Several people have come onto this forum asking for help after their computer had major issues after an attempted CPU upgrade. I'm glad you and some other people have had success, but I don't think we should be encouraging others to do it. OWC's instructions may work in many cases, but the instructions are not correct. Proper CPU replacement requires special equipment and the torque specs are very important. The procedure is actually so sensitive that Apple's own technicians are not allowed to do it. The CPU is only available pre-installed on a new CPU riser card.
I think we should absolutely be encouraging people to do whatever they're comfortable with to keep a 7+ year old computer design running as well and as quickly as possible, especially now that the prices of components have come down out of the stratosphere. If for some reason someone is not comfortable doing a CPU swap themselves then by all means they can send it off to OWC, have it done right, and get the added reassurance of a warranty. Simply providing people the information (i.e. the OWC instructions) and anecdotal evidence of the simplicity of a CPU swap isn't forcing anyone to do anything they're not comfortable with.
The fact that Apple doesn't allow their technicians to do CPU replacements isn't at all indicative of the difficulty or the feasibility of the procedure. TBH I wouldn't feel comfortable taking my Mac Pro to an Apple Store for their "geniuses" to perform a CPU upgrade -- my experience with in-warranty repairs (for even minor stuff) has been dreadful. As the saying goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself.
I've built my fair share of PCs and from experience I can tell you that torque specs on CPU fasteners aren't nearly as critical as Apple might have you believe. Often those specs are provided to save harebrained technicians from themselves and their instincts to tighten every flipping bolt and screw as much as possible. And let's face it, Apple is particularly unfriendly to the DIY crowd. Put another way, just because Apple doesn't recommend doing a CPU swap (and why would they when they'd rather sell you a riser board for $2K+ and charge you the installation labor) doesn't mean it's impossible or particularly difficult.
I would
love to see what special equipment Apple says is required to do a CPU upgrade...probably more of their proprietary bull$hit.
FWIW I haven't seen "several people" come onto this forum for help after a CPU upgrade...at least not with the nMP. The posts I've seen are most often from folks who've done the upgrade, are thrilled with the results, and are shocked with how easy it was.
I'm not saying you don't have to be careful if you swap the CPU. For god's sake don't bend a pin, zap anything with static discharge, or clamp/lock something down that's improperly seated. But if you're handy with a few simple tools, have a modest amount of manual dexterity, and can follow instructions, it's really not a big deal.
One last thing -- if you're not comfortable with upgrading the stock 4- or 6-core Mac Pro CPU to something more powerful, you're better off buying a current-gen Mac mini and adding an eGPU. Seriously - there's no reason to go with a 2013 Mac Pro these days if you're not going to take advantage of the higher-core Xeon processors that it supports.
