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1,1 suggested upgrade path.

128keaton

128keaton

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 13, 2013
2,029
419
Hey guys, I am an iOS developer, and, since being strapped for cash, I have a MacPro1,1. Right now, it has a GT210, but I ordered the power cable to put my HD6790 in it. Now, will this help with the general snappiness of the machine? Second, I also plan to install new CPUs in it, what is recommended? Lastly, is there any other upgrades I should do to my 1,1? It runs fairly okay right now, but it could be better.

Thanks guys!
 
I concur, a solid state drive will make a world of a difference. Video card is always great, especially if you have one already. The most economical CPU upgrade is to X5355 Xeons, which are Quad Core 2.66 GHz, and can be found at much cheaper prices than the X5365s (Quad Core 3.0 GHz) - I've grabbed a matched pair of 2.66s for $50, while I see 3.0s go for almost $150. However, if you don't feel that you need the horsepower, I'd invest in the SSD and RAM before anything else.

16GB of RAM for a 1,1 can be purchased at a reasonable price if you get it in an 8 x 2GB stick configuration. People often say that the FB-DIMMs that the older Mac Pros take are expensive. This is certainly the case if you try to get sticks larger than 2GB, but 2GB sticks are fairly reasonable in price, I've picked up a couple of sets of FB-DIMMs in the past, typically between $35-$40 for 4 x 2GB sticks. That's about $80 for 16GB of RAM - heck, that's CHEAPER than 16GB of RAM for DDR3 machines. The real problem is when you want to get MORE than 16GB. Prices go through the roof on 4GB sticks. Stay away unless you can get a good deal.

Hope this helps a bit, good luck with your upgrades.
 
Yep, I'd have to agree with the SSD and RAM upgrades. I don't however agree that beyond 16GB is too expensive.
I just added these to mine this week and she flies!

My MacPro1,1 I added:

Samsung 250MB EVO SSD for $129 : http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U

And:

16GB HyperVelocity RAM kit for $149: http://macramdirect.com/macpro.html#mp1

Going with 4X4GB leave me room to add another 16GB in about a month when I'm cashed up again.

Can't really decide what gave the biggest boast but together she's pretty respectable for a 2006 machine.

----------
128keaton said:
Sounds good. I was thinking either this, or put two 7200RPM HDDs in a RAID configuration.
Click to expand...

Seriously, go with the SSDs.
Maybe do a mirrored RAID for your secondary storage drives but with the SSD up front she'll cruise
 
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NOTNlCE said:
I concur, a solid state drive will make a world of a difference. Video card is always great, especially if you have one already. The most economical CPU upgrade is to X5355 Xeons, which are Quad Core 2.66 GHz, and can be found at much cheaper prices than the X5365s (Quad Core 3.0 GHz) - I've grabbed a matched pair of 2.66s for $50, while I see 3.0s go for almost $150. However, if you don't feel that you need the horsepower, I'd invest in the SSD and RAM before anything else.



16GB of RAM for a 1,1 can be purchased at a reasonable price if you get it in an 8 x 2GB stick configuration. People often say that the FB-DIMMs that the older Mac Pros take are expensive. This is certainly the case if you try to get sticks larger than 2GB, but 2GB sticks are fairly reasonable in price, I've picked up a couple of sets of FB-DIMMs in the past, typically between $35-$40 for 4 x 2GB sticks. That's about $80 for 16GB of RAM - heck, that's CHEAPER than 16GB of RAM for DDR3 machines. The real problem is when you want to get MORE than 16GB. Prices go through the roof on 4GB sticks. Stay away unless you can get a good deal.



Hope this helps a bit, good luck with your upgrades.
Click to expand...



Macintush said:
Yep, I'd have to agree with the SSD and RAM upgrades. I don't however agree that beyond 16GB is too expensive.

I just added these to mine this week and she flies!



My MacPro1,1 I added:



Samsung 250MB EVO SSD for $129 : http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U



And:



16GB HyperVelocity RAM kit for $149: http://macramdirect.com/macpro.html#mp1



Going with 4X4GB leave me room to add another 16GB in about a month when I'm cashed up again.



Can't really decide what gave the biggest boast but together she's pretty respectable for a 2006 machine.

----------





Seriously, go with the SSDs.

