Crash

[Sascha Haber]

Oh boy, this sounds terrible.
Thats exactly how mine started to die last year.
The problem originates in the big card drawing too much power during some operations like rendering but also on boot up.
The capacitors are slowly giving in.
I hope you are still on Apple Care.

A slice of color…

Resolve 10.1.0.021
Colorist / VFX / Aerial footage nerd
https://vimeo.com/saschahaber

[Jesse Glucksman]

Is there’s solution other than a new computer? You’re freaking me out. If I put in a different card?

[Clark Bierbaum]

I hate that you are having this problem!

I didn’t put a high current draw card in my MacPro until I found a power supply dedicated to the card. This is what I have used for a year with great results: https://www.shopfsp.com/boosterx-5/p/417.html

I have been building Mac editing systems since the Quadra 900/950 days (first Avid Systems.) Nothing kills an electronic device faster (other than a power surge) than excessive heat and or current draw. You have read a lot from people writing that they are running this high wattage graphics card or that high wattage graphics card just using the internal power with some sort of adapter cables. DON’T DO IT! Spend the $90 and an hour installing some CHEAP insurance in the form of additional power.

I built an expansion chassis and used this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014 Could have used something less since the chassis has no CPU or drives but why? Again, the extra $100 was cheap insurance.

I come from the “old school” big post facility model, these high end businesses were built to be reliable and to have very little downtime. That’s how I approach everything I build to this day. Not the cheapest, but something I can use confidently in front of clients, day in, day out.

Good luck, I hope your system isn’t DOA. Look into some additional power.

Clark Bierbaum
Color Grading / Post Consultant
GarnetColor.com
Charlotte, NC

[Jesse Glucksman]

Thanks for all that information. I’m going to plug back in my old Radeon 5770 tonight. If my computer isn’t irretrievably gone, I’ll absolutely get the extra power supply. If it is…well. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[Jesse Glucksman]

First of all–THANK YOU both for the advice & guidance, Sascha for helping narrow me down to what the problem is and Clark for the detailed information on how to find a workaround. I put my 5770 back in and my computer is running just fine, so it looks like I managed to avoid fully killing my computer. It was still in a “Take a freaking hint, dude, before you ruin me for good” mode.

The problem I have now (albeit one that’s temporary, but thoroughly inconvenient): Resolve won’t open with the 5770. “No CUDA Acceleration Hardware Detected.”
I know v10 stepped up in power so some older GPUs are no longer supported, but it’s hard to imagine that the stock GPU that comes with the old-style MacPros would be among them. Do you guys know a way around this, or am I stuck until I can get a supplementary power supply & plug the 780 back in?

[Jake Blackstone]

No reason to freak out yet.
I had the same issue with my 2009 4.1 MacPro randomly shutting down, just as described. Mind you, my GPU for GUI is GTX 570, which is perfectly fine to use without worrying about overdrawing the power.
I had done two things since and the problem is gone and the computer works perfectly since.
1. I vacuumed all openings used for cooling.
2. I updated my 4.1 MacPro to 5.1, while upgrading 8 core CPUs to 12 core CPUs and swapping 1066 MHz RAM for 1333MHz RAM. It is possible, that newer CPUs even with more cores are drawing less power or there was a bad RAM connection. Regardless, things may be not so dire, as you may think…

[Laco Gaal]

that’s a sad thing to hear.
I have a MacPro 4.1 with the GTX570 2.5GB card installed, so far no restarts, shut downs…

But after this thread I’ll try to get a hold of an expansion chassis in the near future:)

[Clark Bierbaum]

I don’t think you need an expansion chassis, only a power supply to power the graphics card, I use https://www.shopfsp.com/boosterx-5/p/417.html and I’m not sure if it is still available. Before I got this I tested the card with an external PC power supply and that worked as well but the wiring was not too neat!

An expansion chassis is great but it will cost a lot more than just providing more power to the card in the MacPro.

Clark Bierbaum
Color Grading / Post Consultant
GarnetColor.com
Charlotte, NC

[Jesse Glucksman]

Hi, Clark. A question about the Corsair you used for your chassis. I got a Corsair today–the 650, since I only need it for the GPU. Yes, 650 is a bit overkill, but worth it for the peace of mind. Except…it appears to not work. Plugged in & turned on, there are no LEDs or hums or anything to indicate it’s functioning. Further, while the 780 turns on with my computer, I am not getting a video signal to my monitor. Also, the 780 stays on when I unplug the Corsair, leading me to believe it’s getting just enough power from the PCI connection to be on but not enough to actually be used for anything (including further destroying my computer, for which I’m grateful).

What’s your experience with your Corsair? Does it have any lights or hums or anything to indicate it’s alive, even if the chassis itself is off or unconnected? I’ll call Corsair’s tech support first thing in the morning, but if you happen to still be up and in a charitable mood, I’d love to know your thoughts on this…

[Clark Bierbaum]

Try this – you have to get the supply to turn on.
https://www.techpowerup.com/articles/other/22

Good luck!

Clark Bierbaum
Color Grading / Post Consultant
GarnetColor.com
Charlotte, NC