Share to help more people learn about Apple Metal.Īpple Metal was originally released in iOS 8, combining functions similar to OpenGL and OpenCL to form an unprecedented API. It integrates with other Metal frameworks that supplement its function, such as MetalFX, MetalKit, Metal Performance Shaders, etc. Notably, Apple Metal doesn't work on its own. With Metal, the operating system can render apps and games with high-resolution graphics in less time and load interwoven resources faster, bringing you a better visual effect and quicker operation experience. It is designed to accelerate graphics by offering programs direct or low-level access to the device's GPU, enabling apps to leverage a GPU to render complex scenes quickly and meanwhile, run computational tasks.

How do you know if your Mac has Metal?ĭeveloped by Apple, Metal is a low-overhead API (application programming interface) that works to support hardware-accelerated graphics on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS. If you want to learn more about the framework of Apple, follow this complete introduction about Apple Metal carefully.

Is there a card that will give me the same 3 outputs as I have with the ATI Radeon HD 5770, while also supporting Metal?The Metal plays a vital role in accelerating graphics on Apple devices.

Do these cards need flashing of custom firmware/ROMs?.

As this is for development purposes, what options do I have for cards that are stable/have stable drivers?.

I'm currently running four displays with a ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB card + a NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB, neither of which supports Metal as far as I can tell. What's the current state of graphic cards with Metal support?Īs far as I've understood, the limitations posted by Apple of not supporting models before 2012 are due to their own configurations of Mac Pro never shipping with a compatible graphics card, so it's not due to the HW of the Mac Pro itself, or any artificial limitations on the software side. I have a Mid 2010 Mac Pro (MacPro5,1), running High Sierra, that is in need of Metal support for graphics development purposes (not gaming).

Metal graphics card mac pro 2010