fermi/gtx 480/gtx 470

[mikedp5]

I have a GTX 460 here lying around and I was wondering if what performance impact would I see if I use it to replace my current 8400gs? I used it a while ago and I experienced "Chipset model = unknown", so I gave up and used my 8400gs. However, I don't see any Quartz extreme entry in the system profiler under graphics so I don't know if QE/CI is enabled for my 8400gs.

 

How would I know if I have QE/CI enabled for my 8400gs? Help please.

[daskog]

The performance is {censored} on mac and don't do this Card justice at all. For reference check out the same card on Windows 7

[mikedp5]

what do you mean by censored? How come I see other posts that have the QE/CI enabled? How can I check if I have the QE/CI enabled and my card is fully functional without any issues? also, what advantage would I see if I have the GTX 460 installed rather than the 8400gs? thanks.

[loui]

what do you mean by censored? How come I see other posts that have the QE/CI enabled? How can I check if I have the QE/CI enabled and my card is fully functional without any issues? also, what advantage would I see if I have the GTX 460 installed rather than the 8400gs? thanks.

 

 

It sounds like your os is snow leopard, and in which case is dose not show QE/CI in system profile like it did in leopard.

 

If you want to know if you have it though just open a few apps in dashboard and see if you get the ripple effect which looks like dropping a stone in water.

[mikedp5]

is there a significant difference if I will be using a more powerful video card like GTX 460 over my current 8400gs? please help me. Thanks.

[deDante]

helo deDante,

does your setup is stable without random freeze / kernel panic ??

coz my setup (zotac gtx 460 768) always got random freeze when i play ford racing 2 (rosetta)

on cinebech i only got 18 fps (with dsdt) and 22 fps (without dsdt /[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url])

 

yep, my setup is stable, i didnt find any random freeze or kernel panic until now,

[joshs85]

Now, can anyone get two GTX 470s working at the same time?? I can't seem to get them to work together.

[DaniPoo]

yep, my setup is stable, i didnt find any random freeze or kernel panic until now,

I am also getting some random freezes. It stars with the USB stops working. Its like the USB is completely removed cause I have a LED on my mouse thats lit up when its plugged in. But is lit out once the PC freezes.

But I can still see everything on the screen. And if I wait a while it will tell me to reboot my system.. KP?

The mouse and keyboard stops working is the first I encounter and if im playing a song it will eventually freaze. And then the whole system. Do you guys get the same thing? Can I do anything about it?

[humanio]

So heres a question. My 9800 GTX died on me and since I needed a card ASAP for some design work I purchased a GTX 460.

 

Having heard the good news about there now being support for the GTX 460 on my OSX86 partition I proceeded to update to 10.6.5 and install the appropriate drivers only to realize I had no way of booting into my OSX86 partition without a working 9800 card.

 

So my question:

 

Is there any other way to update and install drivers on the OSX86 side?

 

I keep reading the best way to go about this is to update to 10.6.5, then install the nvidia drivers. Then swap the old card with the new card (GTX460) then all is well. However since my 9800 gtx no longer works, I only have my GTX460 which presumably wont boot into OSX.

 

Any help would be appreciated and congrats to everyone so far who has managed to get this awesome line of cards working.

 

-humanio

[elpibe10]

I am also getting some random freezes. It stars with the USB stops working. Its like the USB is completely removed cause I have a LED on my mouse thats lit up when its plugged in. But is lit out once the PC freezes.

But I can still see everything on the screen. And if I wait a while it will tell me to reboot my system.. KP?

The mouse and keyboard stops working is the first I encounter and if im playing a song it will eventually freaze. And then the whole system. Do you guys get the same thing? Can I do anything about it?

 

Yup, facing the exact same problem with another build with a Gigabyte H55M-S2 with DSDT + Gigabyte GTX 460 using [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] GE + [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.5.1 + tonymacx86 NVIDIA Update.

 

The other rig with a DFI LanParty MI P55-T36 + Zotac GTX 460 has been 100% stable since the day it was setup about 2 weeks ago. Installation was different for that rig as [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] GE wasn't available then and I had to install using a GT 240 gfx card and then swap the gfx card once installation is done followed by installing the nVidia driver.

[joshs85]

Now, can anyone get two GTX 470s working at the same time?? I can't seem to get them to work together.

