I Want The Best Graphics Card for my Mac Pro, Where Do I Start?
People frequently email us requesting to know what the best possible graphics card (GPU) option is for their Mac Pro. There is no catch all answer to this question! Please browse the following table for general information.
Verify which model of the Mac Pro you own as shown here. If you own the 1,1 or 2,1 Mac Pro your options are limited to a few GPUs:
Please be aware that while the 3,1 Mac Pro has the same GPU compatibility as the 4,1 or 5,1 that the older hardware of the 3,1 will result in some comparative bottlenecking. In general I recommend the GTX 770 as the high end for the 3,1 Mac Pro as it maintains its price/performance ratio. If you prefer the ports or other features of a more powerful card it may still be worth considering.
- Nvidia GT 120
- Nvidia 8800 GT
- AMD Radeon 7950, 7970 or R9 280X if you have installed OS X Mavericks or newer via hack methods. We do not provide these methods, but information about them is readily available online.
Please be aware that while the 3,1 Mac Pro has the same GPU compatibility as the 4,1 or 5,1 that the older hardware of the 3,1 will result in some comparative bottlenecking. In general I recommend the GTX 770 as the high end for the 3,1 Mac Pro as it maintains its price/performance ratio. If you prefer the ports or other features of a more powerful card it may still be worth considering.
Different GPUs require different versions of OS X as a minimum system requirement. If you're running the most current version of OS X this is never a concern, but if you prefer an older version or boot into multiple versions you will need to consider this when selecting a card. While many GPUs can run just fine with the base OS X graphics drivers some require additional drivers.
GPU |
Minimum Required OS X Version |
Driver Required |
Nvidia GT 120, 8800 GT |
OS X 10.5.8 |
No |
Nvidia GTX 470 |
OS X 10.6.5 |
No |
Nvidia GTX 570 |
OS X 10.7.5 |
No |
AMD Radeon 7950, 7970, R9 280X |
OS X 10.7.5 |
Yes |
Nvidia GT 580, 630, 640, 680, 760, 770, 780 (3 GB), Titan |
OS X 10.8.3 |
No |
AMD Radeon 7950, 7970, R9 280X |
OS X 10.8.3 |
No |
Nvidia GTX 780 (6 GB) |
OS X 10.9.5 |
No |
Nvidia Titan Black |
OS X 10.9.5 |
Yes |
Nvidia GTX 750 Ti, 960, 970, 980, 980 Ti, Titan X |
OS X 10.10.5 |
Yes |
Our products support a range of output ports with each card generally having some combination of DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort. None of our cards natively have VGA output as this is a very outdated format, but you can generally use a DVI to VGA adapter to support one VGA monitor if necessary.
If you plan to upgrade to a 4K monitor in the future you will need a GPU with at least one HDMI, DisplayPort, or Mini DisplayPort. DVI does not output 4K resolutions.
If you plan to upgrade to a 4K monitor in the future you will need a GPU with at least one HDMI, DisplayPort, or Mini DisplayPort. DVI does not output 4K resolutions.
GPU |
Output Ports |
Nvidia GT 120, 8800 GT, GTX 480, GTX 570, GTX 580 |
Dual DVI |
Nvidia GTX 570 |
DVI, DisplayPort |
Nvidia GT 630 |
DVI, Dual DisplayPort |
Nvidia GT 640 |
Dual DVI, HDMI |
Nvidia GT 640, GTX 750 Ti |
DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort |
Nvidia GTX 680, 770, 780, Titan, Titan Black |
Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort |
Nvidia GTX 760, AMD 7950, 7970, R9 280X |
DVI, HDMI, Dual Mini DisplayPort |
Nvidia GTX 960, 970, 980, 980 Ti, Titan X |
DVI, HDMI, Triple DisplayPort |
Nvidia GTX 970 |
DVI, HDMI, Triple Mini DisplayPort |
The chart below is a rough guide to commonly asked about applications. There are some applications that seem graphically intensive that do not make much use of the GPU, some can make use of the GPU with certain plug-ins installed, and even those with native GPU support do not use the GPU for all functions. Doing research on your own is important. We here at MacVidCards do not work in production ourselves so while we know the broad strokes we are not experts in most applications.
Application |
Notes |
Adobe CC (Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere, After Effects) |
CUDA based applications (Nvidia GPU recommended) |
Avid Media Composer |
Utilizes GPU for certain real time playback effects only |
Cinema 4D |
Utilizes GPU for certain real time playback effects only Some renderers (ex. Octane Render) can enable GPU rendering |
Final Cut Pro |
OpenCL based applications (AMD GPU recommended) |
Houdini |
OpenCL based applications (AMD GPU recommended) |
Maya |
Standard viewport uses GPU, some renderers use GPU |
Renderworks |
Wireframe and OpenGL rendering modes use GPU |
Resolve |
Extensive GPU usage |
Depending on your personal situation there may be even more questions to consider, but this list is a good starting point. There is much more information included on specific product and FAQ pages. If after browsing our site you still are not sure what you should purchase you may use our Contact page to email us.
