In context: In 2021, Apple partnered with AMD to provide a brand new Mac Pro pc that includes probably the most highly effective graphics card ever on an Apple pc. The Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has lengthy been unique to Apple {hardware}, till der8auer discovered a method to make use of the GPU outdoors of the Apple ecosystem.
Apple is aware of it is getting one thing particular with the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo, as a result of the cardboard sells for $5,000 on Apple’s web site. It has two Navi 21 chips linked through AMD’s Infinity Fabric, though 20 compute models are disabled on each chips. The GPU additionally has 32 GB of GDDR6 reminiscence and 128 MB of Infinity Cache.
For perspective, AMD’s RDNA2 flagships, the RX 6900 XT and RX 6950 XT, each function the Navi 21 chip. As evidenced by our benchmarks, this die is already a powerhouse. As one would possibly anticipate, placing two chips on Apple’s GPU makes it a monster, albeit with a slight drop in efficiency per chip.
Since the W6800X Duo is just about a dual-SIM 6900 XT, many individuals have been curious concerning the capabilities of this card. One of them is Roman Hartung, well-known excessive overclocker der8auer. In a current video, der8auer disassembled and examined the W6800X Duo, albeit with quite a lot of problem.
While the GPU makes use of the usual PCIe x16 slot generally discovered on client motherboards, it’s powered in an atypical method. The card makes use of Apple’s proprietary Mac Pro eXpansion (MPX) module as a substitute of a normal PCIe energy connector. Nonetheless, der8auer repurposed the 12VHPWR cable to ship the 400 watts the W6800X Duo wants.
After fixing quite a few points together with driver set up failures, excessive temperatures, and energy insensitivity, der8auer lastly received the GPU working correctly once more. As proven above, the cardboard required a number of modifications and soldering to run on a normal motherboard. Still, the GPU struggled to finish the benchmark, struggling a number of crashes and shutdowns.
After many makes an attempt, Hartung lastly pushed the cardboard to finish the benchmark take a look at. In 3DMark TimeSpy, the W6800X Duo carried out nicely, with a mean FPS of 97.21. While that is 21 % slower than Nvidia’s RTX 4090, it beats the RTX 4080 by greater than 4 %. It additionally beat AMD’s flagship RX 7900 XTX by about 8 %.
Overall, the outcomes proven by the W6800X Duo are spectacular. It does increase the query of why this card, or the same variant, by no means made it to the patron market, however as a substitute was restricted to $5,000 purchases within the Mac ecosystem. Regardless, der8auer’s work may be very well-liked as a result of it would not come low cost.
