihosted.xyz, it points to my VPS.File Server: This is really up to you. I use a Raspberry Pi 4 with Raspberry Pi OS and have mounted my Synology NAS. My Raspberry Pi is on a VLAN, thus safer to expose it than my NAS itself.2. WireGuard: connect VPS ↔ PiFirst, we need to set up WireGuard so the VPS and Pi can see each other on a private subnet. You'll need to SSH into both machines.2.1 Install WireGuardOn the VPS:sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y wireguardOn the Pi:sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y wireguard2.2 Generate keysWe need a public/private key pair for both the VPS and the Pi to make Wireguard work.On the VPS:sudo umask 077sudo wg genkey | sudo tee /etc/wireguard/server.key | sudo wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/server.pubecho \"SERVER PRIVATE:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/server.keyecho \"SERVER PUBLIC:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/server.pubOn the Pi:sudo umask 077sudo wg genkey | sudo tee /etc/wireguard/pi.key | sudo wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/pi.pubecho \"PI PRIVATE:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/pi.keyecho \"PI PUBLIC:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/pi.pubKeep these four values handy: SERVER_PRIVATE, SERVER_PUBLIC, PI_PRIVATE, PI_PUBLIC.2.3 Configure VPSNow it's time to configure WireGuard on our VPS.Create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:[Interface]Address = 10.44.0.1/24ListenPort = 51820PrivateKey = SERVER_PRIVATE# NAT traffic from the tunnel out via VPS NICPostUp = iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 10.44.0.0/24 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADEPostDown = iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -s 10.44.0.0/24 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE[Peer]PublicKey = PI_PUBLICAllowedIPs = 10.44.0.2/32, 192.168.1.0/24Swap in your keys and LAN subnet. Then allow forwarding:echo \"net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-ip-forward.confsudo sysctl --system2.4 Configure Wirguard on the PiCreate /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:[Interface]Address = 10.44.0.2/24PrivateKey = PI_PRIVATEListenPort = 45519[Peer]PublicKey = SERVER_PUBLICEndpoint = VPS_PUBLIC_IP:51820AllowedIPs = 10.44.0.0/24PersistentKeepalive = 25Replace the keys and VPS IP. Optional but handy if you ever route more:echo \"net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-ip-forward.confsudo sysctl --system2.5 Bring the tunnel upTime to stich the two together by turning the tunnel on.On the VPS:sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0sudo wg showOn the Pi:sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0sudo wg showFrom VPS, confirm both the tunnel and LAN reach the Pi:ping -c 3 10.44.0.2ping -c 3 PI_LAN_IP # e.g. 192.168.1.50 3. Prepare Mobius config on the Pi3.1 Pick a storage spotOn the Pi, pick a spot for Mobius config and files. For this example, I'm using an external drive /mnt/storage/mobius-config. This could be entirely hosted on the Pi's intenral drive or an external NAS.sudo mkdir -p /mnt/storage/mobius-configsudo chown -R $USER:$USER /mnt/storage# or sudo chown -R piuser:piuser /mnt/storage3.2 Download and init Mobius (ARM)We are not going to run Mobius on the Pi, just use it for storage. However, we want all the configuration files that come with Mobius. You can copy between the two machines but I was lazy and found this to be easier.mkdir -p ~/mobiuscd ~/mobiuscurl -L https://github.com/jhalter/mobius/releases/download/v0.20.1/mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gz -o mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gztar xzf mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gzchmod +x mobius-hotline-server # adjust if the binary name differs./mobius-hotline-server -init -config /mnt/storage/mobius-configYou should now see Agreement.txt, config.yaml, Users/, Files/, etc. on the Pi’s storage. This is your Mobius configuration and data directory, aka where your files live.4. SSH key auth from VPS → PiTo make SSHFS work without a password prompt, we need to set up SSH key authentication from the VPS to the Pi. This is necessary so we can automatically connect to our Mobius storage on the Pi.ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -C \"vps-to-pi\"ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub piuser@10.44.0.2ssh piuser@10.44.0.2Replace piuser with your actual user. If login works without a password, you are set for sshfs.5. Mount the Pi's Mobius config on the VPS via SSHFSNow the moment of truth: mount the Mobius config directory from the Pi onto the VPS using SSHFS.sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y sshfssudo mkdir -p /mnt/mobius-configsudo sshfs -o IdentityFile=/root/.ssh/id_ed25519,StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new \\ piuser@10.44.0.2:/mnt/storage/mobius-config /mnt/mobius-configls -la /mnt/mobius-configIf you see config.yaml and friends, the mount worked. You can formalize this with systemd or /etc/fstab later.6. Install Mobius on the VPSFinally, we install Mobius on the VPS itself. This is where the server will run.cd /optsudo mkdir -p /opt/mobiussudo chown root:root /opt/mobiuscd /opt/mobiuscurl -L https://github.com/jhalter/mobius/releases/download/v0.20.1/mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz -o mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gztar xzf mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gzchmod +x mobius-hotline-server # adjust binary name if needed./mobius-hotline-server --help7. systemd unit on the VPS Almost done, now we need to create a systemd unit to run Mobius as a service on the VPS. Systemd will manage starting, stopping, and restarting Mobius as needed.Create /etc/systemd/system/mobius.service:[Unit]Description=Mobius Hotline Server (VPS using Pi storage via SSHFS)After=network.targetAfter=wg-quick@wg0.service[Service]Type=simpleWorkingDirectory=/opt/mobiusExecStart=/opt/mobius/mobius-hotline-server -config /mnt/mobius-configRestart=on-failure[Install]WantedBy=multi-user.targetReload and start:sudo systemctl daemon-reloadsudo systemctl enable mobiussudo systemctl start mobiussudo systemctl status mobius --no-pager -n 208. Verify Hotline portssudo ss -tlnp | grep 550You should see listeners on 5500 and 5501. From outside, test:nc -vz -w 3 hotline.example.com 5500nc -vz -w 3 hotline.example.com 5501Watch logs as clients connect:sudo journalctl -u mobius --no-pager -n 509. Configure trackers and metadataEdit /mnt/storage/mobius-config/config.yaml (from the Pi or via the VPS mount):server: name: \"The Apple Media Archive by DMG\" description: \"A Hotline server filled with Apple events and commercials from the 80s to today.\" banner: \"banner.jpg\" messageBoard: \"MessageBoard.txt\"tracker: enabled: true servers: - \"hltracker.com:5499\" - \"tracker.preterhuman.net:5499\" - \"saddle.dyndns.org:5499\" - \"hotline.kicks-ass.net:5499\"Restart to apply changes:sudo systemctl restart mobius10. Optional: helper script for pushing new Mobius builds to the PiIf you ever run Mobius directly on the Pi, a quick-update script helps:#!/usr/bin/env bashset -euo pipefailMOBIUS_SRC=\"/home/piuser/Desktop/mobius-server-linux-arm64\"MOBIUS_DST=\"/opt/mobius/mobius-hotline-server\"echo \"Stopping Mobius...\"sudo systemctl stop mobius || trueecho \"Updating binary...\"sudo cp \"$MOBIUS_SRC\" \"$MOBIUS_DST\"sudo chmod 755 \"$MOBIUS_DST\"echo \"Starting Mobius...\"sudo systemctl start mobiussudo systemctl status mobius --no-pager -n 10Make it executable: chmod +x ~/update-mobius.sh. Run it when you drop in a new build.Wrap-upI know that was quite a bit, but that's how you can host Mobius (Hotline server) on a VPS and have it SSH tunnel back to your home network for file storage and not expose your home network to the internet. WireGuard links the VPS and Pi on a private subnet. The Pi holds config and files on roomy storage. SSHFS makes that storage feel local on the VPS. Mobius runs on the VPS, shows the VPS IP to the world, and keeps your home network dark.If the VPS gets nuked, you can rebuild it, remount the Pi, and be back on the Hotline trackers in minutes.", "content_html": "

Time for a massive info dump.

Hotline is dated, and that complicates things as servers are very public. It was designed in a very different era of the internet. Hosting a server means exposing an IP. This isn't a huge deal, but I wanted to be able to host my files on my NAS without exposing said NAS to the internet. This is where a VPS comes in. The Mobius binary is happy on a small VPS, but storage costs money, and besides, I already have a Raspberry Pi 4 on a VLAN with my NAS as my data warehouse. The issue is I need to connect my VPS to my Raspberry Pi, which has limited access to NAS.

The trick: WireGuard stitches the two together, SSHFS mounts the Pi storage onto the VPS, and Mobius thinks everything is local. Trackers see the VPS IP, my LAN stays closed, and if the VPS dies, I can swap in a new one without touching the files, as the configuration lives on my home network. It's incredible how useful AI is when it comes to a project like this, as AI pretty much stepped me through setting up Wireguard and SSHFS.

My original plan was to use Cloudflare tunnels, as you get all the benefits of Cloudflare, and I could have skipped the VPS and hosted the server on my Raspberry Pi, but Hotline requires multiple TCP ports, which makes the tunneling more or less impossible unless you throw a lot of money at the problem. I'm not paying $10k a year to host a hotline server. But I am willing to pay $10 a year. That's where the VPS comes into play.

What this setup does

Time for the bullet points:

Result: clients and trackers only see the VPS IP, while the Pi keeps the actual data tucked away on its own VLAN. For the remainder of these instructions, I'm going to skip the VLAN setup details as it's noise that doesn't matter for this guide. You can always add your own VLAN if you want. Also, to avoid over-complicating something that's already complicated, I'm writing the instructions as if you have an external HDD connected to your Pi.

1. High-level architecture

VPS: Ubuntu (I used 24.04) running Mobius, I found that CloudServer.net charged all of $10 a year for a tiny VPS (1 Core, a few gigs of RAM, 10 GB of storage)
Domain Name: I use Cloudflare to manage my DNS, but it doesn't matter who you use, though. You can find my server at Hotline.semihosted.xyz, it points to my VPS.
File Server: This is really up to you. I use a Raspberry Pi 4 with Raspberry Pi OS and have mounted my Synology NAS. My Raspberry Pi is on a VLAN, thus safer to expose it than my NAS itself.

2. WireGuard: connect VPS ↔ Pi

First, we need to set up WireGuard so the VPS and Pi can see each other on a private subnet. You'll need to SSH into both machines.

2.1 Install WireGuard

On the VPS:

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y wireguard

On the Pi:

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y wireguard

2.2 Generate keys

We need a public/private key pair for both the VPS and the Pi to make Wireguard work.

On the VPS:

sudo umask 077sudo wg genkey | sudo tee /etc/wireguard/server.key | sudo wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/server.pubecho \"SERVER PRIVATE:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/server.keyecho \"SERVER PUBLIC:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/server.pub

On the Pi:

sudo umask 077sudo wg genkey | sudo tee /etc/wireguard/pi.key | sudo wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/pi.pubecho \"PI PRIVATE:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/pi.keyecho \"PI PUBLIC:\"sudo cat /etc/wireguard/pi.pub

Keep these four values handy: SERVER_PRIVATE, SERVER_PUBLIC, PI_PRIVATE, PI_PUBLIC.

2.3 Configure VPS

Now it's time to configure WireGuard on our VPS.

Create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

[Interface]Address = 10.44.0.1/24ListenPort = 51820PrivateKey = SERVER_PRIVATE# NAT traffic from the tunnel out via VPS NICPostUp   = iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 10.44.0.0/24 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADEPostDown = iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -s 10.44.0.0/24 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE[Peer]PublicKey = PI_PUBLICAllowedIPs = 10.44.0.2/32, 192.168.1.0/24

Swap in your keys and LAN subnet. Then allow forwarding:

echo \"net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-ip-forward.confsudo sysctl --system

2.4 Configure Wirguard on the Pi

Create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

[Interface]Address = 10.44.0.2/24PrivateKey = PI_PRIVATEListenPort = 45519[Peer]PublicKey = SERVER_PUBLICEndpoint = VPS_PUBLIC_IP:51820AllowedIPs = 10.44.0.0/24PersistentKeepalive = 25

Replace the keys and VPS IP. Optional but handy if you ever route more:

echo \"net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-ip-forward.confsudo sysctl --system

2.5 Bring the tunnel up

Time to stich the two together by turning the tunnel on.

On the VPS:

sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0sudo wg show

On the Pi:

sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0sudo wg show

From VPS, confirm both the tunnel and LAN reach the Pi:

ping -c 3 10.44.0.2ping -c 3 PI_LAN_IP   # e.g. 192.168.1.50

3. Prepare Mobius config on the Pi

3.1 Pick a storage spot

On the Pi, pick a spot for Mobius config and files. For this example, I'm using an external drive /mnt/storage/mobius-config. This could be entirely hosted on the Pi's intenral drive or an external NAS.

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/storage/mobius-configsudo chown -R $USER:$USER /mnt/storage# or sudo chown -R piuser:piuser /mnt/storage

3.2 Download and init Mobius (ARM)

We are not going to run Mobius on the Pi, just use it for storage. However, we want all the configuration files that come with Mobius. You can copy between the two machines but I was lazy and found this to be easier.

mkdir -p ~/mobiuscd ~/mobiuscurl -L https://github.com/jhalter/mobius/releases/download/v0.20.1/mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gz -o mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gztar xzf mobius_server_Linux_arm64.tar.gzchmod +x mobius-hotline-server  # adjust if the binary name differs./mobius-hotline-server -init -config /mnt/storage/mobius-config

You should now see Agreement.txt, config.yaml, Users/, Files/, etc. on the Pi’s storage. This is your Mobius configuration and data directory, aka where your files live.

4. SSH key auth from VPS → Pi

To make SSHFS work without a password prompt, we need to set up SSH key authentication from the VPS to the Pi. This is necessary so we can automatically connect to our Mobius storage on the Pi.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -C \"vps-to-pi\"ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub piuser@10.44.0.2ssh piuser@10.44.0.2

Replace piuser with your actual user. If login works without a password, you are set for sshfs.

5. Mount the Pi's Mobius config on the VPS via SSHFS

Now the moment of truth: mount the Mobius config directory from the Pi onto the VPS using SSHFS.

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y sshfssudo mkdir -p /mnt/mobius-configsudo sshfs -o IdentityFile=/root/.ssh/id_ed25519,StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new \\ piuser@10.44.0.2:/mnt/storage/mobius-config /mnt/mobius-configls -la /mnt/mobius-config

If you see config.yaml and friends, the mount worked. You can formalize this with systemd or /etc/fstab later.

6. Install Mobius on the VPS

Finally, we install Mobius on the VPS itself. This is where the server will run.

cd /optsudo mkdir -p /opt/mobiussudo chown root:root /opt/mobiuscd /opt/mobiuscurl -L https://github.com/jhalter/mobius/releases/download/v0.20.1/mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz -o mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gztar xzf mobius_server_Linux_x86_64.tar.gzchmod +x mobius-hotline-server  # adjust binary name if needed./mobius-hotline-server --help

7. systemd unit on the VPS

Almost done, now we need to create a systemd unit to run Mobius as a service on the VPS. Systemd will manage starting, stopping, and restarting Mobius as needed.

Create /etc/systemd/system/mobius.service:

[Unit]Description=Mobius Hotline Server (VPS using Pi storage via SSHFS)After=network.targetAfter=wg-quick@wg0.service[Service]Type=simpleWorkingDirectory=/opt/mobiusExecStart=/opt/mobius/mobius-hotline-server -config /mnt/mobius-configRestart=on-failure[Install]WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reloadsudo systemctl enable mobiussudo systemctl start mobiussudo systemctl status mobius --no-pager -n 20

8. Verify Hotline ports

sudo ss -tlnp | grep 550

You should see listeners on 5500 and 5501. From outside, test:

nc -vz -w 3 hotline.example.com 5500nc -vz -w 3 hotline.example.com 5501

Watch logs as clients connect:

sudo journalctl -u mobius --no-pager -n 50

9. Configure trackers and metadata

Edit /mnt/storage/mobius-config/config.yaml (from the Pi or via the VPS mount):

server: name: \"The Apple Media Archive by DMG\" description: \"A Hotline server filled with Apple events and commercials from the 80s to today.\" banner: \"banner.jpg\" messageBoard: \"MessageBoard.txt\"tracker: enabled: true servers: - \"hltracker.com:5499\" - \"tracker.preterhuman.net:5499\" - \"saddle.dyndns.org:5499\" - \"hotline.kicks-ass.net:5499\"

Restart to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart mobius

10. Optional: helper script for pushing new Mobius builds to the Pi

If you ever run Mobius directly on the Pi, a quick-update script helps:

#!/usr/bin/env bashset -euo pipefailMOBIUS_SRC=\"/home/piuser/Desktop/mobius-server-linux-arm64\"MOBIUS_DST=\"/opt/mobius/mobius-hotline-server\"echo \"Stopping Mobius...\"sudo systemctl stop mobius || trueecho \"Updating binary...\"sudo cp \"$MOBIUS_SRC\" \"$MOBIUS_DST\"sudo chmod 755 \"$MOBIUS_DST\"echo \"Starting Mobius...\"sudo systemctl start mobiussudo systemctl status mobius --no-pager -n 10

Make it executable: chmod +x ~/update-mobius.sh. Run it when you drop in a new build.

Wrap-up

I know that was quite a bit, but that's how you can host Mobius (Hotline server) on a VPS and have it SSH tunnel back to your home network for file storage and not expose your home network to the internet.

If the VPS gets nuked, you can rebuild it, remount the Pi, and be back on the Hotline trackers in minutes.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/12/11/mobius-hotline-vps-wireguard-pi.html", "tags": ["off topic","tutorial","os x","networking"], "date_published": "2025-12-11T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2025-12-11T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/10/27/flying-toasters-lives.html", "title": "Flying Toasters Lives On - Releasing an updated version of the classic screensaver", "summary": null, "content_text": " Back in the \"classic\" days of Mac OS, one of the most iconic and beloved screensavers was the Flying Toasters. Originally developed by Berkeley Systems and released in the early 1990s as part of the After Dark screensaver collection. Later versions featured animations, and music. Personally speaking, this has always been one of my absolute favorite screensavers so I did something totally off-the-cuff, I recreated it in for modern macOS.My idea wasn't to make a 1:1 recreation but a spiritual successor that captures the essence of the original while taking advantage of modern hardware for effects like z-depth and particle generated clouds. The end result is a delightfully retro screensaver that let's users control the experience.Development Challenges ]Developing a ScreenSaver in modern macOS is tedious, mostly due to the fact Apple in it's infinite wisdom caches the screensaver in a system process which seems to be largely undocumented. This meant hours wondering why my changes weren't taking only to discover. I needed to force quit several tasks. This resulted in an sh script that looked like the following: # Kill the legacyScreenSaver process to force refreshecho \"🔄 Killing legacyScreenSaver process...\"pkill -f \"legacyScreenSaver\" 2>/dev/null || echo \" (process not running)\"# Kill any wallpaper engine processes that might cache screensaversecho \"🔄 Killing Wallpaper Engine processes...\"pkill -f \"WallpaperAgent\" 2>/dev/null || echo \" (WallpaperAgent not running)\"pkill -f \"ScreenSaverEngine\" 2>/dev/null || echo \" (ScreenSaverEngine not running)\" A Retro PortPart of the silliness of recreating the old screen saver was creating a back port for older OS X, particularly for OS X 10.4 and 10.5. This wasn't nearly as tedious as I expected. I scaled back the screensaver removing the particle generated clouds as they were heavy even on modern hardware for pure CPU. Getting v0.1 build was easy. Creating the v0.2 that supports OpenGL was much less so due to the antiquated graphics API. After a lot of brute forcing, and smashing my head against the wall, I managed to get OpenGL 2.0 running properly for OpenGL 2.0 supported Macs.Download LinksThe downloads exist on my patreon, but they are free-to-all, and you don't need to sign up. Free tier members will get access to the latest updates and versions if you subscribe.Official Website: Ode to the Flying Toaster Flying Toasters - macOS 10.11 - Current Flying Toasters - OS X 10.4 - 10.5", "content_html": "

Back in the \"classic\" days of Mac OS, one of the most iconic and beloved screensavers was the Flying Toasters. Originally developed by Berkeley Systems and released in the early 1990s as part of the After Dark screensaver collection. Later versions featured animations, and music. Personally speaking, this has always been one of my absolute favorite screensavers so I did something totally off-the-cuff, I recreated it in for modern macOS.

My idea wasn't to make a 1:1 recreation but a spiritual successor that captures the essence of the original while taking advantage of modern hardware for effects like z-depth and particle generated clouds. The end result is a delightfully retro screensaver that let's users control the experience.

Development Challenges

]

Developing a ScreenSaver in modern macOS is tedious, mostly due to the fact Apple in it's infinite wisdom caches the screensaver in a system process which seems to be largely undocumented. This meant hours wondering why my changes weren't taking only to discover. I needed to force quit several tasks. This resulted in an sh script that looked like the following:

# Kill the legacyScreenSaver process to force refreshecho \"🔄 Killing legacyScreenSaver process...\"pkill -f \"legacyScreenSaver\" 2>/dev/null || echo \"   (process not running)\"# Kill any wallpaper engine processes that might cache screensaversecho \"🔄 Killing Wallpaper Engine processes...\"pkill -f \"WallpaperAgent\" 2>/dev/null || echo \"   (WallpaperAgent not running)\"pkill -f \"ScreenSaverEngine\" 2>/dev/null || echo \"   (ScreenSaverEngine not running)\"

A Retro Port

Part of the silliness of recreating the old screen saver was creating a back port for older OS X, particularly for OS X 10.4 and 10.5. This wasn't nearly as tedious as I expected. I scaled back the screensaver removing the particle generated clouds as they were heavy even on modern hardware for pure CPU. Getting v0.1 build was easy. Creating the v0.2 that supports OpenGL was much less so due to the antiquated graphics API. After a lot of brute forcing, and smashing my head against the wall, I managed to get OpenGL 2.0 running properly for OpenGL 2.0 supported Macs.

Download Links

The downloads exist on my patreon, but they are free-to-all, and you don't need to sign up. Free tier members will get access to the latest updates and versions if you subscribe.

Official Website: Ode to the Flying Toaster

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/10/27/flying-toasters-lives.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-10-27-toaster.webp", "tags": ["off topic","os x"], "date_published": "2025-10-27T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-10-27T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/09/24/wordpress-rate-limter.html", "title": "Wordpress Rate Limiter - A free plugin limit login attempts and block bad bots", "summary": null, "content_text": "Obstensibly, this blog has always been a developer's blog of a front-end developer, UX developer , I mean, a full-stack developer's personal blog, even if 95% is Mac-related nonsense. However, now that I'm a lead developer, I've accidentally been writing about development projects more frequently as I've wrote a GUI wrapper for an Xbox Utility, How to install Pihole via Docker, wrote a plugin for auth0 for all, created a secure self hosted http based file sharing site and such. Sadly, I'm behaving like an actual developer. Anyhow, disappointing as that is, I've written a WordPress plugin for Rate limiting. Stop bad requests from mucking up your WordPress My current company has one hell of a knot to untangle as we look to decouple 140+ wordpress websites in a single multi-site. It's a major curse, and it means that if one of your sites within the Multi-site gets hammered with stupid bot requests, it can affect all the other sites. This is where the WordPress Rate Limiter plugin comes in handy. What this plugin actually does Network Rate Limiter watches a few high-risk WordPress endpoints and slows or blocks abusive clients per IP. It’s designed for multisite networks, but it works on single sites too. The idea is clamp down on bad traffic while allowing legitimate users to access the site without interruption. It's not sophisticated, for rotating IP spam but really stops a lot of the agent based behavior that can cause issues. This is more of an issue thanks to AI. Protected endpoints: /wp-login.php, /xmlrpc.php, /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, and anything under /wp-json/. Safe by default: logged-in admins, WP-Cron, Site Health, and HTTP OPTIONS/HEAD requests are skipped. Time-aware: you choose a “daytime” window with stricter limits; outside of it, limits relax automatically. Progressive: repeat violators get longer blocks (exponential backoff) that decay after a probation period. Multisite-friendly: network-wide defaults with per-site overrides. How rate limiting is counted (no hand-waving) Instead of a brittle “one counter per minute,” the plugin uses a two-bucket approximation of a sliding window: One bucket counts requests in the current minute. Another holds the previous minute’s count. The final score is current + a time-weighted slice of the previous bucket (the part that still overlaps the last 60s). Result: spikes right after a reset still count, and legitimate traffic isn’t penalized by harsh window edges. This keeps easy interval detection at bay from a bot's perspective. What triggers a block Per-endpoint thresholds: each endpoint/method has a soft and hard limit per minute. At night, thresholds double. Soft limit: returns 429 and starts exponential backoff for that IP. Hard limit: immediate block (longer backoff). Global clamp: if an IP is hammering any mix of protected endpoints overall, it’s blocked even if no single endpoint trips. Backoff math: blocks start short (e.g., 2 minutes) and double on each violation, up to a max (e.g., 60 minutes). The “violation score” auto-expires after your configured probation window, so well-behaved IPs cool off. I imagine people will fork this and change this behavior on their own. Legit traffic stays legit Verified search engines: Google/Bing are allowed only if both checks pass: User-Agent hints it’s the right bot (e.g., Googlebot, bingbot), and Reverse DNS ends with an expected domain (.googlebot.com, .search.msn.com) and forward DNS resolves back to the same IP. Cached per site and per IP for up to 7 days (subject to transient eviction). UA must still match on each request. Allowlists you control: IP or CIDR (IPv4/IPv6) Reverse-DNS suffixes with forward confirmation User-Agent substrings (use with care; UAs are spoofable) Specific REST prefixes (under /wp-json/) Specific admin-ajax actions (e.g., heartbeat) Secret header bypass: give your monitors a header like X-NetRL-Bypass: your-long-random-token and they’ll skip the limiter. It comes prepopulated with commonly \"good\" bots whitelisted, like Google, Bing, various SEO tools and so on. What clients see (headers) Every protected response includes standard rate-limit hints: X-RateLimit-Limit – the current hard limit X-RateLimit-Remaining – how many requests are left in the window X-RateLimit-Window – window duration in seconds (60) On block: Retry-After and X-RateLimit-Reset (epoch timestamp) Multisite behavior Network Defaults: set once in Network Admin; good baseline for all sites. Per-site Settings: each site can override (or inherit where left blank). Per-IP scope: counters and blocks are tracked per site; the “global clamp” is per IP within a site’s protected endpoints. Operational notes Nerd stuff, you can skip this unless you really care. Atomic counters with object cache: Redis/Memcached make increments race-safe. Without them, the plugin falls back to transients (fine for “soft” protection). Logging: optional JSON lines go to the PHP error log (blocks, and optionally bypasses) and a netrl_log_event action fires for shipping to APM/log pipelines. Timezones: daytime hours use the site’s timezone. If none is set, it defaults to America/Los_Angeles. Security of client IP: the plugin prefers CF-Connecting-IP, X-Real-IP, then X-Forwarded-For (left-most public), then REMOTE_ADDR. Ensure your proxy/CDN is trusted before honoring headers. Why this approach? There are a zillion ways to do rate limiting. This plugin aims for a practical balance of effectiveness, simplicity, and low friction for legitimate users. It’s not perfect, but it works well in practice and stopped an outage that seemed to be occuring weekly. While our AppDex scores are still terrible, they're remarkably less terrible. Resilient under bursts: the two-bucket window smooths edge cases without heavy math. Fair to humans and APIs: daytime/night profiles match your traffic patterns. Practical ops: easy allowlists, real bot verification, headers for observability, and simple logs/hooks. Safe defaults, sane overrides: works out-of-the-box; tune it as you learn your traffic. ", "content_html": "

Obstensibly, this blog has always been a developer's blog of a front-end developer, UX developer , I mean, a full-stack developer's personal blog, even if 95% is Mac-related nonsense. However, now that I'm a lead developer, I've accidentally been writing about development projects more frequently as I've wrote a GUI wrapper for an Xbox Utility, How to install Pihole via Docker, wrote a plugin for auth0 for all, created a secure self hosted http based file sharing site and such.

Sadly, I'm behaving like an actual developer. Anyhow, disappointing as that is, I've written a WordPress plugin for Rate limiting.

Stop bad requests from mucking up your WordPress

\"Wordpress


My current company has one hell of a knot to untangle as we look to decouple 140+ wordpress websites in a single multi-site. It's a major curse, and it means that if one of your sites within the Multi-site gets hammered with stupid bot requests, it can affect all the other sites. This is where the WordPress Rate Limiter plugin comes in handy.

What this plugin actually does

Network Rate Limiter watches a few high-risk WordPress endpoints and slows or blocks abusive clients per IP. It’s designed for multisite networks, but it works on single sites too. The idea is clamp down on bad traffic while allowing legitimate users to access the site without interruption. It's not sophisticated, for rotating IP spam but really stops a lot of the agent based behavior that can cause issues. This is more of an issue thanks to AI.

How rate limiting is counted (no hand-waving)

Instead of a brittle “one counter per minute,” the plugin uses a two-bucket approximation of a sliding window:

  1. One bucket counts requests in the current minute.
  2. Another holds the previous minute’s count.
  3. The final score is current + a time-weighted slice of the previous bucket (the part that still overlaps the last 60s).

Result: spikes right after a reset still count, and legitimate traffic isn’t penalized by harsh window edges. This keeps easy interval detection at bay from a bot's perspective.

What triggers a block

Backoff math: blocks start short (e.g., 2 minutes) and double on each violation, up to a max (e.g., 60 minutes). The “violation score” auto-expires after your configured probation window, so well-behaved IPs cool off. I imagine people will fork this and change this behavior on their own.

Legit traffic stays legit

It comes prepopulated with commonly \"good\" bots whitelisted, like Google, Bing, various SEO tools and so on.

What clients see (headers)

Every protected response includes standard rate-limit hints:

Multisite behavior

Operational notes

Nerd stuff, you can skip this unless you really care.

Why this approach?

There are a zillion ways to do rate limiting. This plugin aims for a practical balance of effectiveness, simplicity, and low friction for legitimate users. It’s not perfect, but it works well in practice and stopped an outage that seemed to be occuring weekly. While our AppDex scores are still terrible, they're remarkably less terrible.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/09/24/wordpress-rate-limter.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-09-24-ratelimiter.png", "tags": ["front","end","development"], "date_published": "2025-09-24T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-09-24T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/09/08/xiso-gui.html", "title": "XISO GUI - A graphical interface for extract-xiso on macOS for Xbox ISOs", "summary": null, "content_text": "So... roughly two years ago I made an Xbox emulation tutorial. The bulk of the tutorial involved dealing with Extract XISO. It's not a difficult utility use but it required a lot of steps for a non-developer like running CMAKE to build the binary, which requires homebrew to install. Writing a GUI wrapper has been on my \"to-dos\" ever since made the tutorial.What in the hell is Extract XISO?The Xbox ISO format is a proprietary disc image format used by the original Xbox console. It is based on the ISO 9660 file system but includes additional metadata and encryption specific to the Xbox. Emulators, like XEMU, on the other hand, expect standard ISOs. Extract XISO is a tool that helps to extract the contents of Xbox ISOs and convert them into standard ISO that can be used by these emulators.Extract ISO works like the CLI utility, with a simple input and output. You can grab the release here. Right now it's not packaged completely, but it should work.", "content_html": "

So... roughly two years ago I made an Xbox emulation tutorial. The bulk of the tutorial involved dealing with Extract XISO. It's not a difficult utility use but it required a lot of steps for a non-developer like running CMAKE to build the binary, which requires homebrew to install. Writing a GUI wrapper has been on my \"to-dos\" ever since made the tutorial.

\"extract


What in the hell is Extract XISO?

The Xbox ISO format is a proprietary disc image format used by the original Xbox console. It is based on the ISO 9660 file system but includes additional metadata and encryption specific to the Xbox. Emulators, like XEMU, on the other hand, expect standard ISOs. Extract XISO is a tool that helps to extract the contents of Xbox ISOs and convert them into standard ISO that can be used by these emulators.

Extract ISO works like the CLI utility, with a simple input and output. You can grab the release here. Right now it's not packaged completely, but it should work.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/09/08/xiso-gui.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-09-08-xiso.png", "tags": ["off topic","emulation","os x"], "date_published": "2025-09-08T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-09-08T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/07/16/open-core-is-dead.html", "title": "OpenCore is Dead and Apple Killed It", "summary": null, "content_text": "OpenCore is Dead and Apple Killed ItOpenCore is dead, or rather, it's going to be. The end of Intel support for macOS means the end of the line for OpenCore, OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP), and Hackintoshes.Most people intrinsically understand that removing Intel support removes Intel binaries-the code the computer executes and Apple will only ship ARM. However, I've seen some people hopeful that genius developers will somehow save the day. This will never happen, but I figured this is a good chance to explain how macOS and OpenCore work at a technical level.How OpenCore Works on Intel MacsIntel Macs use EFI or UEFI for their firmware (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). When you power up your Mac, it follows this boot sequence: Boot ROM → UEFI firmware → boot.efi → Operating System kernel.OpenCore is a UEFI application that intercepts this standard boot process. It uses EFI Protocol Hooking to modify memory management, ACPI tables, and SMBIOS data before handing control to macOS boot.efi. Think of these as translators that are crucial for setting up proper memory management and kernel patching.OpenCore doesn't modify the system directly. Instead, it performs real-time modifications to the XNU kernel using find-and-replace operations. This enables CPU feature patches, memory management corrections, and security bypassing for System Integrity Protection (SIP) while maintaining other security services and code signing validation.The key mechanisms include manipulating the ACPI table (a list of hardware and associated drivers) and SMBIOS spoofing (basically a hardware profile that tells macOS it's running on supported hardware). OpenCore also handles things like the DSMOS.kext (Don't Steal Mac OS kext).This is how OpenCore hacks unsupported hardware: it modifies the boot process and injects changes without actually modifying the boot volume.Apple Silicon Changes EverythingApple Silicon uses iBoot. It's basically a giant iPhone when it comes to booting. Instead of Boot ROM → UEFI firmware → kernel, we now have: Boot ROM → Low-Level Bootloader (LLB) → iBoot → kernel.iBoot only understands APFS and eliminates UEFI middleware entirely. Since OpenCore depends entirely on UEFI interfaces for boot entry, it has no way to function.It gets worse. Apple uses hardware-enforced cryptographic verification at every boot stage through personalized signatures tied to specific hardware. While this is anti-right-to-repair (as Louis Rossmann often discusses), Apple calls it security. It is more secure-useful against nation-state-level attacks like hardware replacementbut less useful for regular users.The system uses Secure Enclave-signed LocalPolicy files for security configuration, replacing user-controllable UEFI Secure Boot certificates. Apple Silicon has a dedicated sub-OS called SepOS that runs on the Secure Enclave, storing data that cannot be directly accessed by the user or operating system-only through an API. This creates a hardware enforcement mechanism that requires a specialized chipset running a specialized operating system.Apple Silicon eliminates traditional firmware concepts by implementing direct hardware-to-OS transitions through iBoot. What makes OpenCore work is simply gone. No insertion points exist for third-party bootloaders.Additionally, T2 Macs dropped in macOS Sequoia have fundamental T2 communication failures when using OpenCore. Developers currently have no leads on why this breaks, demonstrating the increasing difficulty of hardware-software integration.Even a Magic Jailbreak Wouldn't HelpLet's assume someone developed a hypothetical jailbreak that bypassed Apple Silicon's security. The real issue becomes the entire operating system. The XNU kernel in macOS 27+ will contain Apple Silicon-specific updates and no x86 code whatsoever.Here's what would need to be reverse-engineered and rebuilt from scratch:XNU kernel: CPU architecture abstraction, memory management, interrupt handling, system callsI/O Kit drivers: PCIe, USB, SATA/NVMe, network, audio, graphics, ThunderboltPower management: Thermal management, Turbo Boost, battery management, sleep/wakeGraphics drivers and shaders: Intel graphics support, Metal compilation, hardware video decodeMedia frameworks: Hardware-accelerated video, audio processingCompiler toolchains: Development tools for x86_64Runtime libraries: libc, Objective-C runtime, Swift runtimeApplication frameworks: AppKit, Core Foundation, Core Data, etc.Conservative estimates for lines of code:XNU kernel: ~2 million linesI/O Kit drivers: ~500,000 linesGraphics subsystem: ~1 million linesCore frameworks: ~3-5 million linesDevelopment tools: ~1 million linesWithout source code access, this is fundamentally impossible. Even if it were technically feasible, software makers will eventually stop compiling binaries for Intel Macs, so popular software would end support regardless.Many modern macOS features implement hardware-specific requirements that cannot be implemented in software. iPhone Mirroring requires T2 chip attestation, Apple Intelligence requires Neural Processing Unit hardware only found in Apple Silicon, and newer features will continue this trend.The Community Reality CheckStill not convinced? Consider these examples:Why isn't Windows 11 ARM edition working natively on Apple Silicon? Shouldn't the community have figured this out by now?Why is Asahi Linux only working on M1 and M2 computers and still missing hardware support features?There are only so many qualified people on this planet willing to work on such projects for free in their spare time. Even if Apple released its source code for Apple Silicon-only macOS, it would be unlikely to find enough individuals to port it back to Intel Macs.The End of an EraThis is truly the end of the line for Intel Macs running modern macOS and Hackintoshes. macOS 26 \"Tahoe\" will be the final version to support Intel hardware, with macOS 27 in 2026 being Apple Silicon-exclusive.However, this doesn't mean the OpenCore community has given up. They're still hard at work with fixes and optimizations for Intel macOS versions. There are still roughly two decades worth of software that can run on these computers across various versions of macOS.The technical barriers aren't just challengin. They represent a fundamental shift in computer architecture that makes Intel Mac support impossible rather than merely difficult. OpenCore had a remarkable run, but Apple's transition to Apple Silicon marks the definitive end of the hackintosh era.", "content_html": "

OpenCore is Dead and Apple Killed It

OpenCore is dead, or rather, it's going to be. The end of Intel support for macOS means the end of the line for OpenCore, OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP), and Hackintoshes.

Most people intrinsically understand that removing Intel support removes Intel binaries-the code the computer executes and Apple will only ship ARM. However, I've seen some people hopeful that genius developers will somehow save the day. This will never happen, but I figured this is a good chance to explain how macOS and OpenCore work at a technical level.

How OpenCore Works on Intel Macs

Intel Macs use EFI or UEFI for their firmware (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). When you power up your Mac, it follows this boot sequence: Boot ROM → UEFI firmware → boot.efi → Operating System kernel.

OpenCore is a UEFI application that intercepts this standard boot process. It uses EFI Protocol Hooking to modify memory management, ACPI tables, and SMBIOS data before handing control to macOS boot.efi. Think of these as translators that are crucial for setting up proper memory management and kernel patching.

OpenCore doesn't modify the system directly. Instead, it performs real-time modifications to the XNU kernel using find-and-replace operations. This enables CPU feature patches, memory management corrections, and security bypassing for System Integrity Protection (SIP) while maintaining other security services and code signing validation.

The key mechanisms include manipulating the ACPI table (a list of hardware and associated drivers) and SMBIOS spoofing (basically a hardware profile that tells macOS it's running on supported hardware). OpenCore also handles things like the DSMOS.kext (Don't Steal Mac OS kext).

This is how OpenCore hacks unsupported hardware: it modifies the boot process and injects changes without actually modifying the boot volume.

Apple Silicon Changes Everything

Apple Silicon uses iBoot. It's basically a giant iPhone when it comes to booting. Instead of Boot ROM → UEFI firmware → kernel, we now have: Boot ROM → Low-Level Bootloader (LLB) → iBoot → kernel.

iBoot only understands APFS and eliminates UEFI middleware entirely. Since OpenCore depends entirely on UEFI interfaces for boot entry, it has no way to function.

It gets worse. Apple uses hardware-enforced cryptographic verification at every boot stage through personalized signatures tied to specific hardware. While this is anti-right-to-repair (as Louis Rossmann often discusses), Apple calls it security. It is more secure-useful against nation-state-level attacks like hardware replacementbut less useful for regular users.

The system uses Secure Enclave-signed LocalPolicy files for security configuration, replacing user-controllable UEFI Secure Boot certificates. Apple Silicon has a dedicated sub-OS called SepOS that runs on the Secure Enclave, storing data that cannot be directly accessed by the user or operating system-only through an API. This creates a hardware enforcement mechanism that requires a specialized chipset running a specialized operating system.

Apple Silicon eliminates traditional firmware concepts by implementing direct hardware-to-OS transitions through iBoot. What makes OpenCore work is simply gone. No insertion points exist for third-party bootloaders.

Additionally, T2 Macs dropped in macOS Sequoia have fundamental T2 communication failures when using OpenCore. Developers currently have no leads on why this breaks, demonstrating the increasing difficulty of hardware-software integration.

Even a Magic Jailbreak Wouldn't Help

Let's assume someone developed a hypothetical jailbreak that bypassed Apple Silicon's security. The real issue becomes the entire operating system. The XNU kernel in macOS 27+ will contain Apple Silicon-specific updates and no x86 code whatsoever.

Here's what would need to be reverse-engineered and rebuilt from scratch:

Conservative estimates for lines of code:

Without source code access, this is fundamentally impossible. Even if it were technically feasible, software makers will eventually stop compiling binaries for Intel Macs, so popular software would end support regardless.

Many modern macOS features implement hardware-specific requirements that cannot be implemented in software. iPhone Mirroring requires T2 chip attestation, Apple Intelligence requires Neural Processing Unit hardware only found in Apple Silicon, and newer features will continue this trend.

The Community Reality Check

Still not convinced? Consider these examples:

There are only so many qualified people on this planet willing to work on such projects for free in their spare time. Even if Apple released its source code for Apple Silicon-only macOS, it would be unlikely to find enough individuals to port it back to Intel Macs.

The End of an Era

This is truly the end of the line for Intel Macs running modern macOS and Hackintoshes. macOS 26 \"Tahoe\" will be the final version to support Intel hardware, with macOS 27 in 2026 being Apple Silicon-exclusive.

However, this doesn't mean the OpenCore community has given up. They're still hard at work with fixes and optimizations for Intel macOS versions. There are still roughly two decades worth of software that can run on these computers across various versions of macOS.

The technical barriers aren't just challengin. They represent a fundamental shift in computer architecture that makes Intel Mac support impossible rather than merely difficult. OpenCore had a remarkable run, but Apple's transition to Apple Silicon marks the definitive end of the hackintosh era.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/07/16/open-core-is-dead.html", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-07-16T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-07-16T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/07/05/ai-is-killing-my-blog-traffic.html", "title": "AI is Killing My Blog Traffic", "summary": null, "content_text": "I wish I had answers but I don't. I have been blogging for over a decade now and I've seen my blog grow in traffic but year over year but since 2023, my traffic has declined, roughly 25% year-over-year. It's disheartening to see AI hoover up the open web, driving people away from content made by humans to shit ", "content_html": "

I wish I had answers but I don't. I have been blogging for over a decade now and I've seen my blog grow in traffic but year over year but since 2023, my traffic has declined, roughly 25% year-over-year. It's disheartening to see AI hoover up the open web, driving people away from content made by humans to shit

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/07/05/ai-is-killing-my-blog-traffic.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-05-21-sonnet/sonnet-echo.webp", "date_published": "2025-07-05T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-07-05T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/06/23/install-pihole-on-your-mac.html", "title": "Install Pi-hole on your Mac in 5 minutes", "summary": null, "content_text": "Adblockers: I assume a majority of my audience uses them, such as Ublock Origin, 1blocker, Ghostery, and so on. The problem is that these require browser extensions, but how will I block ads on my Sony TV or make sure my Hue lights aren't spying on me?Well, we have an answer: Pi-hole. As the name implies, Pi-hole is a web utility originally designed to run on a Raspberry Pi, although we can run it almost anywhere. I'll cover first on a Mac and then a few other devices, and it's really set up. Like, we are talking about 5 minutes.Pi-hole blocks pesky advertisements and data harvesting by replacing your domain name server with your own self-hosted option that intercepts DNS requests before passing them to another DNS server. To break that down into plain speak, when you type in \"YouTube.com,\" a domain name server functions like a phone book for every name and returns a number, something I now realize my younger audience probably hasn't ever seen before... I think I have a better analogy: it's like a digital map. Ask it where Jacksonville, Oregon is, and it returns coordinates as a long and lat from a database of all the cities in the world. The same thing happens with a DNS. It contains a list of all the IPs associated with every domain name worldwide. Pi-hole maintains lists of known hosts for advertisements. If a request asks for a domain on the blocklist, it returns a null or fake address, thus preventing an advertisement or tracking script from loading. This approach is awesome because it's platform agnostic. It requires manually configuring your devices or home network to use the Pihole instead of a regular DNS.Pi-hole has a nice, easy-to-use interface that is also easy to adjust so you can whitelist potential sites.The TutorialI have a MacBook 2017, and like all Intel Macs, it'll soon be unable to run modern macOS, even with OpenCore. The MacBook 2017 is an oddball model. I love this machine, but it's pretty underpowered, so there's not really a huge use case for it. It has one thing that makes it exceptionally attractive: a power draw. This guy can only draw 29w max but generally draws more than 10w even with the display on. Plus, its CPU is positively monstrous compared to the CPUs found in Raspberry Pis.If you don't have an old Mac, I suggest getting a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as they're under $25, and the official Raspbery Pi website has an excellent tutorial/Step 1: We need docker. Grab it from the official site Docker is a utility that lets you run containers and think of micro virtual machines. Download it and install it. Docker has Linux and Windows versions as well and I'll touch on the Linux using two different NAS systems.Step 2: Run the following command below, also on github gist and embedded at the bottom. docker run -d --name pihole \\ -e TZ=America/Los_Angeles \\ -e FTLCONF_webserver_api_password=MakeSureYouChangeThis \\ -e FTLCONF_dns_upstreams='1.1.1.1;1.0.0.1' \\ -e FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode=all \\ -p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 \\ -v ~/pihole/:/etc/pihole/ \\ --dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1 \\ --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \\ --restart=unless-stopped \\ pihole/pihole:latest What each Docker setting does:-d - Runs the container in detached mode (in the background)--name pihole - Names the container \"pihole\" for easy reference-e TZ=America/Los_Angeles - Sets the timezone. Other examples: America/New_York, Europe/London, Asia/Tokyo, Australia/Sydney. Find your timezone on Wikipedia's TZ database list-e FTLCONF_webserver_api_password=MakeSureYouChangeThis - Sets the admin password for the web interface (change this!)-e FTLCONF_dns_upstreams='1.1.1.1;1.0.0.1' - Sets upstream DNS servers (Cloudflare in this case)-e FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode=all - Allows Pi-hole to listen on all network interfaces-p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 - Maps ports from host to container (web interface on 80/443, DNS on 53)-v ~/pihole/:/etc/pihole/ - Mounts a local directory to store Pi-hole configuration and data--dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1 - Sets DNS servers for the container itself--cap-add=NET_ADMIN - Gives the container network administration capabilities--restart=unless-stopped - Automatically restarts the container unless manually stoppedpihole/pihole:latest - The Docker image to use (Pi-hole's official image)This will go fast, as this project is very lean.Step 3: Go to http://127.0.0.1/ and use the password to confirm it's working. We can also see our application in the Docker.Step 4: On your Mac, change your DNS to 127.0.0.1.This is done in the system settings, see Apple's documentation as it covers how to, from High Sierra to current. Step 5: Get your Mac's local IP. Select your network, and then click on details. Click TCP/IP and make a note of your IP address. This is your Mac's IP address. Alternatively you can grab it via the terminal, for most Macs this will be the wifi interface, ipconfig getifaddr en0 however if you have wired internet and wifi, your internet connection could be different. Use ifconfig | grep \"inet \" | grep -v 127.0.0.1 and make note of the inet addresses.You can assign this as your DNS server to any device on your internal network, be it a Roku, Smart appliance, or another computer. However, you can set the DNS server to your Mac's IP address if you have a router. This way, all devices on your network will use the Pi-hole as their DNS server.From my router, I can configure my DNS to use the PiHole. Just point the DNS setting to the Mac. Now, if you're on DHCP, which almost everyone is, your router likely has a setting to reserve an IP for a device. DHCP leases out IPs so they can change. That means a computer might one day be 192.168.10.105 and, after reconnecting or a router reboot, assigned a different IP, 192.168.10.124. If your DNS is set to the old address, this would be a problem, as you wouldn't have a DNS server until it was manually changed. Reserving an IP prevents a device from ever getting a different IP on the local network.By pointing your home network at your Mac’s Pi-hole, you’ll enjoy ad-free browsing on any device. Go ahead—reserve that Mac’s IP in your router, and reclaim your bandwidth today.You don't need a MacPi-hole can be run almost anywhere due to it's lightweight nature, and being designed for a Raspberry Pi. This means you can set it up on any Linux machine, Windows, NAS or even in a virtual machine on your existing hardware.For example, if you have a Synology or Ugreen NAS, you can run Pi-hole in Docker. The process is similar to the Mac setup, but you'll need to use the Synology Docker interface to create and manage your containers.Instead of using the docker command, you'll want to create a container using a docker-compose file. This is a YAML file that defines the services, networks, and volumes for your application. Here's an example of a docker-compose file for Pi-hole: version: '3.8'services: pihole: container_name: pihole image: pihole/pihole:latest ports: # DNS Ports (using alternative ports to avoid conflicts) - \"1053:53/tcp\" - \"1053:53/udp\" # HTTP Port (using alternative port to avoid DSM conflict) - \"8080:80/tcp\" # HTTPS Port (using alternative port to avoid DSM conflict) - \"8443:443/tcp\" environment: # Timezone TZ: 'America/Los_Angeles' # Web interface password from your original command FTLCONF_webserver_api_password: 'MakeSureYouChangeThis' # DNS upstreams (DNS servers you'd like to use) FTLCONF_dns_upstreams: '1.1.1.1;1.0.0.1' # DNS listening mode FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode: 'all' volumes: # Volume mapping - using full NAS path - '/volume1/docker/pihole:/etc/pihole' dns: # DNS settings from your original command - 127.0.0.1 - 1.1.1.1 cap_add: # Capabilities for network administration - NET_ADMIN restart: unless-stopped This is a basic example, and you may need to adjust the configuration based on your specific setup and requirements. Once you have your docker-compose file ready, you can use the Docker interface on your NAS to deploy the Pi-hole container. As a pro-tip, AI is excellent for interpreting and diagnosing issues, bew it Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.GitHub Gist versions", "content_html": "

Adblockers: I assume a majority of my audience uses them, such as Ublock Origin, 1blocker, Ghostery, and so on. The problem is that these require browser extensions, but how will I block ads on my Sony TV or make sure my Hue lights aren't spying on me?

Well, we have an answer: Pi-hole. As the name implies, Pi-hole is a web utility originally designed to run on a Raspberry Pi, although we can run it almost anywhere. I'll cover first on a Mac and then a few other devices, and it's really set up. Like, we are talking about 5 minutes.


Pi-hole blocks pesky advertisements and data harvesting by replacing your domain name server with your own self-hosted option that intercepts DNS requests before passing them to another DNS server. To break that down into plain speak, when you type in \"YouTube.com,\" a domain name server functions like a phone book for every name and returns a number, something I now realize my younger audience probably hasn't ever seen before... I think I have a better analogy: it's like a digital map. Ask it where Jacksonville, Oregon is, and it returns coordinates as a long and lat from a database of all the cities in the world. The same thing happens with a DNS. It contains a list of all the IPs associated with every domain name worldwide.

Pi-hole maintains lists of known hosts for advertisements. If a request asks for a domain on the blocklist, it returns a null or fake address, thus preventing an advertisement or tracking script from loading.

This approach is awesome because it's platform agnostic. It requires manually configuring your devices or home network to use the Pihole instead of a regular DNS.

Pi-hole has a nice, easy-to-use interface that is also easy to adjust so you can whitelist potential sites.

The Tutorial

I have a MacBook 2017, and like all Intel Macs, it'll soon be unable to run modern macOS, even with OpenCore. The MacBook 2017 is an oddball model. I love this machine, but it's pretty underpowered, so there's not really a huge use case for it. It has one thing that makes it exceptionally attractive: a power draw. This guy can only draw 29w max but generally draws more than 10w even with the display on. Plus, its CPU is positively monstrous compared to the CPUs found in Raspberry Pis.

If you don't have an old Mac, I suggest getting a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as they're under $25, and the official Raspbery Pi website has an excellent tutorial/

Step 1: We need docker. Grab it from the official site Docker is a utility that lets you run containers and think of micro virtual machines. Download it and install it. Docker has Linux and Windows versions as well and I'll touch on the Linux using two different NAS systems.

Step 2: Run the following command below, also on github gist and embedded at the bottom.

docker run -d --name pihole \\ -e TZ=America/Los_Angeles \\ -e FTLCONF_webserver_api_password=MakeSureYouChangeThis \\ -e FTLCONF_dns_upstreams='1.1.1.1;1.0.0.1' \\ -e FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode=all \\ -p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 \\ -v ~/pihole/:/etc/pihole/ \\ --dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1 \\ --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \\ --restart=unless-stopped \\ pihole/pihole:latest

What each Docker setting does:

This will go fast, as this project is very lean.

Step 3: Go to http://127.0.0.1/ and use the password to confirm it's working. We can also see our application in the Docker.

Step 4: On your Mac, change your DNS to 127.0.0.1.

This is done in the system settings, see Apple's documentation as it covers how to, from High Sierra to current.

Step 5: Get your Mac's local IP. Select your network, and then click on details. Click TCP/IP and make a note of your IP address. This is your Mac's IP address. Alternatively you can grab it via the terminal, for most Macs this will be the wifi interface, ipconfig getifaddr en0 however if you have wired internet and wifi, your internet connection could be different. Use ifconfig | grep \"inet \" | grep -v 127.0.0.1 and make note of the inet addresses.

You can assign this as your DNS server to any device on your internal network, be it a Roku, Smart appliance, or another computer. However, you can set the DNS server to your Mac's IP address if you have a router. This way, all devices on your network will use the Pi-hole as their DNS server.

From my router, I can configure my DNS to use the PiHole. Just point the DNS setting to the Mac. Now, if you're on DHCP, which almost everyone is, your router likely has a setting to reserve an IP for a device. DHCP leases out IPs so they can change. That means a computer might one day be 192.168.10.105 and, after reconnecting or a router reboot, assigned a different IP, 192.168.10.124. If your DNS is set to the old address, this would be a problem, as you wouldn't have a DNS server until it was manually changed. Reserving an IP prevents a device from ever getting a different IP on the local network.

By pointing your home network at your Mac’s Pi-hole, you’ll enjoy ad-free browsing on any device. Go ahead—reserve that Mac’s IP in your router, and reclaim your bandwidth today.

You don't need a Mac

Pi-hole can be run almost anywhere due to it's lightweight nature, and being designed for a Raspberry Pi. This means you can set it up on any Linux machine, Windows, NAS or even in a virtual machine on your existing hardware.

For example, if you have a Synology or Ugreen NAS, you can run Pi-hole in Docker. The process is similar to the Mac setup, but you'll need to use the Synology Docker interface to create and manage your containers.

Instead of using the docker command, you'll want to create a container using a docker-compose file. This is a YAML file that defines the services, networks, and volumes for your application. Here's an example of a docker-compose file for Pi-hole:

version: '3.8'services:  pihole:    container_name: pihole    image: pihole/pihole:latest    ports:      # DNS Ports (using alternative ports to avoid conflicts)      - \"1053:53/tcp\"      - \"1053:53/udp\"      # HTTP Port (using alternative port to avoid DSM conflict)      - \"8080:80/tcp\"      # HTTPS Port (using alternative port to avoid DSM conflict)      - \"8443:443/tcp\"    environment:      # Timezone       TZ: 'America/Los_Angeles'      # Web interface password from your original command      FTLCONF_webserver_api_password: 'MakeSureYouChangeThis'      # DNS upstreams (DNS servers you'd like to use)      FTLCONF_dns_upstreams: '1.1.1.1;1.0.0.1'      # DNS listening mode      FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode: 'all'    volumes:      # Volume mapping - using full NAS path      - '/volume1/docker/pihole:/etc/pihole'    dns:      # DNS settings from your original command      - 127.0.0.1      - 1.1.1.1    cap_add:      # Capabilities for network administration      - NET_ADMIN    restart: unless-stopped

This is a basic example, and you may need to adjust the configuration based on your specific setup and requirements. Once you have your docker-compose file ready, you can use the Docker interface on your NAS to deploy the Pi-hole container. As a pro-tip, AI is excellent for interpreting and diagnosing issues, bew it Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.

GitHub Gist versions

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/06/23/install-pihole-on-your-mac.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-06-23-pihole.jpg", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-06-23T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-06-23T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/05/moving-away-from-the-mac-pro-2019.html", "title": "Moving away from the Mac Pro: Sonnet Echo II DV Review", "summary": null, "content_text": "In the evolving landscape of professional computing, the traditional workstation is radically transforming. For years, the Mac Pro represented the pinnacle of expandability in Apple's ecosystem—a tower of power where professionals could add specialized PCIe cards for everything from video capture to audio processing. Yet Apple Silicon has rewritten the rules, delivering astonishing performance in smaller packages while leaving professional users with a critical question: what about expansion? For the past several years, I've dedicated much of my content to the Mac Pro lineup—writing guides and producing videos. However, after my 2019 Mac Pro, I'm likely not buying another Mac Pro. The single Mac Pro entry in the Apple Silicon era has been woefully underwhelming, offering PCIe slots for a $3,000 premium that can only be used for expansion cards. YouTuber Luke Miani aptly described it as \"Expandable, not upgradeable.But what if there was a way to bring true PCIe expansion to any Mac? The advent of Thunderbolt 5 now enables 4x PCIe 4.0 speeds through external connections. For professionals in video production, audio engineering, and scientific computing who rely on specialized PCIe hardware, this opens intriguing possibilities: Could a Mac Studio or even a Mac mini paired with the right expansion chassis replace a Mac Pro?This is where the Sonnet Echo II DV enters the picture—a dual-slot Thunderbolt PCIe expansion chassis with a unique twist: each PCIe slot gets its own dedicated Thunderbolt bus. This approach promises to eliminate the bandwidth bottlenecks that have historically plagued external expansion solutions. This design could be a game-changer for professionals who need to run bandwidth-intensive cards like BlackMagic DeckLink 8K Pro or AJA KONA 5 capture cards alongside high-speed storage.Sonnet Echo II DV Disclosure: Sonnet provided a review unit, but I was not compensated or sponsored, and I maintain complete editorial control.Feature list Dual PCIe slots with dedicated Thunderbolt buses Each slot supports Thunderbolt pass-through for daisy-chaining No power switch needed—it powers up/down automatically when Thunderbolt cables are connected Built-in 400-watt power supply with two auxiliary power cables (75 watts each) Can charge power-hungry laptops like my 16-inch MacBook M4 Pro via Thunderbolt Features dual Noctua fans—the top shelf of PC cooling—rated at just 17 dBA All-metal construction with no cheap plastic feelThe Sonnet Echo dv2 is a dual PCIe Thunderbolt enclosure with a unique advantage—each PCIe slot has its own dedicated Thunderbolt port. This means you get the full bandwidth of a complete Thunderbolt channel per card. Despite Sonnet explicitly stating that this case is not for GPUs, I still managed to wedge a single-slot GPU into it. It's not pretty, but it worked. You can also dongle the PCIe slots if you'd like a single cable experience, and it can deliver 100w to charge a laptop. Conversely you can also connect two computers to the Sonnet II DV allowing each computer to access a single PCIe slot.Thunderbolt technology offers PCIe connectivity over a cable, but with limitations. A single Thunderbolt 4 connection provides approximately 2,880 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth. When multiple PCIe cards share a single Thunderbolt bus (as in most expansion chassis), they must compete for this bandwidth, potentially creating bottlenecks.By providing each slot with its own dedicated Thunderbolt bus, the Echo II DV ensures that both cards can simultaneously utilize full bandwidth—provided your computer has Thunderbolt ports on separate buses. All Apple Silicon Macs meet this requirement, with each Thunderbolt port getting its own PCIe lanes.The Echo II DV is Thunderbolt 3/4 and not 5. However, it does feature a modular Thunderbolt design, which represents perhaps its most forward-thinking feature. The Thunderbolt interfaces are implemented as daughtercards, which Sonnet refers to as \"Thunderbolt upgrade cards\" on their website. When I contacted Sonnet about potential Thunderbolt 5 upgrades, they confirmed that it would indeed be possible to swap the card and avoid buying a whole new enclosure. Ironically, this makes the Thunderbolt enclosure more upgradeable than Apple Silicon Macs—a critical consideration for professionals making long-term investment decisions.Inside is a modular design with two PCIe slots plus Cubo AR X3 Thunderbolt daughter cards. Interestingly, Sonnet refers to these as \"Thunderbolt upgrade cards\" on their website—suggesting potential future upgrades.Thunderbolt 5 is not PCIe 5.0 based, instead PCIe 4.0. A single thunderbolt port represents roughly a 4x PCIe slot. While PCIe 5.0 offers double the theoretical bandwidth of PCIe 4.0, real-world storage performance gains are much smaller. The Samsung 990 Pro (PCIe 5.0) vs. 980 Pro (PCIe 4.0) shows only about a 17% improvement in IOPS (47,419 vs. 40,580) according to Tom's Hardware metrics. Of course, NVMe storage will improve and be able to saturate PCIe 5.0 more over time; as of writing this, there are few practical applications where PCIe 4.0 speeds are prohibitive, let alone 3.0. All of this is a very roundabout way to say I don't see the Thunderbolt 4.0 speeds as much of an issue. I hope that a Thunderbolt 5.0 upgrade is around the corner, but for most users, it won't be a game changer.Thunderbolt 3 vs. Thunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are both high-speed connectivity standards developed by Intel, but they have some key differences. Thunderbolt 3 was introduced in 2015 and supports data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps, while Thunderbolt 4, introduced in 2020, maintains the same maximum speed but adds several enhancements.One of the main differences is that Thunderbolt 4 requires support for USB4, which means it can work with a wider range of devices and peripherals. Thunderbolt 4 also mandates support for daisy-chaining up to six devices, while Thunderbolt 3 does not have this requirement. Additionally, Thunderbolt 4 includes improved power delivery capabilities, allowing for charging devices at higher wattages. Feature Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt 4 Maximum Bandwidth 40 Gbps 40 Gbps Display Support Minimum: Single 4K displayMaximum: Can support dual 4K @ 60Hz or single 5K Minimum: Dual 4K displays @ 60Hz or single 8K @ 30Hz PCIe Data Transfer 16 Gbps minimum 32 Gbps minimum Power Delivery Optional 100W charging Required 100W charging on at least one computer port Security DMA protection optional Intel VT-d-based DMA protection required Wake from Sleep Not guaranteed Required (PC can wake from sleep via connected Thunderbolt accessories) Dock/Hub Support Limited downstream ports Support for docks with up to 4 Thunderbolt ports USB4 Compatibility Compatible Compatible Cable Length Limited certified length options Universal 40Gbps cables up to 2 meters Connector Type USB-C USB-C For all intents and purposes, the Sonnet Echo II DV is a Thunderbolt 4 device, as most of the action for Thunderbolt 4 exists on the controller side of things. It supports daisy chaining and power delivery.Performance: Real-World TestingThere's not a massive story when it comes to performance. Internal is faster than external, and that should not come as a surprise. Thunderbolt does have a higher protocol overhead; there is signal conversion between PCIe to Thunderbolt and latency due to distance. That said, it's in the ballpark of \"close enough\".Comparing against the Thunderbolt 5 M4 Pro and Thunderbolt 4 M1 Max yeilded virtually no performance differences, with the M1 Max performing fractionally better. Amorphous tends to deliver inconsistent random tests and thus shouldn't be taken as exact but rather a rough estimate.Being a Thunderbolt device, it's plug-and-play like USB. When I plugged it into my M1 Max, System Preferences showed six PCIe devices: four NVMe drives, two USB ports, and Ethernet from the McFiver card. For a secondary real-world test, for gigabit ethernet, I was able to achieve 450 MB/s read/writes to my Synology D923+ via the McFiver, identical to my Mac Pro 2019. The limitation is the NAS and not the card. 10 GBe is only 1250 MB/s max, something that was achievable even on Thunderbolt 2. As previously mentioned, one of the wackier use cases that the Sonnet Echo II DV supports is the ability to connect two computers. This is feasible as literally each PCIe slot is an independent Thunderbolt device, complete with it's own thunderbolt controller. This is a feature that I don't think many people will use, but it does work. You can connect two computers to the Sonnet Echo II DV and have each computer access a single PCIe slot. This could be useful for certain workflows.One minor complaint I have is that the cabling extenrally doesn't doesn't include a fused cable akin to the Ivnaky Thunderbolt dock, that makes connecting and disconnecting easier, as it's simple as plugging in a singular cable. That said, Apple does not keep it's orientation and spacing of Thunderbolt ports uniform between laptops and desktops. It's an insignificant gripe but it's something as a laptop user I've become pretty spoiled by. Not an eGPU caseIt should be abundantly clear that the II DV is not a GPU case, with its single slot design, limited power capability, and cooling focus on low noise instead of maximum heat dissipation. However, this didn't stop me from trying. I was able to find a modern-ish single-slot GPU in the form of the AMD Radeon RX 6400. The card's specs are pretty abysmal, only 4 GB of VRAM, based on RNDA2 with the processor and RAM clocked at 2 GHz, a tiny 64-bit bus, 7 TFLOPs for FP16, making it performance wise roughly that of a GeForce 770 from 2013. However, it is bus-powered and is a single slot. macOS does not have drivers for this GPU, so I was limited to Windows testing. It was moderately better than my Geekom MiniPC's very poor Intel Iris XeSo yes, you can jam a very shoddy GPU into this enclosure, but the sort of GPUs you can use are pretty abysmal. I wouldn't recommend it.Market Alternatives: How the Echo II DV ComparesWith several Thunderbolt expansion options available, it's important to understand how the Sonnet Echo II DV stacks up against alternatives. Here's a comparison of available solutions.Sonnet's Own Product Line:The Echo II DV positions itself as a premium offering in Sonnet's lineup. The price jump from the Echo Express III-D to the Echo II DV ($700 to $900) buys you dedicated Thunderbolt buses for each slot—a substantial advantage for bandwidth-intensive applications even though you get one fewer slot.Sonnet Technologies Sonnet Echo Express (three-slot with shared bus): $700 Advantages: Three PCIe slots, lower price point Disadvantages: All slots share a single Thunderbolt bus, limiting combined bandwidth Sonnet Echo Express SEL (single PCIe port): $300 Advantages: Single slot Disadvantages: Single slot OWC Solutions:OWC's offerings tend to focus on storage expansion, with PCIe capabilities added as a secondary feature. None offer the dual Thunderbolt bus architecture that sets the Echo II DV apart. OWC Mercury Helios 3S ($399) Advantages: Lower price, includes a PCIe slot plus storage expansion bay Disadvantages: Single thunderbolt bus OWC Flex 8 ($649) Advantages:Combines PCIe expansion with 8 storage bays Disadvantages: Single Thunderbolt bus, shared bandwidth Razer Razer Core X ($399) Advantages: Designed for GPUs, includes 650W power supply Disadvantages: Single Thunderbolt bus, optimized for GPUs This is by no means a comprehensive list, but alternatives exist ready to meet the consumers' needs at various price points. The Echo II DV is slotted at the upper echelon of external enclosures. It's not a cheap solution by any stretch. Its stiffest competition is from Sonnet itself, as I imagine for the majority of users; the Sonnet Echo Express probably represents the best value if they're looking to port over as much flexibility as possible. It brings a 3rd PCIe slot but relies on a shared bus. Most users rarely push more than one PCIe device at a time, and probably the only times users would feel the limits would be when transferring large files between SSDs (assuming both were in the enclosure).Apple Mac ProApple's Mac Pro starts at $6,999 and includes seven PCIe slots. However, these advantages come with significant caveats: The base model uses the M2 Ultra, which is now outdated compared to the M4 Pro/Max and M3 Ultra Internal slots don't support user-upgradable GPUs or CPU upgrades Total cost is significantly higher than a Mac Studio ($3,999) plus Echo II DV ($900)Beyond the cost savings, the Mac Studio + Echo II DV route offers greater flexibility, as you can take your expansion cards to a future computer—something impossible with the Mac Pro's internal slots once the system is obsolete.As of writing this, due to Apple's very odd market positioning of a M4 Max and M3 Ultra, for many users the M4 Max Mac Studio represents the better value, as the CPU is faster in single and low threaded tasks. In fact the M4 Max, only about 15% faster, granted the M3 Ultra offers a much more powerful GPU, and the ability to toss gobs of RAM into the system.The $2k price jump probably isn't worth it for the majority of buyers, and the extra money could be spent on accessories like the Echo II DV to expand the storage well beyond Apple's meager offerings.Conclusion: Rethinking Professional Mac SetupsAfter extensively testing the Sonnet Echo II DV, I've come to a conclusion that might have seemed heretical just a few years ago: for many professionals, the Mac Pro is no longer necessary.The combination of Apple Silicon performance and external PCIe expansion creates a compelling alternative to the traditional workstation model. A Mac Studio, MacBook Pro, or even a Mac mini or MacBook Air paired with the Echo II DV, and you're getting most of the benefits of the Apple Silicon Mac Pro 2023 at a steep savings. Sadly, outside of a few exotic PCIe cards, there isn't much point to PCIe now that dGPUs have been sunsetted by Apple. Their switch to shared memory has yielded some impressive results for applications like AI, as VRAM can be dynamically assigned. However, in terms of raw performance, it hasn't materialized and plays deeply into Apple's hands for planned obsolescence.", "content_html": "

In the evolving landscape of professional computing, the traditional workstation is radically transforming. For years, the Mac Pro represented the pinnacle of expandability in Apple's ecosystem—a tower of power where professionals could add specialized PCIe cards for everything from video capture to audio processing. Yet Apple Silicon has rewritten the rules, delivering astonishing performance in smaller packages while leaving professional users with a critical question: what about expansion?


For the past several years, I've dedicated much of my content to the Mac Pro lineup—writing guides and producing videos. However, after my 2019 Mac Pro, I'm likely not buying another Mac Pro. The single Mac Pro entry in the Apple Silicon era has been woefully underwhelming, offering PCIe slots for a $3,000 premium that can only be used for expansion cards. YouTuber Luke Miani aptly described it as \"Expandable, not upgradeable.

But what if there was a way to bring true PCIe expansion to any Mac? The advent of Thunderbolt 5 now enables 4x PCIe 4.0 speeds through external connections. For professionals in video production, audio engineering, and scientific computing who rely on specialized PCIe hardware, this opens intriguing possibilities: Could a Mac Studio or even a Mac mini paired with the right expansion chassis replace a Mac Pro?

This is where the Sonnet Echo II DV enters the picture—a dual-slot Thunderbolt PCIe expansion chassis with a unique twist: each PCIe slot gets its own dedicated Thunderbolt bus. This approach promises to eliminate the bandwidth bottlenecks that have historically plagued external expansion solutions. This design could be a game-changer for professionals who need to run bandwidth-intensive cards like BlackMagic DeckLink 8K Pro or AJA KONA 5 capture cards alongside high-speed storage.

Sonnet Echo II DV

\"\"

Disclosure: Sonnet provided a review unit, but I was not compensated or sponsored, and I maintain complete editorial control.

Feature list

The Sonnet Echo dv2 is a dual PCIe Thunderbolt enclosure with a unique advantage—each PCIe slot has its own dedicated Thunderbolt port. This means you get the full bandwidth of a complete Thunderbolt channel per card. Despite Sonnet explicitly stating that this case is not for GPUs, I still managed to wedge a single-slot GPU into it. It's not pretty, but it worked. You can also dongle the PCIe slots if you'd like a single cable experience, and it can deliver 100w to charge a laptop. Conversely you can also connect two computers to the Sonnet II DV allowing each computer to access a single PCIe slot.

Thunderbolt technology offers PCIe connectivity over a cable, but with limitations. A single Thunderbolt 4 connection provides approximately 2,880 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth. When multiple PCIe cards share a single Thunderbolt bus (as in most expansion chassis), they must compete for this bandwidth, potentially creating bottlenecks.

By providing each slot with its own dedicated Thunderbolt bus, the Echo II DV ensures that both cards can simultaneously utilize full bandwidth—provided your computer has Thunderbolt ports on separate buses. All Apple Silicon Macs meet this requirement, with each Thunderbolt port getting its own PCIe lanes.

The Echo II DV is Thunderbolt 3/4 and not 5. However, it does feature a modular Thunderbolt design, which represents perhaps its most forward-thinking feature. The Thunderbolt interfaces are implemented as daughtercards, which Sonnet refers to as \"Thunderbolt upgrade cards\" on their website. When I contacted Sonnet about potential Thunderbolt 5 upgrades, they confirmed that it would indeed be possible to swap the card and avoid buying a whole new enclosure. Ironically, this makes the Thunderbolt enclosure more upgradeable than Apple Silicon Macs—a critical consideration for professionals making long-term investment decisions.

\"sonnet

Inside is a modular design with two PCIe slots plus Cubo AR X3 Thunderbolt daughter cards. Interestingly, Sonnet refers to these as \"Thunderbolt upgrade cards\" on their website—suggesting potential future upgrades.

\"sonnet

Thunderbolt 5 is not PCIe 5.0 based, instead PCIe 4.0. A single thunderbolt port represents roughly a 4x PCIe slot. While PCIe 5.0 offers double the theoretical bandwidth of PCIe 4.0, real-world storage performance gains are much smaller. The Samsung 990 Pro (PCIe 5.0) vs. 980 Pro (PCIe 4.0) shows only about a 17% improvement in IOPS (47,419 vs. 40,580) according to Tom's Hardware metrics. Of course, NVMe storage will improve and be able to saturate PCIe 5.0 more over time; as of writing this, there are few practical applications where PCIe 4.0 speeds are prohibitive, let alone 3.0. All of this is a very roundabout way to say I don't see the Thunderbolt 4.0 speeds as much of an issue. I hope that a Thunderbolt 5.0 upgrade is around the corner, but for most users, it won't be a game changer.

Thunderbolt 3 vs. Thunderbolt 4

Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are both high-speed connectivity standards developed by Intel, but they have some key differences. Thunderbolt 3 was introduced in 2015 and supports data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps, while Thunderbolt 4, introduced in 2020, maintains the same maximum speed but adds several enhancements.

One of the main differences is that Thunderbolt 4 requires support for USB4, which means it can work with a wider range of devices and peripherals. Thunderbolt 4 also mandates support for daisy-chaining up to six devices, while Thunderbolt 3 does not have this requirement. Additionally, Thunderbolt 4 includes improved power delivery capabilities, allowing for charging devices at higher wattages.

Feature Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt 4
Maximum Bandwidth 40 Gbps 40 Gbps
Display Support Minimum: Single 4K display
Maximum: Can support dual 4K @ 60Hz or single 5K		 Minimum: Dual 4K displays @ 60Hz or single 8K @ 30Hz
PCIe Data Transfer 16 Gbps minimum 32 Gbps minimum
Power Delivery Optional 100W charging Required 100W charging on at least one computer port
Security DMA protection optional Intel VT-d-based DMA protection required
Wake from Sleep Not guaranteed Required (PC can wake from sleep via connected Thunderbolt accessories)
Dock/Hub Support Limited downstream ports Support for docks with up to 4 Thunderbolt ports
USB4 Compatibility Compatible Compatible
Cable Length Limited certified length options Universal 40Gbps cables up to 2 meters
Connector Type USB-C USB-C


For all intents and purposes, the Sonnet Echo II DV is a Thunderbolt 4 device, as most of the action for Thunderbolt 4 exists on the controller side of things. It supports daisy chaining and power delivery.

Performance: Real-World Testing

\"Internal

There's not a massive story when it comes to performance. Internal is faster than external, and that should not come as a surprise. Thunderbolt does have a higher protocol overhead; there is signal conversion between PCIe to Thunderbolt and latency due to distance. That said, it's in the ballpark of \"close enough\".

\"m4

Comparing against the Thunderbolt 5 M4 Pro and Thunderbolt 4 M1 Max yeilded virtually no performance differences, with the M1 Max performing fractionally better. Amorphous tends to deliver inconsistent random tests and thus shouldn't be taken as exact but rather a rough estimate.

Being a Thunderbolt device, it's plug-and-play like USB. When I plugged it into my M1 Max, System Preferences showed six PCIe devices: four NVMe drives, two USB ports, and Ethernet from the McFiver card. For a secondary real-world test, for gigabit ethernet, I was able to achieve 450 MB/s read/writes to my Synology D923+ via the McFiver, identical to my Mac Pro 2019. The limitation is the NAS and not the card. 10 GBe is only 1250 MB/s max, something that was achievable even on Thunderbolt 2.

\"sonnet

As previously mentioned, one of the wackier use cases that the Sonnet Echo II DV supports is the ability to connect two computers. This is feasible as literally each PCIe slot is an independent Thunderbolt device, complete with it's own thunderbolt controller. This is a feature that I don't think many people will use, but it does work. You can connect two computers to the Sonnet Echo II DV and have each computer access a single PCIe slot. This could be useful for certain workflows.

One minor complaint I have is that the cabling extenrally doesn't doesn't include a fused cable akin to the Ivnaky Thunderbolt dock, that makes connecting and disconnecting easier, as it's simple as plugging in a singular cable. That said, Apple does not keep it's orientation and spacing of Thunderbolt ports uniform between laptops and desktops. It's an insignificant gripe but it's something as a laptop user I've become pretty spoiled by.

\"Ivanky

Not an eGPU case

\"installing

It should be abundantly clear that the II DV is not a GPU case, with its single slot design, limited power capability, and cooling focus on low noise instead of maximum heat dissipation. However, this didn't stop me from trying. I was able to find a modern-ish single-slot GPU in the form of the AMD Radeon RX 6400. The card's specs are pretty abysmal, only 4 GB of VRAM, based on RNDA2 with the processor and RAM clocked at 2 GHz, a tiny 64-bit bus, 7 TFLOPs for FP16, making it performance wise roughly that of a GeForce 770 from 2013. However, it is bus-powered and is a single slot.

macOS does not have drivers for this GPU, so I was limited to Windows testing. It was moderately better than my Geekom MiniPC's very poor Intel Iris Xe

\"eGPU

So yes, you can jam a very shoddy GPU into this enclosure, but the sort of GPUs you can use are pretty abysmal. I wouldn't recommend it.

Market Alternatives: How the Echo II DV Compares

With several Thunderbolt expansion options available, it's important to understand how the Sonnet Echo II DV stacks up against alternatives. Here's a comparison of available solutions.

Sonnet's Own Product Line:

The Echo II DV positions itself as a premium offering in Sonnet's lineup. The price jump from the Echo Express III-D to the Echo II DV ($700 to $900) buys you dedicated Thunderbolt buses for each slot—a substantial advantage for bandwidth-intensive applications even though you get one fewer slot.

Sonnet Technologies

OWC Solutions:

OWC's offerings tend to focus on storage expansion, with PCIe capabilities added as a secondary feature. None offer the dual Thunderbolt bus architecture that sets the Echo II DV apart.

Razer

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but alternatives exist ready to meet the consumers' needs at various price points. The Echo II DV is slotted at the upper echelon of external enclosures. It's not a cheap solution by any stretch. Its stiffest competition is from Sonnet itself, as I imagine for the majority of users; the Sonnet Echo Express probably represents the best value if they're looking to port over as much flexibility as possible. It brings a 3rd PCIe slot but relies on a shared bus. Most users rarely push more than one PCIe device at a time, and probably the only times users would feel the limits would be when transferring large files between SSDs (assuming both were in the enclosure).

Apple Mac Pro

Apple's Mac Pro starts at $6,999 and includes seven PCIe slots. However, these advantages come with significant caveats:

  1. The base model uses the M2 Ultra, which is now outdated compared to the M4 Pro/Max and M3 Ultra
  2. Internal slots don't support user-upgradable GPUs or CPU upgrades
  3. Total cost is significantly higher than a Mac Studio ($3,999) plus Echo II DV ($900)

Beyond the cost savings, the Mac Studio + Echo II DV route offers greater flexibility, as you can take your expansion cards to a future computer—something impossible with the Mac Pro's internal slots once the system is obsolete.

As of writing this, due to Apple's very odd market positioning of a M4 Max and M3 Ultra, for many users the M4 Max Mac Studio represents the better value, as the CPU is faster in single and low threaded tasks. In fact the M4 Max, only about 15% faster, granted the M3 Ultra offers a much more powerful GPU, and the ability to toss gobs of RAM into the system.

The $2k price jump probably isn't worth it for the majority of buyers, and the extra money could be spent on accessories like the Echo II DV to expand the storage well beyond Apple's meager offerings.

Conclusion: Rethinking Professional Mac Setups

After extensively testing the Sonnet Echo II DV, I've come to a conclusion that might have seemed heretical just a few years ago: for many professionals, the Mac Pro is no longer necessary.

The combination of Apple Silicon performance and external PCIe expansion creates a compelling alternative to the traditional workstation model. A Mac Studio, MacBook Pro, or even a Mac mini or MacBook Air paired with the Echo II DV, and you're getting most of the benefits of the Apple Silicon Mac Pro 2023 at a steep savings. Sadly, outside of a few exotic PCIe cards, there isn't much point to PCIe now that dGPUs have been sunsetted by Apple. Their switch to shared memory has yielded some impressive results for applications like AI, as VRAM can be dynamically assigned. However, in terms of raw performance, it hasn't materialized and plays deeply into Apple's hands for planned obsolescence.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/05/moving-away-from-the-mac-pro-2019.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-05-21-sonnet/sonnet-echo.webp", "tags": ["apple","os x"], "date_published": "2025-05-05T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-05-05T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/05/blog-update.html", "title": "Blog Updates", "summary": null, "content_text": "For personal record, I like to keep a running log of what few updates I do under-the-hood with this site on the rare chance someone actually is a regular reader. This time I added JSON-LD and limited the index pages now to 15 posts as I have a habit of writing VERY long blog posts that can be extremely brutal on the homepage.removing jQuery, stupid spam bot solution, complianing about AI, adding dark mode, or general changes", "content_html": "

For personal record, I like to keep a running log of what few updates I do under-the-hood with this site on the rare chance someone actually is a regular reader. This time I added JSON-LD and limited the index pages now to 15 posts as I have a habit of writing VERY long blog posts that can be extremely brutal on the homepage.

removing jQuery, stupid spam bot solution, complianing about AI, adding dark mode, or general changes

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/05/blog-update.html", "date_published": "2025-05-05T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-05-05T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/02/jailbreak-audible-library.html", "title": "It's time to jailbreak your audible library", "summary": null, "content_text": " Libation: Free Your Audiobooks from DRM Protection If you're an audiobook enthusiast who uses Audible, you've likely encountered the frustration of being unable to access your purchased content outside of Audible's ecosystem or have had content removed. While Audible offers a convenient service, their DRM protection limits how and where you can enjoy your audiobooks. Enter Libation, a powerful, open-source tool that allows you to download and decrypt your Audible library, giving you true ownership of your purchases. What is Libation? Libation is a free, open-source application that helps you manage your Audible library and liberate your audiobooks from DRM restrictions. With Libation, you can download, decrypt, and convert your Audible content into standard formats like MP3 or M4B, allowing you to listen on any device or player of your choice. Key Features of Libation Complete Library Management: View and organize your entire Audible library Batch Processing: Download and decrypt multiple books at once Format Options: Convert to MP3 or M4B with chapter information preserved Metadata Handling: Maintain all book details including cover art Cross-Platform: Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux Installation Guide Getting started with Libation is straightforward: Visit the Libation GitHub repository Download the latest release for your operating system Extract the downloaded file to a location of your choice Run the Libation executable Note: Libation does not require installation in the traditional sense. It's a portable application that runs directly from the extracted folder. Setting Up Libation When you first launch Libation, you'll need to authenticate with your Audible account: Click on the \"Login\" button Enter your Audible/Amazon credentials Complete any verification steps if prompted Upon successful login, Libation will scan and display your Audible library Privacy Note: Libation connects directly to Audible's servers using your credentials. Your login information is stored locally and securely on your device. Using Libation to Liberate Your Audiobooks Basic Usage Once your library is loaded, you can: Select one or multiple books from your library Right-click and choose \"Download and Decrypt\" or click the dedicated button in the toolbar Specify your preferred output format (MP3 or M4B) Choose the destination folder for your decrypted audiobooks Click \"Start\" to begin the process Advanced Options Libation offers several customization options to fine-tune your experience: Audio Quality: Adjust bitrate settings for the output files Metadata Customization: Edit book details before conversion File Naming: Configure naming patterns for your decrypted files Chapter Handling: Choose how chapter information is preserved To access these settings, navigate to the \"Settings\" tab within Libation. Managing Your Liberated Collection After decrypting your audiobooks, you can: Play them with any standard audio player (VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc.) Transfer them to portable devices, including MP3 players, smartphones, and tablets Create backups to ensure you never lose access to your purchases Use them with audiobook-specific apps like Listen Audiobook Player (Android) or Bookmobile (iOS) Troubleshooting Common Issues Authentication Problems If you encounter difficulties logging in: Ensure your Audible/Amazon credentials are correct Try clearing cached credentials in Libation (Settings → Account → Clear Saved Credentials) Check if your account requires two-factor authentication Download Failures If downloads are failing: Verify your internet connection is stable Ensure you have sufficient disk space Try downloading one book at a time Check if your antivirus or firewall is blocking Libation Conversion Issues For problems with the decryption or conversion process: Update to the latest version of Libation Try a different output format Check the application logs for specific error messages Visit the Libation community forum for assistance Alternatives While not covered in this post, there are other tools available for managing your Audible library, such as openaudible which is available for macOS/Windows/Linux as well. Legal Considerations It's important to understand that Libation is designed for personal use with audiobooks you've legally purchased. The tool allows you to exercise your fair use rights by removing DRM for personal backup and format-shifting purposes. Always respect copyright law and use your decrypted audiobooks responsibly. Recommended Audiobook Players macOS Books - macOS comes pre-bundled with Books, which will playback audiobooks, supports chapters and will resume where last left off. BookPlayer - A wonder application that is pay-optional, core features are all free to use.iOS Books - iOS comes pre-bundled with Books, which will playback audiobooks, supports chapters and will resume where last left off. BookPlayer - A wonder application that is pay-optional, core features are all free to use.Android Smart Audiobook Player - A very loved and popular audibook application Voice - A free and open-source audiobook player that supports chapters and bookmarks.Windows Windows Media Player - A built-in media player that can handle various audio formats, including MP3 and M4B. Audiobook shelf - Open source player that is working on syncing to Android and iOS. VLC Media Player - A versatile media player that can handle various audio formats, including MP3 and M4B.Linux Cozy - Modern, dedicated audiobook player for Linux VLC Media Player - A versatile media player that can handle various audio formats, including MP3 and M4B. Conclusion Libation empowers you to take full control of your audiobook collection, freeing you from the limitations of Audible's ecosystem. By decrypting your purchases, you ensure long-term access to content you've paid for, regardless of changes to Audible's policies or services. Whether you're concerned about preserving your library, want the flexibility to use different playback devices, or simply prefer to have true ownership of your purchases, Libation provides a straightforward solution that respects both your rights as a consumer and the intellectual property of content creators.", "content_html": "

Libation: Free Your Audiobooks from DRM Protection

If you're an audiobook enthusiast who uses Audible, you've likely encountered the frustration of being unable to access your purchased content outside of Audible's ecosystem or have had content removed. While Audible offers a convenient service, their DRM protection limits how and where you can enjoy your audiobooks. Enter Libation, a powerful, open-source tool that allows you to download and decrypt your Audible library, giving you true ownership of your purchases.

What is Libation?

Libation is a free, open-source application that helps you manage your Audible library and liberate your audiobooks from DRM restrictions. With Libation, you can download, decrypt, and convert your Audible content into standard formats like MP3 or M4B, allowing you to listen on any device or player of your choice.

Key Features of Libation

Installation Guide

Getting started with Libation is straightforward:

  1. Visit the Libation GitHub repository
  2. Download the latest release for your operating system
  3. Extract the downloaded file to a location of your choice
  4. Run the Libation executable

Note: Libation does not require installation in the traditional sense. It's a portable application that runs directly from the extracted folder.

Setting Up Libation

When you first launch Libation, you'll need to authenticate with your Audible account:

  1. Click on the \"Login\" button
  2. Enter your Audible/Amazon credentials
  3. Complete any verification steps if prompted
  4. Upon successful login, Libation will scan and display your Audible library

Privacy Note: Libation connects directly to Audible's servers using your credentials. Your login information is stored locally and securely on your device.

Using Libation to Liberate Your Audiobooks

Basic Usage

Once your library is loaded, you can:

  1. Select one or multiple books from your library
  2. Right-click and choose \"Download and Decrypt\" or click the dedicated button in the toolbar
  3. Specify your preferred output format (MP3 or M4B)
  4. Choose the destination folder for your decrypted audiobooks
  5. Click \"Start\" to begin the process

Advanced Options

Libation offers several customization options to fine-tune your experience:

To access these settings, navigate to the \"Settings\" tab within Libation.

Managing Your Liberated Collection

After decrypting your audiobooks, you can:

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Authentication Problems

If you encounter difficulties logging in:

Download Failures

If downloads are failing:

Conversion Issues

For problems with the decryption or conversion process:

Alternatives

While not covered in this post, there are other tools available for managing your Audible library, such as openaudible which is available for macOS/Windows/Linux as well.

Legal Considerations

It's important to understand that Libation is designed for personal use with audiobooks you've legally purchased. The tool allows you to exercise your fair use rights by removing DRM for personal backup and format-shifting purposes. Always respect copyright law and use your decrypted audiobooks responsibly.

Recommended Audiobook Players

macOS

iOS

Android

Windows

Linux

Conclusion

Libation empowers you to take full control of your audiobook collection, freeing you from the limitations of Audible's ecosystem. By decrypting your purchases, you ensure long-term access to content you've paid for, regardless of changes to Audible's policies or services.

Whether you're concerned about preserving your library, want the flexibility to use different playback devices, or simply prefer to have true ownership of your purchases, Libation provides a straightforward solution that respects both your rights as a consumer and the intellectual property of content creators.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/05/02/jailbreak-audible-library.html", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-05-02T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-05-02T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/30/fake-legal-threats-for-backlinking.html", "title": "Fake Legal Threats for SEO Backlinking scam", "summary": null, "content_text": "I get a lot of spam as I have a public email address on my blog. I ignore 99.99%, but here's one that's found in my inbox a few times and ticks me off. The first time it happened, I took enough time to actually look at the image in question. Within seconds, I realized it was an absolute farce as the image they linked was AI slop. I figured I should sound the alarm on this scam as my blog has solid domain authority and gets a surprising amount of traffic. Another blogger, Mark Carrigan has seen this exact template, jabardasti on Twitter and variations have been seen on Reddit.Here's how it works: They find a blog post with an image that they claim is theirs and use AI slop that has a similar-ish image. It always seems to be linked to Imgur and not another website. I imagine in time, they'll bot it to steal your image and upload it to Imgur as 'proof.' Don't fall for it. They send a legal threat to the blog owner, demanding a backlink to their site. If you don't comply, they threaten legal action.Pictured: This is the slop iamge that I received and I stole so that I'm actually now committing IP theft and defaced it.How can I confidently say it's a scam? I've ignored this at least three times now and its been over a year. Absolutely nothing has happened. It's a variation of the old \"You have a broken link on your blog. You should link X instead\" backlinking scheme.Here's the email I received, complete with spelling errors and grammar mistakes:James Harris | Citi Legal Services <james@clexperts.org>3:45 AM (5 hours ago)Dear owner of https://blog.greggant.com/posts/2021/09/24/mac-osx-snow-leopard-nature-desktop-backgrounds-in-5k.html,We're reaching out on behalf of the Intellectual Property Division of a notable entity in relation to an image connected to our associated client: Big Cat Snow Leopard.Image Reference: https://i.imgur.com/wid2Pil.png Image Placement: https://blog.greggant.com/posts/2021/09/24/mac-osx-snow-leopard-nature-desktop-backgrounds-in-5k.html We've observed the above image being used at the above specified placement. We are emailing you to insist our client is correctly credited. A visible link to [fake link removed some big cat facts website, I don't even want to acknowledge them in print as I don't want to give them any benefit] is necessary, placed either below the image or in the page's footer. The anchor text should be \"Big Cat Snow Leapard\". This needs to be addressed within the next five business days.We're sure you recognize the urgency of this request. Kindly understand that simply removing the image does not rectify the issue. Should we not see appropriate action within the given timeframe, we will reference case No. 82831 and implement legal proceedings as outlined in DMCA Section 512(c).For your convenience, past usage records can be reviewed using the Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org, the main recognized digital web archive.Take this communication as a formal notice. We value your swift action and expect your cooperation.RegardsJames HarrisTrademark AttorneyCiti Legal Services1 Beacon St 12th floorBoston, MA 02108james@clexperts.orgwww.clexperts.orgJames I assume is not a real person. The website impressively has multiple pages, a few blog posts, and even a phone number and office location. That said, I know multiple real-life lawyers and real estate lawyers would not be dabbling in intellectual property law on the side.If you receive emails from clexperts.org, clexperts.site, clexperts.info etc, it's a bullshit law firm. Ignore it. Move on. Don't take my word for it, you can google what real DMCA take down notices look like.", "content_html": "

I get a lot of spam as I have a public email address on my blog. I ignore 99.99%, but here's one that's found in my inbox a few times and ticks me off. The first time it happened, I took enough time to actually look at the image in question. Within seconds, I realized it was an absolute farce as the image they linked was AI slop. I figured I should sound the alarm on this scam as my blog has solid domain authority and gets a surprising amount of traffic. Another blogger, Mark Carrigan has seen this exact template, jabardasti on Twitter and variations have been seen on Reddit.

Here's how it works:

  1. They find a blog post with an image that they claim is theirs and use AI slop that has a similar-ish image. It always seems to be linked to Imgur and not another website. I imagine in time, they'll bot it to steal your image and upload it to Imgur as 'proof.' Don't fall for it.
  2. They send a legal threat to the blog owner, demanding a backlink to their site.
  3. If you don't comply, they threaten legal action.

\"Shitty
Pictured: This is the slop iamge that I received and I stole so that I'm actually now committing IP theft and defaced it.

How can I confidently say it's a scam? I've ignored this at least three times now and its been over a year. Absolutely nothing has happened. It's a variation of the old \"You have a broken link on your blog. You should link X instead\" backlinking scheme.

Here's the email I received, complete with spelling errors and grammar mistakes:

James Harris | Citi Legal Services <james@clexperts.org>
3:45 AM (5 hours ago)
Dear owner of https://blog.greggant.com/posts/2021/09/24/mac-osx-snow-leopard-nature-desktop-backgrounds-in-5k.html,
We're reaching out on behalf of the Intellectual Property Division of a notable entity in relation to an image connected to our associated client: Big Cat Snow Leopard.

Image Reference: https://i.imgur.com/wid2Pil.png
Image Placement: https://blog.greggant.com/posts/2021/09/24/mac-osx-snow-leopard-nature-desktop-backgrounds-in-5k.html
We've observed the above image being used at the above specified placement. We are emailing you to insist our client is correctly credited. A visible link to [fake link removed some big cat facts website, I don't even want to acknowledge them in print as I don't want to give them any benefit] is necessary, placed either below the image or in the page's footer. The anchor text should be \"Big Cat Snow Leapard\". This needs to be addressed within the next five business days.

We're sure you recognize the urgency of this request. Kindly understand that simply removing the image does not rectify the issue. Should we not see appropriate action within the given timeframe, we will reference case No. 82831 and implement legal proceedings as outlined in DMCA Section 512(c).

For your convenience, past usage records can be reviewed using the Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org, the main recognized digital web archive.

Take this communication as a formal notice. We value your swift action and expect your cooperation.

Regards

James Harris
Trademark Attorney

Citi Legal Services
1 Beacon St 12th floor
Boston, MA 02108

james@clexperts.org
www.clexperts.org

James I assume is not a real person. The website impressively has multiple pages, a few blog posts, and even a phone number and office location. That said, I know multiple real-life lawyers and real estate lawyers would not be dabbling in intellectual property law on the side.

If you receive emails from clexperts.org, clexperts.site, clexperts.info etc, it's a bullshit law firm. Ignore it. Move on. Don't take my word for it, you can google what real DMCA take down notices look like.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/30/fake-legal-threats-for-backlinking.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-04-30-fake-dmca-image.webp", "date_published": "2025-04-30T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-30T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/20/intel-arc-a770-mac-pro-2019-bad-idea.html", "title": "You probably don't want to stick an Intel GPU into a Mac Pro 2019...", "summary": null, "content_text": "I tend to do silly stuff with my Mac Pros. This time, I jammed an Intel Sparkle OC ROC A770 into my Mac Pro 2019. It worked well enough in Windows until it caused issues with macOS. The video contains the entire adventure.As expected, the Arc A770 wouldn't work in macOS - the system recognized it only as a generic display adapter with no ability to output even unaccelerated video. This isn't surprising since Apple hasn't allowed third-party GPU drivers since macOS 10.13.The card performed reasonably well in Windows 10, though benchmarks showed it lagging about 70% behind my Radeon 6900 XT. That performance gap makes sense given the price difference, but the Arc does have some impressive encoding capabilities that make it interesting for certain workflows.Things went south when the A770 would enter full leaf blower mode whenever Windows went to sleep. Even worse, after my Windows testing, the Mac wouldn't boot into macOS at all. I don't know if the Intel Arc drivers somehow corrupted my EFI partitions, but when iBoot attempted to load, it failed completely.Another thing learned from this experiment is that out of the box, the Mac Pro 2019 does not support Rebar (Resizable bar). Resizable BAR (Base Address Register) is a PCIe feature that enhances how CPUs access GPU memory by allowing them to view the entire GPU VRAM at once instead of in limited 256MB chunks. This technology enables faster data transfers between the CPU and GPU, potentially improving gaming and graphics performance, especially in memory-intensive tasks. AMD markets their implementation as Smart Access Memory (SAM) while Intel and NVIDIA simply call it Resizable BAR, but all function similarly by removing memory addressing limitations in the PCIe interface. There might be ways to enable it, but that's a battle for another day.", "content_html": "

I tend to do silly stuff with my Mac Pros. This time, I jammed an Intel Sparkle OC ROC A770 into my Mac Pro 2019. It worked well enough in Windows until it caused issues with macOS. The video contains the entire adventure.


As expected, the Arc A770 wouldn't work in macOS - the system recognized it only as a generic display adapter with no ability to output even unaccelerated video. This isn't surprising since Apple hasn't allowed third-party GPU drivers since macOS 10.13.

The card performed reasonably well in Windows 10, though benchmarks showed it lagging about 70% behind my Radeon 6900 XT. That performance gap makes sense given the price difference, but the Arc does have some impressive encoding capabilities that make it interesting for certain workflows.

Things went south when the A770 would enter full leaf blower mode whenever Windows went to sleep. Even worse, after my Windows testing, the Mac wouldn't boot into macOS at all. I don't know if the Intel Arc drivers somehow corrupted my EFI partitions, but when iBoot attempted to load, it failed completely.

