Best GPU choice for upgrading a 1.1 macpro

[pastrychef]

With all the hoops required to install newer versions of OS X on unsupported Mac Pros, wouldn't it make more sense to just build a hackintosh and have more modern hardware instead of buying a decade old computer? I mean, you're going to have to go through headaches to install OS X anyway.

 

[lowendlinux]

With all the hoops required to install newer versions of OS X on unsupported Mac Pros, wouldn't it make more sense to just build a hackintosh and have more modern hardware instead of being a decade old computer? I mean, you're going to have to go through headaches to install OS X anyway.

He says they're less stable or at least that's what he said in another thread

 

[Machines]

He says they're less stable or at least that's what he said in another thread

Do you know the definition of misery in this life ? It is being a Hackintosh tech dealing with real world clients (and not as a hobbyist ) when something goes wrong . You can't call Cupertino and the last time I checked , the top dog code writer for the El Cap Hacks went on strike over community abuse ...

 

[lowendlinux]

Do you know the definition of misery in this life ? It is being a Hackintosh tech dealing with real world clients (and not as a hobbyist ) when something goes wrong . You can't call Cupertino and the last time I checked , the top dog code writer for the El Cap Hacks went on strike over community abuse ...

And if something goes wrong with your old MP you can call Cupertino either. The end state is you guys are having more problems thant the hackintosh guys because their community is larger and more active.

 

[Machines]

And if something goes wrong with your old MP you can call Cupertino either.

But they can call me and do

 

[lowendlinux]

But they can call me and do

But they won't..

Listen it's cool to play with old computers and old Mac's I do it all the time but lets not kid ourselves about what they are they're big, silver, unsupported, and relatively slow, old, loud, power hogs. They are very much still usable and will be for some time but they are not good by any stretch. You can keep telling yourself that your modified efi is in someway better than clover but it's not, you can keep telling yourself that your stuff is more compatible, but it's not. What you have is a hackintosh with all the same problems that all hackintoshers have except that you're doing on a 10 year old system. Please keep doing what you're doing as it adds value and knowledge to the community and hopefully inspires the next generation of hackers but in the end it's a hackintosh

 

[ActionableMango]

Poor OP.

He just wants to know what's the cheapest card that supports El Cap and instead he gets arguments about CPUs, blu-ray drives, mSAS, Mac Minis, and hackintoshes.

 

[lowendlinux]

Poor OP.

He just wants to know what's the cheapest card that supports El Cap and instead he gets arguments about CPUs, blu-ray drives, mSAS, Mac Minis, and hackintoshes.

I apologize for derailing the thread.

 

[ActionableMango]

I apologize for derailing the thread.

Nah, it's all good debate. OP actually got his answer anyway. I just think it's funny where threads can go.

 

[Machines]

But they won't..

Tell that to the clients that travel a thousand miles to visit me . If you don't know how I operate my business , then maybe you shouldn't comment here .
[doublepost=1458769360][/doublepost]

Nah, it's all good debate. OP actually got his answer anyway. I just think it's funny where threads can go.

I apologize how off topic this thread has gone . But I'm a proud man and a decent tech .

 

[lowendlinux]

Tell that to the clients that travel a thousand miles to visit me . If you don't know how I operate my business , then maybe you shouldn't comment here .
[doublepost=1458769360][/doublepost]

I apologize how off topic this thread has gone . But I'm a proud man and a decent tech .

IU really don't care how you operate your business as matter of fact you sound like a scammer

 

[Machines]

but in the end it's a hackintosh

Can a hackintosh render like this ? And if it can , please prove it - I looked :

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...80-ti-connected-to-a-classic-mac-pro.1957919/

 

[lowendlinux]

Can a hackintosh render like this ? And if it can , please prove it - I looked :

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...80-ti-connected-to-a-classic-mac-pro.1957919/

Yes a hack can multi GPU render like any Mac that's the part you don't seem to get. You have a hack I have a hack we can both use the same number of cards we can both softwareupdate -i -a whenever there's a new update and to top it the hack will be quieter and more powerful. You're MP 1,1 upgraded is a fast as this Latitude I'm typing from and it won't throttle because it has actual cooling unlike mose MBP from the era. You simply can't win this argument, you're not the first to try, you're not the most skilled to try, you can't fight progress no matter how hard you try.

 

[CapnDavey]

ATI HD 4870 worked for me they are cheap and much faster then the GT7300 there are a lot of options out there!

 

[nigelbb]

I agree. The 3,1 and older are just too old now and it's unwise to toss more money at them. Things like hard drives and SSDs would be alright since you can bring them with you if/when you get a new computer.

