3,1 Quad to 8 Core Upgrade...

[bpbpbp]

Hi,

I'm trying to milk the most out of my early 2008 2.8Ghz single Quad Core Mac Pro.

It has 22GB RAM and I use it as a DAW for multitrack recording and mixing.

I will be upgrading it to either 32GB or 64GB soon, but also am keen to upgrade to dual quad core processors.

The only resource I have at present is here:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/aug10/082310.html#S27343

From this article, I could order Intel Xeon E5472 3 GHz 12MB 1600MHz Quad-Core SLANR CPU 2 pcs Matched pair with a pair of heatsinks for around £50...

I'm hoping somebody can advise if this is likely to work or not!

Thanks,
Benny
Bristol, UK

 

[6AL5]

If you havent a good upgrade would be an SSD for the boot drive.....

Hi,

I'm trying to milk the most out of my early 2008 2.8Ghz single Quad Core Mac Pro.

It has 22GB RAM and I use it as a DAW for multitrack recording and mixing.

I will be upgrading it to either 32GB or 64GB soon, but also am keen to upgrade to dual quad core processors.

The only resource I have at present is here:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/aug10/082310.html#S27343

From this article, I could order Intel Xeon E5472 3 GHz 12MB 1600MHz Quad-Core SLANR CPU 2 pcs Matched pair with a pair of heatsinks for around £50...

I'm hoping somebody can advise if this is likely to work or not!

Thanks,
Benny
Bristol, UK

 

[ActionableMango]

It should work, but if your goal is the "most", there is a faster processor for the 3,1.
X5482 SLANZ 3.2GHz

 

[bpbpbp]

Thanks both! I have an SSD Boot drive and Optical disks for data/audio.

Awesome, found a pair for under £70! Next paycheck...
[doublepost=1480531038][/doublepost]I just found this thread that talks about 'stepping' - is this relevant to me? Do I need C0 stepping?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-processor-upgrade-x5482-correct-steppings.1018386/
[doublepost=1480531191][/doublepost]The one I am considering buying is:

Type CPU / Microprocessor
Family Intel Xeon 5400
Model number X5482
CPU part numbers EU80574KL088N
Frequency 3.2 GHz
Bus speed 1600 MHz
Package 771-land FC-LGA8
Socket Socket 771 / LGA771
Part number SLANZ
Processor core Harpertown
Core stepping C0
The number of cores 4
Level 2 cache size 12 MB
Thermal Design Power 150 Watt

 

[MarkC426]

Thanks both! I have an SSD Boot drive and Optical disks for data/audio.

Awesome, found a pair for under £70! Next paycheck...
[doublepost=1480531038][/doublepost]I just found this thread that talks about 'stepping' - is this relevant to me? Do I need C0 stepping?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-processor-upgrade-x5482-correct-steppings.1018386/
[doublepost=1480531191][/doublepost]The one I am considering buying is:

Type CPU / Microprocessor
Family Intel Xeon 5400
Model number X5482
CPU part numbers EU80574KL088N
Frequency 3.2 GHz
Bus speed 1600 MHz
Package 771-land FC-LGA8
Socket Socket 771 / LGA771
Part number SLANZ
Processor core Harpertown
Core stepping C0
The number of cores 4
Level 2 cache size 12 MB
Thermal Design Power 150 Watt

I may be reading this wrong, but if you have a single processor tray, you will need a dual tray, not just two new processors.
A single tray only has one cpu and one bank of ram slots, where a dual has two.

 

[mryingster]

It should work, but if your goal is the "most", there is a faster processor for the 3,1.
X5482 SLANZ 3.2GHz

I agree with this. I upgraded mine from Dual 2.8 to Dual 3.2 last year, and haven't had any problems. Love the 2008 MacPro!
[doublepost=1480541922][/doublepost]

I may be reading this wrong, but if you have a single processor tray, you will need a dual tray, not just two new processors.
A single tray only has one cpu and one bank of ram slots, where a dual has two.