Another thing learned from this experiment is that out of the box, the Mac Pro 2019 does not support Rebar (Resizable bar). Resizable BAR (Base Address Register) is a PCIe feature that enhances how CPUs access GPU memory by allowing them to view the entire GPU VRAM at once instead of in limited 256MB chunks. This technology enables faster data transfers between the CPU and GPU, potentially improving gaming and graphics performance, especially in memory-intensive tasks. AMD markets their implementation as Smart Access Memory (SAM) while Intel and NVIDIA simply call it Resizable BAR, but all function similarly by removing memory addressing limitations in the PCIe interface. There might be ways to enable it, but that's a battle for another day.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/20/intel-arc-a770-mac-pro-2019-bad-idea.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-04-20-intel-arc/arc-on-tree.webp", "tags": ["apple","os x"], "date_published": "2025-04-20T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-20T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/17/ltt-mcm-review.html", "title": "LTT Magnetic Cable Management System Review: Taming My Cable Chaos", "summary": null, "content_text": " Introduction: The Cable Challenge About six months ago, LTT (Linus Tech Tips) generously sent me their Magnetic Cable Management system (MCM), but I've been avoiding the inevitable pain of reorganizing my entire setup. Let's be honest - if you're anything like me, organization isn't our strongest point. So today I'm putting the LTT magnetic cable management system to the test on my mess of cables. The Setup Challenge My setup isn't extreme, but it's definitely complex. Here's what needs cable management: Five computer speakers Home theater receiver Two displays Three MIDI controllers Two audio interfaces Five external drives USB hubs and various devices Ethernet connections Power banks Hue Lights And many more components... The centerpiece is a steel McDowell & Craig Tanker desk from the 1950s that belonged to my grandfather. While I'm not usually sentimental about objects, this desk does hold special meaning. The fact that it's steel works perfectly with the MCM's magnetic design, though I'll be testing the system on wood surfaces as well. Product Overview: What's in the Box The MCM system is straightforward but impressively engineered. Here's what LTT sent me: The Arches These come in four sizes, and I received the small, medium, and large. The magnets are surprisingly powerful - I can actually open my desk drawers just by attaching these magnetic arches. Strength Test: The smallest arch can hold my Cloud Lifter preamp (11.3 oz/320g) with just one magnet. The larger arches could likely hold several pounds. They're so strong that prying them off a surface takes real effort - definitely a good feature. Power Bar Keys These might be the secret weapon of the entire system. Power bars/surge protectors typically come with screw mounting options, and these keys simply take advantage of what's already there. With a simple twisting motion, you can attach your power supply to any magnetic surface. Mounting Plates LTT also sent various mounting plates, which are essential if you want to attach the system to non-metal surfaces like wood. Each plate has an adhesive back (though I opted to bolt mine for extra security). The Organization Process My strategy was to: Consolidate my mess by relocating my home theater receiver Attach one power strip to the bottom of my IKEA stand Organize cables using only what LTT provided Step 1: Starting Fresh To give my past self credit, I had made some attempts at organization with cable ties, but it was still a mess. Clearing my desk gave me the opportunity to vacuum and clean - keeping your space clean is just part of being a responsible adult. Step 2: Tackling Ethernet I started with my ethernet situation, tucking the cable between the bevel and garage floor lip, securing it with painter's tape for now (though I'll revisit this for a cleaner solution later). Step 3: Power Management Next came attaching the power bar keys to my surge protectors: My trusty 10-15 year old Belkin surge protector attached with a simple twist-and-slide motion My ancient (25+ year old) Surge Master with phone line protection (now apparently \"rare\" according to some optimistic eBay sellers) I attached the larger surge protector to the back of my desk and the smaller one to the bottom of my IKEA furniture using the mounting plates. For the wood surface, I bolted the plate down rather than relying solely on the adhesive. Step 4: Cable Routing One cautionary note: these magnets can scratch metal surfaces! I tried using felt pads to prevent scratching, but they were too thick and reduced the magnetic strength significantly. A product suggestion for LTT would be integrating silicone grips directly into the arches. The Results I kept my goals realistic, knowing I'd never be able to hide all cables in a setup this complex. When viewed from most angles, the cable mess is considerably reduced. I prioritized functionality over perfect presentation since this setup serves as both my work-from-home station and my creative outlet for YouTube and music. One area that turned out particularly well was my Power Mac G4 setup, which is located several feet away from my other electronics. It was already fairly organized, but the MCM made it even better. Final Verdict LTT drove a money truck to my house for this review, I'm genuinely impressed with the MCM system. (No, they didn't pay me anything. Yes, it's somewhat expensive, but I'll be buying more components with my own money for future projects. It's simply the best cable management system I've found so far. If you're on a budget, start with the power bar keys - they're likely to be the most impactful first step in organizing your setup. Then you can gradually add more components as your budget allows. Disclaimer: LTT provided the products for this review but did not compensate me otherwise. All opinions are my own.", "content_html": "

Introduction: The Cable Challenge

About six months ago, LTT (Linus Tech Tips) generously sent me their Magnetic Cable Management system (MCM), but I've been avoiding the inevitable pain of reorganizing my entire setup.

Let's be honest - if you're anything like me, organization isn't our strongest point. So today I'm putting the LTT magnetic cable management system to the test on my mess of cables.

The Setup Challenge

\"my

My setup isn't extreme, but it's definitely complex. Here's what needs cable management:

\"my

The centerpiece is a steel McDowell & Craig Tanker desk from the 1950s that belonged to my grandfather. While I'm not usually sentimental about objects, this desk does hold special meaning. The fact that it's steel works perfectly with the MCM's magnetic design, though I'll be testing the system on wood surfaces as well.

Product Overview: What's in the Box

\"box\"

The MCM system is straightforward but impressively engineered. Here's what LTT sent me:

The Arches

These come in four sizes, and I received the small, medium, and large. The magnets are surprisingly powerful - I can actually open my desk drawers just by attaching these magnetic arches.

Strength Test: The smallest arch can hold my Cloud Lifter preamp (11.3 oz/320g) with just one magnet. The larger arches could likely hold several pounds. They're so strong that prying them off a surface takes real effort - definitely a good feature.

Power Bar Keys

These might be the secret weapon of the entire system. Power bars/surge protectors typically come with screw mounting options, and these keys simply take advantage of what's already there. With a simple twisting motion, you can attach your power supply to any magnetic surface.

Mounting Plates

LTT also sent various mounting plates, which are essential if you want to attach the system to non-metal surfaces like wood. Each plate has an adhesive back (though I opted to bolt mine for extra security).

The Organization Process

My strategy was to:

  1. Consolidate my mess by relocating my home theater receiver
  2. Attach one power strip to the bottom of my IKEA stand
  3. Organize cables using only what LTT provided

Step 1: Starting Fresh

To give my past self credit, I had made some attempts at organization with cable ties, but it was still a mess. Clearing my desk gave me the opportunity to vacuum and clean - keeping your space clean is just part of being a responsible adult.

Step 2: Tackling Ethernet

I started with my ethernet situation, tucking the cable between the bevel and garage floor lip, securing it with painter's tape for now (though I'll revisit this for a cleaner solution later).

Step 3: Power Management

\"box\"

Next came attaching the power bar keys to my surge protectors:

I attached the larger surge protector to the back of my desk and the smaller one to the bottom of my IKEA furniture using the mounting plates. For the wood surface, I bolted the plate down rather than relying solely on the adhesive.

Step 4: Cable Routing

One cautionary note: these magnets can scratch metal surfaces! I tried using felt pads to prevent scratching, but they were too thick and reduced the magnetic strength significantly. A product suggestion for LTT would be integrating silicone grips directly into the arches.

The Results

I kept my goals realistic, knowing I'd never be able to hide all cables in a setup this complex. When viewed from most angles, the cable mess is considerably reduced. I prioritized functionality over perfect presentation since this setup serves as both my work-from-home station and my creative outlet for YouTube and music.

One area that turned out particularly well was my Power Mac G4 setup, which is located several feet away from my other electronics. It was already fairly organized, but the MCM made it even better.

\"results\"

Final Verdict

LTT drove a money truck to my house for this review, I'm genuinely impressed with the MCM system. (No, they didn't pay me anything.

Yes, it's somewhat expensive, but I'll be buying more components with my own money for future projects. It's simply the best cable management system I've found so far.

If you're on a budget, start with the power bar keys - they're likely to be the most impactful first step in organizing your setup. Then you can gradually add more components as your budget allows.

Disclaimer: LTT provided the products for this review but did not compensate me otherwise. All opinions are my own.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/04/17/ltt-mcm-review.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-04-17-ltt-mcm/magnets2.webp", "tags": ["apple","review"], "date_published": "2025-04-17T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-17T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/27/i-just-got-a-powerpc-mac-now-what.html", "title": "I just got a PowerPC Mac! ... now what?", "summary": null, "content_text": " So... the retro computing bug just got you, and you had to get that iBook; maybe it was an iMac G3, a sleek PowerBook G4 12\" or PowerMac G5? In any case, this is a guide for you to make the most out of your new-but-old computer. (updated 03/24/26) Upgrades!... Okay, now what? There are too many models and upgrades to cover, and finding information on the upgrades is actually the easy part; between LowEndMac, EveryMac, MacRumors Forums, archived XLR8yourMac articles and posts, ActionRetro, Mac1984, This Does Not Compute, and so on. Therefore, I'm going to pass on this or hardware recommendations. CPU upgrades for the old computers are non-existent, RAM can be maxed out, HDDs can be replaced with SSDs and video cards can be swapped. There's a joy to modular computing, and for some the hunt for rare CPU upgrades or flashing video cards is part of the joy. Even the less-modular Macs of the day are much more hackable than today's computers. Therefore, this is a map of recommended software and hopefully an inspiration board to make use of your old hardware. PowerPC computers are too dated and power sipping to have practical value, seeing as a Raspberry Pi has more raw processing power than almost anything in the PowerPC sphere. Modern Software Believe it or not, there are still people developing retro software for old PowerPC Macs, including Discord, web browsers, and even Chat GPT, as who doesn't want to be gaslit even in the world of retro computing? The video contains a deeper breakdown of the software listed below. Discord Lite - A lightweight Discord client for PowerPC Macs Legacy AI - A modern AI for PowerPC Macs PPCAppStore - A app store for PowerPC Macs Gamebox - A steam like game launcher for PowerPC Macs Newsstand - A news reader for PowerPC Macs, OS 9 only Lemoniscate - A native Hotline Server for 10.4 and 10.5 (written by me) Flying Toasters Screensaver - A port of the classic Flying Toasters screensaver for 10.4 and 10.5 (made by me) TigerBrew - A package manager for PowerPC Macs TenFourFox - A semi-modern web browser for PowerPC Macs InterWebPPC - A fork of TenFourFox AquaFox - fork of TenFourFox, incorporating tweaks from InterWebPPC and TenFourFoxPEP PowerFox - A new modern web browser for PowerPC Macs There's always Linux... Adelie Linux is a Linux distribution that supports PowerPC Macs and still being developed. Popular YouTubers like Action Retro have made videos demoing Adelie on PowerPC Macs, but you bought a Mac to be a Mac. Okay.... but really, what now? Project ideas! Gaming Gaming is an obvious first stop for any retro computer enthusiast to experience games as they were. Apple used to be able to pull in major releases sans the time when Valve canceled the Half-Life port. I've compiled a list of 100+ Games worth checking out on your PowerPC Mac. This list is not exhaustive, but it's a good starting point. I've tried to include a mix of genres and games. I've also tried to include games that are still fun to play today. It's a topic within itself. Check out The best games for late PowerPC G4/G5 Macs - OS 9 and OS X (100+ games) Music creation This is one I'm particularly fond of, as there's a lot of quality retro software be it Logic, Ableton or Cubase for a DAW and oddball apps like Reason, plus a lot of plugins to boot. If you're a digital musician, you're able to make studio quality music on your Mac on the extreme cheap. USB midi is supported in OS X out of the box and it doesn't take a maxed out PowerMac G5 to be able to create quality tunes. OS X supports low latency USB midi out of the box, and it's a compelling way to get into digital audio as you can score hardware cheaply, and the limitations can be a blessing. There are musicians (although dwindling) still using PowerPC Macs for audio, building multitrack Protools setups on the cheap. Unlike, say, video, where technology becomes a huge limiter, audio is much freer of restrictions (given you embrace freeze tracks, and RAM caps). Reason 4.0 is intuitive, and also a great learning tool for understanding routing and wiring and for people who are new to digital audio and MIDI, it is a great \"my first audio app\" if you're looking to make music. If you've never really messed with music creation, Reason is a brilliantly beautiful Digital Photography Workflow As of late, early digital photography has had a boom in popularity, partly for the aesthetics and partly for the art. A modern iPhone performs thousands of pre-baked calculations to tune, balance, color correct, and otherwise sweeten a photograph. Old digital cameras have radically less as they mostly take data from a CCD or CMOS and record it to a file. For some, this also means eschewing modern digital darkroom solutions for a more \"pure\" digital photography experience. Programming / Scripting Retro software development isn't easier than modern as the barrier for software creation has lowered drastically with the rise of various frameworks and open-source projects that can turn a full-stack web developer into an app developer. For the hardcore, you can take a crack at learning Objective-C or Carbon for classic Mac development. Retro Web Development Web development might not be the first thing on your mind with a retro computer, but being a much simpler time, much easier to understand. Creating a simple web page was a rite of passage in days past, before social media. If you're feeling particularly inclined, Set up a local web server and build sites with period-appropriate tools or Create a retro webpage or website using the limitation of the early 2000s with CSS 1.0 / Javascript ES3, and embrace Create websites using Dreamweaver MX or GoLive. Retrocomputing Documentation and communities A bit of ironic self-awareness for this suggestion. One of the big draws is to map out what's feasible and possible. There's an entire world of YouTube, blogs, forums, and Reddit groups dedicated to the pursuits of retro computing that even result in expos. Vintage Software There's a lot of classic software that's worth checking out. I've compiled a list of some of the best software for PowerPC Macs. This list is not exhaustive, but it's a good starting point. I've tried to include a mix of genres and software. I've also tried to include software that is still useful today. Games There's so much to cover in Mac gaming (no really, I'm serious) that it demands an entire article of it's own: The best games for late PowerPC G4/G5 Macs - OS 9 and OS X (100+ games) Audio Ableton Live 5 - Ableton still had some growing to do, but PowerPC Macs can enjoy Ableton. Apple Logic Pro 7 - Logic Pro 7 is a full-fledged DAW that's still very capable today. Entire albums were recorded on this. It, however, is a bit of a resource hog Audion - Audion was a popular MP3 player that was ahead of its time and offered the most amazing skins of any software. Beautiful, and still a masterclass in Mac software. Cubase LE 1.08/1.04 - Cubase is a powerful DAW that's still used today. The light version caps tracks to 48 audio tracks and 64 midi tracks. Propellerhead Recycle 2.0 - Recycle is a loop editor that allows you to slice up audio for use in other audio applications, allowing you to sample in a unique way. Recycle \"REX\" loops are still used to this day. It has a short learning curve. Propellerhead Reason 4 - It runs on relatively modest hardware very nicely and features a beautiful skeuomorphic design, allowing you to construct and wire virtual instrument racks. It's a blast and a good way to get into digital music. Highly recommended. Propellerhead Rebirth - ReBirth emulates two Roland TB-303 synthesizers, a Roland TR-808, and a Roland TR-909 drum machine, and paved the way to Reason. Sound Studio 3 - Sound Studio is a simple two-track audio editor that's still very capable today. It's fast, stupidly easy to use, and a good complement to any audio suite. Audio Plugins Absynth 2.x - a granular synthesizer that allows you to create a wide variety of sounds. CamelPhatFree VST - a distortion and filter plugin that allows you to add warmth and character to your sounds. CamelCrusher VST/AU/RTAS - a distortion and filter plugin adds color to your sound. Native Instruments B4 - A Hammond B3 emulator Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2.2 - a guitar amp emulator that allows you to play guitar through your Mac Native Instruments Kompakt v1.0 VSTi - sample library loader that supports a wide variety of sample formats</li> Native Instruments Massive 1.0.1 VSTi/AU/RTAS - a loved and powerful synth Novation Bass Station and V-Station VST/AU - a collection of classic synth emulations Ohmicide VST/AU/RTAS - multiband distortion plugin OhMyGod VST - a distortion plugin that allows you to add grit and character to your sounds TAL-BassLine-101 VST/AU - a classic analog bass synth emulation targeted for EDM, and useful for trap and acid. TAL-Elek7ro VST - a virtual analog synth.. Native Instruments Reaktor Session One Carbon Futuremusic Edition VST/AU - a synth emulator that lets you build your own synths. Voxengo Freeware Audio Plugins PPC/x86 VST/AU - a collection of free audio plugins that includes a variety of EQ/effects. ZebraCM VST/AU - a powerful synth that allows you to create a wide variety of sounds. Emulation / Virtualization Emulation was very popular in OS 9 and OS X. Thus, a wide range of emulators were ported to OS X and OS 9. One of the most impressive is Virtual PC, although requires a beefier Mac as it emulates an x86 CPU. Virtual PC is surprisingly usable on late gen PowerPC G4s and G5s and will also make you thankful for modern virtualization software like Parallels. Connectix VGS is super impressive, as even iMac G3s can join in on PlayStation gaming with near flawless emulation for most titles. It's actually a viable way to play PSX games to this day. I highly recommend trying it out. Boycott - A Gameboy / GameBoy Color emulator for OS 9. Boycott Advance - A Gameboy Advance emulator for OS 8 - OS X. bsnes - A SNES emulator for OS X, only for the PowerMac G5. Connectix Virtual Game Station - Kicked off a major lawsuit by Sony which established emulators as legal, PlayStation games on your PowerPC Mac in OS 9. DGen and Dgen OS 9 - A later emulator for Sega Genesis / Megadrive games on your PowerPC Mac in OS X. GenEm - Play Sega Genesis / Megadrive games on your PowerPC Mac in OS 9. Genesis Plus - A Sega Genesis / MegaDrive emulator for OS 8 - OS X. Generator - A Sega Genesis / MegaDrive emulator for OS 8 - OS X. GrayBox - A NES emulator built for System 7 - OS 9. Handy - An Atari Lynx emulator for OS 8 and OS X. iNES - iNES is an NES emulator that allows you to play NES games on your PowerPC Mac in OS 9. KiGB - Gameboy emulator for OS 8 - OS X. Mini vMac - Mini vMac is a Mac Plus emulator that allows you to run classic Mac software on your PowerPC Mac. M1 multi-platform arcade music emulator - play music from videogame ROMS for OS 8 - OS X. MAME OS X - MAME is an arcade emulator that allows you to play arcade games on your PowerPC Mac in OS X. MasterGear - A Sega Master System / Game Gear emulator for OS 7 to OS 9. Mupen64 - A Nintendo 64 emulator for OS X, limited compatibility. NeoPocott - A Neo Geo Pocket Color emulator for OS 9 and OS X. Nestopia - A NES emulator for OS X. PCSX - The PowerPC version of the popular PlayStation emulator RockNes - OS 8 to OS X NES emulator SMSPlus - A Sega Master System / Game Gear emulator for OS 9 and OS X. Snes9x - A powerful SNES emulator that worked on relatively modest hardware. QuickNES - An NES emulator that works both on OS X and OS 9. Virtual PC 7 + Windows XP - Virtual PC is virtualization software that opened up the world of emulating Windows on a Mac. VisualBoyAdvance - A Gameboy Advance emulator for OS X. Blitter Library - visual enhancements for many popular OS 9 emulators Emulation Enhancer - visual enhancements for many popular OS X emulators Graphic Design We've both come a long way and are not terribly far in the world of graphic design software as Photoshop 9 is still more than capable today, even if it lacks some of the ML/AI features of upscaling, content-aware replacements, focus correction and so on. If you get good with Photoshop 9, you're basically ready-to-go on the current version of Photoshop CC. Adobe Creative Suite 1 & Adobe Creative Suite 2 - The suite were much smaller with Adobe Acrobat Professional, GoLive, Illustrator, ImageReady, InDesign, & Photoshop. Even today, Illustrator and Photoshop 9 remain capable as they feature HDR support, warping tools, and smart objects (still lacking from virtually all competitors). Photoshop 9 is a beast and, while intensive, is surprisingly nimble compared to its bloated modern versions. Most everything you'd ever need is in this version. Aperture - Apple's professional photo editing software that developed a small cult following. Cinema 4D R9 XL - Cinema 4D is a 3D modeling and animation software. It's robust for its time. Macromedia Studio MX - Macromedia Studio MX is a suite of software that includes Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, and Freehand. This is mostly a nostalgia binge, but Freehand, in my opinion, was much easier to use the vector illustration app. Productivity It's unlikely you'll be using your PowerPC Mac for writing the next great American novel, but there are still a few productivity software packages you may want to experience. Microsoft Office 2004 - Yep. It's Microsoft Office, and that means Word, Excel, PowerPoint but also Virtual PC 7 OmniGraffle - If you're after some 2000s-era diagramming and flowcharting in a native Mac-only experience, OmniGroup has you covered. Utilities & Enhancements OS X was infinitely more hackable than modern macOS due to less OS security. OS customizations were popular and varied. It's one of the more senseless and fun things to explore for early OS X. Diskwarrior 3.x - Absolutely a must. HFS+ is pretty awful and prone to a lot of errors. Diskwarrior saved my ass many a time back in the day and makes retro computing more enjoyable as it's able to fix the by far and away the most problems with disk corruption, and much better than Apple's own disk utility. Drag Thing - A dock alternative that predates OS X Drop Drawers - A lesser-known but useful utility that allowed for spring-loaded folders on any side of the screen and could house links, application aliases, text, etc FruitMenu - customize the Apple menu Kaleidoscope - An OS 9 theming application Onyx - Onyx is an OS X system maintenance tool that allows you to clean up your system, repair permissions, and optimize your system. It's a good way to keep your system running smoothly. Depending on the OS X version, lets you modify the dock appearance and default behaviors. Roxio Toast 6 Titanium - Toast is a CD/DVD burning software that allows you to burn CDs and DVDs and mount disk images. Highly recommended. OmniDiskSweeper- quickly find and delete large files. Shapeshifter - early OS X was wildly themeable, and Shapeshifter offered awesome theming capabilities. It only worked until 10.4 Tiger. QuickSilver - application launcher TinkerTool - exposes hidden system customization Window Shade X - Staple of OS 9, allowing for collapsible windows that made its way to OS X Development & Programming Many developers have fond memories of coding on PowerPC Macs, and some might want to relive that experience. Modern devs might want to take a swing at writing a new app with the challenges of retro software. I have personally taken a crack at retro software development for 10.4 and 10.5. I made a port Flying Toasters screensaver for 10.4 and 10.5 and made a video explaining my retro-modern development process. More recently, I created a Lemoniscate, a native Hotline Server for 10.4 and 10.5. Xcode - Apple's IDE for writing software for those looking to make retro software. BBEdit - Legendary text editor with PowerPC support. CodeWarrior 10 / Codewarrior 9 - Essential development environment for classic Mac FileMaker Pro 6 - Database software MacPerl/MacPython - Scripting languages for Mac Networking & Internet Less \"fun\" than more practical as FTPs are a surefire way to transfer software, especially to OS 9 computers. Fetch / Transmit / CyberDuck - FTP clients Colloquy - IRC client Eudora / Entourage / Outlook Express / Sunbird - Email clients NetNewsWire - RSS reader Video and Media PowerPC Macs were the go-to for video editing and media production, although they struggled during the High-definition transition as even the mightiest of G5s were somewhat ill-equipped for 1080p editing. If you have an old DV camera, they'll chew through 480i and 480p video. Final Cut Studio - Apple's professional video editing suite, including Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Live Type, Compressor, Cinema Tools, and Soundtrack. iLife - iLife is a suite of software that includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand that makes any Mac user a multimedia wizard. iMove HD - Who doesn't love editing 1080i video? VLC - The legendary open source media player Updates 03/24/26 - Added Lemoniscate, PowerFox, Flying Toasters and Gamebox to the list of apps. Added Flying Toasters screensaver to the list of apps. Added link to a video explaining my retro-modern development process.", "content_html": "

So... the retro computing bug just got you, and you had to get that iBook; maybe it was an iMac G3, a sleek PowerBook G4 12\" or PowerMac G5? In any case, this is a guide for you to make the most out of your new-but-old computer. (updated 03/24/26)

\"PowerMac

Upgrades!... Okay, now what?

There are too many models and upgrades to cover, and finding information on the upgrades is actually the easy part; between LowEndMac, EveryMac, MacRumors Forums, archived XLR8yourMac articles and posts, ActionRetro, Mac1984, This Does Not Compute, and so on. Therefore, I'm going to pass on this or hardware recommendations. CPU upgrades for the old computers are non-existent, RAM can be maxed out, HDDs can be replaced with SSDs and video cards can be swapped. There's a joy to modular computing, and for some the hunt for rare CPU upgrades or flashing video cards is part of the joy. Even the less-modular Macs of the day are much more hackable than today's computers.

Therefore, this is a map of recommended software and hopefully an inspiration board to make use of your old hardware. PowerPC computers are too dated and power sipping to have practical value, seeing as a Raspberry Pi has more raw processing power than almost anything in the PowerPC sphere.

Modern Software

Believe it or not, there are still people developing retro software for old PowerPC Macs, including Discord, web browsers, and even Chat GPT, as who doesn't want to be gaslit even in the world of retro computing? The video contains a deeper breakdown of the software listed below.


There's always Linux...

Adelie Linux is a Linux distribution that supports PowerPC Macs and still being developed. Popular YouTubers like Action Retro have made videos demoing Adelie on PowerPC Macs, but you bought a Mac to be a Mac.

Okay.... but really, what now? Project ideas!

Gaming

Gaming is an obvious first stop for any retro computer enthusiast to experience games as they were. Apple used to be able to pull in major releases sans the time when Valve canceled the Half-Life port.

I've compiled a list of 100+ Games worth checking out on your PowerPC Mac. This list is not exhaustive, but it's a good starting point. I've tried to include a mix of genres and games. I've also tried to include games that are still fun to play today. It's a topic within itself.

Check out The best games for late PowerPC G4/G5 Macs - OS 9 and OS X (100+ games)

Music creation

This is one I'm particularly fond of, as there's a lot of quality retro software be it Logic, Ableton or Cubase for a DAW and oddball apps like Reason, plus a lot of plugins to boot. If you're a digital musician, you're able to make studio quality music on your Mac on the extreme cheap. USB midi is supported in OS X out of the box and it doesn't take a maxed out PowerMac G5 to be able to create quality tunes.

OS X supports low latency USB midi out of the box, and it's a compelling way to get into digital audio as you can score hardware cheaply, and the limitations can be a blessing. There are musicians (although dwindling) still using PowerPC Macs for audio, building multitrack Protools setups on the cheap. Unlike, say, video, where technology becomes a huge limiter, audio is much freer of restrictions (given you embrace freeze tracks, and RAM caps).

Reason 4.0 is intuitive, and also a great learning tool for understanding routing and wiring and for people who are new to digital audio and MIDI, it is a great \"my first audio app\" if you're looking to make music.

If you've never really messed with music creation, Reason is a brilliantly beautiful

Digital Photography Workflow

As of late, early digital photography has had a boom in popularity, partly for the aesthetics and partly for the art. A modern iPhone performs thousands of pre-baked calculations to tune, balance, color correct, and otherwise sweeten a photograph. Old digital cameras have radically less as they mostly take data from a CCD or CMOS and record it to a file. For some, this also means eschewing modern digital darkroom solutions for a more \"pure\" digital photography experience.

Programming / Scripting

Retro software development isn't easier than modern as the barrier for software creation has lowered drastically with the rise of various frameworks and open-source projects that can turn a full-stack web developer into an app developer. For the hardcore, you can take a crack at learning Objective-C or Carbon for classic Mac development.

Retro Web Development

Web development might not be the first thing on your mind with a retro computer, but being a much simpler time, much easier to understand. Creating a simple web page was a rite of passage in days past, before social media. If you're feeling particularly inclined, Set up a local web server and build sites with period-appropriate tools or Create a retro webpage or website using the limitation of the early 2000s with CSS 1.0 / Javascript ES3, and embrace Create websites using Dreamweaver MX or GoLive.

Retrocomputing Documentation and communities

A bit of ironic self-awareness for this suggestion. One of the big draws is to map out what's feasible and possible. There's an entire world of YouTube, blogs, forums, and Reddit groups dedicated to the pursuits of retro computing that even result in expos.

Vintage Software

There's a lot of classic software that's worth checking out. I've compiled a list of some of the best software for PowerPC Macs. This list is not exhaustive, but it's a good starting point. I've tried to include a mix of genres and software. I've also tried to include software that is still useful today.

Games

There's so much to cover in Mac gaming (no really, I'm serious) that it demands an entire article of it's own: The best games for late PowerPC G4/G5 Macs - OS 9 and OS X (100+ games)

Audio

Audio Plugins

Emulation / Virtualization

Emulation was very popular in OS 9 and OS X. Thus, a wide range of emulators were ported to OS X and OS 9. One of the most impressive is Virtual PC, although requires a beefier Mac as it emulates an x86 CPU. Virtual PC is surprisingly usable on late gen PowerPC G4s and G5s and will also make you thankful for modern virtualization software like Parallels. Connectix VGS is super impressive, as even iMac G3s can join in on PlayStation gaming with near flawless emulation for most titles. It's actually a viable way to play PSX games to this day. I highly recommend trying it out.

Graphic Design

We've both come a long way and are not terribly far in the world of graphic design software as Photoshop 9 is still more than capable today, even if it lacks some of the ML/AI features of upscaling, content-aware replacements, focus correction and so on. If you get good with Photoshop 9, you're basically ready-to-go on the current version of Photoshop CC.

Productivity

It's unlikely you'll be using your PowerPC Mac for writing the next great American novel, but there are still a few productivity software packages you may want to experience.

Utilities & Enhancements

OS X was infinitely more hackable than modern macOS due to less OS security. OS customizations were popular and varied. It's one of the more senseless and fun things to explore for early OS X.

Development & Programming

Many developers have fond memories of coding on PowerPC Macs, and some might want to relive that experience. Modern devs might want to take a swing at writing a new app with the challenges of retro software.

I have personally taken a crack at retro software development for 10.4 and 10.5. I made a port Flying Toasters screensaver for 10.4 and 10.5 and made a video explaining my retro-modern development process. More recently, I created a Lemoniscate, a native Hotline Server for 10.4 and 10.5.

Networking & Internet

Less \"fun\" than more practical as FTPs are a surefire way to transfer software, especially to OS 9 computers.

Video and Media

PowerPC Macs were the go-to for video editing and media production, although they struggled during the High-definition transition as even the mightiest of G5s were somewhat ill-equipped for 1080p editing. If you have an old DV camera, they'll chew through 480i and 480p video.

Updates

03/24/26 - Added Lemoniscate, PowerFox, Flying Toasters and Gamebox to the list of apps. Added Flying Toasters screensaver to the list of apps. Added link to a video explaining my retro-modern development process.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/27/i-just-got-a-powerpc-mac-now-what.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-03-27-powermac-southern-oregon.webp", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-03-27T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-27T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/25/what-is-even-happening.html", "title": "What is even happening?", "summary": null, "content_text": "You wake up one day to find yourself with unfathomable wealth. You're not sure how it happened, but you're not going to question it. You have enough riches that your children's children's children will live a life of utter opulence and decadence. You're not sure what to do with all this money, it's unearned. You were born into incredible wealth so you were free to take risks. Even if you failed, you'd still in the 0.1%. However, mostly blind luck, you invested and made a few gambles, and it paid out. Sure, you had to lie, cheat, and steal a bit, but you're not going to think about that. The world is your oyster. People flock to you. They swarm, looking to you for guidance as one of the richest people who ever lived. People hang on to your every word. You start to believe that maybe, after all, you are chosen. Your humility and humanity start to leave as you choose flattery over honest feedback. Sycophantic, desperate men idolize you as you are an avatar for their own mediocrity and lack of acuity. Whether they or you realize it or not, your own mediocrity represents the escape fantasy. A line gets crossed; maybe it's the psychedelics, lack of sleep, and alcohol, or maybe it's the isolation and sadness as you start to stare down your own mortality, but your id takes control, impulse over consideration. Rather than self-actualization, you choose self-infantilization. You buy your way into a despotic government run by a clueless old man who you can easily woo with flattery and fame. You can reform this world in your making.... and you lie about video game and cry publicly about a beef with twitch streamer. What is even happening?Even this mental exercise of trying to explain the world I lived in to my past self in 2015 is too stupid to even take seriously. This goddamn timeline.... I swear...Elon sucks. Also, 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦", "content_html": "

You wake up one day to find yourself with unfathomable wealth. You're not sure how it happened, but you're not going to question it. You have enough riches that your children's children's children will live a life of utter opulence and decadence. You're not sure what to do with all this money, it's unearned. You were born into incredible wealth so you were free to take risks. Even if you failed, you'd still in the 0.1%. However, mostly blind luck, you invested and made a few gambles, and it paid out. Sure, you had to lie, cheat, and steal a bit, but you're not going to think about that. The world is your oyster. People flock to you. They swarm, looking to you for guidance as one of the richest people who ever lived. People hang on to your every word. You start to believe that maybe, after all, you are chosen. Your humility and humanity start to leave as you choose flattery over honest feedback. Sycophantic, desperate men idolize you as you are an avatar for their own mediocrity and lack of acuity. Whether they or you realize it or not, your own mediocrity represents the escape fantasy. A line gets crossed; maybe it's the psychedelics, lack of sleep, and alcohol, or maybe it's the isolation and sadness as you start to stare down your own mortality, but your id takes control, impulse over consideration. Rather than self-actualization, you choose self-infantilization. You buy your way into a despotic government run by a clueless old man who you can easily woo with flattery and fame. You can reform this world in your making.... and you lie about video game and cry publicly about a beef with twitch streamer.

What is even happening?

Even this mental exercise of trying to explain the world I lived in to my past self in 2015 is too stupid to even take seriously. This goddamn timeline.... I swear...

Elon sucks. Also, 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/25/what-is-even-happening.html", "date_published": "2025-03-25T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-25T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/22/blog-updates.html", "title": "Blog Updates", "summary": null, "content_text": " Not that I have regular readers, keeping with the tradition of announcing changes, like my stupid spam bot solution, complianing about AI, adding dark mode, or general changes, I finally removed jQuery. That's a 70k JS payload down to 7k. The only reason it existed was for FitVidJS, which I converted to vanilla JS. Also, now my slogan changes with well over 100 phrases; some are a bit spicy... well, only if you're the sort of low-acuity person who still thinks Elon is cool. It's okay, I'm just a mean guy who doesn't use Twitter. My opinions don't count. I'll probably look at integrating this blog into ActivityPub to continue supporting the open internet.", "content_html": "

Not that I have regular readers, keeping with the tradition of announcing changes, like my stupid spam bot solution, complianing about AI, adding dark mode, or general changes, I finally removed jQuery. That's a 70k JS payload down to 7k. The only reason it existed was for FitVidJS, which I converted to vanilla JS.

Also, now my slogan changes with well over 100 phrases; some are a bit spicy... well, only if you're the sort of low-acuity person who still thinks Elon is cool. It's okay, I'm just a mean guy who doesn't use Twitter. My opinions don't count.

I'll probably look at integrating this blog into ActivityPub to continue supporting the open internet.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/22/blog-updates.html", "date_published": "2025-03-22T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-22T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/19/setting-up-your-vpn-for-your-mac.html", "title": "Setting up a Synology VPN for your Mac", "summary": null, "content_text": " I know why you're here. It's because you want to connect to your local network via WWW, but Synology's guides aren't complete, and a bit out of date, right? I don't know why I'm asking, as you can't respond. Anyhow, let's get to it.Step 1: Setting up the your RouterIn your router, you'll need to set up port forwarding or \"Virtual Server\" or \"NAT Settings\": UDP port 500 (IKE) UDP port 1701 (L2TP) UDP port 4500 (IPSec NAT-Traversal)These must be pointed to your Synology's internal IP address, like 192.168.x.x or 10.10.x.x. You also may need to unblock these in your Firewall.Step 2: Setting up the VPN ServerIf you haven't installed the VPN Server package from Synology on your NAS, you'll need to do this.You have three main options for setting up a VPN, only two of which are real options: OpenVPN and L2TP over IPSec. The path of least resistance is L2TP over IPSec. You'll only need to configure the IP address, which should be in the same host range (the last two octlets). My network is 192.168.50.x. To avoid any IP conflicts, I just add +1, so my VPNed devices will be 192.168.51.x. The second piece is the Pre-shared key. Assign this to whatever you'd like, but you will need this password.Step 3: Setting up your MacLocate VPN in the system settings; in modern macOS, search \"VPN,\" and it'll appear in the sidebar. Click add VPN configuration, and select L2TP over IPsec.You'll need to configure the following: Display name: This can be anything Server address: This is your network's external IP. I couldn't get the quickconnect URL to work, but there is probably a way. The easiest way to determine your IP is to use a \"What's my IP\" search in a web browser when connected to the same network as your Synology. Account name: This must be a Synology user on your NAS. You can create an account just for VPN or use an existing account Password: This is your password for the Synology user. Shared Secret: This is the pre-shared key you set up in the Synology VPN server.To test the connection, you'll need to use an external network; if you have an iPhone, a quick and easy way is to connect your Mac to your iPhone as a hotspot and test the VPN connection.If you have issues connecting anything on your network, in your VPN configuration, click options and select \"Send all traffic over VPN connection\". This is a brute force method that'll do exactly what it says. Your Mac essentially exists on the same network as the rest of your devices.", "content_html": "

I know why you're here. It's because you want to connect to your local network via WWW, but Synology's guides aren't complete, and a bit out of date, right? I don't know why I'm asking, as you can't respond. Anyhow, let's get to it.

Step 1: Setting up the your Router

\"Router

In your router, you'll need to set up port forwarding or \"Virtual Server\" or \"NAT Settings\":

These must be pointed to your Synology's internal IP address, like 192.168.x.x or 10.10.x.x. You also may need to unblock these in your Firewall.

Step 2: Setting up the VPN Server

\"Synology

If you haven't installed the VPN Server package from Synology on your NAS, you'll need to do this.

You have three main options for setting up a VPN, only two of which are real options: OpenVPN and L2TP over IPSec. The path of least resistance is L2TP over IPSec. You'll only need to configure the IP address, which should be in the same host range (the last two octlets). My network is 192.168.50.x. To avoid any IP conflicts, I just add +1, so my VPNed devices will be 192.168.51.x.

The second piece is the Pre-shared key. Assign this to whatever you'd like, but you will need this password.

Step 3: Setting up your Mac

Locate VPN in the system settings; in modern macOS, search \"VPN,\" and it'll appear in the sidebar. Click add VPN configuration, and select L2TP over IPsec.

\"VPN

You'll need to configure the following:

To test the connection, you'll need to use an external network; if you have an iPhone, a quick and easy way is to connect your Mac to your iPhone as a hotspot and test the VPN connection.

If you have issues connecting anything on your network, in your VPN configuration, click options and select \"Send all traffic over VPN connection\". This is a brute force method that'll do exactly what it says. Your Mac essentially exists on the same network as the rest of your devices.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/19/setting-up-your-vpn-for-your-mac.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-03-19-synology-vpn/vpn-server.png", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-03-19T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-19T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/18/the-definitive-guide-to-ios-emulation.html", "title": "The Definitive Guide to iOS/iPadOS emulation", "summary": null, "content_text": "As of April 2024, Apple has allowed emulation as long as they don't use JIT. This has opened up the floodgates to a technology that virtually every other modern platform in existence allows. Emulation can be used for many things, but gaming is the most popular use case for average users, and thus, this guide will focus entirely on gaming.This guide is a living guide and is in the process of being built out. The goal is to demystify iOS emulation and make it accessible. Thanks to the r/EmulationOniOS community.Also available in video!If you prefer a video version of this guide, I've made a video version that covers everything you need to get started with iOS emulation. Glossary Getting Started / Requirements File Management Transferring via USB Adding Games to Emulators Legal Considerations for ROMs and BIOS Files Understanding the Legal Landscape ROM Files BIOS Files Best Practices Legal Alternatives iOS vs Android Emulators App Store Emulators Side Loaded Emulators Emulator Compatibility Multi-console Single / Limited Delta Adding ROMs Save States Optional Nintendo DS BIOS Nintendo (NES) Games not loading Folium Adding ROMs Save States Optional BIOS Gamma Adding ROMs Save States Optional BIOS PPSSPP Adding ROMs Save States Graphics Options Rendering Mode Framerate Control Speed Hacks Performance Texture Scaling Hack Settings Provenance Adding ROMs Save States Optional BIOS RetroArch Adding ROMs Changing the user interface BIOS Files Installing BIOS Online Updater Recommended Cores & Configurations Select A Core and Core Configuration Shaders Chaining Shaders Save States Hide overlay when Control is connected Sideloading: Interpretation vs JIT Important: Enable Developer Mode Sideloading IPAs - Your Choices Option 1: Signing IPAs and Loading with Xocde Option 2: Sideload AltStore Configure JIT Streaming SideJITServer StikJIT Controllers and iOS Dumping Your Own ROMs... on an iPhone? Creating Your Own PlayStation / Sega CD / NeoGeo ISOs Communities Version History macOS Emulation GuidesDoes this guide seem familiar? Perhaps you've seen my The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide, The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (Late 2013) Upgrade Guide or The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide. These are all free of charge, free of advertisements and annoying trackers, labors of love. You can find me on YouTube and patreon. GlossaryEmulation has a lot of jargon that comes with it. As a quick refresher, here's a list of terms that will be used throughout this guide. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) – A small program essential for some emulators to replicate the original hardware's startup process and functionality. Required for systems like PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. Core – A specific emulator module within a front-end system (like RetroArch) designed to emulate a particular console. It is an application within an application. Emulator - software or hardware system that mimics the behavior of another system, allowing one device or platform to run software or applications designed for a different environment. It replicates the original system's functionality, including hardware and software interactions, without requiring the original hardware. Firmware – Low-level software stored in a device's ROM or flash memory that controls hardware functions. Some consoles require firmware files for proper emulation. Frame Skip – A feature that skips rendering frames to improve performance, reducing the number of frames displayed per second and affecting lower frames-per-second (FPS). This was a common technique with underpowered hardware. Modern iOS/iPadOS devices almost never need to make this compromise. Generally, poor performance is due to other factors like using too many game enhancements. Front-End – A graphical user interface that simplifies the process of using multiple emulators and managing game libraries. RetroArch is a popular front-end for multiple emulators. JIT (Just-In-Time compilation) - A method that dynamically compiles code during execution, improving emulation performance but restricted by Apple's policies IPA (iOS App Store Package) – A file format used for iOS apps that can be sideloaded onto devices using tools like AltStore or Cydia Impactor. ISO (International Standards Organization file) – Files distributed with a .iso suffix adhere to the ISO 9660 standard. A .iso is a disk image file that contains a complete copy of a CD/DVD game commonly used for PlayStation, Dreamcast, and other disc-based consoles. libretro - An open-source development interface that allows for the easy creation of emulators, games, and multimedia applications that can plug straight into any libretro-compatible frontend. RetroArch and Provenance are a front-ends that uses libretro cores. Libretro cores have been ported to an incredibly diverse set of operating systems like Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/visionOS, and CPU architectures like x86 (Intel/AMD), ARM, Risc-V, and even PowerPC. Almost all iOS/iPadOS emulators are based on libretro and is the backbone of iOS emulation. Native Resolution - the original display resolution of the emulated console. ROM - (Read-Only Memory) is a type of non-volatile memory that stores firmware or software permanently and cannot be easily modified or erased. In emulation, a ROM refers to a digital copy of a game's software extracted from a physical cartridge or disc, allowing it to be played on an emulator. Save State – A snapshot of a game's current state that can be saved and loaded at any time, allowing players to resume gameplay from that point. Side Load – Sideloading is the process of installing apps on iOS/iPadOS devices from sources other than the official App Store, typically by using tools like AltStore, which allows access to emulators that use JIT compilation and other features restricted by Apple's App Store policies.Getting Started /RequirementsEmulation is software that mimics another device's hardware and software environment, allowing your iOS device to run games and applications originally designed for different systems like the Nintendo Game Boy, PlayStation, or Sega Genesis.Requirements: A device running iOS 17, iPad OS 17 or later Free space on your device Optional but recommended: A gamepad A bit of patienceModern iPhones and iPads are powerful machines; the iPhone 16 Pro in raw CPU computing bests an 8-Core Mac Pro 2019. Any device capable of running modern iOS has enough processing power to emulate many different platforms. In the late 1990s, an iMac G3 233 MHz could emulate a NES and do reasonably well at SNES emulation. The biggest impediment for most devices will be storage as 32-bit era consoles like the Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, or PPSSPP games can easily eat 600 MB per game, and in the case of the PSP, over 1 GB.An emulator cannot understand interactions the console was not programmed for, such as touching menu items in an SNES game. While emulators feature touch controls, gamepads are highly recommended as console games are designed specifically for controllers; thus, all touch controls are mapped to key presses. Touch controls are either unable or very difficult to use for some interactions, such as analog triggers. Legal Considerations for ROMs and BIOS FilesThe video above is a video I made about the story of Connectix VGS and how it enshrined emulators as legalUnderstanding the Legal LandscapeThe legal status of game ROMs and console BIOS files exists in a complex gray area that varies by country and jurisdiction. While emulators themselves are generally legal software, the content they run often raises copyright concerns.ROM FilesROMs (Read-Only Memory) are digital copies of game cartridges, discs, or other media. From a legal standpoint: Personal Backups: In many jurisdictions, making personal backup copies of games you legitimately own is considered legal under fair use doctrines. Downloaded ROMs: Downloading ROMs of games you don't physically own is generally considered copyright infringement, even if you previously owned the game but no longer do. Time Limitations: There is a common misconception that games become \"abandonware\" after a certain period. However, copyright protection typically lasts for decades (in the US, copyright extends 95 years for corporate works), and most classic games are still under copyright protection.Of course, said files are often distributed openly on the internet and found via search engines.See the ROM Dumping and Creating ISOs section on how to make legal backups of your games library.BIOS FilesBIOS files are even more legally sensitive than ROMs: Copyright Protection: Console BIOS files are protected by copyright and are generally not intended for distribution. No Abandonment Provisions: Even for discontinued consoles, the BIOS copyright remains in effect. Reverse-Engineered Alternatives: This is why many emulators (like those mentioned in this guide) offer reverse-engineered open-source BIOS alternatives that don't infringe on copyrights.Best PracticesTo stay on the safer side of the legal spectrum: Only create backups of games you legally own. Don't distribute ROMs or BIOS files to others. Support developers by purchasing games when they're available on modern platforms. Consider using legal alternatives like official re-releases or subscription services that offer classic games.Legal AlternativesMany companies now offer legal ways to play classic games: Nintendo Switch Online (NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy games) PlayStation Plus (PlayStation classics) Virtual Console and classic collections GOG.com and other digital stores that sell classic gamesThis guide is not intended to encourage copyright infringement. The technical information provided is for educational purposes and for those who wish to play games they legally own on modern devices.Note: This section provides general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and interpretation. When in doubt, consult legal resources specific to your region.iOS/iPadOS vs AndroidThis guide will likely never feature a comprehensive breakdown comparing iOS vs Android, but Android has a considerable advantage compared to iOS. Due to its more open nature, Android has a decisive advantage. While iOS/iPadOS emulation dates back to the jailbreaking era of iOS, Android app stores have officially allowed emulation from virtually the beginning, meaning there are many more mature emulators. Android also places fewer restrictions on emulation; thus, emulators exist for more modern consoles, like the Sony PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, GameCube, Wii, and even the Swìtch.The diversity of the Android ecosystem has spawned full-blown console-like Android devices such as the Odin 2, a high-end device that features a built-in gamepad akin to a portable videogame console. Devices like the Odin 2 feature memory cards, allowing for a relatively inexpensive way to store game collections.Android is also more forgiving about 3rd party controller mapping, whereas iOS has a much more limited ability to map 3rd party controllers. This gives Android an accessibility edge as less conventional layouts and input devices can be mapped according to user preference.Mainstream iOS/iPadOS emulation, while relatively young by comparison, still offers a great experience. Apple's hardware is second to none, as there are few devices that can match an M3 iPad in raw performance. Android does not make the setup easier in my experience, but rather, it offers a lot more options. This guide will help you get the most out of your iOS or iPadOS device. Android is the superior option if emulation is your primary concern.File ManagementiOS has a very locked-down file system, but it does provide multiple ways to transfer data to and from your device. The most common methods are: USB File Transfer - USB File Transfer is the most reliable and recommended method, but it requires a computer. iCloud Drive - iCloud Drive allows for dynamic file management but requires a subscription for more than 5 GB of storage AirDrop - Airdrop is the most convenient but is limited to Apple devices.Transferring via USBTransferring files via USB, as stated, is the preferred method due to speed, reliability, and accessibility. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer via cable. You may need to authorize the device on your computer and/or device. Open Finder on your Mac or File Explorer on your Windows PC. Your device should appear in the sidebar or as a drive in the finder. Click on it to bring up the iPhone pane. Click on the Files tab to access the file system. You should see a list of installed applications that support file transfers, including your emulators. Due to the limitations of Apple, you cannot access any files within a folder Drag and drop files to your device on the Application icon. You can drag and drop entire folders.Regardless of file transfer type, file management is almost entirely handled on the device using the Files app. For detailed instructions, see Organize files and folders in Files on iPhone. Files can be accessed between applications. This is very useful for sharing ROM libraries between emulations such as RetroArch and Delta, which can both emulate a subset of the same consoles (NES, SNES, GameBoy, Gameboy Advance, DS, and N64). They can share files rather than storing duplicate copies of the same game.To select all, tap a file, and then from the lower left corner, click select all.To move a folder or file, long press it, and then select move.Third Party File ManagementDude, to the arbitrary limitations Apple places on file management, there is a cottage economy of phone management applications, the most prominent being iMazing. These applications allow for viewing and editing the contents of directories that exist on an iPhone. Unfortunately, these applications do cost money but are easier to use than Apple's Files app. Adding games to EmulatorsOnce games have been transferred, adding games to the emulator in question is relatively easy.Every emulator follows the same pattern for adding ROMs to its library by clicking some sort of add + or Add games button, then locating the files and selecting all or pointing a scan function to the directory. A few emulators have default locations like PPSSPP that will auto-scan. Only DolphiniOS requires the ROMs to be located in an exact directory.EmulatorsEmulators on iOS exist in two camps: App Store and Sideloaded (see lists below). iOS's emulation selection is slim, but fortunately, almost all of the major consoles are covered up to the 32-bit era. Here is the list of consoles supported, all of which have RetroArch support. Emulators like Delta use the same cores that are found in RetroArch. Amstrad - CPC Arcade - MAME / NeoGeo / CPS 1-2-3 Atari - 2600, 5200, 7800, Jaguar, Lynx Bandai - WonderSwan ColecoVision Commodore - C64,C128, Plus4, Vic20, Amiga DOS - DOSBox GCE - Vectrex Magnavox - Odyssey 2 / Phillips Videopac+ (O2EM) Microsoft - MSX+ MNec - PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 / CD, PC-98, PC-FX Nintendo - NES, SNES, N64, DS, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Boy, 3DS Palm OS Sega - MasterSystem, Game Gear, SG-1000, Genesis / MegaDrive, Saturn Sharp - X68000 Sinclair - ZX 81, ZX Spectrum SNK - NeoGeo Pocket / Color Sony - PlayStation, PSP 3DO Thomas - MO/TO UzeboxApp Store EmulatorsThere are several emulators available on the App Store that Apple sanctions. These emulators are limited in scope and are generally focused on older consoles. Delta, Consoles, Provenance, PPSSPP, and RetroArch are recommended emulators. Delta/Provenance both offer a very low-resistance, native iOS experience at no charge. The PPSSPP core powers iOS emulation, but the dedicated app exposes the most features and makes configuring the advanced graphical options exceptionally easy. RetroArch is the most popular and powerful front end for LibRetro. AdBoy - App Store ArcEmu - App Store Consoles - App Store Delta - App Store, Official website iGBA - App Store eNES - App Store Folium - App Store Gamma - App Store, Official website LinkingBoy - App Store Nin10 - App Store PPSSPP - App Store, Official website Provenance - App Store, Official website RetroArch - App Store, Official website RetroMan - App Store SameBoy - App Store, Official Website Super16bit - App Store UNDS - App Store Xone - removed from app store YabaSanshiro2 - App Store (full version), App Store (lite), Side Loaded EmulatorsThere are several emulators that exist outside of the Apple App Store due to the policies Apple imposes, chiefly around the usage of JIT runtimes. The author responsible for porting DolphiniOS has a short blog post that explains the state of JIT and iOS in more depth.The current roster of non-App Store iOS apps are: DolphiniOS - GameCube / Wii - official website Flycast - Builds Store, Github Ignited - Official Website, GitHub MelonX - Switch - official website Play! - Playstation 2 (PS2) - official website Provenance - Multi-console - official website - Also offers a version with JIT supportiOS / iPadOS Emulator Compatibility TableThe table below shows which consoles are supported by each emulator available on iOS/iPadOS. This can help you quickly determine which emulator to use based on the systems you want to play.Multi-consoleMulti-console emulators are largely LibRetro front-ends that expose varying degrees of support and options. Console RetroArch Delta Folium Consoles Ignited Provenance SideloadedOnly Nintendo (NES)✓✓✓✓✓✓✗ Super Nintendo (SNES)✓✓✓✓✓✓✗ Nintendo 64 (N64)✓✓✗✗✓✓✗ Nintendo DS✓✓✓✗✓✓✗ Nintendo 3DS✗✗✓✗✗✓✗ GameCube / Wii✗✗✗✗✗✗DolphiniOS Nintendo Switch✗✗✗✗✗✗MelonX Game Boy✓✓✗✓✓✓✗ Game Boy Color✓✓✗✓✓✓✗ Game Boy Advance✓✓✓✓✓✓✗ Virtual Boy✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ PlayStation (PS1)✓✗✓✗✗✓✗ PlayStation 2 (PS2)✗✗✗✗✗✗Play! PlayStation Portable (PSP)✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Sega Master System✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Sega Genesis/Mega Drive✓✗✗✓✓✓✗ Sega CD✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Sega Saturn✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Sega Dreamcast✗✗✗✗✗✗Flycast Sega Game Gear✓✗✗✓✓✓✗ Sega SG-1000✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ NeoGeo Pocket/Color✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ WonderSwan✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ Arcade (MAME/FBA)✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Atari 2600✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ Atari Lynx✓✗✗✓✗✓✗ 3DO✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Intellivision✓✗✗✗✗✓✗ Notes: ✓ = Supported in App Store version ✗ = Not supported Sideloaded = Requires installation outside the App Store using AltStore or similar methods RetroArch supports many additional systems not listed, including various computer platforms (Commodore 64, Amiga, DOS) and more arcade systems Provenance may support additional systems in its sideloaded version with JIT support Emulation quality can vary significantly between emulators for the same platform The Consoles app has announced future updates that will add support for Nintendo DS, Sega Master System, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, SG-1000, 3DO, and Intellivision 3DS support for Provnance may still be only in the side loaded version Single / Limited ConsoleThere are a plethora of NES or Gameboy targetted emulators to choose from. Console AdBoy ArcEmu iGBA eNES Gamma LinkingBoy Nin10 PPSSPP Retroman SameBoy Super16bit YabaSanshiro2 Nintendo (NES)✓✓✗✓✗✗✓✗✓✗✗✗ Super Nintendo (SNES)✗✗✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✓✗ Nintendo DS✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗ Game Boy✓✓✓✗✗✗✓✗✓✓✗✗ Game Boy Color✓✓✓✗✗✗✓✗✗✓✗✗ Game Boy Advance✓✓✓✗✗✓✗✗✗✗✗✗ PlayStation (PS1)✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗ PlayStation Portable (PSP)✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✗ Sega Genesis/Mega Drive✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗ Sega Saturn✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✓ Notes: ✓ = Supported in App Store version ✗ = Not supported Supported OSes and Pricing ChartAll side-loaded emulators are currently free. Mac versions of side-loaded emulators do not require side-loading. Not listed Mac emulators include PCSX2, and RPSC3. Emulator macOS iOS iPadOS watchOS tvOS visionOS Pricing AdBoy✓✓✓✗✗✗🟢 ArcEmu✓✓✓✓✗✗💰 Consoles✓✓✓✗✓✓💰 Delta✗✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ iGBA✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ eNES✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ Folium✓✓✓✗✗✗💰 Gamma✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ LinkingBoy✗✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ NiN10✓✓✓✓✗✗💰 PPSSPP✓✓✓✗✗✗🟡 Provenance✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️ RetroArch✓✓✓✗✓✓🟢 Retroman✗✓✓✗✗✗💰 SameBoy✗✓✓✓✗✗🛍️ Super16bit✓✓✓✗✗✗🟢 UNDS✗✓✗✗✗✗🛍️ Yaba Sanshiro 2✓✓✓✗✗✗💰 💰 = Requires Purchase 🛍️ = Offers In-App Purchase(s) 🟢 = Free 🟡 = Free. Completely optional purchase. Mac App is not in App Store. DeltaLinks: App Store, Official websiteDelta is a multi-emulator that supports a wide range of consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), Nintendo DS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance and provides a very-iOS native experience for its UI making it the easiest to use emulator in this list. It is free on the App Store. It's a minimalist emulator that focuses on ease-of-use above customization and seems entirely focused on Nintendo consoles.Adding ROMsTransfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the + menu and locate your ROMs. Delta will automatically sort them between the supported consolesSave StatesIn Delta, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button during gameplay. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus. When saving a state, click the save state option and then click the + button to save a new state. Loading states is even easier; just tap Load State from the menu, locate the save you'd like to load, and tap it. Your game will resume in the exact place depicted in the screenshot. Optional Nintendo DS BIOSDelta uses the MelonDS core, which uses, by default, reversed-engineered open-BIOS and does not require Nintendo DS BIOS to function. However, there may be extreme edge cases where this might cause minor issues (likely saving games). You can provide your own BIOS files by transferring the three required files to your iPhone. In Settings, locate Core Settings and tap the Nintendo DS. You'll need to provide a bios7.bin, a bios9.bin and thefirmware.bin. Tap and link them.Nintendo (NES) Games not loadingIf you have a problem loading NES cores, quit the emulator and relaunch it. Swipe to your NES collection. Long press and hold on to a game to bring up a preview. You should see the game running in a preview. From there, tap open. NES games should be playableFoliumLinks: App Store, official websiteFolium is another multi-console emulator which can emulate - Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation 1, and most interestingly, the Nintendo 3DS. It is a paid app, costing $4.99, and has mixed reviews. It supports optional JIT hook-ins for 3DS emulation performance enhancements.The emulation author has chosen to obfuscate some of the emulation cores and what services they are providing, making it a bit... odd. The developer is active on r/EmulationOniOSAdding ROMsTBASave StatesTBAOptional BIOSUnder Folium's settings is a \"missing files\". These are the BIOS files that are required for certain emulation cores.Cytrus - AES keys (3DS)AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) keys for the 3DS are cryptographic keys that Nintendo uses to encrypt various system files, game data, and content on the Nintendo 3DS platform. These keys are essential for decryption and proper handling of 3DS content in emulators. Cytrus is a relatively new emulation core. In order to play encrypted content, which most games are, you'll need to provide an AES Key.Grape - Nintendo DS emulationThe Nintendo DS requires three bios files, the bios7.bin, bios9.bin and firmware.bin. This is based on the NooDS core.The author recommends placing the cores in Grape/sysdata, although the application allows for linking.Lychee - PlayStation 1PlayStation 1 emulation requires a BIOS file. There are many options, such as scph5500.bin. The Emulation core is currently unknown.Tomato - Game Boy AdvanceThe GameBoy Advance requires a bios.bin. The Emulation core is currently unknown.ConsolesLinks: App Store, Official websiteInformation coming soon.GammaLinks: App Store, Official websiteGamma is a semi-paid emulator that offers an advertisement-supported free tier. It has received criticism as it collects some personal data (almost certainly for the advertisements). It is a reasonable one-time $5 purchase and is continually being improved.Adding ROMsTransfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the + menu and locate your ROMs. Gamma supports bin/cues and ISOs. The paid version will support compressed files but seems only auto-decompress them.Save StatesIn Delta, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button during gameplay. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus. When saving a state, click the save state option and then click the + button to save a new state. Loading states is even easier. Just tap Load State from the menu, locate the save you'd like to load, and tap it. Your game will resume in the exact place depicted in the screenshot. Optional BIOSGamma uses the PCSX-ReARMed core, which uses, by default, reversed-engineered open-BIOS and does not require a BIOS to function. However, there may be extreme edge cases where this might cause minor issues (likely saving games). You can provide your own BIOS files by transferring a BIOS file to your iPhone. In Settings, locate Core Settings and tap the PlayStation. You must provide a bios.bin file. Tap and link them. It does not need to be named bios.binPPSSPPLinks: App Store, App Store (Gold), Official websitePPSSPP is the gold standard for emulation experience as it cannot only play PPSSPP games but also enhance them beyond the original console's ability. Modern iPhones have enough horsepower to greatly enhance the graphics output of the PPSSPP titles.Adding ROMsTransfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the refresh menu and locate your ROMs. PPSSPP supports .iso, .cso, .pbp, and .chd. Save StatesIn PPSSPP, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button or tapping the screen to bring up touch controls. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus. Graphics Options Rendering Mode Backend: Determines the graphics API used for rendering; different backends may offer varying performance and compatibility on your device. Rendering Resolutions: Controls the internal resolution at which games are rendered; higher values provide sharper visuals but require more processing power. Software Rendering (Slow accurate): Uses CPU instead of GPU for rendering, providing better compatibility for problematic games at the cost of significantly lower performance. Display Layout and Effects: Controls how the game is displayed on the screen and allows the application of visual effects like shaders or filters. Framerate Control Frame skipping: Skips rendering certain frames to maintain game speed on slower hardware; helps performance but may cause visual stuttering. Frame Skipping Type: Determines the method used when skipping frames, affecting how smoothly animations appear during performance optimization. Auto frameskip: Automatically adjusts frame skipping based on current performance to maintain target speed; provides dynamic optimization without manual adjustment. Alternative speed (in %, 0 - unlimited): Allows custom adjustment of emulation speed as a percentage of normal; useful for speed runs or slowing down challenging sections. Alternative speed 2 (in %, 0 - unlimited): Provides a second preset speed option that can be quickly toggled; convenient for switching between different emulation speeds. Speed Hacks (Can cause rendering errors!) Skip buffer effects: Bypasses certain visual effects that require buffer operations; improves performance but may cause visual glitches in some games. Disable Culling: Turns off the removal of non-visible polygons; can fix broken visuals in some games but may reduce performance. Skip GPU readbacks: Prevents the GPU from sending data back to the CPU; can significantly improve performance but may cause graphical issues or crashes. Lazy texture caching (speedup): Delays texture loading until absolutely necessary; reduces memory usage and improves performance but may cause brief texture pop-in. Spine/bezier curves quality: Controls the precision of curved surface rendering; lower values improve performance, while higher values enhance the visual quality of curved objects. Performance Render duplicate frames to 60 Hz: Repeats frames as needed to maintain smooth 60Hz output even when the game runs at lower framerates; reduces stutter but doesn't affect actual game speed. Buffer graphics commands (faster, input lag): Queues up graphics commands for batch processing to improve performance; may introduce slight input delay as a trade-off. Hardware Transform: Uses GPU acceleration for geometry transformations instead of CPU; typically provides significant performance gains but may cause visual glitches in some games. Hardware Tessellation (greyed out): Would use GPU to generate additional geometric detail on surfaces; currently unavailable on iOS devices. Texture Scaling Upscale Type: Determines the algorithm used to enhance texture quality; different methods offer varying balances between quality and performance. Upscale Level: Controls how much textures are enhanced in resolution; higher values provide sharper textures but require more processing power and memory. Deposterize: Reduces the banding effect in textures that have limited color gradients; smooths out color transitions but may slightly blur sharp edges. Texture Shader (Greyed out): Would apply custom effects to textures; currently unavailable on iOS devices. Hack Settings (May cause glitches) Lower resolution for effects (reduces artifacts): Renders certain visual effects at a lower resolution than the main game can improve performance and reduce visual artifacts in some games. ProvenanceLinks: App Store, Official websiteProvenance is one of the oldest iOS emulators, going back to jailbreaking days, going back at least to 2016. Provenance is a much more 'iOSified' front end of libretro, supporting roughly the same set of cores as RetroArch. Due to its history in iOS emulation, it has a strong user base.Adding ROMsProvenance has the ability to use a Web Server UI, akin to older iOS applications like GoodReader and Airdrop. Provenance's official website has a guide on how to use this feature. It works by creating a temporary web server that is accessible via HTTP (Web browser) on your local network and offers a simple upload solution.Web Server Make sure your device's WiFi is turned on and connected to the same network as your computer. In Provenance: Turn on the Web Server: Select the + button in the Game Library, or… In Settings, select the Import/Export option.) Web Server Active. Make note of the [device-ip] Access from a web browser, Web UI : http://[device-ip] WebDAV: http://[device-ip]:81 AirDrop Open the AirDrop window via macOS Finder. Drag & Drop file(s) onto yourself/your device. Locate and tap Copy to Provenance option. DoneFile SharingLike other emulators, Provenance supports USB transfer. The ROMs go into Documents/ImportSave States Press the menu button while playing a game. Choose the Save States option. From here, you can press the + button to create a new save state. You can also tap on an existing save state and choose to overwrite that state with a new one. This cannot be undone, so be sure that you back up the save state before doing this if you wish to keep it.To load from an existing save state, press the menu button after loading a ROM. Here, you will find all of the save states you've manually created, as well as the automatic states. Tapping on a save state will present a menu allowing you to load the state.Optional BIOSProvenance uses the libretro cores, which require BIOS files for certain systems. These are the BIOS files required for certain systems: Atari 5200 - 5200.rom Atari Lynx - lynxboot.img CBS ColecoVision - coleco.rom Nintendo Famicom Disk System - disksys.rom Nintendo Game Boy Advance - gba_bios.bin Optional! NEC PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System / TurboGrafx-CD - syscard3.pce NEC PC-FX - pcfx.rom Palm PalmOS - bootloader-dbvz.rom + OS ROM palmos41-en-m515.rom*, palmos40-en-m500.rom, palmos52-en-t3.rom, palmos60-en-t3.rom *Only palmos41-en-m515.rom is required Philips CD-i - cdimono1.zip Must manually put in RetroArch/system/same_cdi/bios/ Sega CD - bios_CD_U.bin, bios_CD_E.bin, bios_CD_J.bin Sega Saturn - saturn_bios.bin Sony PlayStation - scph5500.bin, scph5501.bin, scph5502.binRetroArchLinks: App Store, Official websiteRetroArch is a powerful front-end for emulation cores. The best way to think of it is as a bunch of separate emulators that a GUI glues together, built on Libretro. The advantage of this is that emulators can improve and focus entirely on emulation and not user interfaces. It also means that certain aspects of configuration can be shared, such as user inputs, save-state preferences, and so on.Recommended configuration stepsRetroArch out of the box is a bit daunting, nor is it the most user-friendly. These are the recommended steps to getting the most out of RetroArch and are covered in this guide Copy over ROMs - required if you want to play any games Copy over BIOS files - required for certain consoles Change the User interface - the default interface is designed for touch controls. The XMB interface is much better suited for gamepads Update the assets - RetroArch pulls support files for several of its features that are important to update as soon as possible after downloading Scan Directory(s) - Add games so RetroArch can list the games Configure Cores - this can be done as needed, but it's important to understand the capabilities to enhance emulation Shaders - completely optional but can enhance the visual experience Enjoy!- At this point you are ready to enjoy your library of games on your iPhone. Be sure to check out features like Save StatesThis section is a work in progress!Adding ROMsRetroArch can add individual games by using Load Content, but also, from the add menu, can scan entire directories, multiple folders deep. However, it will not monitor the directory; thus, a scan will be required if games are added or removed from a directory. Transfer ROMs to your iPhone From the main screen, click the + menu and locate your ROMs. RetroArch supports .zip files. Locate the directory your ROMs are in. You'll need to click the directory to bring up the file navigator. Any folders copied into the root of the RetroArch Directory will be in the parent directory. Open the folder on your iPhone and select \"Scan Directory\". Depending on how many ROMs you have, this can take a bit. ROMs will not show up until all directories have been scanned.Changing the user interfaceOut of the box, RetroArch is configured to use the GLUI, a user interface that is touch-friendly. If you intend to use a controller, I highly recommend changing the user interface.Tap \"Settings\" then \"User Interface,\" scroll to the bottom of the screen, and tap \"Menu.\" Select XMB. You'll need to quit RetroArch and relaunch it before the changes take effect. After the change, you should see the more visually appealing XMB interface. For a full menu map, see docs.libretro.com: XMB menu map as this contains the full list of where all the menu options live.BIOS FilesThe consoles that require bios for operation currently for iOS in RetroArch are: Gameboy Advance - gba_bios.bin NeoGeo - neogeo.zip (Placed in ROMs folder as well) Nintendo DS - ios7.bin, bios9.bin, firmware.bin Sega CD - bios_CD_E.bin, bios_CD_J.bin, bios_CD_U.bin Playstation - scph5501.bin (you can use many different bios) TurboGraphix-CD - syscard1.pce, syscard2.pce, syscard3.pceInstalling BIOSRetroArch's default location is /RetroArch/system, this can be changed in the preferences however it's recommended that you move using the Files app on your phone the BIOS into this folder.RetroArch maintains a list for every platform it supports and the BIOS required. Online updaterRetroArch pulls support files for several of its important features to update as soon as possible after downloading.From the main menu, tap \"Online Updater.\" From here, you can update the following: Update Assets: Downloads graphical interface elements like menu icons, fonts, and background images that enhance RetroArch's visual appearance. Update Controller Profiles: Retrieves predefined button mapping configurations for various controllers, making it easier to set up your gamepad without manual configuration. Update Cheats: Downloads cheat databases for different games, allowing you to activate classic cheats and modifications like infinite lives or level skips. Update Databases: Retrieves game information databases that help RetroArch identify your ROMs, display correct metadata, and enable game-specific optimizations. Update Overlays: Downloads on-screen button layouts and visual frames, useful for touchscreen devices or for adding aesthetic borders around your gameplay. Update Slang Shaders: Retrieves graphic filters and effects that can enhance visuals by simulating CRT displays, smoothing pixels, or adding various visual enhancements to your games.It's recommended that you update all of these, especially following this guideRecommended Cores & ConfigurationsRetro Arch often has multiple cores performing the same function. In the cases where these exist, I've tried to narrow them down to what I've found to be the \"best,\" in my opinion. Do experiment and read up on the core differences, as your priorities might differ. Some cores are designed for accuracy, some for speed, and some for enhancements. Game Boy / Game Boy Color - Gambatte Game Boy Advance - mGBA NEC PCEngine / TurboGGraphix-16 / PCEngine-CD / TurboGraphix-CD - Beetle PCE NES - Nestopia Nintendo DS - Melon DS Sega Master / System Genesis (Mega Drive)/ Sega CD - Genesis Plus GX / Genesis Plus GX Widescreen (may not work with all games) Sega Saturn - Yabause SNES - BSNES / BSNES HD Beta (for Mode 7 Games) Playstation - Beetle PSX HWSelect A Core and Core ConfigurationWhen you first select a ROM, you'll be presented with a variety of options, and you'll likely need to select a core. You can always change this by using \"Set a Core Association\" or \"Reset Core Association\"Core OptionsCore Options in RetroArch are game system-specific settings that allow you to customize how each emulation core functions. Unlike global RetroArch settings that apply to all systems, Core Options are tailored to the specific emulated console or computer system you're using. Every core has its own set of options. From the menu when running a game, go to Core Options.Some of the emulator options exist outside of the Core Options, for example, BSNES's HD Mode 7 options exist in a menu outside of Core Option as do some settings for Beetle PSX HW. Each core has its own unique settings, which may include: Graphics enhancements (resolution scaling, texture filtering) Performance adjustments (speed hacks, frame-skipping) Audio quality settings System-specific features (PGXP for PlayStation, HD Mode 7 for SNES) Region options (NTSC/PAL) Input latency adjustmentsRecommended Core Options for BSNES and BSNES HD BetaBSNES is a cycle-accurate SNES emulator that aims to provide the most accurate emulation possible but also offers the ability to enhance Mode 7 games. Mode 7 titles include Pilot Wings, Mario Kart, and F-Zero. For a complete list, see wikipedia.org: Mode 7, Both BSNES and BSNES HD Beta can enhance Mode 7 rendering, with the HD Beta adding the ability to render games in widescreen during Mode 7 sequences.Core OptionsAs of writing this, the HD Mode 7 for BSNES exists in different places depending on the version of BSNES you are using. In BSNES, this is listed in the core menu as HD Mode 7, whereas in BSNES HD Beta, it is in the core options. HD Beta is much more CPU intensive, so you may need to lower the scaling, especially depending on your device. Scale - 3x (720p) for HD Beta and older phones, 5x (1200p) for BSNES on newer phones Perspective Correction - On Super Sampling - OnRecommended Core Options for Beetle PSX HWBeetle PSX HW is an emulation core that offers quite a bit of customization options to enhance PlayStation graphics, such as increasing the resolution, better polygon processing, anti-aliasing, and more. Here are some recommended settings:Core Options Internal GPU resolution - 2x or 4x Texture filtering - SABR MSAA - 2x or 4x or 8xEmulation HacksBeetle PSX HW has the ability to manipulate the way the PlayStation renders polygons to help improve visual fidelity. Beetle PSX HW's PGXP (PlayStation Geometry Precision) capabilities correct the polygon jitter and texture warping that occurs in PlayStation games due to the console's limited floating-point precision. This feature enhances 3D rendering by maintaining proper polygon alignment and improving texture mapping accuracy, resulting in a much more stable and visually pleasing image without the \"wobbling\" effect seen in original PlayStation games. PGXP can be enabled in the core options and offers various levels of correction, from basic coordinate precision to advanced perspective-correct texturing.Go to the Emulation Hacks menu and select PGXP. Enable the following: PGXP Operation Mode - Memory Only PGXP Primitive Culling - On PGXP Perspective Correct Texturing - OnShadersShaders in RetroArch are visual filters that can transform the appearance of games by applying post-processing effects, such as CRT scanlines to mimic old TVs, smooth scaling to reduce pixelation, or various color adjustments to enhance visuals. They allow players to either recreate the authentic look of the original hardware or dramatically improve and modernize the appearance of retro games without affecting the actual gameplay. They can be chained together.Shaders are performed post-emulation when a single frame enters the frame buffer. This means they are agnostic or unaware of the emulator that produced them. A good way to think of shaders in RetroArch is as filters similar to filters you can apply to a photograph after it's taken. You can't adjust the shutter speed, aperture, or what's in frame or focus, but you can simulate some of these things with a filter. The same goes for shaders. They cannot fundamentally change how a console is emulated to increase its output resolution; rather, they can take the image it outputs and manipulate it.Users on popular forums and places like Reddit will often post their preferred settings, which can yield incredible results. See Reddit: Shaders are game-changing for retro games and emulation for a good example. While playing a game, bring up the RetroArch menu Navigate to Quick Menu → Shaders Enable the Shaders Select Load Shader Preset to browse available shader presets Choose a shader from the list (e.g., CRT shaders are in the \"crt\" folder) Once loaded, select Apply Changes to see the effect immediatelyChaining Multiple Shaders From the Shaders menu, select Prepend Shader or Append Shader To save your chain, select Save Shader Preset from the Shaders menuOrder matters! Place scaling shaders before visual effect shaders. >Common chains include an upscaler (like \"xbrz\") followed by a CRT effect. Some popular combinations: Scale2x + CRT-Royale (good balance of sharpness and authenticity) SABR + Lottes (excellent for 16-bit era games) xBRZ + Dot Matrix (perfect for handheld console emulation) ScaleFX + CRT-Geom-Deluxe (for a more realistic CRT look)Shaders can be configured per console and title basis. Generally, shaders are more popular on non-polygon-based titles or 16-bit titles as many modern emulators offer more opportunities to enhance visuals at the emulation level than post-processing the image.Save statesWhile playing a game, bring up the RetroArch menu by tapping the screen with two fingers simultaneously (or using your configured menu button). In the Quick Menu, scroll down to find \"Save States\" and tap to enter this section. RetroArch provides 10 save slots (0-9) for each game. In the Save States menu, select \"Save Slot\" and choose your preferred slot number. To load a save state, from the Load State, select the save state from the slot you'd like to use.Auto SavesAuto Saves are a feature that will automatically save your game when you exit it, akin to how an iOS game can resume to where you last were when tabbing between apps. To enable auto saves, go to System Settings and then Saving. Toggle both.Hide overlay when Control is connectedA default behavior that most users will want to enable is auto-hiding the on-screen overlays when a gamepad is connected. Tab to settings and select \"User Interface,\" and then to \"On-Screen Overlay.\" Locate \"Hide Overlay when the controller is connected\" and toggle it on. You can still access the touchscreen overlay by tapping the screen during gameplay.Sideloading: Interpretation vs JITSideloading takes a bit of self-education. Please read this section carefully before asking for help on forums.. Also, please consult the earlier sections like the Glossary, Getting Started and Emulation sections if you are new to emulation.Sideloading is the act of installing applications outside of Apple's app store. The two main paths are downloading IPAs (applications) and signing them or using a Sideloading application like Sideload AltStore to sign the applications.Apple only allows for interpretation. The emulator reads and decodes each instruction from the emulated system one at a time and then executes a corresponding routine on the host machine. It is easier to implement and debug since each instruction is handled individually. However, since every instruction is processed individually, it results in slower overall execution because of repeated decoding and function calls.Just-In-Time (JIT) Compilation groups sequences of instructions (often basic blocks or functions) and compiles them on the fly into native code for the host CPU. This compiled code is then executed directly. Apple does not allow JIT Compilation due to security concerns and platform control. An application that featured JIT Compilation would be able to run any code on the device, which is a security risk and also would allow for applications within applications, a way to skirt around Apple's App Store monopoly. There's an upfront cost for compiling code blocks, which may not be worthwhile if the code is executed only a few times, but for newer systems where repeated functions are executed many times, this becomes a larger performance advantage.Important: Enable Developer ModeDeveloper Mode is required for sideloading emulators outside the App Store, regardless of what method you pick. Follow these steps: Open the Settings app on your iOS device Navigate to Privacy & Security Scroll to the bottom and tap Developer Mode Toggle the Developer Mode switch to ON Tap Restart when prompted After your device restarts, you'll need to unlock it and confirm that you want to enable Developer Mode Your device may need to restart once moreNote: Developer Mode remains enabled until you manually turn it off or restore your device.Sideloading IPAs - Your ChoicesThe very first step in sideloading is getting an application (.IPA) onto your iPhone, which is the act of sideloading. There are two main methods for sideloading IPAs on iOS devices: Signing them yourself using a third-party app like AltStoreBoth methods have their pros and cons, and the choice depends on your preferences and technical expertise.Due to security provisions in iOS, the only apps that you can debug processes of are ones that have the correct certifications in iOS, even with developer mode enabled. This prevents an application like AltStore from enabling JIT in an emulator like Dolphin. Whereas if you sign your own application with your own provisions, you can then debug the application and enable JIT on the device.AltStore is an application designed to allow users to sideload apps on iOS devices without jailbreaking. It uses a unique method of sideloading that allows users to install apps directly from the iPhone by downloading them and signing them. Option 1: Signing IPAs and installing them via Xcode. This is best done with the $ 99-a-year Apple account. You do not need a 3rd party place to run a JIT streamer (an external service that funnels the recompiled code to a device). Option 2: Sideloading via AltStore or SideStore. This method gets around every seven days resigning requirement that a free developer account has. It also doesn't involve manually creating your own certification. Post iOS17, JIT cannot be enabled on the device. Once the application is installed, you will need to use a VPN to connect to the JIT streamer. There are two main options for JIT streaming: JIT Streamer - a popular website that allows users to stream JIT code via the internet to their device. SideJITServer - a local server that allows users to stream JIT code via a local network to their device. It must be connected to the server, but private VPNs can achieve this. stikjit - a newcomer that promises to allow on-device JIT for iOS 18 Option 1: Signing IPAs and Installing via XcodeThe most surefire way to sideload an IPA is to sign it yourself with your own developer profile. Using debug modes with your phone, you'll be able to enable on-device JIT with this method. One of the better set of instructions was originally posted Reddit.com: DolphiniOS works. Note: Sideloaded apps expire after 7 days with a free Apple ID. You'll need to reconnect to your computer and reinstall them. An Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year) extends this to one year.Part 1: Setting up developer app Log into your Apple Developer account. Go to the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles section. Click on \"Identifiers\" in the sidebar. Click the + Identifiers. Give the name of the description something like DolphiniOS and the identifier something like DolphiniOS. After the Identifier has been created, go to Provision, click Register New Profile, and select iOS. Select the Identifier we just created Check the boxes for your device(s) and click continue. Give the provision a name like \"DolphiniOS\". Download the provision file and save it to your computer.Part 2: Signing the App Download iosappsigner for your computer and install it. Open iosappsigner and select the IPA file you downloaded, for example dolphiniOS.ipa Select the provision profile you generated, Leave everything else and click Start.Part 3: Installing the App Open Xcode and connect your iPhone to your computer. In Xcode, go to Window > Devices and Simulators (or press Shift+Command+2). Select your iPhone from the list of devices on the left panel. It may take a bit for the first time to set up, but once finished, click the + button. Add your newly signed IPAOption 2: Sideloading via AltStore or SideStore Sideloading apps via the Alt Store allows IPAs to be signed and authorized on the device. In my emulation video, at the 20-minute mark, I demonstrate the process. Requirements: An Apple developer account (free) Developer mode enabled (See above) Download and install AltStore on your Mac or Windows computer and JitterBug. faq.altstore.com: How to install AltStore (macOS) or faq.altstore.com: How to install AltStore (Windows). Users in the EU can use Altstore PAL. Open AltStore and click the icon in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows). Connect your iOS device to your computer via USB Click Install AltStore to sideload the AltStore app onto your device Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted The AltServer should inform you that it has been installed but may not. Wait about 10 minutes. If nothing has happened, check your phone to see if the AltStore was installed. If you do not see it, reboot your phone and check again. If you cannot find the AltStore, go back to AltServer and try again. Open AltStore on your device and sign in with your Apple ID. Follow the onscreen prompts. Be sure to refresh the app as it instructs. In the Alt Store, click sources and add oatmealdome for DolphiniOS.Enabling JIT StreamingThere are two ways to use JIT Streaming, via JIT stramer or SideJITServer. This process is demonstrated in the video version of this post in the DolphiniOS chapter at the 20:01 minute mark.JIT streamer has the instructions on its webpage. The steps are as follows: Download Wireguard VPN from the App Store Connect your phone and run Jitterbug. Open Jitterbug Authorize your phone Run a second time to generate a pairing file. It should land in ~/ AKA root of your current user folder Upload the file to the JITStreamer website. It should auto-download a .conf file for Wireguard Transfer the file to the iPhone or iPad Open Wireguard and import the .conf file Connect to the VPN From the Jitterbug website, download the shortcut and run it on your diveSideJITServerSideJITServer requires being on the same network; however, you can create your own VPN to your private network and connect to it remotely. Instructions are on the GitHub project. I plan to fork and dockerize this service. The advantages of hosting your own JIT service are security and performance, and it is the recommended way for people with a bit more technical aptitude.Please check back soon as I will be adding a guide on how to host your own JIT server using Docker.StikJITInevitably readers will skip straight to this section but I highly recommend reading entire Sideloading to give much needed context.StikJIT is very new as of writing this and promises on device JITs. It requires using a special VPN that redirects to itself as the JIT compiler is hosted on the device. This eliminates the issues of needing to host the JIT server externally or connect to someone else's hosted JIT streamer. It should deliver faster performance.Reddit.com: StikJIT Instructions using LiveContainer. Live Containers allows you to install more than 10 development apps to skirt around Altstore limitations.How to set up StikJitI haven't had the free time to set up StikJIT so, for now, I will defer to the current go-to guide: reddit.com - How to Setup StikJIT for iOS (On-Device-Offline-JIT). This is only for iOS 18.The Process is as follows: Install SideStore or sideloadly, or AltStore. (If you use Sideloadly or Altstore, you'll also need StosVPN. See guide for more dtails.) Download the StikJIT, direct link to the Nightly build Make sure you have quit SideStore. Use Jitterbug to create an pair file. Relaunch SideStore and enable JIT for the Apps you'd like to useYou should also disable background refreshing for any JIT apps. iOS 18.4 beta 1 currently does not work and requires ankJIT. Controllers and iOSiOS supports out-of-the-box various styles of controllers, both controllers designed specifically for phones and controllers designed for game consoles.Premium mobile gaming controller options include: GameSir G8 - a very well-loved and often copied design by other makers. Backbone controller - an ultra slim controller that has it's own companion app and audiojack Razer Kishi V2 - game controller by the famed PC gaming, Razer. 8Bitdo Ultimate - Retro controller mod specialist also makes game controllersThere are also a host of clone controllers that are largely based on the Gamesir that are generally regarded as \"good\" and come in some different colorways and may be more price-friendly. EasySMX M15 ATUTEN Phone Gaming Controller Zike Z331 G-Story Controller XPlode Saffan Game ControllerConsole Supported controllers include: PlayStation DualShock 4 Wireless Controller PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller Xbox Wireless Controller with Bluetooth (Model 1708) Xbox Wireless Controller Series S Xbox Wireless Controller Series X Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Xbox Adaptive Controller Nintendo Joycon Controllers* For more information, see: Apple.com: Connect a PlayStation wireless game controller to your Apple device and Apple.com: Connect an Xbox wireless game controller to your Apple device. *The Joycons do not seem to be officially supported, but they work. See TheVerge.com: iOS 16 supports Nintendo's Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers.iOS, unfortunately, is limited in its ability to map buttons, and thus, not every button a controller may work.Controller clipsIf you already have a game console controller, one of the least expensive ways to add a hardware controller to your iPhone is via clip mechanisms. These allow you to use high-quality controllers with iOS, but they aren't the most ergonomic due to the weight distribution. However, they do let you explore the capabilities of mobile iOS gaming without spending much money. There are many to choose from, like OIVO PS4 Controller Phone Mount Clip, or OIVO PS5 Controller Phone Mount Clip. There are a lot of these on Amazon, like Orzero PS5 Magnetic Controller Phone Mount Clip that makes use of MagSafe or Orzero Magnetic Controller Phone Mount Clip for X box Series X/S, X box One/One S/One X. There are many to pick from; I suggest searching Mobile Gaming CLip and then appending whatever parameters from there. Dumping ROMs ...directly to an iPhone?In the modern era, USB ROM dumping hardware exists for most platforms. Users with their own game libraries can archive their games using these devices. Prior to the USBization of such devices, generally, this was limited to Windows and Linux, and sometimes Mac OS/OS X. Today ROM dumping can be performed directly, even to an Android or iOS /iPadOS device. YouTuber, Will it work? Can you play physical N64 cartridges on the iPhone?, demostrates using a JoeyN64 cart flasher, directly with an iPhone. Connect the ROM dumping hardware to your iPhone via a USBc or Lightning to USB adapterr Open the Files app. Go to the root of the iPhone and navigate to the connected device Locate the ROM file and copy it to your iPhone's storage These are the basic three steps that any ROM dumping hardware will require. However, there's no guarantee that all ROM dumping hardware will be compatible with iOS/iPadOS, but it is now possible and very easy to make legal backups of your games.Creating your own ISOs from PlayStation 1 / Sega CD / NeoGeo games Creating PSX backups is pretty simple if you are terminal savvy. All you need is a Mac with a disc drive. Disk utility can create disc images, but you can do this more quickly via the terminal. This process is often referred to as \"Ripping,\" Disk UtilityDisk utility is an application located in Applications -> Utilities on every Mac computer. Insert the PSX game disc into your Mac's DVD drive. Open Disk Utility (located in Applications -> Utilities). Click on the PDX game disc in the left-hand column of Disk Utility. Click the \"New Image\" button in the toolbar. Choose \"DVD/CD Master\" as the Image Format and \"None\" as the encryption. Click \"Save\" and wait for the disc to be copied to your Mac. Once the disc has been copied, you can rename the .cdr file to .iso.TerminalUsing the terminal is a bit quicker and more flexible than Disk Utility. The following command will create an ISO file from a PSX game disc:hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -o ~/Desktop/PS1_Backup.bin /Volumes/PLAYSTATIONExplanation of the command: hdiutil makehybrid: The macOS utility for creating disc images -iso: Creates a standard ISO9660 filesystem (required for PS1 games) -joliet: Adds Joliet extensions for longer filenames -o ~/Desktop/PS1_Backup.bin: Specifies the output file (note the .bin extension commonly used for PS1 game, .iso should also be supported by most emulators) /Volumes/PLAYSTATION: The input directory (mounted PS1 CD)You will need to alter the paths listed. I highly recommend using AI to demystify terminal commands. While AI isn't the most reliable, it is when it comes to debugging terminal commands. Both Claude and ChatGPT, even at the free tiers, are great for copying and pasting error codes or asking for help when modifying commands.iOS Emulation CommunitiesEmulation is a vast and complex topic and is ever-evolving. The best place to get help/lend help get the latest and greatest information is in communities. reddit: r/EmulationOniOS Discord: RetroArch MacRumors: iOS and iPadOSVersion History 04/08/2025 - Much needed copy editing and fixed broken Anchor. Added more info for StikJIT 04/07/2025 - Stikjit tutorial linked. 04/02/2025 - More info about Stikjit. 03/31/2025 - prelimary info about Stikjit. 03/30/2025 - Consoles correctioin on TubroGraphix support, responsive table, oversized header images on mobile, added a bit more organization to the controllers and recommendations 03/28/2025 - Added more info about JIT Streaming and the differences between JIT and interpretation. Added instructions for Xcode and corrections. Added more images to the guide. The guide now roughly 10,000 words long. 03/27/2025 - Added ROM dumping. 03/26/2025 - Added info about JIT Streaming. Added Nin10 as I missed it in the compatibility chart. Updated the Consoles app to accurately reflect the compatibility state. 03/25/2025 - Tables, tables and more tables. Thanks to Reddit feedback, I added a boatload more emulators. This required to break apart the table and add in a pricing / OS Table. Added a few more graphics to sections. 03/24/2025 - Big update. Added rough draft of Folium information and communities, added support section, added Sideloading info, added Provenance. Already over 8000 words. 03/23/2025 - Create ISOs, macOS emulation, editing, more images, added info about updater and default location for BIOS in RetroArch. Already crossed 6500+ words. 03/22/2025 - Added to do, thanks to Reddit feedback; I didn't know Provenance was on the App Store. Added ISO section and Mac emulation links. There's plenty to do! Already nearly 6000 Words in 5 days of writing. This guide probably is going to be massive. It's unrelated, but I also cleaned up the JS on my blog to make it even more minimalist. 03/21/2025 - Minor Edits 03/20/2025 - Flycast info, started recommended settings for Retro Arch, added Yabause recommendation 03/19/2025 - Expanding content (added controllers, more images, more on RetroArch) 03/18/2025 - Initial DraftTo do list: More RetroArch explainers More on shaders Xcode App Signing DolphiniOS / MeloNX coverage Animated GIFs where it makes sense to illustrate behaviors or settings Evenutally make a Mac version of thisMac GuidesI've made quite a bit of emulation-related content related to macOS as well. Sony PlayStation 1 - Video Sony PlayStation 2 - Written & Video Sony PlayStation 3 - Video Microsoft Xbox - Written and Video MAME (arcade) - Written and Video Mac OS 9 - Written and Video", "content_html": "

As of April 2024, Apple has allowed emulation as long as they don't use JIT. This has opened up the floodgates to a technology that virtually every other modern platform in existence allows. Emulation can be used for many things, but gaming is the most popular use case for average users, and thus, this guide will focus entirely on gaming.

This guide is a living guide and is in the process of being built out. The goal is to demystify iOS emulation and make it accessible. Thanks to the r/EmulationOniOS community.

Also available in video!

If you prefer a video version of this guide, I've made a video version that covers everything you need to get started with iOS emulation.

\"8

Does this guide seem familiar? Perhaps you've seen my The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide, The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (Late 2013) Upgrade Guide or The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide. These are all free of charge, free of advertisements and annoying trackers, labors of love. You can find me on YouTube and patreon.



Glossary

Emulation has a lot of jargon that comes with it. As a quick refresher, here's a list of terms that will be used throughout this guide.



Getting Started /Requirements

Emulation is software that mimics another device's hardware and software environment, allowing your iOS device to run games and applications originally designed for different systems like the Nintendo Game Boy, PlayStation, or Sega Genesis.

Requirements:

Modern iPhones and iPads are powerful machines; the iPhone 16 Pro in raw CPU computing bests an 8-Core Mac Pro 2019. Any device capable of running modern iOS has enough processing power to emulate many different platforms. In the late 1990s, an iMac G3 233 MHz could emulate a NES and do reasonably well at SNES emulation. The biggest impediment for most devices will be storage as 32-bit era consoles like the Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, or PPSSPP games can easily eat 600 MB per game, and in the case of the PSP, over 1 GB.

An emulator cannot understand interactions the console was not programmed for, such as touching menu items in an SNES game. While emulators feature touch controls, gamepads are highly recommended as console games are designed specifically for controllers; thus, all touch controls are mapped to key presses. Touch controls are either unable or very difficult to use for some interactions, such as analog triggers.



Legal Considerations for ROMs and BIOS Files

The video above is a video I made about the story of Connectix VGS and how it enshrined emulators as legal

Understanding the Legal Landscape

The legal status of game ROMs and console BIOS files exists in a complex gray area that varies by country and jurisdiction. While emulators themselves are generally legal software, the content they run often raises copyright concerns.

ROM Files

ROMs (Read-Only Memory) are digital copies of game cartridges, discs, or other media. From a legal standpoint:

Of course, said files are often distributed openly on the internet and found via search engines.

See the ROM Dumping and Creating ISOs section on how to make legal backups of your games library.

BIOS Files

BIOS files are even more legally sensitive than ROMs:

Best Practices

To stay on the safer side of the legal spectrum:

  1. Only create backups of games you legally own.
  2. Don't distribute ROMs or BIOS files to others.
  3. Support developers by purchasing games when they're available on modern platforms.
  4. Consider using legal alternatives like official re-releases or subscription services that offer classic games.

Legal Alternatives

Many companies now offer legal ways to play classic games:

This guide is not intended to encourage copyright infringement. The technical information provided is for educational purposes and for those who wish to play games they legally own on modern devices.

Note: This section provides general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and interpretation. When in doubt, consult legal resources specific to your region.



iOS/iPadOS vs Android

This guide will likely never feature a comprehensive breakdown comparing iOS vs Android, but Android has a considerable advantage compared to iOS.

Due to its more open nature, Android has a decisive advantage. While iOS/iPadOS emulation dates back to the jailbreaking era of iOS, Android app stores have officially allowed emulation from virtually the beginning, meaning there are many more mature emulators. Android also places fewer restrictions on emulation; thus, emulators exist for more modern consoles, like the Sony PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, GameCube, Wii, and even the Swìtch.

The diversity of the Android ecosystem has spawned full-blown console-like Android devices such as the Odin 2, a high-end device that features a built-in gamepad akin to a portable videogame console. Devices like the Odin 2 feature memory cards, allowing for a relatively inexpensive way to store game collections.

Android is also more forgiving about 3rd party controller mapping, whereas iOS has a much more limited ability to map 3rd party controllers. This gives Android an accessibility edge as less conventional layouts and input devices can be mapped according to user preference.

Mainstream iOS/iPadOS emulation, while relatively young by comparison, still offers a great experience. Apple's hardware is second to none, as there are few devices that can match an M3 iPad in raw performance. Android does not make the setup easier in my experience, but rather, it offers a lot more options. This guide will help you get the most out of your iOS or iPadOS device.

Android is the superior option if emulation is your primary concern.



File Management

\"wifi\"

iOS has a very locked-down file system, but it does provide multiple ways to transfer data to and from your device. The most common methods are:

Transferring via USB

Transferring files via USB, as stated, is the preferred method due to speed, reliability, and accessibility.

  1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer via cable. You may need to authorize the device on your computer and/or device.
  2. Open Finder on your Mac or File Explorer on your Windows PC.
  3. Your device should appear in the sidebar or as a drive in the finder. Click on it to bring up the iPhone pane.
  4. Click on the Files tab to access the file system. You should see a list of installed applications that support file transfers, including your emulators. Due to the limitations of Apple, you cannot access any files within a folder
  5. Drag and drop files to your device on the Application icon. You can drag and drop entire folders.

Regardless of file transfer type, file management is almost entirely handled on the device using the Files app. For detailed instructions, see Organize files and folders in Files on iPhone. Files can be accessed between applications. This is very useful for sharing ROM libraries between emulations such as RetroArch and Delta, which can both emulate a subset of the same consoles (NES, SNES, GameBoy, Gameboy Advance, DS, and N64). They can share files rather than storing duplicate copies of the same game.

To select all, tap a file, and then from the lower left corner, click select all.

To move a folder or file, long press it, and then select move.

Third Party File Management

Dude, to the arbitrary limitations Apple places on file management, there is a cottage economy of phone management applications, the most prominent being iMazing. These applications allow for viewing and editing the contents of directories that exist on an iPhone. Unfortunately, these applications do cost money but are easier to use than Apple's Files app.

Adding games to Emulators

Once games have been transferred, adding games to the emulator in question is relatively easy.

Every emulator follows the same pattern for adding ROMs to its library by clicking some sort of add + or Add games button, then locating the files and selecting all or pointing a scan function to the directory. A few emulators have default locations like PPSSPP that will auto-scan. Only DolphiniOS requires the ROMs to be located in an exact directory.



Emulators

\"Pick

Emulators on iOS exist in two camps: App Store and Sideloaded (see lists below). iOS's emulation selection is slim, but fortunately, almost all of the major consoles are covered up to the 32-bit era. Here is the list of consoles supported, all of which have RetroArch support. Emulators like Delta use the same cores that are found in RetroArch.

App Store Emulators

There are several emulators available on the App Store that Apple sanctions. These emulators are limited in scope and are generally focused on older consoles.

Delta, Consoles, Provenance, PPSSPP, and RetroArch are recommended emulators. Delta/Provenance both offer a very low-resistance, native iOS experience at no charge. The PPSSPP core powers iOS emulation, but the dedicated app exposes the most features and makes configuring the advanced graphical options exceptionally easy. RetroArch is the most popular and powerful front end for LibRetro.

Side Loaded Emulators

There are several emulators that exist outside of the Apple App Store due to the policies Apple imposes, chiefly around the usage of JIT runtimes. The author responsible for porting DolphiniOS has a short blog post that explains the state of JIT and iOS in more depth.

The current roster of non-App Store iOS apps are:



iOS / iPadOS Emulator Compatibility Table

The table below shows which consoles are supported by each emulator available on iOS/iPadOS. This can help you quickly determine which emulator to use based on the systems you want to play.

Multi-console

Multi-console emulators are largely LibRetro front-ends that expose varying degrees of support and options.

Console RetroArch Delta Folium Consoles Ignited Provenance Sideloaded
Only
Nintendo (NES)✓✓✓✓✓✓✗
Super Nintendo (SNES)✓✓✓✓✓✓✗
Nintendo 64 (N64)✓✓✗✗✓✓✗
Nintendo DS✓✓✓✗✓✓✗
Nintendo 3DS✗✗✓✗✗✓✗
GameCube / Wii✗✗✗✗✗✗DolphiniOS
Nintendo Switch✗✗✗✗✗✗MelonX
Game Boy✓✓✗✓✓✓✗
Game Boy Color✓✓✗✓✓✓✗
Game Boy Advance✓✓✓✓✓✓✗
Virtual Boy✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
PlayStation (PS1)✓✗✓✗✗✓✗
PlayStation 2 (PS2)✗✗✗✗✗✗Play!
PlayStation Portable (PSP)✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Sega Master System✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive✓✗✗✓✓✓✗
Sega CD✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Sega Saturn✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Sega Dreamcast✗✗✗✗✗✗Flycast
Sega Game Gear✓✗✗✓✓✓✗
Sega SG-1000✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
NeoGeo Pocket/Color✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
WonderSwan✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
Arcade (MAME/FBA)✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Atari 2600✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
Atari Lynx✓✗✗✓✗✓✗
3DO✓✗✗✗✗✓✗
Intellivision✓✗✗✗✗✓✗

Notes:

Single / Limited Console

There are a plethora of NES or Gameboy targetted emulators to choose from.

Console AdBoy ArcEmu iGBA eNES Gamma LinkingBoy Nin10 PPSSPP Retroman SameBoy Super16bit YabaSanshiro2
Nintendo (NES)✓✓✗✓✗✗✓✗✓✗✗✗
Super Nintendo (SNES)✗✗✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✓✗
Nintendo DS✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗
Game Boy✓✓✓✗✗✗✓✗✓✓✗✗
Game Boy Color✓✓✓✗✗✗✓✗✗✓✗✗
Game Boy Advance✓✓✓✗✗✓✗✗✗✗✗✗
PlayStation (PS1)✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗
PlayStation Portable (PSP)✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✓✗✗✗✗
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive✓✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗
Sega Saturn✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✗✓

Notes:

Supported OSes and Pricing Chart

All side-loaded emulators are currently free. Mac versions of side-loaded emulators do not require side-loading. Not listed Mac emulators include PCSX2, and RPSC3.

