# Graphics card choices, power draw (Mac Pro 2019)



## Dom (Mar 12, 2020)

Will be ordering a 2019 Mac Pro soon. Likely to be the 16 core model. 

Which graphics card to choose? I am currently running 1x 4k and 3x HD displays, but may add more in the future. I am concerned about power draw, and subsequently heat output. (Choosing the 16 core vs 28 core because it draws way less power)

In reality, the graphics card would potentially be idle a lot of the time. Ie, just some small changes on one of the screens. Do graphics cards draw less power when idle?

The base AMD Radeon Pro 580X may well be ok. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X looks like the sweet spot, as it has more video connections, but is still not released. AMD Radeon Pro Vega II looks good, but I am concerned about power and heat.

I am running Logic, Pro Tools Ultimate, VEP on the same machine.

Any knowledge you could share with me?


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## Technostica (Mar 12, 2020)

Graphics cards don't consume much power when idle or not heavily loaded as in DAW usage.
Multiple monitor usage does impact power consumption even at idle or low usage.
But even then I doubt if it would be more than 40 or 50W at idle typically and that's worst case scenario.
Radeon cards have been behind Nvidia for ages in this area but have been catching up recently.
So I'd generally look for the most modern card available. They are also more efficient at load by a large margin.
Not sure how the Pro cards stack up so not sure if they use the current architecture. 
The newer cards are fabricated on a 7nm process so that's something to look out for. 
Techpowerup review cards and measure idle wattage including multi-monitor setups.


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## Dom (Mar 12, 2020)

Excellent info, thanks. Couldn't find idle or multi-display wattage but Techpowerup says the base AMD Radeon Pro 580X is still 14nm, whereas the others are 7nm. 7nm being the more efficient - denser packing?


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## Technostica (Mar 12, 2020)

The consumer and Pro cards use the same underlying chips usually just maybe with different configurations.
So find out which chips are in the Pro cards and then see which consumer cards use the same chips and check for reviews on them.
This can only be a general guide as not sure what the firmware in the Apple cards will be like or how macOS handles multi-monitors.
But if you can't get specific info on the cards tested in a Mac Pro, that is the best info you will get.
Generally lots of data on cards tested under Windows.

7nm is denser and more efficient.
Also, the 7nm cards are very likely to be using a newer architecture which will offer better performance, features and efficiency.
For DAW usage there may not be a significant difference in any area so I'd keep that in mind if the price difference is large.


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## Dom (Mar 12, 2020)

Very helpful, thank you!


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