GPU Madness in the Mac Pro 5,1: Early 2021 Edition. Dan Bashur - 2021.03.02. This is a bit of a throwback to my article from May of last year – Tri-Booting a Mac Pro 2,1 – not long before I had just procured my Mac Pro 5,1 (well technically a 4,1 that was flashed to a 5,1 with dual Intel Xeon 5680 CPUs with 12 cores at 3.33 GHz). Question: Q: Mac Pro 5,1 Firmware Update issues I'm trying to update to High Sierra on my Mac Pro 5,1 (2010, 6 core). The updater says that a firmware upgrade is required.
If you have a machine with one of these GPUs installed, I'd advise upgrading it if possible (can be done in 2010/2011 iMacs, iMac11,x-12,x), disabling the dedicated GPU if using a 2011 15' or 17' MacBook Pro (MacBookPro8,2/8,3, instructions to do so can be found here), or not installing Catalina. Running Catalina without full graphics. Question: Q: My MacBook Pro won't update to Catalina I am currently running Mojave 10.14.6 and I seem to have enough room on my hard drive, but when I try to download Catalina, it tells me my software is up to date. But Migration Assistant has its limits: in Catalina and Big Sur, you must migrate from a backup made from or a computer running Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan or later. Attempts to copy from older.
When you upgrade to macOS Catalina, you get more of everything you love about Mac. Experience dedicated apps for music, TV, and podcasts. Smart new features in the apps you use every day. And Sidecar, which lets you use iPad as a second Mac display. Best of all, upgrading is free and easy.
Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Catalina.
Mac computers with Metal-capable graphics processors (GPUs) can upgrade to macOS Catalina.
Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.
Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. Then, if your Mac is running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Catalina.
Upgrading is free. And easier than you think.
Upgrading from macOS Mojave?
Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find the macOS Catalina upgrade. Click Upgrade Now and follow the onscreen instructions to begin your upgrade.
Upgrading from an older version of macOS?
If you’re running High Sierra (10.13), Sierra (10.12), or El Capitan (10.11), upgrade to macOS Catalina from the App Store. If you’re running Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8), you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first.
- OS X 10.9 or later
- 4GB of memory
- 12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*
- Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
- Some features require a compatible internet service provider; fees may apply.
For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Catalina:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Dictation and Voice Memos
Requires a microphone (built-in or external).
Spotlight Suggestions
Requires a broadband internet connection.
Gestures
Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.
Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.
Photo Booth
Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.
FaceTime
Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband internet connection.
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband internet connection.
Apple TV
High Dynamic Range (HDR) video playback is supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Pro (2018 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (2019) with Pro Display XDR
Dolby Atmos soundtrack playback is supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Air (2018 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2018 or newer)
Sidecar
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (2016 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2018 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2016 or newer)
- Mac mini (2018 or newer)
- iMac (late 2015 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017 or newer)
- Mac Pro (2019)
Supported by all iPad models with Apple Pencil support:
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- 11-inch iPad Pro
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad (6th generation or later)
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
Continuity Camera
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 12 or later.
Continuity Sketch and Continuity Markup
Requires an iPhone with iOS 13 or an iPad with iPadOS.
Handoff
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.
Instant Hotspot
Requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity, a Lightning connector, and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.
Universal Clipboard
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 10 or later.
Phone Calling
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.
SMS
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.
Home
Requires an iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.
AirDrop
AirDrop to iOS and iPadOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.
AirPlay
AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.
Time Machine
Requires an external storage device (sold separately).
Power Nap
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Boot Camp
Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.
Exchange Support
Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.
Windows Migration
Supports OS X 10.7 or later and Windows 7 or later.
App Store
Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.
- Apple Books
- App Store
- Automator
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Chess
- Contacts
- Dashboard
- Dictionary
- DVD Player
- FaceTime
- Find My
- Font Book
- Home
- Image Capture
- Launchpad
- Maps
- Messages
- Mission Control
- Music
- Notes
- Photo Booth
- Photos
- Podcasts
- Preview
- QuickTime Player
- Reminders
- Safari
- Stickies
- Stocks
- System Preferences
- TextEdit
- Time Machine
- TV
- Voice Memos
- Activity Monitor
- AirPort Utility
- Audio MIDI Setup
- Bluetooth File Exchange
- Boot Camp Assistant
- ColorSync Utility
- Console
- Digital Color Meter
- Disk Utility
- Grapher
- Keychain Access
- Migration Assistant
- Screenshot
- Screen Time
- Script Editor
- Sidecar
- System Information
- Terminal
- VoiceOver Utility
- Arabic
- Catalan
- Croatian
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English (Australia)
- English (UK)
- English (U.S.)