Emulator macOS iOS iPadOS watchOS tvOS visionOS Pricing
AdBoy✓✓✓✗✗✗🟢
ArcEmu✓✓✓✓✗✗💰
Consoles✓✓✓✗✓✓💰
Delta✗✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
iGBA✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
eNES✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
Folium✓✓✓✗✗✗💰
Gamma✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
LinkingBoy✗✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
NiN10✓✓✓✓✗✗💰
PPSSPP✓✓✓✗✗✗🟡
Provenance✓✓✓✗✗✗🛍️
RetroArch✓✓✓✗✓✓🟢
Retroman✗✓✓✗✗✗💰
SameBoy✗✓✓✓✗✗🛍️
Super16bit✓✓✓✗✗✗🟢
UNDS✗✓✗✗✗✗🛍️
Yaba Sanshiro 2✓✓✓✗✗✗💰


Delta

Links: App Store, Official website

\"Delta\"

Delta is a multi-emulator that supports a wide range of consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), Nintendo DS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance and provides a very-iOS native experience for its UI making it the easiest to use emulator in this list. It is free on the App Store. It's a minimalist emulator that focuses on ease-of-use above customization and seems entirely focused on Nintendo consoles.

Adding ROMs

Transfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the + menu and locate your ROMs. Delta will automatically sort them between the supported consoles

Save States

In Delta, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button during gameplay. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus. When saving a state, click the save state option and then click the + button to save a new state. Loading states is even easier; just tap Load State from the menu, locate the save you'd like to load, and tap it. Your game will resume in the exact place depicted in the screenshot.

Optional Nintendo DS BIOS

Delta uses the MelonDS core, which uses, by default, reversed-engineered open-BIOS and does not require Nintendo DS BIOS to function. However, there may be extreme edge cases where this might cause minor issues (likely saving games). You can provide your own BIOS files by transferring the three required files to your iPhone. In Settings, locate Core Settings and tap the Nintendo DS. You'll need to provide a bios7.bin, a bios9.bin and thefirmware.bin. Tap and link them.

Nintendo (NES) Games not loading

If you have a problem loading NES cores, quit the emulator and relaunch it. Swipe to your NES collection. Long press and hold on to a game to bring up a preview. You should see the game running in a preview. From there, tap open. NES games should be playable



Folium

Links: App Store, official website

\"Folium\"

Folium is another multi-console emulator which can emulate - Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation 1, and most interestingly, the Nintendo 3DS. It is a paid app, costing $4.99, and has mixed reviews. It supports optional JIT hook-ins for 3DS emulation performance enhancements.

The emulation author has chosen to obfuscate some of the emulation cores and what services they are providing, making it a bit... odd. The developer is active on r/EmulationOniOS

Adding ROMs

TBA

Save States

TBA

Optional BIOS

\"Folium

Under Folium's settings is a \"missing files\". These are the BIOS files that are required for certain emulation cores.

Cytrus - AES keys (3DS)

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) keys for the 3DS are cryptographic keys that Nintendo uses to encrypt various system files, game data, and content on the Nintendo 3DS platform. These keys are essential for decryption and proper handling of 3DS content in emulators. Cytrus is a relatively new emulation core. In order to play encrypted content, which most games are, you'll need to provide an AES Key.

Grape - Nintendo DS emulation

The Nintendo DS requires three bios files, the bios7.bin, bios9.bin and firmware.bin. This is based on the NooDS core.

The author recommends placing the cores in Grape/sysdata, although the application allows for linking.

Lychee - PlayStation 1

PlayStation 1 emulation requires a BIOS file. There are many options, such as scph5500.bin. The Emulation core is currently unknown.

Tomato - Game Boy Advance

The GameBoy Advance requires a bios.bin. The Emulation core is currently unknown.



Consoles

Links: App Store, Official website

\"Gamma\"

Information coming soon.



Gamma

Links: App Store, Official website

\"Gamma\"

Gamma is a semi-paid emulator that offers an advertisement-supported free tier. It has received criticism as it collects some personal data (almost certainly for the advertisements). It is a reasonable one-time $5 purchase and is continually being improved.

Adding ROMs

Transfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the + menu and locate your ROMs. Gamma supports bin/cues and ISOs. The paid version will support compressed files but seems only auto-decompress them.

Save States

In Delta, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button during gameplay. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus. When saving a state, click the save state option and then click the + button to save a new state. Loading states is even easier. Just tap Load State from the menu, locate the save you'd like to load, and tap it. Your game will resume in the exact place depicted in the screenshot.

Optional BIOS

Gamma uses the PCSX-ReARMed core, which uses, by default, reversed-engineered open-BIOS and does not require a BIOS to function. However, there may be extreme edge cases where this might cause minor issues (likely saving games). You can provide your own BIOS files by transferring a BIOS file to your iPhone. In Settings, locate Core Settings and tap the PlayStation. You must provide a bios.bin file. Tap and link them. It does not need to be named bios.bin



PPSSPP

Links: App Store, App Store (Gold), Official website

\"PPSSPP\"

PPSSPP is the gold standard for emulation experience as it cannot only play PPSSPP games but also enhance them beyond the original console's ability. Modern iPhones have enough horsepower to greatly enhance the graphics output of the PPSSPP titles.

Adding ROMs

Transfer ROMs to your iPhone; from the main screen, click the refresh menu and locate your ROMs. PPSSPP supports .iso, .cso, .pbp, and .chd.

Save States

In PPSSPP, save states are triggered by clicking the menu button or tapping the screen to bring up touch controls. This will allow you to bring up the load state or save state menus.

Graphics Options

Rendering Mode

Framerate Control

Speed Hacks (Can cause rendering errors!)

Performance

Texture Scaling

Hack Settings (May cause glitches)



Provenance

Links: App Store, Official website

\"Provenance\"

Provenance is one of the oldest iOS emulators, going back to jailbreaking days, going back at least to 2016. Provenance is a much more 'iOSified' front end of libretro, supporting roughly the same set of cores as RetroArch. Due to its history in iOS emulation, it has a strong user base.

Adding ROMs

Provenance has the ability to use a Web Server UI, akin to older iOS applications like GoodReader and Airdrop. Provenance's official website has a guide on how to use this feature. It works by creating a temporary web server that is accessible via HTTP (Web browser) on your local network and offers a simple upload solution.

Web Server

  1. Make sure your device's WiFi is turned on and connected to the same network as your computer.

  2. In Provenance: Turn on the Web Server:

    • Select the + button in the Game Library, or…

    • In Settings, select the Import/Export option.)

  3. Web Server Active. Make note of the [device-ip]

    • Access from a web browser, Web UI : http://[device-ip]

    • WebDAV: http://[device-ip]:81

AirDrop

File Sharing

Like other emulators, Provenance supports USB transfer. The ROMs go into Documents/Import

Save States

Press the menu button while playing a game. Choose the Save States option. From here, you can press the + button to create a new save state. You can also tap on an existing save state and choose to overwrite that state with a new one. This cannot be undone, so be sure that you back up the save state before doing this if you wish to keep it.

To load from an existing save state, press the menu button after loading a ROM. Here, you will find all of the save states you've manually created, as well as the automatic states. Tapping on a save state will present a menu allowing you to load the state.

Optional BIOS

Provenance uses the libretro cores, which require BIOS files for certain systems. These are the BIOS files required for certain systems:

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/18/the-definitive-guide-to-ios-emulation.html", "image": "/old_assets/8bitsofpower.jpg", "tags": ["ios","emulation"], "date_published": "2025-03-18T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-18T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/10/wordpress-auth0-for-all-users-without-wp-accounts.html", "title": "WordPress Auth0 for All Users Without WP Accounts: A plugin", "summary": null, "content_text": " Sometimes my blog actually covers web development, which is ostensibly what this blog is about instead of my random adventures in Mac geekiery. Recently, I needed to work on a portal site and integrate it into Auth0. The ask seemed simple: Users are required to use Auth0 to view a website. That's it. The problem was that the official Auth0 plugin assumes a few things: Users have a WordPress account Auth0 is only needed for the `wp-admin.` I am by no means any sort of security expert; thus, with a lot of googling and some AI-assisted development in about two partial days of development, I was able to create a simple solution in the `functions.php` and a must-use plugin. It'd force authentication on the front end, had a simple Auth0 callback, displayed a login screen if the user hadn't authenticated to our domain, and upon successful sign-in, redirected to the correct page. Then in the truest 2025 fashion, I copied my mess of code and pasted it into Claude, and after some fine-tuning, created a plugin, wp-auth0-for-all> Install and configure the Login by Auth0 plugin Download and install wp-auth0-for-all in your plugins. Activate wp-auth0-for-all Configure it in your settings This also includes some bonus features like wildcard excluded domains, optional auto-redirect, ability to use custom Auth0 domains. That's it. It's a simple plugin that forces Auth0 for all users without a need for WP accounts. The plugin page has more information in the ReadMe.", "content_html": "

Sometimes my blog actually covers web development, which is ostensibly what this blog is about instead of my random adventures in Mac geekiery.

Recently, I needed to work on a portal site and integrate it into Auth0. The ask seemed simple: Users are required to use Auth0 to view a website. That's it. The problem was that the official Auth0 plugin assumes a few things:

  1. Users have a WordPress account
  2. Auth0 is only needed for the `wp-admin.`

I am by no means any sort of security expert; thus, with a lot of googling and some AI-assisted development in about two partial days of development, I was able to create a simple solution in the `functions.php` and a must-use plugin. It'd force authentication on the front end, had a simple Auth0 callback, displayed a login screen if the user hadn't authenticated to our domain, and upon successful sign-in, redirected to the correct page.

Then in the truest 2025 fashion, I copied my mess of code and pasted it into Claude, and after some fine-tuning, created a plugin, wp-auth0-for-all

>
  1. Install and configure the Login by Auth0 plugin
  2. Download and install wp-auth0-for-all in your plugins.
  3. Activate wp-auth0-for-all
  4. Configure it in your settings
\"Auth0

This also includes some bonus features like wildcard excluded domains, optional auto-redirect, ability to use custom Auth0 domains.

That's it. It's a simple plugin that forces Auth0 for all users without a need for WP accounts. The plugin page has more information in the ReadMe.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/03/10/wordpress-auth0-for-all-users-without-wp-accounts.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-03-11-auth0-for-all.png", "tags": ["front","end","development"], "date_published": "2025-03-10T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2025-03-10T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/02/27/running-macos-in-docker.html", "title": "Running macOS using Docker... on a Synology Nas", "summary": null, "content_text": "Docker lets you run macOS in the most unusual places, like a Synology NAS, a computer that lacks a dedicated HDMI output and uses an AMD chipset. Legal Disclaimer: According to Apple's EULA, virtualizing macOS is only permitted on genuine Apple computers. This guide is for educational purposes only.Why Docker and Not Synology's VM Manager?Synology provides its own virtual machine software, but it doesn't natively support macOS for two reasons: The legal restrictions mentioned above Until recently, it emulated an outdated chipset lacking USB 3.0 and PCIe supportWhile Synology has updated their virtualization software to support the newer Q35 chipset for QEMU, I have not heard of anyone successfully installing macOS to run via it's virtual machine software.What is Docker?For those unfamiliar, Docker is a containerization platform that uses packages and small containers to run services. It's a lightweight form of virtualization popular among developers. The beauty of this approach is that someone has already created a Docker container for macOS, making our experiment possible.Setting Up macOS Ventura on SynologyPrerequisites A Synology NAS (I'm using a DS923+ with 32GB RAM) Container Manager (Docker) installed on your Synology At least 8GB of RAM to allocate to the virtual machineInstallation Steps Open Container Manager on your Synology Click on Registry and search for \"macOS\" Locate \"docker/macOS\" and download the image Click Project, then Create Select your storage path Name your project (e.g., \"ventura\" or \"sequoia\") Create a Docker compose YAML file with the following configuration:version: '3'services:macos:container_name: ventura # Or \"sequoia\" if using macOS Sequoiaimage: docker/macosenvironment: - MACOS_VERSION=ventura # Change to \"sequoia\" for macOS Sequoiamem_limit: 8G # Allocates 8GB RAM, default is 4GB if not specifiedports: - \"5999:5999\" # VNC port for accessing the virtual machineOnce configured, access your virtualized macOS through a web browser using the IP address of your Synology followed by the port number specified in your YAML file (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:5999).Performance and UsabilityThe DS923+ with its dual-core AMD Ryzen R600 isn't a performance monster, but it's surprisingly capable when running macOS Ventura: It performed more than twice as fast as a Mac Mini 2010 in Geekbench 6 tests The Weather app, which typically has graphical glitches on unsupported hardware, renders properly Apple Maps, however, appears almost completely blank Web browsing works well with Firefox (Safari experienced rendering issues)In my testing, the About This Mac page reported the system as an iMac Pro with a 2.6 GHz i3 processor, 7MB of VRAM, and 8GB of RAM (matching my allocation). Installation Note: During installation, the macOS installer may cause your Synology to reboot. Don't worry—just sign back in, restart the Container Manager, and continue where you left off. This might happen multiple times during the process.macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) StatusAs of this writing, macOS 15 Sequoia support is still problematic in this setup: The installer background doesn't load properly Performance is painfully slow For now, older macOS versions like Ventura offer a better experienceRunning on UbuntuThe same approach works on Ubuntu (and potentially other Linux distributions) with a few additional terminal commands:# Install Dockersudo apt updatesudo apt install docker.io# Start Dockersudo systemctl start docker# Add your user to the Docker groupsudo usermod -aG docker $USER# Navigate to your Docker compose file directorycd ~/Documents/docker-macos# Run the containerdocker-compose upWhen running on more powerful hardware (like a Mini PC with an i9-12900H), performance can rival that of a Mac Mini M1, even without GPU acceleration.ConclusionWhile macOS is usable through this Docker method on a Synology NAS, it's still a bit of a novelty. For serious VM work on NAS hardware, a Linux distro would likely be a better choice. That said, it's an impressive technical achievement and demonstrates the flexibility of both Docker and modern NAS systems.As dockerized macOS continues to develop, we may see improved performance and compatibility with newer macOS versions. For now, it's a fun experiment for the technically curious.Note: Docker containers can consume significant storage space. Remember to clean up unused images and containers when you want to free up space.", "content_html": "

Docker lets you run macOS in the most unusual places, like a Synology NAS, a computer that lacks a dedicated HDMI output and uses an AMD chipset.

Legal Disclaimer: According to Apple's EULA, virtualizing macOS is only permitted on genuine Apple computers. This guide is for educational purposes only.


Why Docker and Not Synology's VM Manager?

Synology provides its own virtual machine software, but it doesn't natively support macOS for two reasons:

  1. The legal restrictions mentioned above
  2. Until recently, it emulated an outdated chipset lacking USB 3.0 and PCIe support

While Synology has updated their virtualization software to support the newer Q35 chipset for QEMU, I have not heard of anyone successfully installing macOS to run via it's virtual machine software.

What is Docker?

For those unfamiliar, Docker is a containerization platform that uses packages and small containers to run services. It's a lightweight form of virtualization popular among developers. The beauty of this approach is that someone has already created a Docker container for macOS, making our experiment possible.

Setting Up macOS Ventura on Synology

Prerequisites

Installation Steps

  1. Open Container Manager on your Synology
  2. Click on Registry and search for \"macOS\"
  3. Locate \"docker/macOS\" and download the image
  4. Click Project, then Create
  5. Select your storage path
  6. Name your project (e.g., \"ventura\" or \"sequoia\")
  7. Create a Docker compose YAML file with the following configuration:
version: '3'services:macos:container_name: ventura  # Or \"sequoia\" if using macOS Sequoiaimage: docker/macosenvironment:    - MACOS_VERSION=ventura  # Change to \"sequoia\" for macOS Sequoiamem_limit: 8G  # Allocates 8GB RAM, default is 4GB if not specifiedports:    - \"5999:5999\"  # VNC port for accessing the virtual machine

Once configured, access your virtualized macOS through a web browser using the IP address of your Synology followed by the port number specified in your YAML file (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:5999).

Performance and Usability

The DS923+ with its dual-core AMD Ryzen R600 isn't a performance monster, but it's surprisingly capable when running macOS Ventura:

In my testing, the About This Mac page reported the system as an iMac Pro with a 2.6 GHz i3 processor, 7MB of VRAM, and 8GB of RAM (matching my allocation).

Installation Note: During installation, the macOS installer may cause your Synology to reboot. Don't worry—just sign back in, restart the Container Manager, and continue where you left off. This might happen multiple times during the process.

macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) Status

As of this writing, macOS 15 Sequoia support is still problematic in this setup:

Running on Ubuntu

The same approach works on Ubuntu (and potentially other Linux distributions) with a few additional terminal commands:

# Install Dockersudo apt updatesudo apt install docker.io# Start Dockersudo systemctl start docker# Add your user to the Docker groupsudo usermod -aG docker $USER# Navigate to your Docker compose file directorycd ~/Documents/docker-macos# Run the containerdocker-compose up

When running on more powerful hardware (like a Mini PC with an i9-12900H), performance can rival that of a Mac Mini M1, even without GPU acceleration.

Conclusion

While macOS is usable through this Docker method on a Synology NAS, it's still a bit of a novelty. For serious VM work on NAS hardware, a Linux distro would likely be a better choice. That said, it's an impressive technical achievement and demonstrates the flexibility of both Docker and modern NAS systems.

As dockerized macOS continues to develop, we may see improved performance and compatibility with newer macOS versions. For now, it's a fun experiment for the technically curious.

Note: Docker containers can consume significant storage space. Remember to clean up unused images and containers when you want to free up space.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/02/27/running-macos-in-docker.html", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-02-27T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2025-02-27T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/02/07/proton-asahi-linux-mac-gaming-tutorial.html", "title": "Transform Your Apple Silicon Mac into a Steam Deck with Asahi Linux, A Tutorial", "summary": null, "content_text": " Pre-Requisites and Warnings Asahi Linux is for Apple Silicon Macs. Intel Mac users can dual boot into Windows or popular distributions of Linux, which is significantly easier. If you're looking for an easier method of playing PC games on your Mac, I'd suggest my Install Windows Steam games on Apple Silicon Macs Using Whisky (A free GPTK Front-End) tutorial. Also, Crossover offers an even greater range of compatibility than Whisky although is paid software. Warning: This is still fairly experimental, be sure to back up all your data as you can \"brick\" your Mac if you are not careful. This may leave the Mac unbootable and require a DFU restore. I need to reiterate the that this is an experimental process and may not work as expected and constantly changing. For support questions I'd recommend using communities like r/AsahiLinux. Documentation: Check the official Asahi Linux docs for up-to-date support information (currently, only M1 and M2 series are supported; M3 series support is TBA). Storage: Ensure you have a significant amount of free SSD space (e.g., at least 100 GB free). As of now, installation to an external drive is not supported. Data Safety: This process can potentially render your Mac unbootable and may require a DFU recovery (which needs a secondary Mac). Back up all your data before proceeding. Step-by-Step Installation Guide Step 1: Download and Run the Installer Visit the official Asahi Linux website and copy the provided curl command. Open Terminal on your Mac and paste the command. This command downloads the installer script (typically alx.sh) and pipes it to sh for execution. The guided installer will launch. Choose to resize an existing partition to create space for Linux. Step 2: Partition Your SSD The installer will display your SSD capacity and free space. Decide on a partition size. Note that the value you enter represents the space to be kept for macOS, with the remainder allocated for Linux. For example, on a 2 TB drive, if you want to allocate 500 GB to Linux, enter 1500 GB for macOS. Wait patiently while the partitioning process completes (this may take up to 2 hours). Step 3: Install Asahi Linux Once partitioning is complete, select the option to install Linux into the free space. It will ask how much percentage of the free space you'd like to use for Linux. Typically most users will want to select 100% Choose your preferred desktop environment. Options typically include KDE Plasma (for customization) or GNOME (for simplicity). Decide how much of the free space to use for Linux (usually 100%) and assign a name to the new OS. Proceed with the installation by following the on-screen prompts. Step 4: Boot into Asahi Linux After installation, fully shut down your Mac. This should be done via the terminal as the installer prompt will ask you to hit enter to shut down. Hold down the power button while turning on your computer and release it when it lists the boot menu to access the boot selector, and choose Asahi Linux. Boot into recovery mode where a Terminal window will open. Enter your password and agree to add a custom boot object (this sets your security to permissive mode for Linux). Create your username and password if prompted. Step 5: Set Up the Linux Environment Congrats! You should now be in Redhat Asahi Linux! Proceed through the basic installation prompts (language, user account, timezone) etc. If you've made it here, you're past the difficult part. Now it's time to get things ready. Open Terminal in Asahi Linux. Update the system by running: sudo dnf upgrade This command updates all packages—including the latest Vulkan drivers. Install Steam by running: sudo dnf install steam The installation may take some time, and Steam should launch automatically once complete. Step 6: Configure Steam and Enable Proton You'll need to sign into your Steam account as you normally would and enable steam play. Log into Steam once it launches. To enable Proton (which allows Windows games to run), go to Steam Settings > Compatibility and check “Enable Steam Play.” Restart Steam or your computer if prompted. Before installing games, visit ProtonDB to verify compatibility. If a game isn’t listed as working, it will not function correctly under this configuration. Additional Notes The first launch of a game may take longer due to shader compilation. You can force different Proton versions per game. Right-click a game in Steam, select Properties > Compatibility, and choose your preferred Proton version. Many games may still have issues due to the experimental nature of the setup. I need to reiterate that this is early stages of support, as it's only been recently where Vulkan drivers have matured enough to support Proton. Asahi Linux still has a long ways to go. It's a viable OS but has some beta-bugs, such as not sleeping properly. I found my M1 Max was warm when I pulled it out of my backpack despite having put it to sleep and the battery was mostly drained.", "content_html": "

Pre-Requisites and Warnings

Asahi Linux is for Apple Silicon Macs. Intel Mac users can dual boot into Windows or popular distributions of Linux, which is significantly easier. If you're looking for an easier method of playing PC games on your Mac, I'd suggest my Install Windows Steam games on Apple Silicon Macs Using Whisky (A free GPTK Front-End) tutorial. Also, Crossover offers an even greater range of compatibility than Whisky although is paid software.


Warning: This is still fairly experimental, be sure to back up all your data as you can \"brick\" your Mac if you are not careful. This may leave the Mac unbootable and require a DFU restore.

I need to reiterate the that this is an experimental process and may not work as expected and constantly changing. For support questions I'd recommend using communities like r/AsahiLinux.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Step 1: Download and Run the Installer

  1. Visit the official Asahi Linux website and copy the provided curl command.
  2. Open Terminal on your Mac and paste the command. This command downloads the installer script (typically alx.sh) and pipes it to sh for execution.
  3. The guided installer will launch. Choose to resize an existing partition to create space for Linux.

Step 2: Partition Your SSD

  1. The installer will display your SSD capacity and free space. Decide on a partition size. Note that the value you enter represents the space to be kept for macOS, with the remainder allocated for Linux.
  2. For example, on a 2 TB drive, if you want to allocate 500 GB to Linux, enter 1500 GB for macOS.
  3. Wait patiently while the partitioning process completes (this may take up to 2 hours).

Step 3: Install Asahi Linux

  1. Once partitioning is complete, select the option to install Linux into the free space. It will ask how much percentage of the free space you'd like to use for Linux. Typically most users will want to select 100%
  2. Choose your preferred desktop environment. Options typically include KDE Plasma (for customization) or GNOME (for simplicity).
  3. Decide how much of the free space to use for Linux (usually 100%) and assign a name to the new OS.
  4. Proceed with the installation by following the on-screen prompts.

Step 4: Boot into Asahi Linux

  1. After installation, fully shut down your Mac. This should be done via the terminal as the installer prompt will ask you to hit enter to shut down.
  2. Hold down the power button while turning on your computer and release it when it lists the boot menu to access the boot selector, and choose Asahi Linux.
  3. Boot into recovery mode where a Terminal window will open. Enter your password and agree to add a custom boot object (this sets your security to permissive mode for Linux).
  4. Create your username and password if prompted.

Step 5: Set Up the Linux Environment

Congrats! You should now be in Redhat Asahi Linux! Proceed through the basic installation prompts (language, user account, timezone) etc. If you've made it here, you're past the difficult part. Now it's time to get things ready.

  1. Open Terminal in Asahi Linux.
  2. Update the system by running: 
    sudo dnf upgrade
    This command updates all packages—including the latest Vulkan drivers.
  3. Install Steam by running: 
    sudo dnf install steam
    The installation may take some time, and Steam should launch automatically once complete.

Step 6: Configure Steam and Enable Proton

You'll need to sign into your Steam account as you normally would and enable steam play.

  1. Log into Steam once it launches.
  2. To enable Proton (which allows Windows games to run), go to Steam Settings > Compatibility and check “Enable Steam Play.” Restart Steam or your computer if prompted.
  3. Before installing games, visit ProtonDB to verify compatibility. If a game isn’t listed as working, it will not function correctly under this configuration.