 

 

I was able to get them working. I had to use efi strings, update to OSX 10.6.5, and install the Nvidia Quattro 4000 Drivers from their site.. then disable GraphicsEnabler in smbios.plist. Below is the EFI string that I used.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x3,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
	<key>@0,AAPL,boot-display</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>@0,can-hot-plug</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>@0,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@0,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@0,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-A</string>
	<key>@1,can-hot-plug</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>@1,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@1,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@1,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-B</string>
	<key>AAPL,aux-power-connected</key>
	<string>0x00000001</string>
	<key>AAPL,backlight-control</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>AAPL,gart-width</key>
	<integer>64</integer>
	<key>AAPL00,blackscreen-preferences</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>AAPL01,blackscreen-preferences</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>IONVRAMProperty</key>
	<true/>
	<key>NVCAP</key>
	<data>
	BAAAAAAAAwAcAAAAAAAACgAAAAA=
	</data>
	<key>NVDA,Features</key>
	<string>0x108006ff</string>
	<key>NVPM</key>
	<data>
	AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>VRAM,totalsize</key>
	<string>0x50000000</string>
	<key>device_type</key>
	<string>NVDA,GeForce</string>
	<key>model</key>
	<string>GeForce GTX 470</string>
	<key>rm_board_number</key>
	<data>
	AAAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>rm_multiboard_capable</key>
	<data>
	AQAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>rom-revision</key>
	<string>70.00.35.00.70</string>
	<key>subsystem-id</key>
	<string>0x00001080</string>
</dict>
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x7,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
	<key>@0,can-hot-plug</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>@0,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@0,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@0,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-A</string>
	<key>@1,can-hot-plug</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>@1,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@1,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@1,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-B</string>
	<key>AAPL,aux-power-connected</key>
	<string>0x00000001</string>
	<key>AAPL,backlight-control</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>AAPL,gart-width</key>
	<integer>64</integer>
	<key>AAPL00,blackscreen-preferences</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>AAPL01,blackscreen-preferences</key>
	<string>0x00000000</string>
	<key>IONVRAMProperty</key>
	<true/>
	<key>NVCAP</key>
	<data>
	BAAAAAAAAwAcAAAAAAAACgAAAAA=
	</data>
	<key>NVDA,Features</key>
	<string>0x108006ff</string>
	<key>NVPM</key>
	<data>
	AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>VRAM,totalsize</key>
	<string>0x50000000</string>
	<key>device_type</key>
	<string>NVDA,GeForce</string>
	<key>model</key>
	<string>GeForce GTX 470</string>
	<key>rm_board_number</key>
	<data>
	AAAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>rm_multiboard_capable</key>
	<data>
	AQAAAA==
	</data>
	<key>rom-revision</key>
	<string>70.00.35.00.70</string>
	<key>subsystem-id</key>
	<string>0x00001080</string>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

[DaniPoo]

Yup, facing the exact same problem with another build with a Gigabyte H55M-S2 with DSDT + Gigabyte GTX 460 using [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] GE + [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.5.1 + tonymacx86 NVIDIA Update.

 

The other rig with a DFI LanParty MI P55-T36 + Zotac GTX 460 has been 100% stable since the day it was setup about 2 weeks ago. Installation was different for that rig as [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] GE wasn't available then and I had to install using a GT 240 gfx card and then swap the gfx card once installation is done followed by installing the nVidia driver.

 

Haha ^^ We need help!

[yumanoid]

anyone with working GT 430 on 10.6.5? the best i can do myself is download retail quatro drivers for mac (linked somewhere in this thread) and run the installer from the dmg, in a conventional way. this gives me full res (1920x1200) and translucent menu bar - so i guess hw accel is working, but performs poorly (some numbers reported by xbench are lower than on my old GT 220, and the GUI effects, like the windows resizing when i hit F3, are not smooth at all).

i have also tried messing with gfx strings before, but no luck there, but im not sure i was doing it right. maybe i'll have to revise on those methods.

meanwhile i was thinking if there was someone with working ZOTAC GT 430 ZONE 1GB, could you please share your steps or even the gfx string? i dont mind even flashing the cards bios if i have to

[Sasan]

anyone with working GT 430 on 10.6.5? the best i can do myself is download retail quatro drivers for mac (linked somewhere in this thread) and run the installer from the dmg, in a conventional way. this gives me full res (1920x1200) and translucent menu bar - so i guess hw accel is working, but performs poorly (some numbers reported by xbench are lower than on my old GT 220, and the GUI effects, like the windows resizing when i hit F3, are not smooth at all).

i have also tried messing with gfx strings before, but no luck there, but im not sure i was doing it right. maybe i'll have to revise on those methods.

meanwhile i was thinking if there was someone with working ZOTAC GT 430 ZONE 1GB, could you please share your steps or even the gfx string? i dont mind even flashing the cards bios if i have to

The UI and transitions problem is common among all GT 430 with no fix yet... so u r not alone. about cinebench result i could get 22-23 fps which is fair in my opinion.

[bibendum]

So heres a question. .... since my 9800 gtx no longer works, I only have my GTX460 which presumably wont boot into OSX.

 

Any help would be appreciated and congrats to everyone so far who has managed to get this awesome line of cards working.

 

-humanio

 

Presumably you can boot into safe mode? Do the installs, then reboot? How'd you get 10.6.5 going without a working gfx card?

 

Patrick

[toleda]

Why do I get better OpenGL performance with the GT430/L3426 than with the GTX460 1G OC/875K? By the way, after I patched the GraphicsPowerManagement kext, OpenGL went from 5 to 21 fps on the 460 and I used the same OSX image for both.

 

[humanio]

Presumably you can boot into safe mode? Do the installs, then reboot? How'd you get 10.6.5 going without a working gfx card?

