Update Mac OS X Graphics Driver. On Mac OS X the graphics driver is part of the operating system. You can only upgrade by upgrading to a newer version of the operating system. To find out which graphics card your Mac uses: Click on the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen and select About this Mac.
This article applies only to video cards that originally shipped with a specified Mac Pro or were offered as an upgrade kit by Apple. Similar cards that were not provided by Apple may have compatibility issues and you should work with the vendor of that card to confirm compatibility.
To identify a graphics card part number, check the label on the back of the card.
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
- Dual AMD FirePro D300
- Dual AMD FirePro D500
- Dual AMD FirePro D700
Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
- ATI Radeon HD 5770
- ATI Radeon HD 5870
Learn how to install macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012).
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 120
- ATI Radeon HD 4870
- ATI Radeon HD 5870, offered as an upgrade kit
The Radeon HD 5870 card requires Mac OS X 10.6.4 or later and the use of both auxiliary power connections.
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (part number 630-9191 or 630-9897)
- NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600
- ATI Radeon HD 4870, offered as an upgrade kit
The Radeon HD 4870 card requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later.
Mac Pro (Original)
- NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
- ATI Radeon X1900 XT
- NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (part number 630-7532 or 630-7895)
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (part number 630-9492), offered as an upgrade kit.
The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT card requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later with the Leopard Graphics Update 1.0 or the computer may not start up properly.
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100 with 62 posters participatingAmid the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini announcements yesterday, Apple also quietly updated its MacBook Pro lineup with more graphics power. Apple will offer new versions of the MacBook Pro with AMD Radeon Pro Vega graphics chips, marking the first time Vega GPUs have been used in Apple's premium laptops.
Apple claims the new GPUs will provide up to 60 percent better graphical performance than the existing offerings. Currently, the best GPU available in a MacBook Pro is the Radeon Pro 560X.Vega 56 and 64 graphics cards are already available in Apple's iMac Pro, a machine designed for creative professionals and power users. Offering Vega graphics cards (like the Vega 16 and 20 CPUs) in the MacBook Pros brings more consistency to the high-end Mac lineup, as well as the graphics power some users need to complete complex and creative projects.
Apple hasn't announced pricing for the new MacBook Pro models yet, but they will be available to order in November. Apple also announced another GPU-boosting option for new Mac owners—the new Blackmagic eGPU Pro. This external GPU enclosure should dramatically increase overall performance and graphics power for Macs that have a Thunderbolt 3 port.
The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will be equipped with a Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor and 8GB of HBM2 memory. It looks identical to the existing Blackmagic eGPU, which comes with a Radeon Pro 580 GPU for $699.
Included with the Blackmagic eGPU Pro are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, four USB 3 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and DisplayPort 1.4 port. The device will also provide 85W of power so users can charge MacBook Pros while connected.
The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will cost $1,199 and it will be available in late November.