Additional Notes

I need to reiterate that this is early stages of support, as it's only been recently where Vulkan drivers have matured enough to support Proton. Asahi Linux still has a long ways to go. It's a viable OS but has some beta-bugs, such as not sleeping properly. I found my M1 Max was warm when I pulled it out of my backpack despite having put it to sleep and the battery was mostly drained.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2025/02/07/proton-asahi-linux-mac-gaming-tutorial.html", "image": "/images/posts/2025-02-07-futureofmacgaming.jpg", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2025-02-07T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2025-02-07T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2018/05/07/definitive-mac-pro-upgrade-guide.html", "title": "The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide", "summary": null, "content_text": "\t\t\tThis guide is a living document, it was last updated: 03/27/252025-03-27ter\t\t Supporters Thank you After years of maintaining this guide for free, I now am accepting patreon supporters. There's content for non-members as well so be sure to check it out. I'd like to thank Quin's Tech Corner as my first supporter, if you're into retro Macs, especially the PowerPC era Macs, check out his content on YouTube.\t\t\tContents\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Cheese Grater's last stand & Big Sur\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNow on YouTube!\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpecial Announcements\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe community tip jars\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMini-Glossary\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKnow your Mac Pro's Model\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIdentify a Mac Pro Visually\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 5,1 2010 vs 2012\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe overview\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBifurcation\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe Power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs 4.0 and its impact on GPU performance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPower Supply\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe Power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tATX Power Supplies?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe 4.0 GPUs and the Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFast Resource Loading API / DirectStorage API\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFirmware Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2006 1,1 Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2007 2,1 Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2008 3,1 Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2010-2012 5,1 Mac Pro Firmware\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdating a Mac Pro 4,1 to 5,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdating Firmware Strategies for Mac Pro 5,1s\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOS Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMonterey vs Big Sur vs Catalina vs. Mojave \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmacOS 15 Sequoia? \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownloading old versions of macOS\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOS Installer is Damaged error\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.15+ - Known Issues\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpgrading beyond 10.14 Mojave: OpenCore vs DosDude1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRunning DosDude1 Patcher Successfully\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOpenCore: Codec acceleration, boot selection, and unpatched OS updates\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRunning DosDude1 Patcher Successfully\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisabling SIP\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStop the \"Upgrade to MacOS...\" banners\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRunning Apps from unidentified developers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 1,1/2,1 and Pike's Script\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInstruction Sets, SSE 4.2, VT-x/EPT, AVX/AVX2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to replace the CPUs in a 4,1 - 5,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU Compatibility Charts\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2009 / 2010 - 2012 (4,1, 5,11)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2008 (3,1)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2006-2007 (1,1, 2,1)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCheck your CPU Model\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGuides on Upgrading CPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelidding CPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMicroarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBenchmarking\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGPU Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDividing Up The GPU landscape\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSummary of GPU options\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOEM EFI Bootable Cards / Aftermarket EFI Bootable\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFlashable to EFI compatible cards\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNon-Mac-EFI Compatible GPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tComplete Aftermarket GPUs List\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Navi 21 GPUs (Radeon 6800 - 6900 XT)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnsupported by Metal GPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 3.1s and AMD GPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNVidia GPU and Mac OS\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe state of NVidia drivers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNVidia Webdriver Manual Installation\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNVidia Driver Automatic Installation\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhich card should I buy?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI want a GPU that has a boot screen and is Metal (Mojave 10.14+) compatible...\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInstalling a GPU\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInstalling a 2.5x height GPU (such as a Radeon 590x)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHDMI (and Display Port) Audio\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMixing and Matching GPUs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Most Powerful GPU\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI/O Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUSB 3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUSB 3.1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUSB Cards and Performance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSATA/eSATA\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFirewire\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEthernet (10 Gigabit)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThunderbolt\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStorage Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTime Machine\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSoft RAID and post 10.13\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSATA SSDs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tM.2 SSD hosts (sleds)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan I use a card that isn't listed that hosts multiple NVMe drives?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tM.2 and Heat sinks\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAHCI SSDs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNVMe SSDs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNot All SSDs are equal\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnabling TRIM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Fastest Boot\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnabling NVMe on the Mac Pro 3.1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaking PCIe drives appear as internal Drives\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSummary: Getting the most out of your SSD\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBenchmarking SSDs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFusion Drives\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisplay Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5k and Beyond\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Current State of 8k\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10-Bit Color / Color Spacing\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRefresh rates: 60 Hz (and above) 4k\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDual-Link DVI Displays & Modern GPUs (and the 30-inch Cinema Display)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhy you can go HDMI to DisplayPort but not the inverse\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUsing a 4k TV as a display\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUI scaling\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDoes my GPU support 4k?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tControl Brightness on a 3rd Party Display\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple Thunderbolt 27-Inch Cinema Display (and the LED 27-inch Display)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRecommended Places to go for Monitor Recommendations\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBluetooth / Wireless Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmini PCIe Wireless\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUSB Wireless\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe Wireless\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM Upgrades\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 5,1 (2010/2012)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 4,1 (2009)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 3,1 (2008)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 1,1/2,1 (2006/2007)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCAS latency\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDDR3: Registered vs. Unregistered (unbuffered) RAM (RDIMM vs. UDIMM)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM ranks (1Rx4 vs 2Rx4, vs 4Rx4)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAudio\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProsumer/Pro Audio\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPro Audio Applications\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOther Upgrades/hacks\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBlu Ray / Blu Ray Writer\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFan Control\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHidden SATA ports (1,1 - 3,1)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPCIe expansion\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro Pixlas PSU Mod\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExternal Power Supplies\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReplacing the Battery\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNorthBridge High-Temperature fix\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3D Printed Replacement Hard Drive Trays / 2.5-inch Adapters\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFan / Heat Sink / other case part Replacement, Liquid Cooling\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCustom Front USB 3.0 PCB\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tiPhone as a webcam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCustom Cases\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBootmanagers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLook up Serial Number\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinux on 2006 Mac Pros\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 10 on Mac Pros\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 10 Install via Optical Drive\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 10 Install via Virtualbox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 10 and OpenCore\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnabling Handoff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdate Recovery Partition on Unsupported Macs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnabling Nightshift on Mac Pros\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnabling Apple Watch Auto Unlock with the Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSidecar and the classic Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMulti-OS USB Bootable Flash Drives\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpgrading from a single CPU to dual CPU on a 2009 - 2012\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOculus Quest/Quest 2 (and VR Headsets)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiagnosing/Troubleshooting problems\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUser Manuals/Service Manuals\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuying Used Mac Pros on eBay\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCollected Articles on classic Mac Pro and the 2019 Mac Pro\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommunities\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2013 Mac Pro Upgrade Guide!\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2019 Mac Pro Upgrade Guide?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChangelog\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t The largest/most complete guide to all possible classic Mac Pro upgrades covering OS, Firmware, GPU, CPU, Storage, USB, and Network upgrades. Upgrading a classic Mac Pro isn't hard. The information is out there, but knowing what is possible, what questions to ask, and where to find it isn't nearly as easy. This is less a how-to guide/manual than it is a roadmap to primary sources by other brilliant people, written to be accessible to both new and advanced users. It has been continuously updated for over four years and will continue to be updated as long as there is a community to make new discoveries. I hope you find this guide useful. The Cheese Grater's last stand This guide's intro has changed multiple times over the years as the landscape has radically altered for the Mac, and after seven years, my perspective has changed. The Mac Pro 2006 - 2012 represents a high watermark for Apple, an era unburdened by the preoccupation of iOS and the trappings of planned obsolescence or its self-indulgence of $1000 monitor stands or $10,000 smartwatches. Apple still offered a practical, user-serviceable that was as beautiful on the inside as the outside. The dedication to these computers is as much of a testament to their success as much as it was to Apple's misteps and inability to offer an affordable heir. Apple Silicon's future is bright but under the shadow of right-to-repair. Now, with the era of the Intel Mac coming to a close, there's a slightly poetic quality that the classic Mac Pro, the pinnacle of modular computing, will be there to see its end. Apple Silicon is very impressive, and Apple's offerings in the portable space, be it iPhones, iPads, or even laptops, are unmatched. I'm not sure if I'd extend the same courtesy to their desktops. If you'd like to read the old intro, click the show old intro below. Like many, I had quite a few thoughts about the Mac Pro 2019. If you want my personal take, you can read it here. Show old intro Apple finally announced a new Mac Pro after the failed 2013 Mac Pro. Little did we know, the trashcan design was a multiplane metaphor, not only as an ode to planned obsolescence but to Apple's opinion of Pro users as it even failed to capitalize on providing modest updates, the computer that was meant to be replaced but without replacements. The cMac Pro (Classic Mac Pro) remains the high water mark of Apple professional computers, easily besting even the G3/G4 era computers, which made for very upgradable CPUs, GPUs, and RAM (thanks to the famed folding door design and CPU daughter cards). Regardless of the new Mac Pro, we're nearly at the end of the road for the classic Mac Pro. Apple officially dropped the 1,1 - 3,1 Mac Pro support, although (some) of the Mac Pros can be hacked to run current OSes. Thunderbolt PCIe chassis finally (sorta) officially supports external GPUs, making the Mac Pro a little less necessary. The iMac Pro's single-core performance is double that of a Mac Pro 5,1, even with an Xeon X5690. This level of performance is bound to trickle down in the next few years to more modest Mac configurations. If the Mac Mini ever received an update to an LGA-1151, let alone an LGA 2066 and ThunderBolt 3, it'd challenge the Mac Pro 5.1. Edit: There's now an updated Mac Mini and despite the fixed CPU, its an improvement. Then there's the rumor of ARM Macintoshes in the future, in the darkest of timelines where the modular computer is killed as SOC computing takes over. Computers are locked out of OS upgrades as quickly as a phone. In this dystopian future, Apple has its way, and we're forever on hardware upgrades, tossing working machines in landfills, or worse, Google has its way, relegating us to a hellscape of thin clients and subscription services and our own data held as bounty behind a paywall even as every bit is mined deeper like a Pennsylvanian quarry. Lastly, there's Phoenix Act, where the Mac Pro 7.1 (2019?) is a triumphant return to a user-serviceable, upgradable box replete with PCIe slots. The Mac Pro, in this scenario, becomes the vanguard of the current community of solder-iron-wielding outcasts, cantankerous power users, and cranky creative professionals, people disaffected in the era of iOS. It'd be the unity of rejects who cling to the past, not out of nostalgia but out of practicality, a mob completely ready to abandon their aging hardware. More than likely, we'll get a Mac Pro that's a middling mess, an attempt to appease Johnny Ive's ego over the requirements of its target audience. Whatever the future holds, the Mac Pro Cheesegraters are long-in-tooth, and the viability of using one as a daily driver is fading, but with the right upgrades, there is still life left. This guide is an ode to the best computer ever made, the classic Mac Pro, an engineering marvel marking the high-water mark of performance, ease of use, and user serviceability. – Greg A quick aside for self-indulgence: I originally wrote in 2013 an upgrade guide for the Mac Pro, back in my earliest years of blogging (when this blog was hosted on Tumblr, mistaking Tumblr a utility for blogging). It was talky, anecdotal, and amateurish, mostly upgrades I had done myself at various points, but also one of the first attempts at an all-encompassing guide for upgrading Mac Pros. I updated the blog post infrequently over the years, and it became a briar patch of disparate rambling, thorned with tangents and asides. I felt it reflected poorly as I've become a marginally better writer... at least that of an HS sophomore. I decided to clean up, update, and rework my blog post, but it became very apparent I should start anew as I was already committing a wholesale field burn. The result is this guide: a roadmap to upgrades with all the relevant info and primary sources (and many words and a bit of ego-death for the sake of continuity). A hearty thanks to all the communities and websites where Mac power users still exist: MacRumors, Netkas, XL8yourmac, TonyMacx86, EveryMac, Ars Technica, Reddit, and to The Mac Pro Upgrade group on FB (users Martin L, Jay V, Gianluca M, Jean-Paul R. John C, Brennan F, Peter K, Antonio A, Adam S and many others) and Mac Pro Users on FB, (Eric Z.) for providing feedback, the guys who do a lot of heavy lifting in the community like Martin (h9826790), tsialex, Jay Fac and many users who've taken the time to email me to correct any errors. Even MacVidCards chimed in to correct this guide. I've learned as much as anyone writing and refining this guide. YouTube Channel This guide is now expanding into video. The goal is to create videos related to Mac upgrades, specifically the Mac Pro, Youtube.com: Mac Pro Upgrade Guide. Videos will be added to this guide as they are created to the relevant, but there'll be content exclusive to the channel, too, so please do subscribe. Think of the guide as a companion to this guide, as the latest info will be here and this guide will remain the focus as, quite frankly writing is easier than video. Special Announcements The Radeon 6000 series is now flashable to work with the classic Mac Pros. Here we go again, The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide beta is now public, 100% ad-free and open to the world. Community Tip Jars There's been a lot of tireless work put in by the community at large, all the resources are freely available. A few members have tip jars as a way of saying thank-you. Syncretic aka Piquant Innovation - Creator of Latebloom/SurPlus enabling Mac Pros to boot beyond macOS 11.2. Direct link to tip jar. House of Moth - (blog featured frequently in this guide), featuring the Pixlas mod tutorial and video tutorial. He also has a Patreon located on his blog. MartinLO - Maintainer of the most popular preconfiguration of OpenCore for the Mac Pros and tireless advocate for the Mac Pros. If you want to thank me, check me out on YouTube or visit my patreon. Getting Started Running a classic Mac Pro today means using workarounds. This guide is long and sometimes a bit hectic as there's quite a bit of onboarding jumping into the world of classic Mac Pros, as they are aging hardware and thus not always straightforward. Here's a short list of considerations before taking the plunge Mac Pros require workarounds to run the latest OSes. The 1,1/2,1 cannot run the latest OSes. Apple switched from OpenGL/OpenCL to Metal as its graphics API. This switch meant dropping support for many old GPUs. Thus, generally, you will need to replace the GPU to run macOS Mojave or above. Most modern GPUs will not support the pre-boot screen, meaning you will not see a picture until the OS has loaded the full graphics drivers. Apple's feud with NVidia means that no modern NVidia GPUs are supported in macOS. It's effectively AMD-only GPUs. A few high-end GPUs draw more power than the Mac Pro PCIe power leads, thus requiring modifying the power supply pin-outs. GPU drivers are tied to the OS release, meaning if you want to use a newer GPU like the 5700 XT, it will only work in 10.15 or later. OpenCore allows the Mac Pros to run the latest OSes with minimal workarounds and enables the boot screen by loading the correct pre-boot drivers. OpenCore pairs with various tweaks like SurPlus to enable support for macOS 11.3 and above. Depending on the wifi chipset, you may upgrade your Mac Pro for wifi support in the latest operating systems. The Mac Pros can run Windows 10 but require different installs depending if you are using OpenCore or not. The Mac Pro 1,1 can run Windows 10. The 4,1s/5,1s have native NVMe support but require a firmware update in order to do so. Due to PCIe bus limitations, getting full NVMe speeds requires expensive M.2 hosts with special chipsets. Going through the process of updating and maintaining a Mac Pro is a crash course in both macOS/OS X's underpinnings and modular computing. For users looking for a painless experience, I recommend buying a used iMac 27-inch 2014 and above as they are fast, can be found for relatively cheap, and run the latest OSes without upgrades or workarounds. For those who are interested in the path of becoming a power user or already are, the Mac Pro is a great place to start. Mini-Glossary of Terms / About this guide Jumping into the world of Mac OS can be daunting as there's a lot of assumed tribal knowledge and history. I try to avoid unnecessary shorthand, but there are a few unavoidable terms. I like to write for as many people as possible and to remain accessible. For sanity's sake, there is a base assumption for understanding but hopefully a low-enough bar that novice users can follow along and learn. We all start somewhere, and no one should ever feel bad for asking questions. Examples of assumed knowledge would be the fundamental difference between an SSD and Hard Drive or what CPU cores are. . Many other sources can educate users on these topics and do a better job than I would. Even then, I try to explain core concepts or provide links when necessary to help educate a user. This means this guide is long but informative. The initial inclination will be to skip sections. However, some key information may often be discussed in intros and other sections. I've tried to mitigate this, but in the GPU and storage sections, there's a lot of information to digest. If you feel that something is unclear or never adequately explained, please reach out to me and let me know, as my readers are a global audience from all walks of life and have a wide variety of skill sets. I've often been humbled by people who are much more knowledgeable than me, and I appreciate anyone who points out errors or novices who feel something is confusing. Please see the Changelog for more details on how to reach out to me. We all start somewhere, and I frequently question my own aptitude when I see how much heavy lifting others have done to make this guide a reality. For my more technical users, I depend on you for accuracy. This is truly a community effort. Lastly, one regrettable note for my international readers: I list prices in USD, dates Month/Day/Year, and measurements in imperial as I live on the mainland of the United States and thus also incur some of the bias of an American English speaker. Prices differ vastly in foreign markets, and unfortunately, generally, the US is remarkably cheaper for Apple products and some hardware upgrades. Any buying advice will reflect the bias that is implicit to someone living in the US. As far as measurements, I apologize for our measurement system based on ambiguous associations with tangible objects like a child would use. I fully admit the metric system is superior. Temperatures in this guide are expressed in Celsius as computer thermals sensor default to Celsius. APFS - Short for Apple File System, a proprietary file system used on Mac OS and iOS. File systems define how data is stored and retrieved in an operating system. Like all software, file systems has limitations, and APFS was used to fix many of the shortcomings of HFS+. The transition to APFS was (relatively) smooth, but Apple chose not to support certain older hardware when it moved to APFS. Bits vs. Bytes - You probably know this one by heart: There are 8-bits to every byte. For this guide to avoid confusion, I use bytes instead of bits when discussing all things bandwidth-related, even though networking favors bits and local storage favors bytes. It's easy to mistake bits for bytes as it hinges on capitalization. 10 gigabits-per-sec is written in shorthand as 10 Gbps. 10 Gigabytes-per-second is written as 10 GBps or 10 GB/s. Converting bits to bytes means dividing by eight. 10 Gbps = 1.25 GB/s (or 1.25 GBps). Operating systems express download speeds in bytes per second, which confuses consumers as internet connections are not. For example, A 100 Mbps network connection has a maximum bandwidth of 12.5 MB/s. cMP - shorthand for classic Mac Pro. It is used to refer to any Mac Pro released between 2006-2012. The phrase \"Classic Mac Pro\" only refers to these models and not the similar-looking PowerMac G5 or the 2013 Mac Pro. Cheesegrater - Slang for the classic Mac Pros. I did not invent this term. This term arose to describe the billet metal on the front/back of the Mac Pros that resembles a \"cheesegrater,\" although functionally, it'd be more appropriate to use it as a pasta press. EFI - Short for Extensible Firmware Interface, a specification designed by Intel to replace BIOS as the method to interface between an operating system and the platform firmware. This former isn't essential to understand beyond that it is a computer's firmware. Apple adopted EFI on Intel Macs, which is the interface that allows selecting a boot drive before OS X begins booting (by holding down the option), among other pre-OS loading functionality. I use the term EFI slightly loosely as I'll refer to the boot screen as the EFI, even though it isn't all that EFI provides for the Mac. It is also important to understand that the UEFI (Universal Extensible Firmware Interface), now the industry standard for PCs, isn't the same as Apple's EFI on computers from 2013 before. They are similar, but Apple's implementation varies partly due to age (predating UEFI by a few years) and partly due to the closed nature of Mac OS. Apple has since begun adopting (at least portions of it) UEFI, so the implications for the 2019 Mac Pro and GPUs are better. In order for a GPU to display a pre-boot screen, Universal Graphics Adapter Protocol (UGA) support on the GPU for the Mac Pro 1,1/5,1s. The more modern UEFI replaced UGA with Graphics Output Protocol (GOP), which is not used on the classic Mac Pros. Most aftermarket cards only support GOP and not UGA. This means without using OpenCore. Aftermarket GPU upgrades will not output video before the drivers are loaded. The lack of UEFI also has implications for other OSes like Windows, where MBR (Master Boot Record) needs to be used instead of UEFI if you are not using OpenCore. 32-Bit EFI - When used in this guide, bits are pretty much limited to discussion of a CPU architecture or color depth. 64-bit CPUs can execute binaries that use 64-bit virtual memory spaces. A 32-bit CPU was limited to 4 GB of memory space, whereas a 64-bit CPU can address roughly 18.4 exabytes. 64-bit CPUs are not faster at executing 32-bit code unless the memory thresholds prohibit functionality. (It's a common mistake on the internet to refer to certain Macs as \"32-bit,\" as almost all Intel Macs (sans the Core Duo Models) have had 64-bit CPUs. However, some of the older Macs, like the 2006-2007 Mac Pros, used 32 Bit EFI. Apple dropped support for 32-bit EFI and Macs that do not support SSE4.1 with Mac OS 10.12. 10.15 Catalina dropped support for 32-bit applications. DosDude1 - the handle of a prodigious Mac OS scripter who makes Mac OS installable on a large swath of older Macintoshes, under the same name, generally referred to as some variation of DosDude1 Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs. In this guide, I refer to DosDude1 not as the person but as the scripts he has written. See his personal website. I encourage users to donate to him for his hard work. Firmware - a term you probably have heard and already possess some understanding of, the standard definition is a program that is written into Read-Only Memory (ROMs) and requires a specialized process to change (if it can be changed at all) called Flashing. Flash/Flashing - The act of writing over data that exists in an otherwise in Read-Only Memory (ROM) or space (Firmware). Hackintosh - Any non-Apple hardware that is running any version of Mac OS, generally standard PCs using a lot of workarounds. HFS+ - Short for Hierarchical File System and also referred to as \"Mac OS Extended,\" a proprietary file system used on Mac OS, released with Mac OS 8.1 in 1998. It remained the default file system for Apple for nearly two decades, used on Mac OS 8/9, OS X, the iPod, and early versions of iOS, but lacked some core features found on file systems developed later. HomeBrew - long-time computer users are probably familiar with the term \"homebrew\" in regards to user/hobbyist applications written for systems that generally were closed architecture, like a videogame console. However, with regards to the Macintosh platform, HomeBrew is a package manager for macOS for (mostly) command-line utilities. Package managers function, in principle, like an app store for open source software, as you can quickly install, update, and uninstall the software from your command line. For developers, Homebrew occupies a very important space as it's one of the most preferred ways to install nodejs, python, git, MySQL, as well as utilities like youtube-dl, FFmpeg, imagemagick, and MonitorControl. Kext - With OS X, the architecture for drivers uses kernel extensions called .kext files. Kexts are supremely powerful and the backbone for the Hackintosh community to enable unsupported hardware. However, Apple has deprecated kexts in 10.15 Catalina for security reasons, replacing them with EndpointSecurity, SystemExtensions, and DriverKit. How this affects unsupported hardware remains to be seen. Kexts are located within /System/Library/Extension and /Library/Extensions. Mac OS / OS X / macOS - Mac OS X is Apple's XNU kernel-based operating system that evolved from NeXTstep. Mac OS X was rebranded to macOS in 2016. I use these interchangeably as I have a tough time accepting macOS, which is still OS X. The difference is superficial. Generally, Apple writes macOS, but I find this annoying, so you'll see Mac OS littered through this guide. Mac OS is not to be confused with Mac OS classic (Mac OS 7.x - 9.x). Today, all of Apple's OSes share the XNU kernel and are all descendants of NeXTStep. Metal - Previously, Apple's default graphics library for graphics acceleration was OpenGL (Open Graphics Library), used on iOS and Mac OS. Over time, OpenGL fell behind in performance and features when compared to a library like Microsoft's DirectX. Without an ideal candidate to replace it (OpenGL's successor, Vulkan, would not be released until 2016), Apple created its own graphics library called Metal and shipped it in 2014 on iOS 8 first. Later, Apple ported Metal to OSX. Mac OS 10.14 Mojave uses Metal to now power Mac OS. The new API does not support many old GPUs, as their drivers were not updated. Metal often draws ire from users as it dropped support for many older GPUs that OpenGL drivers had. Regardless, had Apple used Vulkan, there'd been a day of reckoning with older hardware and support that Apple was unlikely to support. NVRAM/PRAM - Non-volatile random-access memory (previously Parameter RAM) is a space reserved for various low-level settings found on Macs pertaining to the pre-boot settings. These settings contain data such as default boot volume, backup boot volumes, default audio output, audio levels, computer's name, Keyboard language, backlight level (for laptops), whether Bluetooth is enabled, default GPU, etc. The contents of the NVRAM can be viewed via the terminal using nvram -xp. The difference between NVRAM vs. PRAM is transparent to the user. NVRAM uses a small storage space using flash-based storage, whereas the PRAM uses a battery to keep the settings buffered in the RAM. Occasionally, problems can arise (generally associated with hardware upgrades) that can cause problems. Resetting the NVRAM is still referred to as \"zapping the PRAM.\" This is performed by holding down the Command + option + p + r keys during boot prior to the system chime, which will cause the computer to reboot immediately and chime again. This will clear out the NVRAM. Alternatively, the NVRAM ram can reset via the terminal using nvram ​-c, which will require restarting manually for the changes to take effect. OpenCore - In the Hackintosh world, utilities are usually required to facilitate booting macOS on unsupported hardware, commonly referred to as \"boot loaders\" like Clover. OpenCore is the latest iteration of the boot loader, designed to be more modular, stable, and useful to non-Hackintosh Macs. It can emulate EFIs, allowing for additional functionality. For the Mac Pros, OpenCore can enable a pre-boot screen to pick a bootable drive, and its UEFI emulation can be used in 10.14 to enable hardware encoding of MPEG (.h264), among other things. It can be paired with other fixes like SurPlus to extend support to even macOS 12. OpenCore Legacy Project (OCLP) - a subset of OpenCore specifically for legacy Mac support that makes installation for old Macs (not just Mac Pros) a two-click process, greatly simplifying the initial process. SIP - System integrity protection, a feature of later Mac OS introduced in OS X El Capitan, that walls off portions of low-level features of Mac OS to protect it from malware. Before this, any application with root-level access could read/edit/modify system files. However, sometimes, when performing certain hacks, it requires disabling during installation and then re-enabling. There are legitimate reasons why users may want to leave it disabled. See Disable System integrity protection for instructions. See About System Integrity Protection on your Mac on Apple.com for more details. Terminal/shell - OS X is famously built on NeXTStep, which was a *nix-based operating system that gave it access to a new (old) feature, a command-line shell. This allowed Mac users to interact with the OS akin to Unix/Linux. Many advanced Mac OS operations can only be performed via the terminal, such as disabling SIP or enabling TRIM for an SSD. Users unfamiliar with the world of the terminal should always exercise due diligence before copy and pasting random snippets of code found on the web for the terminal. Any Mac user looking to become a power user should make an effort to learn terminal basics. The ability to operate the terminal unlocks a feature set outside of the GUI and can do many of the functions that the GUI can do. An additional perk is that terminal skills translate to Linux and Unix, good for server management/networking or web development. Many utilities are command-line only, like the ever-power ImageMagick, which can batch-process images much faster than GUI applications. Prior to 10.15, Apple used Bash for its terminal but now has pivoted to ZSH. Trashcan - While Mac OS has a trash can for deleting files, in the context of this guide, this used to poke fun at the Mac Pro 2013 for its looks and lack of functionality compared to the almighty classic Mac Pro. Despite its shortcomings, I wrote The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide. Know your Mac Pro's Model A good portion of this guide (and others) uses terminology such as \"Mac Pro 2008\" or Mac Pro 4,1 or Mac Pro 6,1 when referring to what upgrades are feasible. The classic Mac Pros come in five iterations, and the Mac Pro family currently has seven different iterations. You can find out a Mac Pro's version by going to \"About this Mac\" under the Apple menu. All classic Mac Pros share a base level of specifications: Four full-length PCIe Slots, 1 mini PCIe slot for an Airport/Bluetooth card, four SATA2 3.5 drive bays, two 5.25 inch Optical drive bays (ATA on 3,1 and lower Mac Pros, SATA2 on Mac Pro 4.1+) dual Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 2.0 ports, two Firewire 400 ports, two Firewire 800 ports, and optical digital audio in/out. The differences pertain to the bus/RAM/CPUs and tray designs for RAM and CPUs. Visually, from the exterior, these computers are the same and difficult to identify from each other without opening them up. Internally, the 1,1/2,1s and 4,1/5,1s are nearly identical. A 1,1 Mac Pro can be firmware flashed to a 2,1 Mac Pro, and a 4,1 can be flashed to a 5,1 Mac Pro. The best way to verify the original computer's version is via its model number (or serial number). For more info, see EveryMac's Mac Pro specification section and EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mac Pro Model Name/Year CPUs Max OS Description Mac Pro 1.,1 / 2006 Woodcrest 10.11.6 with Pike's Script The first iteration of Mac Pros. The firmware can be upgraded to 2,1 using 32-bit EFI. PCIe 1.0. Lacks SSE4 (aka SSE4.1) Mac Pro 2,1 / 2007 Clovertown 10.11.6 with Dosdude1 The 2,1s were released only in dual quad-core CPU configurations. 2006 dual 2x Core Mac Pros sold used the 1,1 firmware, whereas the 2.1s use a slightly updated firmware. Like the 1,1 before, it uses 32-bit EFI. PCIe 1.0 + ATA for optical bays. Lacks SSE4 (aka SSE4.1) Mac Pro 3,1 / 2008 Harpertown / Penryn macOS 32 with OpenCore (Sequoia is semi suported) The Mac Pro 2008s are the odd man out as there are few CPU options compared to the 1,1/2,1 Mac Pros and 4.1/ 5,1 Mac Pros, 64-bit EFI can use modern macOS with minimal hacking. The 2008 Mac Pros lack SSE 4.2 instruction set on the CPUs as well as EPT/VT-x support, which aids greatly in virtual machine-related tasks. For the most part, neither is required, although the SSE 4.2 support means using modified drivers for modern AMD GPUs. The lack of later CPU instructions means some software isn't as performant. PCIe 2.0 + ATA for optical bays. Optional SATA ports for the optical bay. The Mac Pro dual 4-core 3,1s performance is less than a single CPU 6 Core Mac Pro 5,1. Mac Pro 4,1 / 2009 Nehalem macOS 13 with OpenCore (Sequoia is suported) The firmware can be upgraded to 5.1 and uses 64-bit EFI. When flashed, they are natively supported for Mojave 10.14, depending on the GPU. 4.1s tend to be the budget upgrader's choice (as historically, they can be had for cheaper than a 5,1 Mac Pro). There is no performance difference between a flashed 4,1 -> 5,1 and a computer that shipped with the 5,1 firmware. However, the Mac Pro 4,1 requires delidded CPUs for dual CPU trays (see the CPU section). PCIe 2.0, no legacy ATA. Mac Pro 5,1 / 2010/2012 Westermere macOS 13 with OpenCore (Sequoia is suported) The 5.1s are natively supported for Mojave 10.14, depending on GPU. The Westermere CPUs are the highest-end CPUs supported by LGA 1366 Sockets. *Note, there were 2012 Mac Pros sold with a single Nehalem CPU, although somewhat uncommon. There is no difference between the 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros beyond the CPUs and GPU options Apple offered at the time of the sale. The Mac Pro 5.1s (or 4.1s flashed to 5.1s) has enjoyed several major firmware updates for Mojave, enabling the ability to boot NVMe, which previously required workarounds/hacks. PCIe 2.0, no legacy ATA. Mac Pro 6.1 / 2013 Ivy-Bridge macOS 13 with OpenCore (Sequoia is suported) Also known as the \"Cylinder\" or \"Trash can.\" These are radically different than the classic Mac Pro models and will not be covered in this guide. For information about this model, please visit The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide. Mac Pro 7.1 / 2019 Xeon-W Current also known as the xMP. The Mac Pro 2019 marks a triumphant return to modularity with plenty of PCIe slots and a massive price hike. It features PCIe 3.0, with up to 28 cores and 1.5 TB of RAM. It is in a true workstation-class of computing, doubling its predecessors' entry price. Mac Pro 8.1 / 2022 Apple Silicon M2 Ultra Current Apple's first Apple Silicon Mac Pro offers PCIe 4.0 that cannot be used for GPUs, only storage and IO. It has been referred to as expandable but not upgradable. Mac Pro 5,1 2010 vs 2012 Everymac has a good rundown of the minor differences of the 2012 vs. 2010 Mac Pros. The short answer is there is no real difference beyond the CPU/RAM/GPU configurations Apple offered and the manufacturing date. Unlike the Mac Pro 4,1s, every piece of hardware found in a 5,1, regardless of year, is interchangeable. Whereas the 4,1 and 5,1 share most of the components, with exceptions for the backplane and CPU tray. Apple identifies both 2010 and 2012 models as the Mac Pro 5,1. There are minor physical differences between the CPU trays, most notably, the 4,1 CPUs require delidded CPUs in the dual tray, and the CPU trays are incompatible between 4,1s and 5,1s, causing fan revving errors. You can see in the above photo that the heat sink screw hole positions on the 5,1s are positioned further. Due to the lack of any meaningful differences, this guide (and the community at large) treat the Mac Pro 2010 and 2012 as one-in-the-same. I owned both a 2010 and a 2012, and the only difference was in the \"About this computer\" from all my observations. Identifying a Mac Pro Visually Mac Pro 1,1 - 3,1s sport FW400 ports, whereas the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s only have Firewire 800 ports. The easiest way to distinguish a powered-off Mac Pro is by taking the side panel off. For the Mac Pros, note the RAM configurations on the right-hand corner. The other sure-fire method is looking up the Serial Number. Never be fooled by a PowerMac G5 Picture provided by Peter R.M. Fitskie The Mac Pro's case is based on the PowerMac G5. The Apple tower was produced from 2003-2006, which predated the Mac Pro. The G5 used an IBM PowerPC 970 CPUs and represented the last PPC Macs produced. They look exceptionally similar to the Mac Pro but sport only one optical drive, one front-facing USB port, one firewire port, and two fans on the back, among other differences. Sometimes mislabeled listings will list the PowerMac G5s incorrectly as \"Mac Pro G5s\" or even as a Mac Pro. If the computer in question has one optical drive and two fans, it is a PowerMac G5, meaning it cannot run any OS later than 10.5. For more info about PowerMac G5's, see EveryMac: PowerMac G5 and Low-End Mac: PowerMac G5. PCIe Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe or PCI-E) is the evolution of PCI, which migrated from a parallel bus system (where all cards in a computer competed for the same bandwidth ) to discrete connections. Regardless of how many cards are connected, the bandwidth for each PCIe card will not be adversely affected. PCIe has become the backbone of computers since its first iteration in 2003 and continues to be used, even on laptops, for high-speed storage. Mac pro 1,1/2,1- PCIe layout (uses PCIe 1.0) PCI Express Slot Slot Speed 4 x4 3 x4 2 x1 1 x16 Note: The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 allowed for lane configuration using Expansion Slot Utility Mac pro 3,1/4,1/5,1 - PCIe layout (uses PCIe 2.0) PCI Express Slot Slot Speed 4 x4 3 x4 2 x16 1 x16 Not all PCIe slots are the same. Since its inception, there have been several updates: PCIe 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, with the very first 4.0 PC motherboards demoed in 2018 and shipping in many PCs today. Each iteration of PCIe radically increases the speed by doubling the available bandwidth. Also, to add a minor bit of confusion, different chipsets have different amounts of total \"lanes,\" measuring speed for a PCIe slot. PCIe slots are not all equal in speed; thus, the total lanes are distributed across the PCIe slots, usually favoring one or two ports for maximum speed. In the Mac Pros (3,1 and above) case, all have a maximum of 40 lanes; thus, the lanes are pre-distributed among the PCIe slots. Since not all PCIe slots have the same amount of lanes, they are not all at the same speed. The amount of lanes a PCIe slot has access to is expressed numerically: 1x (1 lane), 2x (2 lanes), 4x (4 lanes), 8x (8 lanes), and 16x (16 lanes). Each lane's maximum speed depends on the PCIe version a computer has. A 1.x PCIe 1x slot has access to 250 MB/s. Thus, a 4x slot has a maximum of 1 GB/s, an 8x slot has a maximum of 2 GB/s, and so on. Each generation of PCIe effectively doubles the speed of a lane. A PCIe 2.0 lane is 500 MB/s and PCIe 3.0 lane is 1 GB/s. Generally, PCIe speeds are expressed in bytes, not bits. A PCIe 2.0 16x speed (8 GB/s) would be 64 Gbps (64000 Mbps). In this guide, I will use MB/s and GB/s instead of Gbps and Mbps, as transfer speeds are generally expressed in bytes, not bits. To reiterate the dramatic speed increases of PCIe based on generation: A 16x port in PCIe 1.x has a maximum of 4 GB/s, whereas a 2.x 16x port can handle 8 GB/s, 3.x is almost 16 GB/s. All PCIe slots are backward compatible; however, the caveat is that PCIe cards may not be backward compatible (this is not common). Also, not all PCIe cards will operate at the maximum port speed, as the card's chipset may limit them. Conversely, a PCIe card may support much faster speeds but will work in any PCIe slot, which will be limited by the port's maximum speed. For example, you could use an AMD Radeon RX 580 in the Mac Pro's 4x slot but with a bit of a performance penalty. For more information on the Mac Pro's PCIe slots, see EveryMac's Mac Pro PCIe overview (including how to install cards) and the archived article from developer.apple.com: PCI Product-Specific Details. Bifurcation Later, motherboards, starting with PCIe 3.0, commonly support bifurcation, which allows a PCIe port to be split in half: One 16x port becomes two 8x or in quarters. An 8x PCIe lane card thus can interface by splitting it into two sets of 4x lanes. Bifurcation is mostly used for SSDs, allowing a single PCIe card to host two SSDs. While the Mac Pro can use PCIe expanders (a separate technology for external PCIe slots by harnessing the bandwidth of a single PCIe slot), it doesn't support bifurcation. PCIe cards can host more than two M.2 NVMe SSDs without bifurcation, but they require specialized controller chipsets. The result is that multi-drive M.2 PCIe cards, which are Mac Pro compatible, cost more. This is also discussed in the PCIe NVMe sleds/blades section. For a list of m.2 cards that support multiple NVMe drives, see the M.2 SSD hosts (sleds) section. PCIe Power Delivery By default, PCIe provides power via motherboard PCIe slot, up to 75w via 4-pin cables. The power requirements for high-performance GPUs have increased, going past PCIe's initial design. To combat the problem of power delivery, PCIe cards started coming with additional power ports and increased pins to carry more power. Generally, in PCs, additional power is drawn directly from 12v taps off the power supply that the user can configure. On the Mac Pros, two power ports on the motherboard can be tapped for additional power. This design choice means less cable mess but also requires buying special mini-PCIe to PCIe cables. Apple's implementation of the PCIe power ports is also non-standard, allowing for more power than the PCIe standard requires. Many PC power supplies also use similar configurations, so 6 to 8-pin adapters can be used. MacProUpgrade members like Brennan F. and MacRumors members have demonstrated that the Mac Pro using various techniques, can deliver roughly 120w and using 4-pin to 6-pin adapters, just shy of the more common 150w with 6-pin cabling. If a PCIe card draws more power than the PCIe power can provide, it will trigger the Mac Pro to shut down instantly. This scenario is generally limited to GPUs with exceptionally high power requirements. The Mac Pro PSU can be modified to deliver more power to the PCIe power taps using modifications such as the Pixlas PSU Mod, allowing the Mac Pro to use high-power GPUs, providing the expected 150w safely. PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs 4.0 and its impact on GPU performance In computer parlance, the idea of bottlenecking is when a single component limits a computer system. For whatever reason, there's an incorrect belief that modern GPUs require the bandwidth of a 16x PCIe 3.0 slot or would greatly benefit from using PCIe 4.0. This myth is persistent and wide despite much information clearly demonstrating otherwise for the GPU. This may be less true for much newer GPUs, most of which are unbootable in the classic Mac Pro. When benchmarked in the real-world using an 8x vs. 16x PCIe 3.0 slot, the impact is minimal, pugetsystems.com performed this very test, and it comes out to be roughly 3%-4% impact. An 8x PCIe 3.0 slot has the same bandwidth as a 16x PCIe 2.0 slot. In gaming, this tends to be even lower. See this YouTube vid comparing 16 4.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 2.0 and PCIe 4.0 vs. PCIe 3.0 GPU Benchmark Feat. GeForce RTX 3080 FE, which shows the impact of sticking the RTX 3080 in 16 PCIe 4.0, 16x PCIe 3.0, and 8x PCIe 3.0 slots. The story is always the same: GPUs are not very bandwidth-intensive. Another common misconception is the Mac Pro's CPUs/bus isn't fast enough to benefit from a high-end GPU, which is patently false. Notably, when it comes to graphics performance, the Mac Pro 2010/2012 remains a performance monster, in most tests besting the iMac Pro running a VII. It may not be as fast as a modern gaming PC running a VII, but depending on the tasks (especially GPU compute), it'll be only 1%-4% slower. More interestingly, when an AMD Radeon 5700 XT was tested in PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 4.0, TechPowerup, after many tests, found a 2% average performance difference between PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 4.0. DigitalCitizen found similar results by comparing PCIe 3.0 to 4.0. GPUs are not nearly as bandwidth-intensive as most people assume (other hardware like SSDs can easily saturate a PCIe bus). I'll give another example: if \"bottlenecking\" existed in a sense most people visualize it, performance would be capped by bandwidth. Thunderbolt 3, which is also even more bandwidth constricted than a PCIe 2.0 16x slot, still finds improvements running a Radeon VII in a Thunderbolt 3 case over less powerful GPUs, including an iMac's own internal AMD Vega 64. However, the performance is more realized when adequate bandwidth is available instead of a brick wall limitation. Also, the Mac Pro will be nearly as fast as a much more modern PC in gaming at high resolutions. At lower resolutions where the GPU can achieve extreme framerates, the number of calculations per second increases for the CPU to process, as data must be calculated per frame. 240 FPS means the CPU has more data to process per second than if a game was running at 60 FPS, regardless of the resolution. At higher resolutions, the frame rate goes down as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Mac Pro makes a fine entry-level 4k gaming machine if one desires to invest in a Vega series GPU or better and is willing to boot Windows 10. PCIe 4.0 GPUs and the Mac Pro When users complain about the lack of PCIe 4.0 on the 2019 Mac Pro, there's some truth to it, but its adverse effects are minimal. Many modern PCIe 4.0 GPUs run at PCIe 8x 4.0, which effectively places them at the same speed as a 16x PCIe 3.0 slot. However, when an 8x PCIe 4.0 PCIe card is placed into a 3.0 slot, it'll run at 8x 3.0 speed. For the cMPs, this only gets worse as an 8x PCIe 4.0 GPU will only run at 8x PCIe 2.0, effectively 1/4th the speed of the intended 8x PCIe 4.0 slot. While the speed penalty for 16x cards is pretty negligible in a 2.0 slot, it is more so for 8x. Fast Resource Loading API / DirectStorage API The latest trend with Apple with Metal 3 and Microsoft Direct X is, in simple words, APIs that allow GPUs to have a much more direct route to the SSD. This has already been used in game consoles but now is making its way to Macs and PCs alike. The implications on performance and PCIe buses mean that the gains are likely to be much less realized on the Mac Pro lineup as storage is the one place that PCIe 4.0 has a clear advantage. Currently, very little software supports this. As of December 2024, few games support full implementation on macOS or Windows, but as time passes, they will be more widely adopted. Power Supply The Mac Pro uses a non-standard PSU that does not follow the ATX convention and can deliver 980w continuous with a 1200w peak. Apple does not officially list the PSU's maximum power but can be found on PSU stickers, as seen here. It is recommended that PSUs be used from the same Mac Pros iterations as there are minor changes between models. The 4,1 and 5,1 generation Mac Pros are interchangeable as they are the same physically. MacRumors users have successfully used, PSUs in 3.1s. PCIe Power The Mac Pro uses an uncommon passthrough where the PCIe power is delivered via pass-throughs on the motherboard. The pass-throughs can deliver 120w via the PCIe power ports, 30w shy of the more common 150w found in many PCs. Thus, for high power requirement GPUs, clever users have turned to PSU modification to mimic a standard ATX power supply by bypassing the passthrough throughs to deliver more power. See the PCIe power and Pixlas PSU Mod sections for more info. Sites like iFixit have pictorial guides for PSU replacements. ATX Power Supplies? Thus far, to my knowledge, there's only been a single instance of replacing the Mac Pro PSU with an ATX PSU. MacProUpgrade user Jay Fac's guide includes the pin-outs, a video, and plenty of photos of his completed project. He notes that he has lost the ability to put the computer to sleep. However, this modification is unnecessary for most people as users have successfully installed two GeForce 1080 Tis + NVMe + USB 3,1 and filled the drive bays on dual CPU 3.46 GHz 5,1s when using the Pixlas mod with no negative consequences. The Pixlas mod is much easier than a full PSU replacement. We can do some guestimation to illustrate why so few users have attempted an ATX PSU conversion. Using back-of-the-napkin math: A theoretical top-of-the-line build would be two X5690s (peak 130w x 2), VII (peak 321w), four NVMe (peak 7w x 4), four 7200 RPM SATA HDDs (peak 8w x 4), eight 16 GB DDR3 DIMMs (3w x 8), Sonnet USB 3.1c card (75w peak), misc PCIe card (50w), DVD-RW (peak 20w). This means that even if everything was under peak loads at once (a nearly impossible feat), the power draw would be 824w, leaving a continuous supply of 166w for the cooling/motherboard well under the continuous 980w and 1200w peak. The Pixlas mod works sufficiently well. Some users have taken to iMore: adding a second PSU to a Mac, MacRumors (from 2012) How To Rig A 2nd PSU (For Modern GPUs or Adding a Second GPU) (w/& w/o soldering. Firmware upgrades/hacks The Mac Pro line has had a history of Firmware updates. Depending on the model, there's quite a wide gamut of potential upgrades or hacks for your Mac Pro. The Mac Pro Firmware upgrades are now distributed as part of Mac OS and can only be performed when upgrading the operating system. Check Your Firmware Version From the Apple menu, select About this Mac and click System report. Under the Hardware Overview, you should see a Boot ROM version, which is your current Mac's firmware version. This is not to be confused with \"About this Mac.\" For example, A 2009 Mac Pro will still be reported as a 2009 Mac Pro in the \"About this Mac\" tab after a firmware flash. The Upgradable Firmware Macs The Mac Pro 2006s (1,1) and 2009s (4.1) occupy a special place as both can be updated to enable a wider range of CPU configurations with a software update. The Mac Pro 1,1 to 2,1 enables later CPU (Clovertown) support. The 4,1 gets the bigger boost. The firmware update enables Westmere Xeon CPUs and faster bus/RAM. Once a 4,1 is flashed to the 5,1 firmware, it can then use all the 5,1 firmware updates, which enable quite a few goodies like APFS booting, native NVMe support, and such. This is one of those times when a software upgrade makes all the difference. See the CPU upgrades section for more details on CPU configurations. There is no performance difference between a flashed firmware Mac Pro vs. a Mac Pro that shipped with later firmware, assuming the hardware configurations are the same. Ars Technica reported on the success of the 2009 Mac Pros being flashed by Netkas forum members. 2006 1,1 Mac Pro The Mac Pro 1,1 flash allows for later CPU models to be used. Currently, there is a firmware hack to allow for Mac Pro flashing script (github.com) to boot alt OSes. Also, there's research being done on firmware hack to enable Harpertown CPU support. Netkas: Mac Pro 2006-2007 Firmware Tool Released LowEndMac (Facebook) troubleshooting upgrade the entire thread has appended instructions for Mac Pro 1,1s that fail to update due to a variation in the Bootrom version XLR8yourmac 2006 Mac pro firmware upgrade to 2.1 Note: Sometimes, it is incorrectly reported that the 1,1/2,1 Mac Pro cannot run 64-bit applications (such as Pindelski's upgrade guide), which is untrue. They are limited to a 32-bit EFI ROM. 64-bit Applications run natively, as this is independent of the EFI ROM. For reference, the G5 was the first Macintosh to support 64-bit, which mostly enabled them to address more than 4 GB of Maximum RAM. Every Intel Mac outside of the original Core Duos (not to be confused with the Core 2 Duo) is 64-bit. 32 bit only Intel Macs are an oddity, 2007 2,1 Mac Pro There are no firmware upgrades for the Mac Pro 2.1s. 2008 3,1 Mac Pro The Mac Pro 2008 remains a bit of the odd man out regarding firmware. With the DOSdude1 High Sierra patcher, this computer can boot APFS volumes but not from encrypted APFS volumes. Clever hardware hackers discovered how to enable bootable NVMe on Mac Pro. It requires making a custom firmware using ROMtool and EXEinject on the 3.1. Today, this path is no longer necessary for NVMe support as OpenCore can inject the proper drivers for NVMe support.. Note: this hack was initially performed on Mac Pro 5,1s but is unnecessary as Apple has released NVMe compatible bootROMs for them. Below is a collection of links related to the bootROM procedure. Below is a collection of links related to the bootROM procedure. However, this hack falls into adventure territory. See the Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe Drive Natively Booting post below. It's highly recommended to stay with AHCI SSDs with the Mac Pro 3,1s. Step-by-Step Guide NVMe firmware upgrade (DO NOT USE FOR 4,1/5,1s), the original MacRumors post MacRumors: NVME boot on 3,1 in El Capitan - More importantly, a discussion on ROM hacking for NVMe on Mac Pro 3.1s MacRumors: Mac Pro 3,1 NVME Drive Natively Booting 2009 4,1 Mac Pro Mac Pro 4.1s are flashable to the Mac Pro 5,1 firmware. Once flashed, they are a Mac Pro 5,1 and thus can use all Mac Pro 5,1 firmware updates. Below is a collection of links, all demonstrating how to upgrade a Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5.1. There are multiple guides on how to flash the Mac Pro 4,1 -> a 5,1. You will need the MacProFirmwareToolUpdate utility. A Mac Pro 2009 running 5,1 Firmware will still appear as a 2009 Mac Pro in \"About This Mac\". However, this is not the firmware version but rather the manufacturer date. The firmware version can be found in the System Report. The firmware can be found in the System Report. How to Upgrade the Firmware of a 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 MacRumors: Another Mac Pro 4,1 to 5,1 EFI Update Problem (boot ROM version fix) ArsTechnica: Firmware hack can transform a 2009 Mac Pro into a 12-core monster XLR8yourmac: Notes About the 2009->2010 Mac Pro EFI Updater (FYI to B08 Firmware users) Netkas: Mac Pro Firmware Upgrade Utility Released! Mac Pro 2009 firmware update and 5570 error - this link requires a membership to the MacProUpgrade FB group. 2009 Mac Pros can experience a 5770 Error when trying to update. Go to the link for Apple's firmware and manually download it, then Mac Pro 2009-2010 Firmware Tool is found within the DMG. GitHub: MacProFirmwareToolUpdate - MacEFIRom's Mac Pro 2009-2010 Firmware Tool ROM link seems to use a broken link when it tries to download the firmware images from Apple. This patch fixes it. 2010-2012 5,1 Mac Pro Firmware Despite the obvious age of the Mac Pro 5.1s, someone or at least a group of someones are/is managed to throw a few bones to the community by providing updates for the Mac Pros 8 years after their release, an olive branch. Stability-minded users should not use beta OSes. Both 10.13 and 10.14 have been welcome surprises for Mac Pro 5,1 users, including firmware updates to enable APFS support and later NVMe booting. However, with macOS 10.15.x dropping 5,1 support, the Mac Pro 5,1s have hit the end of the road for EFI updates. Forum member Tsialex of MacRumors (one of the experts on Mac Pros on the interwebs) has compiled and maintained a list of Firmware versions for the Mac Pro 5.1. I highly recommend this blog post as I've directly lifted his notes from it, but there's more info in his original blog post. I credit his work below. The BootROMs are distributed as part of the Mac OS upgrades. It is unlikely that we will see continued firmware updates for the Mac Pro 5.1s in Catalina. All Firmware updates are performed during the OS installation process. A Mac Pro can be updated to the latest firmware and continue to run older OSes. Mac OS 10.13 can run off an NVMe drive. Now that the classic Mac Pros have been dropped unceremoniously for 10.15 Catalina in Appleistic planned-obsolescence fashion, it's safe to assume we've seen the last firmware updates.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVersion\t\t\t\t\t\tOS shipped with\t\t\t\t\t\tChanges\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twith MP51.0083.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13 DP5\t\t\t\t\t\tBeta APFS support*\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.0084.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13 DP6\t\t\t\t\t\tBeta APFS support\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.085.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.4 + Mojave DP/PB 1-3\t\t\t\t\t\tAPFS support\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.087.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.5\t\t\t\t\t\tmissing the Intel Xeon microcodes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.089.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tupdating to the Spectre mitigated microcodes on the April 2 Microcode Update Guidance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t138.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14 DP7/PB6\t\t\t\t\t\t5GT/s support for every PCIe 2.0 card and new microcodes support\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t139.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.1 DP1\t\t\t\t\t\tminor updates and corrections\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t140.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.1\t\t\t\t\t\tNVMe boot, minor updates and corrections**\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 DP2\t\t\t\t\t\tminor updates\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t142.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 DP4\t\t\t\t\t\tW3xxx Xeon \"bricker\" & updated APFSJumpStart EFI module (see below for more details)***\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 final\t\t\t\t\t\tNVMe boot, minor updates and corrections\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t142.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP1\t\t\t\t\t\t3xxx Xeon \"bricker\"***\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP2\t\t\t\t\t\tminor updates and corrections\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t144.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP4\t\t\t\t\t\tlots of corrections, booting improvements\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t* Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra), comes bundled with a new EFI update for APFS bootablility and works with any 5,1 Mac Pros (including previously upgraded 4.1) Mac Pros but requires an EFI bootable graphics card as reported by MacRumors forum posters. *** The Mac Pro Firmware upgrade v142.0.0.0 included in the developer preview 4 of MacOS Mojave 10.14.4 (20190304) and 10.14.5 DP1 included a bad BootROM, which is not part of the regular releases. Users at MacRumors are reporting that the update bricks Mac Pro 5.1s with W3xxx Xeon CPUs. See the check your CPU model section. Updating a 4,1 to 5,1 The process of updating a 4,1 to a 5,1 requires disabling SIP in 10.11+ and running the Firmware Tool, I highly recommend following HouseOfMoth: Turning a 2009 4,1 Mac Pro into a 2010/2012 5,1 Mac Pro – 2021 Edition as it'll help you avoid common problems. Sometimes firmware upgrades can be tricky. Users occasionally will see the \"The program has encountered an error: 5570\". There's a MacRumors thread, what's wrong? Why won't you let me upgrade 4,1 to 5,1 firmware? and MacProUpgrade: I'm trying to update my firmware for 4,1 to 5,1. I'm following the procedures, and I'm stuck at this error. Most threads recommend starting with disabling SIP, which the HouseOfMoth's guide starts with. Updating Firmware Strategies for Mac Pro 5.1s Mojave doesn't always make the update process clear, and it's possible to get stuck on 138.0.0.0.0 or 140.0.0.0.0 and miss upgrading to the last firmware-released version 144.0.0.0.0. The most tried and true solution is to have a spare drive or volume to install Mac OS 10.13, High Sierra, on. Then download from High Sierra the last version of Mojave, 10.14.6. The easiest way for most people is to use DOSDUDe1's Mojave installer and ignore the installer. I've written a pictorial guide to walk anyone through upgrading to 144.0.0.0.0 for anyone looking to update their firmware, regardless of what OS they want to run. Useful Links Gulftown, Westmere, Nehalem microcode update guide MP5,1: Mojave 10.14.1 DP3 BootROM 140.0.0.0.0 has native NVMe support!!! Post with instructions (and download URL) to Bios Install Instructions (with pictures) Google Docs: NVMe boot support how-to guide for the Mac Pro 3,1 / 4,1 / 5,1 OS upgrades The Mac Pros can run much later OSes than officially supported, although there are caveats. Installing unsupported OSes can be done easily using scripts or using OpenCore. These scripts have been named after the authors who created them. Pike's Script is exclusively for the 1,1/2,1. DosDude1's scripts cover a brevity of Macs, including the Mac Pro 3,1/4,1/5,1. All but the 1,1/2,1s can run modern iterations of macOS using Dosdude1's hacks, which can be found at his website dosdude1.com. Below is a list of the official vs. unofficial supported OSes. Model: Max officially supported OS Max unofficially supported OS Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 macOS 10.14 Sequoia Mac Pro 3,1 OS X 10.11 Sequoia Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 OS X 10.7 OS X 10.11 The Rise and Fall of OS Modification Scripts to OpenCore To understand OpenCore, it's important to have a grasp of the history of hacking macOS to run on unsupported hardware. Prior to boot loaders, the vector to run the latest macOS were scripts that generally modified the OS itself so it'd pass hardware checks to install and boot and often included fixes. The most popular and prominent were the DOSDUDE1 installers. While these scripts worked, they were an imperfect solution, as installing updates would break the modifications and ultimately left the updated OS unbootable. Installing updates meant re-running the entire macOS installer. OpenCore came from a desire to create a bootloader to allow for per-boot injections to solve the problems for Hackintoshes or Apple hardware, be it legacy hardware support, drivers, or boot flags. The advantage is that macOS itself (mostly) was not being modified, and changes could easily be swapped by reconfiguring the boot loader. While the process of OpenCore is more complex for the end-user, its advantages are massive, thus drawing in a larger community of both Apple hardware owners and Hackintosh users. Many notable people have contributed to OpenCore, including people like DOSDUDE1. OpenCore History: chasing Apple's whims (SurPlus/MontRAND) With OpenCore Legacy Patcher, the installation process of OpenCore's friction has been simplified into a point-and-click install. It wasn't always this way, and it took the work of many brilliant people to get to where we are today. OpenCore wasn't without its own complications for the Mac Pros. This is largely due to the classic Mac Pros no longer being supported, as Apple's changes to macOS in later versions have created issues for the classic Mac Pros. To give context to OpenCore's battles, Big Sur 11.3+ presented problems as boots would often fail. This potentially could result in a corrupted boot volume documented by users on MacRumors, which resulted in the experimental LateBloom OpenCore hack and eventually SurPlus. Late Bloom worked by interjecting a delay() during the boot sequence to give the Mac Pro (hopefully) enough time to load properly without interrupting it entirely. It was a bandaid fix but was later resolved when the race condition was identified and patched. The Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 is Big Sur compatible using OpenCore, and at least one user's preliminary test shows mildly improved Geekbench scores (Opencore - on the Mac Pro, requires membership). The Mac Pro 3,1s are still able to run with a bit of work. The most popular distribution of OpenCore at the time was, h9826790 (aka Martin)'s bundle. macOS Monterey requires the SurPlus to boot safely, macOS Monterey 12.1 makes extensive use of RDRAND, a CPU random number generator that does not exist on the classic Mac Pros, and OpenCore - on the Mac Pro is recommending holding off on Monterey as it enables SecureBootModel (SBM) in OpenCore and resetting the NVRAM ram can leave your Mac in an unbootable state. Today, OpenCore offers OpenCore Legacy Patcher which automates configuration including the SurPlus/MontRaid to fix 11.3+ and above. macOS Ventura has created its own set of long-term issues as it requires AVX and AVX2 for many OS functions. There have been inroads as Ventura is bootable, but some applications use AVX/AVX2, thus creating compatibility issues. OS updates often drop old hardware support. This chart does not include notes for macOS and the 1,1/2,1s. See below for notes on OS upgrades for Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s. * macOS 11.3 requires SurPlus, and macOS 12.1 requires MonteRand OpenCore and OpenCore Legacy Patcher As a quick primer, OpenCore is a boot loader. OpenCore functions as middle wear between the firmware and macOS. This allows changes to be injected without modifying the OS. Through these modifications, discontinued hardware can be supported. OpenCore was designed to replace Clover and other Hackintosh solutions to avoid repeatedly patching after minor OS changes. However, OpenCore proved not only to be useful for Hackintosh owners but also for Mac owners as well. OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is a utility that automates the installation of OpenCore on older Macs that Apple no longer supports and has matured to a point-and-click utility. Users do not have to understand esoteric software configuration in OpenCore; instead, they can rely on a community to test the latest developments from the OpenCore community and fold them into a package. The above issues like MontRand are folded into OpenCore Legacy Patcher, meaning the users do not need to understand the inner workings of OpenCore configuration. I've written a guide, OpenCore and OpenCore Legacy Patcher Explained OS version: Hardware Requirement Changes: DOSDude1 required models: 10.11: El Captian none none 10.12: Sierra Drops support for wireless chipset BCM4321 (found in the Mac Pro 3.1). 32-Bit EFI Mac support dropped / SSE 4 required. (Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s) 3.1 10.13: High Sierra No wireless BCM4321 support, switches to APFS as the default file system. 3.1 10.14: Mojave No wireless BCM4321 support, now requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** 3.1 10.15: Catalina No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 11.0 Big Sur No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. Requires OS hack SurPlus. None yet. 12.0 Monterey No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. Requires OS hack SurPlus. Currently, Recommended advice is to way because of SecureBootModel (SBM) configuration. See OpenCore - on the Mac Pro - MONTEREY WARNING!!. Monterey 12.1 appears like it will not be usable on the Mac Pro 5,1s without extensive hacking.. None. 13.0 Ventura Requires AVX/AVX2. Massive changes. 2013 Mac Pro 2013 dropped. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.), USB 1.1 drivers removed. None. 14.0 Sonoma Requires AVX/AVX2. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.). No Legacy USB 1.1 Drivers. None. \t\t\t\t\t 15.0 Sequoia Requires AVX/AVX2. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.). No Legacy USB 1.1 Drivers. None. * Mojave and Catalina will not allow installation if any GPUs are Metal compatible plugged in, such as the GT120. Updating requires pulling non-Metal accelerated GPUs (they can be installed after the update and will still output video). See the Aftermarket GPUs section for a complete list of Metal compatible GPUs. ** The AMD drivers for off-the-shelf cards (like the Vega and Radeon 5xx series) do not support the Mac Pro 3,1 in Mojave but can be used with Netkas patched AMD METAL drivers. These are provided in the DosDude1 patchers for Mojave and Catalina. *** NVidia Web Drivers are no longer supported, meaning any Kepler-based chipset has been dropped in macOS over a dispute between Apple and Nvidia. See the GPU section for more details. Notably, some security updates may fail at installation since they require updating the recovery partition manually. See Update Recovery Partition on Unsupported Macs for more details. The popular OpenCore bootloader enables installing the latest OS by tricking it by making the Mac Pro to the OS as appearing as an iMac Pro. The advantage is that all OS updates would be performed via the control panel. See the MacRumors thread for more details and h9826790 (aka Martin)'s OpenCore overview. Mojave vs. Catalina vs. Big Sur vs. Monterey\t\t\tChanges have not be nearly as drastic post Monterey. Feature Mojave Catalina Big Sur Monterey Max GPU Support Vega Series (Vega 56, 64, FE, VII) Navi (5500, 5600, 5700 + XT) Navi Big Navi (6600 XT, 6800, 6800 XT, 6900 XT) Application support 32-Bit / 64-bit 64-Bit 64-Bit 64-Bit Graphics API Metal (OpenGL depreciated) Metal Metal Metal Media iTunes Apple Music/Apple TV+ Apple Music (Lossless and Dolby Atmos Support) Apple TV+ Apple Music (Lossless and Dolby Atmos Support) Apple TV+ Monterey and Big Sur few major changes for Mac Pro users beyond GPU support, security updates, improved consumer audio formats, and new versions of Apple's applications (Music, Apple TV+, Messages, Safari, etc.). It runs stable on Mac Pros, and Big Sur has been demonstrated to slightly improve Geekbench scores. Users can view Apple's list of Monterey features here. macOS 15 Sequoia macOS 15 Sequoia is supported under OpenCore Legacy Patcher (and via manual configurations for OpenCore). See OCLP Supported Models page for the latest and most current details Downloading old versions of macOS Apple has finally wised up and allowed direct downloads of (some) DMGs, which can be found here going back as far as macOS 10.10. Apple does still sell CDs of 10.7 and 10.8, and finally offers them as direct downloads. Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Below is a list of download links (and source) for previous macOS versions. 10.6 - Snow Leopard (Archive.org) 10.7 - Lion (Apple) 10.8 - Mountain Lion (Apple) 10.9 - Mavericks (Archive.org) 10.10 - Yosemite (Apple) 10.11 - El Captian (Apple) 10.12 - Sierra (Apple) 10.13 - High Sierra (Apple App Store), Achive.org 10.14 - Mojave (Apple App Store), (Archive.org) 10.15 - Catalina (Apple App Store), (Archive.org) \t\t\tOS Installer is Damaged error If you are having problems with the Sierra / High Sierra / Mojave installer running, with an error reading to the effect of \"This copy of the Install macOS Mojave.app application is damaged and can't be used to install macOS\", the signing certificate expired. From the installer (if booted by USB), go from the menu, select terminal, and run the following command: Date 1023120019 This will set your Mac's date to October 23, 12 pm 2019, temporarily, and this will allow you to run the installer. 10.15+ - Known Issues Upgrading to Catalina may not be in everyone's interest, as 32-bit applications are no longer supported. No Mac Pro (sans the 2019 xMP) can run Sidecar, although I wouldn't be surprised if enterprising hackers find a workaround. Know Issues: Apple removed the BCM94322MC wifi chipset support, the original wifi card found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s. However, BCM94360CD or BCM943602CD chipsets are still supported. These can be upgraded. NVIDIA Kepler GPU support is buggy. Sidecar (Apple's new screen-sharing for iPads) is actively blocked for the cMPs and even the trashcans. Helpful Links MacRumors: OpenCore on the Mac Pro YouTube: DOSdude - Installing Catalina on Unsupported Macs DosDude1: macOS 10.15 Catalina Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs DosDude1: macOS 10.14 Mojave Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs DosDude1: macOS High Sierra Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs MacRumors: MP3,1 never dies - Netkas patched AMD METAL drivers to work with MP3,1! MacRumors: Strange Audio Issue on MP 4,1>5,1 Mojave 10.14.4 - It appears E series Xeons have issues with audio for some users. The user replaced E series Xeons with later CPUs like the X56xx to fix the audio issue. Reddit: help-- 4,1 > 5,1 Mojave update black screen Upgrading to Catalina / Big Sur / Monterey: OpenCore vs DosDude1 Currently, upgrading to Catalina has two vectors to upgrade to 10.15 Catalina: OpenCore and DosDude1. Hackintosh users may recognize OpenCore, the opensource bootloader, Big Sur, and Monterey are only obtainable using OpenCore. OpenCore - see the install guide here as well as the refined instructions in the same thread. Pros: Allows System Updates via the Update Panel OS is entirely unpatched Can run the latest macOS. Vectors for Hardware Acceleration for modern GPUs and Video Can enable a pre-boot boot selector (boot screen) Protects boot ROM from Windows 10 when installed in UEFI mode Can use 32 GB DIMMs in 5,1s for 256 GB of RAM Continues to evolve, bringing more support and stability for older hardware Cons: Complex setup Requires Westermere CPU for Mac Pro 5,1s g DosDude1 - official website for Catalina Patcher Pros: Easy, intuitive installation Direct OS download from the installer Includes patched drivers for modern AMD GPUs for 3,1 Mac Pros Cons: OS updates require re-running the Catalina Patcher process Does not include the benefits of OpenCore (boot screen, video codec acceleration, etc) No vector currently for beyond Catalina OpenCore: Acceleration, Boot selection, and unpatched OS updates The Mini-Glossary contains a good overview of OpenCore. In short, OpenCore is a boot loader that loads before macOS and can improve functionality, such as enabling full GPU acceleration for video codecs, enabling boot screens with aftermarket GPUs, and the only way to run macOS 12. It is now the standard recommended vector for Mac Pro users running 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, 11.0 Big Sur, and 12 Monterey. The most popular implementation is the pre-configured OpenCore distribution found on MacRumors maintained by Martin Lo. Regarding macOS, the Mac Pro is an iMac Pro that allows OS updates to be installed seamlessly. Any OS beyond Big Sur 11.2.3 is susceptible to a serious bug, a PCIe race condition. This particular glitch caused the Mac Pro to fail to boot frequently and often, eventually, after repeated crashes resulting in a boot drive corrupting crash. As a stopgap, a very experimental workaround known as LateBloom, a hack to inject delays into the boot process to allow for the callbacks (that cause the crash) to respond. Now, the exact issue was identified, and SurPlus is included in h9826790 (aka Martin)'s OpenCore bundle. For users who've already installed OpenCore, Mac Sound Solutions has a great YouTube video demonstrating the process to upgrade to Big Sur 11.6, Jessie's Flying - macOS on unsupported Macs also some interesting OpenCore content as well. OpenCore is continuously in development and has evolved to provide more stability and features for the Mac and Hackintosh communities. Apple's EFI vs. UEFI and implications for OpenCore Again, the Mini-Glossary covers EFI, but the short answer is that EFI that Apple used on its earliest Intel Macs predates the UEFI standard; thus, it creates issues around pre-boot graphics card drivers (hence lack of pictures before the drives fully load with aftermarket cards) and also with other OSes expecting UEFI. Typically, with PCs, before EFI, the boot order went: bios -> MBR (Master boot record) -> bootloader -> Kernel. With UEFI, this changed to UEFI -> EFI bootloader -> Kernel. Thus a properly partitioned drive for the EFI world has an EFI partition + GUID partition. However, Apple's implementation of both EFI and UEFI is unusual, to say the least, as as famed eclecticlight.co points out that the EFI partitions aren't particularly used for anything besides perhaps firmware updates. OpenCore provides a way to modify EFI to provide UEFI-like functionality. It works by adding a middle step to the boot sequence that can be altered, Mac EFI bootloader -> OpenCore Bootloader -> Kernel. This additional step is crucial as it allows OpenCore to inject changes without physically modifying the OS. This is much more desirable than OS patching, as changes happen as part of the boot sequence and will not be overwritten when the OS is updated. OpenCore has rapidly progressed, with a flurry of massive successes, starting with GPU fixes, and now has moved towards extending the life of the classic Mac Pros. Thus, so has the complexity of OpenCore, and thus, for my own sanity (this guide is already massive), I am not providing a comprehensive guide but rather a primer in this section as OpenCore could easily be as large as this guide itself. End of the day, this guide is a road map. The OpenCore Bootloader supports an EFI screen for newer GPUs by loading additional generic device drivers, enabling video output. OpenCore Legacy Patcher OpenCore also supports OpenCore Legacy Patcher which allows even deper legacy support. One of the most popular applications for OpenCore Legacy Patcher (often referred to as OCLP) is Nvidia driver injection for Kepler Metal compatible drivers in macOS Monterey. OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is now generally the preferred method for people installing e OpenCore Guides\tMost users should default to using OpenCore Legacy Patcher rather than attempt to manually configure OpenCore, and should follow the official Dortania's OpenCore Install Guide as it supporters a wide range of hardware. For ages, the community, spearheaded by Martin LO, has maintained a preconfirguration for OpenCore at MacRumors and a user's YouTube video demonstrating OpenCore bridge boot rEFInd with legacy Windows and The OpenCore MacRumors thread for more details. Also, Joerg Henninges's YouTube Channel has a fair amount of OpenCore Content and House of Moth has a good Quick Guide to installing OpenCore on the Mac Pro. Mac Sound Solutions has a great YouTube videos on OpenCore. MacVidCards.eu has tutorial on how to configure OpenCore Legacy Patcher. The Mac Pro 3,1 has its own special set of considerations. See the OpenCore and the 2008 Mac Pro 3,1. MacRumor's Mac Pro Forum and Open Core on the Mac Pro (Facebook) are great OpenCore communities that are invaluable and where I frequented when I used OpenCore. Lastly, there is now a Facebook Group dedicated to running OpenCore on cMPs, Opencore - on the Mac Pro. DosDude1 Patcher DosDude1 Patcher is no longer recommended but is simple to use for Catalina. You'll need a 16 GB+ drive or USB flash that can be wiped clean. Most will do, although some USB Flash drives can cause issues with the installer. For instance, a Lexar MicroSD card in a USB adapter and an old USB Flash drive caused the installer to crash when trying to boot off the installer volume. I used an old Firewire HDD to upgrade to High Sierra on my Mac Pro 3.1. Also, it is very important to run the post-install scripts. Your Mac will likely reboot suddenly after the DOSdude1 installer has completed and most likely will try and boot from the new OS. It will crash. Fear not! Boot from the DOSDude1 installer and, run from the dropdown menu and run the Post Install Scripts. Force building cache may cause a lot of headaches (including the inability to boot without using safe mode). Unless you have a good reason to do so, I recommend not force-clearing the caches. Disabling System Integrity Protection As mentioned in the glossary, SIP functions as a method of system protection. Apple describes it as follows: \" (A) security technology in OS X El Capitan and later that's designed to help prevent potentially malicious software from modifying protected files and folders on your Mac. System Integrity Protection restricts the root user account and limits the actions that the root user can perform on protected parts of the Mac operating system.\" Before Apple implemented SIP, any software that was granted root access (by the user entering her/his password) could modify/edit system files. Generally, a user shouldn't disable SIP unless there's a specific reason. That said, there are plenty of reasons to disable SIP, such as certain boot managers or unsupported hardware cases. SIP can always be re-enabled. Boot to recovery mode From the recovery mode, from the Utility dropdown, select \"Terminal\" Enter the command: csrutil disable Reboot To re-enable SIP, repeat the above steps. Instead, run csrutil enable You can check your SIP status at any time without booting to the recovery mode from the terminal with the following command: csrutil status Stop the \"Upgrade to MacOS...\" banners In the past few years, Apple has moved to nagware for OS updates, often pestering users running non-compatible configurations to upgrade (such as running a non-Mojave-compatible GPU). You can disable the notifications following osxdaily's handy guide. Upgrade to High Sierra without APFS As an extreme edge case for certain pros using legacy apps, High Sierra can wreak havoc on support. A few users have chosen to continue using HFS+ as it ensures compatibility with some legacy applications. Note: for Mac Pro 5,1 users, this can interfere with later firmware updates. MacProUpgrade group members, for instance, report that Updating to 10.4.5 firmware won't install with HFS+ on the boot drive. MacRumors: How to upgrade to High Sierra WITHOUT converting to APFS Running Apps from unidentified developers Gatekeeper no longer has a \"allow apps downloaded from anywhere,\" but it is still possible to re-enable this setting using the terminal.sudo spctl --master-disable This can be re-enabled at any time by running the inverse of this command:sudo spctl --master-enable Big Sur requires an entirely new paradigm. A user must Right-click an application and click open to be presented with the ability to safelist the application. iMore has a good article explaining the entire process for the curious. Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 and Pike's Script The Mac Pro 2006s can run 10.11.6, but there are some hoops to jump through, notably a video card with at least 512 MB of VRAM, and you'll need Captain Pike's Script, which takes a lot of the leg work out. Also, Wi-Fi will be unsupported with the old chipset, but the airport can be upgraded. MacRumors: Install 10.8 on a Mac Pro 1,1 MacRumors: Install 10.9 on Mac Pro 1,1 SuperUser Exchange: Install 10.9 on Mac Pro 1,1 MacRumors: 2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X Yosemite AskDifferent: Mac Pro 1,1 running any variant of the latest version of macOS (up to 10.11) Mac Rumors: 2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X El Capitan (Captian Pike's Script) Final Cut Pro 7, Aperture, and later OSes The open-source project, Retroactive, allows users to run Final Cut Pro 7 up to macOS 10.14 and Aperture on macOS 11, Big Sur. CPU Upgrades Every Mac Pro made (including the 2013 and 2019 Mac Pros) has sported multicore, interchangeable Xeon series CPUs. The Xeons are built on the same architecture as its desktop-grade siblings. The Xeon CPUs' main benefit has been more CPU cores, the ability to support multi-CPU motherboards, larger cache memory, more PCIe lanes, much higher maximum RAM, and Error-correcting code memory (ECC). These benefits come with a trade-off as the Xeon line had much higher price points, doesn't have built-in support for overclocking, and generally operates at (slightly) lower-clock speeds. As a computer is the sum of many parts (not just the CPU), CPUs are not interchangeable between Mac Pro versions. For example, a CPU from a Mac Pro 4.1/ 5,1 cannot be used with a Mac Pro 2.1, as the supporting chipsets and the CPU socket itself are different. The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s used 65-nm (nanometer) CPUs, and 3,1/4,1/5,1 used 45-nm CPUs. The Mac Pro 6,1s that came after the classic Mac Pros used a 22-nm. In 9 years, the Mac Pro CPUs had shrunk to roughly 1/3 the size. Incidentally, seven years later, Intel will not ship its first 10-nm CPUs until 2021, let alone a 7-nm. A smaller CPU means more efficiency (see Denard Scaling). AMD's Ryzen 4000 series is 7 nm. Apple's A14 CPUs are 5 nm. Instruction Sets, SSE 4.2, VT-x/EPT, AVX/AVX2 Apple has (so far) gone through three major CPU changes with the Macintosh lineup, going from 68k (Motorola), PowerPC (IBM/Motorola), and currently x86 (Intel, AMD) and ARM (Apple/TSMC). Each of these terms refers to the family of instruction set architecture that a CPU can execute (the compiled binary code it can run). Among each of these instruction set architectures are various improvements that often require code to be optimized by code compilers, and/or the software developers must (re)write code so they can be taken advantage of. Over time, CPUs have gained specialized single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instruction sets that are beneficial for certain types of tasks where the same operation on multiple data points simultaneously (like changing the volume of PCM audio or rotating an image). This allows a CPU to perform the task with much greater efficiency. In a different era, these gains were often marketed to consumers like MMX or AltiVec (velocity engine), or 3Dnow. Today, these sorts of CPU changes aren't as frequent or as clearly advertised, but they still exist and affect performance. Both SSE 4,1 instruction set and SSE 4.2 first appeared in the Harpertown (SSE 4.1) and Nehalem CPUs (SSE 4.2) found in the Mac Pro 4.1+, as well as both VT-x/EPT. SSE4.2 generally is not required for Mac software to run, but the Radeon drivers for Mojave* do. SSE 4.2 can make a world of difference in some applications, such as the application Serato Djay. The application is barely usable on a Mac Pro 2x Quad Core 2.8 GHz 3,1, whereas a Mac Pro 4,1 2.4 GHz 4-Core will have no trouble with it.VT-x/EPT are both technologies used in virtualization. While all the Mac Pros can run virtual machines as they include HyperVisor support, the Mac Pro 4.1s+ are noticeably more performant when running virtual machines as popular software like VMware and Parallels have VT-x/EPT support. There are some CPU instructions that the Mac Pros 4,1/5,1s do not support, such as Advanced Vector Extension (AVX). Not much software requires AVX, but Massive X does. AVX/AVX2 dependency is unlikely to ever be required for macOS x86. Apple's own Rosetta 2 does not support AVX/AVX2/AVX 512. CPUs are unlikely to be the limiting factor for future macOSes. There are plenty of quality high-level overviews on CPUs and their design which are much better than this guide. *The AMD Drivers have been hacked to include SSE 4.2 emulation for Mac Pro 3.1s, enabling them to use modern AMD GPUs. See the GPU Upgrades section for more details. Apple Silicon and the Mac Pro's fate (and additional observations) The short answer is no one knows how long Apple intends to support Intel Macs. We have two statements from Apple, they will offer Intel Macs until 2022, and they pledged to support x86 for years. Apple has transitioned its Mac lineup two times now, from 68k to PPC and from PPC to x86. To assist the previous transition, Apple offered Rosetta a real-time translation layer to run PPC binaries on x86, which included both PPC and x86 libraries for applications to access. This time, Apple has Rosetta 2, which works similarly, translating x86 to ARM. In an ironic twist, ARM is the second time Apple has switched to a RISC-based CPU. Apple transitioned to x86 quickly, starting with offering in late 2005 Intel iMacs and laptops using the Core Duo, which quickly jumped to the 64-bit Core 2 Duos mere months later and, in 2006, refreshed its entire lineup with stark and drastic performance increases. Apple supported PPC Macs until 2009 when Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard dropped support. Apple supported PPC for roughly three years. However, the lay of the land is different today. In 2005, Apple sold 4.5 million Macs. Today, Apple sells roughly 20 million Macs. Roughly, Apple has 140-150 million still supported Intel Macs in Big Sur, vs. Apple, the 15 million PowerPC Macs capable of running OS X when Apple switched to x86. Apple is no longer the same company and now faces increased scrutiny as it finds itself the most valuable tech company and often the world's most valuable one. We can safely assume that Intel Macs will be supported until 2025, as Apple has supported PPC Macs for almost three years. My guess would be 2026-2027, as 4-5 years seems correct. It's also worth noting that, in May of 2020, Microsoft stopped distributing the 32-bit version of Windows 10 ( even owners of 20-year-old Pentium 4 desktops could run Windows 10 ). Windows will undoubtedly support old Intel Macs for many years. For comparison, Apple dropped 32-bit CPUs in 2011, axing support for the first 2005 Macs featuring Core Duo CPUs. The performance of M1 Macs is impressive, boasting Geekbench single-core 3x as fast as the best cMP and besting its multicore performance by roughly 8%-10%, but also faces some hard limitations that are unanswered. Currently, the M1 cannot support eGPUs (or may not support eGPUs yet), currently capped at 16 GB of RAM, cannot run unsigned code (I and others disproved this), and cannot boot Windows. The synthetic benchmarks are very impressive. That said, in some more real-world tests like Logic or clickbaity Intel And AMD x86 Mobility CPUs, Destroy Apple's M1 In Cinebench R23 Benchmark Results (which isn't the case seeing as the m1 has half the cores and less than half the power consumption as a Ryzen 9 4900H). In many other real-world tests, the M1 shines very brightly. It's apparent that MacWorld has jumped the gun with With M1 Macs, memory isn't what it used to be, as more real-world testing is needed to back up such a claim. Apple uses a unified memory architecture, where both the GPU and CPU share the RAM instead of having a separate buffer for the GPU (VRAM). Unified memory previously was most commonly found in video game consoles (starting with the N64 and Playstation 2) and smartphones. Unified memory means that VRAM isn't required as both the CPU and GPU have direct access to items stored in RAM, and thus, there isn't additional latency when items are moved from RAM to VRAM. However, this comes at the cost of VRAM not operating independently of RAM when large amounts of VRAM are required, such as high-end gaming, certain machine learning operations, video compositing, etc. Tasks that require/greatly benefit from large amounts of RAM or VRAM will undoubtedly continue to benefit from large amounts of RAM (or VRAM) on Apple Silicon. On its tight thermal budgets and against integrated graphics chipsets, the Apple Silicon is virtually unmatched. Apple Silicon still hasn't closed the gap against dedicated GPUs and remains lagging. Apple's laptop future looks exceptionally bright, but its professional desktop future is murky where core counts are high, thermal budgets are big, RAM measures into the terabytes, GPUs are massive, and modularity is king. I can easily imagine a strange future where Apple's hardware aces high-end GPUs when rendering video from video editing applications but gets pummeled in gaming or tensor flow. Will Apple release any Apple Silicon with modular components? Will they be based on current standards? We can only hope that the ideal Mac Pro is capable of using common GPUs like AMD's RX 6800 or the bigger AMD's RX 6900 XT. How to replace the CPUs in a 4,1 - 5,1 The Hex 3.2 update from 2010 quad 2.8 photos new! CPU to use! from 2011 has been a community standby, amassing well over 200k views since it was first posted. ifixit it also has \"Mac Pro 2009-2012 CPU (8 core) Replacement\" that demonstrates the process of replacing the CPUs. There's also quite a bit of youtube content on the subject. The 4,1 dual trays use delidded CPUs.\tAre \"matched paired\" CPUs worth it?\t Occasionally, eBay sellers will sell \"matched paired\" CPUs. Intel has never sold \"matched pair\" Xeons as they are manufactured to precision to be directly interchangeable. Do not waste your money on this as it is nonsense. CPU Compatibility Charts I sourced the information from MacRumors, so all credit goes to the community there and forum member ActionableMango for compiling this list. This list is truncated to the most important bits of information. Also, 4,1/5,1 Mac Pro 1x to 2x CPU upgrades require a CPU tray capable of housing two CPUs, which often cost as much as the computer itself. Mac Pro 2009 / 2010 / 2012 (4.1, 5.1) Mac Pros maximum RAM depends on the CPU configuration in a Mac Pro. Dual CPUs enable more than 2x the maximum RAM. Not all Xeons sold are dual CPU compatible; thus, they cannot be paired with another CPU. i7 CPUs cannot be paired together. The CPUs must be the same, and installing a single CPU causes an error state. Also, go to the original thread to read up on 4.1 Mac Pro dual CPU upgrades. 56GB in a single-processor Mac Pro using a single-processor-compatible Xeon 64GB in a single-processor Mac Pro using a dual-processor-compatible Xeon 128GB in a dual-processor Mac Pro (although in certain circumstances, 160 GB of RAM works in 5.1s, RAM Upgrades section) ✔️* = Requires Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5,1 firmware upgrade. 4,1 dual CPU upgrades require the process of delidding the CPUs to deal with the height difference. 5,1 Mac Pros use regular CPUs. The process of delidding can be performed manually or bought pre-delidded. Most users elect to delid the CPUs themselves based on forums. 🚫 = The X5687, despite being socket compatible, does not work with the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1. It's been confirmed by a bold Mac Rumors poster. There's some misinformation on a few other sites, like pindelski.org's guide (a dated early attempt at a comprehensive Mac Pro upgrade guide), so be careful. I'm not picking on Pindelski's guide, as it certainly contains mostly good advice, but the collective community knowledge has progressed quite a bit since then. *️⃣ = The iSeries CPUs cannot address ECC memory nor be used in dual CPUs. Multiple users have confirmed more 56 GBs of RAM with iSeries.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchitecture\t\t\t\t\t\tCores\t\t\t\t\t\tGrade\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU-Model\t\t\t\t\t\tGHz\t\t\t\t\t\tTurbo\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM\t\t\t\t\t\tWatt\t\t\t\t\t\tMP4,1\t\t\t\t\t\tMP5,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5690\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t3.73\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5680\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5679\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t115W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5675\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5670\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5660\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5650\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5659\t\t\t\t\t\t2.53\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5645\t\t\t\t\t\t2.40\t\t\t\t\t\t2.67\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tL5639\t\t\t\t\t\t2.13\t\t\t\t\t\t2.67\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t60W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGulftown\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3690\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t3.73\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3680\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3670\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGulftown\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 990X\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t3.73\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGulftown\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 980X\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGulftown\t\t\t\t\t\t6 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 970\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5687\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t3.86\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5677\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t3.73\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5672\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5667\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5647\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5640\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5630\t\t\t\t\t\t2.53\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5620\t\t\t\t\t\t2.40\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️*\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestmere\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5698\t\t\t\t\t\t4.40\t\t\t\t\t\t4.54\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW5590\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW5580\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5570\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5560\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5550\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t95W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5540\t\t\t\t\t\t2.53\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5530\t\t\t\t\t\t2.40\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5520\t\t\t\t\t\t2.26\t\t\t\t\t\t2.53\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3580\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3570\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1333\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3565\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3540\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3530\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tXeon\t\t\t\t\t\tW3520\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 975\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t3.60\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 965\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 960\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t3.46\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 950\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 940\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t3.20\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 930\t\t\t\t\t\t2.80\t\t\t\t\t\t3.06\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNehalem\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tConsumer *️⃣\t\t\t\t\t\ti7 920\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t2.93\t\t\t\t\t\t1066\t\t\t\t\t\t130W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2008 (3.1)\t\t\tThe 2008 Mac Pros have the least CPU options, and with the base CPU configuration from Apple, the 2x quad-core 2.8 GHz Mac Pro makes for exceptionally modest gains in the benchmark department. Note, the Mac Pro 3,1s use Krotox as it's thermal grease/compound (the lubricant applied directly on the CPU between the heatsink.), a Perfluorinated compound (PFC) according to MacRumors posters, which is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EU as toxic to humans. Due to the health concerns, it's best not to reapply thermal grease on a Mac Pro 3,1 rather swap CPUs. It's recommended to let the Mac Pro 3,1 cool for at least an hour and the CPU thermal before changing the CPUs.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchitecture\t\t\t\t\t\tCores\t\t\t\t\t\tGrade\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU-Model\t\t\t\t\t\tGHz\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM\t\t\t\t\t\tWatt\t\t\t\t\t\tMP3,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5482\t\t\t\t\t\t3.2\t\t\t\t\t\t800\t\t\t\t\t\t150W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5460\t\t\t\t\t\t3.16\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5472\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t800\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5472\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t800\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5450\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5450\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5440\t\t\t\t\t\t2.83\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarpertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5462\t\t\t\t\t\t2.8\t\t\t\t\t\t800\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWolfdale\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5272\t\t\t\t\t\t3.40\t\t\t\t\t\t800\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWolfdale\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5260\t\t\t\t\t\t3.33\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t✔️\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2006-2007 (1,1, 2,1)\t\t\tThe Mac Pro 1,1s with a firmware upgrade can use a wide array of CPUs, making it the second most upgradable in the series of Mac Pros. Note, a few of the Mac Pro 2,1s use Krotox as its thermal grease/compound (the lubricant applied directly on the CPU between the heatsink.), a Perfluorinated compound (PFC) according to MacRumors users (see the post for details on the 2,1 affected models) which is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EU as toxic to humans. Due to the health concerns, it's best not to reapply thermal grease on the affected Mac Pro 2,1 models rather swap CPUs. It's recommended to let the Mac Pro 3,1 cool for at least an hour and the CPU thermal before changing the CPUs.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchitecture\t\t\t\t\t\tCores\t\t\t\t\t\tGrade\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU-Model\t\t\t\t\t\tGHz\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM\t\t\t\t\t\tWatt\t\t\t\t\t\tMin\t\t\t\t\t\tFirm-\t\t\t\t\t\tware\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5365\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t150W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5365\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5355\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5355\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tX5355\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t120W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5345\t\t\t\t\t\t2.33\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5345\t\t\t\t\t\t2.33\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5345\t\t\t\t\t\t2.33\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5340\t\t\t\t\t\t2.4\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5340\t\t\t\t\t\t2.4\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tL5335\t\t\t\t\t\t2.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t50W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tL5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t50W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tL5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t50W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tL5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t50W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClovertown\t\t\t\t\t\t4 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\tE5320\t\t\t\t\t\t1.86\t\t\t\t\t\t533\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t2,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5160\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5160\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t80W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5160\t\t\t\t\t\t3.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5150\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5150\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5150\t\t\t\t\t\t2.66\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5130\t\t\t\t\t\t2.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5130\t\t\t\t\t\t2.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWoodcrest\t\t\t\t\t\t2 core\t\t\t\t\t\tDual Xeon\t\t\t\t\t\t5130\t\t\t\t\t\t2.0\t\t\t\t\t\t667\t\t\t\t\t\t65W\t\t\t\t\t\t1,1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\tCheck your Exact CPU Model You can check your CPU Model number using the terminal command:sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string Guides on Upgrading CPUs CPUs are (mostly) plug-and-play upgrades but require applying thermal paste (thermal grease) to the CPU for proper heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsinks. There are many tutorials on how to upgrade a CPU, including YouTube videos and pictorial guides. In the case of the Mac Pro 1,1 and Mac Pro 4.1, the firmware can be updated to include support for later-generation CPUs using the same socket type. See Firmware Upgrades for more details on Firmware upgrades. Lastly, the Mac Pro 4.1s uses delidded CPUs for dual-core models. See the Delidding CPUs section for more details. EveryMac: How to upgrade 1,1, 2,1, 3,1 Mac Pro CPUs EveryMac: How to upgrade 4,1 Mac Pro CPUs EveryMac: How to upgrade 5,1 Mac Pro CPUs Paul Lefebvre: Upgrading the CPU in a 2009 Mac Pro Pindelski: removing the CPU cage on a Mac Pro 2009 iFixit - 2009 Mac Pro CPU upgrade (single socket) Delidding CPUs Delidding is the process of removing the integrated heat spreader (silver cover) on a CPU that serves as a heat spreader and replacing it with a different thermal material. This is required for CPUs in the Mac Pro 4.1s due to the heatsinks in the dual CPU models. There are multiple ways to do this. The steady-hands method is to use a razor to scrape it off the CPU (inexpensive), and the more expensive is to buy a Delid-Die-Mate (roughly $40 USD). The single CPU tray 4,1 uses a single CPU tray. TheHouseOfmoth: Delidding CPUs for use in a 4,1 Mac Pro (youtube) PCGamer: Delidding your CPU is scary but worth it—and surprisingly easy MacRumors: How To clean up a Mac Pro after delidding Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities A vulnerability in Intel CPUs was discovered called MDS, which targets hyperthreading (the ability to address two instructions in a single CPU cycle under stress loads). It affects CPUs from 2008+. Intel issued a microcode fix for CPUs designed in 2013 and up, leaving out the classic Mac Pros. Apple has updated Safari to prevent drive-by Javascript attacks. Using general safe browsing habits makes it not very likely that this exploit will affect users despite very sensational headlines like Wired's Meltdown Redux: Intel flaw lets hackers siphon secrets from millions of PCs. The only way to ensure total safety is to disable Hyper-Threading (a significant performance hit), and Apple issued the article How to enable full mitigation for Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities. Benchmarking CPU benchmarks are useful but always a relativistic endeavor. Rather than discussing the pros and cons of types of benchmarks, the most popular theoretical benchmarking software, GeekBench 5, was released recently. Most users are used to seeing Geekbench 4 numbers, which are not comparable to GeekBench 5. Geekbench's scoring system has always been tied to other CPUs as its anchor for scoring. Users will notice dramatically smaller benchmark numbers in the latest Geekbench as the new reference point is the Intel Core i3 8100, which earns a score of 1000. This doesn't mean the Mac Pro is performing worse, but rather, the baseline has risen. GeekBench 5 removes individual memory tests (which isn't very indicative of the real world) but is entirely 64-bit only for bigger memory stress tests. The encryption and codec manipulation tests have also been updated to reflect current standards and new tests related to machine learning and map calculations. The full list of changes can be read here: GeekBench: Geekbench 5 is released with all-new tests, modes, and scores. GPU upgrades Mac Pro 5,1 running a Radeon VII using a Pixlas Mod Thanks to PCIe, the Mac Pros have remained relevant as GPUs can be swapped out with ease. GPUs are probably the most annoying of the upgrades (due to the required research), yet one of the most commonly performed (and easy to do). There is no modern commercially available aftermarket GPU you can buy for macOS that supports an EFI boot screen (the preboot screen) and macOS Mojave 10.14 (and above). This could change, but it has not yet. When I originally wrote my first Mac Pro Upgrade guide over a decade ago, readers found it surprising that one could use off-the-shelf PC Nvidia / AMD cards. Today, this seems to be common knowledge. I made a GPU overview video as a primer to the GPU section. Annoyingly, Apple bundles its drivers with OS releases, and thus, GPU support is tied to OS upgrades. Thus, a modern GPU like the 5700 XT requires 10.15 Catalina and is not supported in 10.14 Mojave, nor probably never will be. Discussing GPUs is confusing for the Mac Pro, and I've attempted to make this as clear as possible. I highly recommend reading the next section, dividing up the GPU landscape. Dividing Up The GPU landscape GPUs are routinely one of the most common upgrades to Mac Pros. I've identified roughly three classes of GPUs. Thus, I've divided the bulk of the GPU Guide into discussions of GPUs based on the following distinctions. OEM Mac EFI Bootable Cards / Aftermarket EFI Bootable: GPUs that are Mac Native - GPUs that out-of-the-box will display the Mac OS boot screen and do not require additional drivers if the minimum OS is met. Flashable to Mac EFI compatible cards: These are graphics cards that shipped as a PC graphics card but require a ROM flash to display the EFI Boot screen. Some GPUs may not work without first installing the Mac-compatible ROM on them. Many of the Flashable cards had Mac versions in some form. One enterprising modder has created custom ROMs for flashed cards but charges a premium for his service. See Custom Flashed Cards sections for more details. Non-EFI Bootscreen Cards: This is the most common upgrade path. They are GPUs that can be used in macOS but will not display the boot screen and may require (in the case of Nvidia) additional drivers to output video. With OpenCore installed (see the OpenCore section for details), a preboot screen can now be displayed with these cards. After that, we have two more sub-classes of GPU based on support for Metal, Apple's replacement for OpenGL, used in 10.14+ GPUs with Metal drivers for 10.14.x+ GPUs that do not support Metal We're not done yet. Finally, GPUs can require more power than the factory Mac Pro PCIe power taps. The Mac Pro's forward-thinking design tries to eliminate cable mess by taking the uncommon design of having passthrough PCIe power taps on the motherboard. These cables would be linked directly to the PSU on a standard PC. The Mac Pro's 980-watt PSU is up to the task of very large GPUs, but it requires bypassing the motherboard power taps. Clever hackers have created solutions like Mac Pro Pixlas Mod (also covered in the Other mods section of this guide) or using external PSUs. Users have successfully powered two GeForce 1080 TIs using the Pixlas mod and (possibly upgraded) internal PSU. GPUs that require additional power, for example, are the GeForce 1080 Ti, AMD Vega 64, AMD Vega FE, Radeon VII, and Radeon 5700 XT. GPUs that do not require any additional power GPUs that require additional power using a power supply modification like Pixlas or external PSU. To summarize, a GPU could be OEM EFI compatible (boot screen), flashable to EFI compatible, or not EFI compatible (no boot screen, but with OpenCore can still display a boot screen) but still work under Mac OS, and it may or may not be Mojave/Catalina compatible and may not require PSU modification. Apple implemented EFI, which does not ≠ UEFI the PC standard, as they embraced EFI early on before the UFI standard. This used an older standard for EFI-level graphics drivers called Universal Graphics Adapter Protocol (UGA). UEFI uses the Graphics Output Protocol (GOP). GPU manufacturers typically have not supported UGA, which is why PC GPUs do not support pre-OS boot graphics. OpenCore can load a non-native preboot screen as it packs in the GOP preboot drivers. Generally, anyone running a non-EFI-compatible boot screen will want to keep an EFI-compatible card around (even if not installed) for OS upgrades or emergencies. OS updates (including security updates) can stop aftermarket NVidia cards from displaying video until the proper drivers are installed. I've been in all camps: originally using a GeForce GTX 8800, flashing an ATI Radeon HD 6870 to Mac Native EFI, and then landing on the GeForce 760 and 1060, and finally an AMD Vega 56 over the decade-plus of owning a Mac Pro. A GPU may or may not support Metal, the new graphics API used in 10.14.x and above. The GPU also might draw more power than the motherboard passthrough can handle. Summary of the GPU options Very few GPUs can be flashed to support Mac EFI to display options. Most options are very old. Most aftermarket GPUs for the Mac Pro will not support the boot screen. This is due to Apple's implementation of EFI, which predated the later PC standard of UEFI. The boot screen is optional, and GPUs will work fine once the OS has loaded its display drivers. OpenCore now allows users to enable the boot screen. Many GPUs (mostly NVidia GPUs and very old AMD GPUs) are not supported in 10.14 because of the transition to the new graphics API, Metal, which replaces the dated OpenGL. Nvidia and Apple are feuding. There are no drivers for newer Nvidia hardware in 10.14 and above. Effectively, the upgrade options are limited to AMD. Apple bundles its drivers with the OS. GPU support is tied to the OS version. The newest GPUs, like the 5700 XT, only are supported in 10.15 Catalina. Very high-end GPUs like the Vega 64, Radeon VII, or Radeon 5700 XT draw more power than the Mac Pro can deliver via its PCIe power taps; thus, other methods must be used, like PSU modification or undervolting. OEM EFI Bootable Cards / Aftermarket EFI Bootable EFI compatible cards are GPUs that display a native Mac version: These are mostly OEM cards, although with a few notable aftermarket Mac Edition cards that included EFI Roms on the cards. The PC versions do not have EFI support. This list does not include MacVidCards GPUs, as those feature custom ROMs that aren't distributed. DL DIV - Dual-Link DVI SL DIV - Single-Link DVI DP - Display Port * Pirated Mac Vid Cards ROM, see changelog for detailsNVidia NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB GDDR2, 32 Bit EFI 1 SL DVI 1 DL DVI NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB GDDR3, 1 Mini DP 1 DL DVI NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB GDDR3 2 DL DVI NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512 MB 32 Bit EFI 1 DL DVI 1 DP NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 1.5 GB GDDR5 2 DL DVI NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI 1 DP NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5 GB GDDR3 2 DL DVI Stereo 3D EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2 GB GDDR5 1 HDMI 1 DP 1 DVI-I 1 DVI-D PNY NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (Mac Edition) 8 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP? NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (Mac Edition) 4 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP? NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 * 3 GB / 6 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI, 1 HDMI, 1 DP NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan * 6 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI 1 HDMI 1 DP NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X * 12 GB GDDR5 1 DVI 1 HDMI 1 Triple DP ATI/AMD ATI was purchased by AMD in 2006, and in 2010 retired the ATI name. ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB GDDR2 1 SL DVI 1 DL DV ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512 MB GDDR3 2 DL DVI ATI Radeon HD 4870 512 MB GDDR5 1 Mini DP 1 DL DVI ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB GDDR5 2 Mini DP 1 DL DVI ATI Radeon HD 5870 1 GB GDDR5 2 Mini DP 1 DL DVI AMD Firepro S10000 6 GB GDDR5 1 DP 1 DL DVI Flashable to EFI compatible cards The most commonly flashable video cards have a Mac equivalent sold by Apple as an OEM or aftermarket Mac version. Users transferred the GPU's ROMs and then distributed them via the internet. A user can then download utilities to flash the ROM onto the card. A few cards require physical modification. The advantage is that once the ROM is installed, the card will act/behave like a native card. Still, with a few cards, some functionality might be lost (generally losing a video port functionality as the Mac version did not have the same ports). Below are software-only flashable cards. NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 AMD FirePro W7000 AMD Radeon HD 5870, 6870 - Netkas: ROM for ATI Radeon 6870, Netkas RomCreator AMD Radeon HD 7950 - MacRumors: Guide to Flash XFX Double D HD 7950 Black Edition AMD Radeon HD 7970 AMD R9 280/280X GeForce 285 GTX - MacRumors: Test the First Flashed GTX285 GeForce GT 630 (2GB) - LoremIpsum: EFI Rom GeForce 680 GTX (2GB) - Netkas: Flashing the GTX680 2GB GeForce 680 GTX (4GB) - MacRumors: GTX680 4GB - ROM Image - Full Boot Screens, Full Clock Rates and PCI-E 2.0 - 5GT/s CreatePro: NVidia RTX 2080 Bootscreen - does not currently have driver support. RTX Series Cards have Native Bootscreen Support! - does not currently have driver support. 2010 Mac Pro Nvidia RTX 2070 + Radeon Pro WX 9100@16Gbps-TB3 (Mantiz Venus) + Win10 1803 [theitsage] - - does not currently have driver support Non-Mac-EFI Compatible GPUs The vast majority of the upgrade market is Non-Mac-EFI Compatible GPUs. These GPUs will work on a Mac but do not have the appropriate firmware to display the preboot screens on a Mac (video output that happens before Mac OS has loaded). Non-EFI Bootable Cards are firmly split between AMD and NVidia. Once the drivers are loaded (after the white Apple boot screen), the GPU will output video after loading the drivers during the boot process. Non-EFI Bootable Cards are firmly split between AMD and NVidia. Once the drivers are loaded (after the white Apple boot screen), the GPU will output video after loading the drivers during the boot process. See the Mini-Glossary for more info on EFI. However, adding an additional step in the boot process, using OpenCore (see OpenCore section for details), can deliver a boot screen. Modern AMD GPUs are plug-and-play. Apple distributes Mac OS with AMD drivers; thus, new drivers are released within OS updates. This means there are no drivers to install. The downside is that users cannot install new GPUs on old OSes. To use later GPUs, you must be running an OS new enough to include drivers for that specific GPU. Sadly, Apple does not support modern Nvidia GPUs in Mac OS. Apple includes support for older NVidia chipsets, as these GPUs are shipped once at a time in various Mac configurations. NVidia has chosen to write drivers (labeled \"web drivers\" as macOS is distributed with NVidia drivers for Mac EFI cards) for their video cards so that off-the-shelf cards can be used in Mac Pros. Previously, only GPUs based on the Kepler architecture could be used with a Mac without the web drivers. However, with a Mac-compatible EFI ROM, they can display video at boot and only output video once the driver has loaded. With the NVidia video cards, even security updates will require a web driver update, meaning if you update, the next boot will not output video until the driver has been updated. All the GTX 700-1000 series are supported by web drivers but are limited to 10.13.x. As NVidia has stated, Apple is refusing to sign its drivers. So far, 10.14+ does not have NVidia support (outside of the older Kepler NVidia GPUs up to macOS 11 Big Sur). Aftermarket GPU Breakdown The GPU landscape can be confusing. To recap, the above GPUs can be the following: EFI Flashable to show pre-boot screens Require additional drivers (NVidia-only) May not be 10.14+ compatible due to a lack of Metal support (Apple's new API for graphics to replace OpenGL) May require modifying the Power Supply using a technique like Pixlas mod to power the GPU properly Macs today can use off-the-shelf GPUs. I've attempted to list all the GPUs going back to 10.8.x, although this list is growing. Metal support is required for 10.14. A few select GPUs can be flashed to show preboot bios listed as Mac EFI compatible. Lastly, some GPUs require more power than the default Mac Pro power taps can provide, requiring an additional Power Supply or a modification known as the Pixlas mod. Please note that this entire list includes many GPUs, broken down into two main categories: AMD GPUs and NVidia GPUs. Note: I have excluded cards with custom EFI ROMs from MacVidCards as these aren't user-flashable. AMD GPUs Note: The minimum OS list required may not be correct. Please contact me if this is incorrect. Please read the supplemental links for confirmations and possible issues provided next to GPUs.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD GPU\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMin OS Support\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupports Metal\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac EFI flashable\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPSU Mod\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon X1900 XT (Mac)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 2600 XT (Mac)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 2600 Pro (Mac)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 3870\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.7 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 4870\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.7 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 4890\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.7 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 5770\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6.8 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*, **\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 5850\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6.8 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 5870\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.6.8 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 6850\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.7 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 6870\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.7 - 10.13.x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 69x0\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo Support\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 7950\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8.3 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes*\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 7970\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8.3 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 7970 (GHz Edition)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8.3 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon HD 7990\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuggy\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR7 250\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t??\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR7 260X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t??\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 270\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires Hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 270X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8.3 - 10.13.6 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 280X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes**\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 290X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 380\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPossible\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 380x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPossible\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 390\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 Nano\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 Fury\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr, 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tR9 Fury X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr ?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 450\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 455\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Rx 460\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 470\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 480\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr 1 2\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 540\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 540x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 550\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr or None\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Depends on card)1 (reddit), 2 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 550x\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 560\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr 1\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 560x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 570\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 570x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 580\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo ***\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon RX 580x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12.6 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 2100\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo \t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 3100\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 4100\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12- Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 4130\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 4150\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 4170\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 5100\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 7100\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 8100\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro WX 9100\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro Duo 32GB GDDR5 512-Bit\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttoo long for Mac Pro, requires removing PCIe fans\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13? - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVega 56\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.x - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo ****\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVega 64\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.x - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVega Frontier Edition\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon VII\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 5500 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.15.2 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 5600 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.15.3 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 5700\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.15.2 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 5700 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.15.2 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6600\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without firmware)*🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12.1 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6600 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without firmware)*🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12.1 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6700 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6800\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11.4 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash)*🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6800 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11.4 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash) *🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 6900 XT\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11.4 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash)*🚫\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon 7900 XT/7900 XTX\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t* OEM/Retail ROMs are available for these cards ** Modified Netkas or Blacksheep ROMs are available for these cards *** Mac Pro 3.1s can display bootscreens with the RX 580. See the Mac Pro 3.1s and AMD GPUs section. **** The Vega 56 with the factory firmware does not require a Pixlas mod. However, firmware tuned for gaming or using the Vega 64 firmware does require a Pixlas Mod. See Vega 56 flashing section. *🚫 Currently, MacVidCards (EURO) is selling flashed 6600 XT / 6800 and they can be flashed (Without a native boot screen) using Sychretic's ROM Radeon R7 260 and R9 390 can be used in macOS but require Hackintosh libraries. I recommend looking at one of the many other options unless one is comfortable researching hackintosh forums and installing custom kexts and the possibility of the hardware not working. The Radeon Navi 21 GPUs (Radeon 6800 - 6900 XT) and the classic Mac Pros AMD's Navi 21 GPUs (the 6600, 6600 XT, 6800, 6800 XT, and 6900 XT) are officially supported in macOS 12.1+, but due to a firmware bug, it would interrupt the boot process in the classic Mac Pros. The original speculation was the ROM used AVX calls (see macrumors), but after a deeper look, it was due to poorly written code. After this discovery, MacVidCards (EURO) started selling flashed 6800, and they can be flashed (Without a native boot screen) using Sychretic's ROM. The requirements to flash a card are as follows: The hacked ROM located at MacRumors: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / 6900 XT for macOS? A computer that supports the 6600 - 6900 XT (A PC newer than 2013 or Mac Pro 2019 with Windows) The ATI/AMD Flash utility The process is straightforward: load the correct ROM to your card using the utility, but if you prefer a video how-to, see: Mac Sound Solutions inc: How to flash an RX6600XT RX6800XT RX6900XT for Mac Pro 5,1 NVidia GPUs Note: The minimum OS list required may not be correct because of the lack of info in Web Drivers. Older OSes probably still require web drivers but in later OSes (10.13.x or higher), even for non-web driver Cards. Metal-compatible cards will not require web drivers in Mojave or Catalina. This section is very new (and, as far as I know, the first attempt that covers all categories), and there are MANY GPU variations. Please get in touch with me if I have listed something incorrectly. Be sure to search forums like MacRumors to confirm compatibility.. For macOS Monterey, any Metal-compatible Nvidia GPU requires using OpenCore Legacy Patcher to inject drivers. ❓ = Several NVidia GPUs shipped different chipsets under the same name; this is important as Metal only supports Kepler chipsets, and these GPUs had both Femi/Kepler variants. I recommend avoiding these particular GPUs if you are looking for Metal (10.14.x) support. The RTX 2000 series is usable in Windows/Linux with hardware acceleration. The RTX 3000 series will not boot and thus cannot be used in an alternative OS. Multiple card variations have been confirmed as not working, such as the MacRumors thread and MacProUpgrade (Requires membership) groups. Please read the previous sections for explanations of boot screens, EFI, Metal, and power supply modifications.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNvidia GPU\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOS Support\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires Web Drivers\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupports Metal\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac EFI flashable\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPSU Mod\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 610\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 620\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 630\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tYes(HP)\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 640\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 650\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 650 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 660\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 660 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 -10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 670\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 670 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 680\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8.3 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 690\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 710\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 720\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 730\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6 or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends ❓\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 740\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 750\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6, or Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tDepnds\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGT 750 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 760\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 770\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 780\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9.2 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 780 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9.2 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 950\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10.5 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 960\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10.5 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 970\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9.5 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo**\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 980\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10.5 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo**\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 980 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10.5 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1030\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1050\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1060\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1070\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo**\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1070 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1080\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1080 Ti\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX 1080 Ti Founder's Edition (11 GB)\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX Titan Black\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGTX Titan X\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTitan XP\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 20x0 series*\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 30x0 series**\t\t\t\t\t\tWill not boot\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 40x0 series**\t\t\t\t\t\tWill not boot\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t** Dumped MacVidCards ROMs for these cards are floating around on the internet, making these particular cards flashable by users. Still, the modified ROMs only exist due to MVC putting in the effort to hack together Mac EFI-compatible ROMs. MVC has yet to give out its modified ROMs for free. **Thus far, community members have tested the 3060, 3070, and 3080, and the classic Mac Pros will fail even to initiate the boot sequence. They cannot even be used in Windows or Linux. *** The NVidia RTX series will output the EFI boot screen but do not have drivers. NVidia Professional GPUs The Quadro GPUs are widely supported by the Nvidia web drivers.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNvidia GPU\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOS Support\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupports Metal\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires Web Drivers\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac EFI flashable\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPSU Mod\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P410\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K600\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K620\t\t\t\t\t\t10.8 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K1200\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K2000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K2000D\t\t\t\t\t\t10.19 - Cu11.xrr\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K2200\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K4000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K4000D\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K4200\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K5000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K5200\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro K6000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.10 - 11.x\t\t\t\t\t\tno\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro M2000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro M4000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro M5000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro M6000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro M6200\t\t\t\t\t\t10.9 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P620\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P1000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P2000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P4000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P5000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuadro P6000\t\t\t\t\t\t10.11 - 10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 20x0 series\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 30x0 series\t\t\t\t\t\tWill not boot any OS\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRTX 40x0 series\t\t\t\t\t\tWill not boot any OS\t\t\t\t\t\tNone\t\t\t\t\t\tNo\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t-\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is an ongoing project, and information for older OSes is harder to source due to the lack of info in NVidia web driver documentation. Please let me know if any GPUs are incorrect or missing. You can reach me by going to my contact page. Unsupported by Metal GPUs The above list can be summarized by chipsets as Apple distributes its OSes with GPU drivers. The unsupported chipsets by NVidia and AMD are as follows: NVidia Ampere Chipset (RTX 3060, RTX 3070, RTX 3080... etc.) These will not boot due to the firmware on the cards NVidia Turning Chipset (RTX cards + Quadro RTX + GTX 1650, GTX 1660, RTX 2060, RTX 2070, RTX 2080... etc) NVidia Pascal Chipset (GTX 10x0 series, Quadro P series, ) NVidia Maxwell Chipset (GTX 9x0 series, Quadro M series, Quadro K620, K1200 K220) NVidia Femi Chipset (GeForce GT/GTX 4xx series, GeForce GT/GTX 5xx series) NVidia Tesla Chipset (Nvidia GT120) Pre AMD Radeons - ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, 1900 XT, ATI Radeon HD 4870, 4890, 5770, 5850, 5870, 6850, 6870 * Buying older NVidia GPUs can be confusing as there are variants that are unlabeled chipsets. The GT 610, GT 620, GT 640, GT 730, and GTX 750 have Kepler and Femi chipset variants. If you have a Kepler GPU, you can run Metal, such as Mojave, Catalin, and Big Sur. If you are looking for a very cheap GPU for Mojave or to upgrade your firmware, the GTX 650s can be found on the used market for $20-$35 USD. Mojave GPU Buyer's guide is mostly accurate but doesn't note that GTX 750 variants. *** The AMD RX 590 is an overclocked 580 with a larger fan. The larger fan tends to block the adjacent PCI slot, making it hard to recommend for its minimal performance gains. For the best info on recommended versions of AMD cards, visit AMD Polaris & Vega GPU macOS Support. Post Mojave updates have enabled hardware acceleration for video codecs on the RX580. You can read about it here and find full instructions to Activate AMD hardware acceleration. (Thanks for Martin LO. aka h9826790). MacRumors forum-goers report that the following Radeons are supported in 10.13.4 AMD Vega loud idling Some of the Vega GPUs suffer loud idling speeds under older OSX/ Mac OS versions, although that may not resolve it. Many of the cards can be flashed to different bios. See the first post in the thread (down towards the bottom) MacRumors: AMD Polaris and Vega GPU macOS Support. The loud idling was solved in 10.14, thus making the firmware necessary for 10.13.x Vega 56 -> Vega 64 Firmware flash For a long time, the Vega 56s have been one of the best value GPUs for the Mac as they can grow with your setup. They can be flashed to use the Vega 64 firmware to increase performance. It isn't quite as fast as running a Vega 64, but it is close. That said, without a power supply modification, many users (self-included) experienced crashing when the GPU hit intensive loads and required reflashing it to Vega 56 Firmware. If you intend to mod your PSU, you can always flash a Vega 56 to a Vega 64 for a nice speed boost after you modify it. The BIOs for both Vega 56s and Vega 64s can be found at Tech Powerup. The AMD/ATI Flash utility can be found at TechPowerUp, as well. It requires Windows 10. AMD GPUs and Mac Pro 3.1s and below Several MacRumors forum members have found that Mac Pro 3.1s cannot use the AMD RX580 because drivers require SSE4.2 instruction set requirements for Mojave and above. However, and this is a big one, Netkas has been able to get the RX560 working in a Mac Pro 3.1 by adding inline emulation for the SSE4.2 instruction for the drivers. Any of the AMD Polaris cards are now compatible with Mac Pro 3,1. See the full list here. More recently, the 3.1s occupy an interesting niche. They can display a bootscreen without flashing. Both Catalina and Mojave are supported. RX 580 won't boot macOS on MP 3.1 RX580 on a Mac Pro 3,1 Netkas: Got rx560 working in Mojave on mp3,1, metal, and OpenGL NVidia GPU and Mac OS As previously mentioned, NVidia GPUs have been largely unsupported by Apple in macOS. The last chipset to appear in any OEM Mac configuration was from the Kepler era. Sadly, the RTX line of GPUs has never been supported in any shape or form in macOS, but the RTX 2000s can be used in Mac Pros in Windows 10. The state of NVidia drivers NVidia, for years, has written drivers for its unsupported GPUs for Mac OS called NVidia Web Drivers, as Apple does not bundle drivers for most NVidia chipsets with its OS. The only chipset that comes bundled with macOS is the Kepler chipset, as it is the last chipset Apple used in its computers. The Web Drivers allow previously unsupported GPUs to be used with OSX/MacOS. With the advent of 10.14 Mojave, OpenGL has been deprecated and replaced with Apple's Metal library for GPU acceleration, which dropped support for many GPUs. Apple published an official list but did not list all compatible GPUs for Mojave. Any non-Kepler NVidia GPUs do not work in Mojave and above. Due to a public spat, Apple is blocking NVidia from releasing drivers to support its GPUs in 10.14. Currently, NVidia blames Apple for not approving its drivers for Mojave. As an act of desperation, fans have created a petition for Apple to allow NVidia to release drivers for Mac OS 10.14 Mojave. Rumors have ranged between Volta support, eGPUs, and most recently Metal vs. CUDA. This is a shame as there is a massive performance gap of certain Adobe products on AMD hardware vs. NVidia hardware. Also, users are reporting that the RTX NVidia cards are displaying boot screens in macOS but do not have any mac drivers, meaning no hardware acceleration. The RTX has UGA to GOP firmware; thus, it is a happy accident. NVidia Webdriver Manual Installation The web drivers are vague and unclear. They do not list which cards are currently supported on its web pages. Secondly, you need to download the correct version of the drivers for whatever version of Mac OS you have. TonyMacX86 forums do an excellent job of directly linking to the NVidia installers for driver version number by OS version. Currently, 10.14.x (Mojave) is not supported. The NVidia RTX series is also currently unsupported. Note about SLI: Currently, there isn't any SLI support under macOS, and this seems unlikely to change. Windows, however, will support SLI in a Mac Pro. TonyMacX86: Latest NVidia Drivers - list of most current drivers TonyMacX86: Solving NVIDIA Driver Install & Loading Problems NVidia Driver Automatic Installation To avoid headaches of NVidia drivers, Benjamin Dobell wrote a CLI utility to install the appropriate Mac NVidia drivers for your system. He describes it as follows: \"This script installs the best (not necessarily the latest) official NVidia web drivers for your system.\" Go to GitHub: NVidia Update. Useful Links blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 760/770/780 on a Mac Pro 3.1 blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 1060/1070/1080 on a Mac Pro 5.1 netkas: GPU ROMs netkas: AMD Radeon 5770/5780 ROMs blog.greggant.com: Mac NVidia Web Drivers fail to update or cannot remove Kext files mac-pixel-clock-patch-V2: High Resolutions @60hz and HiDPI fix for old Macs MacRumors: How to Boot to Windows without a Boot Screen MacRumors: Adobe After Effects Benchmarks/Observations: NVIDIA GTX 1080 FE vs. Sapphire PULSE RX 580 8GB Boot Manager - open source boot manager, designed for Mac Pros, see the guide here. MacRumors: Enabling Hardware Acceleration for RX580s for video codecs MacRumors: How to get into Recovery Screen with a Web driver GPU Custom Flashed Cards: Depending on how much time you've spent researching upgrades, you may have read about the website/business, MacVidCards. MacVidCards sells custom-flashed EFI NVidia and AMD cards. Initially, when I wrote this section, I hesitated to link directly to their site as several FaceBook (requires membership to MacProUpgrade) / MacRumors posts have been lukewarm. I worried readers might think I was endorsing a service they may not like. The cards do work, but the turn-around times are long, and communication infrequent (although since writing that, MacVidcards now boasts improved communication and turn arounds). Is that true? I don't know, FaceBook (requires membership to MacProUpgrade) really runs the gamut. The prices are high, but they are legitimate, with many testimonials floating around message boards from longtime members that they do indeed work as promised. Just be prepared to wait for any issues to be sorted out in a time frame that may not be acceptable. MacVidCards claims to have written custom EFI ROMs for NVidia and AMD cards. Rather than explain how said hack was done (Unlike previous releases TonyMacX86 / MacRumors / Netkas), MacVidCards chooses to be a monopoly. (Note: Dave of MacVidCards notes he did contribute to previous AMD card hacks and did not get paid for his work on this). I'd rather not weigh too much on its ethics, but software developers deserve compensation, and depending on the actual work performed on the EFI ROM, it may very well be truly custom. As of writing this, they are the only game in town when it comes to making the custom GPU cards Mac EFI compatible. After seeing my guide (in a much earlier state) after reading the previous statement, Dave of MacVidCards reached out to me to correct errors found on this page. So, if nothing else, my experience with MacVidCards has been fair in my limited dealings with them, considering my hesitation in recommending them. The era of firmware flashing GPUs for Macs is at an end as the 2019 Mac Pro uses modified UEFIl; thus, now, off-the-shelf GPUs provide boot screens, and OpenCore provides a pre-boot screen for users who require one. Which card should I buy? There are several issues, as explained repeatedly, and they are as follows: Mac OS switched from OpenGL to Metal. This means a lot of older cards do not have drivers in 10.14+ Mojave and above. It's AMD or bust for aftermarket GPUs. Modern NVidia GPUs do not have Metal drivers, which are incompatible with Mojave/Catalina. Only the old Kepler chipsets are supported up to macOS 11 Big Sur. Monterey removes them. Very few aftermarket GPUs can output a boot screen. There are multiple ways to deal with this, from utilities to OpenCore. The highest-end GPUs (Vega 64, VII) require PSU modifications or undervolting to run. There isn't a \"best card\" for any computer, instead of how much money you're willing to spend and if the money could be better spent elsewhere. This is an arbitrary metric as even a 3,1 Mac Pro will see significant gains in GPU tasks, with AMD Radeon VII over lesser cards (for example, an AMD Radeon 580). Consider this: A Radeon VII sells for many times more than a Mac Pro 3,1 itself. Commonly, forums and groups will mention \"pairs well\" or \"bottleneck\" (see PCIe And You (PCIe overview) PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0), but any high-end GPU will \"pair well,\" the question is more about where a user can see more performance gains. Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 users are limited to a maximum of running Mac OS 10.11.x, thus, do not have to worry about the lack of NVidia support in Mojave. 1,1/2,1 users should consider the GeForce 680 for EFI boot screen support or the GeForce 7xx or 9xx series. Notably, 64-bit EFI-supported cards will not display the boot screen. Mac Pro 3,1 users tend to consider the AMD Radeon 580x a great choice. The AMD cards require a hack that can be enabled by special drivers that enable SSE 4.2 emulation. Also, for the Mac Pro 3.1s only, users have figured out a way to display the boot screen without flashing for the 580x. This only applies to the 3.1s. This isn't as important in the era of OpenCore, but it is worth mentioning. Mac Pro 5,1 users looking for modern performance should consider the AMD 580x, Vega 56, Vega 64, Vega FE, VII (10.14.6), or 5700 XT (10.15+). The 580x is relatively inexpensive and does not require any modifications to power the GPU. In contrast, the top-tier Vegas is power-hungry but one of the most performant GPUs supported in Mojave. Users not caring about performance may want to consider the R9 280x, as it can be flashed to include EFI support. The performance king is the VII currently for both compute and gaming, although the 5700xt represents a great value for users looking to run Catalina 10.15 or above. Overwhelmingly, the most popular GPU for Mac Pros is the RX 580 due to its great price-to-performance and long support. However, for most users, I'd recommend looking at a Vega 56, as it's a completely different microarchitecture. It features the 14 nm Vega, much faster VRAM (HMB2 over GDDR5), and \"Next Compute Unit,\" aka NCU, which all result in significant gains over the RX580 and do not require a PSU modification. The Vega line is well-suited for professional applications. Also, the Vega 56 can be flashed to the Vega 64 firmware, resulting in near Vega 64 performance. Using Vega 64 firmware will require a PSU mod. I want a GPU that has a boot screen and is Metal (Mojave 10.14+) compatible... I would recommend OpenCore, as any Metal-compatible GPU will output a basic boot screen or precede the boot screen entirely, as you can easily manage dual booting. If you are looking for a frictionless upgrade, you can buy GPUs from MacVidCards (they have RX 580s, Vega 56s, and 5700 XTs) or get one of the following: NVIDIA HP GeForce GT 630 (flashed) - Notes (spotty info, certain models) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition(or flashed) - Instructions, 4 GB ROM NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac (or flashed) - 4 GB Radeon R9 280X (flashed) - Instructions SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition (or flashed) - Instructions, Black Edition Instructions Again, you can buy any supported aftermarket GPU with OpenCore and get a boot screen using OpenCore. Read more about it in the OpenCore section. A MacProUpgrade (requires membership) member wrote a post \"The Cheapest Metal Supported Card\". I recommend reading it, but Doug's post for those bargain-hunting. Installing a GPU GPUs are straightforward to install except for two minor \"gotcha\"s: they use Mini PCIe power adapters on the motherboard and, for exceptionally power-hungry 250+ watt GPUs (GeForce 1080 Ti, Radeon Vega FE, etc.), require modification to power the cards. See the Mac Pro Pixlas PSU Mod or External Power Supplies sections of this guide for more information. Some readers have reported they are able to run high-power requirement GPUs off their internal power supply. As mentioned above, the Mac Pro has two 6-pin mini-PCIe power ports, which require mini-PCIe to PCIe power cables. For reference, here are examples of a mini PCIe 6-pin to PCIe Power cable and a mini PCIe 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin cable. These are likely required to power your GPU. For example, a GPU that has a 6-pin power port and an 8-pin power port would require one of each cable. I wrote two guides blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 760/770/780 on a Mac Pro 3.1, and blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 1060/1070/1080 on a Mac Pro 5.1, which both detail the installation process. I tested a GeForce 760 Hackintosh vs. my Mac Pro outlined the installation process 2008 Mac Pro Full Instructions and benchmarks here. Upon purchasing a GeForce 1060, I wrote a follow-up how to install a GeForce 1060 into a Mac Pro 5.1. For users looking for a tutorial, Every Mac has a video guide on how to install PCIe cards. Installing a 2.5x height GPU (such as a Radeon 590x) An enterprising MacRumors poster figured out a way to use a taller-than-normal-GPU in his Mac Pro. The secret is simply getting a single card slot mount and, replacing the dual height on the card, and using the fourth slot. It's not perfect, as it blocks off SATA ports. HDMI (and Display Port) Audio Many modern graphics cards have HDMI and are thus capable of outputting audio. There's a very long thread of intrepid hackers at Mac Rumors. In modern Mac OS, HDMI should appear as an audio output as well as Display Port. However, if it does not, fear not. There are guides for older OSes. MacRumors: GUIDE: HDMI Audio MacRumors: GUIDE: HDMI Audio - 10.13 LifeHacker: How to enable Mac Volume Control Mixing and Matching GPUs It's not uncommon for Mac Pro users to keep a secondary GPU installed for EFI boot screen access. Generally, it is okay to mix web driver NVidia GPUs with an old ATI/AMD GPU. If you use a modern AMD GPU with, for example, a GT 120, you may experience erratic behavior in certain applications like Photoshop and Firefox. For whatever reason, these (and various) applications prefer the GT 120 over the AMD GPU and thus perform poorly. When using a modern AMD GPU, you should remove the old GPU depending on if you experience slow performance or bizarre behavior in certain applications. This is a case-by-case issue and may or may not be an issue for various users. The Most Powerful / Fastest GPU The Mac Pros with PCIe 2.0 are not \"speed capped\", see the PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 4.0, and its impact on GPU performance and bottlenecking section for more details as GPUs currently do not require the bandwidth that even PCIe 3.0 offers. This seems to be a burning question that comes a lot in Mac Pro communities, and it can be answered very easily with the flashable 6900 XT. Previously, before the hacked ROM to enable Navi 21 GPUs, by the benchmarks, the Radeon VII was hands down the most powerful consumer GPU available for macOS. The best place to check GPU performance for macOS is the Geekbench Metal Benchmarks, which is far from perfect. The Radeon VII was especially a curiosity as it was a rebranded AMD Radeon Instinct with a minor speed cap on its FP64 performance, as it consisted of cards that failed to make the Instinct cut during testing. It's best to think of the Radeon VII as a compute GPU that plays games well and was manufactured as a stop-gap so AMD could recoup some losses on the Instinct line before its next chipset arrived. Thus, it occupies a strange space in the GPU market, only existing for about nine months and expensive on the used market as Mac Pro 2019 owners discovered it's about as fast as the 4x as expensive Radeon Pro Vega II MPX Module. AnandTech's comparison to the Instinct line shows why the VII was a curious card, existing as a power-hungry. It handily bests the 5700 XT in compute benchmarks (used for non-gaming, video editing, etc.) scores and is fractionally faster in 3D than the 5700 XT in some applications. It bests the 1080 Ti in everything sans CUDA, even though the support for the Nvidia card ends at 10.13, and the Radeon VII starts at 10.14. The Radeon VII ties with the M1 Ultra's GPU in Metal benchmarks. The Navi 21 GPUs finally oust the Radeon VII as the 6900 XT tends to be roughly 75% faster overall vs the Radeon VII, and the 6800 XT is roughly 50% faster. This is supremely welcome news as so few Radeon VIIs were produced and became particularly sought after by crypto miners. For a large duration of the GPU shortage, the 6900 XT generally sold for less than the Radeon VII thanks to it using HDBM2 instead of GDDR6 memory. The 6600 XT opens up the possibility of reasonably priced GPU performance with the classic Mac Pros as its performance is comparable to the Radeon VII in Metal benchmarks. Previously, this section contained a line-by-line breakdown of the fastest cards, but with the newly supported-by-flashing 6900 XT, 6800 XT, and 6800, these are the fastest cards. Previously the Radeon VII and 5700 XT were the two fastest GPUs. As GPU prices come back down to earth, price conscience shoppers should look for the 5700 XT (supported in Catalina), the Vega 56 or 64 (supported in Mojave) and, of course, the RX 580. I recommend the article, Barefeats: Benchmarking AMD Radeon VII Gaming GPU with Mojave 10.14.5, as it shows the VII running in different hardware configs against the Vega 64, RX 580, D700s, and RX 560. Also, the 2010 Mac Pro tower with AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT GPU running under macOS 10.15.1 Catalina shows the Radeon VII vs. the 5700 Xt, GeekBench 5 Metal Benchmarks Pugetsystems: DaVinci Resolve GPU Roundup shows the 5700 XT, Vega 64, and VII on Windows. I'd recommend checking out Mac Sound Solutions inc.: Mac Pro 5,1 with RX6800XT Benchmarks & Gaming Final cMP Upgrade!. I/O Upgrades The I/O (Input/Output) is a catch-all umbrella term I'm using for anything that doesn't fall under GPU, SSD interfaces, Wireless or audio PCIe cards such as networking and peripherals interfaces (USB/Firewire/SATA). This isn't a complete list of all possible I/O cards but rather a list of common ones. The Mac Pros can support many more cards than listed here. NewerTech and Sonnet are reliable. Not all cards are equal. Some are more performant, such as USB 3.0/3.1, offering full-duplex per port instead of shared bandwidth. Also, some non-listed cards have issues. I had an off-brand Inateck PCI-E to USB 3.0, which worked but also caused a reboot loop when trying to shut down. The only way to turn off my Mac Pro was to hold down the power key forcibly. I personally use a SYBA SY-PEX40039 SATA card as my bootable SSD for my Samsung Evo. I've elected not to include USB 2.0 only or Gigabit Ethernet-only or SATA II-only cards as all are found natively on all versions of the classic Mac Pros. Note: This is not to be taken as a complete list, but rather a list of known working cards that users have confirmed. If you know of a card that's supported by macOS, please reach out to me. USB 3.0*see notes Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 / Sonnet Allegro Pro Inateck KT4004 RocketU 1144D / HighPoint RocketU 1144C HighPoint RocketU 1144E CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Pro (Discontinued) HighPoint RocketU 1144CM - Inateck PCI-E to USB 3.0 - (Caused Reboot loop in 2008 Mac Pro) Sonnet Technologies Tempo Duo PCIe (2x eSATA / 2x USB 3.0) - (discontinued) Newer Technology MAXPower 2 port eSATA 6/GBs & 2 Port USB 3.0 USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1 / Gen 2*see notes The USB 3.x standard has had a few rebrandings, and the language on devices can often be confusing, as due to the recent rebranding, some devices might be labeled as \"USB 3.0\" or \"USB 3.1 Gen 1\" or \"USB 3.2 Gen 1\" which is entirely the same. Below is a small chart of names for each tier of USB. Original Name 2013 Rebrand 2019 Rebrand Bandwidth USB 3.0 USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 5 Gbps (625 MB/s) USB 3.1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps (1250 MB/s) USB 3.2 - USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps (2500 MB/s) If the above is confusing, I do not blame you as I find it too. USB Cards and Performance USB 3.x cards are one of the most common upgrades for a Mac Pro, but it is important to understand that there is a great deal of performance difference between cheap USB cards vs. high-end ones (such as Sonnet's Allegro Pro), and this comes down to three factors: How many controllers per port, USB generation and how much bandwidth. Generally, inexpensive USB cards will feature one controller and 4-ports and be listed as USB 3.0 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. This means 625 MB/s is divided roughly 4 by 4 (although not exactly). A user should expect to see only roughly 150-250 MB/s on a singular port regardless of whether anything else is plugged into a card. A USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.1 card with four ports and two controllers will likely see 625-800 MB/s per port. The classic Mac Pros Perform well with USB 3.2 Gen 2. The above video provides benchmarks of the Mac Pro 5,1 vs. a Macbook Pro 2017 and a MacBook Pro M1. Any card using the ASMedia ASM3142 should be macOS 10.11.x+ compatible as this controller is supported by macOS as long as it doesn't require external power. One of the most popular ASM3142 import cards (often a black PCIe card with names like Tuneway Usb3.1 Type-C, WEI-LUONG USB 3.1 to Type-C, YISUNF USB 3.1 to Type-C 2 Port, Camisin USB 3.1 to Type-C 2) is not macOS compatible due to the power requirements. MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.1 Gen 1 Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB-C StarTech 4-Port USB 3.1 (10Gbps) Card PEXUSB314A2V CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus (USB 3.1 / 2x eSATA) Sonnet Technologies Allegro™ Pro USB 3.1 PCIe Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Rosewill RC-20002 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports FebSmart 1X USB-A & 1X USB-C 10Gbps Ports PCIE USB 3.1 Gen 2 Card FebSmart 2X 10Gbps USB-C Ports PCIE USB 3.1 Gen 2 FebSmart USB 3.1 Gen 2 2X 10Gbps USB-A FebSmart 2X USB-C & 3X USB-A 10Gbps Ports PCIE USB 3.2 Gen 2 Card FebSmart 5X 10Gbps USB-A Ports PCIE USB 3.2 Gen 2 BEYIMEI PCI-E 4X to USB 3.1 Gen 2 LTERIVER PCI Express to 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 Type A 10Gbps Ports Expansion Card LTERIVER PCI Express to 2X USB 3.1 Gen2 Type C 10Gbps Ableconn PEX-UB158 USB 3.1 5-Port PCIe 3.0 Card (1x USB-C & 2X USB-A & 1x 2-Port Internal USB Header Aukey B01AAETL6Y USBc 2-Port (no longer manufactured, review) SATA/eSATA*see notes Note: Not all SATA cards are bootable on OS X. Currently, the list is expanding. Non-bootable cards will be listed as such. Known bootable cards will be listed as such. If no notes appear, I haven't researched this yet. NewerTech MAXPower PCIe eSATA 6G Controller - Bootable MAXPower 4-port eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 - (bootable) MAXPowereSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 RAID 0/1/5/10 MAXPower RAID mini-SAS 6G-2e2i Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA Pro - Bootable Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA E2P Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 - (discontinued) Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb PCIe 2.0 - (discontinued) SYBA SY-PEX40039 SATA III HighPoint Rocket 620 2 SATA ORICO PFU3-4P 3 Port ATTO ExpressSAS H680 Low-Profile x8-External Port ATTO ExpressSAS H644 Low-Profile 4-Internal/4-External Port ATTO ExpressSAS H6F0 16-External Firewire*see notes Sonnet Technologies Tango Express Combo FireWire 400/USB 2.0 Card Sonnet Technologies Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe Sonnet Technologies Allegro FW400 PCIe - (discontinued) Ethernet (10 Gigabit)*see notes Sonnet Technologies Presto 10GbE 10GBASE-T Sonnet Technologies Presto 10GbE SFP+ Sonnet Technologies Presto 10GbE 2-Port - (discontinued) Small Tree P2E10G-1-T, P2E10G-2-T, P2E10G-4-T 10GbE One-Port / Two- Port/ Four-Port 10GBase-T Small Tree P2E10G-2-XR, P3E10G-4-XR, P3E10G-6-XR Two-Port / Four-Port/ Six-Port 10GbE 10G-SFP+ Small Tree P2E10G-1-SR, P2E10G-2-SR, P3E10G-4-SR, P3E10G-6-SR One-Port/ Two-Port / Four-Port / Six-Port 10G-SFP+ Solarflare / Solarstorm Cards (drivers last updated in 2013) - see release notes for supported devices Chelsio- See Release notes on drivers for supported devices Solarflare - See Release notes on driers for supported devices Useful Links Macrumors: USB 3.x Cards for classic Mac Pro TonyMacx86: PCI-e to SATA Controller Card for Mac 10.9.2 (ASM1061 vs. Marvell 88 SE 9215) SATA 3 & USB 3 cards Thunderbolt? Thunderbolt 3 is possible on the classic Mac Pros, but with caveats: * Currently the only card that works Gigabyte GC-TITAN RIDGE, although reports have shown that the ASUS Expansion Card for Z170 & X99 Motherboards ThunderboltEX 3 card can produce video passthrough but will stop if the computer is put to sleep. * Initializing the card requires custom firmware (and physically modifying the card) or Windows 10 to warm boot to Mac OS. This means installing the custom TitanRidge Firmware via Windows 10 or simply booting Windows and then rebooting. * Sleeping can pose problems. For example, the Thunderbolt Display will not wake if the Mac Pro is put to sleep when it is connected to a Thunderbolt Port. (This may be fixed by modification of the physical card) * Thunderbolt Devices are not hot-swappable without OpenCore and physically modified cards. USB 2.0 is not supported... yet. * There is a Facebook Group for those dedicated to using custom firmware * I recommend checking out Mac Sound Solutions's YouTube video: Mac Pro 5,1 Thunderbolt 3 0 Titan Ridge pros and cons for an overview of what the install process and usage looks like. A brief history of Thunderbolt on the Mac Pros PCIe Thunderbolt cards were exclusively for PCs with compatible motherboards with specialized chipsets, generally requiring a passthrough jumper connection. The original speculation started at eGPU.io. Shortly after, MacRumors Forum members started testing the Gigabyte GC-TITAN RIDGE and getting promising results. Afterward, a member of Mac Pro Upgrade and MacRumors posted a screenshot of ThunderBolt working on a cMac Pro using a digital audio interface and posted two YouTube videos Part 1 and Part 2, demoing his setup using Windows 10. Months passed, as users toyed with boot methods and firmware versions until unexpectedly, on hackintosh-forum.de (German Hackintosh forum), a user claimed success on a modified firmware with some info on the vector. Later, the moderator, DMS2, posted custom firmware on MacRumors despite some members being somewhat less-that-polite. Since then, the community has moved to using OpenCore to unlock more functionality like hot-swapping and Thunderbolt displays, this guide (posted by a GitHub user) is an excellent resource. Using a TB3 Card The following is not a guide but a quick overview as I do not own a Thunderbolt 3. The only way to use an unmodified Thunderbolt 3 card is to cold-boot to Windows 10. This will initialize the Thunderbolt 3 card with the proper drivers installed. Once Windows 10 is launched, the user can reboot to Mac OS, where the Thunderbolt 3 card will remain initialized. If you shut down/reboot your computer, you must repeat the process. Also, most Thunderbolt 3 devices work, but not all. The most commonly tested Thunderbolt 3 devices are audio interfaces. Custom Firmware now exists and is available for download at MacRumors and requires modifying the card. A user created a pictorial guide. This eliminates the need for the warm boot method but does not solve any of the other issues pertaining to sleep (Hot swapping requires particular pin connections). Using OpenCore, devices can become hot-swappable, and the Titan Ridge can support Thunderbolt Displays. Thunderbolt support is currently a moving target. As notable progress unfolds, this section will be updated to reflect it. For now, it's best to see the action on MacProUpgrade and MacRumors' forums on threads like testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1 and Mac 5,1 Titan Ridge TB3 Custom Firmware Facebook group for the latest and best info. I'm always open to corrections to this section (or anywhere in this guide). I've received a few emails requesting more information about Thunderbolt 3 on Mac Pros. Please understand that before contacting me, I did not have a Thunderbolt 3 card. I probably cannot answer any questions, and thus all I know is documented here. Storage Upgrades Like many data interfaces, SATA (aka Serial ATA) has gone through multiple iterations: SATA1 (max transfer speed of 150 MB/s), SATA2 (max transfer speed of 300 MB/s), and finally, its last incarnation, SATA3 (max transfer speed of 600 MB/s). The classic Mac Pros all carry onboard SATA 2, and (the cMP 1,1, and 3,1 also have older/slower ATA in the optical bay), which has a limit of 300 MB/s. The Mac Pro will accept any standard SATA HDD, 5.25-inch in the optical bay*, 3.5-inch in the four drive bays (or in optical bays with brackets), or 2.5-inch (with 3.5-inch mounting brackets or 5.25-inch brackets in the optical bays). The SATA standard is limited to 144 PB (petabytes), and the maximum volume size macOS supports with HFS+/APFS is 8 exabytes. (For the record, 1 Exobyte = 1000 Petabytes, 1 Petabyte = 1000 Terabytes). Needless to say, Hard Drives and SSDs are well below these caps. All SATA drives are compatible with Mac OS with the caveat that NTFS (Windows) is not writable by macOS without 3rd party utilities. During the transition from OS X -> Mac OS (macOS), Apple replaced its default file system, HFS+, with APFS in Mac OS 10.13 to address. HFS+ is still supported in 10.13+, and it is unlikely to be removed soon. * The Mac Pro 1,1 - 3,1 have two hidden unused SATA ports that can be run to the optical drive bays. The Mac Pro 1,1s - 3,1s also carry the ATA-6 (100 MB/s) standard that predates Serial ATA, which uses the larger ribbon connectors for its two optical drives. The design between the SATA ports also allows users to upgrade the ports using a PCIe controller. See the 3D Printed Replacement Hard Drive Trays / 2.5-inch Adapters for replacement hard drive sled mounts and adapters for 2.5-inch drives. SSDs come in multiple flavors: SATA, AHCI, and NVMe. The Mac Pro's SATA2's 300 MB/s is limiting for SATA SSDs. SATA SSDs can come very close to the theoretical maximum of SATA3's 600 MB/s when performing certain read/write activities. NVMe (today's fastest SSDs) can hit roughly triple the speed of a SATA SSD in certain read/write tasks. The Mac Pros can use SATA SSDs without any special modifications, with the caveat that read/write speeds are significantly lower than their potential max speeds. SATA2 still hasn't yet been fully saturated even by performant 3.5 spinning disk drives. Even the fastest current-gen 3.5 drives, such as the Western Digital Black drives, are well below SATA2. Thus, the four internal bays are still useful for hard disk drives and workable for SATA SSDs. For those looking to sacrifice optical bays, OWC made a series of multi-mounts to go inside the dual 5.25 drive bays for 3.5 and 2.5-inch drives. SATA HDDs are still the best value price-per-gigabyte, thus useful archiving/large media/backup. Time Machine New Mac users may not be aware, but built into macOS is a mighty backup utility that not only keeps a backup of your entire boot drive (and any selected external drives), but it also can undeleted files and resurrects old versions of files in addition to being able to restore your entire computer. For my fellow developers, it's essentially version control (like Git) but for your entire computer. I highly encourage all users to use Time Machine. Unless you do not care about the data on your Mac Pro, Time Machine is the single best upgrade you can add to your Mac. Simply put, if you value any data on your computer, it is the best investment in this upgrade guide I can recommend. Strictly speaking, from a data backup strategy, Time Machine is one of the best backup methods due to the data parity and ability to restore from previous backups, making it far more effective than RAID or cloning an HDD. You can attach multiple HDDs for multiple Time Machine drives. Each drive is a separate backup with file histories, whereas RAID1 requires double the drives and only works for mechanical failures, not data loss. Cloning loses parity when new files are added/modified/deleted and is not performed hourly. This isn't to say RAID arrays or clones of HDDs do not provide value, but RAID is not a backup strategy, and drive clones are frozen states but bootable, whereas Time Machine must be restored. I've written a mini-guide, Making the most out of Time Machine. It covers recommended ignore paths, how to use Networked Drives, how to change the update intervals, and so forth. Hard Disk Drives Mechanical hard drives still have a place in the SSD world thanks to their price-per-gigabyte. The Mac Pro can use any SATA Hard disk drive, including 2.5-inch drives with 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch mounting brackets for the four drive bays. This also extends to eSATA, although an eSATA PCIe card must be present to use eSATA drives. Not all HDDs are equal, and more goes into HDDs than cache sizes and RPMs. Many of the inexpensive HDDs use Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR), which lowers the cost per gigabyte by allowing more data on a platter but with a performance penalty. It's important to do research, depending on the application. Any external HDD should be presumed to be compatible with Mac OS (outside of extreme edge cases), although, without USB 3.0 or 3.1c cards, the performance of newer USB 3.0+ HDDs will be capped when plugged into a USB 2.0 port. Soft RAID and post 10.13 RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) comes in management styles, hardware controllers that handle the RAID volume's setup, and presents the RAID cluster as a single volume to the OS and RAID that relies on OS drivers to manage the RAID cluster. For years, macOS has supported soft raid for those looking to make use of multi-volume drives, supporting both RAID 0 (striping, no data mirror) and RAID 1 (Data mirroring, no parity/striping). The axiom goes, RAID 0 means you'll get zero files back if a drive fails in a RAID 0 cluster. Mac OS also supports RAID 1 + 0 (often incorrectly referred to as RAID10), allowing for the benefit of mirroring the parity/striping drives. RAID 1+0 requires a minimum of 4 drives at the cost of 1/2 the storage of the array. However, with the switch to APFS, Apple no longer supports APFS for soft RAID for bootable volumes. Hardware RAID is still supported with APFS as the OS is unaware of the RAID Cluster, NVMe cards like the Western Digital Black AIC will work under macOS despite being a raid array thanks to the hardware controller. Making APFS bootable requires first having a bootable drive, then creating an APFS RAID array, and then cloning the boot drive to the RAID array. Any updates to the OS will require first updating the boot drive and then copying over to the RAID array, as you cannot update the RAID volume's OS. This is usually done using Carbon Copy Cloner but means users will spend a non-trivial amount syncing amount of syncing data as the usual update flow is: sync APFS RAID to single drive APFS, then boot single drive APFS, update, then sync to APFS RAID array, finally booting back to the APFS RAID array. Generally, many users opt to boot off a single SSD and use RAID as a storage/scratch disk. lesniakrafal: How to Install Mac OS Catalina on a soft RAID Volume Appletalk Australia: HOW TO: Install MacOS Mojave onto a RAID0 volume with APFS that is Bootable HDD RAID still has its place for a subset of users, but increasingly, the prospect of even cheap SSDs having much quicker random access and much faster read/write times has led to less support. That said, it is possible to create SSD Raid arrays for even greater performance. PCIe SATA + SSD Sleds Historically, the most popular upgrades are PCIe sleds for SATA SSDs, which often feature two trays for RAID0 configurations on the PCIe board, bringing up the speeds to the 1 GB/s range. These are essentially SATA 3 cards with two mounting ports for 2.5-inch SSDs, making them more convenient than a regular SATA 3 card. That said, users can still use PCIe SATA 3 cards + SATA SSD drives. The 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1 Mac Pros also have two extra SATA ports hidden on the motherboards, which can be routed up to the optical bay for modders looking for more SATA storage or replace optical bays with SATA variants; see Accessing SATA Ports section. 4,1/5,1 Mac Pros removed ATA and thus have SATA accessible. Newer Technology made an eSATA Extender Cable Adapter specifically for users looking to make eSATA ports out of the hidden ports but blocking off a PCIe port in the process. Both OWC and Newer Technology make 2.5 -> 3.5 sleds for the drive bays found in Mac Pros. I can attest for two years of not using a sled that they are optional if you rarely move your Mac Pro as 2.5-inch SSDs are extremely light and will stay suspended in place when plugged in. Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD (2x 2.5 SSD) - bootable OWC Accelsior series - bootable OWC Accelsior S: PCIe to 2.5\" 6Gb/s SATA SSD Host Adapter - bootable Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD 6Gb/s SATA PCIe 2.5\" SSD Host Adapter Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD Pro Plus 6Gb/s eSATA / SATA PCIe 2.5\" SSD Host Adapter Useful Links MacRumors: SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCI-E SSD The M.2 format and host PCIe cards One half of the NVMe puzzle M.2 (also known as NGFF, Next Generation Form Factor) is the latest common format for high-speed SSDs. M.2 is the interconnect, and modern motherboards often have M.2 card slots built-in, especially in the laptop market. M.2 has two main variants, AHCI and NVMe, which are discussed in the AHCI SSD and NVMe SSD sections. Note: Apple is the aberration as the Mac Pro 2013s, 2015s, iMac Pro, and Mac Pro 2013 and 2019 use non-standard slots for NVMe Apple's semi-proprietary NGFF variant, which doesn't have an official name. Fortunately, classic Mac Pro users needn't worry about Apple's annoying proprietary format. Also, for owners of computers using Apple's proprietary format, plenty of adapters exist to convert M.2 to Apple's format. Using M.2 SSDs requires a host PCIe card, as the Mac Pro does have M.2 slots. The Mac Pro, being older, doesn't quite have the options that the PC field has for host card options because it does not support bifurcation, the ability to split high-speed PCIe port into two lower speed ports (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Instead, the classic Mac Pros must use cards with controller chipsets specifically for computers that do not support bifurcation, hence making them more expensive. Also, it is important to note that some M.2 cards' physical sizes can pose problems for certain host cards, so go to the MacRumors thread for more info. The Mac Pro also uses PCIe 2.0, in which cheap host controllers do not support additional lane switches. Many NVMe drives can perform beyond a 4x PCIe slot, reducing the peak read/write speeds. The more expensive cards have controller chipsets, mostly the ASMedia ASM2824 and PLX8747, which have a switch for PCIe 2.0 to use more than four lanes. This requires putting the card in one of the two 16x slots on the Mac Pro to obtain faster speeds. It will benefit both single drives and multi-drive setups. The daring can search for cards that use the ASM2824 or generic PLX8747, which are usually macOS compatible. Notably, 8x PCIe cards are capped at sub 4 GB/s (real-world at about 3 GB/s), whereas 16x cards can run at sub 8 GB/s (real-world 6 GB/s). Lastly, these chipsets can run warm, so it's recommended to get cards with heat sinks, although less important for the SSDs themselves. All cards support both AHCI and NVMe unless listed otherwise. The Apple proprietary SSDs can be used in a host adapter with the Sintech NGFF M.2 adapter. Credit goes to MisterAndrew for doing the original compiling of this list here. The ASM2824 chipset is currently the most popular NVMe chipset for multiple NVMe drives as it is less expensive and able to achieve faster speed caps in single-drive performance. However, the PLX8747 is the performance crown used in the Sonnet and Highpoint 16x cards. The ASM2812 chipset can address multiple NVMe drives but will be performance capped at 4x, thus 1500 MB/s, unlike the ASM2824. This card is more useful for Mac Pro 2019s as the performance hit is much less. These are generally the least expensive multi-drive cards. Most generic single drive M.2 hosts will work with the Mac Pro and will be capped at 1500 MB/s. Due to the sheer number of options and white-label importers, a dirt-cheap host will likely work. My only recommendation is just to make sure the retailer has a nice return policy. Multi-drive cards with a single drive can sometimes have issues. I, for instance, had no issues with the Ableconn card running a single drive with 10.14 off an HP EX950, but readers have reported this wasn't the case for them until they installed a second card. Thus far, I'm unaware of the variables that affect bootability. I highly recommend checking Macrumors or other communities.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tModel\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNVMe M.2 slots\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax Speed in Tests\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKingston HyperX Predator (AHCI only)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1200 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNGFF M key M.2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is a generic card with multiple variants by various importers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLycom DT-120\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tULANSEN M.2 to PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAngelbirds Wings PX1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAqua Computer kryoM.2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAqua Computer kryoM.2 Evo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWolftech pulsecard\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRIITOP M.2 NVMe/DIEWU TXB122\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe - uses ASM2812 thus limited to 4x speeds per drive. Facebook: MacProUpgrade thread, see Petri's comment, available on Aliexpress\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSyba I/O Crest SI-PEX40129 (ASM2824)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers, (ASM2824)) Warning: Require two drives to work in the card.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2500 MB/s (Single drive) / 3000 MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbleconn PEXM2-130 / StarTech PEX8M2E2 / Lycom DT-130 / etc\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers, (ASM2824))\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2800 MB/s (Single drive) / 3000 MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAccelsior 4M2 (PLX8747)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3000+ MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmfeltec Squid series\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSome are PLX8747\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPLX8747 Generic\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHighpoint 7101A (PLX8747)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tASM2824 Quad M.2 NVMe SSD\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(aliexpress generic card) confirmed working by MacProUpgrade (requires FaceBook Membership). This is card also available from many no-name white-label vendors: Add On/ADWITS/RIITOP/BGNing etc.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t? (prelim tests show 2500 MB/s single drive)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card FUS-SSD-4X4-E3:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (Raid) 16x PCIe MacProUpgrade (requires FaceBook Membership), Barefeats\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card (Silent)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (Raid) 16x PCIe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan I use a card that isn't listed above that hosts multiple NVMe drives? Almost 99% of the time, no. Most M.2 hosts rely on bifurcation. The Mac Pro does not support bifurcation. See the bifurcation section for details. Many cards that support bifurcation can be used for a single drive. Popular cards like the ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Card v2 4 x M.2 Socket 3 will not host multiple drives in a Mac Pro. However, if the card uses the ASM2824 or a PLX8747 chipset, you can use it. Untested Cards Might Work The card Highpoint SSD7540 controller-based cards should work as they advertise 2019 Mac Pro support like HighPoint Technologies SSD7540 PCIe 4.0 x16 8-Port M.2 NVMe RAID Controller. Also untested is the new version of the ADWITS Ultra Speed Quad M.2. The previous version used molex, which caused issues for the Mac Pro. M.2 and Heatsinks When looking at SSD options, you'll probably notice some hosts include heat sinks and others do not. It's pretty easy to find conflicting info on AHCI and NVMe SSDs and heat sinks. The short answer is that SSDs are intelligent enough to self-throttle if they get too hot. Thus, it is extremely unlikely heat will damage them. That said, NVMes run warm, but it takes quite a bit to heat them. The NAND memory itself doesn't require any cooling and is generally supposed to be warm to the touch. The controller chipset is the portion of the SSD that heatsinks benefit the most from cooling. There have been debates about whether cooling could be detrimental, but the current consensus is a passive heatsink, at worst, doesn't do much and likely keeps the SSD running at optimal speeds. Even a cheap generic SSD heat sink in many tests shows a drop of 10-15C (roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit). For most users, self-included, the heatsink won't change day-to-day operation. Only when you get to cards that can operate four drives, tend to be the consensus that a heatsink is advisable. Aftermarket heatsinks can be bought and attached to SSDs. Still, if you do go this route, some experts recommend removing the label, as many labels function as heat distribution/heat dissipation, like those found on Samsung drives. Multi-drive M.2 cards require a heatsink over the PCIe switch/controller chipset, as the popular ASMedia 2824 or the PLX8747 runs warm. Often, this is folded into the entire chassis, like in the Highpoint and Sonnet designs, which provide a large heatsink that works for both the PCIe card itself and the drives. PCIe AHCI SSD Without any firmware updates or modifications, Mac Pros can boot AHCI SSDs, which are faster than the standard SATA drives via PCIe sleds, offering significantly faster speeds, often double that of SATA SSDs but tend to cap out at 1500 MB/s (usually more roughly in the 1 GB/s mark). Most NVMe adapters also accept AHCI. However, due to the speed limitations and age, there aren't many models on the market. The price per GB tends to be high, as the industry has largely pivoted to NVMe. AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is what the SATA standard is based on although, PCIe AHCI interfaces can exceed SATA3 speeds. PCIe NVMe Due to its extreme performance, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is currently the holy grail of storage. NVMe is roughly triple to quadruple the read/writes of SATA (and often nearly double of AHCI M.2 SSDs), clocking in at transfer speeds over 2 GB/s (and nearly as fast writes). Also, due to the improvements in SSDs, NVMe tends to sport faster 4k Random read/write times, which also greatly affects the \"zippiness\" of a computer. NVMe was constructed to work only via the PCIe standard; thus, it'sit has a speed advantage over AHCI. NVMe wasn't always supported under OS X. NVMe support started with the appropriate PCIe sleds under 10.13 with the glaring issue of only being read/writable but not bootable. Clever users found workarounds. They discovered that creating a Fusion Drive with NVMe, with only the boot record on the AHCI storage (it can be a thumb drive), allowed for NVMe boots, allowing Mac Pros to attain the incredible speeds of NVMe (See Fusion Drives section). Then, users found using firmware hacking. They could enable NVMe booting by using a firmware hack upgrade. See the entire thread here. Notably, this firmware hack appears to work for 3,1/4,1/5,1 Mac Pros. The latest Mac Pro 5,1 bios have NVMe support. See below for more details. PCIe NVMe sleds aren't all created equal as the performance is limited on the PCIe max slot speed (and which slot the card is placed in the Mac Pro) (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Also, some cards can host multiple NVMe SSDs. To make matters more confusing, many PCIe NVMe multi-SSD adapters require bifurcation, which is a technology for later-gen PCIe not supported on the Mac Pro, which allows a PCIe slot to be split, example: One 16x port becomes two 8x ports (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Multi-drive NVMe cards that support the Mac Pro are more expensive as they have a controller that handles the PCIe IC and registers, and some are more powerful than others. The Mac Pro is limited to 1500 MB/s on a card unless the card uses a PCIe controller switch. The PCIe switch lets the user toggle the PCIe maximum speed. A PCIe 3.0 NVMe card with a switch allows the user to toggle the card to PCIe 2.0 (the Mac Pros only have 2.0). Without it, most NVMe PCIe 3.0 sleds will fall back to PCIe 1.0, which is the above speed cap. Outside of PCIe 2.0 support, single-slot NVMe cards have little performance difference. PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs have hit the market (semi) recently, which thus far have offered marginal speed increases over PCIe 3.0 SSDs. These aren't recommended for the Mac Pro, as preliminary speculation has been they will run in 4x PCIe 1.0. I have not seen anyone try a PCIe 4.0 NVMe in a sled with a controller. To summarize. NVMe speed is a function of three factors: the NVMe sled, the NVMe itself, and the PCIe port's maximum speed. Not all NVMes are Mac OS compatible. Rather than list all that are compatible, here's a shortlist of incompatible or ones that need firmware updates models, as they are few and far between. Samsung 950 PRO Samsung 970 EVO Plus* Samsung PM981 Samsung 860** * The Evo and Evo Pro variants of the 970 are Mac-compatible. There is a firmware update for the Evo Plus that fixes issues. Most drives at this point should have the new firmware preinstalled at this point, but it should be noted. ** There are mixed reports on the 860s Useful Links MacRumors: PCIe M.2 NVMe on MacPro MacRumors: Boot OSX on an NVMe Card Beettech: The Ultimate Guide to Apple's Proprietary SSDs (notably no info directly to classic Mac Pros but a good overview of Mac NVMe) Google Docs: Step-by-Step Guide NVMe firmware upgrade MacRumors: Entire thread related to the 5,1 ROM hack for NVMe. MacRumors: Blade SSDs - NVMe & AHCI MacRumors: MP5,1: Mojave 10.14.1 DP3 BootROM 140.0.0.0.0 has native NVMe support!!! Post with instructions (and download URL) to Bios Install Instructions (with pictures) Not all SSDs are equal While this guide will not explain the finer points of SSDs, it is important to understand that SSDs come in multiple variants based on their storage capacity. Data density in mechanical hard drives has greatly improved read/write speeds as more data can be read by a drive-head on a hard drive each time the platter rotates. More data per square millimeter = more data read per second. This is one of the main reasons why HDD performance has steadily increased over time. However, the same cannot be said for SSDs. Each storage unit in an SSD is represented as a cell. The first SSDs could store a single bit per cell, positive or negative. This is referred to as a single-layer cell. Shortly after came the Multi-Layer Cell (MLC) introduction, which allowed for 2 bits per cell. Then came Triple Level Cell (TLC), which allowed for 3 bits of data per cell, and Quad Level Cell (QLC), which can store 4 bits per cell. The doubling of data per cell comes at a price: speed and reliability. This additional data load per bit increases stress on each cell and takes more time to access the data, which is fractional, but 3 bits vs. 4 bits means 8 vs. 16 possible values stored in an individual cell and more time to retrieve and write. SLC is the fastest/most reliable and expensive. QLC drives have dropped the price floor in the SSD market but are hard to recommend with their reliability being untested, with only roughly 1000 read/write cycles (the data can be overwritten roughly 1000 times before that cell becomes unstable and is retired). Worse, in very large file transfers, QLC can occasionally dip below HDD speeds. TLC offers roughly 3000-5000 read/write cycles, making it three to five times as reliable as QLC, and it's much faster. Samsung estimates 114 years for 1 TB TLC. Although this is entirely unproven, Windows utilities provide entirely hypothetical guestimates of your SSD life. Does a QLC have 1/5 the reliability of a TLC SSD? Is it worse? Does it compare to a mechanical HDD? There are better sources on the internet, but it is somewhat speculative. The best estimates are using Mean Time to Failure vs. Terabytes, which is written from large data centers, and we simply do not have the data. My bet is on QLC > HDD, but I would pay the extra money for a TLC drive. Memory density isn't the only factor; the very first SSDs didn't use a controller with a DRAM cache, and thus performance would \"stutter. In an effort to harass the power of SSDs, controllers started packing DRAM to store the data map, as DRAM is much faster than NAND and alleviates a common choke point in the SSD design. Many inexpensive SSDs are now also switching to DRAMless configurations, which generally result in lesser performance and lesser longevity due to the lack of a buffer to quickly read/write to before going to the SSD. Tomshardware's has an excellent summary of DRAMless SSDs. Enabling TRIM SSDs write data in data in units known as pages, and (usually) 128 pages form a block. For an SSD to write data to a block, it first must delete the block (reset the cell state) before new data can be written, thus slowing down data writing speeds to previously used blocks. TRIM enables the operating system to tell an SSD what data blocks are no longer in use and can be reset. TRIM speeds up the SSD and also improves drive longevity. If only some of the pages are changing in a block, TRIM will shuffle current relevant data to a different block, freeing up the entire block to be written instead of having to rewrite the block. I suggest searchstorage.techtarget.com's summary for the curious. Unlike Windows, by default Mac OS does not have TRIM enabled for 3rd party drives. You can validate if your SSD has TRIM enabled by going to About This Mac -> System Report -> then locating your Drive under the flag, \"TRIM Support\". In previous iterations of Mac OS, TRIM utilities could be downloaded and installed. In 10.10.x Mac OS switched to Kernel extension signing and thus needed Apple approval locking 3rd party TRIM utilities out unless SIP was disabled. In 10.10.4, Apple made it possible to use its own TRIM utility for 3rd party drives. Open up a Terminal window to enable a drive and use the following command. Almost all newer SSDs are TRIM compatible, but I recommend validating this before enabling it. sudo trimforce enable You will be prompted for your password and given a warning. TRIM can be disabled at any time by using disable instead of enable. The Fastest Boot One of the ironies of NVMe on the Mac Pro is that it will not greatly improve your boot speed over a SATA SSD connected to the internal SATA slots. This has to do with the PCIe Bus scan and speed negotiation. In fact, in many cases, the SATA SSD will boot faster. That said, the NVMe is the clear winner once the OS has loaded. If your concern is primarily boot times, go with a SATA SSD connected to the Mac Pro's internal bus. NVMe and the Mac Pro 3,1 The Mac Pro 3,1 has multiple vectors to enable NVMe booting: NVMe EFI driver and BootROM modification. Currently, MacRumors has a work in progress guide. Making PCIe drives appear as internal Drives OpenCore can fix the mislabeled NVMe/SATA drives as external. A MacRumors forum member has written a kext called Innie, which makes PCIe (SATA/NVMe) drives behave and appear as internal, useful for users not running OpenCore. MacRumors: Innie: A fix for PCI drives seen as external that helps solve issues revolving around Boot Camp Assistant and the macOS Installer. This, however, may be optional for many users. As a user for 6+ years of a SATA3 card + SATA SSD, I've never had issues with the misidentification as I installed Windows without Bootcamp assistant and have never had issues with the installer. Summary: Getting the most out of your SSD As there's quite a bit of info to digest, below is a quick bullet point summary. NVMe SSDs are the fastest, much faster than SATA or AHCI, but speeds differ wildly depending on model/make. (See not All SSDs are created equal). NVMe booting requires the updated firmware for 4,1/5,1s. 3.1s require ROM hacking, which is tricky, or you can use OpenCore to support NVMe. Mac Pro 3.1s can use AHCI and SATA HDDs without any issues. NVMe speeds with cheap host cards will be capped to a maximum of 1500 MB/s, as the card will address the PCIe bus in 4x PCIe regardless of what port the card is plugged into. Hosts with compatible controller chipsets will address additional lanes when plugged into a 16x Port, unlocking single NVMe speeds of 3 GB/s or nearly 8 GB/s for a RAID setup. However, host cards with controller chipsets cost significantly more, but pretty much all of these cards support multiple NVMe drives, which can be used as multiple volumes or RAID. You will want one of these cards to get the most out of your NVMe drive. Most Host cards with multiple slots are incompatible with the Mac Pro, as they require the controller chipset to address multiple NVMe drives. The list of compatible cards is listed above. AHCI PCIe SSDs are fairly uncommon today and thus fairly expensive. They are faster than normal SATA SSDs but not as fast as NVMe. Since SATA uses AHCI, these drives are bootable on Macs without NVMe firmware. RAID isn't supported by APFS, but there are workarounds (see below). RAID0 will improve latency as well. SATA SSDs can be plugged into the Mac Pro's SATA ports but will be capped at 300 MB/s thanks to SATA2. Using a SATA3 interface will double the bandwidth to 600 MB/s max. That said, the random read/write times, latency, and other properties are mostly unaffected. Going to SATA3 is mostly noticed when working with large transfers/files. The difference between SATA SSD and NVMe generally favors SATA for startup times due to firmware limitations (as the computer must go through PCIe negotiation). However, after initially booting, NVMe is much faster. For most users, the perceived speed difference from HDD -> SATA SSD is much greater than SATA SSD -> NVMe. NVMe will not greatly improve boot times as the NVMe drive must perform the PCIe Buss scan and speed negotiation. SATA SSDs generally will boot faster. Heatsinks for NVMe drives aren't required. OpenCore benefits NVMe SSDs by making them appear as internal drives Benchmarking SSDs The best benchmarking software for SSDs is on Windows, as there are many utilities, whereas the Mac landscape is limited. Previously, users would use utilities like AJA Disk Speed or Blackmagic disk speed, which are, quite frankly, bad as they only test continuous read/write speeds. The popular Windows utility, CrystalMark now has a Mac clone called AmorphousDiskMark. It tests more aspects of an SSD, such as random reads/writes. I've written more about it in a blog post, AmorphousDiskMark is CrystalDiskMark for macOS; let's all stop using BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and AJA Disk Test. RAID and APFS and performance As previously mentioned, RAID after 10.13.6 is very ugly for booting. The process involves cloning your boot disk to a single disk drive and cloning the updates back to the RAID array. This remains unchanged from 10.14 - 11.x I recommend reading Catalina on RAID with APFS on MacPro 5,1. RAID0, though may be \"worth it\" for users looking for the maximum performance. A 16x NVMe RAID0 can hit 6000+ MB/s read and write speeds, but far more important is that it improves the latency, giving a perceptual \"snappiness\" that is noticeable, as demonstrated in this old but a good article by PCPER.com, Triple M.2 Samsung 950 Pro Z170 PCIe NVMe RAID Tested – Why So Snappy?. Users are more likely to notice this than running an NVMe at 4x rather than with an 8x or 16x M.2 Host PCIe card. Fusion Drives The Fusion Drive once was Apple's solution to mitigating the high cost/low storage space of SSD. The Fusion drive was an OS-level pairing between a standard spinning disk SATA drive and an SSD. These days, the idea of creating a Fusion drive might seem strange, with SSD prices continuing to drop, and the economics of terabyte-sized SSDs are much more attainable. Fusion Drives have become en vogue once again thanks to the partial support of earlier MacOS versions regarding NVMe and Mac Pro 3.1s lacking firmware updates. NVMe isn't natively bootable prior to the 140.0.0.0.0 firmware update for the Mac Pro 5.1s, but Fusion drives are. Note the following hack is no longer necessary for 5.1s. The hack goes as follows: Disable SIP / Install the hacked NVMe driver for 10.12 (you may still need it for specific brands in 10.13), then a string of installation commands... Rather than re-outline them, the following links are useful. Useful Links MacRumors: JedNZ -Samsung 960 EVO 500GB NVMe SSD ROM hack - not recommended AnandTech: Understanding the Fusion Drive OWC: Creating your own fusion drive 10.13.2+ Fusion Drive with a USB stick for boot record jolly.jinx.de: Fusion drive on older Macs? YES! OWC Aura and Accelsior SSDs and APFS OWC appears to make the only SSDs that are incompatible with APFS, the default file system for 10.13+. According to the MacRumors forum posters, OWC Aura owners have been offered a rebate on Aura Pro SSDs. The Aura series is unlikely to be found in a cMac Pro setup as it requires an external case. Users report that Accelsior SSDs work with HFS+ with 10.13. Display Upgrades The Mac Pro's display limitations are a factor of graphics cards, what OS you are running, and whatever monitor you can afford or are willing to pay for. The Mac Pros running 10.9 or later can use resolution scaling akin to Macs that ship with \"retina\" (high-density pixel-per-inch displays). 5k and Beyond There are users with 5k displays and Mac Pros, including a user confirming two 5k displays working perfectly fine on his Mac Pro. The current state of 8k So far, users have only been able to get macOS to output 8k at 30 Hz regardless of macOS version or GPU, but Windows 10 with a Mac Pro can output 8k@60 Hz. I recommend checking out the following threads: Mac Rumors: 8k (or '8k4k') display support in macOS?, Reddit: My journey for 8K on MacOS, and MacRumors: Dell UP3218K 8K Monitor on Mac Pro 2019?. Most likely, a Big Sur update or a later macOS will introduce native 8K support. It is unlikely older macOSes will ever output 8k@60 Hz. 10-Bit Color / Color Spacing 10-bit color spacing requires a minimum of 10.12 (although Apple introduced 10-bit in 10.11 for the 5k iMac), and it'sits support is somewhat hazy as few Apple apps support 10-bit color (Preview, Photos, Final Cut Pro) and some 3rd party apps. The latest Catalina adds desktop-wide HDR color spacing support, whereas Windows has had this feature for years. Older NVidia GPUs with the web drivers will not support 10-bit color, but the latest GPUs do. AMD's GPU Drivers lockout 10-bit on its consumer GPUs (sans the VII), but the Pro variants unlock 10-bit color. Unfortunately, Apple's drivers confusingly report 30-bit (aka 10-bit) color even when non-compatible hardware is used. If the GPU can address downsampling 30-bit color spaces to 24-bit, it will report 30-bit color. Many true 10-bit displays will report when they're receiving a 10-bit signal. Under Windows, non-pro AMD GPUs will use 10-bit color in games, whereas 2D operations are still wedged into 8-bit color spaces. Most displays (especially budget) use Frame Rate Control (FRC) to achieve simulated 10-bit. FRC works by parsing the 10-bit color stream and for colors that fall outside the 8-bit range, cycling between near shades of colors within the 8-bit spectrum. This visually creates a simulated 10-bit experience and improves the perceived gamut. This is acceptable for many purposes, but film editors, colorists, and graphic designers may require the accuracy of true 10-bit color. These come with a much higher price tag. When buying a display, it's also important to consider color-space coverage. Color spaces for the unfamiliar are standards of color ranges that a display, projector, or printer setup can represent. Monitors may brag about their color space profile. Not all color spaces are equal, some representing a lot fewer colors than others. The important thing is that sRGB is a dated standard from the 1990s, based on CRTs rather than any clear standard. It severely suffers in representing shades of green and some blues. Today, Apple prefers DCI P3 for its monitors. This standard vastly improves the range of colors available to a display (roughly 45% of the human eye can see as opposed to the 35% of sRGB) and is designed for digital cinema. Adobe RGB is also similar to P3. Both represent a much wider gamut than sRGB. Selecting monitors based on color spaces can assist you in finding a display that's more suitable for photo editing and color grading, capable of more range in the expression of color, and feels more \"Mac-like\". The wider the color gamut, the wider range of colors a display can produce. The latest macOS Catalina brings HDR color space support finally to the Mac platform for compatible GPUs and displays. Refresh rates: 60 Hz (and above) 4k The Hz of a display measures how many times a second the screen is refreshed, which defines the maximum frames-per-second (FPS) a display can render. A 120 Hz display can render a maximum of 120 FPS. 60 Hz is generally considered the minimum refresh rate for \"smooth\" user interfaces, like mouse tracking, dragging windows, scrolling, etc. As computer hardware has improved, so have refresh rates. FreeSync and G-Sync are technologies that allow for variable refresh rates to improve the visual experience (prevent effects like \"tearing\"), especially in the realm of gaming. Mac OS currently does not support Freesync/G-Sync. I can attest that enabling Freesync on a Freesync display caused the monitor to stop outputting video in 10.13.x with a GeForce 1060 and a Vega 56. Also, both tonymacx86 and MacRumors forum members have experienced the same sort of issues. The workaround is to disable the G-sync and Freesync if the monitor produces no video output. Under Windows 10, FreeSync/G-Sync is supported as the limitation is tied to Mac OS. Depending on the setup, 4k @ 60 Hz+ via HDMI may require workarounds, whereas DisplayPort tends to be far more reliable. I've personally used several 4k displays with my Mac Pro at 60 Hz via DisplayPort with no issues beyond Freesync. Forum members at MacRumors have confirmed that 144 Hz 4k displays do work. There's a minor caveat that flashed 7950s and 7970s booting with 60 Hz 4k displays will hang, thus must run at 30 Hz at the boot screen. Most 79xx cards have dual ROM, so day-to-day, the UEFI ROM can function as the card's default, which bypasses the boot-screen video output. Later GPUs do not have this issue. Dual-Link DVI Displays & Modern GPUs (and the 30-inch Cinema Display) Many modern GPUs do not have DVI ports, and many older monitors use DVI. Buying an HDMI -> DVI or DisplayPort -> DVI cable should work, right? Not so fast. If the monitor's resolution is over 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz, you will need an active Dual-Link DVI convertor. DVI has always been a bit of a hodge-podge standard, owing to the era it came from when displays were mostly analog. There are multiple variants, DVI-A (analog only), DVI-I (analog or digital), and DVI-D (Digital). To add to the confusion, there's also Dual-Link DVI, which doubles the cable serial links (using the pin-outs) in the cable to effectively double the bandwidth for DVI-D signals, allowing for 1080p @ 120 Hz/2560 × 1600 (or 2560 × 1440) @ 60 Hz/3,840 × 2,400 @ 30 Hz). Because of the data rate limitations of DVI-D, the industry has primarily shifted to the newer DisplayPort and High-Speed HDMI. Both support 8k resolutions at their current iterations, as well as audio. Modern GPUs often do not have DVI connections and only have HDMI and DisplayPort. However, because of the pin-out shenanigans and also bitstream differences, using DVI-D displays (any display that allows for the resolutions listed above) requires an Active Dual-Link DVI to DisplayPort Adapter/Conversion. The converters need additional power; thus, they usually have a USB connector to draw power. Otherwise, DVI to DisplayPort or HDMI is limited to 1080p @ 60 Hz. This means the ever-popular 30-inch Apple Cinema Display with many modern GPUs will require active conversion, which often costs north of $120 USD for decent quality ones. If you are wondering, \"What about HDMI to Dual-Link DVI\"? There isn't any solution as no such device exists on the market. Why you can go HDMI to DisplayPort but not the inverse There are plenty of HDMI -> DisplayPort cables on the market, but they will not work going DisplayPort -> HDMI. HDMI was developed directly as a follow-up to DVI, whereas DisplayPort is a different beast. HDMI and DVI are both based on TMDS (Transition-Minimized Differential Signaling) for data transfer at 5V. Thus, a DVI and HDMI cable can be used interchangeably. DisplayPort is entirely different, running its LVDS signal protocol instead and at 3.3v. This is where things get a little more confusing. DisplayPort was later adapted to carry the 5V TMDS called DisplayPort Dual-Mode but became so ubiquitous that most manufacturers don't even bother to list it. It can pretty much be assumed that any device with a DisplayPort manufactured in the last decade can accept video from an HDMI source. As mentioned above, DisplayPort requires active conversion to carry the Dual-Link DVI signal. DisplayPort, like HDMI, can also carry audio. It can also do more than that and can even transmit bi-directional USB data. HDMI has no such mode to carry LVDS video signals and wasn't designed to be as all-encompassing as DisplayPort. Also respectively, HDMI predates DisplayPort by four years, released in 2002, whereas DisplayPort was released in 2006. The summary is you cannot connect an HDMI Display to a DisplayPort on a GPU without a convertor. Using a 4k TV as a display The short answer is: yes, you can do it. TVs generally require some minor tweaking of the picture, such as enabling overscan correction in macOS. Those looking to use a TV as a full-time monitor should keep a few things in mind. Not all TVs use Chroma 4:4:4 subsampling. Video editors are probably familiar with this concept as not all cameras are 4:4:4, but they may not realize it, nor are all displays. Chroma subsampling refers to pixel clusters and data representation. The Human eye is much more receptive to changes in luminance than color. Thus, video data can be compressed easily by tracking clusters of chroma values and mapping them over pixels of chroma value. This works great for video codecs when the data is at an endpoint where precision isn't as important (a streaming video, for example). TVs, to cut corners, often use this in the panels to both improve response times and lower cost, whereas PC displays are almost always 4:4:4 outside of extremely odd-ball instances. With lower Chroma Subsampling, things like text look blurry due to the decreased chroma resolution. Rtings has a great running list of The 6 Best 4k TVs For PC Monitors and pictorial examples of Chroma subsampling. A 60 Hz 4:4:4 Chroma Subsampled 4k 43-inch display suitable for a PC can be had for as low as $230 USD, making them popular for many users. Mac OS supports audio over HDMI as well. See the GPU section for details. Notably, with the increase in size comes a decrease in sharpness. For a monitor, one intends to sit at a normal desk distance; 43 inches is appropriate as its Pixels Per Inch (PPI) is approximately 102 PPI. For comparison, Apple's 30-inch Cinema display was roughly 101 PPI, and its 27 Inch Cinema Display was 109 PPI. Apple's laptops pre-Retina generally were around 110 PPI and its retina laptops at 220 PPI. A 4k 42-inch TV is roughly 105 PPI, making it appropriate as a very large standard-definition display. I suggest the PPI calculator for calculating a display's PPI quickly. UI scaling External monitors receive the same UI scaling abilities as found in MacBooks. UI scaling requires Mavericks 10.9.3+, although the GPU may require a later version of Mac OS. Some 4k displays will not report all scaled resolutions. To display all the scaled resolution options: Open preferences and click the Displays. If the option \"Default for display\" is selected, option-click Scaled. If Scaled is already selected, option-click \"Scaled.\" Does my GPU support 4k? This is where Google is your friend. Search your GPU's model and max resolution (GPU model can be found in the About This Mac section). That said, there's another way to check, too: If your GPU does not have HDMI or Display Port, it cannot output 4k, as Dual-Link DVI maxes out at 2560 x 1600. That said, an HDMI port and/or DisplayPort does not guarantee 4k support but makes it a possibility. Control Brightness via keyboard a 3rd Party Display Some displays use the DDC/CI spec to control the brightness/volume (as well as other features), a kind MacRumors member wrote a utility to assist for those displays. The utility, MonitorControl, can be installed from a dmg or homebrew. Lastly, the MonitorControl FAQ is a bit buried but contains useful info. Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display (and the 27-inch LED Cinema Display) Apple made two 27-inch displays, the LED Cinema Display and the Thunderbolt Display. Both look very similar and thus cause a lot of confusion as they are frequently mislabeled. The LED model uses mini DisplayPort and has the model number A1316. It can be connected via an adapter from HDMI to a mini-DisplayPort port or DisplayPort to a mini-DisplayPort. However, it is less common than its successor. The Apple Thunderbolt Display, often incorrectly referred to as the \"Thunderbolt Cinema Display\" (technically, it is not part of the Cinema display line), is a poor choice for Mac Pros because it does not use mini-DisplayPort but rather uses Thunderbolt (despite the connector looking the same as its predecessor). You cannot use an adapter to make the Thunderbolt display backward compatible with other technologies (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI). On the backside of the display, the Thunderbolt display has multiple ports: three USB 2.0 ports, single Firewire 800 port, and a single Gigabit Ethernet port, whereas the LED Display only has USB 2.0 Ports. The Mac Pro, by default, is not equipped with Thunderbolt. Yet a MacProUpgrade user using an ASUS Expansion Card for Z170 & X99 Motherboards ThunderboltEX 3 to enable video passthrough, from his GPU. This isn't recommended as the computer will not wake from sleep and remains experimental. Currently, there is progress with Thunderbolt 3 cards. Recommended Places to go for Monitor Recommendations The wonderful thing about monitors is the large variety, but it can make it daunting to select one. I'm personally a fan of the following sites: Rtings, PCmag, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, Tomshardware, Digital Trends, as all sites do actual hands-on reviews as opposed to listicles of dubious rapport. I ended up with a BenQ PD3220u as it's a true 10-bit 4k panel that has a wide gamut, supporting 95% of the P3 color profile after trying several lesser displays but I also found that a 43 inch 4k Sony X800H TV that I picked up for less than half of the BenQ covers the same P3 space and looks every bit as good as the BenQ which goes to show there are bargains to be had. Bluetooth / Wireless Upgrades The Mac Pros 1,1 - 5,1 all include one mini PCIe slot for Airport cards but can also use USB and PCIe Wi-Fi adapters for both 802.11.x and Bluetooth. The advantage of the mini-PCIe slot is that you do not have to sacrifice a PCIe slot, and you can also upgrade Bluetooth and 802.11 internally. Mac OS 10.14 Mojave drops the support for the BCM94321MC chipset found in many Mac Pros. Users must upgrade their Wi-Fi chipset to use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (ethernet remains unaffected). Users need a BCM94360. If you are already running a BCM94360, you may need to purge your Wi-Fi settings for Mojave. Users can look up their chipset by going to About this Mac -> System Report -> Network -> Wi-Fi. The chipset will be located within the Interfaces section, usually with the starting numbers of the card's chipset in the firmware. Most upgraders prefer to use the mini-PCIe slot upgrade as PCIe slots are in short supply. Mini PCIe Airport Cards Apple's Airport cards originally started at 802.11.x wireless network adapters. With the advent of Bluetooth, Apple folded Bluetooth and 802.11x into one card that was in many different Mac models, making it possible to upgrade the Wi-Fi abilities in those Mac models. All models of the classic Mac Pros shipped with an AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.0+). Any Mac Pro can be upgraded to 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0+, and this enables features like Airdrop. With an upgraded Wi-Fi chipset, Continuity and Handoff can be enabled to work with a Mac Pro. See enabling Continuity and Handoff in this guide. Buying/Installing a Mini PCIe Airport card Vendors like OSXWifi sell a mini PCIe to Apple Airport adapter + the Apple Airport BCM94360. Each can be bought separately or packaged together. However, more intrepid users have noticed that you can buy for much cheaper the Broadcom BCM94331CD Mini PCIe to wireless Wi-Fi card Adapter Bracket adapter for a Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 and the Mini PCIe Adapter. The BCM94322MC can be found on Amazon for roughly $15-$20, as well. I bought a card from osxwifi.com and outlined my experiences here. Connecting the Airport cables before the card is seated will make installing a card much easier. Installing the cards isn't much harder than regular PCIe cards. Mac Pro 3.1s looking to keep Wi-Fi support for unsupported OSes can keep native Wi-Fi / Bluetooth with the BCM94360CD. Apple Broadcom BCM94360CD - 1,1 / 5,1 Mac Pros (The Mac 1,1-3,1s have a Bluetooth antenna that's attachable via USB data lines; the 4,1/5,1s antennas are located off the logic board; thus, an extension cable is needed) Useful Links blog.greggant.com: Installing 802.11 n/ac / Bluetooth 4.0+ airport card on a Mac Pro 3.1 oliverwolfson.com: Disable internal Bluetooth (for USB dongles) jf9web.azurewebsites.net: How to install a Wi-Fi card on a Mac Pro 5.1 Wifi Installation in a Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 OSXwifi: Card install instructions (PDF) FaceBook: MacProUpgrade (requires joining the group) MacRumors: 802.11ac, BT 4.0, and Continuity & Handoff are working on Mac Pro 2010 (Keep Updating) USB Bluetooth Adapters Many users go the easier route of using USB Dongles. USB Bluetooth dongles aren't perfect, but they do (mostly) work. You may need to get Apple Bluetooth explorer, go to Apple Developer Bluetooth and click downloads. It'll require a developer account. The basic developer account is free. Users of MacRumors recommend USB dongles using the Broadcom BCM20702 chipset for compatibility. Readers of MacProUpgrade report both the Asus BT400 and IOGear BT4 USB GBU521 work without hitches. PCIe Wifi Cards Again, like the actual mini PCIe upgrades, any card based on the BCM94360CD works in a Mac Pro. The best place to get information on compatible PCIe Wi-Fi cards is from the Hackintosh community, such as TonyMacX86's buyer's guide. Any cards that function without any hacks in a Hackintosh will also work in a Mac Pro without hacks. Popular cards include the TP-Link PCI Express Wi-Fi Adapter 802.11N (N900), Fenvi 802.11AC A/B/G/N/AC Desktop Wi-Fi Card (No Bluetooth), and Rosewill PCI Express Wi-Fi Adapter 802.11N (the US only). Useful Links TonyMacX86's buyer's guide bartechtv: WiFi cards compatible with macOS Mojave on Hackintosh Ram Upgrades (Memory) As many users probably are already aware, the Mac Pros, in certain cases, can address more RAM than Apple officially lists. It depends on the CPU configuration. If, for some reason, you intend to run pre-10.9, OS X pre-Mavericks had a maximum of 96 GB of RAM. By default, Apple shipped all models of the Mac Pros with Error-correcting code memory (ECC memory), although all the Mac Pros support non-ECC RAM. Most users choose to stick with ECC RAM for its increased stability. Mixing and matching RAM is feasible on the later Mac Pros. Mac Pro 5,1 (2010/2012) Pictured: Single CPU tray. The Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 use a combined CPU/Memory Tray design. The dual CPU trays contain double the amount of memory slots. The 5.1s are the most flexible of the Mac Pros when it comes to memory. The 5,1 Mac Pro, depending on CPU config, may run 1333 MHz RAM at 1066 MHz if 1066 MHz Dimms are present. See the RAM (Memory) Upgrades for a list of the CPUs and their bus speeds to determine which CPU supports 1333 MHz RAM. Any CPU config can use the slower clocked memory; there is some debate on performance effects Mac Performance Guide tests for information. Users also report mixed ECC/non-ECC ram bootable, RDIMMS with UDIMMs, and again mixing ECC and non-ECC on the Mac Pro 5.1. Lastly, OWC and EveryMac generally report the maximum ram on the 5,1 as 128 GB, but users have confirmed that 160 GB is possible, although it appears not to be feasible after 10.13.x. The Mac Pro will not boot macOS with more than 160 GB of RAM.. Using OpenCore, it may be feasible to boot macOS with 192 GB of RAM. Dual-Channel vs. Triple-Channel As computers advanced, memory controllers have changed significantly, which in the case of dual-channel memory, allowed for two datapaths for the CPU to access memory per clock cycle, effectively doubling the throughput. Triple-channel memory adds yet another datapath to increase memory performance. The Mac Pro 5,1 can run in both Dual and Triple-channel memory modes. Channel modes depend on how many matched pairs of RAM are placed into the Mac Pro. This depends on configuration depends on whether the Mac Pro is a single or dual CPU computer, as the dual CPU Macs. A dual CPU Mac Pro 5,1 can run in triple-channel mode with six paired DIMMs, whereas if 2, 4, or 8 DIMMs are used, the Mac Pro will run in dual-channel mode. A single CPU Mac Pro can run triple-channel memory mode with 3 DIMMs installed. Thus, the maximum RAM in triple-channel memory mode in a single CPU Mac Pro is 48 GB, and a dual CPU is 96 GB. Notably, memory performance is increased roughly 50% by running a Mac Pro in triple-channel mode but result in small real-world performance tests equate to a 3-4% speed increase in limited testing, a much more recent test by a Mac Rumors user showed that Triple channel memory results in notable gains again in synthetic benchmarks and less-so in Valley Unigine. Other applications may see larger differences, as it is a significant bandwidth increase. Also, see \"Is Tri Channel functionality maintained when 4th memory stick used?\" for further info. Perhaps another enterprising blogger/forum poster will one day test more broadly dual-channel vs. triple-channel modes to show the real-world gains. Maximum DIMM size: 32 GB* Maximum RAM: Single Processor Xeon: 64 GB Dual-Processor Xeon: 128 (8x16) 160 GB (5x32)* OpenCore 256 GB , 32 GB DIMMs work in OpenCoreFacebook: OpenCore - on the Mac Pro (requires membership) and Facebook: MacProUpgrade - 256 GB Mac Pro 5,1 running Big Sur(requires membership) Dual-Channel configuration: 2, 3, 4, 5 or 8 DIMMs Triple Channel: 6 DIMMs (Dual CPU) 3 DIMMs (Single CPU) Supports non-ECC** Supports 1066 and 1333 MHz memory (1333 MHz requires CPU that supports 1333 MHz bus. Otherwise, Memory runs at 1066) Apple's Recommended DIMM type: PC3-10600E, 1333 MHz, DDR3 SDRAM UDIMMs 72-bit wide, 240-pin ECC modules 36 ICs maximum per ECC UDIMM Error-correcting code (ECC) It's also worth noting that the Mac Pro 5,1 has a narrow chance of supporting more than 160 GB of RAM due to a few factors: Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks increased the maximum RAM in OSX above 96 GB. The Mac Pro supports 32 GB DIMMS in certain scenarios. The latest iMac Pros now have larger RAM configurations. Windows can support 192 GB in the Mac Pro. Recently, users running OpenCore have tested the viability of 32 GB DIMMs in the Mac Pro, opening the possibility for 192 GB support in macOS. Facebook: OpenCore - on the Mac Pro (requires membership). OpenCore emulates later Mac firmware, thus allowing macOS to boot with more than 128 GB reliably. * So far, Mac OS 10.14 and 10.15 appear to no longer support 32 GB DIMMs (without OpenCore). See MacRumors: note here and the threadMacRumors: Crazy idea. 32GB RAM modules in a cMP. Anyone tried this?. 32 GB DIMMs work in Windows and Linux. With OpenCore, users have been able to run more than 128 GB successfully. ** A few users have had issues with certain non-ECC DIMMs. Many users advise against mixing and matching, but there seem to be no repercussions. See the above links about non-ECC RAM. DDR3 and Heatsinks Unlike DDR2, the DDR3 design means heatsinks are optional. The Mac Pro has a fan set that operates over the memory chamber, and there are users who have been using it for a decade now without any RAM failures. Some vendors, like Samsung with its ECC RAM, come with heatsinks. In the case of the Mac Pro, there's little-to-no real-world benefit. Mac Pro 4,1 (2009) Maximum DIMM size: 16 GB The 4,1 Mac Pros can be firmware upgraded to 5.1, which changes the RAM support and maximum RAM. Like the Mac Pro 5.1, it can run in dual and triple-channel modes. Maximum RAM: Single Processor Xeon: 48 GB Dual-Processor Capable Single Xeon: 64 GB Dual-Processor Xeon: 128 GB Apple's Recommended DIMM type: PC3-8500, 1066 MHz, DDR3 SDRAM UDIMMs 72-bit wide, 240-pin ECC modules 36 ICs maximum per ECC UDIMM Error-correcting code (ECC) Unlisted Spec: Single or Dual Rank memory (see rank section) Like the Mac Pro 5.1, even with the 4,1 firmware, you can use non-ECC memory, with confirmations here. Placing 1333 MHz RAM in an unflashed 4,1 will only run at 1066 MHz. Mac Pro 3,1 (2008) Pictured: Both the Mac Pro 3,1 and Mac Pro 1,1 use very similar card trays for the RAM upgrades. On the left is a 3,1 tray and on the left is a 1,1 tray Maximum RAM: 64 GB Maximum DIMM size: 8 GB RAM must be installed in pairs, and Apple recommends Apple-approved heatsinks to keep fans at a minimum. The 3.1 can use 667 MHz FB-DIMMs as found in the 1,1/2,1 but with a speed penalty as all installed RAM will run at the 667 MHz speed if a 667 MHz DIMM is present. Also, XLR8yourmac's mixed speed pairing tests. Apple's Recommended DIMM type: 800 MHz, DDR2, FB-DIMMs 72-bit wide, 240-pin modules 36 memory ICs maximum per DIMM Error-correcting code (ECC) The Mac Pro 3,1 has confirmation that ECC is not required. However, you cannot mix and match ECC with non-EC due to the fully-buffered RAM differences in DDR2. MacRumors forum members report Mac Pro 3,1 has a speed penalty when running 64 GB of ram. The workaround is to modify NVRAM the Mac Pro 3,1 to boot with 62 GB of RAM. Other OSes like Windows/Linux can use 64 GB of ram without issues. sudo nvram boot-args=\"maxmem=63488\" To explain the code above, this adds a boot flag that sets the maximum RAM to 63488 KB. To arrive at this number, 1024K * 62 = 63488. See MacRumors: Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe support + Upgrade Guide + Questions for more info. Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 (2006/2007) The Mac Pro 1,1/2.1s Mac RAM depends on the firmware, 1,1 Mac Pros are limited to 32 GB, whereas flashing to the 2,1 firmware ensures 64 GB support. See the Firmware Upgrades section for more details. OWC(macsales)/Everymac reports the 2,1 Mac Pro with a maximum of 32 GB, which is incorrect. Users have confirmed using 8 GB DIMMs in 2.1s as well as LowEndMac.com: Install 64 GB of RAM in Your Mac Pro 1,1 or 2,1. RAM must be installed in pairs, and Apple recommends Apple-approved heatsinks to keep fans at a minimum. Maximum RAM:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 1,1: 32 GB\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2,1 (Dual CPU): 64 GB\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaximum DIMM size:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 1,1: 4 GB\t\t\t\t\tMac Pro 2,1: 8 GB\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple's Recommended DIMM type:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t667 MHz, FB-DIMMs\t\t\t\t\t72-bit wide, 240-pin modules\t\t\t\t\t36 devices maximum per DIMM\t\t\t\t\tError-correcting code (ECC)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Mac Pros 1,1/2,1s have reports of non-ECC RAM working. Users report using 800 MHz RAM. However, the 1,1/2,1 will downclock the ram to 667 MHz.\t\t\t\tUseful Links\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEveryMac: How to install RAM in 1,1/2,1 Mac Pro - scroll to the video, (note: EveryMac doesn't list correct maximum RAM)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEveryMac: How to install RAM in 4,1 Mac Pro - scroll to the video, (note: EveryMac doesn't list correct maximum RAM)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEveryMac: How to install RAM in 5,1 Mac Pro - scroll to the video, (note: EveryMac doesn't list correct maximum RAM, the information lists OS X can only support 96 GB which is out-of-date)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMacRumors: All We Know About Maximizing CPU Related Performance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tXLR8yourmac: Mac Pro 2008 FBDimm Pairing Guide Tests (w/mixed pairs)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCAS latency\t\t\t\tNot all RAM is created equal. Depending on the source of the RAM you buy, the CAS (Column Address Strobe or Signal) latency is the count of how many clock cycles it takes for a RAM module to access a specific set of data. For example, if a stick of PC3-10600E (1333 MHz) RAM has a very low CAS latency of 6, then at 1333 MHz (each full cycle taking 1.5 Nanoseconds), the latency would be 9 Nanoseconds. A high CAS latency of 9 would take 13.5 Nanoseconds.\t\t\t\tNotably, the higher the MHz rating of RAM, the larger the CAS Latency is because of the increasingly smaller cycle length. DDR4 RAM, for example, starts at a CAS latency of 15. Crucial has a break down of the true CAS latencies across memory formats\t\t\t\tThe CAS latencies can be mixed, and most users won't notice the difference between memory speeds. When put to the test in real-world benchmarks, the results are pretty minuscule. See HardwareSecrets: Do memory timings affect real-world computer performance? for examples.\t\t\t\tDDR3: Registered vs. Unregistered (unbuffered) RAM (RDIMM vs. UDIMM)\t\t\t\tThe Mac Pros 4,1/5,1 can accept both Registered and Unregistered (unbuffered), and users have reported mixing the two successfully, but it is generally not recommended and actively discouraged as it may have negative performance implications.\t\t\t\tUDIMMs and RDIMMs have performance implications: UDIMMs are slightly faster at single-channel modes, whereas RDIMMs perform better than UDIMMs in multichannel modes. I recommend Spiceworks: How to: Difference between RDIMM and UDIMM for anyone looking to dive deeper between the two. Most users elect to buy RDIMMs.\t\t\t\tRAM ranks (1Rx4 vs 2Rx4, vs 4Rx4)\t\t\t\tRAM also has yet another factor to consider, known as \"Ranks.\" You'll see it expressed in a number like 2Rx4. The Mac Pros use ECC Memory, which has 72-bit wide data blocks. A DIMM may have multiple data blocks that are expressed as ranks. To determine the Rank, a 1Rx4 would be a 1R or one rank. This would be a single rank, 2R would be dual rank, and 4R is quad rank.\t\t\t\tThen the second portion of this refers to how many data banks are on the said module. crucial, a respected manufacturer of RAM has a deeper dive on this topic.\t\t\t\tWhile there is some conflicting info, Mac Pro Guru tsialex reports that Quad Rank was never officially supported and will downgrade its clockspeed. Quad Rank RAM is best avoided.\t\t\t\tBuying RAM\t\t\t\tRAM can be purchased rather cheaply if you know where to look, for example, aliexpress or eBay.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAudio\t\t\t\tEvery iteration of the Mac Pro comes with a front-facing headphone Analog Output, a back-facing analog output, a back-facing line-in analog input, and S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface) I/O in the form of two Optical (Toslink). It is capable of transmitting audio via both USB and Firewire interfaces (and even Thunderbolt 3). The Mac Pro's internal hardware is limited to a maximum of 24-bit sound and 96 kHz (Mac Pro 4.1, 5.1) via the analog output and 96 kHz, 24 PCM audio bit via the SPDIF interface. With various audio interfaces, the Mac Pro can support many, many channels of high-resolution audio, commonly tapping out at 24-bit, 192 kHz. A sound's bit-depth and sample rate (resolution) are analogous to a graphic file's bit-depth and resolution.\t\t\t\tSurround Sound and High-resolution audio\t\t\t\tThe short answer is the Mac Pro can output multichannel audio but only passthrough popular surround sound used for movies (Dolby Digital, DTS, AAC) codecs via applications like VLC. It cannot output games in surround sound in Mac OS. This isn't a hardware limitation unique to the Mac Pros but rather software. In Windows, the Mac Pro fairs better for surround sound. Also, the Mac Pro's ability to output 96 kHz 24-bit sound via the analog output is a bit dubious, but it can playback high-resolution media without specialized hardware. Whether via the analog outputs is noticeable is questionable.\t\t\t\tmacOS 10.15 Catalina finally added mapping of surround sound hardware in the Audio/Midi Setup. It remains only a rudimentary implementation compared to Windows 10.\t\t\t\tTo explain the above adequately (analog outputs, surround sound, etc.), I've elected to hide by default as the long answer is long: Click to show long answer for\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding Audio and codecs\t\t\t\t\tUncompressed digital audio almost entirely exists as PCM (Pulse-code modulation) which describes audio by checking a soundwave's pressure by a set number of times a second. Each time it is checked is referred to as a sample.hTus the rate of how many times the sound's pressure is checked is the sample rate and is expressed in hertz. 1 Hz = 1 second. 1 khz = 1/1000 of a second. According to the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem: To capture a sound frequency, the minimum sample rate must be double that of the sound frequency to get both its peak and valley. The human ear can hear 20 Hz to 20 kHz as a general rule, although this changes as one gets older or damaged, so generally, audio formats top out at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz (Vinyl can go as high as 45 kHz but due to the ultrasonic vibrations interfering with the prints, are mostly capped to 22 Khz- 23 Khz). Some audiophiles/audio engineers argue the extra sound outside of human hearing affects the audible range as it creates phasing and modulation known as \"overtones.\"\t\t\t\t\tFor each sample, the level of sound pressure is recorded as a simple numerical value. Depending on how many bits are assigned to the sound file determines the maximum dynamic range. The maximum dynamic range can be determined using the signal-to-quantization-noise ratio. A 16-bit audio file can describe approximately 96 dB between no sound to its loudest sound. 24-bit audio can describe 144 dB of dynamic range (a NASA rocket launch is roughly 140 dB and can instantly produce severe irreversible hearing damage; a vinyl record being analog has roughly 80 dB of dynamic range). Thus, even the best digital-to-analog converters and the best analog-to-digital converters are, in reality, unable to make full use of the 24-bit dynamic range. That said, even a piece of hardware able to capture a dynamic range of 107 dB (17 bits of worth dynamic range) is still 2x the number of levels in sound pressure. Thus, a 96 kHz / 24-bit audio file describes audio well beyond the capabilities of human hearing and captures overtones of instruments. I created a simple Audio bit-depth calculator that can be used to calculate data rates, dynamic ranges, and so forth. The Mac Pro , when measured, was only able to output 91 dB with a 75 Ohm load, which is slightly below 16-bit (unsurprising). There's little to be gained by playing back 24-bit audio via the analog output, and the front output is faired worse than an iPod. This isn't to say that high-resolution audio isn't useful, but rather, without additional hardware, the Mac Pro will see little gains when trying to play back 24-bit sound. That said, there are many external audio solutions like USB headphone amps to dedicated digital-to-analog converters that can be had at many price ranges that are more performant. I imagine one of the factors for the long-rumored Apple Music, enabling high-resolution audio, is simply that its current hardware would barely benefit if it does at all. Lossless audio would be far more beneficial than high-rez audio.\t\t\t\t\tStoring PCM audio isn't very space-intensive today (a 12 TB drive could store 18,460+ uncompressed Audio CDs), but once upon a time, a CD carried an incredible amount of data, and processing PCM audio was a considerable task for a computer. )Note: There are other obscure PCM alternatives like DSD but generally not hardware supported and thus converted to PCM.)\t\t\t\t\tMost people understand that MP3s and AAC are lossy audio codecs at this day in age, akin to most video codecs. Codecs are complex algorithms used to compress down specific data-streams to save space and/or bandwidth. Not all codecs are equal, they often must balance CPU usage to decode, how effective they are at varying levels of compression, and so forth. Thus, codecs arose to make both video and audio more easily distributed and still aid in storage and distribution (streaming). More audio channels meant more data to store; thus, codecs arose to tackle that issue, starting in 1992 with AC3 by Dobly for movies. Today, Blu-Ray movies use lossless codecs (codecs designed to save space but output a byte-for-byte accurate reproduction of the original bitstream) made by both Dolby and DTS and videogame consoles can skip codecs altogether with HDMI and output RAW PCM steams for surround sound, as the sounds are being generated/played back/manipulated in real-time.\t\t\t\t\tThe S/PDIF is simply a unidirectional data port that dates back to AES3. It's a professional cousin and was designed with 2-channel audio in mind, and thus was limited to 2-channel PCM audio. However, being a data port, it supported the ability to send other bitstreams. Using codecs that converted discrete multichannel audio into a single bitstream, a SPDIF port could transmit encoded multichannel audio like Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS and thus became the default standard digital formats like CD Players and DVD players for home theaters, with the catch that the compressed audio needed a decoder to convert the bitstream back to multichannel audio.\t\t\t\t\tOver time, this evolved as CPUs and specialized chipsets improved so that game consoles like the PS2 and Xbox (and following consoles like the PS2 and Xbox 360) could encode in real-time multichannel audio from a game into Dolby Digital (and in later consoles DTS) to be sent via the SPDIF data port, and then decoded by a Home Theater Receiver or all-in-one speaker set into surround sound.\t\t\t\t\tPCs were able to support multichannel audio before game consoles, using audio cards but lacking the specialized hardware and/or foresight only outputted audio as analog (usually requiring three stereo cables to carry the six channels for 5,1 sounds) and later acquired the ability to convert discrete channels to popular codecs using technologies like Dolby Digital Live.\t\t\t\t\tUnfortunately, OS X/Mac OS's CoreAudio supports thousands of simultaneous audio streams that can be mapped to hardware inputs and outputs and thus can be used to playback multichannel audio with one major catch: It cannot convert multichannel audio in real-time to any popular multichannel audio codec nor can it decode any popular codec in real-time to multichannel outputs. OpenAL (an open alternative to EAX and DirectSound) was brought over to Mac OS 9 but failed to be embraced with a very ill-fated SoundBlaster Live card and later the M-Audio Revolution 7.1.\t\t\t\t\tThus, without a guiding force from Apple, Mac OS has never had consumer applications that supported more than stereo in real-time. However, media players like VLC can output the bitstreams from media via the SPDIF port found in the Mac Pro. Even with technologies like HDMI, which are extremely bandwidth-heavy, Apple still hasn't embraced a surround sound that could be used for Mac gaming. Ironically, Mac OS can be used to master a 7.2 soundtrack for a blockbuster movie but would not easily play it back once encoded.\t\t\t\t\t10.15 Catalina makes some in-roads with surround sound that allows for better mapping of speakers in Audio/Midi Setup, for analog outputs. High Sierra introduced this feature, but it still remains largely ignored by audio applications on the Mac.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpeakers, headphones and more\t\t\t\tMost likely, you will not be using the internal speaker in the Mac Pro other than to hear the startup chime.\t\t\t\tAudio output is very free form when it comes to computers as they play nicely with analog and digital hardware. There are many routes to go, from inexpensive computer speakers, studio monitors, and home theater receivers to esoteric audiophile brands. For most consumer applications, there's not much reason to use any dedicated computer hardware as digital out is digital out. Audio can be outputted via the analog outputs, SPDIF, Firewire, USB, HDMI (GPU dependent), DisplayPort (GPU dependent), and Bluetooth out-of-the-box. Other formats can be added via upgrades.\t\t\t\tProsumer/Professional Audio\t\t\t\tProfessional hardware is less of a grab bag than consumer audio as Mac OS has a very long and proud history as the defacto choice for studios, audio engineers, and musicians. CoreAudio supports low-latency multichannel audio interfaces without any specialized drivers. For most audio interfaces, the basic functionality works out of the box. That said, audio interfaces come in various formats, like PCIe Cards, USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt, and additional functionality can be tied to both the drivers and compatible software.\t\t\t\tCoreAudio allows device aggregation, which will map multiple pieces of hardware to appear to software applications as a single device, making it easier to assign inputs and outputs to a software application. Listing compatible hardware would be a losing game for this guide as there are decades worth of compatible gear. Most USB audio interfaces are HID-compliant, meaning even cheapo-USB audio boxes designed for Windows generally are compatible on a fundamental level with Mac OS. However, if they rely on additional drivers, they may not work with Mac OS. It's best to do your research. Hardware makers like Ableton, AKIA, Apogee, Behringer, Focusrite, IK, Korg, Line, M-Audio, MOTU, Native Instruments, Numark, Presonus, RME, Steinberg Tascam, Universal Audio, and Yamaha make almost exclusively hardware compatible for both Mac OS and Windows (not one or the other). There's plenty more I didn't list. Again, I must stress about doing your homework. Most likely, the piece of PC audio gear you have your eyes on is Mac-compatible.\t\t\t\tCoreAudio also supports by default Midi, which can be done via Midi interfaces or via USB. For general midi devices, no specialized drivers are needed, but often additional drivers are needed for extended functionality like saving presets or configuration settings (it's worth noting some devices can also use esoteric midi commands to perform these same settings as well).\t\t\t\tOverall, the Mac Pro is a very capable audio workstation and more than capable of professional work even today. That said, as audio applications become more advanced/complicated/full-featured/robust, as do the CPU requirements. Your mileage will inevitably depend on the number of software instruments/synths/effects and their combined requirements, but audio software has a much lower bar for hardware requirements than video.\t\t\t\tLastly, the Mac Pro 3.1s and below do not support SSE 4.2 CPU instructions. I have personally encountered with Serato DJ that an 8-core 2.8 GHz Mac Pro 3,1 with 20 GB of RAM would often display buggy behavior and latency, whereas even a modest 2013 quad-core i5 MacBook Pro with 8 GB of RAM and a Mac Pro 5,1 had absolutely zero problems running this software. I wouldn't be surprised if other software suffers under older Mac Pros as well, although Logic, Cubase, and Ableton all ran adequately on a 3,1 Mac Pro.\t\t\t\tThere's no real hard-fast rule to determine what audio projects require. It largely depends on how many audio tracks, virtual instruments, and plugins are being run and how efficient each one is. RAM usage is generally determined by the number of audio tracks and the size of the sample libraries. With memory compression introduced in Mavericks 10.9, macOS is pretty efficient.\t\t\t\tAudio over HDMI\t\t\t\tSee the GPU section of this guide.\t\t\t\tAudio over Thunderbolt\t\t\t\tAudio interfaces tend to be one of the most desirable applications to use Thunderbolt 3.\t\t\t\tSee the Thunderbolt section of this guide.\t\t\t\tPro-audio Applications and the Classic Mac Pro\t\t\t\tThe classic Mac Pro remains wildly popular in the audio world as they're fairly quiet and sport PCIe slots and large amounts of RAM, and for many cases, still fast enough, especially the 5,1s outfitted with dual 6-Core CPUs.\t\t\t\tUsers reported that Massive X requires AVX which is a CPU instruction set not found on the classic Mac Pro. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYouTube: Mac Sound Solutions - Mac Pro 5,1 Big Sur Prootools 2021 (OpenCore)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOther Upgrades Blu Ray / Blu Ray Writer The Mac Pro can use any SATA or USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Drive as Blu-Ray is ISO compliant. Thus no individual drivers are needed, but macOS does not have native support for Blu-Ray disc creation or watching Blu-Ray movies. VLC supports Blu-Ray playback in all its HD glory, and Roxio Toast can burn Blu-Ray disks. There's also plenty of software for ripping Blu-Rays for macOS. If you're wondering why you'd want a Blu-Ray, see House of Moth (Jay) 's blog post on reasons why such as much longer shelf-life than CD/DVDs. Notably, VLC has 4k and 8k hardware decoding, HDR10 support, and Blu-Ray Java menus. However, this only works on unencrypted media. Using VLC to playback Blu-Ray is a bit of an adventure, and iMore.com has a review of the existing options. I had better luck than the reviewer with VLC, but it wasn't pretty. The LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner is a popular model with several reviews confirming Mac OS X support and in Classic Mac Pros. Fan Control Macs Fan Control is the champion of the best fan control software, allowing users to use different thermal sensors to control fan clusters or other values. The best parts are the application is free, and there's both a Mac and Windows port. Macs Fan Control Mojave has its own share of users experiencing fan rev-ups. A forum user at MacRumors wrote a simple app Airout to stress the GPU quickly to cause the fans to rev back to a normal speed. Accessing the hidden SATA ports on a Mac Pro 1,1s/2,1/3,1 The Mac Pro 1,1 through 3,1s have two unused SATA ports located in the upper left corner of the motherboard, behind the fan assembly under drive bay 1. These later were co-opted for the SATA optical drives on the 4,1 and 5,1s when Apple and Intel removed the ATAPI controller. Accessing them requires taking out the fan assembly, which is relatively easy. Clever hardware hackers have routed the cables into the optical bay. First, remove the CPU cover. It has no screws and only takes reaching to the underside to remove. The fan assembly only has two screws to remove (pictured below). One is located under the fan assembly's lip next to the CPU, and the other is easily accessed where the assembly is connected to the motherboard. After these are removed, they can then be slid out. PCIe expansion The Mac Pros do support PCIe expansion chassis. Specialty companies like Cubix and Dynapower USA Netstor series make macOS compatible PCIe expanders, generally taking a 16x PCIe slot as a host and dividing its bandwidth into more PCIe slots. These do not come cheap as they're uncommon. Mac Pro Pixlas PSU Mod Pictured: Mac Pro during the final portion of Pixlas mod The Pixlas mod is a power supply-specific modification to draw taps directly from the PSU as opposed to using the standard PCIe power cables. Apple's implementation of the PCIe power taps is non-standard, delivering roughly 130w max per tap, above most PCs of the era, but unable to make the full power draw needed for the 250+ watts required for extreme-end GPUs. When a GPU draws too much power, it'll trigger an immediate shutdown. This generally happens with GPUs like the Vega 56 running Vega 64 Bios (normal Vega 56s are fine), Vega 64, Radeon VII, 5700 XT, and GeForce 1080/1080 Ti. The auto-shutdown occurs to protect the motherboard leads. The modification works by bypassing the high-gauge leads on the motherboard and going directly to the PSU. Users have been running this modification safely for years. Mac-build specialist Big Little Frank has run 2x GeForce 1080 Ti + NVMe successfully using the Pixlas modification. Normally, I try to shy away from personal anecdotes in this guide, but I followed House of Moth's guide as it comes with both a blog post and an additional video. The upgrade isn't for the faint of heart, but with the online resources, even someone as a novice with electrical components as myself (I can install a power outlet, but that's as far as I'd go) was able to complete it without destroying my computer. Changing the CPUs is more precarious than the Pixlas mod. There are Pixlas kits floating about, but the specialized cable Jay uses in his guide is often hard to acquire/out-of-stock/slow delivery. I used a generic set of T-taps I bought on Amazon.com and an 8-Pin Male to Dual 2X 8 Pin and cut the singular 8 pin end off and stripped the wire (the exact cable I used, but I'd recommend getting one that's a bit longer for a bit more flexibility). The House of Moth: Pixlas Mod Guide and YouTube: House of Moth - Pixlas Mod MacRumors: Pixlas 4,1 Mac Pro mod The House of Moth: Mac Pro Pixlas Mod, is it really needed? External Power Supplies To mitigate the stress on the Mac Pro's power supply (tallying in at 980w of power), some users use external PSUs for their GPUs, especially if they have two high-end GPUs such as the GeForce GTX 1080 as they peak at 250w power. MacRumors: How to guide - Install Auxiliary PSU without drilling (requires soldering) MacRumors: Precise instructions for getting x2 ATI Radeon HD 5870's in your Mac Pro (2009-2010) Replacing the Battery Over the years, batteries can go bad and cause errant behaviors (generally resolved temporarily by zapping the NVRAM, holding down command-shift-p-r). The Mac Pro uses a 3-volt BR2032, located on most models above the bottom PCIe slot. Apple Mac Pro User Manual: Replacing The Internal Backup Battery NorthBridge High-Temperature fix The NorthBridge chipset is the host bridge chipset found on modern x86 computers. It is connected directly to the CPU via the front-side bus (FSB) and manages the highest performance activities (PCIe, RAM), and is usually paired with a SouthBridge chipset that handles other interfaces (USB, PCI, IDE, etc.). More recent Intel architecture has integrated the NorthBridge design into the CPU. The NorthBridge chipset runs typically hot, to begin with, around 65C/150F, but there have been a few owners who've had extraordinarily high temps (120C/250F) or have noticed NorthBridge Heatsink damage. Fortunately, users have tips for fixes. xlr8yourmac: 2009 Mac Pro Northbridge High-Temperatures due to broken Heatsink Retainer MacRumors: De-Dusting AND Northbridge temp reduction in Dual CPU cMP 4,1 & 5,1 ifxitit: Mac Pro Single CPU Northbridge Heatsink Repair 3D Printed Replacement Hard Drive Trays / 2.5-inch Adapters The 3D printing community has a solution for Mac Pros missing hard drive trays or ones for different screw positions that newer HDDs use. These are free to download and can be printed at home or at various companies that offer 3D printing services. Mac Pro 1,1-3,1 2.5-inch SSD adapter Mac Pro (generic) 2.5-inch SSD adapter and it's remixed (modified) version Mac Pro (generic) 2.5-inch SSD adapter Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 HDD adapter (regular screw positions) Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 Universal 3.5\" HDD Sled (has newer HDD screw position and old), created by MacProUpgrade community member Mac Pro 2.5 inch sled Adapter for 4,1 and 5,1 posted by Kim Janson Fan / Heat Sink / other case part Replacement Shops like dvwarehouse, welovemacs, and macpartsonline carry parts for classic Mac Pros. eBay also tends to be popular grounds for finding classic Mac Pro replacement pieces. dvwarehouse: Mac Pro Fan Assemblies dvwarehouse: Mac Pro Heat Sinks welovemacs: Mac Pro Parts macpartonline: Mac Pro Parts Replacing the Mac Pro fans with 3rd party fans is not recommended unless you have a very strong desire to tinker. The Mac Pro fans operate at \"silent\" in low RPMs, making them on par with typical \"silent\" PC case fans. They can move a lot more cubic feet per minute of air (CFM) than many silent fans as they have very large RPM ranges running between 800-5200 RPMs (the PCI chamber fans have a range of 800-4500, PSU/Exhaust/intake fans 800-2800 and the Boost fans 800-5200). Also, in most Mac Pros running modern GPUs, the GPU fans are more likely to be the loudest component as the GPU has the largest power draw. As the adage goes, watts in = heat out. Thus, GPU cooling modifications are likely to result in a larger reduction in heat/sound. The bigger problem is that the Mac Pros use custom fan RPM controls, and thus the Mac cannot detect the fan RPMs, causing them to run at the maximum speed for the offending set of fans. Thus, the solutions are fairly limited: users can either install custom manual fan controls. There's a MacRumors post detailing a few users' experiences, including using PWM NA-FC1 PWM controller or create a custom PCB, as outlined in MacProUpgrade (requires membership via FaceBook). If absolute silence is the endgame, the most sure-fire way to silence a computer is to build or buy a computer isolation box, which is sometimes found in studios. For the same reason as replacing the fans, liquid cooling is extremely uncommon. A user sent me a decade+ old YouTube video Asetek Liquid Cooled & Overclocked Apple Mac Pro. The 2008 Mac Pros had an overlocking utility that somewhat worked, unlike other Mac Pros that worked in 10.6. Custom Front USB 3.0 PCB In one of the more technical-yet-impressively-cool upgrades, MacRumors forum member MaikPfaffenrath designed and manufactured a custom replacement Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to replace the front-facing USB 2.0 ports with 3.0 ports. MacRumors: Custom Front USB 3.0 PCB - complete with details and instructions. iPhone as a webcam Since many people are virtually these days, webcams are in short supply. This isn't Mac Pro specific, but the iPhone's cameras are higher quality than pretty much all dedicated webcams and have decent audio to boot. I wrote a short guide on How to use Zoom with external webcams, iPhones / Android Phone, and/or Snap Camera on MacOS. This isn't the only vector, as you can use NDI HX, but it requires more setup. OBS-NDI also interfaces with professional cameras, so it is possible to use studio cameras in video conferencing, too. Custom Cases To date, I'm not aware of anyone who's successfully transitioned a Mac Pro into a PC case. The Dune PC case comes up often in Mac Pro groups as a source of interest, but the following hurdles would have to be addressed, among other things: Custom Backplane Custom Front plate Non-standard PSU Custom Motherboard Mount Custom PCB for fans or fan custom system to manage fans for cooling Machining a mechanism for the CPU Trays (or RAM Trays, depending on the model) Antennas for wifi (if using internal miniPCIe slot) The immense hurdles have left case replacements almost exclusively to Mac Pro -> Mac Pro. It's an exercise of frivolity and would be a technical feat but void of practical gains sans (possibility) more drive bays. The Mac Pro's case is one of the most loved features of the Mac Pro for its zoned cooling, extremely easy-to-access bays, and CPU, and RAM. Boot Managers Due to the nature of the Metal requirements of Mojave, many users have had to eschew their old GPUs for Metal-compatible CPUs that do not display the EFI boot screen. There are a few options available to Mac users. However, boot managers are not required for dual-booting to Windows. I personally recommend using the brigadier method of installing Bootcamp drivers that support APFS rather than using a boot manager or using opencore. See the Windows 10 section for more details. L Boot Manager - open source boot manager, designed for Mac Pros. See the guide here. Bootrunner Bootchamp (discontinued) but if SIP is disabled MacRumors readers report it will still work Look up serial Number This may seem like an odd thing to do, but if you're buying a used Mac Pro 5.1, you may want to see a computer's stock information to see if the Mac was originally a 4,1 Mac Pro. This can be done at sites like appleserialnumberinfo.com. Linux on 2006 Mac Pros Running Linux on 32-bit EFI Macs takes more effort than 64-bit EFI Macs to run the 64-bit distros. Below are guides on running Linux on older Macs. Mattgadient.com: Reducing the 30-second delay when starting 64-bit Ubuntu in BIOS mode on the old 32-bit EFI Macs Mattgadient.com: Linux DVD images (and how-to) for 32-bit EFI Macs (late 2006 models) Windows 10 on Mac Pros Officially Apple does not support Bootcamp with Windows 10 on the Mac Pro 5.1s, but that shouldn't stop anyone. I've personally used Windows 10 on both a 3,1 and 5,1 Mac Pro. Running Bootcamp on separate drives will make your life easier. Installing Windows via USB installers is not recommended as it has managed to mess up some people's Mac Pros when trying to install in UEFI mode, which can harm the firmware. Installing off an optical disk runs in legacy mode. Legacy mode is required for Mac Pro compatibility unless running OpenCore. By default, the Apple boot camp drivers for the 3,1 - 5,1 do not support APFS boot drives, meaning they cannot be selected from the Windows Boot Camp control panel. This can be bypassed using the brigadier utility and installing the new Bootcamp drive utility for Windows. Using this method, it's easy to operate your Mac Pro without a boot screen as everything is native. There are two popular methods two are installing Windows 10 via optical drive or Virtualbox, although some users have reported success using utilities like Rufus. For the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s, it's highly recommended to update to the latest firmware to ensure compatibility with later gen GPUs as some users have had issues getting video to output or to get the Bootcamp utility to function properly. Windows 10 Install via Optical Drive The entire install process is outlined in the following post: MacRumors: How to: Boot Camp without a Boot Screen. The process is as follows: Install Windows 10 in Legacy mode (if not installed already this way), Download Brigadier, and use it to install the correct drivers for your Mac Pro 5,1. After it's installed, use Brigadier to uninstall the control panel. Then, install the iMac Pro's control panel for APFS support so you can reboot to 10.13+ with APFS volumes. Windows 10 Install via Virtualbox The other recommended method is to use the Install Windows on MacPro 5,1 on physical drive through Virtualbox method, as it will install Windows 10 in legacy mode and does not require shutting down macOS during the install method. This process requires the use of free virtualization software, Virtualbox. Afterward, go to MacRumors: How to: Boot Camp without a Boot Screen and follow from step 15 to install the correct version of the Bootcamp startup utility. As a bonus, using this method will preconfigure access to Windows 10 with Virtualbox. This means if you are in macOS, you can still launch Windows 10 as a virtual machine and interact with your Windows drive such as performing updates, running Windows-only software like Quickbooks without rebooting, downloading/installing large items like Steam games while still in macOS (and rebooting when updates are done or games installed, etc.) Many users like using a boot manager utility, but users only using Windows and macOS. They are not required to use the brigadier method. Windows 10 and Mac Pro 1,1 - 2,1s You can run Windows 10 x64 on the very old Mac Pros, following Installing Windows 7/10 x64 on Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 or Native Install Windows 10 on mac pro 1,1 / 2,1 without USB or DVD or Bootcamp. Currently, it seems feasible, according to scattered forum posts, that you can install Boot Configuration Data on a SATA drive and use an NVMe drive. This also applies to the Mac Pro 3,1. Windows 10 and OpenCore OpenCore most likely will create issues for Windows 10 installs that were installed using legacy mode but are compatible with modern installations using a USB stick. See MacRumors: Windows 10 install on OpenCore cMP 5,1? and also Joerg's \"HowTo\": Bootcamp your (OCed) Mac (without using Bootcamp) video. OpenCore is the only reliable way to run Windows 10 via NVMe. Users with existing Windows 10 installs can convert their installs. Microsoft offers MBR2GPT.exe as a free-to-download utility for editing the Master boot Record without modifying/deleting any other data. This can be used to update Windows to legacy (bios) to UEFI, and it includes a video explaining the process. Also, there are YouTube videos that cover the same process. Another vector is to use the method know as bridge booting for legacy support. Help Installing Windows 10 on Mac Pro 5,1 9to5mac: Windows 10 updates for Mac put on' temporary hold' for older machines MacRumors: h9826790 (Aka Martin LO)'s way to run Bootcamp Mac Pro Users (Facebook): Installing Windows 10 on a 2009 - 2012 Mac Pro via BootCamp and a USB drive GitHub: brigadier utility - an easy utility to download the drivers for your specific Mac Pro's model for Windows. Classic Mac Pro (5,1): installing Windows 10, switching between macOS Mojave & Windows without boot screen - This is also referred to as the brigadier method as it uses the Open source brigadier utility. 9to5mac: How to install Windows 10 on your Mac using a \"Boot Camp\" external drive via Windows To Go [Video] If you do not want to use the Native method, see the Boot Managers section for more information related to managing Windows 10 / Mac OS booting with an EFIless GPU (a graphics card incapable of displaying video before drivers are loaded). Enabling Handoff/Continuity The Mac Pros for Handoff/Continuity require using the Continuity-Activation-Tool to enable it once the hardware requirements have been met. The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s cannot use Handoff/Continuity due to OS limitations. Mac Pro 3,1 requires BCM94360CD (Airport Extreme) Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 requires Bluetooth Adapter + original wifi Chipset OR BCM94360CD (Airport Extreme). Source for above: Continuity-Activation-Tool iMore: How to add Handoff capabilities to your older Mac Pro MacProUpgrade (Facebook, requires membership): 802.11ac IS NOT NEEDED FOR CONTINUITY & AIRDROP Enabling Nightshift on Mac Pros Sometimes hardware support is entirely arbitrary, as in the case of Nightshift. Nightshift can be enabled in 10.14+ Mojave using a nifty script written by a community member. GitHub: Night Shift on Unsupported Macs HouseOfMoth: F.lux VS Night Shift Enabling Apple Watch Auto Unlock with the Mac Pro Officially Apple does not support classic Mac Pros for Apple Watch Auto Unlock. Of course, enterprising users have figured out how to enable it, but it requires disabling SIP and a few terminal commands. Notably, you'll need a Mojave-compatible Airport card. MacRumors: cMP + Mojave 10.14.2 + watch unlock / login Sidecar and the Classic Mac Pros (and 2013) Sidecar allows an iPad to be used as a secondary display, and the Apple Pencil can be used akin to a Wacom stylus with pressure sensitivity. Sidecar can be enabled on many non-officially supported Macs using various projects/instructions, but thus far, no one has successfully run Sidecar any system without an integrated GPU or a T2 chipset. I posed this question in an OpenCore group, and a few notables, including OpenCore gurus Martin Lo and John DeGroof, had a quick discussion/debate. I seemed unable to really produce or reach a consensus as to why. My theory is that Sidecar uses Apple's Video Toolbox framework's VTCompression acceleration (supported in popular applications like Handbrake). Hardware VTCompression allows for hardware acceleration to encode video. It requires a computer with either Intel's QuickSync or Apple's T2 or Apple Silicon (where the T2 is baked into the SOC). This would explain why neither the classic Mac Pro nor Mac Pro 2013 cannot run Sidecar, and yet later Xeon systems (the 2019 Mac Pro or the iMac Pro) can, and how older MacBooks and Mac Minis can run Sidecar. Meanwhile, Martin Lo suspects it could be requiring a CPU instruction set or (possibly) DRM. How to Update the Recovery Partition in High Sierra on unsupported Macs / fix security Updates High Sierra Security Updates will often fail on unsupported Macs as they require updates to the Recovery Partition. Luckily, MacRumors readers have concocted a script to automate this process. MacRumors: How to Update the Recovery Partition in High Sierra MacRumors: How to fix an unbootable recovery partition in Catalina Multi-OS USB Bootable Flash Drives Recently in the Mac Pro forums, a user linked a \"Five in one\" USB solution that includes five versions of macOS on a single USB. These can be easily created by users following the directions from Apple, How to create a bootable installer for macOS. The only difference is the user first must divide the USB flash drive into multiple partitions (large enough for the Mac OS installers), which Apple also provides Partition a physical disk using Disk Utility on Mac. Upgrading from a single CPU to dual CPU on a 2009 - 2012 It is possible to upgrade any 4,1/5,1 from a single CPU to a dual CPU, but this requires a dual CPU tray, which is uncommon and often costs as much as an entire used Mac Pro. They occasionally do pop-up when someone parts out a non-functional Mac Pro. Notably, you cannot use the trays from Mac Pro 5,1 in a 4,1 even if the Mac Pro is flashed to 5.1. When 4,1 is flashed to 5.1, the tray and backplane SMC are not updated and stay at 1.39f5. The 2010-2012 are at version 1.39f11. Trying to use a tray with a different SMC than the backplane confuses the fans, causing them to go into full leaf blower mode. You cannot swap CPU trays from 4,1 (2009) Mac Pros with 5,1 (2010-2012). Oculus Quest/Quest 2 and the Mac Pro (and other VR headsets) Yes, you can use popular VR headsets with the classic Mac Pro, and they will run fine, assuming you have Windows, the appropriate software (Oculus Link for the Quest, Steam VR, current drivers for your AMD GPU), a powerful GPU, a USB 3.0 card that delivers high bandwidth, and proper cabling. I've written a mini-guide and made a video on the topic. Diagnosing Issues / Troubleshooting This section is a work in progress... Determining if a problem is a hardware or software issue can be difficult. The best resource for troubleshooting is searching using a search engine like Google and entering in exact error messages or symptoms. Impressively, rarely do Mac Pros have Apple-specific hardware failures, thus if hardware, the most likely culprit is a component: storage, RAM, GPU, etc. Your computer needs a firmware update to install to this volume. Choose a Mac OS Extended Journaled volume instead. This is a common issue for Catalina and recovery mode on Mac Pros. You'll need to Turn on VMM and turn off SMBIOS spoofing. See MacRumors thread for details. Time Machine: An Error Occurred Restoring from Backup A common issue (not for Mac Pros but for Macs in general) is Time Machine failing to restore from a backup. Boot off a recovery partition or bootable installer, reinstall macOS At the end of the installation, you will see the Migration Assistant. Select transfer files from another computer/device/Time Machine, then select your time machine drive Following this process will restore all your applications/documents/preferences and configuration. RAM isn't Running at 1333 MHz after a CPU upgrade A MacProUpgrade (requires membership) user noted after upgrading his CPUs that it lowered his 1333 MHz ram to 1066. Resetting the NVRAM resolved the issue. (see glossary for more info on the NVRAM). OS Installer is Damaged error See the OS Installer is Damaged error for more details. Can't get to the option-boot EFI screen A user of MacRumors discovered that the keyboard he was using was at the core of his issues trying to use boot key commands. The problem was remedied by swapping keyboards. Can't put the Mac to sleep Occasionally, cued print jobs can interrupt the ability of a Mac Pro to sleep. Other issues can be PCIe cards, notoriously USB cards that require external power will interrupt the Mac's ability to sleep. It can even prevent the Mac Pro from shutting down. Internal Light error codes The Mac Pros include a series of LEDs to help troubleshoot the computer. They are located near the back of the logic board, next to the PCI slot #1. One short flash followed by a longer off period: No valid memory. Three short flashes followed by a longer off period: Failed memory. Below is a quote from Apple's service manuals. Diagnostic LEDs You can view these LEDs by removing the computer's side access panel and looking through the memory cage to the logic board below. LEDs 2, 3, 4, and 5 are normally off and will automatically illuminate if an error occurs. To read LEDs 1, 6, 7, and 8, you must press the DIAG_LED button, which is adjacent to the LEDs (white button to the right). To press the DIAG_LED button, use a nylon probe tool. Power Supply Verification To power on, the computer's logic board requires \"trickle\" power. If the system fails to power on, first reset the SMC. If the computer still doesn't power on, follow the procedure outlined below to determine whether the issue is related to the power supply. Verify trickle power Diagnostic LED 1 indicates the presence of trickle power required by the logic board to begin the startup process. LED 1 should be yellow when the DIAG_ LED button is pressed, indicating that trickle voltage is present. Verify Power Supply Is Providing Power Diagnostic LED 7 indicates that the main power is OK and within regulation. Plugin AC power cord, and press the power-on button on the front panel. LED 7 should be green when the DIAG_ LED button is pressed, indicating that the main power is OK and within regulation. Bent Handles A semi-common issue is the Mac Pro handles are slightly prone to bending. A youtube video shows the process one user took to rebend his handles. (The video can be slightly disorienting as the user seems to have used an aggressive digital stabilization warp that creates a bizarre effect) A word on Malware Protection I urge users to install Malware protection. Personally, I rely on Malwarebyte. Anyone who has done the same or has irreplaceable data should do the same. That said, rather than write an entirely new section dedicated to Malware protection. I'm going to recommend reading HouseOfMoth: Do I need malware protection? I strongly agree with Jay's run-down and recommendations. If you have never run any malware protection because \"I've never used AV and never had a problem\" or \"Macs don't get viruses\" and read HouseOfMoth: Do I need malware protection? \t\t\t\t\t\t Service Manuals All the support manuals can be found at Apple.com - Manuals - Mac Pro, but for ease of use, I've organized them in this section. Notably, the 4,1/5,1 Mac Pros (2009, 2010-2012) are very similar internally; thus, any 2009/2010 manual works for the 2012 Mac Pro. Note: All the manuals are linked are PDFs. User Guide Manuals Apple: Mac Pro (Mid 2012) User Guide Apple: Mac Pro (Mid 2010) User Guide Mac Pro (Early 2009) User Guide Apple: Mac Pro (2008) Users Guide Apple: Mac Pro (2007) Users Guide Apple: Mac Pro (2006) Users Guide Instruction Manuals Apple: Mac Pro (Mid 2010) - Solid State Drive - Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (Mid 2010) - Solid State Drive Carrier Adapter - Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Memory DIMMs - Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Speaker Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Mac Pro RAID Card and Battery Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Processor Cage Fans Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Processor Cage and Clips Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - PCIe/Graphics Card Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - PCIe Fan Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Optical Drive Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Bluetooth Cable Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (2009 - 2010) - Front Panel Board Cable Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro (Early 2008) Memory Riser Card DIY Replacement Instructions Apple: Mac Pro - PCI Express/Graphics Card - Replacement Instructions Buyers Guide At this point in time, the classic Mac Pros and Mac Pro 2013s are many years out of officially supported with Apple due to drop support any day. With the continued high price of used GPUs, they should be best thought of as legacy hardware. It is possible to drive one daily, but most users would be better off buying a used Mac Mini M1 or M2 as they have plummeted in price. Buying Used Mac Pros on eBay Seeing as the Mac Pros are no longer made, used markets are the only places to find Mac Pros. I bought my 2008 Mac Pro from Apple but, bought my 2010 from eBay. I had a good experience. If you're here, I assume you already are a capable user, but it bears repeating the Mac Pro is not a value conscience decision or a pain-free one. The Mac Pro is a tinkering box and is ideal for a certain class of users. It's by far the best computer Apple has ever engineered, and possibly any computer maker has ever produced, for its sheer longevity and insane upgradability. This may seem obvious, but it bears repeating: local is almost always cheaper than eBay. Check Craigslist and FaceBook marketplace. Users love to point out absurdly bad deals on user groups. This isn't always what it appears to be. Frequently on eBay, hardware will be listed many times more than what it is worth. This is often a strategy for larger vendors to keep the SEO alive (and possibly skirt listing charges) when they are out of stock. It's not uncommon to find a Mac Pro for sale for $10,000. The vendor has no intention to sell said hardware, and if for some reason they get an order, they can then spend the money or effort to acquire said item and resale it. If considering a single CPU Mac Pro, Dual CPU trays for Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s are hard to come by and often cost nearly as much as the computer itself (sometimes more). The Dual CPU 2009 (4,1) Mac Pro is considered the upgraders choice as they're very hackable, and it only takes a firmware flash to convert them to a Mac Pro 5.1. The only caveat is upgrading the CPUs requires delidding them on the dual CPU tray. Used CPUs can be found on quite a few sites for reasonable deals. The X5690 is the fastest CPU money can buy for the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1, but the X5680 is roughly half the price, making it the bargain upgrade. Look for these CPUs on sites like AliExpress, as they're generally cheaper. Some sellers sell 5,1 Mac Pros, formerly 4,1s upgraded. Some sellers mislabel the Mac Pro as \"Mac Pro G5\" or are unable to identify its generation. If you're unsure, or the seller is, the serial number can tell you when the computer was manufactured or its model type. Also, you can request a photo of the computer with the panel removed to identify it as 4,1/5,1. Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s haven't been able to run later than OS X 10.11, which limits their longevity or utility. Personally, I would not invest any money into a Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 at any price. The Mac Pro 3,1 can run the latest OS X with minor hacks, making them bargains, but are limited in upgrades and performance. 10.12+ will break wifi if the internal chipset isn't replaced or another is added. 10.14+ requires a metal GPU. The best Mac Pro 3,1 is considerably slower than a single CPU 6-Core Mac Pro 4,1/5,1. 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros are virtually the same. There are no performance differences other than the base configurations. Markets vary quite a bit based on geo-location. Based on my limited observation, North America is considerably cheaper than the rest of the world. </li> Collected Articles on classic Mac Pro and the 2019 Mac Pro TheHouseOfmoth: The Future of the Mac Pro is here Apple Insider: Apple's management doesn't want Nvidia support in macOS, and that's a bad sign for the Mac Pro - I really hate to link Apple Insider but, this is interesting instead of its usually defending Apple for being user-hostile Motherboard@Vice: The Most Powerful Mac Is 6 Years Old and Not Sold By Apple TechRadar: People want the new Mac Pro so badly they're upgrading the old one Why you should build a Hackintosh ExtremeTech: Mac Pro Customers, Desperate for a Refresh, Are Upgrading 6-Year-Old Hardware AppleInsider: Apple's Mac Pro' cheese grater' is 12 years old, and is the best Mac ever made - an ode and yet apologist drivel AppleInsider. The House of Moth: Classic Mac Pro gone but certainly not forgotten (Still King) The Verge: Apple admits the Mac Pro (2013) was a mess TechCrunch: Apple's 2019 Mac Pro will be shaped by workflows blog.greggant.com: The Mac Pro that wasn't (2016 reaction) MacObserver: The new Mac Pro is a failure blog.greggant.com: The Future is a gated community (2013 response to the Mac Pro update) Communities & Blogs You're not alone. There are more people out there than you'd think who still love the classic Mac Pro. MacRumors Mac Pro Forum - The center of the Mac Pro universe, if it's happening, it's probably here. My go-to for sourcing information, as one can gather by reading this guide. MacProUpgrade - The premier Facebook group, very international with Mac Pro users across the globe. It requires requesting access, but if they let anyone in, I'm there. Also, it is a strangely friendly and nice community. They are always willing to answer questions from the obscure to novice and have a lot of high-tier creative professionals who can answer your questions about AVID, Premier, FCPX (etc.) related to your Mac Pro. Mac Pro Users - Another major FaceBook group for Mac Pro users, smaller but still helpful, and it has the benefit of being public too (no signup process and can be browsed without a Facebook account). Helpful and friendly community with a lot of creative professionals too. Reddit.com/r/macpro - not a Redditor myself but another group that is fairly active and has the benefit of not being under the regrettable Facebook umbrella. House of Moth - Jay's mac related blog, it's not explicitly Mac Pro related but has probably the best guide on the Pixlas mod and delves into old Mac hardware in super-geeky ways (in a good way). I name-check his blog a few times here for a good reason. Mac Pro Discord This is an offshoot of the Reddit Mac Pro group. Quinn's Tech Corner This is a small but growing group of retro Mac enthusiasts, not Mac Pro-centric, but if you're interested in retro PowerPC Mac emulation, this is a good start. eGPU.io - Not classic Mac Pro related in the slightest, but where I go for Thunderbolt information Netkas - Blog related to GPU flashing and hacking forums.netkas.org - The original group of firmware flashers for GPUs. blog.greggant.com/topics/#macpro - I've written for six years now semi-frequent Mac Pro-related blog posts. Other Guides I'm hardly the sole source of Mac upgrade guides. In the spirit of the web, I used to remember. ameyrupji: My MacPro 5,1 Upgrade Journey pindelski's guide - Credit where credit is due, this guide is roughly the same age as my first upgrade guide (and pindelski's was better), but somehow I never knew about it. Perhaps had I seen it, I may have never started this guide. Mac Pro 2013 Upgrade guide Looking for information about the cylinders? It started out as a joke, but it is real! The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide Mac Pro 2019 Upgrade Guide? Here we go again, The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide beta is now public, 100% ad-free and open to the world. PDF version of this guide A few readers have requested PDF versions of this guide. It is important to note that a PDF will not contain the most current information as this blog post is continually updated. I encourage people to use the HTML version of this guide as it'll provide the best experience. That said, instead of maintaining a separate PDF Version, I've included CSS (styling) to my blog to make printing better, capping the image sizes, slightly reducing the font size, and expanding the column to make use of a full page. This reduces the page count by about 1/5. If you would like a PDF version of this guide, hit print from any Mac web browser. I recommend Safari to ensure that the links within the guide work. In the printer dialogue, click the \"PDF\" dropdown in the lower-left corner of the printer box and hit \"Save As PDF\". All the links contained will work when viewed from Preview. You do not need a printer connected to print to PDF. Changelog Due to the ever-evolving list of possible upgrades and hacks, this guide is a living document, and thus, the information contained may change; I've included a robust log of recent changes to help repeat visitors discover new content. Making and maintaining this guide takes a fair amount of work, and user feedback is greatly appreciated to make this the most accurate/best guide possible. If you have new information not included here, suggestions, corrections, or edits, please feel free to contact me. I get a fair amount of questions and may not reply promptly or at all. I apologize in advance, but this blog has zero advertisements or any monetization; thus, everything is in my own free time. It makes more sense for me to refine this guide so I can assist the most people possible vs 1:1 support. I'd recommend asking the MacRumors forum, Reddit or one of the Facebook upgrade groups first as I'm just one person vs. the collective intelligence of a community.\t\t\t03/27/25 - Fixed broken link to the MacProFirmwareToolUpdate\t\t\t12/23/24 - For once I managed to shave out several hundred words. Another major round of copy editing, removed dated info around OpenCore, and trimmed it down, trimmed down buyers guide, added a few minor missing bits like Nvidia 4000 series compatibility, realized I never mentioned Sequoia, so that has been updated .\t\t\t05/26/24 - HTML errors are now gone.\t\t\t05/22/24 - Mostly corrections.\t\t\t08/27/23 - Starting the long path of updates for Sonoma. Added Patreon.\t\t\t12/24/22 - Lots of editing and Typo corrections, cleaning up on language around Monterey and Ventura.\t\t\t12/23/22 - Typo corrections, added prelim info about the 7900 XT. A few more lines about Ventura and OCLP. \t\t\t10/11/22 - Typo corrections, links to flashing video for 6600-6900 XT by MacSoundSolutions \t\t\t07/26/22 - There isn't much to report on the Ventura front but I put some notes in. Added Fast Resource Loading API / DirectStorage API notes.\t\t\t05/07/22 - 4 years of updates, Minor correction.\t\t\t04/25/22 - OpenCore section clean up, updated the most powerful GPU section to reflect the Navi 21 GPUs.\t\t\t04/23/22 - 04/24/22 - Cleaned up 6000 series info section, removed old 6000 video and replaced with new video.\t\t\t04/22/22 - Info about the 6000 series flashable\t\t\t04/18/22 - More info on RAM Ranks and mentions, added link to more recent test on RAM.\t\t\t04/17/22 - 6800 XT firmware notes regarding AVX. General typos and grammar corrections.\t\t\t04/16/22 - Added notes about the 6800 XT and MacVidCards.eu and liquid cooling, added links on CPU replacement (finally). Removed out of date text on the Mac Pro 2019 section. Finally added RAM ranks (finally)\t\t\t01/27/22 - Delidded single CPU note\t\t\t01/23/22 - GPU updates + communties\t\t\t01/02/22 - Linked video on Thunderbolt 3.\t\t\t12/27/21 - Some minor restructuring started in the OS upgrades section, added 6600 XT info.\t\t\t12/19/21 - Added video about Mac Pro versioning. Added MonteRand link to the OS section.\t\t\t10/30/21 - Updated OpenCore Monterey Info.\t\t\t10/22/21 - Added AMD 6800 - 6900 XT to GPU section\t\t\t10/12/21 - Added Nvidia vs Apple video to GPU section\t\t\t10/07/21 - Added tip jar section\t\t\t10/06/21 - Tweaks to info about OpenCore and linked video showing the 11.6 upgrade process.\t\t\t10/03/21 - The Mac Pro Isn't Dead video added to special announcements, added House of Moth's Quick guide to installing OpenCore on a Classic Mac Pro (cMP). I thought I linked it. I hadn't.\t\t\t10/01/21 - Bad news, that AMD 6800 you were dreaming about sticking into your classic Mac Pro may never work.\t\t\t09/28/21 - More cleanup for SurPlus and the latest OpenCore package with SurPlus.\t\t\t09/27/21 - Added references to SurPlus, depreciated LateBloom references.\t\t\t09/12/21 - Added more OpenCore notes, including a video by Jeorg for OpenCore the Basic Way: Latebloom.\t\t\t09/11/21 - Added notes about macOS 12 Monterey and OpenCore.\t\t\t09/10/21 - Added GPU video and R9 Nano to GPU list\t\t\t08/06/21 - Added image of 4,1 vs 5,1 CPU trays, thanks to Stuart Secker\t\t\t07/19/21 - Added archive.org links to previous updates of macOS\t\t\t07/12/21 - Added notes about LateBloom\t\t\t07/03/21 - Added link to the 256 GB Max RAM and changed the notes from me speculating OpenCore would enable 256GB bootable macOS to actual confirmation. Pretty impressive that at 12 year old computer could potentially have 256 GBs of RAM as even today that's a very significant amount.\t\t\t05/31/21 - Added notes about Sidecar\t\t\t05/21/21 - OpenCore can boot with 32 GB Dimms. OpenCore may have solved the 11.3 Big Sur issues. What can't OpenCore do?\t\t\t05/10/21 - Correction about ASM2824 and the PLX8747, misindentified the PLX8747 as a part number and not a chipset, oh well, at least I can correct it. Oh hey, this blog post is now 3 years old!\t\t\t05/01/21 - Notes about Windows 10 + firmware upgrades.\t\t\t04/24/21 - Info about Big Sur 11.3-11.4 and the new AMD GPUs.\t\t\t03/28/21 - Added 5,1 Firmware Upgrade Vid. Added note about RX 550s as they seem to be problematic.\t\t\t03/25/21 - Added section benchmarking SSDs.\t\t\t03/23/21 - Quick error fix thanks to reader where I conradicted myself and added Jay's Firmware update Guide.\t\t\t03/21/21 - Added info about 8k.\t\t\t03/18/21 - Minor copy edits. Fixed a render glitch caused by Jekyll 4's lower tolerance MD convertor.\t\t\t03/17/21 - Added info about RAID0 and latency. Noticed an error about NVMe running at PCIe 4x 1.0 (incorrect), and corrected it.\t\t\t03/16/21 - More copy editing, added LTERIVER and Febsmart USB cards to list of compatible cards. Added info about the ASM chipset and macOS\t\t\t03/15/21 - More copy editing\t\t\t03/14/21 - Another round of copy editing, caught an embarassing amount of typos and grammatical issues.\t\t\t03/13/21 - Added GeForce RTX 3000 series information. Much needed copy editing on the M1 Apple silicon section, some more typo corrections.\t\t\t03/08/21 - Added VR headset information, minor corrections in the index.\t\t\t03/05/21 - Added USB performance section.\t\t\t02/13/21 - Broken link fixed thanks to reader feedback.\t\t\t02/05/21 - Added USBc 3.2 Gen 2 notes and vid.\t\t\t01/23/21 - Added ASM2812 chipset info, fixed table glitch in card listings, added video about Radeon 56 flashing, removed link to Aliexpress memory as the listing had changed.\t\t\t01/06/21 - Updated APFS information, added second video, this time about NVMe. Minor edits.\t\t\t12/26/20 - NVMe host cards updated to include two more cards and with heatsink info. Windows 10 and Mac Pro 1,1s added.\t\t\t12/24/20 - Added the first of YouTube content to storage section.\t\t\t12/10/20 - Updates to the M.2 adapters, mis-labeled the OWC card's max speed as it is 8x. Added two cards. Noted problems with the Syba card.\t\t\t11/14/20 - Info about 3,1 thermal paste, a bit more on Apple Silicon.\t\t\t11/07/20 - Added Accessing hidden SATA Ports section.\t\t\t11/06/20 - Added photos of memory tray. Expect to see a a few more visuals to the guide in copy weeks. minor copy edits (typos, phrasing etc). If it seems like I'm obsessed with editing, many users are not native English speakers and us translation software. Clearly and correctly formatted sentences will yeild much better results for them.\t\t\t10/31/20 - minor edits (added note about Big Navi, link to opencore vid, etc)\t\t\t10/19/20 - Started expanding the contents index... its huge. Still need to present it in a more human way, probably with a nav. Added a bit more unnecessary info about the VII, added note about NVMe + OpenCore in storage and more up-to-date HDMI Audio. Added notes about PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Added link about unidentified apps from devs. Added to troubleshooting \"Your computer needs a firmware update to install to this volume. Choose a Mac OS Extended Journaled volume instead.\" Added link on how to installl PCIe Cards to GPU section. Added link to lowendmac's facebook thread on Mac Pro 1,1 failed firmware updates.\t\t\t10/18/20 - Slightly updated OpenCore info, started adding more of the headers to the Contents, Added info about 8x PCIe 4.0 GPUs. Noted the last of SSE4 on Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s as well as introduction point of SSE4.\t\t\t10/05/20 - Updated with more Big Sur Data + Mac Pro 1,1 Firmware hacking info. Minor copy editing.\t\t\t07/03/20 - Big Sur update, slightly changed the intro.\t\t\t06/17/20 - Removed language around Mojave betas. Added info about Apple's NGFF.\t\t\t06/12/20 - More GPU corrections around R7/R9 GPUs. Fixed link to USB PCBs. Added custom case section.\t\t\t06/11/20 - Added link to Thunderbolt 3 guide. Correction on R7 260X GPU thanks to a reader. Added 3rd party monitor brightness section. Added Bridge boot method link for Win10. Added link to Noctua fan mod. Added link to fixing recovery partition in Catalina. Added latest OpenCore install instructions.\t\t\t06/05/20 - Minor copy editing.\t\t\t06/03/20 - Added info about MBR2GPT.exe for Windows 10. Windows 10 sections are linked at the top of the blog post. Thanks to MacProUpgrade members Antonio Adams, Adam Stokes for the assist in finding the info. Added 3D printed parts sections.\t\t\t06/03/20 - Added info about a successful ATX PSU replacement. Minor copy editing, mostly typos.\t\t\t06/02/20 - Mostly based on observing the community frequent issues. Minor udpates to troubleshooting, update bootcamp, minor update to clarification of Pixlas mod, Added clarification about DDR3 and heatsinks, added clarification on NVMe, Added clarification on ATX Power Supplies, added OpenCore to the mini glossary.\t\t\t05/25/20 - minor updates about finding firmware version. Minor error corrections thanks to user feedback on GPU section.\t\t\t05/11/20 - Minor clarification to 1,1/2,1 max ram. Edited the custom flashed cards section. At this point I might as well link MacVidCards in the interest of making this guide more complete. For some users, the EFI support is worth the premium. For me? Nah.\t\t\t05/07/20 - Two year anniversary, a few minor typos from new content. This guide has gone from 7000 -> 37,000 words in that space. Completed the Pixlas mod for my Mac Pro, linked Jay's Pixlas Mod vid.\t\t\t05/06/20 - more GPU section cleanup\t\t\t05/05/20 - GPU corrections thanks to readers! This section should have been done ages ago but due to the work involved, I put it off. Minor update to CPU trays swapping to be more clear. 10-bit, HDR info updated. Added link to PPI calculator.\t\t\t05/04/20 - Almost two years! Reworked the GPU section to now include massive list of GPU compatibility. I'm sure its not 100% correct yet but should be fairly accurate. Removed the old metal section. Incorporated reader feedback include GT 630 with flashing info.\t\t\t04/20/20 - Copy editing + correction on Thunderbolt Display being called Thundervolt Cinema Display.\t\t\t03/24/20 - Added links to PCIe 4.0 performance vs 2.0 and linked it the topics.\t\t\t03/04/20 - added list of GPUs that support Metal with boot screen. Added more to Open Core. Added more to SIP explination. minor editing. Added more to the Thunderbolt Display as users keep trying to pair it with the Mac Pro.\t\t\t02/29/20 - Thunderbolt 3 custom firmware has landed, also minor editing and added more info about visually identifying a Mac Pro, thanks to Peter R.M. Fitskie for kindly providing the images, he retains rights to the image.\t\t\t02/25/20 - minor editing.\t\t\t02/24/20 - Another OpenCore link, correction about Accelsior from a reader, Michel D., noticed the intro needed to be updated as the 2019 Mac Pro has been shipping.\t\t\t02/21/20 - Thunderbolt section updated and cleaned up.\t\t\t02/12/20 - Added another link to Best GPU section to provide more context. Added more OpenCore referenes in GPU section.\t\t\t02/03/20 - Added OpenCore section. Most likely this will become standard path for users running Catalina and later.\t\t\t01/23/20 - Minor glossary change.\t\t\t01/19/20 - Minor correction on GPU section.\t\t\t01/16/20 - PCIe Power clarification, including sources. Added Power Supply Section.\t\t\t01/15/20 - Added summary of SSDs.\t\t\t01/14/20 - bold glitch fix + very minor editing.\t\t\t01/13/20 - Happy 2020. Updated with OpenCore vs DOSdude, another round of copy editing.\t\t\t12/27/19 - Added 2019 section and another NVMe host .\t\t\t12/17/19 - Added NVRAM/PRAM definition, more unsupported Mojave GPUs, soft RAID info.\t\t\t12/16/19 - Added small section on RAID support. Added notes on RDIMMs vs UDIMMs and CAS Latency with RAM. Added more anchor tags and links in the Contents section. Minor edits.\t\t\t11/19/19 - Added description of Virtualbox Windows 10 install method, removed special announcement on chrome issue, added kext to glossary, Dosdude1 update warning.\t\t\t11/07/19 - Added alternate link for the Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5,1 utility\t\t\t11/06/19 - pretty cool, was informed this guide appears in this youtube video. Added Innie link + kekt description. Minor ram notes.\t\t\t11/05/19 - 5700 XT is now supported, and listed.\t\t\t10/31/19 - Windows 10 native clarification + x5700 link + link to techspot for CPU + OS Installer is Damaged error edit + fixed broken links in Blu-Ray section\t\t\t10/29/19 - As much as I want to clean up, more stuff keeps coming in. Info on AVX instruction sets, info Mac Pro 3,1 and NVme, Info on Max RAM issue with 3.1. Added much needed M.2 format info for cleanup and a PCIe m.2 host card table, more consistent use of links opening new windows.\t\t\t10/21/19 - In what has to be a first, I removed quite a bit of content. The OS section should be easier to digest. Updated notes in GPU section, removed some redundancy, oh and changed the graphic to Catalina instead of Mojave in OS section.\t\t\t10/18/19 - Reworking the GPU section has begun. I'm trying to list the Metal compatible GPUs. Expect this section to change considerably as I try to condesne and clean the information. Added notes to PCIe section about PCIe 2.0 vs 3.0 and GPUs.\t\t\t10/15/19 - Mostly copy editing, should be mostly typo-free. Add instructions on how to disable SIP and how to disable Gatekeeper. Switched Know Your Mac Models to tables. Added links to monitor review sites.\t\t\t10/12/19 - Added the Mac Pro 3,1 link for enabling a bootscreen with the 580x. Added mixing and matching GPUs. Added table view for firmware upgrades. Added DosDude1 notes.\t\t\t10/11/19 - Wrote a mini guide on upgrading Mac Pro 5,1 firmware and added it links to it as not to bog down this page with more images.\t\t\t10/07/19 - Added DosDude1 youtube link.\t\t\t10/04/19 - Changed language around Catalina as the 5.1s are officially unsupported. Added note about i7 CPU compatibility.\t\t\t09/26/19 - Added links for Windows 10 on external drive, 2.5 PCIe height card hack, booting to Recovery Mode with a web driver GPU, and short trouble-shooting firmware upgrades section.\t\t\t09/19/19 - Minor copy editing.\t\t\t09/10/19 - Happy Apple Event day. Added GeekBench 5 notes. Added a link about Mojave audio issues. Added note about Catalina support. Added custom PCB for front facing USB 3.0. Added Malware section which is essentialy a link to HouseOfMoth. Also added F.lux VS Night Shift. General typo and copy corrections.\t\t\t09/09/19 - Busy two weeks on this guide, trying to provide a base-level for novice users to become more aquanited with their hardware. Added a little more info to the Firmware section, such as how to check. Added intro text to the CPU section and info about instruction sets. A few minor corrections in the GPU section. Added links CPU upgrade and Northbridge. Added short explination of NorthBridge chipset. Added link for the Samsung 970 Evo Plus. Still more to do but the list is whittling down. Added information on screen refresh rates.\t\t\t09/06/19 - Added info on nightshift.\t\t\t09/05/19 - GPU section editing. Still needs work but more clear and organized, and up-to-date. Added notes about Continuity to be more correct. Added Night Shift on Unsupported Macs. Added bits vs. bytes as I believe it is helpful.\t\t\t09/04/19 - Added more current info about 32 GB DIMMs, one of the many things needed to be addressed.\t\t\t09/03/19 - The past month has been the most significant for this guide in the last 4-5 months due to the re-writing and information validation. Re-added the Audio section now with the long explanation hidden. Added info about Dual-Link DVI. Updated Handoff section with more correct information thanks to Peter K in the MacProUpgrade group.\t\t\t09/02/19 - error correction on SATA 3. Whoops, it was a typo too. Typo fixes. Slightly reduced intro. Ram Upgrades have more info on ECC.\t\t\t09/01/19 - Added link to Delidding CPUs to thehouseofmoth vid. Broke out delidding into own section.\t\t\t08/26/19 - Added Vega 56 Firmware flash info. Minor Corrections. Minor topic organization change in the GPU section.\t\t\t08/25/19 - I received feedback for a PDF version of this guide. Rather than maintain one, I've added some basic CSS for print rules that reduces the guide (as of writing this) from 85 to 62ish pages.\t\t\t08/19/19 - As planned, more rewriting. Reworked the Wifi section, now includes info on PCIe and USB. Reworked the Storage section to explain more about SATA, Time Machine, and SSD Memory types. The goal is both increase clarity, ease of reading, and onboard less-technical users.\t\t\t08/13/19 - Man, I have some great readers, Jamie S. emailed me with two updates, noting I hadn't listed the GeForce 680 GTX 4 GB flashing instructions (I meant to) and one I never considered, updating the recovery partition. Reworked displays section as it was one big ugly wad of text. Added info about 4k TVs, chroma subsampling. It's now a proper section Fixed JS error.\t\t\t08/05/19 - Grammar/punctuation edits. Moved \"identify your mac\" out of the PCIe section. Added RX 590 to GPU list. Added note about OWC overcharging for RX 580s as I find this egregious/predatory. Added Note about flashed RX 580s.\t\t\t08/02/19 - Added more info on PCIe power for clarification, added more info on bifurcation. NVMe cleanup. Table for OS support. Added xMP 2019 to the Mac Pro list. It's annoyed me I haven't followed a clear structure on many topics (sometimes 2006 Mac pros are listed first, while other times 2012). I'll start doing more house cleaning. Started a troubleshooting section which is opening pandora's box.\t\t\t07/17/19 - Added more info on Wifi chipsets (where to buy), and continuity. Added note on buying RAM. A few minor edits.\t\t\t07/10/19 - Fixed bad URL thanks to a reader. Noticed I had two boot manager sections and consolidated them.\t\t\t07/05/19 - Added more info about Bootcamp and Windows 10, more editing, typo fixes. Hid the old intro by default. Updated Intro. Added notes on THunderbolt 3. Added info about Vega chipset fans.\t\t\t06/26/19 - Added more notes about the Radeon 580s in Mac Pro 3.1s and the first notes on 10.15 Catalina. Also added notes on Mac Pro Processor trays. Minor clarification on Know your Mac Pro, and added DosDude1 as a definition\t\t\t06/03/19 - Fitting just north of the 1 year anniversary, the Mac Pro 2019 has been announced, and it is a beast. Those specs are beyond what I hoped for, and thus the price is beyond what I hoped for too, 2x the price of the 2006-2012 Mac Pros.\t\t\t06/03/19 - Happy WWDC day, let's see if we're all disappointed. Added info about the RX560 in Mac Pro 3.1s.\t\t\t05/17/19 - Editing, and clarity, Added how to install GPU section.\t\t\t05/18/19 - Linked Jay’s article on Blu-Ray and added notes about VLC and Blu-Ray drive, added better recommendation against 3.1s and NVMe, added incompatible NVMe list.\t\t\t05/13/19 - 10.14.5 notes on GPU AMD Radeon VII and added notes on enabling AMD video codec acceleration. Editing (typos + punctuation + corrections)\t\t\t05/11/19 - Now that this guide has matured. The new focus is organization. More cleanup. I noticed a few typos. Reordered things a little more in the GPU section and other places. I dislike to make executive recommendations on hardware, but I ended up bowling it down in the GPU section. If you disagree with me, do e-mail me.\t\t\t05/08/19 - Biggest update in a long time. Massive cleanup around the Firmware upgrades and OS upgrades sections as it annoyed me that the information wasn't organized well, better notes about Mojave on Mac OS 3.1s, better placement about 3.1s and NVMe, and lastly added a list of the firmware updates to the Mac Pro 5.1s. I tried to reduce redundancy. Reduced the GPU recommendation section to be less verbose and made it clearer. Removed warning about firmware and issued a general recommendation. Added a mini-glossary, added a few more anchors to sections. Still plenty more clean up to happen in the future.\t\t\t05/07/19 - One year anniversary! Added links to The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (2013) Upgrade Guide.\t\t\t05/03/19 - Hey, it's almost been one year for this blog post! Added notes about custom fans on Mac Pro and RX 580 drivers. Added links to articles on Mac Pro 3,1s and NVMe. Also, as always a few grammar/editing corrections.\t\t\t03/29/19 - Added the link the AMD Polaris/Vega GPU thread, added a note about 3.1s and Mojave GPU support. Minor typo corrections.\t\t\t03/11/19 - Reader Benjamin R noted I was missing the Quadro K5200 and sure enough there's a Mac version as well as K4200. Also listed the Firepro S10000 to list of natively compatible GPUs.\t\t\t03/05/19 - Added CPU check terminal command. Added version number, using the date, since this guide has evolved quite a bit and this gives repeat visitors a quick reference for when the guide was last updated. Updated Fusion drive section. Updated NVidia driver section only lists TonyMacX86's latest drivers rather than versions, and clarified RTX series. Added link to Expansion Slot Utility for Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s. Also, saw two FB users wondering if Apple bricked computers with the 142 firmware on purpose. I can assure you they did not. The W3xxx series aren't nearly as common, and if Apple wants to drop support, they can do so at any time. They do it frequently with major OS updates for both macOS and iOS. Why bother to play a cloak and daggers game and open themselves up to a potential class-action lawsuit? Not everything is a conspiracy (most things aren't in fact, youtube and social media is making us stupid), Occam's razor says this was an edge case that wasn't tested. As a developer, I can tell you this happens more than you ever want to know.\t\t\t03/04/19 - Created the Special Announcements, as the DP4 of Mojave 10.14.4 has a new firmware the bricks the higher-end CPUs. Added more notes to the firmware section. Minor copy edits/grammar-y corrections are littered through this update.\t\t\t02/27/19 - Wow, this guide is about 10 months old now has had nearly 50k visits. Added link to Mac Pro Users, added tables to PCIe section, clearer explanations on PCIe, linked a user confirming dual 5k displays and added a few lines to the eBay buying. Also took off a little of the AppleInsider slandering. It's not my favorite site but doesn't really add anything of value.\t\t\t02/01/19 - Added new Sonnet USB 3,1 cards to compatibility, Added a link to Delidding cleanup.\t\t\t01/24/19 - Added image to illustrate the Mac Pro generations under know your Mac Pro and subsection. Added RX580 Mac Pro 3,1 compatibility note.\t\t\t01/23/19 - Moved the Thunderbolt info into its own section as it's moved beyond speculation. I'll track this best as I can. Added a communities section. Added an anchor to the changelog. Minor copy edits.\t\t\t01/18/19 - Just when you think you've considered pretty much any upgrade feasible, there's a new one. It looks like there's been progress made on the Apple Watch Auto Unlock for the cMP, so I added it to the guide. I added minor corrections to grammar and punctuation as it'd been a while since I've proof-read this entire monster of an article. Fun fact, this article is 12,500+ words now, which is 24 pages, single-spaced 12-point text (48 double-spaced). For reference, a novel is generally considered to be 40,000+ words. Apple Insider, seems to think that PCIe 5.0 might be in the 2019 Mac Pro. Why? Because it was ratified as a standard. I find this incredibly silly as PCIe 4.0 first motherboards were demoed in June and there aren't many floating around right now nor hardware. PCI 4.0 was finalized on Oct 26, 2017, and took roughly a year for the first devices to ship. With the extreme lack of PCIe 4.0 hardware, let alone 5.0, this is extremely dubious.\t\t\t01/17/19 - Reader Arif pointed out an error on my guide, and I didn't have a checkmark next to the X5675 on the Mac Pro 5.1, also looks like more progress on thunderbolt and added it. First, update for 2019 and 7 months running of updates.\t\t\t12/21/18 - Added a note about the X5687 since recently there's been a few posts on Mac Pro communities again. It's incompatible, and this guide lists it as incompatible. I linked a forum poster's attempt at getting it to work (despite knowing it was listed as incompatible). Hopefully, this saves a few people the heartache and money. Added notes about UI scaling to monitors and Freesync\t\t\t12/14/18 - Thanks to reader Ian for confirming the RX 590 works in the cMPs. I hadn't even noticed it had been released. He even created a video. You can watch it here. Also, added info about the latest in NVidia driver updates as NVidia released new drivers for 10.13, but without Volta support, lending a lot of weight to the previous rumor that the drivers were pulled over a dispute with Apple's AMD contract. The issue has landed itself in Forbes under the blistering headline Apple Turns Its Back On Customers And NVIDIA With macOS Mojave. Hopefully, this helps Mac Pro users out, such as myself. I've had my NVidia GeForce 1060 less than a year. Oh, and this blog now supports Dark Mode for Mojave users using Safari Tech Preview 68 or higher.\t\t\t11/28/18 - With the stalemating of NVidia drivers, I've added a link to the petition for drivers and updated the GPU section a bit to reflect better that it's AMD or bust right now for Mojave.\t\t\t11/05/18 - Bad news on the Mojave front for NVidia users, NVidia blames Apple for not approving its drivers. Added links to the said article.\t\t\t11/02/18 - Updated intro, Apple released Mac Minis, minor clarification in the intro and call to the right to repair.\t\t\t10/29/18 - Big reworking of storage section (now ordered by ATA, AHCI, and NVMe), Added direct links to NVMe firmware.\t\t\t10/26/18 - lots of copy editing on new (and some old) sections. Also thanks to Pressure G on Mac Pro Users (on Facebook) for spotting an error. This guide is now roughly 40 pages long! Added to Contents list of the \"other upgrades.\"\t\t\t\t\t\t10/25/18 - The first draft of NVMe section, and editing to more accurately reflect NVMe status, plus added first draft PCIe, and You section to explain PCIe ports. Both will require editing.\t\t\t10/22/18 - 2018 is the year of the cMac Pro. In the space of not updating for a month, we have native NVMe support, bootscreens on RTX cards and the craziest of them all: promising ThunderBolt results. Added notes in relevant sections. Added Boot manager to both GPU and it's own section under other upgrades. Also, I was mentioned in a podcast a while back Brograph Podcast - Episode 134 (at the 33:05 mark). Added a TechRadar link. Added more AppleInsider insults. Why? It's apologist fanboy propaganda.\t\t\t9/26/18 - It's Mojave time! Added notes on 10.14 Mojave installation, Metal, Mojave patcher for Mac Pro 3.1s, and OWC APFS problems.\t\t\t9/19/18 - Added link to After Effects GeForce 1080 vs.Radeon 580\t\t\t9/04/18 - Mild copy edit + driver downloader.\t\t\t8/27/18 - Added note about DynaPower USA to PCIe expanders, full list of AMD cards and some minor copy editing.\t\t\t8/3/18 - Added eBay purchasing notes, Minor copy editing to new content\t\t\t8/2/18 - Special thanks to reader Geo B. for sending me info about the FASTA-6GU3 and Amfeltec SQUID. Added notes on Triple channel memory. Also, Big list of corrections (typo spot, correction about the language around UEFI, 2006 Mac Pro OS compatibility, and other bullet points), thanks in part to Dave @ MacVidCards for his very-direct (read: confrontational) but informative e-mail (Dont'worry, we're cool, or at least I assume we are. If we aren't, whatever.). As per request, any reference was changed to from \"Mac Vid Cards\" to \"MacVidCards.\" Notably, Dave mentions that the Mac 780/Titan/Titan X EFI compatible cards use a pirated version of his custom/hacked ROM. While I haven't verified this, as I don't really have means or time to do so (this page is for fun and to help other people like me), I see no reason to doubt this claim as it's not like there's Mac versions of these cards.\t\t\t6/13/18 - Added Know Your Mac Pro, link to Pixlas dual GPU mod by Big Little Frank, added HDMI Volume control Lifehacker link.\t\t\t6/12/18 - Minor update to GPUs list, also added firmware update info, finally added a blur about delidding, xlr8yourmac fixed.\t\t\t6/1/18 - NVMe is now bootable with firmware hacks, added info in NVMe and firmware sections.\t\t\t5/27/18 - Added link to Netkas Mac Pro 1,1 -> 2,1 firmware utility and StarTech 4-Port card to USB list.\t\t\t5/23/18 - Added link to wifi install guide for 5,1 Mac Pros, link cleanup so links consistently open blank page, minor proofing.\t\t\t5/22/18 - Added HDMI Audio links, Mac Pro 5,1 Update for 10.13, Also, time for some proofing: Fixed quite a few typos, grammar blunders, and punctuation.\t\t\t5/21/18 - Added Mac Pro manuals from Apple.com\t\t\t5/17/18 - Added Linux on 2006 Mac Pros links\t\t\t5/16/18 - 5770 Error correction info\t\t\t5/15/18 - Minor copy editing, fixed bad link to anchor tag for CPU upgrades, a note about SLI.\t\t\t5/14/18 - Reworked the intro, it's wordy now. Minor copy editing, more PCIe sled info, more 4,1 firmware upgrade links.\t\t\t5/13/18 - Added Pixlas mod info, Classic Mac Pro gone but certainly not forgotten.\t\t\t5/11/18 - Added Upgrade to High Sierra without APFS, added NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600, AMD FirePro W7000 to flashable cards, AMD Radeon 770/5780 Roms link, mac-pixel-clock-patch-V2 link, How to Boot to Windows without a Boot Screen link, NVMe links, Disable internal Bluetooth (for USB dongles), note about pre-10.9 RAM, serial number lookup, note about 64-bit on 1,1/2,1 mac pros.\t\t\t5/10/18 - Links to EveryMac for RAM instructions, quick thoughts on graphics cards purchases, and links to NVidia web drivers.\t\t\t5/9/18 - Copy Editing + Responsive CPU tables + links open new windows.\t\t\t5/8/18 - Images + feedback from users (added Replacing battery + memory) + restructure so contents supersedes intro.\t\t\t5/7/18 - Guide launch, first published\t\t\t", "content_html": "
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Supporters Thank you

