MP 1,1-5,1 Aluminum case differences between 1,1 2,1 3,1 4,1 and 5,1

[sheapuppy]

Glad to join MacRumors! As a newbie, I have a question regarding the aluminum enclosures between the various models between 1,1 and 5,1. I have an early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 in need of repair. I need to replace the case and possibly the power supply (no chime when booting up, screen is black, but the front light is on).
There are some very good deals on 1,1 2,1 and 3,1 systems, so my idea is to potentially buy a cheaper MP or non-functionally pre-2009 MP and move my logic board and everything else to the new case. But before investing into one, are the aluminum cases interchangeable? I've googled it and can't seem to find specific answers about this.
I hope someone in this forum can help me. And thank you in advance!

 

[KeesMacPro]

The 4,1 and 5,1 enclosures are exactly the same.
Previous versions are different.

 

[tsialex]

MP1,1 and MP2,1 cases and PSUs are the same.
MP3,1 case is unique, even the PSU is unique.
MP4,1 and MP5,1 cases and PSUs are the same.

Internals of MP4,1/MP5,1 only fits MP4,1/MP5,1 cases.

 

[sheapuppy]

Thanks everyone for your help! My search continues!

 

[MooffooM]

Glad to join MacRumors! As a newbie, I have a question regarding the aluminum enclosures between the various models between 1,1 and 5,1. I have an early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 in need of repair. I need to replace the case and possibly the power supply (no chime when booting up, screen is black, but the front light is on).

A bit of advice that does not directly answer your question:
Given the symptoms you describe and my recent experience, you may well have a worn out or corrupted boot rom. My system acted in the exact same way.

Follow the trouble shooting guide in this manual and use the diag LEDs on the motherboard to see if you really have a power supply issue or a boot rom issue.

http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/macpro/macpro_early2009.pdf

If your boot rom is toast, you will need to buy a matt card:

820-2337 Mac motherboard

Shipping on the matt card is slow (DHL's fault, not chipmonk's!). Mine took about 4 weeks to arrive.

While waiting for your matt card, read this thread:

Recovery from bricked 5,1

So it finally happened to me... I was installing Mojave on an alternate SSD to do some OpenCore testing, and when I rebooted the system hung. To revert back to my previous boot disk I tried resetting NVRAM by cmd-opt-P-R and the system chimed once and then nothing... Pressing the diag switch...

forums.macrumors.com

and this thread:

MP5,1: SPI flash image reconstruction with intermediate files

Note: I'm starting to move/separate some of the content from the BootROM thread to facilitate search. I'm still editing this article. EFI Release vs BIOS Version vs BootBlock Version Reference Table: EFI Release:BIOS Version:BootBlock Version...

forums.macrumors.com

tsialex will become your new best friend. Thank/tip him appropriately.

 

[sheapuppy]

Thanks for your reply @MooffooM I'll give that a shot!

 

[MooffooM]

Thanks for your reply @MooffooM I'll give that a shot!

The manual contains a lot of info, but the basics revolve around plugging in power, looking at the power supply diag leds, and holding down the diag button and observing the leds... no need to pull everything apart for most cases. I advise using the back end of a plastic "bic" pen (non-retractable style - all plastic!) to push/hold down the diag button while in the case. If the power supply status leds look good and the efi done led does not light up and stay on solid then chances are your boot rom is toast. My efi done led would blip on briefly every 20 seconds. Although when my boot rom failed it chimed one time, after that I had the exact symptoms you see. Pressing the power button would light the front led, no boot chime, black screen.

 

[MisterBiro]

To note, it is possible to update a 1,1 to a 3,1 in the same case.

You'll need to buy some 3,1 parts and remove the posts for the 1,1 memory cage, but other than that they are pretty much the same.

I have done this... just because I could... so I know it's possible.

 

[sheapuppy]

Thanks @MisterBiro I wished I could do the same from 3,1 to 4,1. I can get a 3,1 case only fairly inexpensive for under $50 ?