Maybe do a mirrored RAID for your secondary storage drives but with the SSD up front she'll cruise
Click to expand...


I'll probably invest in a 128 Gb SSD for boot and have a RAID and make a fusion drive setup. I have 7GB of RAM in it now, so I'll probably put another 2-4GB in it.
 
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I was stretched pretty thin for my 2010 Minis budget and went with a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD too. They were only $79 so was really hard to resist. I have external storage on it to so 120GB seemed ok.
Now after several weeks of use I think the 120GB is fine. 250Gb would have been nicer but if you are careful the 120GB can work too. I also put 8GB of Hypervelocity RAM in it


Did I mention it is fast as lightning?
 
Macintush said:
I was stretched pretty thin for my 2010 Minis budget and went with a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD too. They were only $79 so was really hard to resist. I have external storage on it to so 120GB seemed ok.
Now after several weeks of use I think the 120GB is fine. 250Gb would have been nicer but if you are careful the 120GB can work too. I also put 8GB of Hypervelocity RAM in it


Did I mention it is fast as lightning?
Click to expand...


That sounds really nice. I am looking into a Crucial SSD and a striped RAID setup.
 
It might be worth checking into the prices of a 3,1 or a 4,1. If that's cheaper than the SSD upgrade you're thinking about... I'd almost do that instead. A 1,1's upgrade paths are very constrained at this point.

The 1,1's don't take new GPUs very well, so you won't get as much out of a new GPU on that box. The GPU you have is beyond the capabilities of that box. You'll get a boost over the 120, but you'll hit the upper limits on that machine.
 
goMac said:
It might be worth checking into the prices of a 3,1 or a 4,1. If that's cheaper than the SSD upgrade you're thinking about... I'd almost do that instead. A 1,1's upgrade paths are very constrained at this point.

The 1,1's don't take new GPUs very well, so you won't get as much out of a new GPU on that box. The GPU you have is beyond the capabilities of that box. You'll get a boost over the 120, but you'll hit the upper limits on that machine.
Click to expand...

The 'Amazing' upgrade path I'm looking at is much cheaper than a 3,1 or a 4,1 that I can find. A set of new Xeons is $50-$100, I have a h.2 SSD (which will work with SATA with a $15 adaptor) and a 6790. I also have two WD 500GB drives which will make a nice RAID setup. Maybe an extra 2GB of RAM, $50. Total, $175, not including shipping/handling.
Maybe before college I can afford a new one.
 
128keaton said:
The 'Amazing' upgrade path I'm looking at is much cheaper than a 3,1 or a 4,1 that I can find. A set of new Xeons is $50-$100, I have a h.2 SSD (which will work with SATA with a $15 adaptor) and a 6790. I also have two WD 500GB drives which will make a nice RAID setup. Maybe an extra 2GB of RAM, $50. Total, $175, not including shipping/handling.
Maybe before college I can afford a new one.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Just keep in mind that machine only has a fraction of the bandwidth of that SSD, so again, an SSD will give you a boost, but after the throughput limits of that box, not a huge boost, and not nearly the maximum speed of that drive.

All I'm trying to say is the money you're going to put into that machine, if you've got a source of income coming in, might be worth holding onto for a bit longer to get a new box instead of trying to upgrade a box that can't as much handle the upgrades you're going to put into it. At that age of a box, it's kind of putting good money into a not so good machine.
 
goMac said:
Yeah. Just keep in mind that machine only has a fraction of the bandwidth of that SSD, so again, an SSD will give you a boost, but after the throughput limits of that box, not a huge boost, and not nearly the maximum speed of that drive.



All I'm trying to say is the money you're going to put into that machine, if you've got a source of income coming in, might be worth holding onto for a bit longer to get a new box instead of trying to upgrade a box that can't as much handle the upgrades you're going to put into it. At that age of a box, it's kind of putting good money into a not so good machine.
Click to expand...


I 100% agree with you. The main issue I am having is that I really can't spend more than $200 on something 'non essential' Right now. Being stuck with car troubles and college savings is really restricting my cash flow.
 
I did the all the usual upgrades, videocard, cpu, gpu , hdd etc and say its a machine that will have a few more years lifespan.

I use mine for doing web development.

Also upgraded the OS to Yosemite.
 
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