After years of maintaining this guide for free, I now am accepting patreon supporters. There's content for non-members as well so be sure to check it out.

I'd like to thank Quin's Tech Corner as my first supporter, if you're into retro Macs, especially the PowerPC era Macs, check out his content on YouTube.



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Contents

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The largest/most complete guide to all possible classic Mac Pro upgrades covering OS, Firmware, GPU, CPU, Storage, USB, and Network upgrades.

Upgrading a classic Mac Pro isn't hard. The information is out there, but knowing what is possible, what questions to ask, and where to find it isn't nearly as easy. This is less a how-to guide/manual than it is a roadmap to primary sources by other brilliant people, written to be accessible to both new and advanced users. It has been continuously updated for over four years and will continue to be updated as long as there is a community to make new discoveries. I hope you find this guide useful.

The Cheese Grater's last stand

This guide's intro has changed multiple times over the years as the landscape has radically altered for the Mac, and after seven years, my perspective has changed. The Mac Pro 2006 - 2012 represents a high watermark for Apple, an era unburdened by the preoccupation of iOS and the trappings of planned obsolescence or its self-indulgence of $1000 monitor stands or $10,000 smartwatches. Apple still offered a practical, user-serviceable that was as beautiful on the inside as the outside. The dedication to these computers is as much of a testament to their success as much as it was to Apple's misteps and inability to offer an affordable heir. Apple Silicon's future is bright but under the shadow of right-to-repair.