The 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) doesn't have processor trays. The processors go straight onto the motherboard which always has two sockets, even in the single CPU model. I purchased my 3,1 as a single 2.8 and upgraded to a dual 2.8 and then again to a dual 3.2. The only thing about upgrading from single to dual is that you need to get a second heat sink. Those are probably cheap now, but at the time I upgraded, it cost a pretty penny.

 

[ActionableMango]

I just found this thread that talks about 'stepping' - is this relevant to me? Do I need C0 stepping?

Yes, but X5482 SLANZ is C0 stepping.

 

[bpbpbp]

Yes, but X5482 SLANZ is C0 stepping.

Great, thank you! I've found a pair of Intel Xeon X5482 SLANZ on eBay for $80, and the heatsinks are only about $10 now

Now I need to decide 32GB or 64GB RAM, for multitrack DAW recording and mixing big projects...

Type CPU / Microprocessor
Family Intel Xeon 5400
Model number X5482
CPU part numbers EU80574KL088N
Frequency 3.2 GHz
Bus speed 1600 MHz
Package 771-land FC-LGA8
Socket Socket 771 / LGA771
Part number SLANZ
Processor core Harpertown
Core stepping C0
The number of cores 4
Level 2 cache size 12 MB
Thermal Design Power 150 Watt

 

[antonioc]

I agree with this. I upgraded mine from Dual 2.8 to Dual 3.2 last year, and haven't had any problems. Love the 2008 MacPro!

Hi, do you suggest to apply this kind of upgrade? I've the same mac Pro and I'm considering what to do for the next year (to buy a 2010/2012 Mac pro, a iMac...). Is it a good choice to get better performance? How much better?

 

[nigelbb]

I may be reading this wrong, but if you have a single processor tray, you will need a dual tray, not just two new processors.
A single tray only has one cpu and one bank of ram slots, where a dual has two.

This is not true of the 2008 Mac Pro 3,1 as it does not have a separate CPU tray as with the MP 4,1 & 5,1. All 2008 MP 3,1s have two CPU sockets on the motherboard as can be seen in the photo on this page http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/faq/mac-pro-how-to-upgrade-processors.html

 

[mryingster]

Hi, do you suggest to apply this kind of upgrade? I've the same mac Pro and I'm considering what to do for the next year (to buy a 2010/2012 Mac pro, a iMac...). Is it a good choice to get better performance? How much better?

To be honest, I don't see a difference in my day-to-day activities. I saw an improvement when doing things like encoding a video. Benchmarks showed a 20% improvement. It was fun just to tinker. I prefer tinkering with computers than buying a new one and never opening it up. Here is a post I made about the upgrade:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...0-2128-a-mobo-question.1949169/#post-22480606

 

[dblairw]

bp - Offering suggestions from my own cMP 2008 3,1 Xeon CPU upgrade:

1) My mint 3,1 started as a single CPU 2.8GHz Xeon.
2) A bit of education on the 3,1 system architecture came next, and then tracking down the right components.
3) I used the cMP master CPU reference guide which ActionableMango has posted right here in the MR Mac Pro Forum.
4) And quickly identified the 3.0GHz E5472 Xeon as the optimal dual CPU upgrade for my 3,1.
5) A bit of careful shopping on eBay resulted in a dual E5472 upgrade kit, and a pristine Apple correct model Xeon CPU cooler for the added # 2 CPU.
6) With the E5472's and additional CPU cooler in hand, the upgrade was a breeze.
7) The Xeon upgrade kit included the needed long reach Hex wrench -- a practical necessity for this project.

Results? It's great to have a full 8 Xeon cores there for the intensive video and audio multimedia projects - a noticeable improvement. My upgraded cMP 3,1 has handled everything I've tossed at it with no issues. Makes for an awesome Mac Pro workhorse, which is exactly what I need from the Apple product line.