 

Patrick

 

 

I'll Safe Mode a try. That would be holding the Shift key at startup correct? I haven't updated to 10.6.5 just yet. I attempted to boot into OSX using my old 9800GTX but received an error message asking me to restart. I'll try the safe mode method and report back. Thanks for the help.

 

-humanio

[DaniPoo]

Why do I get better OpenGL performance with the GT430/L3426 than with the GTX460 1G OC/875K? By the way, after I patched the GraphicsPowerManagement kext, OpenGL went from 5 to 21 fps on the 460 and I used the same OSX image for both.

 

 

Well I have got 23fps with my gtx460. I wonder if that might be normal and good for that card.

 

I'll Safe Mode a try. That would be holding the Shift key at startup correct? I haven't updated to 10.6.5 just yet. I attempted to boot into OSX using my old 9800GTX but received an error message asking me to restart. I'll try the safe mode method and report back. Thanks for the help.

 

-humanio

 

I think you can boot into safe-mode by typing "-x" at boot.. Atleast if you are using a boot disc or boot loader like chameleon.

[humanio]

I think you can boot into safe-mode by typing "-x" at boot.. Atleast if you are using a boot disc or boot loader like chameleon.

 

Hmm.. Well I held shift and still got an error asking me to restart. As far as I'm aware I'm using the standard Darwin Bootloader. Or grub? I get confused as to which is which. It looks like so:

 

The above image is just an example, not my current setup. But anyways I choose the OSX86 partition and hold shift but it gives me the grayed out screen asking me to reboot. I'll see if I can figure out how to get into safe mode. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

-humanio

[DaniPoo]

Hmm.. Well I held shift and still got an error asking me to restart. As far as I'm aware I'm using the standard Darwin Bootloader. Or grub? I get confused as to which is which. It looks like so:

 

The above image is just an example, not my current setup. But anyways I choose the OSX86 partition and hold shift but it gives me the grayed out screen asking me to reboot. I'll see if I can figure out how to get into safe mode. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

-humanio

 

I think thats where you go if you wanna use bootcamp and launch windows on a real mac.

What do you see before that comes up? You should see a message telling you something like "Click on any key to enter startup option" or something like that? And when you tap a key there you should be able to set some flags.

But you just wanna enter safe-mode! So type -x and hit enter

I had to write arch=i386 to just boot my system without a boot-disc the first time. Before I edited the com.apple.Boot.plist to make that flag permanent. Good luck

[Gringo Vermelho]

is there a significant difference if I will be using a more powerful video card like GTX 460 over my current 8400gs? please help me. Thanks.

Dude, who knows? The question is if there will be a significant difference for you. That depends on what you do with your Hackintosh, nobody here knows that but you.

 

Benchmark your card and compare the results with those posted in this thread, that's the only way to find out for sure.

 

From what I can tell my 9800GTX+ still outperforms a GTX 460 on OS X, where it matters (to me). I'm not familiar with the 8400GS.

 

Having said that, an 1GB GTX460 is hands down the best bang for the buck nvidia card at the moment, If I had any money right now to spend on this kind of thing I would order one right away. EVGA offers a model with lifetime warranty upon registration.

As long as it's compatible and works reasonably, it doesn't matter to me that OS X performance don't match with the capabilities of the card, I would be buying it mainly to play games on Windows. I'm sure the OS X nvidia drivers will mature in time.

 

Your reasons might be different so you'll have to take that into account and decide for yourself if you want to upgrade or not.

[Hilbe]

Having some random lockups. My USB BT adapter shuts off so I lose my mouse/keyboard and then a few seconds later my system freezes. I've noticed some weird pixels occurring in my upper left corner of my display too at freeze time.

 

Attached is a picture of the pixel weirdness I get when it locks up.

[rabbit74]

@CMF

 

I am trying to help a guy with his new GTX-580 over on the Tonymac forum. He is getting the following error on boot:

bad display config block signature (0xff45dfff)
ERROR: nVidia ROM Patching Failed!

 

So far he has gotten the driver installed on 10.6.5 and tried both your boot and RC5 but using either results in booting to Low Graphics mode.

 

Any thoughts? I have not seen that error so I don't know what to suggest at this point.

 

rabbit.

 

ref: http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=...60&start=10

[elpibe10]

Haha ^^ We need help!

 

Tried everything and it's still the same. I'm now considering one of these options :

 

1. Re-install OS X using the same method as my other rig with the Zotac GTX 460 (that doesn't have freezing problem)

 

or

 

2. Replace the Gigabyte GTX 460 with my spare Sapphire Vapor-X 5770

 

[zef]

I think the sluggish GUI is because of the enabled "Overscan" option under Display Prefs (Gigabyte GTX 460, 1920x1080 60fps). If i uncheck, the GUI/Dashboard gets liquid fast. I get the same slugginess/liquidness if I replace the 460 with a simple 9400GT.

 

@cmf: Thanks for the patch, just committed into the trunk as r651