Now, with the era of the Intel Mac coming to a close, there's a slightly poetic quality that the classic Mac Pro, the pinnacle of modular computing, will be there to see its end. Apple Silicon is very impressive, and Apple's offerings in the portable space, be it iPhones, iPads, or even laptops, are unmatched. I'm not sure if I'd extend the same courtesy to their desktops.

If you'd like to read the old intro, click the show old intro below.

Like many, I had quite a few thoughts about the Mac Pro 2019. If you want my personal take, you can read it here.

Show old intro

Apple finally announced a new Mac Pro after the failed 2013 Mac Pro. Little did we know, the trashcan design was a multiplane metaphor, not only as an ode to planned obsolescence but to Apple's opinion of Pro users as it even failed to capitalize on providing modest updates, the computer that was meant to be replaced but without replacements.

The cMac Pro (Classic Mac Pro) remains the high water mark of Apple professional computers, easily besting even the G3/G4 era computers, which made for very upgradable CPUs, GPUs, and RAM (thanks to the famed folding door design and CPU daughter cards). Regardless of the new Mac Pro, we're nearly at the end of the road for the classic Mac Pro. Apple officially dropped the 1,1 - 3,1 Mac Pro support, although (some) of the Mac Pros can be hacked to run current OSes. Thunderbolt PCIe chassis finally (sorta) officially supports external GPUs, making the Mac Pro a little less necessary. The iMac Pro's single-core performance is double that of a Mac Pro 5,1, even with an Xeon X5690. This level of performance is bound to trickle down in the next few years to more modest Mac configurations. If the Mac Mini ever received an update to an LGA-1151, let alone an LGA 2066 and ThunderBolt 3, it'd challenge the Mac Pro 5.1. Edit: There's now an updated Mac Mini and despite the fixed CPU, its an improvement.

Then there's the rumor of ARM Macintoshes in the future, in the darkest of timelines where the modular computer is killed as SOC computing takes over. Computers are locked out of OS upgrades as quickly as a phone. In this dystopian future, Apple has its way, and we're forever on hardware upgrades, tossing working machines in landfills, or worse, Google has its way, relegating us to a hellscape of thin clients and subscription services and our own data held as bounty behind a paywall even as every bit is mined deeper like a Pennsylvanian quarry. Lastly, there's Phoenix Act, where the Mac Pro 7.1 (2019?) is a triumphant return to a user-serviceable, upgradable box replete with PCIe slots. The Mac Pro, in this scenario, becomes the vanguard of the current community of solder-iron-wielding outcasts, cantankerous power users, and cranky creative professionals, people disaffected in the era of iOS. It'd be the unity of rejects who cling to the past, not out of nostalgia but out of practicality, a mob completely ready to abandon their aging hardware. More than likely, we'll get a Mac Pro that's a middling mess, an attempt to appease Johnny Ive's ego over the requirements of its target audience.

Whatever the future holds, the Mac Pro Cheesegraters are long-in-tooth, and the viability of using one as a daily driver is fading, but with the right upgrades, there is still life left. This guide is an ode to the best computer ever made, the classic Mac Pro, an engineering marvel marking the high-water mark of performance, ease of use, and user serviceability.

– Greg

A quick aside for self-indulgence: I originally wrote in 2013 an upgrade guide for the Mac Pro, back in my earliest years of blogging (when this blog was hosted on Tumblr, mistaking Tumblr a utility for blogging). It was talky, anecdotal, and amateurish, mostly upgrades I had done myself at various points, but also one of the first attempts at an all-encompassing guide for upgrading Mac Pros. I updated the blog post infrequently over the years, and it became a briar patch of disparate rambling, thorned with tangents and asides. I felt it reflected poorly as I've become a marginally better writer... at least that of an HS sophomore. I decided to clean up, update, and rework my blog post, but it became very apparent I should start anew as I was already committing a wholesale field burn. The result is this guide: a roadmap to upgrades with all the relevant info and primary sources (and many words and a bit of ego-death for the sake of continuity).

A hearty thanks to all the communities and websites where Mac power users still exist: MacRumors, Netkas, XL8yourmac, TonyMacx86, EveryMac, Ars Technica, Reddit, and to The Mac Pro Upgrade group on FB (users Martin L, Jay V, Gianluca M, Jean-Paul R. John C, Brennan F, Peter K, Antonio A, Adam S and many others) and Mac Pro Users on FB, (Eric Z.) for providing feedback, the guys who do a lot of heavy lifting in the community like Martin (h9826790), tsialex, Jay Fac and many users who've taken the time to email me to correct any errors. Even MacVidCards chimed in to correct this guide. I've learned as much as anyone writing and refining this guide.




YouTube Channel

This guide is now expanding into video. The goal is to create videos related to Mac upgrades, specifically the Mac Pro, Youtube.com: Mac Pro Upgrade Guide. Videos will be added to this guide as they are created to the relevant, but there'll be content exclusive to the channel, too, so please do subscribe.

Think of the guide as a companion to this guide, as the latest info will be here and this guide will remain the focus as, quite frankly writing is easier than video.


Special Announcements

The Radeon 6000 series is now flashable to work with the classic Mac Pros.

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Here we go again, The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide beta is now public, 100% ad-free and open to the world.



Community Tip Jars

There's been a lot of tireless work put in by the community at large, all the resources are freely available. A few members have tip jars as a way of saying thank-you.


Getting Started

Running a classic Mac Pro today means using workarounds. This guide is long and sometimes a bit hectic as there's quite a bit of onboarding jumping into the world of classic Mac Pros, as they are aging hardware and thus not always straightforward. Here's a short list of considerations before taking the plunge

Going through the process of updating and maintaining a Mac Pro is a crash course in both macOS/OS X's underpinnings and modular computing. For users looking for a painless experience, I recommend buying a used iMac 27-inch 2014 and above as they are fast, can be found for relatively cheap, and run the latest OSes without upgrades or workarounds. For those who are interested in the path of becoming a power user or already are, the Mac Pro is a great place to start.

Mini-Glossary of Terms / About this guide

Jumping into the world of Mac OS can be daunting as there's a lot of assumed tribal knowledge and history. I try to avoid unnecessary shorthand, but there are a few unavoidable terms. I like to write for as many people as possible and to remain accessible. For sanity's sake, there is a base assumption for understanding but hopefully a low-enough bar that novice users can follow along and learn. We all start somewhere, and no one should ever feel bad for asking questions. Examples of assumed knowledge would be the fundamental difference between an SSD and Hard Drive or what CPU cores are. . Many other sources can educate users on these topics and do a better job than I would. Even then, I try to explain core concepts or provide links when necessary to help educate a user. This means this guide is long but informative. The initial inclination will be to skip sections. However, some key information may often be discussed in intros and other sections. I've tried to mitigate this, but in the GPU and storage sections, there's a lot of information to digest. If you feel that something is unclear or never adequately explained, please reach out to me and let me know, as my readers are a global audience from all walks of life and have a wide variety of skill sets. I've often been humbled by people who are much more knowledgeable than me, and I appreciate anyone who points out errors or novices who feel something is confusing. Please see the Changelog for more details on how to reach out to me. We all start somewhere, and I frequently question my own aptitude when I see how much heavy lifting others have done to make this guide a reality. For my more technical users, I depend on you for accuracy. This is truly a community effort.

Lastly, one regrettable note for my international readers: I list prices in USD, dates Month/Day/Year, and measurements in imperial as I live on the mainland of the United States and thus also incur some of the bias of an American English speaker. Prices differ vastly in foreign markets, and unfortunately, generally, the US is remarkably cheaper for Apple products and some hardware upgrades. Any buying advice will reflect the bias that is implicit to someone living in the US. As far as measurements, I apologize for our measurement system based on ambiguous associations with tangible objects like a child would use. I fully admit the metric system is superior. Temperatures in this guide are expressed in Celsius as computer thermals sensor default to Celsius.

APFS - Short for Apple File System, a proprietary file system used on Mac OS and iOS. File systems define how data is stored and retrieved in an operating system. Like all software, file systems has limitations, and APFS was used to fix many of the shortcomings of HFS+. The transition to APFS was (relatively) smooth, but Apple chose not to support certain older hardware when it moved to APFS.

Bits vs. Bytes - You probably know this one by heart: There are 8-bits to every byte. For this guide to avoid confusion, I use bytes instead of bits when discussing all things bandwidth-related, even though networking favors bits and local storage favors bytes. It's easy to mistake bits for bytes as it hinges on capitalization. 10 gigabits-per-sec is written in shorthand as 10 Gbps. 10 Gigabytes-per-second is written as 10 GBps or 10 GB/s. Converting bits to bytes means dividing by eight. 10 Gbps = 1.25 GB/s (or 1.25 GBps). Operating systems express download speeds in bytes per second, which confuses consumers as internet connections are not. For example, A 100 Mbps network connection has a maximum bandwidth of 12.5 MB/s.

cMP - shorthand for classic Mac Pro. It is used to refer to any Mac Pro released between 2006-2012. The phrase \"Classic Mac Pro\" only refers to these models and not the similar-looking PowerMac G5 or the 2013 Mac Pro.

Cheesegrater - Slang for the classic Mac Pros. I did not invent this term. This term arose to describe the billet metal on the front/back of the Mac Pros that resembles a \"cheesegrater,\" although functionally, it'd be more appropriate to use it as a pasta press.

EFI - Short for Extensible Firmware Interface, a specification designed by Intel to replace BIOS as the method to interface between an operating system and the platform firmware. This former isn't essential to understand beyond that it is a computer's firmware. Apple adopted EFI on Intel Macs, which is the interface that allows selecting a boot drive before OS X begins booting (by holding down the option), among other pre-OS loading functionality. I use the term EFI slightly loosely as I'll refer to the boot screen as the EFI, even though it isn't all that EFI provides for the Mac. It is also important to understand that the UEFI (Universal Extensible Firmware Interface), now the industry standard for PCs, isn't the same as Apple's EFI on computers from 2013 before. They are similar, but Apple's implementation varies partly due to age (predating UEFI by a few years) and partly due to the closed nature of Mac OS. Apple has since begun adopting (at least portions of it) UEFI, so the implications for the 2019 Mac Pro and GPUs are better. In order for a GPU to display a pre-boot screen, Universal Graphics Adapter Protocol (UGA) support on the GPU for the Mac Pro 1,1/5,1s. The more modern UEFI replaced UGA with Graphics Output Protocol (GOP), which is not used on the classic Mac Pros. Most aftermarket cards only support GOP and not UGA. This means without using OpenCore. Aftermarket GPU upgrades will not output video before the drivers are loaded. The lack of UEFI also has implications for other OSes like Windows, where MBR (Master Boot Record) needs to be used instead of UEFI if you are not using OpenCore.

32-Bit EFI - When used in this guide, bits are pretty much limited to discussion of a CPU architecture or color depth. 64-bit CPUs can execute binaries that use 64-bit virtual memory spaces. A 32-bit CPU was limited to 4 GB of memory space, whereas a 64-bit CPU can address roughly 18.4 exabytes. 64-bit CPUs are not faster at executing 32-bit code unless the memory thresholds prohibit functionality. (It's a common mistake on the internet to refer to certain Macs as \"32-bit,\" as almost all Intel Macs (sans the Core Duo Models) have had 64-bit CPUs. However, some of the older Macs, like the 2006-2007 Mac Pros, used 32 Bit EFI. Apple dropped support for 32-bit EFI and Macs that do not support SSE4.1 with Mac OS 10.12. 10.15 Catalina dropped support for 32-bit applications.

DosDude1 - the handle of a prodigious Mac OS scripter who makes Mac OS installable on a large swath of older Macintoshes, under the same name, generally referred to as some variation of DosDude1 Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs. In this guide, I refer to DosDude1 not as the person but as the scripts he has written. See his personal website. I encourage users to donate to him for his hard work.

Firmware - a term you probably have heard and already possess some understanding of, the standard definition is a program that is written into Read-Only Memory (ROMs) and requires a specialized process to change (if it can be changed at all) called Flashing.

Flash/Flashing - The act of writing over data that exists in an otherwise in Read-Only Memory (ROM) or space (Firmware).

Hackintosh - Any non-Apple hardware that is running any version of Mac OS, generally standard PCs using a lot of workarounds.

HFS+ - Short for Hierarchical File System and also referred to as \"Mac OS Extended,\" a proprietary file system used on Mac OS, released with Mac OS 8.1 in 1998. It remained the default file system for Apple for nearly two decades, used on Mac OS 8/9, OS X, the iPod, and early versions of iOS, but lacked some core features found on file systems developed later.

HomeBrew - long-time computer users are probably familiar with the term \"homebrew\" in regards to user/hobbyist applications written for systems that generally were closed architecture, like a videogame console. However, with regards to the Macintosh platform, HomeBrew is a package manager for macOS for (mostly) command-line utilities. Package managers function, in principle, like an app store for open source software, as you can quickly install, update, and uninstall the software from your command line. For developers, Homebrew occupies a very important space as it's one of the most preferred ways to install nodejs, python, git, MySQL, as well as utilities like youtube-dl, FFmpeg, imagemagick, and MonitorControl.

Kext - With OS X, the architecture for drivers uses kernel extensions called .kext files. Kexts are supremely powerful and the backbone for the Hackintosh community to enable unsupported hardware. However, Apple has deprecated kexts in 10.15 Catalina for security reasons, replacing them with EndpointSecurity, SystemExtensions, and DriverKit. How this affects unsupported hardware remains to be seen. Kexts are located within /System/Library/Extension and /Library/Extensions.

Mac OS / OS X / macOS - Mac OS X is Apple's XNU kernel-based operating system that evolved from NeXTstep. Mac OS X was rebranded to macOS in 2016. I use these interchangeably as I have a tough time accepting macOS, which is still OS X. The difference is superficial. Generally, Apple writes macOS, but I find this annoying, so you'll see Mac OS littered through this guide. Mac OS is not to be confused with Mac OS classic (Mac OS 7.x - 9.x). Today, all of Apple's OSes share the XNU kernel and are all descendants of NeXTStep.

Metal - Previously, Apple's default graphics library for graphics acceleration was OpenGL (Open Graphics Library), used on iOS and Mac OS. Over time, OpenGL fell behind in performance and features when compared to a library like Microsoft's DirectX. Without an ideal candidate to replace it (OpenGL's successor, Vulkan, would not be released until 2016), Apple created its own graphics library called Metal and shipped it in 2014 on iOS 8 first. Later, Apple ported Metal to OSX. Mac OS 10.14 Mojave uses Metal to now power Mac OS. The new API does not support many old GPUs, as their drivers were not updated. Metal often draws ire from users as it dropped support for many older GPUs that OpenGL drivers had. Regardless, had Apple used Vulkan, there'd been a day of reckoning with older hardware and support that Apple was unlikely to support.

NVRAM/PRAM - Non-volatile random-access memory (previously Parameter RAM) is a space reserved for various low-level settings found on Macs pertaining to the pre-boot settings. These settings contain data such as default boot volume, backup boot volumes, default audio output, audio levels, computer's name, Keyboard language, backlight level (for laptops), whether Bluetooth is enabled, default GPU, etc. The contents of the NVRAM can be viewed via the terminal using nvram -xp. The difference between NVRAM vs. PRAM is transparent to the user. NVRAM uses a small storage space using flash-based storage, whereas the PRAM uses a battery to keep the settings buffered in the RAM. Occasionally, problems can arise (generally associated with hardware upgrades) that can cause problems. Resetting the NVRAM is still referred to as \"zapping the PRAM.\" This is performed by holding down the Command + option + p + r keys during boot prior to the system chime, which will cause the computer to reboot immediately and chime again. This will clear out the NVRAM. Alternatively, the NVRAM ram can reset via the terminal using nvram ​-c, which will require restarting manually for the changes to take effect.

OpenCore - In the Hackintosh world, utilities are usually required to facilitate booting macOS on unsupported hardware, commonly referred to as \"boot loaders\" like Clover. OpenCore is the latest iteration of the boot loader, designed to be more modular, stable, and useful to non-Hackintosh Macs. It can emulate EFIs, allowing for additional functionality. For the Mac Pros, OpenCore can enable a pre-boot screen to pick a bootable drive, and its UEFI emulation can be used in 10.14 to enable hardware encoding of MPEG (.h264), among other things. It can be paired with other fixes like SurPlus to extend support to even macOS 12.

OpenCore Legacy Project (OCLP) - a subset of OpenCore specifically for legacy Mac support that makes installation for old Macs (not just Mac Pros) a two-click process, greatly simplifying the initial process.

SIP - System integrity protection, a feature of later Mac OS introduced in OS X El Capitan, that walls off portions of low-level features of Mac OS to protect it from malware. Before this, any application with root-level access could read/edit/modify system files. However, sometimes, when performing certain hacks, it requires disabling during installation and then re-enabling. There are legitimate reasons why users may want to leave it disabled. See Disable System integrity protection for instructions. See About System Integrity Protection on your Mac on Apple.com for more details.

Terminal/shell - OS X is famously built on NeXTStep, which was a *nix-based operating system that gave it access to a new (old) feature, a command-line shell. This allowed Mac users to interact with the OS akin to Unix/Linux. Many advanced Mac OS operations can only be performed via the terminal, such as disabling SIP or enabling TRIM for an SSD. Users unfamiliar with the world of the terminal should always exercise due diligence before copy and pasting random snippets of code found on the web for the terminal. Any Mac user looking to become a power user should make an effort to learn terminal basics. The ability to operate the terminal unlocks a feature set outside of the GUI and can do many of the functions that the GUI can do. An additional perk is that terminal skills translate to Linux and Unix, good for server management/networking or web development. Many utilities are command-line only, like the ever-power ImageMagick, which can batch-process images much faster than GUI applications. Prior to 10.15, Apple used Bash for its terminal but now has pivoted to ZSH.

Trashcan - While Mac OS has a trash can for deleting files, in the context of this guide, this used to poke fun at the Mac Pro 2013 for its looks and lack of functionality compared to the almighty classic Mac Pro. Despite its shortcomings, I wrote The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide.



Know your Mac Pro's Model

A good portion of this guide (and others) uses terminology such as \"Mac Pro 2008\" or Mac Pro 4,1 or Mac Pro 6,1 when referring to what upgrades are feasible. The classic Mac Pros come in five iterations, and the Mac Pro family currently has seven different iterations.


You can find out a Mac Pro's version by going to \"About this Mac\" under the Apple menu. All classic Mac Pros share a base level of specifications: Four full-length PCIe Slots, 1 mini PCIe slot for an Airport/Bluetooth card, four SATA2 3.5 drive bays, two 5.25 inch Optical drive bays (ATA on 3,1 and lower Mac Pros, SATA2 on Mac Pro 4.1+) dual Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 2.0 ports, two Firewire 400 ports, two Firewire 800 ports, and optical digital audio in/out. The differences pertain to the bus/RAM/CPUs and tray designs for RAM and CPUs. Visually, from the exterior, these computers are the same and difficult to identify from each other without opening them up. Internally, the 1,1/2,1s and 4,1/5,1s are nearly identical. A 1,1 Mac Pro can be firmware flashed to a 2,1 Mac Pro, and a 4,1 can be flashed to a 5,1 Mac Pro. The best way to verify the original computer's version is via its model number (or serial number). For more info, see EveryMac's Mac Pro specification section and EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup.

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Mac Pro Model Name/Year CPUs Max OS Description
Mac Pro 1.,1 / 2006 Woodcrest 10.11.6 with Pike's Script The first iteration of Mac Pros. The firmware can be upgraded to 2,1 using 32-bit EFI. PCIe 1.0. Lacks SSE4 (aka SSE4.1)
Mac Pro 2,1 / 2007 Clovertown 10.11.6 with Dosdude1 The 2,1s were released only in dual quad-core CPU configurations. 2006 dual 2x Core Mac Pros sold used the 1,1 firmware, whereas the 2.1s use a slightly updated firmware. Like the 1,1 before, it uses 32-bit EFI. PCIe 1.0 + ATA for optical bays. Lacks SSE4 (aka SSE4.1)
Mac Pro 3,1 / 2008 Harpertown / Penryn macOS 32 with OpenCore
(Sequoia is semi suported)		 The Mac Pro 2008s are the odd man out as there are few CPU options compared to the 1,1/2,1 Mac Pros and 4.1/ 5,1 Mac Pros, 64-bit EFI can use modern macOS with minimal hacking. The 2008 Mac Pros lack SSE 4.2 instruction set on the CPUs as well as EPT/VT-x support, which aids greatly in virtual machine-related tasks. For the most part, neither is required, although the SSE 4.2 support means using modified drivers for modern AMD GPUs. The lack of later CPU instructions means some software isn't as performant. PCIe 2.0 + ATA for optical bays. Optional SATA ports for the optical bay. The Mac Pro dual 4-core 3,1s performance is less than a single CPU 6 Core Mac Pro 5,1.
Mac Pro 4,1 / 2009 Nehalem macOS 13 with OpenCore
(Sequoia is suported)		 The firmware can be upgraded to 5.1 and uses 64-bit EFI. When flashed, they are natively supported for Mojave 10.14, depending on the GPU. 4.1s tend to be the budget upgrader's choice (as historically, they can be had for cheaper than a 5,1 Mac Pro). There is no performance difference between a flashed 4,1 -> 5,1 and a computer that shipped with the 5,1 firmware. However, the Mac Pro 4,1 requires delidded CPUs for dual CPU trays (see the CPU section). PCIe 2.0, no legacy ATA.
Mac Pro 5,1 / 2010/2012 Westermere macOS 13 with OpenCore
(Sequoia is suported)		 The 5.1s are natively supported for Mojave 10.14, depending on GPU. The Westermere CPUs are the highest-end CPUs supported by LGA 1366 Sockets. *Note, there were 2012 Mac Pros sold with a single Nehalem CPU, although somewhat uncommon. There is no difference between the 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros beyond the CPUs and GPU options Apple offered at the time of the sale. The Mac Pro 5.1s (or 4.1s flashed to 5.1s) has enjoyed several major firmware updates for Mojave, enabling the ability to boot NVMe, which previously required workarounds/hacks. PCIe 2.0, no legacy ATA.
Mac Pro 6.1 / 2013 Ivy-Bridge macOS 13 with OpenCore
(Sequoia is suported)		 Also known as the \"Cylinder\" or \"Trash can.\" These are radically different than the classic Mac Pro models and will not be covered in this guide. For information about this model, please visit The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide.
Mac Pro 7.1 / 2019 Xeon-W Current also known as the xMP. The Mac Pro 2019 marks a triumphant return to modularity with plenty of PCIe slots and a massive price hike. It features PCIe 3.0, with up to 28 cores and 1.5 TB of RAM. It is in a true workstation-class of computing, doubling its predecessors' entry price.
Mac Pro 8.1 / 2022 Apple Silicon M2 Ultra Current Apple's first Apple Silicon Mac Pro offers PCIe 4.0 that cannot be used for GPUs, only storage and IO. It has been referred to as expandable but not upgradable.

Mac Pro 5,1 2010 vs 2012

Everymac has a good rundown of the minor differences of the 2012 vs. 2010 Mac Pros. The short answer is there is no real difference beyond the CPU/RAM/GPU configurations Apple offered and the manufacturing date. Unlike the Mac Pro 4,1s, every piece of hardware found in a 5,1, regardless of year, is interchangeable. Whereas the 4,1 and 5,1 share most of the components, with exceptions for the backplane and CPU tray. Apple identifies both 2010 and 2012 models as the Mac Pro 5,1.

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There are minor physical differences between the CPU trays, most notably, the 4,1 CPUs require delidded CPUs in the dual tray, and the CPU trays are incompatible between 4,1s and 5,1s, causing fan revving errors. You can see in the above photo that the heat sink screw hole positions on the 5,1s are positioned further.

Due to the lack of any meaningful differences, this guide (and the community at large) treat the Mac Pro 2010 and 2012 as one-in-the-same. I owned both a 2010 and a 2012, and the only difference was in the \"About this computer\" from all my observations.


Identifying a Mac Pro Visually

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Mac Pro 1,1 - 3,1s sport FW400 ports, whereas the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s only have Firewire 800 ports. The easiest way to distinguish a powered-off Mac Pro is by taking the side panel off. For the Mac Pros, note the RAM configurations on the right-hand corner. The other sure-fire method is looking up the Serial Number.

Never be fooled by a PowerMac G5

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Picture provided by Peter R.M. Fitskie

The Mac Pro's case is based on the PowerMac G5. The Apple tower was produced from 2003-2006, which predated the Mac Pro. The G5 used an IBM PowerPC 970 CPUs and represented the last PPC Macs produced. They look exceptionally similar to the Mac Pro but sport only one optical drive, one front-facing USB port, one firewire port, and two fans on the back, among other differences. Sometimes mislabeled listings will list the PowerMac G5s incorrectly as \"Mac Pro G5s\" or even as a Mac Pro.

If the computer in question has one optical drive and two fans, it is a PowerMac G5, meaning it cannot run any OS later than 10.5. For more info about PowerMac G5's, see EveryMac: PowerMac G5 and Low-End Mac: PowerMac G5.

PCIe

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe or PCI-E) is the evolution of PCI, which migrated from a parallel bus system (where all cards in a computer competed for the same bandwidth ) to discrete connections. Regardless of how many cards are connected, the bandwidth for each PCIe card will not be adversely affected. PCIe has become the backbone of computers since its first iteration in 2003 and continues to be used, even on laptops, for high-speed storage.

Mac pro 1,1/2,1- PCIe layout (uses PCIe 1.0)

PCI Express Slot Slot Speed
4 x4
3 x4
2 x1
1 x16

Note: The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 allowed for lane configuration using Expansion Slot Utility


Mac pro 3,1/4,1/5,1 - PCIe layout (uses PCIe 2.0)

PCI Express Slot Slot Speed
4 x4
3 x4
2 x16
1 x16

Not all PCIe slots are the same. Since its inception, there have been several updates: PCIe 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, with the very first 4.0 PC motherboards demoed in 2018 and shipping in many PCs today. Each iteration of PCIe radically increases the speed by doubling the available bandwidth. Also, to add a minor bit of confusion, different chipsets have different amounts of total \"lanes,\" measuring speed for a PCIe slot. PCIe slots are not all equal in speed; thus, the total lanes are distributed across the PCIe slots, usually favoring one or two ports for maximum speed. In the Mac Pros (3,1 and above) case, all have a maximum of 40 lanes; thus, the lanes are pre-distributed among the PCIe slots. Since not all PCIe slots have the same amount of lanes, they are not all at the same speed. The amount of lanes a PCIe slot has access to is expressed numerically: 1x (1 lane), 2x (2 lanes), 4x (4 lanes), 8x (8 lanes), and 16x (16 lanes). Each lane's maximum speed depends on the PCIe version a computer has. A 1.x PCIe 1x slot has access to 250 MB/s. Thus, a 4x slot has a maximum of 1 GB/s, an 8x slot has a maximum of 2 GB/s, and so on. Each generation of PCIe effectively doubles the speed of a lane. A PCIe 2.0 lane is 500 MB/s and PCIe 3.0 lane is 1 GB/s. Generally, PCIe speeds are expressed in bytes, not bits. A PCIe 2.0 16x speed (8 GB/s) would be 64 Gbps (64000 Mbps). In this guide, I will use MB/s and GB/s instead of Gbps and Mbps, as transfer speeds are generally expressed in bytes, not bits.

To reiterate the dramatic speed increases of PCIe based on generation: A 16x port in PCIe 1.x has a maximum of 4 GB/s, whereas a 2.x 16x port can handle 8 GB/s, 3.x is almost 16 GB/s. All PCIe slots are backward compatible; however, the caveat is that PCIe cards may not be backward compatible (this is not common). Also, not all PCIe cards will operate at the maximum port speed, as the card's chipset may limit them. Conversely, a PCIe card may support much faster speeds but will work in any PCIe slot, which will be limited by the port's maximum speed. For example, you could use an AMD Radeon RX 580 in the Mac Pro's 4x slot but with a bit of a performance penalty.

For more information on the Mac Pro's PCIe slots, see EveryMac's Mac Pro PCIe overview (including how to install cards) and the archived article from developer.apple.com: PCI Product-Specific Details.

Bifurcation

Later, motherboards, starting with PCIe 3.0, commonly support bifurcation, which allows a PCIe port to be split in half: One 16x port becomes two 8x or in quarters. An 8x PCIe lane card thus can interface by splitting it into two sets of 4x lanes. Bifurcation is mostly used for SSDs, allowing a single PCIe card to host two SSDs. While the Mac Pro can use PCIe expanders (a separate technology for external PCIe slots by harnessing the bandwidth of a single PCIe slot), it doesn't support bifurcation. PCIe cards can host more than two M.2 NVMe SSDs without bifurcation, but they require specialized controller chipsets. The result is that multi-drive M.2 PCIe cards, which are Mac Pro compatible, cost more. This is also discussed in the PCIe NVMe sleds/blades section.

For a list of m.2 cards that support multiple NVMe drives, see the M.2 SSD hosts (sleds) section.

PCIe Power Delivery

By default, PCIe provides power via motherboard PCIe slot, up to 75w via 4-pin cables. The power requirements for high-performance GPUs have increased, going past PCIe's initial design. To combat the problem of power delivery, PCIe cards started coming with additional power ports and increased pins to carry more power. Generally, in PCs, additional power is drawn directly from 12v taps off the power supply that the user can configure. On the Mac Pros, two power ports on the motherboard can be tapped for additional power. This design choice means less cable mess but also requires buying special mini-PCIe to PCIe cables. Apple's implementation of the PCIe power ports is also non-standard, allowing for more power than the PCIe standard requires. Many PC power supplies also use similar configurations, so 6 to 8-pin adapters can be used. MacProUpgrade members like Brennan F. and MacRumors members have demonstrated that the Mac Pro using various techniques, can deliver roughly 120w and using 4-pin to 6-pin adapters, just shy of the more common 150w with 6-pin cabling.

If a PCIe card draws more power than the PCIe power can provide, it will trigger the Mac Pro to shut down instantly. This scenario is generally limited to GPUs with exceptionally high power requirements. The Mac Pro PSU can be modified to deliver more power to the PCIe power taps using modifications such as the Pixlas PSU Mod, allowing the Mac Pro to use high-power GPUs, providing the expected 150w safely.

PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs 4.0 and its impact on GPU performance

In computer parlance, the idea of bottlenecking is when a single component limits a computer system.

For whatever reason, there's an incorrect belief that modern GPUs require the bandwidth of a 16x PCIe 3.0 slot or would greatly benefit from using PCIe 4.0. This myth is persistent and wide despite much information clearly demonstrating otherwise for the GPU. This may be less true for much newer GPUs, most of which are unbootable in the classic Mac Pro. When benchmarked in the real-world using an 8x vs. 16x PCIe 3.0 slot, the impact is minimal, pugetsystems.com performed this very test, and it comes out to be roughly 3%-4% impact. An 8x PCIe 3.0 slot has the same bandwidth as a 16x PCIe 2.0 slot. In gaming, this tends to be even lower. See this YouTube vid comparing 16 4.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 2.0 and PCIe 4.0 vs. PCIe 3.0 GPU Benchmark Feat. GeForce RTX 3080 FE, which shows the impact of sticking the RTX 3080 in 16 PCIe 4.0, 16x PCIe 3.0, and 8x PCIe 3.0 slots. The story is always the same: GPUs are not very bandwidth-intensive. Another common misconception is the Mac Pro's CPUs/bus isn't fast enough to benefit from a high-end GPU, which is patently false. Notably, when it comes to graphics performance, the Mac Pro 2010/2012 remains a performance monster, in most tests besting the iMac Pro running a VII. It may not be as fast as a modern gaming PC running a VII, but depending on the tasks (especially GPU compute), it'll be only 1%-4% slower. More interestingly, when an AMD Radeon 5700 XT was tested in PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 4.0, TechPowerup, after many tests, found a 2% average performance difference between PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 4.0. DigitalCitizen found similar results by comparing PCIe 3.0 to 4.0. GPUs are not nearly as bandwidth-intensive as most people assume (other hardware like SSDs can easily saturate a PCIe bus). I'll give another example: if \"bottlenecking\" existed in a sense most people visualize it, performance would be capped by bandwidth. Thunderbolt 3, which is also even more bandwidth constricted than a PCIe 2.0 16x slot, still finds improvements running a Radeon VII in a Thunderbolt 3 case over less powerful GPUs, including an iMac's own internal AMD Vega 64. However, the performance is more realized when adequate bandwidth is available instead of a brick wall limitation. Also, the Mac Pro will be nearly as fast as a much more modern PC in gaming at high resolutions. At lower resolutions where the GPU can achieve extreme framerates, the number of calculations per second increases for the CPU to process, as data must be calculated per frame. 240 FPS means the CPU has more data to process per second than if a game was running at 60 FPS, regardless of the resolution. At higher resolutions, the frame rate goes down as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Mac Pro makes a fine entry-level 4k gaming machine if one desires to invest in a Vega series GPU or better and is willing to boot Windows 10.

PCIe 4.0 GPUs and the Mac Pro

When users complain about the lack of PCIe 4.0 on the 2019 Mac Pro, there's some truth to it, but its adverse effects are minimal. Many modern PCIe 4.0 GPUs run at PCIe 8x 4.0, which effectively places them at the same speed as a 16x PCIe 3.0 slot. However, when an 8x PCIe 4.0 PCIe card is placed into a 3.0 slot, it'll run at 8x 3.0 speed.

For the cMPs, this only gets worse as an 8x PCIe 4.0 GPU will only run at 8x PCIe 2.0, effectively 1/4th the speed of the intended 8x PCIe 4.0 slot. While the speed penalty for 16x cards is pretty negligible in a 2.0 slot, it is more so for 8x.

Fast Resource Loading API / DirectStorage API

The latest trend with Apple with Metal 3 and Microsoft Direct X is, in simple words, APIs that allow GPUs to have a much more direct route to the SSD. This has already been used in game consoles but now is making its way to Macs and PCs alike. The implications on performance and PCIe buses mean that the gains are likely to be much less realized on the Mac Pro lineup as storage is the one place that PCIe 4.0 has a clear advantage.

Currently, very little software supports this. As of December 2024, few games support full implementation on macOS or Windows, but as time passes, they will be more widely adopted.



Power Supply

The Mac Pro uses a non-standard PSU that does not follow the ATX convention and can deliver 980w continuous with a 1200w peak. Apple does not officially list the PSU's maximum power but can be found on PSU stickers, as seen here. It is recommended that PSUs be used from the same Mac Pros iterations as there are minor changes between models. The 4,1 and 5,1 generation Mac Pros are interchangeable as they are the same physically. MacRumors users have successfully used, PSUs in 3.1s.

PCIe Power

The Mac Pro uses an uncommon passthrough where the PCIe power is delivered via pass-throughs on the motherboard. The pass-throughs can deliver 120w via the PCIe power ports, 30w shy of the more common 150w found in many PCs. Thus, for high power requirement GPUs, clever users have turned to PSU modification to mimic a standard ATX power supply by bypassing the passthrough throughs to deliver more power. See the PCIe power and Pixlas PSU Mod sections for more info.

Sites like iFixit have pictorial guides for PSU replacements.

ATX Power Supplies?

Thus far, to my knowledge, there's only been a single instance of replacing the Mac Pro PSU with an ATX PSU. MacProUpgrade user Jay Fac's guide includes the pin-outs, a video, and plenty of photos of his completed project. He notes that he has lost the ability to put the computer to sleep. However, this modification is unnecessary for most people as users have successfully installed two GeForce 1080 Tis + NVMe + USB 3,1 and filled the drive bays on dual CPU 3.46 GHz 5,1s when using the Pixlas mod with no negative consequences. The Pixlas mod is much easier than a full PSU replacement.

We can do some guestimation to illustrate why so few users have attempted an ATX PSU conversion. Using back-of-the-napkin math: A theoretical top-of-the-line build would be two X5690s (peak 130w x 2), VII (peak 321w), four NVMe (peak 7w x 4), four 7200 RPM SATA HDDs (peak 8w x 4), eight 16 GB DDR3 DIMMs (3w x 8), Sonnet USB 3.1c card (75w peak), misc PCIe card (50w), DVD-RW (peak 20w). This means that even if everything was under peak loads at once (a nearly impossible feat), the power draw would be 824w, leaving a continuous supply of 166w for the cooling/motherboard well under the continuous 980w and 1200w peak. The Pixlas mod works sufficiently well.

Some users have taken to iMore: adding a second PSU to a Mac, MacRumors (from 2012) How To Rig A 2nd PSU (For Modern GPUs or Adding a Second GPU) (w/& w/o soldering.



Firmware upgrades/hacks

The Mac Pro line has had a history of Firmware updates. Depending on the model, there's quite a wide gamut of potential upgrades or hacks for your Mac Pro. The Mac Pro Firmware upgrades are now distributed as part of Mac OS and can only be performed when upgrading the operating system.

Check Your Firmware Version

From the Apple menu, select About this Mac and click System report. Under the Hardware Overview, you should see a Boot ROM version, which is your current Mac's firmware version. This is not to be confused with \"About this Mac.\" For example, A 2009 Mac Pro will still be reported as a 2009 Mac Pro in the \"About this Mac\" tab after a firmware flash.

The Upgradable Firmware Macs

The Mac Pro 2006s (1,1) and 2009s (4.1) occupy a special place as both can be updated to enable a wider range of CPU configurations with a software update. The Mac Pro 1,1 to 2,1 enables later CPU (Clovertown) support. The 4,1 gets the bigger boost. The firmware update enables Westmere Xeon CPUs and faster bus/RAM. Once a 4,1 is flashed to the 5,1 firmware, it can then use all the 5,1 firmware updates, which enable quite a few goodies like APFS booting, native NVMe support, and such. This is one of those times when a software upgrade makes all the difference. See the CPU upgrades section for more details on CPU configurations. There is no performance difference between a flashed firmware Mac Pro vs. a Mac Pro that shipped with later firmware, assuming the hardware configurations are the same.

Ars Technica reported on the success of the 2009 Mac Pros being flashed by Netkas forum members.

2006 1,1 Mac Pro

The Mac Pro 1,1 flash allows for later CPU models to be used. Currently, there is a firmware hack to allow for Mac Pro flashing script (github.com) to boot alt OSes. Also, there's research being done on firmware hack to enable Harpertown CPU support.

Note: Sometimes, it is incorrectly reported that the 1,1/2,1 Mac Pro cannot run 64-bit applications (such as Pindelski's upgrade guide), which is untrue. They are limited to a 32-bit EFI ROM. 64-bit Applications run natively, as this is independent of the EFI ROM. For reference, the G5 was the first Macintosh to support 64-bit, which mostly enabled them to address more than 4 GB of Maximum RAM. Every Intel Mac outside of the original Core Duos (not to be confused with the Core 2 Duo) is 64-bit. 32 bit only Intel Macs are an oddity,

2007 2,1 Mac Pro

There are no firmware upgrades for the Mac Pro 2.1s.

2008 3,1 Mac Pro

The Mac Pro 2008 remains a bit of the odd man out regarding firmware. With the DOSdude1 High Sierra patcher, this computer can boot APFS volumes but not from encrypted APFS volumes.

Clever hardware hackers discovered how to enable bootable NVMe on Mac Pro. It requires making a custom firmware using ROMtool and EXEinject on the 3.1. Today, this path is no longer necessary for NVMe support as OpenCore can inject the proper drivers for NVMe support.. Note: this hack was initially performed on Mac Pro 5,1s but is unnecessary as Apple has released NVMe compatible bootROMs for them. Below is a collection of links related to the bootROM procedure. Below is a collection of links related to the bootROM procedure. However, this hack falls into adventure territory. See the Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe Drive Natively Booting post below. It's highly recommended to stay with AHCI SSDs with the Mac Pro 3,1s.

2009 4,1 Mac Pro

Mac Pro 4.1s are flashable to the Mac Pro 5,1 firmware. Once flashed, they are a Mac Pro 5,1 and thus can use all Mac Pro 5,1 firmware updates. Below is a collection of links, all demonstrating how to upgrade a Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5.1. There are multiple guides on how to flash the Mac Pro 4,1 -> a 5,1. You will need the MacProFirmwareToolUpdate utility.

A Mac Pro 2009 running 5,1 Firmware will still appear as a 2009 Mac Pro in \"About This Mac\". However, this is not the firmware version but rather the manufacturer date. The firmware version can be found in the System Report. The firmware can be found in the System Report.

2010-2012 5,1 Mac Pro Firmware

Despite the obvious age of the Mac Pro 5.1s, someone or at least a group of someones are/is managed to throw a few bones to the community by providing updates for the Mac Pros 8 years after their release, an olive branch. Stability-minded users should not use beta OSes. Both 10.13 and 10.14 have been welcome surprises for Mac Pro 5,1 users, including firmware updates to enable APFS support and later NVMe booting. However, with macOS 10.15.x dropping 5,1 support, the Mac Pro 5,1s have hit the end of the road for EFI updates. Forum member Tsialex of MacRumors (one of the experts on Mac Pros on the interwebs) has compiled and maintained a list of Firmware versions for the Mac Pro 5.1. I highly recommend this blog post as I've directly lifted his notes from it, but there's more info in his original blog post. I credit his work below. The BootROMs are distributed as part of the Mac OS upgrades. It is unlikely that we will see continued firmware updates for the Mac Pro 5.1s in Catalina.

All Firmware updates are performed during the OS installation process. A Mac Pro can be updated to the latest firmware and continue to run older OSes. Mac OS 10.13 can run off an NVMe drive. Now that the classic Mac Pros have been dropped unceremoniously for 10.15 Catalina in Appleistic planned-obsolescence fashion, it's safe to assume we've seen the last firmware updates.

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VersionOS shipped withChanges
\t\t\t\t\t\t\twith MP51.0083.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13 DP5Beta APFS support*
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.0084.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13 DP6Beta APFS support
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.085.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.4 + Mojave DP/PB 1-3APFS support
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.087.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.5missing the Intel Xeon microcodes
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMP51.089.B00\t\t\t\t\t\t10.13.6\t\t\t\t\t\t\tupdating to the Spectre mitigated microcodes on the April 2 Microcode Update Guidance\t\t\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t138.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14 DP7/PB65GT/s support for every PCIe 2.0 card and new microcodes support
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t139.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.1 DP1minor updates and corrections
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t140.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.1NVMe boot, minor updates and corrections**
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 DP2minor updates
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t142.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 DP4W3xxx Xeon \"bricker\" & updated APFSJumpStart EFI module (see below for more details)***
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.4 finalNVMe boot, minor updates and corrections
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t142.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP13xxx Xeon \"bricker\"***
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t141.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP2minor updates and corrections
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t144.0.0.0.0\t\t\t\t\t\t10.14.5 DP4lots of corrections, booting improvements
\t\t\t

* Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra), comes bundled with a new EFI update for APFS bootablility and works with any 5,1 Mac Pros (including previously upgraded 4.1) Mac Pros but requires an EFI bootable graphics card as reported by MacRumors forum posters.

*** The Mac Pro Firmware upgrade v142.0.0.0 included in the developer preview 4 of MacOS Mojave 10.14.4 (20190304) and 10.14.5 DP1 included a bad BootROM, which is not part of the regular releases. Users at MacRumors are reporting that the update bricks Mac Pro 5.1s with W3xxx Xeon CPUs. See the check your CPU model section.

Updating a 4,1 to 5,1

The process of updating a 4,1 to a 5,1 requires disabling SIP in 10.11+ and running the Firmware Tool, I highly recommend following HouseOfMoth: Turning a 2009 4,1 Mac Pro into a 2010/2012 5,1 Mac Pro – 2021 Edition as it'll help you avoid common problems.

Sometimes firmware upgrades can be tricky. Users occasionally will see the \"The program has encountered an error: 5570\". There's a MacRumors thread, what's wrong? Why won't you let me upgrade 4,1 to 5,1 firmware? and MacProUpgrade: I'm trying to update my firmware for 4,1 to 5,1. I'm following the procedures, and I'm stuck at this error. Most threads recommend starting with disabling SIP, which the HouseOfMoth's guide starts with.

Updating Firmware Strategies for Mac Pro 5.1s

Mojave doesn't always make the update process clear, and it's possible to get stuck on 138.0.0.0.0 or 140.0.0.0.0 and miss upgrading to the last firmware-released version 144.0.0.0.0. The most tried and true solution is to have a spare drive or volume to install Mac OS 10.13, High Sierra, on. Then download from High Sierra the last version of Mojave, 10.14.6. The easiest way for most people is to use DOSDUDe1's Mojave installer and ignore the installer.

I've written a pictorial guide to walk anyone through upgrading to 144.0.0.0.0 for anyone looking to update their firmware, regardless of what OS they want to run.

Useful Links



OS upgrades

\"macOS

The Mac Pros can run much later OSes than officially supported, although there are caveats. Installing unsupported OSes can be done easily using scripts or using OpenCore. These scripts have been named after the authors who created them. Pike's Script is exclusively for the 1,1/2,1. DosDude1's scripts cover a brevity of Macs, including the Mac Pro 3,1/4,1/5,1. All but the 1,1/2,1s can run modern iterations of macOS using Dosdude1's hacks, which can be found at his website dosdude1.com. Below is a list of the official vs. unofficial supported OSes.

Model: Max officially supported OS Max unofficially supported OS
Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 macOS 10.14 Sequoia
Mac Pro 3,1 OS X 10.11 Sequoia
Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 OS X 10.7 OS X 10.11

The Rise and Fall of OS Modification Scripts to OpenCore

To understand OpenCore, it's important to have a grasp of the history of hacking macOS to run on unsupported hardware. Prior to boot loaders, the vector to run the latest macOS were scripts that generally modified the OS itself so it'd pass hardware checks to install and boot and often included fixes. The most popular and prominent were the DOSDUDE1 installers.

While these scripts worked, they were an imperfect solution, as installing updates would break the modifications and ultimately left the updated OS unbootable. Installing updates meant re-running the entire macOS installer.

OpenCore came from a desire to create a bootloader to allow for per-boot injections to solve the problems for Hackintoshes or Apple hardware, be it legacy hardware support, drivers, or boot flags. The advantage is that macOS itself (mostly) was not being modified, and changes could easily be swapped by reconfiguring the boot loader.

While the process of OpenCore is more complex for the end-user, its advantages are massive, thus drawing in a larger community of both Apple hardware owners and Hackintosh users. Many notable people have contributed to OpenCore, including people like DOSDUDE1.

OpenCore History: chasing Apple's whims (SurPlus/MontRAND)

With OpenCore Legacy Patcher, the installation process of OpenCore's friction has been simplified into a point-and-click install. It wasn't always this way, and it took the work of many brilliant people to get to where we are today.

OpenCore wasn't without its own complications for the Mac Pros. This is largely due to the classic Mac Pros no longer being supported, as Apple's changes to macOS in later versions have created issues for the classic Mac Pros.

To give context to OpenCore's battles, Big Sur 11.3+ presented problems as boots would often fail. This potentially could result in a corrupted boot volume documented by users on MacRumors, which resulted in the experimental LateBloom OpenCore hack and eventually SurPlus.

Late Bloom worked by interjecting a delay() during the boot sequence to give the Mac Pro (hopefully) enough time to load properly without interrupting it entirely. It was a bandaid fix but was later resolved when the race condition was identified and patched.

The Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 is Big Sur compatible using OpenCore, and at least one user's preliminary test shows mildly improved Geekbench scores (Opencore - on the Mac Pro, requires membership). The Mac Pro 3,1s are still able to run with a bit of work. The most popular distribution of OpenCore at the time was, h9826790 (aka Martin)'s bundle.

macOS Monterey requires the SurPlus to boot safely, macOS Monterey 12.1 makes extensive use of RDRAND, a CPU random number generator that does not exist on the classic Mac Pros, and OpenCore - on the Mac Pro is recommending holding off on Monterey as it enables SecureBootModel (SBM) in OpenCore and resetting the NVRAM ram can leave your Mac in an unbootable state. Today, OpenCore offers OpenCore Legacy Patcher which automates configuration including the SurPlus/MontRaid to fix 11.3+ and above.

macOS Ventura has created its own set of long-term issues as it requires AVX and AVX2 for many OS functions. There have been inroads as Ventura is bootable, but some applications use AVX/AVX2, thus creating compatibility issues.

OS updates often drop old hardware support. This chart does not include notes for macOS and the 1,1/2,1s. See below for notes on OS upgrades for Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s.

* macOS 11.3 requires SurPlus, and macOS 12.1 requires MonteRand


OpenCore and OpenCore Legacy Patcher

As a quick primer, OpenCore is a boot loader. OpenCore functions as middle wear between the firmware and macOS. This allows changes to be injected without modifying the OS. Through these modifications, discontinued hardware can be supported. OpenCore was designed to replace Clover and other Hackintosh solutions to avoid repeatedly patching after minor OS changes. However, OpenCore proved not only to be useful for Hackintosh owners but also for Mac owners as well.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is a utility that automates the installation of OpenCore on older Macs that Apple no longer supports and has matured to a point-and-click utility. Users do not have to understand esoteric software configuration in OpenCore; instead, they can rely on a community to test the latest developments from the OpenCore community and fold them into a package. The above issues like MontRand are folded into OpenCore Legacy Patcher, meaning the users do not need to understand the inner workings of OpenCore configuration.


I've written a guide, OpenCore and OpenCore Legacy Patcher Explained

\t\t\t\t\t
OS version: Hardware Requirement Changes: DOSDude1 required models:
10.11: El Captian none none
10.12: Sierra Drops support for wireless chipset BCM4321 (found in the Mac Pro 3.1). 32-Bit EFI Mac support dropped / SSE 4 required. (Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s) 3.1
10.13: High Sierra No wireless BCM4321 support, switches to APFS as the default file system. 3.1
10.14: Mojave No wireless BCM4321 support, now requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** 3.1
10.15: Catalina No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. 3.1, 4.1, 5.1
11.0 Big Sur No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. Requires OS hack SurPlus. None yet.
12.0 Monterey No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** See below for details. Requires OS hack SurPlus. Currently, Recommended advice is to way because of SecureBootModel (SBM) configuration. See OpenCore - on the Mac Pro - MONTEREY WARNING!!. Monterey 12.1 appears like it will not be usable on the Mac Pro 5,1s without extensive hacking.. None.
13.0 Ventura Requires AVX/AVX2. Massive changes. 2013 Mac Pro 2013 dropped. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.), USB 1.1 drivers removed. None.
14.0 Sonoma Requires AVX/AVX2. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.). No Legacy USB 1.1 Drivers. None.
15.0 Sequoia Requires AVX/AVX2. No 32-bit Application/binary support, No wireless BCM4321 or BCM94322MC support (found in the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1), requires Metal compatible GPU to install*, SSE4.2 requirement for AMD GPU Drivers**, no modern Nvidia support*** Drops support for any GPUs below AMD Polaris chipsets (GPUs before the RX 560/RX 570/RX 580, etc.). No Legacy USB 1.1 Drivers. None.

* Mojave and Catalina will not allow installation if any GPUs are Metal compatible plugged in, such as the GT120. Updating requires pulling non-Metal accelerated GPUs (they can be installed after the update and will still output video). See the Aftermarket GPUs section for a complete list of Metal compatible GPUs.

** The AMD drivers for off-the-shelf cards (like the Vega and Radeon 5xx series) do not support the Mac Pro 3,1 in Mojave but can be used with Netkas patched AMD METAL drivers. These are provided in the DosDude1 patchers for Mojave and Catalina.

*** NVidia Web Drivers are no longer supported, meaning any Kepler-based chipset has been dropped in macOS over a dispute between Apple and Nvidia. See the GPU section for more details.

Notably, some security updates may fail at installation since they require updating the recovery partition manually. See Update Recovery Partition on Unsupported Macs for more details.

The popular OpenCore bootloader enables installing the latest OS by tricking it by making the Mac Pro to the OS as appearing as an iMac Pro. The advantage is that all OS updates would be performed via the control panel. See the MacRumors thread for more details and h9826790 (aka Martin)'s OpenCore overview.

Mojave vs. Catalina vs. Big Sur vs. Monterey

\t\t\t

Changes have not be nearly as drastic post Monterey.

Feature Mojave Catalina Big Sur Monterey
Max GPU Support Vega Series (Vega 56, 64, FE, VII) Navi (5500, 5600, 5700 + XT) Navi Big Navi (6600 XT, 6800, 6800 XT, 6900 XT)
Application support 32-Bit / 64-bit 64-Bit 64-Bit 64-Bit
Graphics API Metal (OpenGL depreciated) Metal Metal Metal
Media iTunes Apple Music/Apple TV+ Apple Music
(Lossless and Dolby Atmos Support)
Apple TV+		 Apple Music
(Lossless and Dolby Atmos Support)
Apple TV+

Monterey and Big Sur few major changes for Mac Pro users beyond GPU support, security updates, improved consumer audio formats, and new versions of Apple's applications (Music, Apple TV+, Messages, Safari, etc.). It runs stable on Mac Pros, and Big Sur has been demonstrated to slightly improve Geekbench scores. Users can view Apple's list of Monterey features here.

macOS 15 Sequoia

macOS 15 Sequoia is supported under OpenCore Legacy Patcher (and via manual configurations for OpenCore). See OCLP Supported Models page for the latest and most current details

Downloading old versions of macOS

Apple has finally wised up and allowed direct downloads of (some) DMGs, which can be found here going back as far as macOS 10.10. Apple does still sell CDs of 10.7 and 10.8, and finally offers them as direct downloads. Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Below is a list of download links (and source) for previous macOS versions.

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OS Installer is Damaged error

If you are having problems with the Sierra / High Sierra / Mojave installer running, with an error reading to the effect of \"This copy of the Install macOS Mojave.app application is damaged and can't be used to install macOS\", the signing certificate expired. From the installer (if booted by USB), go from the menu, select terminal, and run the following command:

 Date 1023120019

This will set your Mac's date to October 23, 12 pm 2019, temporarily, and this will allow you to run the installer.

10.15+ - Known Issues

Upgrading to Catalina may not be in everyone's interest, as 32-bit applications are no longer supported. No Mac Pro (sans the 2019 xMP) can run Sidecar, although I wouldn't be surprised if enterprising hackers find a workaround.

Know Issues:

Helpful Links

Upgrading to Catalina / Big Sur / Monterey: OpenCore vs DosDude1

Currently, upgrading to Catalina has two vectors to upgrade to 10.15 Catalina: OpenCore and DosDude1. Hackintosh users may recognize OpenCore, the opensource bootloader, Big Sur, and Monterey are only obtainable using OpenCore.

OpenCore - see the install guide here as well as the refined instructions in the same thread.

Pros:

Cons:

DosDude1 - official website for Catalina Patcher

Pros:

Cons:

OpenCore: Acceleration, Boot selection, and unpatched OS updates

The Mini-Glossary contains a good overview of OpenCore. In short, OpenCore is a boot loader that loads before macOS and can improve functionality, such as enabling full GPU acceleration for video codecs, enabling boot screens with aftermarket GPUs, and the only way to run macOS 12. It is now the standard recommended vector for Mac Pro users running 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, 11.0 Big Sur, and 12 Monterey. The most popular implementation is the pre-configured OpenCore distribution found on MacRumors maintained by Martin Lo.

Regarding macOS, the Mac Pro is an iMac Pro that allows OS updates to be installed seamlessly.

Any OS beyond Big Sur 11.2.3 is susceptible to a serious bug, a PCIe race condition. This particular glitch caused the Mac Pro to fail to boot frequently and often, eventually, after repeated crashes resulting in a boot drive corrupting crash. As a stopgap, a very experimental workaround known as LateBloom, a hack to inject delays into the boot process to allow for the callbacks (that cause the crash) to respond. Now, the exact issue was identified, and SurPlus is included in h9826790 (aka Martin)'s OpenCore bundle. For users who've already installed OpenCore, Mac Sound Solutions has a great YouTube video demonstrating the process to upgrade to Big Sur 11.6, Jessie's Flying - macOS on unsupported Macs also some interesting OpenCore content as well.

OpenCore is continuously in development and has evolved to provide more stability and features for the Mac and Hackintosh communities.

Apple's EFI vs. UEFI and implications for OpenCore

Again, the Mini-Glossary covers EFI, but the short answer is that EFI that Apple used on its earliest Intel Macs predates the UEFI standard; thus, it creates issues around pre-boot graphics card drivers (hence lack of pictures before the drives fully load with aftermarket cards) and also with other OSes expecting UEFI. Typically, with PCs, before EFI, the boot order went: bios -> MBR (Master boot record) -> bootloader -> Kernel. With UEFI, this changed to UEFI -> EFI bootloader -> Kernel. Thus a properly partitioned drive for the EFI world has an EFI partition + GUID partition. However, Apple's implementation of both EFI and UEFI is unusual, to say the least, as as famed eclecticlight.co points out that the EFI partitions aren't particularly used for anything besides perhaps firmware updates. OpenCore provides a way to modify EFI to provide UEFI-like functionality. It works by adding a middle step to the boot sequence that can be altered, Mac EFI bootloader -> OpenCore Bootloader -> Kernel. This additional step is crucial as it allows OpenCore to inject changes without physically modifying the OS. This is much more desirable than OS patching, as changes happen as part of the boot sequence and will not be overwritten when the OS is updated.

OpenCore has rapidly progressed, with a flurry of massive successes, starting with GPU fixes, and now has moved towards extending the life of the classic Mac Pros. Thus, so has the complexity of OpenCore, and thus, for my own sanity (this guide is already massive), I am not providing a comprehensive guide but rather a primer in this section as OpenCore could easily be as large as this guide itself. End of the day, this guide is a road map.

The OpenCore Bootloader supports an EFI screen for newer GPUs by loading additional generic device drivers, enabling video output.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher

OpenCore also supports OpenCore Legacy Patcher which allows even deper legacy support. One of the most popular applications for OpenCore Legacy Patcher (often referred to as OCLP) is Nvidia driver injection for Kepler Metal compatible drivers in macOS Monterey.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is now generally the preferred method for people installing e

OpenCore Guides

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Most users should default to using OpenCore Legacy Patcher rather than attempt to manually configure OpenCore, and should follow the official Dortania's OpenCore Install Guide as it supporters a wide range of hardware.

For ages, the community, spearheaded by Martin LO, has maintained a preconfirguration for OpenCore at MacRumors and a user's YouTube video demonstrating OpenCore bridge boot rEFInd with legacy Windows and The OpenCore MacRumors thread for more details.

Also, Joerg Henninges's YouTube Channel has a fair amount of OpenCore Content and House of Moth has a good Quick Guide to installing OpenCore on the Mac Pro. Mac Sound Solutions has a great YouTube videos on OpenCore.

MacVidCards.eu has tutorial on how to configure OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

The Mac Pro 3,1 has its own special set of considerations. See the OpenCore and the 2008 Mac Pro 3,1.

MacRumor's Mac Pro Forum and Open Core on the Mac Pro (Facebook) are great OpenCore communities that are invaluable and where I frequented when I used OpenCore.

Lastly, there is now a Facebook Group dedicated to running OpenCore on cMPs, Opencore - on the Mac Pro.

DosDude1 Patcher

DosDude1 Patcher is no longer recommended but is simple to use for Catalina. You'll need a 16 GB+ drive or USB flash that can be wiped clean. Most will do, although some USB Flash drives can cause issues with the installer. For instance, a Lexar MicroSD card in a USB adapter and an old USB Flash drive caused the installer to crash when trying to boot off the installer volume. I used an old Firewire HDD to upgrade to High Sierra on my Mac Pro 3.1.

Also, it is very important to run the post-install scripts. Your Mac will likely reboot suddenly after the DOSdude1 installer has completed and most likely will try and boot from the new OS. It will crash. Fear not! Boot from the DOSDude1 installer and, run from the dropdown menu and run the Post Install Scripts. Force building cache may cause a lot of headaches (including the inability to boot without using safe mode). Unless you have a good reason to do so, I recommend not force-clearing the caches.

Disabling System Integrity Protection

As mentioned in the glossary, SIP functions as a method of system protection. Apple describes it as follows:

\" (A) security technology in OS X El Capitan and later that's designed to help prevent potentially malicious software from modifying protected files and folders on your Mac. System Integrity Protection restricts the root user account and limits the actions that the root user can perform on protected parts of the Mac operating system.\"

Before Apple implemented SIP, any software that was granted root access (by the user entering her/his password) could modify/edit system files. Generally, a user shouldn't disable SIP unless there's a specific reason. That said, there are plenty of reasons to disable SIP, such as certain boot managers or unsupported hardware cases. SIP can always be re-enabled.

  1. Boot to recovery mode
  2. From the recovery mode, from the Utility dropdown, select \"Terminal\"
  3. Enter the command:
     csrutil disable
  4. Reboot

To re-enable SIP, repeat the above steps. Instead, run 

 csrutil enable

You can check your SIP status at any time without booting to the recovery mode from the terminal with the following command: 

 csrutil status

Stop the \"Upgrade to MacOS...\" banners

In the past few years, Apple has moved to nagware for OS updates, often pestering users running non-compatible configurations to upgrade (such as running a non-Mojave-compatible GPU). You can disable the notifications following osxdaily's handy guide.

Upgrade to High Sierra without APFS

As an extreme edge case for certain pros using legacy apps, High Sierra can wreak havoc on support. A few users have chosen to continue using HFS+ as it ensures compatibility with some legacy applications. Note: for Mac Pro 5,1 users, this can interfere with later firmware updates. MacProUpgrade group members, for instance, report that Updating to 10.4.5 firmware won't install with HFS+ on the boot drive.

Running Apps from unidentified developers

Gatekeeper no longer has a \"allow apps downloaded from anywhere,\" but it is still possible to re-enable this setting using the terminal.

sudo spctl --master-disable

This can be re-enabled at any time by running the inverse of this command:

sudo spctl --master-enable

Big Sur requires an entirely new paradigm. A user must Right-click an application and click open to be presented with the ability to safelist the application.

iMore has a good article explaining the entire process for the curious.

Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 and Pike's Script

The Mac Pro 2006s can run 10.11.6, but there are some hoops to jump through, notably a video card with at least 512 MB of VRAM, and you'll need Captain Pike's Script, which takes a lot of the leg work out. Also, Wi-Fi will be unsupported with the old chipset, but the airport can be upgraded.

Final Cut Pro 7, Aperture, and later OSes

The open-source project, Retroactive, allows users to run Final Cut Pro 7 up to macOS 10.14 and Aperture on macOS 11, Big Sur.



CPU Upgrades

\"Xeon

Every Mac Pro made (including the 2013 and 2019 Mac Pros) has sported multicore, interchangeable Xeon series CPUs. The Xeons are built on the same architecture as its desktop-grade siblings. The Xeon CPUs' main benefit has been more CPU cores, the ability to support multi-CPU motherboards, larger cache memory, more PCIe lanes, much higher maximum RAM, and Error-correcting code memory (ECC). These benefits come with a trade-off as the Xeon line had much higher price points, doesn't have built-in support for overclocking, and generally operates at (slightly) lower-clock speeds.

As a computer is the sum of many parts (not just the CPU), CPUs are not interchangeable between Mac Pro versions. For example, a CPU from a Mac Pro 4.1/ 5,1 cannot be used with a Mac Pro 2.1, as the supporting chipsets and the CPU socket itself are different. The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s used 65-nm (nanometer) CPUs, and 3,1/4,1/5,1 used 45-nm CPUs. The Mac Pro 6,1s that came after the classic Mac Pros used a 22-nm. In 9 years, the Mac Pro CPUs had shrunk to roughly 1/3 the size. Incidentally, seven years later, Intel will not ship its first 10-nm CPUs until 2021, let alone a 7-nm. A smaller CPU means more efficiency (see Denard Scaling). AMD's Ryzen 4000 series is 7 nm. Apple's A14 CPUs are 5 nm.

Instruction Sets, SSE 4.2, VT-x/EPT, AVX/AVX2

Apple has (so far) gone through three major CPU changes with the Macintosh lineup, going from 68k (Motorola), PowerPC (IBM/Motorola), and currently x86 (Intel, AMD) and ARM (Apple/TSMC). Each of these terms refers to the family of instruction set architecture that a CPU can execute (the compiled binary code it can run). Among each of these instruction set architectures are various improvements that often require code to be optimized by code compilers, and/or the software developers must (re)write code so they can be taken advantage of.

Over time, CPUs have gained specialized single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instruction sets that are beneficial for certain types of tasks where the same operation on multiple data points simultaneously (like changing the volume of PCM audio or rotating an image). This allows a CPU to perform the task with much greater efficiency. In a different era, these gains were often marketed to consumers like MMX or AltiVec (velocity engine), or 3Dnow. Today, these sorts of CPU changes aren't as frequent or as clearly advertised, but they still exist and affect performance.

Both SSE 4,1 instruction set and SSE 4.2 first appeared in the Harpertown (SSE 4.1) and Nehalem CPUs (SSE 4.2) found in the Mac Pro 4.1+, as well as both VT-x/EPT. SSE4.2 generally is not required for Mac software to run, but the Radeon drivers for Mojave* do. SSE 4.2 can make a world of difference in some applications, such as the application Serato Djay. The application is barely usable on a Mac Pro 2x Quad Core 2.8 GHz 3,1, whereas a Mac Pro 4,1 2.4 GHz 4-Core will have no trouble with it.VT-x/EPT are both technologies used in virtualization. While all the Mac Pros can run virtual machines as they include HyperVisor support, the Mac Pro 4.1s+ are noticeably more performant when running virtual machines as popular software like VMware and Parallels have VT-x/EPT support.

There are some CPU instructions that the Mac Pros 4,1/5,1s do not support, such as Advanced Vector Extension (AVX). Not much software requires AVX, but Massive X does. AVX/AVX2 dependency is unlikely to ever be required for macOS x86. Apple's own Rosetta 2 does not support AVX/AVX2/AVX 512. CPUs are unlikely to be the limiting factor for future macOSes.

There are plenty of quality high-level overviews on CPUs and their design which are much better than this guide.

*The AMD Drivers have been hacked to include SSE 4.2 emulation for Mac Pro 3.1s, enabling them to use modern AMD GPUs. See the GPU Upgrades section for more details.

Apple Silicon and the Mac Pro's fate (and additional observations)

The short answer is no one knows how long Apple intends to support Intel Macs. We have two statements from Apple, they will offer Intel Macs until 2022, and they pledged to support x86 for years.

Apple has transitioned its Mac lineup two times now, from 68k to PPC and from PPC to x86. To assist the previous transition, Apple offered Rosetta a real-time translation layer to run PPC binaries on x86, which included both PPC and x86 libraries for applications to access. This time, Apple has Rosetta 2, which works similarly, translating x86 to ARM. In an ironic twist, ARM is the second time Apple has switched to a RISC-based CPU.

Apple transitioned to x86 quickly, starting with offering in late 2005 Intel iMacs and laptops using the Core Duo, which quickly jumped to the 64-bit Core 2 Duos mere months later and, in 2006, refreshed its entire lineup with stark and drastic performance increases. Apple supported PPC Macs until 2009 when Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard dropped support. Apple supported PPC for roughly three years.

However, the lay of the land is different today. In 2005, Apple sold 4.5 million Macs. Today, Apple sells roughly 20 million Macs. Roughly, Apple has 140-150 million still supported Intel Macs in Big Sur, vs. Apple, the 15 million PowerPC Macs capable of running OS X when Apple switched to x86. Apple is no longer the same company and now faces increased scrutiny as it finds itself the most valuable tech company and often the world's most valuable one. We can safely assume that Intel Macs will be supported until 2025, as Apple has supported PPC Macs for almost three years. My guess would be 2026-2027, as 4-5 years seems correct. It's also worth noting that, in May of 2020, Microsoft stopped distributing the 32-bit version of Windows 10 ( even owners of 20-year-old Pentium 4 desktops could run Windows 10 ). Windows will undoubtedly support old Intel Macs for many years. For comparison, Apple dropped 32-bit CPUs in 2011, axing support for the first 2005 Macs featuring Core Duo CPUs.

The performance of M1 Macs is impressive, boasting Geekbench single-core 3x as fast as the best cMP and besting its multicore performance by roughly 8%-10%, but also faces some hard limitations that are unanswered. Currently, the M1 cannot support eGPUs (or may not support eGPUs yet), currently capped at 16 GB of RAM, cannot run unsigned code (I and others disproved this), and cannot boot Windows. The synthetic benchmarks are very impressive. That said, in some more real-world tests like Logic or clickbaity Intel And AMD x86 Mobility CPUs, Destroy Apple's M1 In Cinebench R23 Benchmark Results (which isn't the case seeing as the m1 has half the cores and less than half the power consumption as a Ryzen 9 4900H). In many other real-world tests, the M1 shines very brightly. It's apparent that MacWorld has jumped the gun with With M1 Macs, memory isn't what it used to be, as more real-world testing is needed to back up such a claim. Apple uses a unified memory architecture, where both the GPU and CPU share the RAM instead of having a separate buffer for the GPU (VRAM). Unified memory previously was most commonly found in video game consoles (starting with the N64 and Playstation 2) and smartphones. Unified memory means that VRAM isn't required as both the CPU and GPU have direct access to items stored in RAM, and thus, there isn't additional latency when items are moved from RAM to VRAM. However, this comes at the cost of VRAM not operating independently of RAM when large amounts of VRAM are required, such as high-end gaming, certain machine learning operations, video compositing, etc. Tasks that require/greatly benefit from large amounts of RAM or VRAM will undoubtedly continue to benefit from large amounts of RAM (or VRAM) on Apple Silicon.

On its tight thermal budgets and against integrated graphics chipsets, the Apple Silicon is virtually unmatched. Apple Silicon still hasn't closed the gap against dedicated GPUs and remains lagging. Apple's laptop future looks exceptionally bright, but its professional desktop future is murky where core counts are high, thermal budgets are big, RAM measures into the terabytes, GPUs are massive, and modularity is king.

I can easily imagine a strange future where Apple's hardware aces high-end GPUs when rendering video from video editing applications but gets pummeled in gaming or tensor flow.

Will Apple release any Apple Silicon with modular components? Will they be based on current standards? We can only hope that the ideal Mac Pro is capable of using common GPUs like AMD's RX 6800 or the bigger AMD's RX 6900 XT.

How to replace the CPUs in a 4,1 - 5,1

The Hex 3.2 update from 2010 quad 2.8 photos new! CPU to use! from 2011 has been a community standby, amassing well over 200k views since it was first posted. ifixit it also has \"Mac Pro 2009-2012 CPU (8 core) Replacement\" that demonstrates the process of replacing the CPUs. There's also quite a bit of youtube content on the subject. The 4,1 dual trays use delidded CPUs.

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Are \"matched paired\" CPUs worth it?

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Occasionally, eBay sellers will sell \"matched paired\" CPUs. Intel has never sold \"matched pair\" Xeons as they are manufactured to precision to be directly interchangeable. Do not waste your money on this as it is nonsense.

CPU Compatibility Charts

I sourced the information from MacRumors, so all credit goes to the community there and forum member ActionableMango for compiling this list. This list is truncated to the most important bits of information. Also, 4,1/5,1 Mac Pro 1x to 2x CPU upgrades require a CPU tray capable of housing two CPUs, which often cost as much as the computer itself.

Mac Pro 2009 / 2010 / 2012 (4.1, 5.1)

Mac Pros maximum RAM depends on the CPU configuration in a Mac Pro. Dual CPUs enable more than 2x the maximum RAM. Not all Xeons sold are dual CPU compatible; thus, they cannot be paired with another CPU. i7 CPUs cannot be paired together. The CPUs must be the same, and installing a single CPU causes an error state. Also, go to the original thread to read up on 4.1 Mac Pro dual CPU upgrades.

  • 56GB in a single-processor Mac Pro using a single-processor-compatible Xeon
  • 64GB in a single-processor Mac Pro using a dual-processor-compatible Xeon
  • 128GB in a dual-processor Mac Pro (although in certain circumstances, 160 GB of RAM works in 5.1s, RAM Upgrades section)

✔️* = Requires Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5,1 firmware upgrade. 4,1 dual CPU upgrades require the process of delidding the CPUs to deal with the height difference. 5,1 Mac Pros use regular CPUs. The process of delidding can be performed manually or bought pre-delidded. Most users elect to delid the CPUs themselves based on forums.

🚫 = The X5687, despite being socket compatible, does not work with the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1. It's been confirmed by a bold Mac Rumors poster. There's some misinformation on a few other sites, like pindelski.org's guide (a dated early attempt at a comprehensive Mac Pro upgrade guide), so be careful. I'm not picking on Pindelski's guide, as it certainly contains mostly good advice, but the collective community knowledge has progressed quite a bit since then.

*️⃣ = The iSeries CPUs cannot address ECC memory nor be used in dual CPUs. Multiple users have confirmed more 56 GBs of RAM with iSeries.

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
ArchitectureCoresGradeCPU-ModelGHzTurboRAMWattMP4,1MP5,1
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56903.463.731333130W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56803.333.601333130W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56793.203.601066115W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56753.063.46133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56702.933.33133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56602.803.20133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonX56502.663.06133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonE56592.532.80133380W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonE56452.402.67133380W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreDual XeonL56392.132.67133360W✔️*✔️
Gulftown6 coreXeonW36903.463.731333130W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreXeonW36803.333.601333130W✔️*✔️
Westmere6 coreXeonW36703.203.461066130W✔️*✔️
Gulftown6 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 990X3.463.731066130W✔️*✔️
Gulftown6 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 980X3.333.601066130W✔️*✔️
Gulftown6 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9703.203.461066130W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonX56873.603.861333130W🚫🚫
Westmere4 coreDual XeonX56773.463.731333130W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonX56723.203.60133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonX56673.063.46133395W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonX56472.933.201066130W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonE56402.662.93106680W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonE56302.532.80106680W✔️*✔️
Westmere4 coreDual XeonE56202.402.66106680W✔️*✔️
Westmere2 coreDual XeonX56984.404.541333130W🚫🚫
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonW55903.333.601333130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonW55803.203.461333130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonX55702.933.33133395W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonX55602.803.20133395W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonX55502.663.06133395W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonE55402.532.80106680W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonE55302.402.66106680W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreDual XeonE55202.262.53106680W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35803.333.601333130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35703.203.461333130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35653.203.461066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35402.933.201066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35302.803.061066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreXeonW35202.662.931066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9753.333.601066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9653.203.461066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9603.203.461066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9503.063.331066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9402.933.201066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9302.803.061066130W✔️✔️
Nehalem4 coreConsumer *️⃣i7 9202.662.931066130W✔️✔️

\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mac Pro 2008 (3.1)

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The 2008 Mac Pros have the least CPU options, and with the base CPU configuration from Apple, the 2x quad-core 2.8 GHz Mac Pro makes for exceptionally modest gains in the benchmark department. Note, the Mac Pro 3,1s use Krotox as it's thermal grease/compound (the lubricant applied directly on the CPU between the heatsink.), a Perfluorinated compound (PFC) according to MacRumors posters, which is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EU as toxic to humans. Due to the health concerns, it's best not to reapply thermal grease on a Mac Pro 3,1 rather swap CPUs. It's recommended to let the Mac Pro 3,1 cool for at least an hour and the CPU thermal before changing the CPUs.

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
ArchitectureCoresGradeCPU-ModelGHzRAMWattMP3,1
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonX54823.2800150W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonX54603.16667120W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonE54723.080080W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonX54723.0800120W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonX54503.0667120W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonE54503.066780W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonE54402.8366780W✔️
Harpertown4 coreDual XeonE54622.880080W✔️
Wolfdale2 coreDual XeonX52723.4080080W✔️
Wolfdale2 coreDual XeonX52603.3366780W✔️

\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mac Pro 2006-2007 (1,1, 2,1)

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The Mac Pro 1,1s with a firmware upgrade can use a wide array of CPUs, making it the second most upgradable in the series of Mac Pros. Note, a few of the Mac Pro 2,1s use Krotox as its thermal grease/compound (the lubricant applied directly on the CPU between the heatsink.), a Perfluorinated compound (PFC) according to MacRumors users (see the post for details on the 2,1 affected models) which is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EU as toxic to humans. Due to the health concerns, it's best not to reapply thermal grease on the affected Mac Pro 2,1 models rather swap CPUs. It's recommended to let the Mac Pro 3,1 cool for at least an hour and the CPU thermal before changing the CPUs.

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ArchitectureCoresGradeCPU-ModelGHzRAMWattMin
\t\t\t\t\t\tFirm-
\t\t\t\t\t\tware
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonX53653.0667150W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonX53653.0667120W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonX53552.66667120W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonX53552.66667120W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonX53552.66667120W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53452.3366780W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53452.3366780W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53452.3366780W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53402.453380W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53402.466780W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonL53352.066750W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonL53201.8653350W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonL53201.8653350W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonL53201.8653350W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53201.8653380W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53201.8653380W2,1
Clovertown4 coreDual XeonE53201.8653380W2,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51603.066780W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51603.066780W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51603.066765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51502.6666765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51502.6666765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51502.6666765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51302.066765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51302.066765W1,1
Woodcrest2 coreDual Xeon51302.066765W1,1

\t\t\t \t\t\t

Check your Exact CPU Model

You can check your CPU Model number using the terminal command:

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

Guides on Upgrading CPUs

CPUs are (mostly) plug-and-play upgrades but require applying thermal paste (thermal grease) to the CPU for proper heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsinks. There are many tutorials on how to upgrade a CPU, including YouTube videos and pictorial guides. In the case of the Mac Pro 1,1 and Mac Pro 4.1, the firmware can be updated to include support for later-generation CPUs using the same socket type. See Firmware Upgrades for more details on Firmware upgrades. Lastly, the Mac Pro 4.1s uses delidded CPUs for dual-core models. See the Delidding CPUs section for more details.

Delidding CPUs

Delidding is the process of removing the integrated heat spreader (silver cover) on a CPU that serves as a heat spreader and replacing it with a different thermal material. This is required for CPUs in the Mac Pro 4.1s due to the heatsinks in the dual CPU models. There are multiple ways to do this. The steady-hands method is to use a razor to scrape it off the CPU (inexpensive), and the more expensive is to buy a Delid-Die-Mate (roughly $40 USD).

The single CPU tray 4,1 uses a single CPU tray.

Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities

A vulnerability in Intel CPUs was discovered called MDS, which targets hyperthreading (the ability to address two instructions in a single CPU cycle under stress loads). It affects CPUs from 2008+. Intel issued a microcode fix for CPUs designed in 2013 and up, leaving out the classic Mac Pros. Apple has updated Safari to prevent drive-by Javascript attacks. Using general safe browsing habits makes it not very likely that this exploit will affect users despite very sensational headlines like Wired's Meltdown Redux: Intel flaw lets hackers siphon secrets from millions of PCs. The only way to ensure total safety is to disable Hyper-Threading (a significant performance hit), and Apple issued the article How to enable full mitigation for Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities.

Benchmarking

CPU benchmarks are useful but always a relativistic endeavor. Rather than discussing the pros and cons of types of benchmarks, the most popular theoretical benchmarking software, GeekBench 5, was released recently. Most users are used to seeing Geekbench 4 numbers, which are not comparable to GeekBench 5. Geekbench's scoring system has always been tied to other CPUs as its anchor for scoring. Users will notice dramatically smaller benchmark numbers in the latest Geekbench as the new reference point is the Intel Core i3 8100, which earns a score of 1000. This doesn't mean the Mac Pro is performing worse, but rather, the baseline has risen. GeekBench 5 removes individual memory tests (which isn't very indicative of the real world) but is entirely 64-bit only for bigger memory stress tests. The encryption and codec manipulation tests have also been updated to reflect current standards and new tests related to machine learning and map calculations. The full list of changes can be read here: GeekBench: Geekbench 5 is released with all-new tests, modes, and scores.



GPU upgrades

\"Radeon

Mac Pro 5,1 running a Radeon VII using a Pixlas Mod

Thanks to PCIe, the Mac Pros have remained relevant as GPUs can be swapped out with ease. GPUs are probably the most annoying of the upgrades (due to the required research), yet one of the most commonly performed (and easy to do). There is no modern commercially available aftermarket GPU you can buy for macOS that supports an EFI boot screen (the preboot screen) and macOS Mojave 10.14 (and above). This could change, but it has not yet. When I originally wrote my first Mac Pro Upgrade guide over a decade ago, readers found it surprising that one could use off-the-shelf PC Nvidia / AMD cards. Today, this seems to be common knowledge.

I made a GPU overview video as a primer to the GPU section.

Annoyingly, Apple bundles its drivers with OS releases, and thus, GPU support is tied to OS upgrades. Thus, a modern GPU like the 5700 XT requires 10.15 Catalina and is not supported in 10.14 Mojave, nor probably never will be.

Discussing GPUs is confusing for the Mac Pro, and I've attempted to make this as clear as possible. I highly recommend reading the next section, dividing up the GPU landscape.

Dividing Up The GPU landscape

GPUs are routinely one of the most common upgrades to Mac Pros. I've identified roughly three classes of GPUs. Thus, I've divided the bulk of the GPU Guide into discussions of GPUs based on the following distinctions.

  • OEM Mac EFI Bootable Cards / Aftermarket EFI Bootable: GPUs that are Mac Native - GPUs that out-of-the-box will display the Mac OS boot screen and do not require additional drivers if the minimum OS is met.
  • Flashable to Mac EFI compatible cards: These are graphics cards that shipped as a PC graphics card but require a ROM flash to display the EFI Boot screen. Some GPUs may not work without first installing the Mac-compatible ROM on them. Many of the Flashable cards had Mac versions in some form. One enterprising modder has created custom ROMs for flashed cards but charges a premium for his service. See Custom Flashed Cards sections for more details.
  • Non-EFI Bootscreen Cards: This is the most common upgrade path. They are GPUs that can be used in macOS but will not display the boot screen and may require (in the case of Nvidia) additional drivers to output video. With OpenCore installed (see the OpenCore section for details), a preboot screen can now be displayed with these cards.

After that, we have two more sub-classes of GPU based on support for Metal, Apple's replacement for OpenGL, used in 10.14+

  • GPUs with Metal drivers for 10.14.x+
  • GPUs that do not support Metal

We're not done yet. Finally, GPUs can require more power than the factory Mac Pro PCIe power taps. The Mac Pro's forward-thinking design tries to eliminate cable mess by taking the uncommon design of having passthrough PCIe power taps on the motherboard. These cables would be linked directly to the PSU on a standard PC. The Mac Pro's 980-watt PSU is up to the task of very large GPUs, but it requires bypassing the motherboard power taps. Clever hackers have created solutions like Mac Pro Pixlas Mod (also covered in the Other mods section of this guide) or using external PSUs. Users have successfully powered two GeForce 1080 TIs using the Pixlas mod and (possibly upgraded) internal PSU. GPUs that require additional power, for example, are the GeForce 1080 Ti, AMD Vega 64, AMD Vega FE, Radeon VII, and Radeon 5700 XT.

  • GPUs that do not require any additional power
  • GPUs that require additional power using a power supply modification like Pixlas or external PSU.

To summarize, a GPU could be OEM EFI compatible (boot screen), flashable to EFI compatible, or not EFI compatible (no boot screen, but with OpenCore can still display a boot screen) but still work under Mac OS, and it may or may not be Mojave/Catalina compatible and may not require PSU modification. Apple implemented EFI, which does not ≠ UEFI the PC standard, as they embraced EFI early on before the UFI standard. This used an older standard for EFI-level graphics drivers called Universal Graphics Adapter Protocol (UGA). UEFI uses the Graphics Output Protocol (GOP). GPU manufacturers typically have not supported UGA, which is why PC GPUs do not support pre-OS boot graphics. OpenCore can load a non-native preboot screen as it packs in the GOP preboot drivers.

Generally, anyone running a non-EFI-compatible boot screen will want to keep an EFI-compatible card around (even if not installed) for OS upgrades or emergencies. OS updates (including security updates) can stop aftermarket NVidia cards from displaying video until the proper drivers are installed. I've been in all camps: originally using a GeForce GTX 8800, flashing an ATI Radeon HD 6870 to Mac Native EFI, and then landing on the GeForce 760 and 1060, and finally an AMD Vega 56 over the decade-plus of owning a Mac Pro.

A GPU may or may not support Metal, the new graphics API used in 10.14.x and above. The GPU also might draw more power than the motherboard passthrough can handle.

Summary of the GPU options

  • Very few GPUs can be flashed to support Mac EFI to display options. Most options are very old.
  • Most aftermarket GPUs for the Mac Pro will not support the boot screen. This is due to Apple's implementation of EFI, which predated the later PC standard of UEFI. The boot screen is optional, and GPUs will work fine once the OS has loaded its display drivers. OpenCore now allows users to enable the boot screen.
  • Many GPUs (mostly NVidia GPUs and very old AMD GPUs) are not supported in 10.14 because of the transition to the new graphics API, Metal, which replaces the dated OpenGL.
  • Nvidia and Apple are feuding. There are no drivers for newer Nvidia hardware in 10.14 and above. Effectively, the upgrade options are limited to AMD.
  • Apple bundles its drivers with the OS. GPU support is tied to the OS version. The newest GPUs, like the 5700 XT, only are supported in 10.15 Catalina.
  • Very high-end GPUs like the Vega 64, Radeon VII, or Radeon 5700 XT draw more power than the Mac Pro can deliver via its PCIe power taps; thus, other methods must be used, like PSU modification or undervolting.

OEM EFI Bootable Cards / Aftermarket EFI Bootable

EFI compatible cards are GPUs that display a native Mac version: These are mostly OEM cards, although with a few notable aftermarket Mac Edition cards that included EFI Roms on the cards. The PC versions do not have EFI support. This list does not include MacVidCards GPUs, as those feature custom ROMs that aren't distributed.

DL DIV - Dual-Link DVI
SL DIV - Single-Link DVI
DP - Display Port * Pirated Mac Vid Cards ROM, see changelog for details

NVidia
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB GDDR2, 32 Bit EFI 1 SL DVI 1 DL DVI
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB GDDR3, 1 Mini DP 1 DL DVI
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB GDDR3 2 DL DVI
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512 MB 32 Bit EFI 1 DL DVI 1 DP
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 1.5 GB GDDR5 2 DL DVI
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI 1 DP
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5 GB GDDR3 2 DL DVI Stereo 3D
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2 GB GDDR5 1 HDMI 1 DP 1 DVI-I 1 DVI-D
PNY NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP
NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (Mac Edition) 8 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP?
NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (Mac Edition) 4 GB GDDR5 2 DVI 2 DP?
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 * 3 GB / 6 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI, 1 HDMI, 1 DP
NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan * 6 GB GDDR5 1 DL DVI 1 HDMI 1 DP
NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X * 12 GB GDDR5 1 DVI 1 HDMI 1 Triple DP

ATI/AMD

ATI was purchased by AMD in 2006, and in 2010 retired the ATI name.

ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB GDDR2 1 SL DVI 1 DL DV
ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512 MB GDDR3 2 DL DVI
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512 MB GDDR5 1 Mini DP 1 DL DVI
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB GDDR5 2 Mini DP 1 DL DVI
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1 GB GDDR5 2 Mini DP 1 DL DVI
AMD Firepro S10000 6 GB GDDR5 1 DP 1 DL DVI

Flashable to EFI compatible cards

The most commonly flashable video cards have a Mac equivalent sold by Apple as an OEM or aftermarket Mac version. Users transferred the GPU's ROMs and then distributed them via the internet. A user can then download utilities to flash the ROM onto the card. A few cards require physical modification. The advantage is that once the ROM is installed, the card will act/behave like a native card. Still, with a few cards, some functionality might be lost (generally losing a video port functionality as the Mac version did not have the same ports). Below are software-only flashable cards.

Non-Mac-EFI Compatible GPUs

The vast majority of the upgrade market is Non-Mac-EFI Compatible GPUs. These GPUs will work on a Mac but do not have the appropriate firmware to display the preboot screens on a Mac (video output that happens before Mac OS has loaded). Non-EFI Bootable Cards are firmly split between AMD and NVidia. Once the drivers are loaded (after the white Apple boot screen), the GPU will output video after loading the drivers during the boot process. Non-EFI Bootable Cards are firmly split between AMD and NVidia. Once the drivers are loaded (after the white Apple boot screen), the GPU will output video after loading the drivers during the boot process. See the Mini-Glossary for more info on EFI. However, adding an additional step in the boot process, using OpenCore (see OpenCore section for details), can deliver a boot screen.

Modern AMD GPUs are plug-and-play. Apple distributes Mac OS with AMD drivers; thus, new drivers are released within OS updates. This means there are no drivers to install. The downside is that users cannot install new GPUs on old OSes. To use later GPUs, you must be running an OS new enough to include drivers for that specific GPU.

Sadly, Apple does not support modern Nvidia GPUs in Mac OS. Apple includes support for older NVidia chipsets, as these GPUs are shipped once at a time in various Mac configurations. NVidia has chosen to write drivers (labeled \"web drivers\" as macOS is distributed with NVidia drivers for Mac EFI cards) for their video cards so that off-the-shelf cards can be used in Mac Pros. Previously, only GPUs based on the Kepler architecture could be used with a Mac without the web drivers. However, with a Mac-compatible EFI ROM, they can display video at boot and only output video once the driver has loaded. With the NVidia video cards, even security updates will require a web driver update, meaning if you update, the next boot will not output video until the driver has been updated. All the GTX 700-1000 series are supported by web drivers but are limited to 10.13.x. As NVidia has stated, Apple is refusing to sign its drivers. So far, 10.14+ does not have NVidia support (outside of the older Kepler NVidia GPUs up to macOS 11 Big Sur).

Aftermarket GPU Breakdown

The GPU landscape can be confusing. To recap, the above GPUs can be the following:

  • EFI Flashable to show pre-boot screens
  • Require additional drivers (NVidia-only)
  • May not be 10.14+ compatible due to a lack of Metal support (Apple's new API for graphics to replace OpenGL)
  • May require modifying the Power Supply using a technique like Pixlas mod to power the GPU properly

Macs today can use off-the-shelf GPUs. I've attempted to list all the GPUs going back to 10.8.x, although this list is growing. Metal support is required for 10.14. A few select GPUs can be flashed to show preboot bios listed as Mac EFI compatible. Lastly, some GPUs require more power than the default Mac Pro power taps can provide, requiring an additional Power Supply or a modification known as the Pixlas mod. Please note that this entire list includes many GPUs, broken down into two main categories: AMD GPUs and NVidia GPUs.

Note: I have excluded cards with custom EFI ROMs from MacVidCards as these aren't user-flashable.

AMD GPUs

Note: The minimum OS list required may not be correct. Please contact me if this is incorrect. Please read the supplemental links for confirmations and possible issues provided next to GPUs.

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
AMD GPUMin OS SupportSupports MetalMac EFI flashablePSU Mod
Radeon X1900 XT (Mac)10.6 - 10.13.xNoYes*No
Radeon 2600 XT (Mac)10.6 - 10.13.xNoYes*No
Radeon 2600 Pro (Mac)10.6 - 10.13.xNoYes*No
Radeon HD 387010.7 - 10.13.xNoYesNo
Radeon HD 487010.7 - 10.13.xNoYes*No
Radeon HD 489010.7 - 10.13.xNoYes**No
Radeon HD 577010.6.8 - 10.13.xNoYes*, **No
Radeon HD 585010.6.8 - 10.13.xNoNoNo
Radeon HD 587010.6.8 - 10.13.xNoYes*No
Radeon HD 685010.7 - 10.13.xNoYes**No
Radeon HD 687010.7 - 10.13.xNoYes**No
Radeon HD 69x0No SupportNoNoNo
Radeon HD 795010.8.3 - CurrYesYes*No
Radeon HD 797010.8.3 - 10.13.6 or CurrYesYes**No
Radeon HD 7970 (GHz Edition)10.8.3 - 10.13.6 or CurrYesYes**No
Radeon HD 7990BuggyNo?No
R7 250\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t??NoNo
R7 260X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\t??NoNo
R9 270\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires Hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNoNoNo
R9 270X10.8.3 - 10.13.6 1NoNoNo
R9 280X10.12 - Curr 1YesYes**No
R9 290X10.10 - CurrYesNoNo
R9 380\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPossible\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo
R9 380x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPossible\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo
R9 390\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRequires hack\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYesNoNo
R9 Nano10.11 - CurrYesNoNo
R9 Fury10.12 - Curr, 1YesNoNo
R9 Fury X\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10.12 - Curr ?\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYesNoNo
Radeon RX 45010.12 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon RX 45510.12 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Rx 46010.12 - Curr 1YesNoNo
Radeon RX 47010.12.6 - Curr 1YesNoNo
Radeon RX 48010.12.6 - Curr 1 2YesNoNo
Radeon RX 540NoNoNoNo
Radeon RX 540xNoNoNoNo
Radeon RX 55010.12.6 - Curr or None
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Depends on card)1 (reddit), 2 3		YesNoNo
Radeon RX 550xNoNoNoNo
Radeon RX 56010.12.6 - Curr 1YesNoNo
Radeon RX 560x10.12.6 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon RX 57010.12.6 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon RX 570x10.12.6 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon RX 58010.12.6 - CurrYesNo ***No
Radeon RX 580x10.12.6 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 2100No NoNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 3100NoYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 410010.12- CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 413010.12 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 415010.12 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 417010.13? - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 510010.13? - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 710010.13? - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 810010.13? - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon Pro WX 910010.13? - CurrYesNoNo
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRadeon Pro Duo 32GB GDDR5 512-Bit
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttoo long for Mac Pro, requires removing PCIe fans\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		10.13? - CurrYesNoNo
Vega 5610.13.x - CurrYesNoNo ****
Vega 6410.13.x - CurrYesNoYes
Vega Frontier Edition10.13 - CurrYesNoYes
Radeon VII10.14.5 - CurrYesNoYes
Radeon 5500 XT10.15.2 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon 5600 XT10.15.3 - CurrYesNoNo
Radeon 570010.15.2 - CurrYesNo?
Radeon 5700 XT10.15.2 - CurrYesNoYes
Radeon 6600
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without firmware)*🚫		\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12.1 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYesNo?
Radeon 6600 XT
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without firmware)*🚫		\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12.1 - Curr\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?
Radeon 6700 XTNone-No?
Radeon 680011.4 - Curr
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash)*🚫		Yes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?
Radeon 6800 XT11.4 - Curr
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash) *🚫		Yes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t?
Radeon 6900 XT11.4 - Curr
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Not supported without ROM flash)*🚫		YesNo?
Radeon 7900 XT/7900 XTXNone--?

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* OEM/Retail ROMs are available for these cards

** Modified Netkas or Blacksheep ROMs are available for these cards

*** Mac Pro 3.1s can display bootscreens with the RX 580. See the Mac Pro 3.1s and AMD GPUs section.

**** The Vega 56 with the factory firmware does not require a Pixlas mod. However, firmware tuned for gaming or using the Vega 64 firmware does require a Pixlas Mod. See Vega 56 flashing section.

*🚫 Currently, MacVidCards (EURO) is selling flashed 6600 XT / 6800 and they can be flashed (Without a native boot screen) using Sychretic's ROM

Radeon R7 260 and R9 390 can be used in macOS but require Hackintosh libraries. I recommend looking at one of the many other options unless one is comfortable researching hackintosh forums and installing custom kexts and the possibility of the hardware not working.

The Radeon Navi 21 GPUs (Radeon 6800 - 6900 XT) and the classic Mac Pros


AMD's Navi 21 GPUs (the 6600, 6600 XT, 6800, 6800 XT, and 6900 XT) are officially supported in macOS 12.1+, but due to a firmware bug, it would interrupt the boot process in the classic Mac Pros. The original speculation was the ROM used AVX calls (see macrumors), but after a deeper look, it was due to poorly written code. After this discovery, MacVidCards (EURO) started selling flashed 6800, and they can be flashed (Without a native boot screen) using Sychretic's ROM.

The requirements to flash a card are as follows:

The process is straightforward: load the correct ROM to your card using the utility, but if you prefer a video how-to, see: Mac Sound Solutions inc: How to flash an RX6600XT RX6800XT RX6900XT for Mac Pro 5,1

NVidia GPUs

Note: The minimum OS list required may not be correct because of the lack of info in Web Drivers. Older OSes probably still require web drivers but in later OSes (10.13.x or higher), even for non-web driver Cards. Metal-compatible cards will not require web drivers in Mojave or Catalina. This section is very new (and, as far as I know, the first attempt that covers all categories), and there are MANY GPU variations. Please get in touch with me if I have listed something incorrectly. Be sure to search forums like MacRumors to confirm compatibility..

For macOS Monterey, any Metal-compatible Nvidia GPU requires using OpenCore Legacy Patcher to inject drivers.

❓ = Several NVidia GPUs shipped different chipsets under the same name; this is important as Metal only supports Kepler chipsets, and these GPUs had both Femi/Kepler variants. I recommend avoiding these particular GPUs if you are looking for Metal (10.14.x) support.

The RTX 2000 series is usable in Windows/Linux with hardware acceleration. The RTX 3000 series will not boot and thus cannot be used in an alternative OS. Multiple card variations have been confirmed as not working, such as the MacRumors thread and MacProUpgrade (Requires membership) groups.

Please read the previous sections for explanations of boot screens, EFI, Metal, and power supply modifications.

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Nvidia GPUOS SupportRequires Web DriversSupports MetalMac EFI flashablePSU Mod
GT 61010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 62010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 63010.9 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓DependsYes(HP)No
GT 64010.8 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓DependsNoNo
GTX 65010.9 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓YesNoNo
GTX 650 Ti10.9 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓DependsNoNo
GTX 66010.9 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓DependsNoNo
GTX 660 Ti10.9 -10.13.6 or CurrNo\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDepends\t\t\t\t\t\tNoNo
GTX 67010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 670 Ti10.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 68010.8.3 - CurrNoYesYesNo
GTX 69010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 71010.8 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 72010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 73010.9 - 10.13.6 or CurrDepends ❓DependsNoNo
GT 74010.9 - or CurrNoYesNoNo
GT 75010.9 - 10.13.6, or CurrDependsDepndsNoNo
GT 750 Ti10.10 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
GTX 76010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 77010.9 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 78010.9.2 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 780 Ti10.9.2 - CurrNoYesNoNo
GTX 95010.10.5 - 10.13.6YesnoNoNo
GTX 96010.10.5 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
GTX 97010.9.5 - 10.13.6YesNoNo**No
GTX 98010.10.5 - 10.13.6YesNoNo**No
GTX 980 Ti10.10.5 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
GTX 103010.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoNo
GTX 105010.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoNo
GTX 106010.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoNo
GTX 107010.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNo**No
GTX 1070 Ti10.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoNo
GTX 108010.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoYes
GTX 1080 Ti10.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoYes
GTX 1080 Ti Founder's Edition (11 GB)10.12 - 10.13.6NoNoNoYes
GTX Titan Black10.10 - CurrNoYesNoYes
GTX Titan X10.10 - 10.13.6NoYesNoYes
Titan XP10.10 - 10.13.6YesNoNoYes
RTX 20x0 series*NoneNoneNo--
RTX 30x0 series**Will not bootNoneNo--
RTX 40x0 series**Will not bootNoneNo--

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** Dumped MacVidCards ROMs for these cards are floating around on the internet, making these particular cards flashable by users. Still, the modified ROMs only exist due to MVC putting in the effort to hack together Mac EFI-compatible ROMs. MVC has yet to give out its modified ROMs for free.

**Thus far, community members have tested the 3060, 3070, and 3080, and the classic Mac Pros will fail even to initiate the boot sequence. They cannot even be used in Windows or Linux.

*** The NVidia RTX series will output the EFI boot screen but do not have drivers.

NVidia Professional GPUs

The Quadro GPUs are widely supported by the Nvidia web drivers.

