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2006 Mac Pro CPU Upgrade
- Thread starter jrccomputer
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Unfortunately, the X5400 series of Xeons do not work in the 1,1 and 2,1 series of Mac Pros because of a chipset difference. The fastest processors you can put in a 2006 Mac Pro are the Xeon X5365 Quad Core 3.0GHz Xeons, which came in the 2,1 Mac Pro. Many users have had success with the X5355 Xeons which are also Quad Core, but run a 2.66GHz, and tend to be less expensive and more readily available than the X5365s with only a very slight loss in performance.
No problem. Good luck with your upgrade. Ebay has the X5355s at around $50 a pair, if you look for long enough. It's quite a performance boost, I threw them in my 1,1 and the raw performance is a world of a difference in heavy-taxing applications. Well worth the $ even in that old of a machine, in my opinion.
Agreed, if you wanna talk about bang for your buck upgrades for your machine, this would be number 1.
I upgraded my 2007 MacPro 1,1 with X5365 Quad Core 3.0GHz Xeons and couldn't be happier. I also did the 2,1 firmware upgrade so that the processors are properly reflected. Probably one of the best upgrades I have done to my trusty MacPro to date 
I upgraded my 2007 MacPro 1,1 with X5365 Quad Core 3.0GHz Xeons and couldn't be happier. I also did the 2,1 firmware upgrade so that the processors are properly reflected. Probably one of the best upgrades I have done to my trusty MacPro to date
How does one go about upgrading the firmware like that from 1,1 to 2,1??
I just upgrade the graphics card from x1900 to the 5770 and I am loving that! Can't wait for my CPUs to get here so I can a super Mac Pro! Working on installing Yosmite as well right now! This thing is a beast!
Never had a computer more than 5 years old have the power, performance and reliability that this machine has! I was a long time windows user and this Mac has me sold on Apple products! I love my Mac Pro!