- Finnish
- French
- French (Canada)
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Malay
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Spanish (Latin America)
- Swedish
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
Classic Mac Pro 5,1 (also 4,1 upgraded to 5,1) features only Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1. Here’re main reasons why you want to upgrade Wi-Fi to 802.11ac and Bluetooth to 4.0:
- You get Continuity, Handoff and new AirDrop working natively
- Wi-Fi 802.11ac is insanely fast, Bluetooth 4.0 is more reliable, secure and way quicker
- macOS 10.15 Catalina no longer supports old BCM94322MC Wi-Fi card so Wi-Fi will not work there
Disclamer: this website is by no means associated with any of ebay sellers mentioned here. Links are provided for your convenience. We take zero responsibility if you damage your computer somehow (highly unlikely but you never know).
The upgrade kit described here is 100% native, doesn’t include any external cards, antennas and doesn’t require any additional software installation. The Broadcom card mentioned in the kit is used in many iMac models thus natively supported by macOS. Some smart guy sells similar kit for around 215 USD + shipping but normally you get it for less than a quarter of the price (and free shipping from China)
The kit:
- Broadcom BCM94360CD + mPCIe adapter. Ebay
- Bluetooth antenna extension cable. Ebay
- JST GH 1.25MM 4Pin connectors (3). Ebay
UPDATE September 2019! There’s a version of the mPCIe adapter that doesn’t require soldering! Amazon, Ebay. In this case you can skip Step 1.
1. Solder Bluetooth data cable to the mPCIe adapter
The original Bluetooth card will be removed because the BCM94360CD has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on board. D+ and D- connectors on the mPCIe adapter must be connected to the motherboard instead of the old Bluetooth card.
- You will need THREE JST cables where you remove yellow and green wires (only black and red are used).
- Connect them to each other so you have enough length for Bluetooth data cable:
- Solder (or ask someone who has a soldering machine) D+ and D- contacts on the adapter to black and red wires correspondily (not quite neatly on the photo).
2. Remove CPU/RAM tray
Open your Mac Pro and remove the CPU/RAM tray.
With the tray removed your computer should look as on the photo below. Wi-Fi card is highlighted on the left and the small Bluetooth card on the right. Later we will be passing wires behind the area highlighted in the center.
3. Remove old Wi-Fi & Bluetooth cards
Upgrade Mac Pro 5 1 To Catalina Download
- Unscrew two small screws holding the old AirPort Wifi card and disconnect 2 or 3 antennas by lightly pulling them towards you (depending on the model, one antenna can be unused and hidden below the card), remove the card by sliding it to the left.
- Unscrew 1 screw holding the old Bluetooth card, disconnect data cable and gold antenna connector, remove the card by pulling it towards you, it’s slightly glued with adhesive.
4. Installing new Wi-Fi & Bluetooth card
The new card with adapter goes in the PCIe slot where your old Wifi card was. Connect three existing Wi-Fi antennas and one Bluetooth antenna extension cable to the card exactly as shown below:
Slide the card with all 4 antennas attached into the mPCIe adapter then slide the adapter into the mPCIe slot. Tighten the adapter in place with one of two screws holding the old card.
Upgrade Mac Pro 5 1 To Catalina 2020
The loose end of our Bluetooth antenna extension cable should be connected to the existing Bluetooth antenna cable (disconnected previously from the old Bluetooth card).
Mac Pro 5 1 Catalina Patch
The loose end of our Bluetooth data cable must be connected to the motherboard:
When possible use small pieces of tape to fix wires to ensure they stay securely connected and don’t move much.
Mac Pro 5 1 Catalina Graphics Card
The guide is based on this MacRumors thread.