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Nvidia GPUOS SupportSupports MetalRequires Web DriversMac EFI flashablePSU Mod
Quadro P41010.8 - 11.xnoYesNo?
Quadro K60010.8 - 11.xnoYesNo?
Quadro K62010.8 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro K120010.11 - 11.xNoYesNo?
Quadro K200010.10 - 11.xNoYesNoNo
Quadro K2000D10.19 - Cu11.xrrNoYesNoNo
Quadro K220010.10 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro K400010.10 - 11.xnoYesNoNo
Quadro K4000D10.10 - 11.xnoYesNoNo
Quadro K420010.10 - 11.xnoYesNoNo
Quadro K500010.10 - 11.xnoYesYesNo
Quadro K520010.10 - 11.xnoYesNo?
Quadro K600010.10 - 11.xnoYesNo?
Quadro M200010.9 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro M400010.9 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro M500010.9 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro M600010.9 - 10.13.6YesNoNo?
Quadro M620010.9 - 10.13.6YesNoNo?
Quadro P62010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro P100010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro P200010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro P400010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoNo
Quadro P500010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoYes
Quadro P600010.11 - 10.13.6YesNoNoYes
RTX 20x0 seriesNoneNoneNo--
RTX 30x0 seriesWill not boot any OSNoneNo--
RTX 40x0 seriesWill not boot any OSNoneNo--

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This is an ongoing project, and information for older OSes is harder to source due to the lack of info in NVidia web driver documentation. Please let me know if any GPUs are incorrect or missing. You can reach me by going to my contact page.

Unsupported by Metal GPUs

The above list can be summarized by chipsets as Apple distributes its OSes with GPU drivers. The unsupported chipsets by NVidia and AMD are as follows:

  • NVidia Ampere Chipset (RTX 3060, RTX 3070, RTX 3080... etc.) These will not boot due to the firmware on the cards
  • NVidia Turning Chipset (RTX cards + Quadro RTX + GTX 1650, GTX 1660, RTX 2060, RTX 2070, RTX 2080... etc)
  • NVidia Pascal Chipset (GTX 10x0 series, Quadro P series, )
  • NVidia Maxwell Chipset (GTX 9x0 series, Quadro M series, Quadro K620, K1200 K220)
  • NVidia Femi Chipset (GeForce GT/GTX 4xx series, GeForce GT/GTX 5xx series)
  • NVidia Tesla Chipset (Nvidia GT120)
  • Pre AMD Radeons - ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, 1900 XT, ATI Radeon HD 4870, 4890, 5770, 5850, 5870, 6850, 6870

* Buying older NVidia GPUs can be confusing as there are variants that are unlabeled chipsets. The GT 610, GT 620, GT 640, GT 730, and GTX 750 have Kepler and Femi chipset variants. If you have a Kepler GPU, you can run Metal, such as Mojave, Catalin, and Big Sur. If you are looking for a very cheap GPU for Mojave or to upgrade your firmware, the GTX 650s can be found on the used market for $20-$35 USD. Mojave GPU Buyer's guide is mostly accurate but doesn't note that GTX 750 variants.

*** The AMD RX 590 is an overclocked 580 with a larger fan. The larger fan tends to block the adjacent PCI slot, making it hard to recommend for its minimal performance gains.

For the best info on recommended versions of AMD cards, visit AMD Polaris & Vega GPU macOS Support.

Post Mojave updates have enabled hardware acceleration for video codecs on the RX580. You can read about it here and find full instructions to Activate AMD hardware acceleration. (Thanks for Martin LO. aka h9826790).

MacRumors forum-goers report that the following Radeons are supported in 10.13.4

AMD Vega loud idling

Some of the Vega GPUs suffer loud idling speeds under older OSX/ Mac OS versions, although that may not resolve it. Many of the cards can be flashed to different bios. See the first post in the thread (down towards the bottom) MacRumors: AMD Polaris and Vega GPU macOS Support.

The loud idling was solved in 10.14, thus making the firmware necessary for 10.13.x

Vega 56 -> Vega 64 Firmware flash


For a long time, the Vega 56s have been one of the best value GPUs for the Mac as they can grow with your setup. They can be flashed to use the Vega 64 firmware to increase performance. It isn't quite as fast as running a Vega 64, but it is close. That said, without a power supply modification, many users (self-included) experienced crashing when the GPU hit intensive loads and required reflashing it to Vega 56 Firmware. If you intend to mod your PSU, you can always flash a Vega 56 to a Vega 64 for a nice speed boost after you modify it.

The BIOs for both Vega 56s and Vega 64s can be found at Tech Powerup.

The AMD/ATI Flash utility can be found at TechPowerUp, as well. It requires Windows 10.

AMD GPUs and Mac Pro 3.1s and below

Several MacRumors forum members have found that Mac Pro 3.1s cannot use the AMD RX580 because drivers require SSE4.2 instruction set requirements for Mojave and above. However, and this is a big one, Netkas has been able to get the RX560 working in a Mac Pro 3.1 by adding inline emulation for the SSE4.2 instruction for the drivers. Any of the AMD Polaris cards are now compatible with Mac Pro 3,1. See the full list here. More recently, the 3.1s occupy an interesting niche. They can display a bootscreen without flashing. Both Catalina and Mojave are supported.

NVidia GPU and Mac OS

As previously mentioned, NVidia GPUs have been largely unsupported by Apple in macOS. The last chipset to appear in any OEM Mac configuration was from the Kepler era. Sadly, the RTX line of GPUs has never been supported in any shape or form in macOS, but the RTX 2000s can be used in Mac Pros in Windows 10.

The state of NVidia drivers

NVidia, for years, has written drivers for its unsupported GPUs for Mac OS called NVidia Web Drivers, as Apple does not bundle drivers for most NVidia chipsets with its OS. The only chipset that comes bundled with macOS is the Kepler chipset, as it is the last chipset Apple used in its computers. The Web Drivers allow previously unsupported GPUs to be used with OSX/MacOS.

With the advent of 10.14 Mojave, OpenGL has been deprecated and replaced with Apple's Metal library for GPU acceleration, which dropped support for many GPUs. Apple published an official list but did not list all compatible GPUs for Mojave. Any non-Kepler NVidia GPUs do not work in Mojave and above. Due to a public spat, Apple is blocking NVidia from releasing drivers to support its GPUs in 10.14.

Currently, NVidia blames Apple for not approving its drivers for Mojave.

As an act of desperation, fans have created a petition for Apple to allow NVidia to release drivers for Mac OS 10.14 Mojave. Rumors have ranged between Volta support, eGPUs, and most recently Metal vs. CUDA.

This is a shame as there is a massive performance gap of certain Adobe products on AMD hardware vs. NVidia hardware. Also, users are reporting that the RTX NVidia cards are displaying boot screens in macOS but do not have any mac drivers, meaning no hardware acceleration. The RTX has UGA to GOP firmware; thus, it is a happy accident.

NVidia Webdriver Manual Installation

The web drivers are vague and unclear. They do not list which cards are currently supported on its web pages. Secondly, you need to download the correct version of the drivers for whatever version of Mac OS you have.

TonyMacX86 forums do an excellent job of directly linking to the NVidia installers for driver version number by OS version. Currently, 10.14.x (Mojave) is not supported. The NVidia RTX series is also currently unsupported.

Note about SLI: Currently, there isn't any SLI support under macOS, and this seems unlikely to change. Windows, however, will support SLI in a Mac Pro.

NVidia Driver Automatic Installation

To avoid headaches of NVidia drivers, Benjamin Dobell wrote a CLI utility to install the appropriate Mac NVidia drivers for your system. He describes it as follows: \"This script installs the best (not necessarily the latest) official NVidia web drivers for your system.\" Go to GitHub: NVidia Update.

Useful Links

Custom Flashed Cards: Depending on how much time you've spent researching upgrades, you may have read about the website/business, MacVidCards. MacVidCards sells custom-flashed EFI NVidia and AMD cards. Initially, when I wrote this section, I hesitated to link directly to their site as several FaceBook (requires membership to MacProUpgrade) / MacRumors posts have been lukewarm. I worried readers might think I was endorsing a service they may not like. The cards do work, but the turn-around times are long, and communication infrequent (although since writing that, MacVidcards now boasts improved communication and turn arounds). Is that true? I don't know, FaceBook (requires membership to MacProUpgrade) really runs the gamut. The prices are high, but they are legitimate, with many testimonials floating around message boards from longtime members that they do indeed work as promised. Just be prepared to wait for any issues to be sorted out in a time frame that may not be acceptable. MacVidCards claims to have written custom EFI ROMs for NVidia and AMD cards. Rather than explain how said hack was done (Unlike previous releases TonyMacX86 / MacRumors / Netkas), MacVidCards chooses to be a monopoly. (Note: Dave of MacVidCards notes he did contribute to previous AMD card hacks and did not get paid for his work on this). I'd rather not weigh too much on its ethics, but software developers deserve compensation, and depending on the actual work performed on the EFI ROM, it may very well be truly custom. As of writing this, they are the only game in town when it comes to making the custom GPU cards Mac EFI compatible.

After seeing my guide (in a much earlier state) after reading the previous statement, Dave of MacVidCards reached out to me to correct errors found on this page. So, if nothing else, my experience with MacVidCards has been fair in my limited dealings with them, considering my hesitation in recommending them.

The era of firmware flashing GPUs for Macs is at an end as the 2019 Mac Pro uses modified UEFIl; thus, now, off-the-shelf GPUs provide boot screens, and OpenCore provides a pre-boot screen for users who require one.

Which card should I buy?

There are several issues, as explained repeatedly, and they are as follows:

  1. Mac OS switched from OpenGL to Metal. This means a lot of older cards do not have drivers in 10.14+ Mojave and above.
  2. It's AMD or bust for aftermarket GPUs. Modern NVidia GPUs do not have Metal drivers, which are incompatible with Mojave/Catalina. Only the old Kepler chipsets are supported up to macOS 11 Big Sur. Monterey removes them.
  3. Very few aftermarket GPUs can output a boot screen. There are multiple ways to deal with this, from utilities to OpenCore.
  4. The highest-end GPUs (Vega 64, VII) require PSU modifications or undervolting to run.

There isn't a \"best card\" for any computer, instead of how much money you're willing to spend and if the money could be better spent elsewhere. This is an arbitrary metric as even a 3,1 Mac Pro will see significant gains in GPU tasks, with AMD Radeon VII over lesser cards (for example, an AMD Radeon 580). Consider this: A Radeon VII sells for many times more than a Mac Pro 3,1 itself. Commonly, forums and groups will mention \"pairs well\" or \"bottleneck\" (see PCIe And You (PCIe overview) PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0), but any high-end GPU will \"pair well,\" the question is more about where a user can see more performance gains.

  • Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 users are limited to a maximum of running Mac OS 10.11.x, thus, do not have to worry about the lack of NVidia support in Mojave. 1,1/2,1 users should consider the GeForce 680 for EFI boot screen support or the GeForce 7xx or 9xx series. Notably, 64-bit EFI-supported cards will not display the boot screen.
  • Mac Pro 3,1 users tend to consider the AMD Radeon 580x a great choice. The AMD cards require a hack that can be enabled by special drivers that enable SSE 4.2 emulation. Also, for the Mac Pro 3.1s only, users have figured out a way to display the boot screen without flashing for the 580x. This only applies to the 3.1s. This isn't as important in the era of OpenCore, but it is worth mentioning.
  • Mac Pro 5,1 users looking for modern performance should consider the AMD 580x, Vega 56, Vega 64, Vega FE, VII (10.14.6), or 5700 XT (10.15+). The 580x is relatively inexpensive and does not require any modifications to power the GPU. In contrast, the top-tier Vegas is power-hungry but one of the most performant GPUs supported in Mojave. Users not caring about performance may want to consider the R9 280x, as it can be flashed to include EFI support. The performance king is the VII currently for both compute and gaming, although the 5700xt represents a great value for users looking to run Catalina 10.15 or above.

Overwhelmingly, the most popular GPU for Mac Pros is the RX 580 due to its great price-to-performance and long support. However, for most users, I'd recommend looking at a Vega 56, as it's a completely different microarchitecture. It features the 14 nm Vega, much faster VRAM (HMB2 over GDDR5), and \"Next Compute Unit,\" aka NCU, which all result in significant gains over the RX580 and do not require a PSU modification. The Vega line is well-suited for professional applications. Also, the Vega 56 can be flashed to the Vega 64 firmware, resulting in near Vega 64 performance. Using Vega 64 firmware will require a PSU mod.

I want a GPU that has a boot screen and is Metal (Mojave 10.14+) compatible...

I would recommend OpenCore, as any Metal-compatible GPU will output a basic boot screen or precede the boot screen entirely, as you can easily manage dual booting. If you are looking for a frictionless upgrade, you can buy GPUs from MacVidCards (they have RX 580s, Vega 56s, and 5700 XTs) or get one of the following:

Again, you can buy any supported aftermarket GPU with OpenCore and get a boot screen using OpenCore. Read more about it in the OpenCore section.

A MacProUpgrade (requires membership) member wrote a post \"The Cheapest Metal Supported Card\". I recommend reading it, but Doug's post for those bargain-hunting.

Installing a GPU

GPUs are straightforward to install except for two minor \"gotcha\"s: they use Mini PCIe power adapters on the motherboard and, for exceptionally power-hungry 250+ watt GPUs (GeForce 1080 Ti, Radeon Vega FE, etc.), require modification to power the cards. See the Mac Pro Pixlas PSU Mod or External Power Supplies sections of this guide for more information. Some readers have reported they are able to run high-power requirement GPUs off their internal power supply.

As mentioned above, the Mac Pro has two 6-pin mini-PCIe power ports, which require mini-PCIe to PCIe power cables. For reference, here are examples of a mini PCIe 6-pin to PCIe Power cable and a mini PCIe 6-pin to PCIe 8-pin cable. These are likely required to power your GPU. For example, a GPU that has a 6-pin power port and an 8-pin power port would require one of each cable.

I wrote two guides blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 760/770/780 on a Mac Pro 3.1, and blog.greggant.com: Installing GeForce GTX 1060/1070/1080 on a Mac Pro 5.1, which both detail the installation process.

I tested a GeForce 760 Hackintosh vs. my Mac Pro outlined the installation process 2008 Mac Pro Full Instructions and benchmarks here. Upon purchasing a GeForce 1060, I wrote a follow-up how to install a GeForce 1060 into a Mac Pro 5.1.

For users looking for a tutorial, Every Mac has a video guide on how to install PCIe cards.

Installing a 2.5x height GPU (such as a Radeon 590x)

An enterprising MacRumors poster figured out a way to use a taller-than-normal-GPU in his Mac Pro. The secret is simply getting a single card slot mount and, replacing the dual height on the card, and using the fourth slot. It's not perfect, as it blocks off SATA ports.

HDMI (and Display Port) Audio

Many modern graphics cards have HDMI and are thus capable of outputting audio. There's a very long thread of intrepid hackers at Mac Rumors.

In modern Mac OS, HDMI should appear as an audio output as well as Display Port. However, if it does not, fear not. There are guides for older OSes.

Mixing and Matching GPUs

It's not uncommon for Mac Pro users to keep a secondary GPU installed for EFI boot screen access. Generally, it is okay to mix web driver NVidia GPUs with an old ATI/AMD GPU. If you use a modern AMD GPU with, for example, a GT 120, you may experience erratic behavior in certain applications like Photoshop and Firefox. For whatever reason, these (and various) applications prefer the GT 120 over the AMD GPU and thus perform poorly. When using a modern AMD GPU, you should remove the old GPU depending on if you experience slow performance or bizarre behavior in certain applications. This is a case-by-case issue and may or may not be an issue for various users.

The Most Powerful / Fastest GPU

The Mac Pros with PCIe 2.0 are not \"speed capped\", see the PCIe 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. 4.0, and its impact on GPU performance and bottlenecking section for more details as GPUs currently do not require the bandwidth that even PCIe 3.0 offers.

This seems to be a burning question that comes a lot in Mac Pro communities, and it can be answered very easily with the flashable 6900 XT. Previously, before the hacked ROM to enable Navi 21 GPUs, by the benchmarks, the Radeon VII was hands down the most powerful consumer GPU available for macOS. The best place to check GPU performance for macOS is the Geekbench Metal Benchmarks, which is far from perfect.

The Radeon VII was especially a curiosity as it was a rebranded AMD Radeon Instinct with a minor speed cap on its FP64 performance, as it consisted of cards that failed to make the Instinct cut during testing. It's best to think of the Radeon VII as a compute GPU that plays games well and was manufactured as a stop-gap so AMD could recoup some losses on the Instinct line before its next chipset arrived. Thus, it occupies a strange space in the GPU market, only existing for about nine months and expensive on the used market as Mac Pro 2019 owners discovered it's about as fast as the 4x as expensive Radeon Pro Vega II MPX Module. AnandTech's comparison to the Instinct line shows why the VII was a curious card, existing as a power-hungry. It handily bests the 5700 XT in compute benchmarks (used for non-gaming, video editing, etc.) scores and is fractionally faster in 3D than the 5700 XT in some applications. It bests the 1080 Ti in everything sans CUDA, even though the support for the Nvidia card ends at 10.13, and the Radeon VII starts at 10.14. The Radeon VII ties with the M1 Ultra's GPU in Metal benchmarks.

The Navi 21 GPUs finally oust the Radeon VII as the 6900 XT tends to be roughly 75% faster overall vs the Radeon VII, and the 6800 XT is roughly 50% faster. This is supremely welcome news as so few Radeon VIIs were produced and became particularly sought after by crypto miners. For a large duration of the GPU shortage, the 6900 XT generally sold for less than the Radeon VII thanks to it using HDBM2 instead of GDDR6 memory.

The 6600 XT opens up the possibility of reasonably priced GPU performance with the classic Mac Pros as its performance is comparable to the Radeon VII in Metal benchmarks.

Previously, this section contained a line-by-line breakdown of the fastest cards, but with the newly supported-by-flashing 6900 XT, 6800 XT, and 6800, these are the fastest cards. Previously the Radeon VII and 5700 XT were the two fastest GPUs.

As GPU prices come back down to earth, price conscience shoppers should look for the 5700 XT (supported in Catalina), the Vega 56 or 64 (supported in Mojave) and, of course, the RX 580.

I recommend the article, Barefeats: Benchmarking AMD Radeon VII Gaming GPU with Mojave 10.14.5, as it shows the VII running in different hardware configs against the Vega 64, RX 580, D700s, and RX 560. Also, the 2010 Mac Pro tower with AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT GPU running under macOS 10.15.1 Catalina shows the Radeon VII vs. the 5700 Xt, GeekBench 5 Metal Benchmarks Pugetsystems: DaVinci Resolve GPU Roundup shows the 5700 XT, Vega 64, and VII on Windows.

I'd recommend checking out Mac Sound Solutions inc.: Mac Pro 5,1 with RX6800XT Benchmarks & Gaming Final cMP Upgrade!.



I/O Upgrades

\"USB

The I/O (Input/Output) is a catch-all umbrella term I'm using for anything that doesn't fall under GPU, SSD interfaces, Wireless or audio PCIe cards such as networking and peripherals interfaces (USB/Firewire/SATA). This isn't a complete list of all possible I/O cards but rather a list of common ones.

The Mac Pros can support many more cards than listed here. NewerTech and Sonnet are reliable. Not all cards are equal. Some are more performant, such as USB 3.0/3.1, offering full-duplex per port instead of shared bandwidth. Also, some non-listed cards have issues. I had an off-brand Inateck PCI-E to USB 3.0, which worked but also caused a reboot loop when trying to shut down. The only way to turn off my Mac Pro was to hold down the power key forcibly. I personally use a SYBA SY-PEX40039 SATA card as my bootable SSD for my Samsung Evo. I've elected not to include USB 2.0 only or Gigabit Ethernet-only or SATA II-only cards as all are found natively on all versions of the classic Mac Pros.

Note: This is not to be taken as a complete list, but rather a list of known working cards that users have confirmed. If you know of a card that's supported by macOS, please reach out to me.

USB 3.0*see notes

  • Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 / Sonnet Allegro Pro
  • Inateck KT4004
  • RocketU 1144D / HighPoint RocketU 1144C
  • HighPoint RocketU 1144E
  • CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Pro (Discontinued)
  • HighPoint RocketU 1144CM -
  • Inateck PCI-E to USB 3.0 - (Caused Reboot loop in 2008 Mac Pro)
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo Duo PCIe (2x eSATA / 2x USB 3.0) - (discontinued)
  • Newer Technology MAXPower 2 port eSATA 6/GBs & 2 Port USB 3.0

USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1 / Gen 2*see notes

The USB 3.x standard has had a few rebrandings, and the language on devices can often be confusing, as due to the recent rebranding, some devices might be labeled as \"USB 3.0\" or \"USB 3.1 Gen 1\" or \"USB 3.2 Gen 1\" which is entirely the same. Below is a small chart of names for each tier of USB.

Original Name 2013 Rebrand 2019 Rebrand Bandwidth
USB 3.0 USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 5 Gbps (625 MB/s)
USB 3.1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps (1250 MB/s)
USB 3.2 - USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps (2500 MB/s)

If the above is confusing, I do not blame you as I find it too.

USB Cards and Performance

USB 3.x cards are one of the most common upgrades for a Mac Pro, but it is important to understand that there is a great deal of performance difference between cheap USB cards vs. high-end ones (such as Sonnet's Allegro Pro), and this comes down to three factors: How many controllers per port, USB generation and how much bandwidth.

Generally, inexpensive USB cards will feature one controller and 4-ports and be listed as USB 3.0 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. This means 625 MB/s is divided roughly 4 by 4 (although not exactly). A user should expect to see only roughly 150-250 MB/s on a singular port regardless of whether anything else is plugged into a card.

A USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.1 card with four ports and two controllers will likely see 625-800 MB/s per port.

The classic Mac Pros Perform well with USB 3.2 Gen 2. The above video provides benchmarks of the Mac Pro 5,1 vs. a Macbook Pro 2017 and a MacBook Pro M1.

Any card using the ASMedia ASM3142 should be macOS 10.11.x+ compatible as this controller is supported by macOS as long as it doesn't require external power. One of the most popular ASM3142 import cards (often a black PCIe card with names like Tuneway Usb3.1 Type-C, WEI-LUONG USB 3.1 to Type-C, YISUNF USB 3.1 to Type-C 2 Port, Camisin USB 3.1 to Type-C 2) is not macOS compatible due to the power requirements.

  • MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB-C
  • StarTech 4-Port USB 3.1 (10Gbps) Card PEXUSB314A2V
  • CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus (USB 3.1 / 2x eSATA)
  • Sonnet Technologies Allegro™ Pro USB 3.1 PCIe
  • Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe
  • Rosewill RC-20002 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
  • FebSmart 1X USB-A & 1X USB-C 10Gbps Ports PCIE USB 3.1 Gen 2 Card
  • FebSmart 2X 10Gbps USB-C Ports PCIE USB 3.1 Gen 2
  • FebSmart USB 3.1 Gen 2 2X 10Gbps USB-A
  • FebSmart 2X USB-C & 3X USB-A 10Gbps Ports PCIE USB 3.2 Gen 2 Card
  • FebSmart 5X 10Gbps USB-A Ports PCIE USB 3.2 Gen 2
  • BEYIMEI PCI-E 4X to USB 3.1 Gen 2
  • LTERIVER PCI Express to 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 Type A 10Gbps Ports Expansion Card
  • LTERIVER PCI Express to 2X USB 3.1 Gen2 Type C 10Gbps
  • Ableconn PEX-UB158 USB 3.1 5-Port PCIe 3.0 Card (1x USB-C & 2X USB-A & 1x 2-Port Internal USB Header
  • Aukey B01AAETL6Y USBc 2-Port (no longer manufactured, review)

SATA/eSATA*see notes

Note: Not all SATA cards are bootable on OS X. Currently, the list is expanding. Non-bootable cards will be listed as such. Known bootable cards will be listed as such. If no notes appear, I haven't researched this yet.

  • NewerTech MAXPower PCIe eSATA 6G Controller - Bootable
  • MAXPower 4-port eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 - (bootable)
  • MAXPowereSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 RAID 0/1/5/10
  • MAXPower RAID mini-SAS 6G-2e2i
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA Pro - Bootable
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA E2P
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA 6Gb/s PCIe 2.0 - (discontinued)
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb PCIe 2.0 - (discontinued)
  • SYBA SY-PEX40039 SATA III
  • HighPoint Rocket 620 2 SATA
  • ORICO PFU3-4P 3 Port
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H680 Low-Profile x8-External Port
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H644 Low-Profile 4-Internal/4-External Port
  • ATTO ExpressSAS H6F0 16-External

Firewire*see notes

  • Sonnet Technologies Tango Express Combo FireWire 400/USB 2.0 Card
  • Sonnet Technologies Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe
  • Sonnet Technologies Allegro FW400 PCIe - (discontinued)

Ethernet (10 Gigabit)*see notes

Useful Links



Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt 3 is possible on the classic Mac Pros, but with caveats:

  1. * Currently the only card that works Gigabyte GC-TITAN RIDGE, although reports have shown that the ASUS Expansion Card for Z170 & X99 Motherboards ThunderboltEX 3 card can produce video passthrough but will stop if the computer is put to sleep.
  2. * Initializing the card requires custom firmware (and physically modifying the card) or Windows 10 to warm boot to Mac OS. This means installing the custom TitanRidge Firmware via Windows 10 or simply booting Windows and then rebooting.
  3. * Sleeping can pose problems. For example, the Thunderbolt Display will not wake if the Mac Pro is put to sleep when it is connected to a Thunderbolt Port. (This may be fixed by modification of the physical card)
  4. * Thunderbolt Devices are not hot-swappable without OpenCore and physically modified cards. USB 2.0 is not supported... yet.
  5. * There is a Facebook Group for those dedicated to using custom firmware
  6. * I recommend checking out Mac Sound Solutions's YouTube video: Mac Pro 5,1 Thunderbolt 3 0 Titan Ridge pros and cons for an overview of what the install process and usage looks like.

A brief history of Thunderbolt on the Mac Pros

PCIe Thunderbolt cards were exclusively for PCs with compatible motherboards with specialized chipsets, generally requiring a passthrough jumper connection. The original speculation started at eGPU.io.

Shortly after, MacRumors Forum members started testing the Gigabyte GC-TITAN RIDGE and getting promising results. Afterward, a member of Mac Pro Upgrade and MacRumors posted a screenshot of ThunderBolt working on a cMac Pro using a digital audio interface and posted two YouTube videos Part 1 and Part 2, demoing his setup using Windows 10. Months passed, as users toyed with boot methods and firmware versions until unexpectedly, on hackintosh-forum.de (German Hackintosh forum), a user claimed success on a modified firmware with some info on the vector. Later, the moderator, DMS2, posted custom firmware on MacRumors despite some members being somewhat less-that-polite. Since then, the community has moved to using OpenCore to unlock more functionality like hot-swapping and Thunderbolt displays, this guide (posted by a GitHub user) is an excellent resource.

Using a TB3 Card

The following is not a guide but a quick overview as I do not own a Thunderbolt 3. The only way to use an unmodified Thunderbolt 3 card is to cold-boot to Windows 10. This will initialize the Thunderbolt 3 card with the proper drivers installed. Once Windows 10 is launched, the user can reboot to Mac OS, where the Thunderbolt 3 card will remain initialized. If you shut down/reboot your computer, you must repeat the process. Also, most Thunderbolt 3 devices work, but not all. The most commonly tested Thunderbolt 3 devices are audio interfaces.

Custom Firmware now exists and is available for download at MacRumors and requires modifying the card. A user created a pictorial guide. This eliminates the need for the warm boot method but does not solve any of the other issues pertaining to sleep (Hot swapping requires particular pin connections). Using OpenCore, devices can become hot-swappable, and the Titan Ridge can support Thunderbolt Displays.

Thunderbolt support is currently a moving target. As notable progress unfolds, this section will be updated to reflect it. For now, it's best to see the action on MacProUpgrade and MacRumors' forums on threads like testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1 and Mac 5,1 Titan Ridge TB3 Custom Firmware Facebook group for the latest and best info.

I'm always open to corrections to this section (or anywhere in this guide). I've received a few emails requesting more information about Thunderbolt 3 on Mac Pros. Please understand that before contacting me, I did not have a Thunderbolt 3 card. I probably cannot answer any questions, and thus all I know is documented here.



Storage Upgrades


Like many data interfaces, SATA (aka Serial ATA) has gone through multiple iterations: SATA1 (max transfer speed of 150 MB/s), SATA2 (max transfer speed of 300 MB/s), and finally, its last incarnation, SATA3 (max transfer speed of 600 MB/s). The classic Mac Pros all carry onboard SATA 2, and (the cMP 1,1, and 3,1 also have older/slower ATA in the optical bay), which has a limit of 300 MB/s. The Mac Pro will accept any standard SATA HDD, 5.25-inch in the optical bay*, 3.5-inch in the four drive bays (or in optical bays with brackets), or 2.5-inch (with 3.5-inch mounting brackets or 5.25-inch brackets in the optical bays). The SATA standard is limited to 144 PB (petabytes), and the maximum volume size macOS supports with HFS+/APFS is 8 exabytes. (For the record, 1 Exobyte = 1000 Petabytes, 1 Petabyte = 1000 Terabytes). Needless to say, Hard Drives and SSDs are well below these caps. All SATA drives are compatible with Mac OS with the caveat that NTFS (Windows) is not writable by macOS without 3rd party utilities.

During the transition from OS X -> Mac OS (macOS), Apple replaced its default file system, HFS+, with APFS in Mac OS 10.13 to address. HFS+ is still supported in 10.13+, and it is unlikely to be removed soon.

* The Mac Pro 1,1 - 3,1 have two hidden unused SATA ports that can be run to the optical drive bays. The Mac Pro 1,1s - 3,1s also carry the ATA-6 (100 MB/s) standard that predates Serial ATA, which uses the larger ribbon connectors for its two optical drives. The design between the SATA ports also allows users to upgrade the ports using a PCIe controller.

See the 3D Printed Replacement Hard Drive Trays / 2.5-inch Adapters for replacement hard drive sled mounts and adapters for 2.5-inch drives.

SSDs come in multiple flavors: SATA, AHCI, and NVMe. The Mac Pro's SATA2's 300 MB/s is limiting for SATA SSDs. SATA SSDs can come very close to the theoretical maximum of SATA3's 600 MB/s when performing certain read/write activities. NVMe (today's fastest SSDs) can hit roughly triple the speed of a SATA SSD in certain read/write tasks. The Mac Pros can use SATA SSDs without any special modifications, with the caveat that read/write speeds are significantly lower than their potential max speeds.

SATA2 still hasn't yet been fully saturated even by performant 3.5 spinning disk drives. Even the fastest current-gen 3.5 drives, such as the Western Digital Black drives, are well below SATA2. Thus, the four internal bays are still useful for hard disk drives and workable for SATA SSDs. For those looking to sacrifice optical bays, OWC made a series of multi-mounts to go inside the dual 5.25 drive bays for 3.5 and 2.5-inch drives. SATA HDDs are still the best value price-per-gigabyte, thus useful archiving/large media/backup.

Time Machine

New Mac users may not be aware, but built into macOS is a mighty backup utility that not only keeps a backup of your entire boot drive (and any selected external drives), but it also can undeleted files and resurrects old versions of files in addition to being able to restore your entire computer. For my fellow developers, it's essentially version control (like Git) but for your entire computer. I highly encourage all users to use Time Machine. Unless you do not care about the data on your Mac Pro, Time Machine is the single best upgrade you can add to your Mac. Simply put, if you value any data on your computer, it is the best investment in this upgrade guide I can recommend.

Strictly speaking, from a data backup strategy, Time Machine is one of the best backup methods due to the data parity and ability to restore from previous backups, making it far more effective than RAID or cloning an HDD. You can attach multiple HDDs for multiple Time Machine drives. Each drive is a separate backup with file histories, whereas RAID1 requires double the drives and only works for mechanical failures, not data loss. Cloning loses parity when new files are added/modified/deleted and is not performed hourly. This isn't to say RAID arrays or clones of HDDs do not provide value, but RAID is not a backup strategy, and drive clones are frozen states but bootable, whereas Time Machine must be restored.

I've written a mini-guide, Making the most out of Time Machine. It covers recommended ignore paths, how to use Networked Drives, how to change the update intervals, and so forth.

Hard Disk Drives

Mechanical hard drives still have a place in the SSD world thanks to their price-per-gigabyte. The Mac Pro can use any SATA Hard disk drive, including 2.5-inch drives with 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch mounting brackets for the four drive bays. This also extends to eSATA, although an eSATA PCIe card must be present to use eSATA drives.

Not all HDDs are equal, and more goes into HDDs than cache sizes and RPMs. Many of the inexpensive HDDs use Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR), which lowers the cost per gigabyte by allowing more data on a platter but with a performance penalty. It's important to do research, depending on the application.

Any external HDD should be presumed to be compatible with Mac OS (outside of extreme edge cases), although, without USB 3.0 or 3.1c cards, the performance of newer USB 3.0+ HDDs will be capped when plugged into a USB 2.0 port.

Soft RAID and post 10.13

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) comes in management styles, hardware controllers that handle the RAID volume's setup, and presents the RAID cluster as a single volume to the OS and RAID that relies on OS drivers to manage the RAID cluster. For years, macOS has supported soft raid for those looking to make use of multi-volume drives, supporting both RAID 0 (striping, no data mirror) and RAID 1 (Data mirroring, no parity/striping). The axiom goes, RAID 0 means you'll get zero files back if a drive fails in a RAID 0 cluster. Mac OS also supports RAID 1 + 0 (often incorrectly referred to as RAID10), allowing for the benefit of mirroring the parity/striping drives. RAID 1+0 requires a minimum of 4 drives at the cost of 1/2 the storage of the array.

However, with the switch to APFS, Apple no longer supports APFS for soft RAID for bootable volumes. Hardware RAID is still supported with APFS as the OS is unaware of the RAID Cluster, NVMe cards like the Western Digital Black AIC will work under macOS despite being a raid array thanks to the hardware controller.

Making APFS bootable requires first having a bootable drive, then creating an APFS RAID array, and then cloning the boot drive to the RAID array. Any updates to the OS will require first updating the boot drive and then copying over to the RAID array, as you cannot update the RAID volume's OS. This is usually done using Carbon Copy Cloner but means users will spend a non-trivial amount syncing amount of syncing data as the usual update flow is: sync APFS RAID to single drive APFS, then boot single drive APFS, update, then sync to APFS RAID array, finally booting back to the APFS RAID array.

Generally, many users opt to boot off a single SSD and use RAID as a storage/scratch disk.

HDD RAID still has its place for a subset of users, but increasingly, the prospect of even cheap SSDs having much quicker random access and much faster read/write times has led to less support. That said, it is possible to create SSD Raid arrays for even greater performance.

PCIe SATA + SSD Sleds

Historically, the most popular upgrades are PCIe sleds for SATA SSDs, which often feature two trays for RAID0 configurations on the PCIe board, bringing up the speeds to the 1 GB/s range. These are essentially SATA 3 cards with two mounting ports for 2.5-inch SSDs, making them more convenient than a regular SATA 3 card. That said, users can still use PCIe SATA 3 cards + SATA SSD drives.

The 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1 Mac Pros also have two extra SATA ports hidden on the motherboards, which can be routed up to the optical bay for modders looking for more SATA storage or replace optical bays with SATA variants; see Accessing SATA Ports section. 4,1/5,1 Mac Pros removed ATA and thus have SATA accessible. Newer Technology made an eSATA Extender Cable Adapter specifically for users looking to make eSATA ports out of the hidden ports but blocking off a PCIe port in the process.

Both OWC and Newer Technology make 2.5 -> 3.5 sleds for the drive bays found in Mac Pros. I can attest for two years of not using a sled that they are optional if you rarely move your Mac Pro as 2.5-inch SSDs are extremely light and will stay suspended in place when plugged in.

  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD (2x 2.5 SSD) - bootable
  • OWC Accelsior series - bootable
  • OWC Accelsior S: PCIe to 2.5\" 6Gb/s SATA SSD Host Adapter - bootable
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD 6Gb/s SATA PCIe 2.5\" SSD Host Adapter
  • Sonnet Technologies Tempo SSD Pro Plus 6Gb/s eSATA / SATA PCIe 2.5\" SSD Host Adapter

Useful Links

The M.2 format and host PCIe cards
One half of the NVMe puzzle


M.2 (also known as NGFF, Next Generation Form Factor) is the latest common format for high-speed SSDs. M.2 is the interconnect, and modern motherboards often have M.2 card slots built-in, especially in the laptop market.

M.2 has two main variants, AHCI and NVMe, which are discussed in the AHCI SSD and NVMe SSD sections.

Note: Apple is the aberration as the Mac Pro 2013s, 2015s, iMac Pro, and Mac Pro 2013 and 2019 use non-standard slots for NVMe Apple's semi-proprietary NGFF variant, which doesn't have an official name. Fortunately, classic Mac Pro users needn't worry about Apple's annoying proprietary format. Also, for owners of computers using Apple's proprietary format, plenty of adapters exist to convert M.2 to Apple's format.

Using M.2 SSDs requires a host PCIe card, as the Mac Pro does have M.2 slots. The Mac Pro, being older, doesn't quite have the options that the PC field has for host card options because it does not support bifurcation, the ability to split high-speed PCIe port into two lower speed ports (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Instead, the classic Mac Pros must use cards with controller chipsets specifically for computers that do not support bifurcation, hence making them more expensive. Also, it is important to note that some M.2 cards' physical sizes can pose problems for certain host cards, so go to the MacRumors thread for more info.

The Mac Pro also uses PCIe 2.0, in which cheap host controllers do not support additional lane switches. Many NVMe drives can perform beyond a 4x PCIe slot, reducing the peak read/write speeds. The more expensive cards have controller chipsets, mostly the ASMedia ASM2824 and PLX8747, which have a switch for PCIe 2.0 to use more than four lanes. This requires putting the card in one of the two 16x slots on the Mac Pro to obtain faster speeds. It will benefit both single drives and multi-drive setups. The daring can search for cards that use the ASM2824 or generic PLX8747, which are usually macOS compatible. Notably, 8x PCIe cards are capped at sub 4 GB/s (real-world at about 3 GB/s), whereas 16x cards can run at sub 8 GB/s (real-world 6 GB/s). Lastly, these chipsets can run warm, so it's recommended to get cards with heat sinks, although less important for the SSDs themselves. All cards support both AHCI and NVMe unless listed otherwise. The Apple proprietary SSDs can be used in a host adapter with the Sintech NGFF M.2 adapter.

Credit goes to MisterAndrew for doing the original compiling of this list here.

The ASM2824 chipset is currently the most popular NVMe chipset for multiple NVMe drives as it is less expensive and able to achieve faster speed caps in single-drive performance. However, the PLX8747 is the performance crown used in the Sonnet and Highpoint 16x cards.

The ASM2812 chipset can address multiple NVMe drives but will be performance capped at 4x, thus 1500 MB/s, unlike the ASM2824. This card is more useful for Mac Pro 2019s as the performance hit is much less. These are generally the least expensive multi-drive cards.

Most generic single drive M.2 hosts will work with the Mac Pro and will be capped at 1500 MB/s. Due to the sheer number of options and white-label importers, a dirt-cheap host will likely work. My only recommendation is just to make sure the retailer has a nice return policy.

Multi-drive cards with a single drive can sometimes have issues. I, for instance, had no issues with the Ableconn card running a single drive with 10.14 off an HP EX950, but readers have reported this wasn't the case for them until they installed a second card. Thus far, I'm unaware of the variables that affect bootability. I highly recommend checking Macrumors or other communities.

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
ModelNVMe M.2 slotsMax Speed in Tests
Kingston HyperX Predator (AHCI only)11200 MB/s 4x PCIe
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNGFF M key M.2
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is a generic card with multiple variants by various importers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		11500 MB/s 4x PCIe
Lycom DT-12011500 MB/s 4x PCIe
ULANSEN M.2 to PCIe11500 MB/s 4x PCIe
Angelbirds Wings PX111500 MB/s 4x PCIe
Aqua Computer kryoM.211500 MB/s 4x PCIe
Aqua Computer kryoM.2 Evo11500 MB/s 4x PCIe
Wolftech pulsecard11500 MB/s 4x PCIe
RIITOP M.2 NVMe/DIEWU TXB122
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers)		2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1500 MB/s 4x PCIe - uses ASM2812 thus limited to 4x speeds per drive. Facebook: MacProUpgrade thread, see Petri's comment, available on Aliexpress\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Syba I/O Crest SI-PEX40129 (ASM2824)
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers, (ASM2824)) Warning: Require two drives to work in the card.		22500 MB/s (Single drive) / 3000 MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe
Ableconn PEXM2-130 / StarTech PEX8M2E2 / Lycom DT-130 / etc
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(This particular card has multiple variants by various importers, (ASM2824))		22800 MB/s (Single drive) / 3000 MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe
Accelsior 4M2 (PLX8747)43000+ MB/s (RAID) 8x PCIe
Amfeltec Squid series
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSome are PLX8747		45900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe
PLX8747 Generic45900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe
Highpoint 7101A (PLX8747)45900+ MB/s (RAID) 16x PCIe
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tASM2824 Quad M.2 NVMe SSD
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(aliexpress generic card) confirmed working by MacProUpgrade (requires FaceBook Membership). This is card also available from many no-name white-label vendors: Add On/ADWITS/RIITOP/BGNing etc.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		4? (prelim tests show 2500 MB/s single drive)
Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card FUS-SSD-4X4-E3:4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5900+ MB/s (Raid) 16x PCIe MacProUpgrade (requires FaceBook Membership), Barefeats\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card (Silent)45900+ MB/s (Raid) 16x PCIe

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Can I use a card that isn't listed above that hosts multiple NVMe drives?

Almost 99% of the time, no. Most M.2 hosts rely on bifurcation. The Mac Pro does not support bifurcation. See the bifurcation section for details. Many cards that support bifurcation can be used for a single drive. Popular cards like the ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Card v2 4 x M.2 Socket 3 will not host multiple drives in a Mac Pro. However, if the card uses the ASM2824 or a PLX8747 chipset, you can use it.

Untested Cards Might Work

The card Highpoint SSD7540 controller-based cards should work as they advertise 2019 Mac Pro support like HighPoint Technologies SSD7540 PCIe 4.0 x16 8-Port M.2 NVMe RAID Controller.

Also untested is the new version of the ADWITS Ultra Speed Quad M.2. The previous version used molex, which caused issues for the Mac Pro.

M.2 and Heatsinks

When looking at SSD options, you'll probably notice some hosts include heat sinks and others do not.

It's pretty easy to find conflicting info on AHCI and NVMe SSDs and heat sinks. The short answer is that SSDs are intelligent enough to self-throttle if they get too hot. Thus, it is extremely unlikely heat will damage them. That said, NVMes run warm, but it takes quite a bit to heat them. The NAND memory itself doesn't require any cooling and is generally supposed to be warm to the touch. The controller chipset is the portion of the SSD that heatsinks benefit the most from cooling. There have been debates about whether cooling could be detrimental, but the current consensus is a passive heatsink, at worst, doesn't do much and likely keeps the SSD running at optimal speeds. Even a cheap generic SSD heat sink in many tests shows a drop of 10-15C (roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit).

For most users, self-included, the heatsink won't change day-to-day operation. Only when you get to cards that can operate four drives, tend to be the consensus that a heatsink is advisable.

Aftermarket heatsinks can be bought and attached to SSDs. Still, if you do go this route, some experts recommend removing the label, as many labels function as heat distribution/heat dissipation, like those found on Samsung drives. Multi-drive M.2 cards require a heatsink over the PCIe switch/controller chipset, as the popular ASMedia 2824 or the PLX8747 runs warm. Often, this is folded into the entire chassis, like in the Highpoint and Sonnet designs, which provide a large heatsink that works for both the PCIe card itself and the drives.

PCIe AHCI SSD

Without any firmware updates or modifications, Mac Pros can boot AHCI SSDs, which are faster than the standard SATA drives via PCIe sleds, offering significantly faster speeds, often double that of SATA SSDs but tend to cap out at 1500 MB/s (usually more roughly in the 1 GB/s mark). Most NVMe adapters also accept AHCI. However, due to the speed limitations and age, there aren't many models on the market. The price per GB tends to be high, as the industry has largely pivoted to NVMe.

AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is what the SATA standard is based on although, PCIe AHCI interfaces can exceed SATA3 speeds.

PCIe NVMe

Due to its extreme performance, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is currently the holy grail of storage. NVMe is roughly triple to quadruple the read/writes of SATA (and often nearly double of AHCI M.2 SSDs), clocking in at transfer speeds over 2 GB/s (and nearly as fast writes). Also, due to the improvements in SSDs, NVMe tends to sport faster 4k Random read/write times, which also greatly affects the \"zippiness\" of a computer. NVMe was constructed to work only via the PCIe standard; thus, it'sit has a speed advantage over AHCI.

NVMe wasn't always supported under OS X. NVMe support started with the appropriate PCIe sleds under 10.13 with the glaring issue of only being read/writable but not bootable. Clever users found workarounds. They discovered that creating a Fusion Drive with NVMe, with only the boot record on the AHCI storage (it can be a thumb drive), allowed for NVMe boots, allowing Mac Pros to attain the incredible speeds of NVMe (See Fusion Drives section). Then, users found using firmware hacking. They could enable NVMe booting by using a firmware hack upgrade. See the entire thread here. Notably, this firmware hack appears to work for 3,1/4,1/5,1 Mac Pros. The latest Mac Pro 5,1 bios have NVMe support. See below for more details.

PCIe NVMe sleds aren't all created equal as the performance is limited on the PCIe max slot speed (and which slot the card is placed in the Mac Pro) (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Also, some cards can host multiple NVMe SSDs. To make matters more confusing, many PCIe NVMe multi-SSD adapters require bifurcation, which is a technology for later-gen PCIe not supported on the Mac Pro, which allows a PCIe slot to be split, example: One 16x port becomes two 8x ports (see the PCIe and You portion of this guide for more info). Multi-drive NVMe cards that support the Mac Pro are more expensive as they have a controller that handles the PCIe IC and registers, and some are more powerful than others.

The Mac Pro is limited to 1500 MB/s on a card unless the card uses a PCIe controller switch. The PCIe switch lets the user toggle the PCIe maximum speed. A PCIe 3.0 NVMe card with a switch allows the user to toggle the card to PCIe 2.0 (the Mac Pros only have 2.0). Without it, most NVMe PCIe 3.0 sleds will fall back to PCIe 1.0, which is the above speed cap. Outside of PCIe 2.0 support, single-slot NVMe cards have little performance difference.

PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs have hit the market (semi) recently, which thus far have offered marginal speed increases over PCIe 3.0 SSDs. These aren't recommended for the Mac Pro, as preliminary speculation has been they will run in 4x PCIe 1.0. I have not seen anyone try a PCIe 4.0 NVMe in a sled with a controller.

To summarize. NVMe speed is a function of three factors: the NVMe sled, the NVMe itself, and the PCIe port's maximum speed.

Not all NVMes are Mac OS compatible. Rather than list all that are compatible, here's a shortlist of incompatible or ones that need firmware updates models, as they are few and far between.

  • Samsung 950 PRO
  • Samsung 970 EVO Plus*
  • Samsung PM981
  • Samsung 860**

* The Evo and Evo Pro variants of the 970 are Mac-compatible. There is a firmware update for the Evo Plus that fixes issues. Most drives at this point should have the new firmware preinstalled at this point, but it should be noted.

** There are mixed reports on the 860s

Useful Links

Not all SSDs are equal

While this guide will not explain the finer points of SSDs, it is important to understand that SSDs come in multiple variants based on their storage capacity. Data density in mechanical hard drives has greatly improved read/write speeds as more data can be read by a drive-head on a hard drive each time the platter rotates. More data per square millimeter = more data read per second. This is one of the main reasons why HDD performance has steadily increased over time. However, the same cannot be said for SSDs. Each storage unit in an SSD is represented as a cell. The first SSDs could store a single bit per cell, positive or negative. This is referred to as a single-layer cell. Shortly after came the Multi-Layer Cell (MLC) introduction, which allowed for 2 bits per cell. Then came Triple Level Cell (TLC), which allowed for 3 bits of data per cell, and Quad Level Cell (QLC), which can store 4 bits per cell. The doubling of data per cell comes at a price: speed and reliability. This additional data load per bit increases stress on each cell and takes more time to access the data, which is fractional, but 3 bits vs. 4 bits means 8 vs. 16 possible values stored in an individual cell and more time to retrieve and write.

SLC is the fastest/most reliable and expensive. QLC drives have dropped the price floor in the SSD market but are hard to recommend with their reliability being untested, with only roughly 1000 read/write cycles (the data can be overwritten roughly 1000 times before that cell becomes unstable and is retired). Worse, in very large file transfers, QLC can occasionally dip below HDD speeds. TLC offers roughly 3000-5000 read/write cycles, making it three to five times as reliable as QLC, and it's much faster. Samsung estimates 114 years for 1 TB TLC. Although this is entirely unproven, Windows utilities provide entirely hypothetical guestimates of your SSD life. Does a QLC have 1/5 the reliability of a TLC SSD? Is it worse? Does it compare to a mechanical HDD? There are better sources on the internet, but it is somewhat speculative. The best estimates are using Mean Time to Failure vs. Terabytes, which is written from large data centers, and we simply do not have the data. My bet is on QLC > HDD, but I would pay the extra money for a TLC drive.

Memory density isn't the only factor; the very first SSDs didn't use a controller with a DRAM cache, and thus performance would \"stutter. In an effort to harass the power of SSDs, controllers started packing DRAM to store the data map, as DRAM is much faster than NAND and alleviates a common choke point in the SSD design. Many inexpensive SSDs are now also switching to DRAMless configurations, which generally result in lesser performance and lesser longevity due to the lack of a buffer to quickly read/write to before going to the SSD. Tomshardware's has an excellent summary of DRAMless SSDs.

Enabling TRIM

SSDs write data in data in units known as pages, and (usually) 128 pages form a block. For an SSD to write data to a block, it first must delete the block (reset the cell state) before new data can be written, thus slowing down data writing speeds to previously used blocks. TRIM enables the operating system to tell an SSD what data blocks are no longer in use and can be reset. TRIM speeds up the SSD and also improves drive longevity. If only some of the pages are changing in a block, TRIM will shuffle current relevant data to a different block, freeing up the entire block to be written instead of having to rewrite the block. I suggest searchstorage.techtarget.com's summary for the curious.

Unlike Windows, by default Mac OS does not have TRIM enabled for 3rd party drives. You can validate if your SSD has TRIM enabled by going to About This Mac -> System Report -> then locating your Drive under the flag, \"TRIM Support\".

In previous iterations of Mac OS, TRIM utilities could be downloaded and installed. In 10.10.x Mac OS switched to Kernel extension signing and thus needed Apple approval locking 3rd party TRIM utilities out unless SIP was disabled. In 10.10.4, Apple made it possible to use its own TRIM utility for 3rd party drives. Open up a Terminal window to enable a drive and use the following command. Almost all newer SSDs are TRIM compatible, but I recommend validating this before enabling it.

sudo trimforce enable

You will be prompted for your password and given a warning. TRIM can be disabled at any time by using disable instead of enable.

The Fastest Boot

One of the ironies of NVMe on the Mac Pro is that it will not greatly improve your boot speed over a SATA SSD connected to the internal SATA slots. This has to do with the PCIe Bus scan and speed negotiation. In fact, in many cases, the SATA SSD will boot faster.

That said, the NVMe is the clear winner once the OS has loaded. If your concern is primarily boot times, go with a SATA SSD connected to the Mac Pro's internal bus.

NVMe and the Mac Pro 3,1

The Mac Pro 3,1 has multiple vectors to enable NVMe booting: NVMe EFI driver and BootROM modification. Currently, MacRumors has a work in progress guide.

Making PCIe drives appear as internal Drives

OpenCore can fix the mislabeled NVMe/SATA drives as external.

A MacRumors forum member has written a kext called Innie, which makes PCIe (SATA/NVMe) drives behave and appear as internal, useful for users not running OpenCore. MacRumors: Innie: A fix for PCI drives seen as external that helps solve issues revolving around Boot Camp Assistant and the macOS Installer. This, however, may be optional for many users. As a user for 6+ years of a SATA3 card + SATA SSD, I've never had issues with the misidentification as I installed Windows without Bootcamp assistant and have never had issues with the installer.

Summary: Getting the most out of your SSD

As there's quite a bit of info to digest, below is a quick bullet point summary.

  • NVMe SSDs are the fastest, much faster than SATA or AHCI, but speeds differ wildly depending on model/make. (See not All SSDs are created equal).
  • NVMe booting requires the updated firmware for 4,1/5,1s. 3.1s require ROM hacking, which is tricky, or you can use OpenCore to support NVMe. Mac Pro 3.1s can use AHCI and SATA HDDs without any issues.
  • NVMe speeds with cheap host cards will be capped to a maximum of 1500 MB/s, as the card will address the PCIe bus in 4x PCIe regardless of what port the card is plugged into. Hosts with compatible controller chipsets will address additional lanes when plugged into a 16x Port, unlocking single NVMe speeds of 3 GB/s or nearly 8 GB/s for a RAID setup. However, host cards with controller chipsets cost significantly more, but pretty much all of these cards support multiple NVMe drives, which can be used as multiple volumes or RAID. You will want one of these cards to get the most out of your NVMe drive. Most Host cards with multiple slots are incompatible with the Mac Pro, as they require the controller chipset to address multiple NVMe drives. The list of compatible cards is listed above.
  • AHCI PCIe SSDs are fairly uncommon today and thus fairly expensive. They are faster than normal SATA SSDs but not as fast as NVMe. Since SATA uses AHCI, these drives are bootable on Macs without NVMe firmware.
  • RAID isn't supported by APFS, but there are workarounds (see below). RAID0 will improve latency as well.
  • SATA SSDs can be plugged into the Mac Pro's SATA ports but will be capped at 300 MB/s thanks to SATA2. Using a SATA3 interface will double the bandwidth to 600 MB/s max. That said, the random read/write times, latency, and other properties are mostly unaffected. Going to SATA3 is mostly noticed when working with large transfers/files.
  • The difference between SATA SSD and NVMe generally favors SATA for startup times due to firmware limitations (as the computer must go through PCIe negotiation). However, after initially booting, NVMe is much faster.
  • For most users, the perceived speed difference from HDD -> SATA SSD is much greater than SATA SSD -> NVMe.
  • NVMe will not greatly improve boot times as the NVMe drive must perform the PCIe Buss scan and speed negotiation. SATA SSDs generally will boot faster.
  • Heatsinks for NVMe drives aren't required.
  • OpenCore benefits NVMe SSDs by making them appear as internal drives

Benchmarking SSDs

The best benchmarking software for SSDs is on Windows, as there are many utilities, whereas the Mac landscape is limited. Previously, users would use utilities like AJA Disk Speed or Blackmagic disk speed, which are, quite frankly, bad as they only test continuous read/write speeds. The popular Windows utility, CrystalMark now has a Mac clone called AmorphousDiskMark. It tests more aspects of an SSD, such as random reads/writes. I've written more about it in a blog post, AmorphousDiskMark is CrystalDiskMark for macOS; let's all stop using BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and AJA Disk Test.



RAID and APFS and performance

As previously mentioned, RAID after 10.13.6 is very ugly for booting. The process involves cloning your boot disk to a single disk drive and cloning the updates back to the RAID array. This remains unchanged from 10.14 - 11.x I recommend reading Catalina on RAID with APFS on MacPro 5,1.

RAID0, though may be \"worth it\" for users looking for the maximum performance. A 16x NVMe RAID0 can hit 6000+ MB/s read and write speeds, but far more important is that it improves the latency, giving a perceptual \"snappiness\" that is noticeable, as demonstrated in this old but a good article by PCPER.com, Triple M.2 Samsung 950 Pro Z170 PCIe NVMe RAID Tested – Why So Snappy?. Users are more likely to notice this than running an NVMe at 4x rather than with an 8x or 16x M.2 Host PCIe card.

Fusion Drives

The Fusion Drive once was Apple's solution to mitigating the high cost/low storage space of SSD. The Fusion drive was an OS-level pairing between a standard spinning disk SATA drive and an SSD. These days, the idea of creating a Fusion drive might seem strange, with SSD prices continuing to drop, and the economics of terabyte-sized SSDs are much more attainable.

Fusion Drives have become en vogue once again thanks to the partial support of earlier MacOS versions regarding NVMe and Mac Pro 3.1s lacking firmware updates. NVMe isn't natively bootable prior to the 140.0.0.0.0 firmware update for the Mac Pro 5.1s, but Fusion drives are.

Note the following hack is no longer necessary for 5.1s. The hack goes as follows: Disable SIP / Install the hacked NVMe driver for 10.12 (you may still need it for specific brands in 10.13), then a string of installation commands... Rather than re-outline them, the following links are useful.

Useful Links

OWC Aura and Accelsior SSDs and APFS

OWC appears to make the only SSDs that are incompatible with APFS, the default file system for 10.13+. According to the MacRumors forum posters, OWC Aura owners have been offered a rebate on Aura Pro SSDs. The Aura series is unlikely to be found in a cMac Pro setup as it requires an external case. Users report that Accelsior SSDs work with HFS+ with 10.13.



Display Upgrades

The Mac Pro's display limitations are a factor of graphics cards, what OS you are running, and whatever monitor you can afford or are willing to pay for. The Mac Pros running 10.9 or later can use resolution scaling akin to Macs that ship with \"retina\" (high-density pixel-per-inch displays).

5k and Beyond

There are users with 5k displays and Mac Pros, including a user confirming two 5k displays working perfectly fine on his Mac Pro.

The current state of 8k

So far, users have only been able to get macOS to output 8k at 30 Hz regardless of macOS version or GPU, but Windows 10 with a Mac Pro can output 8k@60 Hz. I recommend checking out the following threads: Mac Rumors: 8k (or '8k4k') display support in macOS?, Reddit: My journey for 8K on MacOS, and MacRumors: Dell UP3218K 8K Monitor on Mac Pro 2019?. Most likely, a Big Sur update or a later macOS will introduce native 8K support. It is unlikely older macOSes will ever output 8k@60 Hz.

10-Bit Color / Color Spacing

10-bit color spacing requires a minimum of 10.12 (although Apple introduced 10-bit in 10.11 for the 5k iMac), and it'sits support is somewhat hazy as few Apple apps support 10-bit color (Preview, Photos, Final Cut Pro) and some 3rd party apps. The latest Catalina adds desktop-wide HDR color spacing support, whereas Windows has had this feature for years.

Older NVidia GPUs with the web drivers will not support 10-bit color, but the latest GPUs do. AMD's GPU Drivers lockout 10-bit on its consumer GPUs (sans the VII), but the Pro variants unlock 10-bit color. Unfortunately, Apple's drivers confusingly report 30-bit (aka 10-bit) color even when non-compatible hardware is used. If the GPU can address downsampling 30-bit color spaces to 24-bit, it will report 30-bit color. Many true 10-bit displays will report when they're receiving a 10-bit signal. Under Windows, non-pro AMD GPUs will use 10-bit color in games, whereas 2D operations are still wedged into 8-bit color spaces. Most displays (especially budget) use Frame Rate Control (FRC) to achieve simulated 10-bit. FRC works by parsing the 10-bit color stream and for colors that fall outside the 8-bit range, cycling between near shades of colors within the 8-bit spectrum. This visually creates a simulated 10-bit experience and improves the perceived gamut. This is acceptable for many purposes, but film editors, colorists, and graphic designers may require the accuracy of true 10-bit color. These come with a much higher price tag.

When buying a display, it's also important to consider color-space coverage. Color spaces for the unfamiliar are standards of color ranges that a display, projector, or printer setup can represent. Monitors may brag about their color space profile. Not all color spaces are equal, some representing a lot fewer colors than others. The important thing is that sRGB is a dated standard from the 1990s, based on CRTs rather than any clear standard. It severely suffers in representing shades of green and some blues. Today, Apple prefers DCI P3 for its monitors. This standard vastly improves the range of colors available to a display (roughly 45% of the human eye can see as opposed to the 35% of sRGB) and is designed for digital cinema. Adobe RGB is also similar to P3. Both represent a much wider gamut than sRGB. Selecting monitors based on color spaces can assist you in finding a display that's more suitable for photo editing and color grading, capable of more range in the expression of color, and feels more \"Mac-like\". The wider the color gamut, the wider range of colors a display can produce.

The latest macOS Catalina brings HDR color space support finally to the Mac platform for compatible GPUs and displays.

Refresh rates: 60 Hz (and above) 4k

The Hz of a display measures how many times a second the screen is refreshed, which defines the maximum frames-per-second (FPS) a display can render. A 120 Hz display can render a maximum of 120 FPS. 60 Hz is generally considered the minimum refresh rate for \"smooth\" user interfaces, like mouse tracking, dragging windows, scrolling, etc. As computer hardware has improved, so have refresh rates. FreeSync and G-Sync are technologies that allow for variable refresh rates to improve the visual experience (prevent effects like \"tearing\"), especially in the realm of gaming. Mac OS currently does not support Freesync/G-Sync. I can attest that enabling Freesync on a Freesync display caused the monitor to stop outputting video in 10.13.x with a GeForce 1060 and a Vega 56. Also, both tonymacx86 and MacRumors forum members have experienced the same sort of issues. The workaround is to disable the G-sync and Freesync if the monitor produces no video output. Under Windows 10, FreeSync/G-Sync is supported as the limitation is tied to Mac OS.

Depending on the setup, 4k @ 60 Hz+ via HDMI may require workarounds, whereas DisplayPort tends to be far more reliable. I've personally used several 4k displays with my Mac Pro at 60 Hz via DisplayPort with no issues beyond Freesync. Forum members at MacRumors have confirmed that 144 Hz 4k displays do work.

There's a minor caveat that flashed 7950s and 7970s booting with 60 Hz 4k displays will hang, thus must run at 30 Hz at the boot screen. Most 79xx cards have dual ROM, so day-to-day, the UEFI ROM can function as the card's default, which bypasses the boot-screen video output. Later GPUs do not have this issue.

Dual-Link DVI Displays & Modern GPUs
(and the 30-inch Cinema Display)

Many modern GPUs do not have DVI ports, and many older monitors use DVI. Buying an HDMI -> DVI or DisplayPort -> DVI cable should work, right? Not so fast. If the monitor's resolution is over 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz, you will need an active Dual-Link DVI convertor.

DVI has always been a bit of a hodge-podge standard, owing to the era it came from when displays were mostly analog. There are multiple variants, DVI-A (analog only), DVI-I (analog or digital), and DVI-D (Digital). To add to the confusion, there's also Dual-Link DVI, which doubles the cable serial links (using the pin-outs) in the cable to effectively double the bandwidth for DVI-D signals, allowing for 1080p @ 120 Hz/2560 × 1600 (or 2560 × 1440) @ 60 Hz/3,840 × 2,400 @ 30 Hz).

Because of the data rate limitations of DVI-D, the industry has primarily shifted to the newer DisplayPort and High-Speed HDMI. Both support 8k resolutions at their current iterations, as well as audio. Modern GPUs often do not have DVI connections and only have HDMI and DisplayPort. However, because of the pin-out shenanigans and also bitstream differences, using DVI-D displays (any display that allows for the resolutions listed above) requires an Active Dual-Link DVI to DisplayPort Adapter/Conversion. The converters need additional power; thus, they usually have a USB connector to draw power. Otherwise, DVI to DisplayPort or HDMI is limited to 1080p @ 60 Hz. This means the ever-popular 30-inch Apple Cinema Display with many modern GPUs will require active conversion, which often costs north of $120 USD for decent quality ones.

If you are wondering, \"What about HDMI to Dual-Link DVI\"? There isn't any solution as no such device exists on the market.

Why you can go HDMI to DisplayPort but not the inverse

There are plenty of HDMI -> DisplayPort cables on the market, but they will not work going DisplayPort -> HDMI.

HDMI was developed directly as a follow-up to DVI, whereas DisplayPort is a different beast. HDMI and DVI are both based on TMDS (Transition-Minimized Differential Signaling) for data transfer at 5V. Thus, a DVI and HDMI cable can be used interchangeably. DisplayPort is entirely different, running its LVDS signal protocol instead and at 3.3v. This is where things get a little more confusing. DisplayPort was later adapted to carry the 5V TMDS called DisplayPort Dual-Mode but became so ubiquitous that most manufacturers don't even bother to list it. It can pretty much be assumed that any device with a DisplayPort manufactured in the last decade can accept video from an HDMI source. As mentioned above, DisplayPort requires active conversion to carry the Dual-Link DVI signal. DisplayPort, like HDMI, can also carry audio. It can also do more than that and can even transmit bi-directional USB data.

HDMI has no such mode to carry LVDS video signals and wasn't designed to be as all-encompassing as DisplayPort. Also respectively, HDMI predates DisplayPort by four years, released in 2002, whereas DisplayPort was released in 2006. The summary is you cannot connect an HDMI Display to a DisplayPort on a GPU without a convertor.

Using a 4k TV as a display

The short answer is: yes, you can do it. TVs generally require some minor tweaking of the picture, such as enabling overscan correction in macOS. Those looking to use a TV as a full-time monitor should keep a few things in mind. Not all TVs use Chroma 4:4:4 subsampling. Video editors are probably familiar with this concept as not all cameras are 4:4:4, but they may not realize it, nor are all displays. Chroma subsampling refers to pixel clusters and data representation. The Human eye is much more receptive to changes in luminance than color. Thus, video data can be compressed easily by tracking clusters of chroma values and mapping them over pixels of chroma value. This works great for video codecs when the data is at an endpoint where precision isn't as important (a streaming video, for example). TVs, to cut corners, often use this in the panels to both improve response times and lower cost, whereas PC displays are almost always 4:4:4 outside of extremely odd-ball instances. With lower Chroma Subsampling, things like text look blurry due to the decreased chroma resolution. Rtings has a great running list of The 6 Best 4k TVs For PC Monitors and pictorial examples of Chroma subsampling. A 60 Hz 4:4:4 Chroma Subsampled 4k 43-inch display suitable for a PC can be had for as low as $230 USD, making them popular for many users. Mac OS supports audio over HDMI as well. See the GPU section for details.

Notably, with the increase in size comes a decrease in sharpness. For a monitor, one intends to sit at a normal desk distance; 43 inches is appropriate as its Pixels Per Inch (PPI) is approximately 102 PPI. For comparison, Apple's 30-inch Cinema display was roughly 101 PPI, and its 27 Inch Cinema Display was 109 PPI. Apple's laptops pre-Retina generally were around 110 PPI and its retina laptops at 220 PPI. A 4k 42-inch TV is roughly 105 PPI, making it appropriate as a very large standard-definition display. I suggest the PPI calculator for calculating a display's PPI quickly.

UI scaling

External monitors receive the same UI scaling abilities as found in MacBooks. UI scaling requires Mavericks 10.9.3+, although the GPU may require a later version of Mac OS. Some 4k displays will not report all scaled resolutions. To display all the scaled resolution options:

  1. Open preferences and click the Displays.
  2. If the option \"Default for display\" is selected, option-click Scaled.
  3. If Scaled is already selected, option-click \"Scaled.\"

Does my GPU support 4k?

This is where Google is your friend. Search your GPU's model and max resolution (GPU model can be found in the About This Mac section). That said, there's another way to check, too: If your GPU does not have HDMI or Display Port, it cannot output 4k, as Dual-Link DVI maxes out at 2560 x 1600. That said, an HDMI port and/or DisplayPort does not guarantee 4k support but makes it a possibility.

Control Brightness via keyboard a 3rd Party Display

Some displays use the DDC/CI spec to control the brightness/volume (as well as other features), a kind MacRumors member wrote a utility to assist for those displays.

The utility, MonitorControl, can be installed from a dmg or homebrew. Lastly, the MonitorControl FAQ is a bit buried but contains useful info.

Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display
(and the 27-inch LED Cinema Display)

Apple made two 27-inch displays, the LED Cinema Display and the Thunderbolt Display. Both look very similar and thus cause a lot of confusion as they are frequently mislabeled. The LED model uses mini DisplayPort and has the model number A1316. It can be connected via an adapter from HDMI to a mini-DisplayPort port or DisplayPort to a mini-DisplayPort. However, it is less common than its successor.

The Apple Thunderbolt Display, often incorrectly referred to as the \"Thunderbolt Cinema Display\" (technically, it is not part of the Cinema display line), is a poor choice for Mac Pros because it does not use mini-DisplayPort but rather uses Thunderbolt (despite the connector looking the same as its predecessor). You cannot use an adapter to make the Thunderbolt display backward compatible with other technologies (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI).

On the backside of the display, the Thunderbolt display has multiple ports: three USB 2.0 ports, single Firewire 800 port, and a single Gigabit Ethernet port, whereas the LED Display only has USB 2.0 Ports.

The Mac Pro, by default, is not equipped with Thunderbolt. Yet a MacProUpgrade user using an ASUS Expansion Card for Z170 & X99 Motherboards ThunderboltEX 3 to enable video passthrough, from his GPU. This isn't recommended as the computer will not wake from sleep and remains experimental. Currently, there is progress with Thunderbolt 3 cards.

Recommended Places to go for Monitor Recommendations

The wonderful thing about monitors is the large variety, but it can make it daunting to select one. I'm personally a fan of the following sites: Rtings, PCmag, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, Tomshardware, Digital Trends, as all sites do actual hands-on reviews as opposed to listicles of dubious rapport. I ended up with a BenQ PD3220u as it's a true 10-bit 4k panel that has a wide gamut, supporting 95% of the P3 color profile after trying several lesser displays but I also found that a 43 inch 4k Sony X800H TV that I picked up for less than half of the BenQ covers the same P3 space and looks every bit as good as the BenQ which goes to show there are bargains to be had.



Bluetooth / Wireless Upgrades

The Mac Pros 1,1 - 5,1 all include one mini PCIe slot for Airport cards but can also use USB and PCIe Wi-Fi adapters for both 802.11.x and Bluetooth. The advantage of the mini-PCIe slot is that you do not have to sacrifice a PCIe slot, and you can also upgrade Bluetooth and 802.11 internally. Mac OS 10.14 Mojave drops the support for the BCM94321MC chipset found in many Mac Pros. Users must upgrade their Wi-Fi chipset to use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (ethernet remains unaffected). Users need a BCM94360. If you are already running a BCM94360, you may need to purge your Wi-Fi settings for Mojave. Users can look up their chipset by going to About this Mac -> System Report -> Network -> Wi-Fi. The chipset will be located within the Interfaces section, usually with the starting numbers of the card's chipset in the firmware. Most upgraders prefer to use the mini-PCIe slot upgrade as PCIe slots are in short supply.

Mini PCIe Airport Cards

Apple's Airport cards originally started at 802.11.x wireless network adapters. With the advent of Bluetooth, Apple folded Bluetooth and 802.11x into one card that was in many different Mac models, making it possible to upgrade the Wi-Fi abilities in those Mac models. All models of the classic Mac Pros shipped with an AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.0+). Any Mac Pro can be upgraded to 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0+, and this enables features like Airdrop. With an upgraded Wi-Fi chipset, Continuity and Handoff can be enabled to work with a Mac Pro. See enabling Continuity and Handoff in this guide.

Buying/Installing a Mini PCIe Airport card

Vendors like OSXWifi sell a mini PCIe to Apple Airport adapter + the Apple Airport BCM94360. Each can be bought separately or packaged together. However, more intrepid users have noticed that you can buy for much cheaper the Broadcom BCM94331CD Mini PCIe to wireless Wi-Fi card Adapter Bracket adapter for a Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 and the Mini PCIe Adapter. The BCM94322MC can be found on Amazon for roughly $15-$20, as well.

I bought a card from osxwifi.com and outlined my experiences here. Connecting the Airport cables before the card is seated will make installing a card much easier.

Installing the cards isn't much harder than regular PCIe cards.

Mac Pro 3.1s looking to keep Wi-Fi support for unsupported OSes can keep native Wi-Fi / Bluetooth with the BCM94360CD.

  • Apple Broadcom BCM94360CD - 1,1 / 5,1 Mac Pros (The Mac 1,1-3,1s have a Bluetooth antenna that's attachable via USB data lines; the 4,1/5,1s antennas are located off the logic board; thus, an extension cable is needed)

Useful Links

USB Bluetooth Adapters

Many users go the easier route of using USB Dongles. USB Bluetooth dongles aren't perfect, but they do (mostly) work. You may need to get Apple Bluetooth explorer, go to Apple Developer Bluetooth and click downloads. It'll require a developer account. The basic developer account is free. Users of MacRumors recommend USB dongles using the Broadcom BCM20702 chipset for compatibility. Readers of MacProUpgrade report both the Asus BT400 and IOGear BT4 USB GBU521 work without hitches.

PCIe Wifi Cards

Again, like the actual mini PCIe upgrades, any card based on the BCM94360CD works in a Mac Pro. The best place to get information on compatible PCIe Wi-Fi cards is from the Hackintosh community, such as TonyMacX86's buyer's guide. Any cards that function without any hacks in a Hackintosh will also work in a Mac Pro without hacks. Popular cards include the TP-Link PCI Express Wi-Fi Adapter 802.11N (N900), Fenvi 802.11AC A/B/G/N/AC Desktop Wi-Fi Card (No Bluetooth), and Rosewill PCI Express Wi-Fi Adapter 802.11N (the US only).

Useful Links



Ram Upgrades (Memory)

As many users probably are already aware, the Mac Pros, in certain cases, can address more RAM than Apple officially lists. It depends on the CPU configuration. If, for some reason, you intend to run pre-10.9, OS X pre-Mavericks had a maximum of 96 GB of RAM.

By default, Apple shipped all models of the Mac Pros with Error-correcting code memory (ECC memory), although all the Mac Pros support non-ECC RAM. Most users choose to stick with ECC RAM for its increased stability. Mixing and matching RAM is feasible on the later Mac Pros.

Mac Pro 5,1 (2010/2012)

\"Mac

Pictured: Single CPU tray. The Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 use a combined CPU/Memory Tray design. The dual CPU trays contain double the amount of memory slots.

The 5.1s are the most flexible of the Mac Pros when it comes to memory. The 5,1 Mac Pro, depending on CPU config, may run 1333 MHz RAM at 1066 MHz if 1066 MHz Dimms are present. See the RAM (Memory) Upgrades for a list of the CPUs and their bus speeds to determine which CPU supports 1333 MHz RAM. Any CPU config can use the slower clocked memory; there is some debate on performance effects Mac Performance Guide tests for information. Users also report mixed ECC/non-ECC ram bootable, RDIMMS with UDIMMs, and again mixing ECC and non-ECC on the Mac Pro 5.1. Lastly, OWC and EveryMac generally report the maximum ram on the 5,1 as 128 GB, but users have confirmed that 160 GB is possible, although it appears not to be feasible after 10.13.x. The Mac Pro will not boot macOS with more than 160 GB of RAM.

. Using OpenCore, it may be feasible to boot macOS with 192 GB of RAM.

Dual-Channel vs. Triple-Channel

As computers advanced, memory controllers have changed significantly, which in the case of dual-channel memory, allowed for two datapaths for the CPU to access memory per clock cycle, effectively doubling the throughput. Triple-channel memory adds yet another datapath to increase memory performance.

The Mac Pro 5,1 can run in both Dual and Triple-channel memory modes. Channel modes depend on how many matched pairs of RAM are placed into the Mac Pro. This depends on configuration depends on whether the Mac Pro is a single or dual CPU computer, as the dual CPU Macs.

A dual CPU Mac Pro 5,1 can run in triple-channel mode with six paired DIMMs, whereas if 2, 4, or 8 DIMMs are used, the Mac Pro will run in dual-channel mode. A single CPU Mac Pro can run triple-channel memory mode with 3 DIMMs installed. Thus, the maximum RAM in triple-channel memory mode in a single CPU Mac Pro is 48 GB, and a dual CPU is 96 GB. Notably, memory performance is increased roughly 50% by running a Mac Pro in triple-channel mode but result in small real-world performance tests equate to a 3-4% speed increase in limited testing, a much more recent test by a Mac Rumors user showed that Triple channel memory results in notable gains again in synthetic benchmarks and less-so in Valley Unigine. Other applications may see larger differences, as it is a significant bandwidth increase. Also, see \"Is Tri Channel functionality maintained when 4th memory stick used?\" for further info. Perhaps another enterprising blogger/forum poster will one day test more broadly dual-channel vs. triple-channel modes to show the real-world gains.

Maximum DIMM size: 32 GB*

Maximum RAM:

Apple's Recommended DIMM type:

  • PC3-10600E, 1333 MHz, DDR3 SDRAM UDIMMs
  • 72-bit wide, 240-pin ECC modules
  • 36 ICs maximum per ECC UDIMM
  • Error-correcting code (ECC)

It's also worth noting that the Mac Pro 5,1 has a narrow chance of supporting more than 160 GB of RAM due to a few factors: Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks increased the maximum RAM in OSX above 96 GB. The Mac Pro supports 32 GB DIMMS in certain scenarios. The latest iMac Pros now have larger RAM configurations. Windows can support 192 GB in the Mac Pro. Recently, users running OpenCore have tested the viability of 32 GB DIMMs in the Mac Pro, opening the possibility for 192 GB support in macOS. Facebook: OpenCore - on the Mac Pro (requires membership). OpenCore emulates later Mac firmware, thus allowing macOS to boot with more than 128 GB reliably.

* So far, Mac OS 10.14 and 10.15 appear to no longer support 32 GB DIMMs (without OpenCore). See MacRumors: note here and the threadMacRumors: Crazy idea. 32GB RAM modules in a cMP. Anyone tried this?. 32 GB DIMMs work in Windows and Linux. With OpenCore, users have been able to run more than 128 GB successfully.

** A few users have had issues with certain non-ECC DIMMs. Many users advise against mixing and matching, but there seem to be no repercussions. See the above links about non-ECC RAM.

DDR3 and Heatsinks

Unlike DDR2, the DDR3 design means heatsinks are optional. The Mac Pro has a fan set that operates over the memory chamber, and there are users who have been using it for a decade now without any RAM failures. Some vendors, like Samsung with its ECC RAM, come with heatsinks. In the case of the Mac Pro, there's little-to-no real-world benefit.

Mac Pro 4,1 (2009)

Maximum DIMM size: 16 GB

The 4,1 Mac Pros can be firmware upgraded to 5.1, which changes the RAM support and maximum RAM. Like the Mac Pro 5.1, it can run in dual and triple-channel modes.

Maximum RAM:

  • Single Processor Xeon: 48 GB
  • Dual-Processor Capable Single Xeon: 64 GB
  • Dual-Processor Xeon: 128 GB

Apple's Recommended DIMM type:

  • PC3-8500, 1066 MHz, DDR3 SDRAM UDIMMs
  • 72-bit wide, 240-pin ECC modules
  • 36 ICs maximum per ECC UDIMM
  • Error-correcting code (ECC)
  • Unlisted Spec: Single or Dual Rank memory (see rank section)

Like the Mac Pro 5.1, even with the 4,1 firmware, you can use non-ECC memory, with confirmations here. Placing 1333 MHz RAM in an unflashed 4,1 will only run at 1066 MHz.

Mac Pro 3,1 (2008)

\"Mac

Pictured: Both the Mac Pro 3,1 and Mac Pro 1,1 use very similar card trays for the RAM upgrades. On the left is a 3,1 tray and on the left is a 1,1 tray

Maximum RAM: 64 GB

Maximum DIMM size: 8 GB

RAM must be installed in pairs, and Apple recommends Apple-approved heatsinks to keep fans at a minimum. The 3.1 can use 667 MHz FB-DIMMs as found in the 1,1/2,1 but with a speed penalty as all installed RAM will run at the 667 MHz speed if a 667 MHz DIMM is present. Also, XLR8yourmac's mixed speed pairing tests.

Apple's Recommended DIMM type:

  • 800 MHz, DDR2, FB-DIMMs
  • 72-bit wide, 240-pin modules
  • 36 memory ICs maximum per DIMM
  • Error-correcting code (ECC)

The Mac Pro 3,1 has confirmation that ECC is not required. However, you cannot mix and match ECC with non-EC due to the fully-buffered RAM differences in DDR2.

MacRumors forum members report Mac Pro 3,1 has a speed penalty when running 64 GB of ram. The workaround is to modify NVRAM the Mac Pro 3,1 to boot with 62 GB of RAM. Other OSes like Windows/Linux can use 64 GB of ram without issues.

 sudo nvram boot-args=\"maxmem=63488\"

To explain the code above, this adds a boot flag that sets the maximum RAM to 63488 KB. To arrive at this number, 1024K * 62 = 63488. See MacRumors: Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe support + Upgrade Guide + Questions for more info.

Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 (2006/2007)

The Mac Pro 1,1/2.1s Mac RAM depends on the firmware, 1,1 Mac Pros are limited to 32 GB, whereas flashing to the 2,1 firmware ensures 64 GB support. See the Firmware Upgrades section for more details. OWC(macsales)/Everymac reports the 2,1 Mac Pro with a maximum of 32 GB, which is incorrect. Users have confirmed using 8 GB DIMMs in 2.1s as well as LowEndMac.com: Install 64 GB of RAM in Your Mac Pro 1,1 or 2,1.

RAM must be installed in pairs, and Apple recommends Apple-approved heatsinks to keep fans at a minimum.

Maximum RAM:

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  • Mac Pro 1,1: 32 GB
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  • Mac Pro 2,1 (Dual CPU): 64 GB
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Maximum DIMM size:

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  • Mac Pro 1,1: 4 GB
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  • Mac Pro 2,1: 8 GB
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Apple's Recommended DIMM type:

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  • 667 MHz, FB-DIMMs
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  • 72-bit wide, 240-pin modules
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  • 36 devices maximum per DIMM
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  • Error-correcting code (ECC)
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The Mac Pros 1,1/2,1s have reports of non-ECC RAM working. Users report using 800 MHz RAM. However, the 1,1/2,1 will downclock the ram to 667 MHz.

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Useful Links

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CAS latency

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Not all RAM is created equal. Depending on the source of the RAM you buy, the CAS (Column Address Strobe or Signal) latency is the count of how many clock cycles it takes for a RAM module to access a specific set of data. For example, if a stick of PC3-10600E (1333 MHz) RAM has a very low CAS latency of 6, then at 1333 MHz (each full cycle taking 1.5 Nanoseconds), the latency would be 9 Nanoseconds. A high CAS latency of 9 would take 13.5 Nanoseconds.

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Notably, the higher the MHz rating of RAM, the larger the CAS Latency is because of the increasingly smaller cycle length. DDR4 RAM, for example, starts at a CAS latency of 15. Crucial has a break down of the true CAS latencies across memory formats

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The CAS latencies can be mixed, and most users won't notice the difference between memory speeds. When put to the test in real-world benchmarks, the results are pretty minuscule. See HardwareSecrets: Do memory timings affect real-world computer performance? for examples.

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DDR3: Registered vs. Unregistered (unbuffered) RAM (RDIMM vs. UDIMM)

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The Mac Pros 4,1/5,1 can accept both Registered and Unregistered (unbuffered), and users have reported mixing the two successfully, but it is generally not recommended and actively discouraged as it may have negative performance implications.

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UDIMMs and RDIMMs have performance implications: UDIMMs are slightly faster at single-channel modes, whereas RDIMMs perform better than UDIMMs in multichannel modes. I recommend Spiceworks: How to: Difference between RDIMM and UDIMM for anyone looking to dive deeper between the two. Most users elect to buy RDIMMs.

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RAM ranks (1Rx4 vs 2Rx4, vs 4Rx4)

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RAM also has yet another factor to consider, known as \"Ranks.\" You'll see it expressed in a number like 2Rx4. The Mac Pros use ECC Memory, which has 72-bit wide data blocks. A DIMM may have multiple data blocks that are expressed as ranks. To determine the Rank, a 1Rx4 would be a 1R or one rank. This would be a single rank, 2R would be dual rank, and 4R is quad rank.

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Then the second portion of this refers to how many data banks are on the said module. crucial, a respected manufacturer of RAM has a deeper dive on this topic.

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While there is some conflicting info, Mac Pro Guru tsialex reports that Quad Rank was never officially supported and will downgrade its clockspeed. Quad Rank RAM is best avoided.

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Buying RAM

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RAM can be purchased rather cheaply if you know where to look, for example, aliexpress or eBay.

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Audio

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Every iteration of the Mac Pro comes with a front-facing headphone Analog Output, a back-facing analog output, a back-facing line-in analog input, and S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface) I/O in the form of two Optical (Toslink). It is capable of transmitting audio via both USB and Firewire interfaces (and even Thunderbolt 3). The Mac Pro's internal hardware is limited to a maximum of 24-bit sound and 96 kHz (Mac Pro 4.1, 5.1) via the analog output and 96 kHz, 24 PCM audio bit via the SPDIF interface. With various audio interfaces, the Mac Pro can support many, many channels of high-resolution audio, commonly tapping out at 24-bit, 192 kHz. A sound's bit-depth and sample rate (resolution) are analogous to a graphic file's bit-depth and resolution.

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Surround Sound and High-resolution audio

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The short answer is the Mac Pro can output multichannel audio but only passthrough popular surround sound used for movies (Dolby Digital, DTS, AAC) codecs via applications like VLC. It cannot output games in surround sound in Mac OS. This isn't a hardware limitation unique to the Mac Pros but rather software. In Windows, the Mac Pro fairs better for surround sound. Also, the Mac Pro's ability to output 96 kHz 24-bit sound via the analog output is a bit dubious, but it can playback high-resolution media without specialized hardware. Whether via the analog outputs is noticeable is questionable.

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macOS 10.15 Catalina finally added mapping of surround sound hardware in the Audio/Midi Setup. It remains only a rudimentary implementation compared to Windows 10.

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To explain the above adequately (analog outputs, surround sound, etc.), I've elected to hide by default as the long answer is long: Click to show long answer for

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Understanding Audio and codecs

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Uncompressed digital audio almost entirely exists as PCM (Pulse-code modulation) which describes audio by checking a soundwave's pressure by a set number of times a second. Each time it is checked is referred to as a sample.hTus the rate of how many times the sound's pressure is checked is the sample rate and is expressed in hertz. 1 Hz = 1 second. 1 khz = 1/1000 of a second. According to the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem: To capture a sound frequency, the minimum sample rate must be double that of the sound frequency to get both its peak and valley. The human ear can hear 20 Hz to 20 kHz as a general rule, although this changes as one gets older or damaged, so generally, audio formats top out at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz (Vinyl can go as high as 45 kHz but due to the ultrasonic vibrations interfering with the prints, are mostly capped to 22 Khz- 23 Khz). Some audiophiles/audio engineers argue the extra sound outside of human hearing affects the audible range as it creates phasing and modulation known as \"overtones.\"

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For each sample, the level of sound pressure is recorded as a simple numerical value. Depending on how many bits are assigned to the sound file determines the maximum dynamic range. The maximum dynamic range can be determined using the signal-to-quantization-noise ratio. A 16-bit audio file can describe approximately 96 dB between no sound to its loudest sound. 24-bit audio can describe 144 dB of dynamic range (a NASA rocket launch is roughly 140 dB and can instantly produce severe irreversible hearing damage; a vinyl record being analog has roughly 80 dB of dynamic range). Thus, even the best digital-to-analog converters and the best analog-to-digital converters are, in reality, unable to make full use of the 24-bit dynamic range. That said, even a piece of hardware able to capture a dynamic range of 107 dB (17 bits of worth dynamic range) is still 2x the number of levels in sound pressure. Thus, a 96 kHz / 24-bit audio file describes audio well beyond the capabilities of human hearing and captures overtones of instruments. I created a simple Audio bit-depth calculator that can be used to calculate data rates, dynamic ranges, and so forth. The Mac Pro , when measured, was only able to output 91 dB with a 75 Ohm load, which is slightly below 16-bit (unsurprising). There's little to be gained by playing back 24-bit audio via the analog output, and the front output is faired worse than an iPod. This isn't to say that high-resolution audio isn't useful, but rather, without additional hardware, the Mac Pro will see little gains when trying to play back 24-bit sound. That said, there are many external audio solutions like USB headphone amps to dedicated digital-to-analog converters that can be had at many price ranges that are more performant. I imagine one of the factors for the long-rumored Apple Music, enabling high-resolution audio, is simply that its current hardware would barely benefit if it does at all. Lossless audio would be far more beneficial than high-rez audio.

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Storing PCM audio isn't very space-intensive today (a 12 TB drive could store 18,460+ uncompressed Audio CDs), but once upon a time, a CD carried an incredible amount of data, and processing PCM audio was a considerable task for a computer. )Note: There are other obscure PCM alternatives like DSD but generally not hardware supported and thus converted to PCM.)

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Most people understand that MP3s and AAC are lossy audio codecs at this day in age, akin to most video codecs. Codecs are complex algorithms used to compress down specific data-streams to save space and/or bandwidth. Not all codecs are equal, they often must balance CPU usage to decode, how effective they are at varying levels of compression, and so forth. Thus, codecs arose to make both video and audio more easily distributed and still aid in storage and distribution (streaming). More audio channels meant more data to store; thus, codecs arose to tackle that issue, starting in 1992 with AC3 by Dobly for movies. Today, Blu-Ray movies use lossless codecs (codecs designed to save space but output a byte-for-byte accurate reproduction of the original bitstream) made by both Dolby and DTS and videogame consoles can skip codecs altogether with HDMI and output RAW PCM steams for surround sound, as the sounds are being generated/played back/manipulated in real-time.

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The S/PDIF is simply a unidirectional data port that dates back to AES3. It's a professional cousin and was designed with 2-channel audio in mind, and thus was limited to 2-channel PCM audio. However, being a data port, it supported the ability to send other bitstreams. Using codecs that converted discrete multichannel audio into a single bitstream, a SPDIF port could transmit encoded multichannel audio like Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS and thus became the default standard digital formats like CD Players and DVD players for home theaters, with the catch that the compressed audio needed a decoder to convert the bitstream back to multichannel audio.

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Over time, this evolved as CPUs and specialized chipsets improved so that game consoles like the PS2 and Xbox (and following consoles like the PS2 and Xbox 360) could encode in real-time multichannel audio from a game into Dolby Digital (and in later consoles DTS) to be sent via the SPDIF data port, and then decoded by a Home Theater Receiver or all-in-one speaker set into surround sound.

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PCs were able to support multichannel audio before game consoles, using audio cards but lacking the specialized hardware and/or foresight only outputted audio as analog (usually requiring three stereo cables to carry the six channels for 5,1 sounds) and later acquired the ability to convert discrete channels to popular codecs using technologies like Dolby Digital Live.

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Unfortunately, OS X/Mac OS's CoreAudio supports thousands of simultaneous audio streams that can be mapped to hardware inputs and outputs and thus can be used to playback multichannel audio with one major catch: It cannot convert multichannel audio in real-time to any popular multichannel audio codec nor can it decode any popular codec in real-time to multichannel outputs. OpenAL (an open alternative to EAX and DirectSound) was brought over to Mac OS 9 but failed to be embraced with a very ill-fated SoundBlaster Live card and later the M-Audio Revolution 7.1.

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Thus, without a guiding force from Apple, Mac OS has never had consumer applications that supported more than stereo in real-time. However, media players like VLC can output the bitstreams from media via the SPDIF port found in the Mac Pro. Even with technologies like HDMI, which are extremely bandwidth-heavy, Apple still hasn't embraced a surround sound that could be used for Mac gaming. Ironically, Mac OS can be used to master a 7.2 soundtrack for a blockbuster movie but would not easily play it back once encoded.

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10.15 Catalina makes some in-roads with surround sound that allows for better mapping of speakers in Audio/Midi Setup, for analog outputs. High Sierra introduced this feature, but it still remains largely ignored by audio applications on the Mac.

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Speakers, headphones and more

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Most likely, you will not be using the internal speaker in the Mac Pro other than to hear the startup chime.

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Audio output is very free form when it comes to computers as they play nicely with analog and digital hardware. There are many routes to go, from inexpensive computer speakers, studio monitors, and home theater receivers to esoteric audiophile brands. For most consumer applications, there's not much reason to use any dedicated computer hardware as digital out is digital out. Audio can be outputted via the analog outputs, SPDIF, Firewire, USB, HDMI (GPU dependent), DisplayPort (GPU dependent), and Bluetooth out-of-the-box. Other formats can be added via upgrades.

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Prosumer/Professional Audio

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Professional hardware is less of a grab bag than consumer audio as Mac OS has a very long and proud history as the defacto choice for studios, audio engineers, and musicians. CoreAudio supports low-latency multichannel audio interfaces without any specialized drivers. For most audio interfaces, the basic functionality works out of the box. That said, audio interfaces come in various formats, like PCIe Cards, USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt, and additional functionality can be tied to both the drivers and compatible software.

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CoreAudio allows device aggregation, which will map multiple pieces of hardware to appear to software applications as a single device, making it easier to assign inputs and outputs to a software application. Listing compatible hardware would be a losing game for this guide as there are decades worth of compatible gear. Most USB audio interfaces are HID-compliant, meaning even cheapo-USB audio boxes designed for Windows generally are compatible on a fundamental level with Mac OS. However, if they rely on additional drivers, they may not work with Mac OS. It's best to do your research. Hardware makers like Ableton, AKIA, Apogee, Behringer, Focusrite, IK, Korg, Line, M-Audio, MOTU, Native Instruments, Numark, Presonus, RME, Steinberg Tascam, Universal Audio, and Yamaha make almost exclusively hardware compatible for both Mac OS and Windows (not one or the other). There's plenty more I didn't list. Again, I must stress about doing your homework. Most likely, the piece of PC audio gear you have your eyes on is Mac-compatible.

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CoreAudio also supports by default Midi, which can be done via Midi interfaces or via USB. For general midi devices, no specialized drivers are needed, but often additional drivers are needed for extended functionality like saving presets or configuration settings (it's worth noting some devices can also use esoteric midi commands to perform these same settings as well).

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Overall, the Mac Pro is a very capable audio workstation and more than capable of professional work even today. That said, as audio applications become more advanced/complicated/full-featured/robust, as do the CPU requirements. Your mileage will inevitably depend on the number of software instruments/synths/effects and their combined requirements, but audio software has a much lower bar for hardware requirements than video.

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Lastly, the Mac Pro 3.1s and below do not support SSE 4.2 CPU instructions. I have personally encountered with Serato DJ that an 8-core 2.8 GHz Mac Pro 3,1 with 20 GB of RAM would often display buggy behavior and latency, whereas even a modest 2013 quad-core i5 MacBook Pro with 8 GB of RAM and a Mac Pro 5,1 had absolutely zero problems running this software. I wouldn't be surprised if other software suffers under older Mac Pros as well, although Logic, Cubase, and Ableton all ran adequately on a 3,1 Mac Pro.

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There's no real hard-fast rule to determine what audio projects require. It largely depends on how many audio tracks, virtual instruments, and plugins are being run and how efficient each one is. RAM usage is generally determined by the number of audio tracks and the size of the sample libraries. With memory compression introduced in Mavericks 10.9, macOS is pretty efficient.

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Audio over HDMI

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See the GPU section of this guide.

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Audio over Thunderbolt

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Audio interfaces tend to be one of the most desirable applications to use Thunderbolt 3.

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See the Thunderbolt section of this guide.

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Pro-audio Applications and the Classic Mac Pro

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The classic Mac Pro remains wildly popular in the audio world as they're fairly quiet and sport PCIe slots and large amounts of RAM, and for many cases, still fast enough, especially the 5,1s outfitted with dual 6-Core CPUs.

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Users reported that Massive X requires AVX which is a CPU instruction set not found on the classic Mac Pro.

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Other Upgrades

Blu Ray / Blu Ray Writer

The Mac Pro can use any SATA or USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Drive as Blu-Ray is ISO compliant. Thus no individual drivers are needed, but macOS does not have native support for Blu-Ray disc creation or watching Blu-Ray movies. VLC supports Blu-Ray playback in all its HD glory, and Roxio Toast can burn Blu-Ray disks. There's also plenty of software for ripping Blu-Rays for macOS. If you're wondering why you'd want a Blu-Ray, see House of Moth (Jay) 's blog post on reasons why such as much longer shelf-life than CD/DVDs. Notably, VLC has 4k and 8k hardware decoding, HDR10 support, and Blu-Ray Java menus. However, this only works on unencrypted media. Using VLC to playback Blu-Ray is a bit of an adventure, and iMore.com has a review of the existing options. I had better luck than the reviewer with VLC, but it wasn't pretty. The LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner is a popular model with several reviews confirming Mac OS X support and in Classic Mac Pros.

Fan Control

Macs Fan Control is the champion of the best fan control software, allowing users to use different thermal sensors to control fan clusters or other values. The best parts are the application is free, and there's both a Mac and Windows port.

Macs Fan Control

Mojave has its own share of users experiencing fan rev-ups. A forum user at MacRumors wrote a simple app Airout to stress the GPU quickly to cause the fans to rev back to a normal speed.

Accessing the hidden SATA ports on a Mac Pro 1,1s/2,1/3,1

The Mac Pro 1,1 through 3,1s have two unused SATA ports located in the upper left corner of the motherboard, behind the fan assembly under drive bay 1. These later were co-opted for the SATA optical drives on the 4,1 and 5,1s when Apple and Intel removed the ATAPI controller. Accessing them requires taking out the fan assembly, which is relatively easy. Clever hardware hackers have routed the cables into the optical bay.

First, remove the CPU cover. It has no screws and only takes reaching to the underside to remove. The fan assembly only has two screws to remove (pictured below). One is located under the fan assembly's lip next to the CPU, and the other is easily accessed where the assembly is connected to the motherboard. After these are removed, they can then be slid out.

\"Removing

PCIe expansion

The Mac Pros do support PCIe expansion chassis. Specialty companies like Cubix and Dynapower USA Netstor series make macOS compatible PCIe expanders, generally taking a 16x PCIe slot as a host and dividing its bandwidth into more PCIe slots. These do not come cheap as they're uncommon.

Mac Pro Pixlas PSU Mod

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Pictured: Mac Pro during the final portion of Pixlas mod

The Pixlas mod is a power supply-specific modification to draw taps directly from the PSU as opposed to using the standard PCIe power cables. Apple's implementation of the PCIe power taps is non-standard, delivering roughly 130w max per tap, above most PCs of the era, but unable to make the full power draw needed for the 250+ watts required for extreme-end GPUs.

When a GPU draws too much power, it'll trigger an immediate shutdown. This generally happens with GPUs like the Vega 56 running Vega 64 Bios (normal Vega 56s are fine), Vega 64, Radeon VII, 5700 XT, and GeForce 1080/1080 Ti. The auto-shutdown occurs to protect the motherboard leads.

The modification works by bypassing the high-gauge leads on the motherboard and going directly to the PSU. Users have been running this modification safely for years.

Mac-build specialist Big Little Frank has run 2x GeForce 1080 Ti + NVMe successfully using the Pixlas modification.

Normally, I try to shy away from personal anecdotes in this guide, but I followed House of Moth's guide as it comes with both a blog post and an additional video. The upgrade isn't for the faint of heart, but with the online resources, even someone as a novice with electrical components as myself (I can install a power outlet, but that's as far as I'd go) was able to complete it without destroying my computer. Changing the CPUs is more precarious than the Pixlas mod.

There are Pixlas kits floating about, but the specialized cable Jay uses in his guide is often hard to acquire/out-of-stock/slow delivery. I used a generic set of T-taps I bought on Amazon.com and an 8-Pin Male to Dual 2X 8 Pin and cut the singular 8 pin end off and stripped the wire (the exact cable I used, but I'd recommend getting one that's a bit longer for a bit more flexibility).

External Power Supplies

To mitigate the stress on the Mac Pro's power supply (tallying in at 980w of power), some users use external PSUs for their GPUs, especially if they have two high-end GPUs such as the GeForce GTX 1080 as they peak at 250w power.

Replacing the Battery

Over the years, batteries can go bad and cause errant behaviors (generally resolved temporarily by zapping the NVRAM, holding down command-shift-p-r). The Mac Pro uses a 3-volt BR2032, located on most models above the bottom PCIe slot.

NorthBridge High-Temperature fix

The NorthBridge chipset is the host bridge chipset found on modern x86 computers. It is connected directly to the CPU via the front-side bus (FSB) and manages the highest performance activities (PCIe, RAM), and is usually paired with a SouthBridge chipset that handles other interfaces (USB, PCI, IDE, etc.). More recent Intel architecture has integrated the NorthBridge design into the CPU.

The NorthBridge chipset runs typically hot, to begin with, around 65C/150F, but there have been a few owners who've had extraordinarily high temps (120C/250F) or have noticed NorthBridge Heatsink damage. Fortunately, users have tips for fixes.

3D Printed Replacement Hard Drive Trays / 2.5-inch Adapters

The 3D printing community has a solution for Mac Pros missing hard drive trays or ones for different screw positions that newer HDDs use. These are free to download and can be printed at home or at various companies that offer 3D printing services.

Fan / Heat Sink / other case part Replacement

Shops like dvwarehouse, welovemacs, and macpartsonline carry parts for classic Mac Pros. eBay also tends to be popular grounds for finding classic Mac Pro replacement pieces.

Replacing the Mac Pro fans with 3rd party fans is not recommended unless you have a very strong desire to tinker. The Mac Pro fans operate at \"silent\" in low RPMs, making them on par with typical \"silent\" PC case fans. They can move a lot more cubic feet per minute of air (CFM) than many silent fans as they have very large RPM ranges running between 800-5200 RPMs (the PCI chamber fans have a range of 800-4500, PSU/Exhaust/intake fans 800-2800 and the Boost fans 800-5200). Also, in most Mac Pros running modern GPUs, the GPU fans are more likely to be the loudest component as the GPU has the largest power draw. As the adage goes, watts in = heat out. Thus, GPU cooling modifications are likely to result in a larger reduction in heat/sound.

The bigger problem is that the Mac Pros use custom fan RPM controls, and thus the Mac cannot detect the fan RPMs, causing them to run at the maximum speed for the offending set of fans. Thus, the solutions are fairly limited: users can either install custom manual fan controls. There's a MacRumors post detailing a few users' experiences, including using PWM NA-FC1 PWM controller or create a custom PCB, as outlined in MacProUpgrade (requires membership via FaceBook). If absolute silence is the endgame, the most sure-fire way to silence a computer is to build or buy a computer isolation box, which is sometimes found in studios.

For the same reason as replacing the fans, liquid cooling is extremely uncommon. A user sent me a decade+ old YouTube video Asetek Liquid Cooled & Overclocked Apple Mac Pro. The 2008 Mac Pros had an overlocking utility that somewhat worked, unlike other Mac Pros that worked in 10.6.

Custom Front USB 3.0 PCB

In one of the more technical-yet-impressively-cool upgrades, MacRumors forum member MaikPfaffenrath designed and manufactured a custom replacement Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to replace the front-facing USB 2.0 ports with 3.0 ports.

iPhone as a webcam

Since many people are virtually these days, webcams are in short supply. This isn't Mac Pro specific, but the iPhone's cameras are higher quality than pretty much all dedicated webcams and have decent audio to boot. I wrote a short guide on How to use Zoom with external webcams, iPhones / Android Phone, and/or Snap Camera on MacOS.

This isn't the only vector, as you can use NDI HX, but it requires more setup. OBS-NDI also interfaces with professional cameras, so it is possible to use studio cameras in video conferencing, too.

Custom Cases

To date, I'm not aware of anyone who's successfully transitioned a Mac Pro into a PC case. The Dune PC case comes up often in Mac Pro groups as a source of interest, but the following hurdles would have to be addressed, among other things:

  • Custom Backplane
  • Custom Front plate
  • Non-standard PSU
  • Custom Motherboard Mount
  • Custom PCB for fans or fan custom system to manage fans for cooling
  • Machining a mechanism for the CPU Trays (or RAM Trays, depending on the model)
  • Antennas for wifi (if using internal miniPCIe slot)

The immense hurdles have left case replacements almost exclusively to Mac Pro -> Mac Pro. It's an exercise of frivolity and would be a technical feat but void of practical gains sans (possibility) more drive bays. The Mac Pro's case is one of the most loved features of the Mac Pro for its zoned cooling, extremely easy-to-access bays, and CPU, and RAM.

Boot Managers

Due to the nature of the Metal requirements of Mojave, many users have had to eschew their old GPUs for Metal-compatible CPUs that do not display the EFI boot screen. There are a few options available to Mac users. However, boot managers are not required for dual-booting to Windows. I personally recommend using the brigadier method of installing Bootcamp drivers that support APFS rather than using a boot manager or using opencore. See the Windows 10 section for more details. L

Look up serial Number

This may seem like an odd thing to do, but if you're buying a used Mac Pro 5.1, you may want to see a computer's stock information to see if the Mac was originally a 4,1 Mac Pro. This can be done at sites like appleserialnumberinfo.com.

Linux on 2006 Mac Pros

Running Linux on 32-bit EFI Macs takes more effort than 64-bit EFI Macs to run the 64-bit distros. Below are guides on running Linux on older Macs.

Windows 10 on Mac Pros

Officially Apple does not support Bootcamp with Windows 10 on the Mac Pro 5.1s, but that shouldn't stop anyone. I've personally used Windows 10 on both a 3,1 and 5,1 Mac Pro. Running Bootcamp on separate drives will make your life easier. Installing Windows via USB installers is not recommended as it has managed to mess up some people's Mac Pros when trying to install in UEFI mode, which can harm the firmware. Installing off an optical disk runs in legacy mode. Legacy mode is required for Mac Pro compatibility unless running OpenCore.

By default, the Apple boot camp drivers for the 3,1 - 5,1 do not support APFS boot drives, meaning they cannot be selected from the Windows Boot Camp control panel. This can be bypassed using the brigadier utility and installing the new Bootcamp drive utility for Windows. Using this method, it's easy to operate your Mac Pro without a boot screen as everything is native. There are two popular methods two are installing Windows 10 via optical drive or Virtualbox, although some users have reported success using utilities like Rufus.

For the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s, it's highly recommended to update to the latest firmware to ensure compatibility with later gen GPUs as some users have had issues getting video to output or to get the Bootcamp utility to function properly.

Windows 10 Install via Optical Drive

The entire install process is outlined in the following post: MacRumors: How to: Boot Camp without a Boot Screen. The process is as follows: Install Windows 10 in Legacy mode (if not installed already this way), Download Brigadier, and use it to install the correct drivers for your Mac Pro 5,1. After it's installed, use Brigadier to uninstall the control panel. Then, install the iMac Pro's control panel for APFS support so you can reboot to 10.13+ with APFS volumes.

Windows 10 Install via Virtualbox

The other recommended method is to use the Install Windows on MacPro 5,1 on physical drive through Virtualbox method, as it will install Windows 10 in legacy mode and does not require shutting down macOS during the install method. This process requires the use of free virtualization software, Virtualbox. Afterward, go to MacRumors: How to: Boot Camp without a Boot Screen and follow from step 15 to install the correct version of the Bootcamp startup utility.

As a bonus, using this method will preconfigure access to Windows 10 with Virtualbox. This means if you are in macOS, you can still launch Windows 10 as a virtual machine and interact with your Windows drive such as performing updates, running Windows-only software like Quickbooks without rebooting, downloading/installing large items like Steam games while still in macOS (and rebooting when updates are done or games installed, etc.)

Many users like using a boot manager utility, but users only using Windows and macOS. They are not required to use the brigadier method.

Windows 10 and Mac Pro 1,1 - 2,1s

You can run Windows 10 x64 on the very old Mac Pros, following Installing Windows 7/10 x64 on Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 or Native Install Windows 10 on mac pro 1,1 / 2,1 without USB or DVD or Bootcamp.

Currently, it seems feasible, according to scattered forum posts, that you can install Boot Configuration Data on a SATA drive and use an NVMe drive. This also applies to the Mac Pro 3,1.

Windows 10 and OpenCore

OpenCore most likely will create issues for Windows 10 installs that were installed using legacy mode but are compatible with modern installations using a USB stick. See MacRumors: Windows 10 install on OpenCore cMP 5,1? and also Joerg's \"HowTo\": Bootcamp your (OCed) Mac (without using Bootcamp) video. OpenCore is the only reliable way to run Windows 10 via NVMe.

Users with existing Windows 10 installs can convert their installs. Microsoft offers MBR2GPT.exe as a free-to-download utility for editing the Master boot Record without modifying/deleting any other data. This can be used to update Windows to legacy (bios) to UEFI, and it includes a video explaining the process. Also, there are YouTube videos that cover the same process.

Another vector is to use the method know as bridge booting for legacy support.

If you do not want to use the Native method, see the Boot Managers section for more information related to managing Windows 10 / Mac OS booting with an EFIless GPU (a graphics card incapable of displaying video before drivers are loaded).

Enabling Handoff/Continuity

The Mac Pros for Handoff/Continuity require using the Continuity-Activation-Tool to enable it once the hardware requirements have been met. The Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s cannot use Handoff/Continuity due to OS limitations.

  • Mac Pro 3,1 requires BCM94360CD (Airport Extreme)
  • Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 requires Bluetooth Adapter + original wifi Chipset OR BCM94360CD (Airport Extreme).

Source for above: Continuity-Activation-Tool

Enabling Nightshift on Mac Pros

Sometimes hardware support is entirely arbitrary, as in the case of Nightshift. Nightshift can be enabled in 10.14+ Mojave using a nifty script written by a community member.

Enabling Apple Watch Auto Unlock with the Mac Pro

Officially Apple does not support classic Mac Pros for Apple Watch Auto Unlock. Of course, enterprising users have figured out how to enable it, but it requires disabling SIP and a few terminal commands. Notably, you'll need a Mojave-compatible Airport card.

Sidecar and the Classic Mac Pros (and 2013)

Sidecar allows an iPad to be used as a secondary display, and the Apple Pencil can be used akin to a Wacom stylus with pressure sensitivity. Sidecar can be enabled on many non-officially supported Macs using various projects/instructions, but thus far, no one has successfully run Sidecar any system without an integrated GPU or a T2 chipset.

I posed this question in an OpenCore group, and a few notables, including OpenCore gurus Martin Lo and John DeGroof, had a quick discussion/debate. I seemed unable to really produce or reach a consensus as to why. My theory is that Sidecar uses Apple's Video Toolbox framework's VTCompression acceleration (supported in popular applications like Handbrake). Hardware VTCompression allows for hardware acceleration to encode video. It requires a computer with either Intel's QuickSync or Apple's T2 or Apple Silicon (where the T2 is baked into the SOC). This would explain why neither the classic Mac Pro nor Mac Pro 2013 cannot run Sidecar, and yet later Xeon systems (the 2019 Mac Pro or the iMac Pro) can, and how older MacBooks and Mac Minis can run Sidecar. Meanwhile, Martin Lo suspects it could be requiring a CPU instruction set or (possibly) DRM.

How to Update the Recovery Partition in High Sierra on unsupported Macs / fix security Updates

High Sierra Security Updates will often fail on unsupported Macs as they require updates to the Recovery Partition. Luckily, MacRumors readers have concocted a script to automate this process.

Multi-OS USB Bootable Flash Drives

Recently in the Mac Pro forums, a user linked a \"Five in one\" USB solution that includes five versions of macOS on a single USB. These can be easily created by users following the directions from Apple, How to create a bootable installer for macOS. The only difference is the user first must divide the USB flash drive into multiple partitions (large enough for the Mac OS installers), which Apple also provides Partition a physical disk using Disk Utility on Mac.

Upgrading from a single CPU to dual CPU on a 2009 - 2012

It is possible to upgrade any 4,1/5,1 from a single CPU to a dual CPU, but this requires a dual CPU tray, which is uncommon and often costs as much as an entire used Mac Pro. They occasionally do pop-up when someone parts out a non-functional Mac Pro.

Notably, you cannot use the trays from Mac Pro 5,1 in a 4,1 even if the Mac Pro is flashed to 5.1. When 4,1 is flashed to 5.1, the tray and backplane SMC are not updated and stay at 1.39f5. The 2010-2012 are at version 1.39f11. Trying to use a tray with a different SMC than the backplane confuses the fans, causing them to go into full leaf blower mode.

You cannot swap CPU trays from 4,1 (2009) Mac Pros with 5,1 (2010-2012).

Oculus Quest/Quest 2 and the Mac Pro (and other VR headsets)

Yes, you can use popular VR headsets with the classic Mac Pro, and they will run fine, assuming you have Windows, the appropriate software (Oculus Link for the Quest, Steam VR, current drivers for your AMD GPU), a powerful GPU, a USB 3.0 card that delivers high bandwidth, and proper cabling. I've written a mini-guide and made a video on the topic.



Diagnosing Issues / Troubleshooting

This section is a work in progress...

Determining if a problem is a hardware or software issue can be difficult. The best resource for troubleshooting is searching using a search engine like Google and entering in exact error messages or symptoms. Impressively, rarely do Mac Pros have Apple-specific hardware failures, thus if hardware, the most likely culprit is a component: storage, RAM, GPU, etc.

Your computer needs a firmware update to install to this volume. Choose a Mac OS Extended Journaled volume instead.

This is a common issue for Catalina and recovery mode on Mac Pros. You'll need to Turn on VMM and turn off SMBIOS spoofing. See MacRumors thread for details.

Time Machine: An Error Occurred Restoring from Backup

A common issue (not for Mac Pros but for Macs in general) is Time Machine failing to restore from a backup.

  1. Boot off a recovery partition or bootable installer, reinstall macOS
  2. At the end of the installation, you will see the Migration Assistant. Select transfer files from another computer/device/Time Machine, then select your time machine drive

Following this process will restore all your applications/documents/preferences and configuration.

RAM isn't Running at 1333 MHz after a CPU upgrade

A MacProUpgrade (requires membership) user noted after upgrading his CPUs that it lowered his 1333 MHz ram to 1066. Resetting the NVRAM resolved the issue. (see glossary for more info on the NVRAM).

OS Installer is Damaged error

See the OS Installer is Damaged error for more details.

Can't get to the option-boot EFI screen

A user of MacRumors discovered that the keyboard he was using was at the core of his issues trying to use boot key commands. The problem was remedied by swapping keyboards.

Can't put the Mac to sleep

Occasionally, cued print jobs can interrupt the ability of a Mac Pro to sleep. Other issues can be PCIe cards, notoriously USB cards that require external power will interrupt the Mac's ability to sleep. It can even prevent the Mac Pro from shutting down.

Internal Light error codes

The Mac Pros include a series of LEDs to help troubleshoot the computer. They are located near the back of the logic board, next to the PCI slot #1.

  • One short flash followed by a longer off period: No valid memory.
  • Three short flashes followed by a longer off period: Failed memory.

Below is a quote from Apple's service manuals.

Diagnostic LEDs

You can view these LEDs by removing the computer's side access panel and looking through the memory cage to the logic board below. LEDs 2, 3, 4, and 5 are normally off and will automatically illuminate if an error occurs. To read LEDs 1, 6, 7, and 8, you must press the DIAG_LED button, which is adjacent to the LEDs (white button to the right). To press the DIAG_LED button, use a nylon probe tool.

Power Supply Verification

To power on, the computer's logic board requires \"trickle\" power. If the system fails to power on, first reset the SMC. If the computer still doesn't power on, follow the procedure outlined below to determine whether the issue is related to the power supply.

Verify trickle power

Diagnostic LED 1 indicates the presence of trickle power required by the logic board to begin the startup process. LED 1 should be yellow when the DIAG_ LED button is pressed, indicating that trickle voltage is present.

Verify Power Supply Is Providing Power

Diagnostic LED 7 indicates that the main power is OK and within regulation. Plugin AC power cord, and press the power-on button on the front panel. LED 7 should be green when the DIAG_ LED button is pressed, indicating that the main power is OK and within regulation.

Bent Handles

A semi-common issue is the Mac Pro handles are slightly prone to bending. A youtube video shows the process one user took to rebend his handles. (The video can be slightly disorienting as the user seems to have used an aggressive digital stabilization warp that creates a bizarre effect)



A word on Malware Protection

I urge users to install Malware protection. Personally, I rely on Malwarebyte. Anyone who has done the same or has irreplaceable data should do the same. That said, rather than write an entirely new section dedicated to Malware protection. I'm going to recommend reading HouseOfMoth: Do I need malware protection?

I strongly agree with Jay's run-down and recommendations. If you have never run any malware protection because \"I've never used AV and never had a problem\" or \"Macs don't get viruses\" and read HouseOfMoth: Do I need malware protection?


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Service Manuals

All the support manuals can be found at Apple.com - Manuals - Mac Pro, but for ease of use, I've organized them in this section. Notably, the 4,1/5,1 Mac Pros (2009, 2010-2012) are very similar internally; thus, any 2009/2010 manual works for the 2012 Mac Pro.

Note: All the manuals are linked are PDFs.

User Guide Manuals

Instruction Manuals



Buyers Guide

At this point in time, the classic Mac Pros and Mac Pro 2013s are many years out of officially supported with Apple due to drop support any day. With the continued high price of used GPUs, they should be best thought of as legacy hardware. It is possible to drive one daily, but most users would be better off buying a used Mac Mini M1 or M2 as they have plummeted in price.

Buying Used Mac Pros on eBay

Seeing as the Mac Pros are no longer made, used markets are the only places to find Mac Pros. I bought my 2008 Mac Pro from Apple but, bought my 2010 from eBay. I had a good experience.

If you're here, I assume you already are a capable user, but it bears repeating the Mac Pro is not a value conscience decision or a pain-free one. The Mac Pro is a tinkering box and is ideal for a certain class of users. It's by far the best computer Apple has ever engineered, and possibly any computer maker has ever produced, for its sheer longevity and insane upgradability.

This may seem obvious, but it bears repeating: local is almost always cheaper than eBay. Check Craigslist and FaceBook marketplace.

Users love to point out absurdly bad deals on user groups. This isn't always what it appears to be. Frequently on eBay, hardware will be listed many times more than what it is worth. This is often a strategy for larger vendors to keep the SEO alive (and possibly skirt listing charges) when they are out of stock. It's not uncommon to find a Mac Pro for sale for $10,000. The vendor has no intention to sell said hardware, and if for some reason they get an order, they can then spend the money or effort to acquire said item and resale it.

  • If considering a single CPU Mac Pro, Dual CPU trays for Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s are hard to come by and often cost nearly as much as the computer itself (sometimes more).
  • The Dual CPU 2009 (4,1) Mac Pro is considered the upgraders choice as they're very hackable, and it only takes a firmware flash to convert them to a Mac Pro 5.1. The only caveat is upgrading the CPUs requires delidding them on the dual CPU tray.
  • Used CPUs can be found on quite a few sites for reasonable deals. The X5690 is the fastest CPU money can buy for the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1, but the X5680 is roughly half the price, making it the bargain upgrade. Look for these CPUs on sites like AliExpress, as they're generally cheaper.
  • Some sellers sell 5,1 Mac Pros, formerly 4,1s upgraded. Some sellers mislabel the Mac Pro as \"Mac Pro G5\" or are unable to identify its generation. If you're unsure, or the seller is, the serial number can tell you when the computer was manufactured or its model type. Also, you can request a photo of the computer with the panel removed to identify it as 4,1/5,1.
  • Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s haven't been able to run later than OS X 10.11, which limits their longevity or utility. Personally, I would not invest any money into a Mac Pro 1,1/2,1 at any price.
  • The Mac Pro 3,1 can run the latest OS X with minor hacks, making them bargains, but are limited in upgrades and performance. 10.12+ will break wifi if the internal chipset isn't replaced or another is added. 10.14+ requires a metal GPU.
  • The best Mac Pro 3,1 is considerably slower than a single CPU 6-Core Mac Pro 4,1/5,1.
  • 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros are virtually the same. There are no performance differences other than the base configurations.
  • Markets vary quite a bit based on geo-location. Based on my limited observation, North America is considerably cheaper than the rest of the world.
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Collected Articles on classic Mac Pro and the 2019 Mac Pro



Communities & Blogs

You're not alone. There are more people out there than you'd think who still love the classic Mac Pro.

  • MacRumors Mac Pro Forum - The center of the Mac Pro universe, if it's happening, it's probably here. My go-to for sourcing information, as one can gather by reading this guide.
  • MacProUpgrade - The premier Facebook group, very international with Mac Pro users across the globe. It requires requesting access, but if they let anyone in, I'm there. Also, it is a strangely friendly and nice community. They are always willing to answer questions from the obscure to novice and have a lot of high-tier creative professionals who can answer your questions about AVID, Premier, FCPX (etc.) related to your Mac Pro.
  • Mac Pro Users - Another major FaceBook group for Mac Pro users, smaller but still helpful, and it has the benefit of being public too (no signup process and can be browsed without a Facebook account). Helpful and friendly community with a lot of creative professionals too.
  • Reddit.com/r/macpro - not a Redditor myself but another group that is fairly active and has the benefit of not being under the regrettable Facebook umbrella.
  • House of Moth - Jay's mac related blog, it's not explicitly Mac Pro related but has probably the best guide on the Pixlas mod and delves into old Mac hardware in super-geeky ways (in a good way). I name-check his blog a few times here for a good reason.
  • Mac Pro Discord This is an offshoot of the Reddit Mac Pro group.
  • Quinn's Tech Corner This is a small but growing group of retro Mac enthusiasts, not Mac Pro-centric, but if you're interested in retro PowerPC Mac emulation, this is a good start.
  • eGPU.io - Not classic Mac Pro related in the slightest, but where I go for Thunderbolt information
  • Netkas - Blog related to GPU flashing and hacking
  • forums.netkas.org - The original group of firmware flashers for GPUs.
  • blog.greggant.com/topics/#macpro - I've written for six years now semi-frequent Mac Pro-related blog posts.


Other Guides

I'm hardly the sole source of Mac upgrade guides. In the spirit of the web, I used to remember.

Mac Pro 2013 Upgrade guide

Looking for information about the cylinders? It started out as a joke, but it is real! The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro (2013) Upgrade Guide



Mac Pro 2019 Upgrade Guide?

\"header\"

Here we go again, The Definitive Mac Pro 2019 7,1 Upgrade Guide beta is now public, 100% ad-free and open to the world.



PDF version of this guide

A few readers have requested PDF versions of this guide. It is important to note that a PDF will not contain the most current information as this blog post is continually updated. I encourage people to use the HTML version of this guide as it'll provide the best experience.

That said, instead of maintaining a separate PDF Version, I've included CSS (styling) to my blog to make printing better, capping the image sizes, slightly reducing the font size, and expanding the column to make use of a full page. This reduces the page count by about 1/5. If you would like a PDF version of this guide, hit print from any Mac web browser. I recommend Safari to ensure that the links within the guide work. In the printer dialogue, click the \"PDF\" dropdown in the lower-left corner of the printer box and hit \"Save As PDF\". All the links contained will work when viewed from Preview.

You do not need a printer connected to print to PDF.



Changelog

Due to the ever-evolving list of possible upgrades and hacks, this guide is a living document, and thus, the information contained may change; I've included a robust log of recent changes to help repeat visitors discover new content. Making and maintaining this guide takes a fair amount of work, and user feedback is greatly appreciated to make this the most accurate/best guide possible. If you have new information not included here, suggestions, corrections, or edits, please feel free to contact me. I get a fair amount of questions and may not reply promptly or at all. I apologize in advance, but this blog has zero advertisements or any monetization; thus, everything is in my own free time. It makes more sense for me to refine this guide so I can assist the most people possible vs 1:1 support. I'd recommend asking the MacRumors forum, Reddit or one of the Facebook upgrade groups first as I'm just one person vs. the collective intelligence of a community.

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03/27/25 - Fixed broken link to the MacProFirmwareToolUpdate

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12/23/24 - For once I managed to shave out several hundred words. Another major round of copy editing, removed dated info around OpenCore, and trimmed it down, trimmed down buyers guide, added a few minor missing bits like Nvidia 4000 series compatibility, realized I never mentioned Sequoia, so that has been updated .

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05/26/24 - HTML errors are now gone.

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05/22/24 - Mostly corrections.

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08/27/23 - Starting the long path of updates for Sonoma. Added Patreon.

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12/24/22 - Lots of editing and Typo corrections, cleaning up on language around Monterey and Ventura.

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12/23/22 - Typo corrections, added prelim info about the 7900 XT. A few more lines about Ventura and OCLP.

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10/11/22 - Typo corrections, links to flashing video for 6600-6900 XT by MacSoundSolutions

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07/26/22 - There isn't much to report on the Ventura front but I put some notes in. Added Fast Resource Loading API / DirectStorage API notes.

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05/07/22 - 4 years of updates, Minor correction.

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04/25/22 - OpenCore section clean up, updated the most powerful GPU section to reflect the Navi 21 GPUs.

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04/23/22 - 04/24/22 - Cleaned up 6000 series info section, removed old 6000 video and replaced with new video.

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04/22/22 - Info about the 6000 series flashable

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04/18/22 - More info on RAM Ranks and mentions, added link to more recent test on RAM.

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04/17/22 - 6800 XT firmware notes regarding AVX. General typos and grammar corrections.

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04/16/22 - Added notes about the 6800 XT and MacVidCards.eu and liquid cooling, added links on CPU replacement (finally). Removed out of date text on the Mac Pro 2019 section. Finally added RAM ranks (finally)

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01/27/22 - Delidded single CPU note

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01/23/22 - GPU updates + communties

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01/02/22 - Linked video on Thunderbolt 3.

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12/27/21 - Some minor restructuring started in the OS upgrades section, added 6600 XT info.

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12/19/21 - Added video about Mac Pro versioning. Added MonteRand link to the OS section.

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10/30/21 - Updated OpenCore Monterey Info.

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10/22/21 - Added AMD 6800 - 6900 XT to GPU section

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10/12/21 - Added Nvidia vs Apple video to GPU section

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10/07/21 - Added tip jar section

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10/06/21 - Tweaks to info about OpenCore and linked video showing the 11.6 upgrade process.

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10/03/21 - The Mac Pro Isn't Dead video added to special announcements, added House of Moth's Quick guide to installing OpenCore on a Classic Mac Pro (cMP). I thought I linked it. I hadn't.

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10/01/21 - Bad news, that AMD 6800 you were dreaming about sticking into your classic Mac Pro may never work.

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09/28/21 - More cleanup for SurPlus and the latest OpenCore package with SurPlus.

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09/27/21 - Added references to SurPlus, depreciated LateBloom references.

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09/12/21 - Added more OpenCore notes, including a video by Jeorg for OpenCore the Basic Way: Latebloom.

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09/11/21 - Added notes about macOS 12 Monterey and OpenCore.

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09/10/21 - Added GPU video and R9 Nano to GPU list

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08/06/21 - Added image of 4,1 vs 5,1 CPU trays, thanks to Stuart Secker

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07/19/21 - Added archive.org links to previous updates of macOS

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07/12/21 - Added notes about LateBloom

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07/03/21 - Added link to the 256 GB Max RAM and changed the notes from me speculating OpenCore would enable 256GB bootable macOS to actual confirmation. Pretty impressive that at 12 year old computer could potentially have 256 GBs of RAM as even today that's a very significant amount.

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05/31/21 - Added notes about Sidecar

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05/21/21 - OpenCore can boot with 32 GB Dimms. OpenCore may have solved the 11.3 Big Sur issues. What can't OpenCore do?

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05/10/21 - Correction about ASM2824 and the PLX8747, misindentified the PLX8747 as a part number and not a chipset, oh well, at least I can correct it. Oh hey, this blog post is now 3 years old!

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05/01/21 - Notes about Windows 10 + firmware upgrades.

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04/24/21 - Info about Big Sur 11.3-11.4 and the new AMD GPUs.

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03/28/21 - Added 5,1 Firmware Upgrade Vid. Added note about RX 550s as they seem to be problematic.

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03/25/21 - Added section benchmarking SSDs.

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03/23/21 - Quick error fix thanks to reader where I conradicted myself and added Jay's Firmware update Guide.

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03/21/21 - Added info about 8k.

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03/18/21 - Minor copy edits. Fixed a render glitch caused by Jekyll 4's lower tolerance MD convertor.

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03/17/21 - Added info about RAID0 and latency. Noticed an error about NVMe running at PCIe 4x 1.0 (incorrect), and corrected it.

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03/16/21 - More copy editing, added LTERIVER and Febsmart USB cards to list of compatible cards. Added info about the ASM chipset and macOS

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03/15/21 - More copy editing

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03/14/21 - Another round of copy editing, caught an embarassing amount of typos and grammatical issues.

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03/13/21 - Added GeForce RTX 3000 series information. Much needed copy editing on the M1 Apple silicon section, some more typo corrections.

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03/08/21 - Added VR headset information, minor corrections in the index.

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03/05/21 - Added USB performance section.

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02/13/21 - Broken link fixed thanks to reader feedback.

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02/05/21 - Added USBc 3.2 Gen 2 notes and vid.

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01/23/21 - Added ASM2812 chipset info, fixed table glitch in card listings, added video about Radeon 56 flashing, removed link to Aliexpress memory as the listing had changed.

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01/06/21 - Updated APFS information, added second video, this time about NVMe. Minor edits.

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12/26/20 - NVMe host cards updated to include two more cards and with heatsink info. Windows 10 and Mac Pro 1,1s added.

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12/24/20 - Added the first of YouTube content to storage section.

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12/10/20 - Updates to the M.2 adapters, mis-labeled the OWC card's max speed as it is 8x. Added two cards. Noted problems with the Syba card.

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11/14/20 - Info about 3,1 thermal paste, a bit more on Apple Silicon.

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11/07/20 - Added Accessing hidden SATA Ports section.

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11/06/20 - Added photos of memory tray. Expect to see a a few more visuals to the guide in copy weeks. minor copy edits (typos, phrasing etc). If it seems like I'm obsessed with editing, many users are not native English speakers and us translation software. Clearly and correctly formatted sentences will yeild much better results for them.

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10/31/20 - minor edits (added note about Big Navi, link to opencore vid, etc)

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10/19/20 - Started expanding the contents index... its huge. Still need to present it in a more human way, probably with a nav. Added a bit more unnecessary info about the VII, added note about NVMe + OpenCore in storage and more up-to-date HDMI Audio. Added notes about PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Added link about unidentified apps from devs. Added to troubleshooting \"Your computer needs a firmware update to install to this volume. Choose a Mac OS Extended Journaled volume instead.\" Added link on how to installl PCIe Cards to GPU section. Added link to lowendmac's facebook thread on Mac Pro 1,1 failed firmware updates.

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10/18/20 - Slightly updated OpenCore info, started adding more of the headers to the Contents, Added info about 8x PCIe 4.0 GPUs. Noted the last of SSE4 on Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s as well as introduction point of SSE4.

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10/05/20 - Updated with more Big Sur Data + Mac Pro 1,1 Firmware hacking info. Minor copy editing.

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07/03/20 - Big Sur update, slightly changed the intro.

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06/17/20 - Removed language around Mojave betas. Added info about Apple's NGFF.

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06/12/20 - More GPU corrections around R7/R9 GPUs. Fixed link to USB PCBs. Added custom case section.

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06/11/20 - Added link to Thunderbolt 3 guide. Correction on R7 260X GPU thanks to a reader. Added 3rd party monitor brightness section. Added Bridge boot method link for Win10. Added link to Noctua fan mod. Added link to fixing recovery partition in Catalina. Added latest OpenCore install instructions.

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06/05/20 - Minor copy editing.

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06/03/20 - Added info about MBR2GPT.exe for Windows 10. Windows 10 sections are linked at the top of the blog post. Thanks to MacProUpgrade members Antonio Adams, Adam Stokes for the assist in finding the info. Added 3D printed parts sections.

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06/03/20 - Added info about a successful ATX PSU replacement. Minor copy editing, mostly typos.

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06/02/20 - Mostly based on observing the community frequent issues. Minor udpates to troubleshooting, update bootcamp, minor update to clarification of Pixlas mod, Added clarification about DDR3 and heatsinks, added clarification on NVMe, Added clarification on ATX Power Supplies, added OpenCore to the mini glossary.

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05/25/20 - minor updates about finding firmware version. Minor error corrections thanks to user feedback on GPU section.

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05/11/20 - Minor clarification to 1,1/2,1 max ram. Edited the custom flashed cards section. At this point I might as well link MacVidCards in the interest of making this guide more complete. For some users, the EFI support is worth the premium. For me? Nah.

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05/07/20 - Two year anniversary, a few minor typos from new content. This guide has gone from 7000 -> 37,000 words in that space. Completed the Pixlas mod for my Mac Pro, linked Jay's Pixlas Mod vid.

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05/06/20 - more GPU section cleanup

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05/05/20 - GPU corrections thanks to readers! This section should have been done ages ago but due to the work involved, I put it off. Minor update to CPU trays swapping to be more clear. 10-bit, HDR info updated. Added link to PPI calculator.

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05/04/20 - Almost two years! Reworked the GPU section to now include massive list of GPU compatibility. I'm sure its not 100% correct yet but should be fairly accurate. Removed the old metal section. Incorporated reader feedback include GT 630 with flashing info.

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04/20/20 - Copy editing + correction on Thunderbolt Display being called Thundervolt Cinema Display.

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03/24/20 - Added links to PCIe 4.0 performance vs 2.0 and linked it the topics.

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03/04/20 - added list of GPUs that support Metal with boot screen. Added more to Open Core. Added more to SIP explination. minor editing. Added more to the Thunderbolt Display as users keep trying to pair it with the Mac Pro.

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02/29/20 - Thunderbolt 3 custom firmware has landed, also minor editing and added more info about visually identifying a Mac Pro, thanks to Peter R.M. Fitskie for kindly providing the images, he retains rights to the image.

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02/25/20 - minor editing.

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02/24/20 - Another OpenCore link, correction about Accelsior from a reader, Michel D., noticed the intro needed to be updated as the 2019 Mac Pro has been shipping.

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02/21/20 - Thunderbolt section updated and cleaned up.

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02/12/20 - Added another link to Best GPU section to provide more context. Added more OpenCore referenes in GPU section.

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02/03/20 - Added OpenCore section. Most likely this will become standard path for users running Catalina and later.

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01/23/20 - Minor glossary change.

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01/19/20 - Minor correction on GPU section.

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01/16/20 - PCIe Power clarification, including sources. Added Power Supply Section.

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01/15/20 - Added summary of SSDs.

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01/14/20 - bold glitch fix + very minor editing.

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01/13/20 - Happy 2020. Updated with OpenCore vs DOSdude, another round of copy editing.

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12/27/19 - Added 2019 section and another NVMe host .

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12/17/19 - Added NVRAM/PRAM definition, more unsupported Mojave GPUs, soft RAID info.

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12/16/19 - Added small section on RAID support. Added notes on RDIMMs vs UDIMMs and CAS Latency with RAM. Added more anchor tags and links in the Contents section. Minor edits.

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11/19/19 - Added description of Virtualbox Windows 10 install method, removed special announcement on chrome issue, added kext to glossary, Dosdude1 update warning.

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11/07/19 - Added alternate link for the Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5,1 utility

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11/06/19 - pretty cool, was informed this guide appears in this youtube video. Added Innie link + kekt description. Minor ram notes.

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11/05/19 - 5700 XT is now supported, and listed.

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10/31/19 - Windows 10 native clarification + x5700 link + link to techspot for CPU + OS Installer is Damaged error edit + fixed broken links in Blu-Ray section

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10/29/19 - As much as I want to clean up, more stuff keeps coming in. Info on AVX instruction sets, info Mac Pro 3,1 and NVme, Info on Max RAM issue with 3.1. Added much needed M.2 format info for cleanup and a PCIe m.2 host card table, more consistent use of links opening new windows.

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10/21/19 - In what has to be a first, I removed quite a bit of content. The OS section should be easier to digest. Updated notes in GPU section, removed some redundancy, oh and changed the graphic to Catalina instead of Mojave in OS section.

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10/18/19 - Reworking the GPU section has begun. I'm trying to list the Metal compatible GPUs. Expect this section to change considerably as I try to condesne and clean the information. Added notes to PCIe section about PCIe 2.0 vs 3.0 and GPUs.

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10/15/19 - Mostly copy editing, should be mostly typo-free. Add instructions on how to disable SIP and how to disable Gatekeeper. Switched Know Your Mac Models to tables. Added links to monitor review sites.

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10/12/19 - Added the Mac Pro 3,1 link for enabling a bootscreen with the 580x. Added mixing and matching GPUs. Added table view for firmware upgrades. Added DosDude1 notes.

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10/11/19 - Wrote a mini guide on upgrading Mac Pro 5,1 firmware and added it links to it as not to bog down this page with more images.

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10/07/19 - Added DosDude1 youtube link.

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10/04/19 - Changed language around Catalina as the 5.1s are officially unsupported. Added note about i7 CPU compatibility.

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09/26/19 - Added links for Windows 10 on external drive, 2.5 PCIe height card hack, booting to Recovery Mode with a web driver GPU, and short trouble-shooting firmware upgrades section.

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09/19/19 - Minor copy editing.

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09/10/19 - Happy Apple Event day. Added GeekBench 5 notes. Added a link about Mojave audio issues. Added note about Catalina support. Added custom PCB for front facing USB 3.0. Added Malware section which is essentialy a link to HouseOfMoth. Also added F.lux VS Night Shift. General typo and copy corrections.

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09/09/19 - Busy two weeks on this guide, trying to provide a base-level for novice users to become more aquanited with their hardware. Added a little more info to the Firmware section, such as how to check. Added intro text to the CPU section and info about instruction sets. A few minor corrections in the GPU section. Added links CPU upgrade and Northbridge. Added short explination of NorthBridge chipset. Added link for the Samsung 970 Evo Plus. Still more to do but the list is whittling down. Added information on screen refresh rates.

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09/06/19 - Added info on nightshift.

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09/05/19 - GPU section editing. Still needs work but more clear and organized, and up-to-date. Added notes about Continuity to be more correct. Added Night Shift on Unsupported Macs. Added bits vs. bytes as I believe it is helpful.

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09/04/19 - Added more current info about 32 GB DIMMs, one of the many things needed to be addressed.

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09/03/19 - The past month has been the most significant for this guide in the last 4-5 months due to the re-writing and information validation. Re-added the Audio section now with the long explanation hidden. Added info about Dual-Link DVI. Updated Handoff section with more correct information thanks to Peter K in the MacProUpgrade group.

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09/02/19 - error correction on SATA 3. Whoops, it was a typo too. Typo fixes. Slightly reduced intro. Ram Upgrades have more info on ECC.

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09/01/19 - Added link to Delidding CPUs to thehouseofmoth vid. Broke out delidding into own section.

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08/26/19 - Added Vega 56 Firmware flash info. Minor Corrections. Minor topic organization change in the GPU section.

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08/25/19 - I received feedback for a PDF version of this guide. Rather than maintain one, I've added some basic CSS for print rules that reduces the guide (as of writing this) from 85 to 62ish pages.

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08/19/19 - As planned, more rewriting. Reworked the Wifi section, now includes info on PCIe and USB. Reworked the Storage section to explain more about SATA, Time Machine, and SSD Memory types. The goal is both increase clarity, ease of reading, and onboard less-technical users.

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08/13/19 - Man, I have some great readers, Jamie S. emailed me with two updates, noting I hadn't listed the GeForce 680 GTX 4 GB flashing instructions (I meant to) and one I never considered, updating the recovery partition. Reworked displays section as it was one big ugly wad of text. Added info about 4k TVs, chroma subsampling. It's now a proper section Fixed JS error.

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08/05/19 - Grammar/punctuation edits. Moved \"identify your mac\" out of the PCIe section. Added RX 590 to GPU list. Added note about OWC overcharging for RX 580s as I find this egregious/predatory. Added Note about flashed RX 580s.

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08/02/19 - Added more info on PCIe power for clarification, added more info on bifurcation. NVMe cleanup. Table for OS support. Added xMP 2019 to the Mac Pro list. It's annoyed me I haven't followed a clear structure on many topics (sometimes 2006 Mac pros are listed first, while other times 2012). I'll start doing more house cleaning. Started a troubleshooting section which is opening pandora's box.

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07/17/19 - Added more info on Wifi chipsets (where to buy), and continuity. Added note on buying RAM. A few minor edits.

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07/10/19 - Fixed bad URL thanks to a reader. Noticed I had two boot manager sections and consolidated them.

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07/05/19 - Added more info about Bootcamp and Windows 10, more editing, typo fixes. Hid the old intro by default. Updated Intro. Added notes on THunderbolt 3. Added info about Vega chipset fans.

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06/26/19 - Added more notes about the Radeon 580s in Mac Pro 3.1s and the first notes on 10.15 Catalina. Also added notes on Mac Pro Processor trays. Minor clarification on Know your Mac Pro, and added DosDude1 as a definition

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06/03/19 - Fitting just north of the 1 year anniversary, the Mac Pro 2019 has been announced, and it is a beast. Those specs are beyond what I hoped for, and thus the price is beyond what I hoped for too, 2x the price of the 2006-2012 Mac Pros.

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06/03/19 - Happy WWDC day, let's see if we're all disappointed. Added info about the RX560 in Mac Pro 3.1s.

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05/17/19 - Editing, and clarity, Added how to install GPU section.

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05/18/19 - Linked Jay’s article on Blu-Ray and added notes about VLC and Blu-Ray drive, added better recommendation against 3.1s and NVMe, added incompatible NVMe list.

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05/13/19 - 10.14.5 notes on GPU AMD Radeon VII and added notes on enabling AMD video codec acceleration. Editing (typos + punctuation + corrections)

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05/11/19 - Now that this guide has matured. The new focus is organization. More cleanup. I noticed a few typos. Reordered things a little more in the GPU section and other places. I dislike to make executive recommendations on hardware, but I ended up bowling it down in the GPU section. If you disagree with me, do e-mail me.

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05/08/19 - Biggest update in a long time. Massive cleanup around the Firmware upgrades and OS upgrades sections as it annoyed me that the information wasn't organized well, better notes about Mojave on Mac OS 3.1s, better placement about 3.1s and NVMe, and lastly added a list of the firmware updates to the Mac Pro 5.1s. I tried to reduce redundancy. Reduced the GPU recommendation section to be less verbose and made it clearer. Removed warning about firmware and issued a general recommendation. Added a mini-glossary, added a few more anchors to sections. Still plenty more clean up to happen in the future.

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05/07/19 - One year anniversary! Added links to The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (2013) Upgrade Guide.

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05/03/19 - Hey, it's almost been one year for this blog post! Added notes about custom fans on Mac Pro and RX 580 drivers. Added links to articles on Mac Pro 3,1s and NVMe. Also, as always a few grammar/editing corrections.

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03/29/19 - Added the link the AMD Polaris/Vega GPU thread, added a note about 3.1s and Mojave GPU support. Minor typo corrections.

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03/11/19 - Reader Benjamin R noted I was missing the Quadro K5200 and sure enough there's a Mac version as well as K4200. Also listed the Firepro S10000 to list of natively compatible GPUs.

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03/05/19 - Added CPU check terminal command. Added version number, using the date, since this guide has evolved quite a bit and this gives repeat visitors a quick reference for when the guide was last updated. Updated Fusion drive section. Updated NVidia driver section only lists TonyMacX86's latest drivers rather than versions, and clarified RTX series. Added link to Expansion Slot Utility for Mac Pro 1,1/2,1s. Also, saw two FB users wondering if Apple bricked computers with the 142 firmware on purpose. I can assure you they did not. The W3xxx series aren't nearly as common, and if Apple wants to drop support, they can do so at any time. They do it frequently with major OS updates for both macOS and iOS. Why bother to play a cloak and daggers game and open themselves up to a potential class-action lawsuit? Not everything is a conspiracy (most things aren't in fact, youtube and social media is making us stupid), Occam's razor says this was an edge case that wasn't tested. As a developer, I can tell you this happens more than you ever want to know.

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03/04/19 - Created the Special Announcements, as the DP4 of Mojave 10.14.4 has a new firmware the bricks the higher-end CPUs. Added more notes to the firmware section. Minor copy edits/grammar-y corrections are littered through this update.

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02/27/19 - Wow, this guide is about 10 months old now has had nearly 50k visits. Added link to Mac Pro Users, added tables to PCIe section, clearer explanations on PCIe, linked a user confirming dual 5k displays and added a few lines to the eBay buying. Also took off a little of the AppleInsider slandering. It's not my favorite site but doesn't really add anything of value.

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02/01/19 - Added new Sonnet USB 3,1 cards to compatibility, Added a link to Delidding cleanup.

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01/24/19 - Added image to illustrate the Mac Pro generations under know your Mac Pro and subsection. Added RX580 Mac Pro 3,1 compatibility note.

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01/23/19 - Moved the Thunderbolt info into its own section as it's moved beyond speculation. I'll track this best as I can. Added a communities section. Added an anchor to the changelog. Minor copy edits.

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01/18/19 - Just when you think you've considered pretty much any upgrade feasible, there's a new one. It looks like there's been progress made on the Apple Watch Auto Unlock for the cMP, so I added it to the guide. I added minor corrections to grammar and punctuation as it'd been a while since I've proof-read this entire monster of an article. Fun fact, this article is 12,500+ words now, which is 24 pages, single-spaced 12-point text (48 double-spaced). For reference, a novel is generally considered to be 40,000+ words. Apple Insider, seems to think that PCIe 5.0 might be in the 2019 Mac Pro. Why? Because it was ratified as a standard. I find this incredibly silly as PCIe 4.0 first motherboards were demoed in June and there aren't many floating around right now nor hardware. PCI 4.0 was finalized on Oct 26, 2017, and took roughly a year for the first devices to ship. With the extreme lack of PCIe 4.0 hardware, let alone 5.0, this is extremely dubious.

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01/17/19 - Reader Arif pointed out an error on my guide, and I didn't have a checkmark next to the X5675 on the Mac Pro 5.1, also looks like more progress on thunderbolt and added it. First, update for 2019 and 7 months running of updates.

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12/21/18 - Added a note about the X5687 since recently there's been a few posts on Mac Pro communities again. It's incompatible, and this guide lists it as incompatible. I linked a forum poster's attempt at getting it to work (despite knowing it was listed as incompatible). Hopefully, this saves a few people the heartache and money. Added notes about UI scaling to monitors and Freesync

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12/14/18 - Thanks to reader Ian for confirming the RX 590 works in the cMPs. I hadn't even noticed it had been released. He even created a video. You can watch it here. Also, added info about the latest in NVidia driver updates as NVidia released new drivers for 10.13, but without Volta support, lending a lot of weight to the previous rumor that the drivers were pulled over a dispute with Apple's AMD contract. The issue has landed itself in Forbes under the blistering headline Apple Turns Its Back On Customers And NVIDIA With macOS Mojave. Hopefully, this helps Mac Pro users out, such as myself. I've had my NVidia GeForce 1060 less than a year. Oh, and this blog now supports Dark Mode for Mojave users using Safari Tech Preview 68 or higher.

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11/28/18 - With the stalemating of NVidia drivers, I've added a link to the petition for drivers and updated the GPU section a bit to reflect better that it's AMD or bust right now for Mojave.

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11/05/18 - Bad news on the Mojave front for NVidia users, NVidia blames Apple for not approving its drivers. Added links to the said article.

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11/02/18 - Updated intro, Apple released Mac Minis, minor clarification in the intro and call to the right to repair.

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10/29/18 - Big reworking of storage section (now ordered by ATA, AHCI, and NVMe), Added direct links to NVMe firmware.

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10/26/18 - lots of copy editing on new (and some old) sections. Also thanks to Pressure G on Mac Pro Users (on Facebook) for spotting an error. This guide is now roughly 40 pages long! Added to Contents list of the \"other upgrades.\"

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10/25/18 - The first draft of NVMe section, and editing to more accurately reflect NVMe status, plus added first draft PCIe, and You section to explain PCIe ports. Both will require editing.

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10/22/18 - 2018 is the year of the cMac Pro. In the space of not updating for a month, we have native NVMe support, bootscreens on RTX cards and the craziest of them all: promising ThunderBolt results. Added notes in relevant sections. Added Boot manager to both GPU and it's own section under other upgrades. Also, I was mentioned in a podcast a while back Brograph Podcast - Episode 134 (at the 33:05 mark). Added a TechRadar link. Added more AppleInsider insults. Why? It's apologist fanboy propaganda.

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9/26/18 - It's Mojave time! Added notes on 10.14 Mojave installation, Metal, Mojave patcher for Mac Pro 3.1s, and OWC APFS problems.

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9/19/18 - Added link to After Effects GeForce 1080 vs.Radeon 580

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9/04/18 - Mild copy edit + driver downloader.

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8/27/18 - Added note about DynaPower USA to PCIe expanders, full list of AMD cards and some minor copy editing.

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8/3/18 - Added eBay purchasing notes, Minor copy editing to new content

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8/2/18 - Special thanks to reader Geo B. for sending me info about the FASTA-6GU3 and Amfeltec SQUID. Added notes on Triple channel memory. Also, Big list of corrections (typo spot, correction about the language around UEFI, 2006 Mac Pro OS compatibility, and other bullet points), thanks in part to Dave @ MacVidCards for his very-direct (read: confrontational) but informative e-mail (Dont'worry, we're cool, or at least I assume we are. If we aren't, whatever.). As per request, any reference was changed to from \"Mac Vid Cards\" to \"MacVidCards.\" Notably, Dave mentions that the Mac 780/Titan/Titan X EFI compatible cards use a pirated version of his custom/hacked ROM. While I haven't verified this, as I don't really have means or time to do so (this page is for fun and to help other people like me), I see no reason to doubt this claim as it's not like there's Mac versions of these cards.

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6/13/18 - Added Know Your Mac Pro, link to Pixlas dual GPU mod by Big Little Frank, added HDMI Volume control Lifehacker link.

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6/12/18 - Minor update to GPUs list, also added firmware update info, finally added a blur about delidding, xlr8yourmac fixed.

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6/1/18 - NVMe is now bootable with firmware hacks, added info in NVMe and firmware sections.

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5/27/18 - Added link to Netkas Mac Pro 1,1 -> 2,1 firmware utility and StarTech 4-Port card to USB list.

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5/23/18 - Added link to wifi install guide for 5,1 Mac Pros, link cleanup so links consistently open blank page, minor proofing.

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5/22/18 - Added HDMI Audio links, Mac Pro 5,1 Update for 10.13, Also, time for some proofing: Fixed quite a few typos, grammar blunders, and punctuation.

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5/21/18 - Added Mac Pro manuals from Apple.com

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5/17/18 - Added Linux on 2006 Mac Pros links

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5/16/18 - 5770 Error correction info

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5/15/18 - Minor copy editing, fixed bad link to anchor tag for CPU upgrades, a note about SLI.

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5/14/18 - Reworked the intro, it's wordy now. Minor copy editing, more PCIe sled info, more 4,1 firmware upgrade links.

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5/13/18 - Added Pixlas mod info, Classic Mac Pro gone but certainly not forgotten.

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5/11/18 - Added Upgrade to High Sierra without APFS, added NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600, AMD FirePro W7000 to flashable cards, AMD Radeon 770/5780 Roms link, mac-pixel-clock-patch-V2 link, How to Boot to Windows without a Boot Screen link, NVMe links, Disable internal Bluetooth (for USB dongles), note about pre-10.9 RAM, serial number lookup, note about 64-bit on 1,1/2,1 mac pros.

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5/10/18 - Links to EveryMac for RAM instructions, quick thoughts on graphics cards purchases, and links to NVidia web drivers.

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5/9/18 - Copy Editing + Responsive CPU tables + links open new windows.

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5/8/18 - Images + feedback from users (added Replacing battery + memory) + restructure so contents supersedes intro.

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5/7/18 - Guide launch, first published

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", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2018/05/07/definitive-mac-pro-upgrade-guide.html", "image": "/images/posts/2018-05-01-macpro/header.jpg", "tags": ["mac pro","tutorial","apple","os x","hardware"], "date_published": "2025-01-01T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-01T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/12/23/emulating-the-playstation-2-and-playing-ps2-games-on-mac-os.html", "title": "How to play Playstation 2 Games on your Mac (PS2 emulation)", "summary": null, "content_text": "This guide was originally written in 2022, and since then, it has been updated to reflect the latest changes in the PS2 emulation scene on macOS as of March 2025. The original guide was written when PCSX2 and AetherSX2 (An ARM native port of PCSX2) were both functioning and viable choices. AetherSX2 is no longer; thus, this is a new simplified guide with a new simplified video. I've also updated the guide in 2025 to include instructions on how to make your own game backups from macOS.For years, Windows has had a huge lead in emulating the Sony PlayStation 2 thanks to PCSX2, but as of roughly three years ago, there's been traction on updating the Mac port of PCSX2, now complete with Metal (Apple's Graphics API) support. This recent development makes performance better than ever for Mac users. This is an additional supplement to the video below, which covers the PS2 setup in greater detail.Advantages over a real PS2 Better visual fidelity, Ability to play in high definition, 4k and beyond! Texture packs even higher fidelity graphics Faster load times Freeze states allow games to be resumed instantaneously Ability to have virtual memory cards and download save states Ability to load in high-resolution texture packs for games.This guide will cover the basics of playing PS2 games on your Mac. The things you will need: A (semi) modern Mac. Playstation 2 emulation doesn't require bleeding-edge hardware, but the faster the computer, the better the results. A game controller (preferably a PS4 or PS5 controller or Xbox series controller) Playstation 2 GamesThat's it. Pre-owned Playstation controllers are easy to come by, just like used games. This is a relatively cheap endeavor as you probably already have a controller and a USB cable to connect it to your Mac and even possibly the games.Downloading the EmulatorFor the first step, you'll need to download the correct emulator for your Mac. Since Metal is a recent addition to these emulators, we'll want the bleeding-edge versions. Intel Mac users will download the nightly build of PCSX2.Once downloaded, decompress the emulator. To open it for the first time on macOS 11 Big Sur or later, you must click right and select open to allow the application to open.macOS 15 users will need to do the following: Double click the application and cancel Go to System preferences Go to Security and Privacy Scroll down to the \"Security\" section Below the \"Allow Applications\" should be a message \"PCSX was blocked to protect your Mac,\" click \"Open Anyway\" to whitelist it First Launch!PCSX2 now has a getting started quick launch that assists with the initial setup. This is remarkably improved, as is the emulator setup. You will need the following: A controller connected to your Mac A copy of the PS2 Bios GamesPlayStation 2 BiosNext, you will need to obtain the Playstation 2 bios. Bios is the firmware for the PlayStation 2, which also contains its basic operating system. However, downloading it is legally grey at best, so I will not directly link it. However, it can be easily found using popular search engines searching phrases like \"Archive.org PS2 Bios\" or manually dumped from a physical PS2 for those who want to be 100% legal. The PlayStation bios either need to be placed in a default location or a location of your choosing. This is done at the \"Getting Started\" sequence, but it can always be updated later; go to Preferences -> Bios and point the emulator's BIOS directory to your PS2 Bios. The bios should appear in the emulator's list if the versions are correct.GamesPhysical PS2 games can be dumped into ISO or even inserted into a DVD drive and played on your Mac (if you have a DVD drive). Games dumped as ISOs can be placed into a folder and displayed in a list format for easy browsing. From the Preferences, select the games list and add your folder to the games directory. If your folder has folders inside of it, allow it to scan recursively. Creating ISOs using your Mac is pretty easy. If you have a DVD-equipped Mac or. SuperDrive, you create an ISO by doing the following: Launch Disk Utility on your Mac (it's located in Applications -> Utilities) Insert the game disk into your DVD drive Right-click the disk from the right-hand corner, and right-click it using the \"Create Image from...\" option. This will likely take several minutes. Set the \"Image Format\" to \"DVD/CD Master.\" Click the \"Save\" button Go to the location where you saved the disk image, and change the file name suffix from \".cdr\" to \".iso\".Please do not ask me for games, yes they exist on the internet. Yes, you can download them, but I will not respond to requests on where to download them.ControllersWhile you can play PS2 games with a mouse and keyboard, the best way to enjoy PS2 games is to use a controller, preferably a Sony Playstation controller. The Sony PlayStation 3, 4, and 5 controllers are all great candidates, as they can be directly plugged into your Mac via USB or Bluetooth. During the getting started sequence, it will prompt you for a controller. Once plugged in or connected, select Automatic Binding in the upper right-hand corner and find your controller from the list. The emulator will automatically map the controller buttons.GraphicsEasily one of the best features of the PS2 emulator is the Ability to enjoy old titles in HD. 3D games (games using polygons) will render natively, even up to 4k (or beyond), resulting in much sharper and clearer graphics. From the settings menu, select graphics. Make sure the emulator is using the Metal renderer.By default, the emulator will be set default, although you can force to Metal in the tab. The default settings largely do not need to be touched. However, you'll want to click the rendering tab, as this is where the bulk of visual fidelity tweaks exist.The Rendering tab contains a plethora of options, but the two that are of the most interest are the Internal Resolution and Anisotropic filtering. The internal resolution will define what resolution you are playing games at. Anisotropic is a less noticeable but loved feature that affects how textures are rendered at extreme angles. The higher the filtering, the sharper textures will be when viewed from extreme angles. Both features come at a significant performance cost. It's best to play with the settings to find out what works for your Mac. Modern Macs with beefier CPUs and GPUs will be able to produce better results.Some of the graphics fidelity options are a trial and error approach as not all games will perform the same, and different portions of games may perform differently. I suggest playing around after you've managed to play a few games successfully for a bit and then experimenting.One somewhat new addition is the post-processing options. While they're largely gimmicky, many users will want to enable FSAA (Full Screen Anti-Aliasing) as it will help eliminate harsh edges on polygon graphics, aka \"jaggies\".Memory cardsThe original PS2 shipped with 8 MB cards and supported up to 64 MB cards. For a modern computer, these are trivial amounts of space, and memory cards can be created and managed in the emulator's Memory Card section in the settings. Virtual memory cards can be downloaded from various sites with preloaded save states.To manage saves on Memory cards, boot into the PS2's bios. This will allow you to manage the memory cards like a regular PlayStation 2.Creating your own ISOs from discsCreating ISOs from your own PS2 games is a great way to preserve your collection. It's also a great way to play games without needing to swap discs. To create an ISO from a PS2 game, you'll need a Mac with a DVD drive. Here's how to do it via Disk Utility: Insert the PS2 game disc into your Mac's DVD drive. Open Disk Utility (located in Applications -> Utilities). Click on the PS2 game disc in the left-hand column of Disk Utility. Click the \"New Image\" button in the toolbar. Choose \"DVD/CD Master\" as the Image Format and \"None\" as the encryption. Click \"Save\" and wait for the disc to be copied to your Mac. Once the disc has been copied, you can rename the .cdr file to .iso.You can also do this from the CLI using hdiutil which is my preferred method. hdiutil makehybrid: The macOS utility for creating disc images -iso: Creates a standard ISO9660 filesystem (required for compatibility) -joliet: Adds Joliet extensions for longer filenames (important for PS2 games) -udf: Adds UDF support (critical for PS2 DVDs as they use UDF format) -o ~/Desktop/PS2_Backup.iso: Specifies the output file path /Volumes/PS2_GAME: The input directory (mounted PS2 DVD)Here's the command to create an ISO from a PS2 game disc. You may want to remove the default volume name, and you will need to alter the paths to match.hdiutil make hybrid -iso -joliet -udf -default-volume-name \"PS2GAME\" -o ~/Desktop/PS2_Backup.iso /Volumes/PS2_GAMEComplete 1:1 backuphdiutil make hybrid -iso -joliet -udf -verbose -all-files -o ~/Desktop/PS2_Backup.iso /Volumes/PS2_GAMEWhile AI is often unreliable, it is extremely useful for debugging commands and explaining terminal commands. ChatGTP and Claude are very useful, even on the free tiers.I've also made a video on emulating other PlayStation consoles.PlayStation 3 PS3 emulation is rapidly improving, with many major titles not only playable but enjoyable. Even since recording my video, Red Dead Redemption has improved to have fewer graphical glitches.PlayStation 1 PSone or PSX emulation can achieve amazing results even on modest hardware. DuckStation offers a superior experience than playing games natively on a PlayStation as it has the Ability to visually enhance games to 4k and improve some of the PSX graphical limitations. iOS Emulation (covers PPSSPP and PlayStation on iOS) Apple finally allows emulators in the App store. This video covers the full range of emulators available today.Other emulation guides I've written The Definitive Guide to iOS emulation Mac MAME Arcade emulation & NeoGeo using OpenEMU and SDLMame for Apple Silicon or Intel Native. Emulating Mac OS 9.2 with sound on Apple Silicon and Intel Getting XEMU to work on macOS (Intel / Apple Silicon) for Xbox Emulation", "content_html": "

This guide was originally written in 2022, and since then, it has been updated to reflect the latest changes in the PS2 emulation scene on macOS as of March 2025. The original guide was written when PCSX2 and AetherSX2 (An ARM native port of PCSX2) were both functioning and viable choices. AetherSX2 is no longer; thus, this is a new simplified guide with a new simplified video. I've also updated the guide in 2025 to include instructions on how to make your own game backups from macOS.

For years, Windows has had a huge lead in emulating the Sony PlayStation 2 thanks to PCSX2, but as of roughly three years ago, there's been traction on updating the Mac port of PCSX2, now complete with Metal (Apple's Graphics API) support. This recent development makes performance better than ever for Mac users. This is an additional supplement to the video below, which covers the PS2 setup in greater detail.


Advantages over a real PS2

This guide will cover the basics of playing PS2 games on your Mac. The things you will need:

  1. A (semi) modern Mac. Playstation 2 emulation doesn't require bleeding-edge hardware, but the faster the computer, the better the results.
  2. A game controller (preferably a PS4 or PS5 controller or Xbox series controller)
  3. Playstation 2 Games

That's it. Pre-owned Playstation controllers are easy to come by, just like used games. This is a relatively cheap endeavor as you probably already have a controller and a USB cable to connect it to your Mac and even possibly the games.

Downloading the Emulator

For the first step, you'll need to download the correct emulator for your Mac. Since Metal is a recent addition to these emulators, we'll want the bleeding-edge versions. Intel Mac users will download the nightly build of PCSX2.

Once downloaded, decompress the emulator. To open it for the first time on macOS 11 Big Sur or later, you must click right and select open to allow the application to open.

macOS 15 users will need to do the following:

  1. Double click the application and cancel
  2. Go to System preferences
  3. Go to Security and Privacy
  4. Scroll down to the \"Security\" section
  5. Below the \"Allow Applications\" should be a message \"PCSX was blocked to protect your Mac,\" click \"Open Anyway\" to whitelist it

First Launch!

PCSX2 now has a getting started quick launch that assists with the initial setup. This is remarkably improved, as is the emulator setup. You will need the following:

  1. A controller connected to your Mac
  2. A copy of the PS2 Bios
  3. Games

PlayStation 2 Bios

Next, you will need to obtain the Playstation 2 bios. Bios is the firmware for the PlayStation 2, which also contains its basic operating system. However, downloading it is legally grey at best, so I will not directly link it. However, it can be easily found using popular search engines searching phrases like \"Archive.org PS2 Bios\" or manually dumped from a physical PS2 for those who want to be 100% legal.

\"PS2

The PlayStation bios either need to be placed in a default location or a location of your choosing. This is done at the \"Getting Started\" sequence, but it can always be updated later; go to Preferences -> Bios and point the emulator's BIOS directory to your PS2 Bios. The bios should appear in the emulator's list if the versions are correct.

Games

Physical PS2 games can be dumped into ISO or even inserted into a DVD drive and played on your Mac (if you have a DVD drive). Games dumped as ISOs can be placed into a folder and displayed in a list format for easy browsing. From the Preferences, select the games list and add your folder to the games directory. If your folder has folders inside of it, allow it to scan recursively.

\"PS2

Creating ISOs using your Mac is pretty easy. If you have a DVD-equipped Mac or. SuperDrive, you create an ISO by doing the following:

  1. Launch Disk Utility on your Mac (it's located in Applications -> Utilities)
  2. Insert the game disk into your DVD drive
  3. Right-click the disk from the right-hand corner, and right-click it using the \"Create Image from...\" option. This will likely take several minutes.
  4. Set the \"Image Format\" to \"DVD/CD Master.\" Click the \"Save\" button
  5. Go to the location where you saved the disk image, and change the file name suffix from \".cdr\" to \".iso\".

Please do not ask me for games, yes they exist on the internet. Yes, you can download them, but I will not respond to requests on where to download them.

Controllers

While you can play PS2 games with a mouse and keyboard, the best way to enjoy PS2 games is to use a controller, preferably a Sony Playstation controller. The Sony PlayStation 3, 4, and 5 controllers are all great candidates, as they can be directly plugged into your Mac via USB or Bluetooth. During the getting started sequence, it will prompt you for a controller. Once plugged in or connected, select Automatic Binding in the upper right-hand corner and find your controller from the list. The emulator will automatically map the controller buttons.

\"PS2

Graphics

Easily one of the best features of the PS2 emulator is the Ability to enjoy old titles in HD. 3D games (games using polygons) will render natively, even up to 4k (or beyond), resulting in much sharper and clearer graphics. From the settings menu, select graphics. Make sure the emulator is using the Metal renderer.

\"PS2

By default, the emulator will be set default, although you can force to Metal in the tab. The default settings largely do not need to be touched. However, you'll want to click the rendering tab, as this is where the bulk of visual fidelity tweaks exist.

The Rendering tab contains a plethora of options, but the two that are of the most interest are the Internal Resolution and Anisotropic filtering. The internal resolution will define what resolution you are playing games at. Anisotropic is a less noticeable but loved feature that affects how textures are rendered at extreme angles. The higher the filtering, the sharper textures will be when viewed from extreme angles. Both features come at a significant performance cost. It's best to play with the settings to find out what works for your Mac. Modern Macs with beefier CPUs and GPUs will be able to produce better results.

\"PS2

Some of the graphics fidelity options are a trial and error approach as not all games will perform the same, and different portions of games may perform differently. I suggest playing around after you've managed to play a few games successfully for a bit and then experimenting.

\"PS2

One somewhat new addition is the post-processing options. While they're largely gimmicky, many users will want to enable FSAA (Full Screen Anti-Aliasing) as it will help eliminate harsh edges on polygon graphics, aka \"jaggies\".

Memory cards

The original PS2 shipped with 8 MB cards and supported up to 64 MB cards. For a modern computer, these are trivial amounts of space, and memory cards can be created and managed in the emulator's Memory Card section in the settings. Virtual memory cards can be downloaded from various sites with preloaded save states.

To manage saves on Memory cards, boot into the PS2's bios. This will allow you to manage the memory cards like a regular PlayStation 2.

Creating your own ISOs from discs

Creating ISOs from your own PS2 games is a great way to preserve your collection. It's also a great way to play games without needing to swap discs. To create an ISO from a PS2 game, you'll need a Mac with a DVD drive. Here's how to do it via Disk Utility:

  1. Insert the PS2 game disc into your Mac's DVD drive.
  2. Open Disk Utility (located in Applications -> Utilities).
  3. Click on the PS2 game disc in the left-hand column of Disk Utility.
  4. Click the \"New Image\" button in the toolbar.
  5. Choose \"DVD/CD Master\" as the Image Format and \"None\" as the encryption.
  6. Click \"Save\" and wait for the disc to be copied to your Mac.
  7. Once the disc has been copied, you can rename the .cdr file to .iso.

You can also do this from the CLI using hdiutil which is my preferred method.

Here's the command to create an ISO from a PS2 game disc. You may want to remove the default volume name, and you will need to alter the paths to match.

hdiutil make hybrid -iso -joliet -udf -default-volume-name \"PS2GAME\" -o ~/Desktop/PS2_Backup.iso /Volumes/PS2_GAME

Complete 1:1 backup

hdiutil make hybrid -iso -joliet -udf -verbose -all-files -o ~/Desktop/PS2_Backup.iso /Volumes/PS2_GAME

While AI is often unreliable, it is extremely useful for debugging commands and explaining terminal commands. ChatGTP and Claude are very useful, even on the free tiers.

I've also made a video on emulating other PlayStation consoles.

PlayStation 3


PS3 emulation is rapidly improving, with many major titles not only playable but enjoyable. Even since recording my video, Red Dead Redemption has improved to have fewer graphical glitches.

PlayStation 1

PSone or PSX emulation can achieve amazing results even on modest hardware. DuckStation offers a superior experience than playing games natively on a PlayStation as it has the Ability to visually enhance games to 4k and improve some of the PSX graphical limitations.

iOS Emulation (covers PPSSPP and PlayStation on iOS)

Apple finally allows emulators in the App store. This video covers the full range of emulators available today.

Other emulation guides I've written

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/12/23/emulating-the-playstation-2-and-playing-ps2-games-on-mac-os.html", "image": "/images/posts/2022-ps2/ps2-emu-image.jpg", "tags": ["off topic","emulation","openemu","os x"], "date_published": "2024-12-23T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2024-12-23T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/11/25/fixing-phoronix-test-suite-for-apple-silicon.html", "title": "Fixing Phoronix Test Suite for Apple Silicon", "summary": null, "content_text": "So..... This is the sort of post that won't mean much to most people, but I think about three people who will be thankful. Right now, Phoronix Test Suite seems to be hard-coded for Intel. This means running many dependencies using x86 binaries and having Homebrew installed as x86 as well as arm64. The jump-off point for me was Phoronix Test Suite #110993 . For a quick summary, brew installs to /usr/local/ on x86 and /opt/homebrew/ on macOS. However, if you run, say, the pts/webp on an ARM64 Mac, regardless if you have already installed libjpeg, it will complain: % phoronix-test-suite debug-run webp Evaluating External Test Dependencies ...........................The following dependencies are needed and will be installed: - jpegThis process may take several minutes.Warning: jpeg 9f is already installed and up-to-date.To reinstall 9f, run: brew reinstall jpegThere are dependencies still missing from the system:- JPEG Library1: Ignore missing dependencies and proceed with installation.2: Skip installing the tests with missing dependencies.3: Re-attempt to install the missing dependencies.4: Quit the current Phoronix Test Suite process.Missing dependencies action: 3The following dependencies are needed and will be installed: - jpeg This error message gives you the option to reinstall the missing dependencies. Seems great, until you try to use it. If you select option 3, if you already have the dependency installed, it'll report it as installed his process may take several minutes.Warning: jpeg 9f is already installed and up-to-date.To reinstall 9f, run: brew reinstall jpegPhoronix Test Suite v10.8.4 Installed: pts/webp-1.4.0 After the test attempts to run, we can se that the dependency for jpeg is reporting as not compiled, and thus the test file for jpeg cannot to be read. Test Run Directory: /Users/greg/.phoronix-test-suite/installed-tests/pts/webp-1.4.0/Test Run Command: ./webp -v -mtJPEG support not compiled. Please install the libjpeg development package before building.Error! Could not process file sample-photo-6000x4000.JPGError! Cannot read input picture file 'sample-photo-6000x4000.JPG'You'll need to go into /opt/homebrew/opt/phoronix-test-suite/, the version number, 10.8.4 then open /share/phoronix-test-suite/pts-core/objects/client/pts_external_dependencies.php and locate the $possible_paths declarations (there should be two in all), and add to the array the following, '/opt/homebrew/opt/', '/opt/homebrew/include/', '/opt/homebrew/', .This will now enable Phoronix to search for the ARM64 binaries.You may still encounter issues, I found that I needed to declare in the terminal session the following to run the webp test as libjpeg: export LDFLAGS=\"-L/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib\"export CPPFLAGS=\"-I/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/include\"export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=\"/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib/pkgconfig\"", "content_html": "

So..... This is the sort of post that won't mean much to most people, but I think about three people who will be thankful. Right now, Phoronix Test Suite seems to be hard-coded for Intel. This means running many dependencies using x86 binaries and having Homebrew installed as x86 as well as arm64. The jump-off point for me was Phoronix Test Suite #110993 .

For a quick summary, brew installs to /usr/local/ on x86 and /opt/homebrew/ on macOS. However, if you run, say, the pts/webp on an ARM64 Mac, regardless if you have already installed libjpeg, it will complain: 

% phoronix-test-suite debug-run webp        Evaluating External Test Dependencies ...........................The following dependencies are needed and will be installed: - jpegThis process may take several minutes.Warning: jpeg 9f is already installed and up-to-date.To reinstall 9f, run: brew reinstall jpegThere are dependencies still missing from the system:- JPEG Library1: Ignore missing dependencies and proceed with installation.2: Skip installing the tests with missing dependencies.3: Re-attempt to install the missing dependencies.4: Quit the current Phoronix Test Suite process.Missing dependencies action: 3The following dependencies are needed and will be installed: - jpeg

This error message gives you the option to reinstall the missing dependencies. Seems great, until you try to use it. If you select option 3, if you already have the dependency installed, it'll report it as installed 

 his process may take several minutes.Warning: jpeg 9f is already installed and up-to-date.To reinstall 9f, run: brew reinstall jpegPhoronix Test Suite v10.8.4 Installed:     pts/webp-1.4.0

After the test attempts to run, we can se that the dependency for jpeg is reporting as not compiled, and thus the test file for jpeg cannot to be read.

Test Run Directory: /Users/greg/.phoronix-test-suite/installed-tests/pts/webp-1.4.0/Test Run Command: ./webp -v -mtJPEG support not compiled. Please install the libjpeg development package before building.Error! Could not process file sample-photo-6000x4000.JPGError! Cannot read input picture file 'sample-photo-6000x4000.JPG'

You'll need to go into /opt/homebrew/opt/phoronix-test-suite/, the version number, 10.8.4 then open /share/phoronix-test-suite/pts-core/objects/client/pts_external_dependencies.php and locate the $possible_paths declarations (there should be two in all), and add to the array the following, '/opt/homebrew/opt/', '/opt/homebrew/include/', '/opt/homebrew/', .

This will now enable Phoronix to search for the ARM64 binaries.

You may still encounter issues, I found that I needed to declare in the terminal session the following to run the webp test as libjpeg:

export LDFLAGS=\"-L/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib\"export CPPFLAGS=\"-I/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/include\"export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=\"/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib/pkgconfig\"
", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/11/25/fixing-phoronix-test-suite-for-apple-silicon.html", "tags": ["apple","os x","tutorial"], "date_published": "2024-11-25T00:00:00-08:00", "date_modified": "2024-11-25T00:00:00-08:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/09/25/apple-watch-5-to-10-impressions.html", "title": "Apple Watch 5 to 10 Impressions", "summary": null, "content_text": "Years ago, I purchased the first and only Apple Watch, the 5th edition featuring the always-on display. I picked up once covid shut down the world as a way to track my physical activity as I was no longer biking to work and no longer able to go to the gym. It largely worked; I set my workout goals at 820 calories a day and since then have averaged about 80% of the time hitting my workout goals.I am not a watch power user; the only watch notifications I allow are text messaging/phone calls, exercise reminders, and navigation cues. Otherwise, my watch stays silent; in fact, it almost always is in silent mode. My Apple Watch 5 did what I wanted and what I needed well enough that I didn't bother even considering any of the later models. As the first \"Always-on\" display, there have certainly been improvements, but few things of interest beyond the blood oxygen monitor (more on that later) What finally pushed me over the edge to upgrade was battery life. Apple, of course, tactfully prices its battery replacements in such a way that you might as well upgrade. Did I really want to spend $79 to replace the battery? I'd been living with a rapidly decreasing battery for nearly a year, and I made it work by buying an extra charger for my car to charge it before a hike or after, and I became used to mid-day charging. Finally, I decided it was time to either replace the battery or upgrade. I chose to upgrade.The UpgradeOver the five years since the release of the Apple 5, there's been a steady stream of upgrades: Apple has tacked on faster SoCs, moving from the 7nm node Dual-core Tempest to a newer 4nm node Dual Core Sawtooth, with more L1d and L2 cache, as well as added a more powerful neural engine. They also reduced the bezels, improved the screen brightness, improved the screen viewing angles, improved the optical heart rate sensor, improved the accelerator, included U1, better wifi, removed force touch, increased the faster charging capabilities, improved the screen hardness, made the speaker louder, changes the sizing fractionally (thinner and larger) and added a blood oxygen sensor that has been disabled due to legal disputes around the patent.Year over year, the Apple Watch generational change is not terribly meaningful, but stacked over a five-year window, they add up. This is the new normal as the space for meaningful upgrades closes. That said, do any of these matter?Yes. Overall, I've been rather impressed with how much better the screen is and how much smoother the animations are. In broad daylight, the screen is simply more visible. Also, the 42mm vs the old small 40mm is noticeable. As an active person, I don't like big watches, which is why I feel like the Apple Watch Ultra misses the mark. When hiking, exercising, biking, skateboarding, skiing, and the rare times I'm in a kayak, I want to be free of as many burdens as possible, and that includes my wrist. As an average-sized man, I could get the bigger watch, but I don't want the watch to be bigger. That said, I do appreciate the extra line of text it now can present. Apple tweaked the UI to display just a bit more information, which makes a world of difference.I've yet to really notice much difference in the heart rate monitoring, but I'm also not obsessively checking it. I look at my activity points and check my heart rate during a run or hike, and that's about it, but there is comfort in that it's more accurate.The speaker is noticeably better, to the point of seeming like it's a cheap laptop speaker from 20 years ago instead of a buzzing pest. Is it amazing? Absolutely not, but it is more viable to take a call on your wrist without smashing your ear to your watch if it's moderately noisy.Is it worth the upgrade from the Apple Watch 5 to 10? Mostly. If none of the features sound terribly exciting, just replace the battery and hold out for another year. Perhaps Apple will improve the battery life which has been the achilles heel of the Watch or maybe another nice small quality-of-life upgrade.There in lies the issue with the Apple Watch. If you've used one, there's not much to say; it does the Apple Watch things, like unlocking your computer, answering phone calls, sleep tracking, exercise monitoring, environmental noise monitoring, ECGs, functioning as a remote, finding your misplaced phone, and so on. These are all things my previous Apple watch did and did well. It's just that everything now has a bit more polish. I suppose that's the sign of a very mature product. I like it, but unless Apple has a breakthrough in health tracking, such as blood sugar monitoring and/or body temperature monitoring, there won't be a compelling reason to upgrade for years to come, and that's ok.", "content_html": "

Years ago, I purchased the first and only Apple Watch, the 5th edition featuring the always-on display. I picked up once covid shut down the world as a way to track my physical activity as I was no longer biking to work and no longer able to go to the gym. It largely worked; I set my workout goals at 820 calories a day and since then have averaged about 80% of the time hitting my workout goals.

\"Apple

I am not a watch power user; the only watch notifications I allow are text messaging/phone calls, exercise reminders, and navigation cues. Otherwise, my watch stays silent; in fact, it almost always is in silent mode. My Apple Watch 5 did what I wanted and what I needed well enough that I didn't bother even considering any of the later models. As the first \"Always-on\" display, there have certainly been improvements, but few things of interest beyond the blood oxygen monitor (more on that later)

What finally pushed me over the edge to upgrade was battery life. Apple, of course, tactfully prices its battery replacements in such a way that you might as well upgrade. Did I really want to spend $79 to replace the battery? I'd been living with a rapidly decreasing battery for nearly a year, and I made it work by buying an extra charger for my car to charge it before a hike or after, and I became used to mid-day charging. Finally, I decided it was time to either replace the battery or upgrade. I chose to upgrade.

The Upgrade

Over the five years since the release of the Apple 5, there's been a steady stream of upgrades: Apple has tacked on faster SoCs, moving from the 7nm node Dual-core Tempest to a newer 4nm node Dual Core Sawtooth, with more L1d and L2 cache, as well as added a more powerful neural engine. They also reduced the bezels, improved the screen brightness, improved the screen viewing angles, improved the optical heart rate sensor, improved the accelerator, included U1, better wifi, removed force touch, increased the faster charging capabilities, improved the screen hardness, made the speaker louder, changes the sizing fractionally (thinner and larger) and added a blood oxygen sensor that has been disabled due to legal disputes around the patent.

Year over year, the Apple Watch generational change is not terribly meaningful, but stacked over a five-year window, they add up. This is the new normal as the space for meaningful upgrades closes. That said, do any of these matter?

Yes. Overall, I've been rather impressed with how much better the screen is and how much smoother the animations are. In broad daylight, the screen is simply more visible. Also, the 42mm vs the old small 40mm is noticeable. As an active person, I don't like big watches, which is why I feel like the Apple Watch Ultra misses the mark. When hiking, exercising, biking, skateboarding, skiing, and the rare times I'm in a kayak, I want to be free of as many burdens as possible, and that includes my wrist. As an average-sized man, I could get the bigger watch, but I don't want the watch to be bigger. That said, I do appreciate the extra line of text it now can present. Apple tweaked the UI to display just a bit more information, which makes a world of difference.

I've yet to really notice much difference in the heart rate monitoring, but I'm also not obsessively checking it. I look at my activity points and check my heart rate during a run or hike, and that's about it, but there is comfort in that it's more accurate.

The speaker is noticeably better, to the point of seeming like it's a cheap laptop speaker from 20 years ago instead of a buzzing pest. Is it amazing? Absolutely not, but it is more viable to take a call on your wrist without smashing your ear to your watch if it's moderately noisy.

Is it worth the upgrade from the Apple Watch 5 to 10? Mostly. If none of the features sound terribly exciting, just replace the battery and hold out for another year. Perhaps Apple will improve the battery life which has been the achilles heel of the Watch or maybe another nice small quality-of-life upgrade.

There in lies the issue with the Apple Watch. If you've used one, there's not much to say; it does the Apple Watch things, like unlocking your computer, answering phone calls, sleep tracking, exercise monitoring, environmental noise monitoring, ECGs, functioning as a remote, finding your misplaced phone, and so on. These are all things my previous Apple watch did and did well. It's just that everything now has a bit more polish. I suppose that's the sign of a very mature product. I like it, but unless Apple has a breakthrough in health tracking, such as blood sugar monitoring and/or body temperature monitoring, there won't be a compelling reason to upgrade for years to come, and that's ok.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/09/25/apple-watch-5-to-10-impressions.html", "image": "/images/posts/2024-09-25-apple-watch-5-10.webp", "date_published": "2024-09-25T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-25T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/08/21/play-dune-ii-and-dune-2000-natively-on-macos-osx.html", "title": "Play Dune 2, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Dune 2000, and Command and Conquer: Red Alert on macOS", "summary": null, "content_text": " Updated for 2024! Every now and again, I get a hankering for retro gaming, and it ends up on this blog. I never played Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty on a PC, only the Sega Genesis port Dune: The Battle for Arrakis, so it was news to me that you could play Dune II on MacOS. I assume anyone who is reading this probably knows the place that Dune plays in gaming history. Still, it's largely considered the title that defined the genre of the real-time strategy (RTS) or the first real-time strategy (even if not entirely correct). Also, Sim Ant is the real first RTS ;) I can't say I have a special affinity for the genre, as pretty much the only other RTSes I've played are the original Command and Conquer and Warcraft 2, but I always liked Dune: The Battle for Arrakis. I've revisited via emulation a few times. I hoped Dune 2 or Dune 2000 would end up on a service like GOG.com, but sadly, it hasn't. Thanks to open source, both Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty and its sequel, Dune 2000, can be played on Mac OS, natively and with some modern improvements. Disclaimer: By the letter-of-the-law, abandonware isn't 100% legal, but there's no real legal vector to obtain these games, each over 2 decades old. I don't see a moral quandary here, but you can always obtain the original game disks if you see fit. Dune II using Dune Legacy Dune Legacy gives a nice modern twist to the original shortcomings of Dune II, including better AI, head-to-head, ability to group select units, more hotkeys, modern resolutions, HD graphics, and so on. Search \"Dune II Abandonware\" or use archive.org. Download it. Download Dune Legacy Open the DMG, and drag the Dune Legacy app to your Applications folder. Also, decompress the PC copy of the abandonware Dune II Right-click the Dune Legacy App, and click Show Contents. Open within the app, Contents -> Resources Drag all the .PAK files from decompressed Dune II into the Dune Legacy -> Contents -> Resources Double-click to start. You will most likely see a security message. Instead, right-click the application and select open. You'll then see a message with an \"Open\" option. Select open. On older macOS versions, Go to system preferences -> Security and Privacy. The security message relates to the signed code. The developers of Dune Legacy do not pay for an Apple dev license; thus, the code is unsigned. Dune 2000 and/or Command and Conquer using Open RA Open RA stands for \"Open Red Alert\" but also includes Dune 2000 and Tiberian Dawn support with features that are much like Dune Legacy's modern screen resolutions and minor tweaks. Unlike some of the other ports, OpenRA Dune focuses on delivering re-creation rather than improvements and online play. OpenRA has been progressively improving over the years. It used to require installing Mono, an opensource framework for .NET functionality but no longer requires independently installing it. Also, at some point in the future, it'll support Tiberian Sun. Optional: Nab the Dune II ISO for Windows from a site like myabandonware or archive.org. Download OpenRA. Each game comes with an independent app. Install to your applications folder Launch the game and either select \"Quick Install\" or if you have the original game discs, mount the ISO and select advanced install. Also, see d2kplus for mods, some are supported in OpenRA. Game assets are installed in /Library/Application Support/OpenRA. If you delete OpenRA games, be sure to delete this folder as well to completely delete OpenRA. (This may also delete your game saves).", "content_html": "

Updated for 2024!

Every now and again, I get a hankering for retro gaming, and it ends up on this blog. I never played Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty on a PC, only the Sega Genesis port Dune: The Battle for Arrakis, so it was news to me that you could play Dune II on MacOS. I assume anyone who is reading this probably knows the place that Dune plays in gaming history. Still, it's largely considered the title that defined the genre of the real-time strategy (RTS) or the first real-time strategy (even if not entirely correct). Also, Sim Ant is the real first RTS ;)


I can't say I have a special affinity for the genre, as pretty much the only other RTSes I've played are the original Command and Conquer and Warcraft 2, but I always liked Dune: The Battle for Arrakis. I've revisited via emulation a few times. I hoped Dune 2 or Dune 2000 would end up on a service like GOG.com, but sadly, it hasn't. Thanks to open source, both Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty and its sequel, Dune 2000, can be played on Mac OS, natively and with some modern improvements.

Disclaimer: By the letter-of-the-law, abandonware isn't 100% legal, but there's no real legal vector to obtain these games, each over 2 decades old. I don't see a moral quandary here, but you can always obtain the original game disks if you see fit.

Dune II using Dune Legacy

\"Dune

Dune Legacy gives a nice modern twist to the original shortcomings of Dune II, including better AI, head-to-head, ability to group select units, more hotkeys, modern resolutions, HD graphics, and so on.

  1. Search \"Dune II Abandonware\" or use archive.org. Download it.
  2. Download Dune Legacy
  3. Open the DMG, and drag the Dune Legacy app to your Applications folder. Also, decompress the PC copy of the abandonware Dune II
  4. Right-click the Dune Legacy App, and click Show Contents. Open within the app, Contents -> Resources
  5. Drag all the .PAK files from decompressed Dune II into the Dune Legacy -> Contents -> Resources
  6. Double-click to start. You will most likely see a security message. Instead, right-click the application and select open. You'll then see a message with an \"Open\" option. Select open. On older macOS versions, Go to system preferences -> Security and Privacy.

The security message relates to the signed code. The developers of Dune Legacy do not pay for an Apple dev license; thus, the code is unsigned.

Dune 2000 and/or Command and Conquer using Open RA

\"OpenRA

Open RA stands for \"Open Red Alert\" but also includes Dune 2000 and Tiberian Dawn support with features that are much like Dune Legacy's modern screen resolutions and minor tweaks. Unlike some of the other ports, OpenRA Dune focuses on delivering re-creation rather than improvements and online play. OpenRA has been progressively improving over the years. It used to require installing Mono, an opensource framework for .NET functionality but no longer requires independently installing it. Also, at some point in the future, it'll support Tiberian Sun.

  1. Optional: Nab the Dune II ISO for Windows from a site like myabandonware or archive.org.
  2. Download OpenRA. Each game comes with an independent app. Install to your applications folder
  3. Launch the game and either select \"Quick Install\" or if you have the original game discs, mount the ISO and select advanced install.
  4. Also, see d2kplus for mods, some are supported in OpenRA.

Game assets are installed in /Library/Application Support/OpenRA. If you delete OpenRA games, be sure to delete this folder as well to completely delete OpenRA. (This may also delete your game saves).

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/08/21/play-dune-ii-and-dune-2000-natively-on-macos-osx.html", "image": "/images/posts/2019-02-10-dune/dune-legacy.png", "tags": ["os x","offtopic","emulation"], "date_published": "2024-08-21T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-21T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/08/14/winning-the-war-on-spam-bots-through-stupidity.html", "title": "Winning the war on Spam bots through stupidity", "summary": null, "content_text": "It finally happened, a spambot defeated my super simple email obfuscation. I've been using a simple JavaScript function to encode my email address for a month. It's not bot-proof, as anything that renders out the page and performs interactions creates a barrier that the page requires rendering out in full and an interaction, making it far more costly.Here's the email that defeated my spam protection:Hi Greggant Team,I trust this message finds you in good spirits. Your finance platform stood out to me – your content is both informative and engaging.Given our mutual interest in finance, I believe there's potential for collaboration between our platforms. Would you be interested in discussing this further?Looking forward to your response.-- Sara EvansCreative Writeritsevanssaraaaaa@gmail.comThese emails are nothing new to anyone who runs a blog, usually some sort of backlinking scheme or scam to improve SEO. Obviously, this is pretty low effort as my blog is not related to finance in any way. It's a spray-and-pray approach. It must sometimes work as I used to get several a week, and it's been happening for years.My stupid solutionI've added a simple question to the contact page. It's a simple math problem that requires a human to solve, adding up 3 + 5.That's it! Well.... actually, it's a little more complicated, I'm using crypto-js to obfuscate the email to make it more costly for a would be spammer. The logic of my code looks like the following: function decryptEmail(encryptedEmail, key) { const bytes = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(encryptedEmail, key); return bytes.toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8); } // Prompt the user with a challenge const userAnswer = prompt(\"To reveal the email, please solve: 3 + 5\"); if (userAnswer === \"8\") { const decryptedEmail = decryptEmail(encryptedEmail, secretKey); const emailElement = document.getElementById(\"email\"); emailElement.href = \"mailto:\" + decryptedEmail; emailElement.textContent = decryptedEmail; emailElement.classList.remove('not-active') } else { alert(\"Incorrect answer. Please try again.\"); }The hilarious part is I have the key and encrypted email in the source code. It's not secure, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a barrier that requires a human to interact or at least a bot to load the entire DOM, including crypto-js. From my observation, this has been more effective than using Recaptcha.The basic principal of rolling your own email obfuscation is to make it so it requires a sophisticated bot, that consumes resources, a proof-of-work. It's trivial for a single user but costly for a macro operation. The issue with popular off-the-shelf solutions is they can be specifically targeted. This isn't a forever solution as eventually the bots with improve and the cost will fall further but I imagine this will be a workable solution for quite some time.", "content_html": "

It finally happened, a spambot defeated my super simple email obfuscation. I've been using a simple JavaScript function to encode my email address for a month. It's not bot-proof, as anything that renders out the page and performs interactions creates a barrier that the page requires rendering out in full and an interaction, making it far more costly.

Here's the email that defeated my spam protection:

Hi Greggant Team,

I trust this message finds you in good spirits. Your finance platform stood out to me – your content is both informative and engaging.

Given our mutual interest in finance, I believe there's potential for collaboration between our platforms. Would you be interested in discussing this further?

Looking forward to your response.

-- Sara Evans
Creative Writer
itsevanssaraaaaa@gmail.com

These emails are nothing new to anyone who runs a blog, usually some sort of backlinking scheme or scam to improve SEO. Obviously, this is pretty low effort as my blog is not related to finance in any way. It's a spray-and-pray approach. It must sometimes work as I used to get several a week, and it's been happening for years.

My stupid solution

I've added a simple question to the contact page. It's a simple math problem that requires a human to solve, adding up 3 + 5.

That's it! Well.... actually, it's a little more complicated, I'm using crypto-js to obfuscate the email to make it more costly for a would be spammer. The logic of my code looks like the following:

    function decryptEmail(encryptedEmail, key) {        const bytes = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(encryptedEmail, key);        return bytes.toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8);    }    // Prompt the user with a challenge    const userAnswer = prompt(\"To reveal the email, please solve: 3 + 5\");    if (userAnswer === \"8\") {        const decryptedEmail = decryptEmail(encryptedEmail, secretKey);        const emailElement = document.getElementById(\"email\");        emailElement.href = \"mailto:\" + decryptedEmail;        emailElement.textContent = decryptedEmail;        emailElement.classList.remove('not-active')    } else {        alert(\"Incorrect answer. Please try again.\");    }

The hilarious part is I have the key and encrypted email in the source code. It's not secure, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a barrier that requires a human to interact or at least a bot to load the entire DOM, including crypto-js. From my observation, this has been more effective than using Recaptcha.

The basic principal of rolling your own email obfuscation is to make it so it requires a sophisticated bot, that consumes resources, a proof-of-work. It's trivial for a single user but costly for a macro operation. The issue with popular off-the-shelf solutions is they can be specifically targeted. This isn't a forever solution as eventually the bots with improve and the cost will fall further but I imagine this will be a workable solution for quite some time.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/08/14/winning-the-war-on-spam-bots-through-stupidity.html", "image": "/images/posts/2024-08-14-spam.webp", "date_published": "2024-08-14T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-14T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/07/29/apple-maps-isnt-supported-in-firefox.html", "title": "Apple Maps web beta doesn't support FireFox but you can still use it", "summary": null, "content_text": "It's been a long time in the making, but Apple Maps finally has a web version. This is significant as Apple, for years, has allowed iOS app devs to use MapKit for free. For those unaware, Google charges for its Google Maps API, meaning for larger web apps or more complex ones, developers are on the hook for footing the bill for maps behaviors, generally to the tune of $5 per 1000 requests. However, depending on the interactions this can be more.I don't think I need to explain why this is a big deal. The downside has always been that there isn't a web analog for Apple Maps, meaning apps that extend to web versions would require entirely different ecosystems. Apple hasn't said if or when it'll offer web integrations or at what price point, but any competition is healthy.... except when it doesn't support the open web.Perhaps this will change but according to Apple, the only supported browsers are Chromium or Webkit. If you visit it, you'll see the above message. The bigger irony is that Apple Maps works in Firefox. Simply faking the User-Agent to Safari and Firefox can access Apple Maps. I'm guessing this will certainly change in the future, but it's still strange to see Firefox blacklisted. The irony is that because of the release channels for FireFox and Chrome not being tied to the operating system updates, generally they remain more up-to-date than Safari.", "content_html": "

\"FireFox

It's been a long time in the making, but Apple Maps finally has a web version. This is significant as Apple, for years, has allowed iOS app devs to use MapKit for free. For those unaware, Google charges for its Google Maps API, meaning for larger web apps or more complex ones, developers are on the hook for footing the bill for maps behaviors, generally to the tune of $5 per 1000 requests. However, depending on the interactions this can be more.

I don't think I need to explain why this is a big deal. The downside has always been that there isn't a web analog for Apple Maps, meaning apps that extend to web versions would require entirely different ecosystems. Apple hasn't said if or when it'll offer web integrations or at what price point, but any competition is healthy.... except when it doesn't support the open web.

Perhaps this will change but according to Apple, the only supported browsers are Chromium or Webkit. If you visit it, you'll see the above message. The bigger irony is that Apple Maps works in Firefox. Simply faking the User-Agent to Safari and Firefox can access Apple Maps.

I'm guessing this will certainly change in the future, but it's still strange to see Firefox blacklisted. The irony is that because of the release channels for FireFox and Chrome not being tied to the operating system updates, generally they remain more up-to-date than Safari.

", "url": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/07/29/apple-maps-isnt-supported-in-firefox.html", "image": "/images/posts/2024-07-29-firefox-not-support.png", "tags": ["digital","politics"], "date_published": "2024-07-29T00:00:00-07:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-29T00:00:00-07:00", "author": "" }, { "id": "http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2024/07/22/blogging-in-the-age-ai.html", "title": "Blogging in the age of AI", "summary": null, "content_text": " There's an air of futility in writing blog posts in the age of \"Artificial Intelligence,\" as anything you write can and will be stolen without recourse. There's absolutely nothing I can do to stop billion-dollar corporations from hoovering up over a decade's worth of blog posts made in good faith to provide information freely to the open internet. Estimates are world-wide traffic will fall roughly 30% as features like Google's A.I. overviews cobble together broken synopsises of information. Videos aren't safe either, as YouTube's transcriptions are easily stolen for A.I. data. Everything is a race to the bottom.... or is it? It's pretty easy to go full doomer in the face of A.I. but there are a few things worth calling out. Probably the biggest roadblock working against our current large-language models; the first is \"good\" data. All data pre-2021 can be assumed to be non-LLM trained, and we're running out of it. To use >Multiplicity as a reference point, \"You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as sharp as... well... the original.\" Well, we're fast entering the age of the copy-of-a-copy. We've moved well past the enshittening to the dead internet. Bots on bots. The other great hope is the cost of A.I. Right now it's assumed OpenAI is losing a staggering $700,000 to run ChatGPT. Make no mistake, this cost can and will come down, and local large language models can be paired down with quantization to lower bit-depths for models palatable for personal computing but for now we may be at the limits of LLMs and the solution seems to be more LLMs which isn't bringing down the cost of compute. Finally, there's legislative and legal, which I hold less hope for. As much as ChatGPT has reduced the friction of my job, I'd trade it in a second for stability. If I were to shake a magic 8-Ball, it's read \"uncertain, ask again.\" but here are my few predictions: A.I. will continue lower the barrier even further for low-effort spam content, farm content like Apple Daily and iLounge. A cat-and-mouse game will arise from Google vs Dead Internet content farms and zombie sites. A new value will be placed on social proof content, such as YouTubers who show their faces and demonstrate they are indeed human, as it'll be a long time for purely A.I. convincingly recreate the difficulties of long-form video without errors, especially in changing/complex environments. For written word, SubStacks from authors who have established presences that extend to the real world will function as the social proof. Musicians have live performances. Graphic artists have physical media. If you're purely digital, expect a diminished return in the future. We are fast approaching the law of diminished returns. GPT3 was the great leap forward but the differences between 3.5 and 4 vs 3 are much less mind blowing. Other models, like Claude, are impressive, but none have been game-changing. Future breakthroughs are likely to be task-specific. We've seen voice, text/coding, music, images, and video. Now comes more particular. We're likely to see say, in music software, a scored section of midi translated more accurately to a strings section, mimicking how a musician might actually play the score. We may see LLMs and machines applied to spreadsheet management. There are almost certainly companies looking at these two examples. Snowcrash, Deamon/Freedom 2.0, and hyper derivative young-adult lesser work, Ready Player One all had the idea of AR/VR wrong. While metaverses have, do and will exist into the future, the backlash is happening as schools are starting to experiment with removing cellphones from schools and states are pushing back against social media. The federal government continues to flirt with banning TikTok. Instead we'll see divisions. People may consume A.I. tailored bullshit entertainment for cheap hits of dopamine, but we will also see a pressure for the measurably human, akin to the DIY and right-to-repair movements. Now the fun part: To see if I'm totally off base in roughly 2-3 years time....", "content_html": "

There's an air of futility in writing blog posts in the age of \"Artificial Intelligence,\" as anything you write can and will be stolen without recourse. There's absolutely nothing I can do to stop billion-dollar corporations from hoovering up over a decade's worth of blog posts made in good faith to provide information freely to the open internet. Estimates are world-wide traffic will fall roughly 30% as features like Google's A.I. overviews cobble together broken synopsises of information.

Videos aren't safe either, as YouTube's transcriptions are easily stolen for A.I. data. Everything is a race to the bottom.... or is it? It's pretty easy to go full doomer in the face of A.I. but there are a few things worth calling out.

Probably the biggest roadblock working against our current large-language models; the first is \"good\" data. All data pre-2021 can be assumed to be non-LLM trained, and we're running out of it. To use >Multiplicity as a reference point, \"You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as sharp as... well... the original.\" Well, we're fast entering the age of the copy-of-a-copy. We've moved well past the enshittening to the dead internet. Bots on bots.

The other great hope is the cost of A.I. Right now it's assumed OpenAI is losing a staggering $700,000 to run ChatGPT. Make no mistake, this cost can and will come down, and local large language models can be paired down with quantization to lower bit-depths for models palatable for personal computing but for now we may be at the limits of LLMs and the solution seems to be more LLMs which isn't bringing down the cost of compute.

Finally, there's legislative and legal, which I hold less hope for. As much as ChatGPT has reduced the friction of my job, I'd trade it in a second for stability.

If I were to shake a magic 8-Ball, it's read \"uncertain, ask again.\" but here are my few predictions:

Now the fun part: To see if I'm totally off base in roughly 2-3 years time....

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