What money needs to be tossed at a 3,1 to bring it up to snuff? 32-56GB of 667MHz FB-DIMMs is dirt cheap now. CPU upgrades aren't really option as the difference between 2.8GHz & 3.2GHz is so little although upgrading a single CPU to a dual is well worthwhile & cheap. Any other upgrade can be moved to a 5,1 if & when the 3,1 no longer has the power (or dies) e.g. SSD, PCI SSD card, PCI SM941/951, graphics card, USB 3.0 PCI card.

 

[pastrychef]

What money needs to be tossed at a 3,1 to bring it up to snuff?

No amount of money can bring it up to snuff. It's an 8 year old computer and will perform like one no matter how much money you throw at it.

 

[nigelbb]

No amount of money can bring it up to snuff. It's an 8 year old computer and will perform like one no matter how much money you throw at it.

The 3,1 is still a very capable computer. The model specific upgrades cost little & the more expensive upgrades can be carried over to a 5,1. If you are using a 3,1 as shipped from Apple then modest upgrades are low cost & will deliver a considerable boost in performance that will see the system still useful for years to come. By useful I don't mean playing games but using it for the latest versions of the same Pro applications that it was bought for in 2008 e.g. FCP, Premier Pro, Lightroom etc

 

[pastrychef]

The 3,1 is still a very capable computer. The model specific upgrades cost little & the more expensive upgrades can be carried over to a 5,1. If you are using a 3,1 as shipped from Apple then modest upgrades are low cost & will deliver a considerable boost in performance that will see the system still useful for years to come. By useful I don't mean playing games but using it for the latest versions of the same Pro applications that it was bought for in 2008 e.g. FCP, Premier Pro, Lightroom etc

I never said it isn't capable. Different people have different needs. Some people still find PowerPC based Macs capable. I'm saying that newer systems are more power efficient, cooler running, and in many ways faster than those old systems. Even the 5,1s are getting long in the tooth. They are extremely power hungry and can generate a ton of heat.

Sure, you can still run the latest versions of software but, don't forget, Apple recently put the 3,1 and 4,1s in to their "obsolete" list of systems. This means that, officially, Apple won't be supporting them in the next OS X release. Therefore, you may have to start using hacks to install the next version of OS X. If you don't, then you won't be "using the latest versions of the same Pro applications that it was bought or in 2008 e.g. FCP, Premier Pro, Lightroom etc"

Put a modern iMac next to these old systems and you can easily tell how much of a difference there is between modern vs old. I understand that they were great systems, but they are all way past their prime. I remember my PowerMac dual 1.42GHz G4 (the last PowerMac with G4s) choking when trying to play a 1080p video. That thing sounded like a jet engine because of the all the fans needed to cool the CPUs. Now, I have a Raspberry Pi that runs on 5V that can play 1080p videos absolutely perfectly. Time and technology marches on...

 

[nigelbb]

Put a modern iMac next to these old systems and you can easily tell how much of a difference there is between modern vs old.

How did we jump from me refuting your contention that it's unwise to spend money on upgrading a 3,1 to buying a new iMac? If you own a 3,1 it's much cheaper to upgrade than to replace it with a new modern system. It's not a bad investment of a few hundred $$$/£££/€€€ for another few years use. Apart from single threaded CPU-limited tasks there is nothing a modern iMac can do better than a Mac Pro as even a 3,1 can have more memory, faster graphics & equally fast storage.

 

[pastrychef]

How did we jump from me refuting your contention that it's unwise to spend money on upgrading a 3,1 to buying a new iMac? If you own a 3,1 it's much cheaper to upgrade than to replace it with a new modern system. It's not a bad investment of a few hundred $$$/£££/€€€ for another few years use. Apart from single threaded CPU-limited tasks there is nothing a modern iMac can do better than a Mac Pro as even a 3,1 can have more memory, faster graphics & equally fast storage.

I'm not telling you to buy anything. I was using the iMac as an example. Of course it can be cheaper to buy upgrades for your 3,1 but it will never perform like a modern machine.

Memory upgrades, sure, your 3,1 and current iMac can have up to 64GB but it will be much slower on the 3,1 due to the bus speed. Faster graphics card, yes, but it will be bottlenecked by a much slower bus and CPU limitations.

It's up to you. Do what you like. It's no skin off my back. It's just my opinion that investing in such an old machine is unwise and that the money you intend to spend on the memory and video card can be better put towards a modern machine.

Again, you have an 8 year old computer and it will perform like one whether you want to believe it or not.

 

[pastrychef]

Here are some benchmarks of pro apps on a current iMac vs a bunch of different systems:

iMac 'Semi-Pro' versus Mac Pros

Here are some benchmarks of gaming on a current iMac vs a bunch of different systems:

Best Gaming Mac

Is it still worthwhile to throw money at the Mac Pro 1,1-5,1?

 

[nigelbb]

Here are some benchmarks of pro apps on a current iMac vs a bunch of different systems:

iMac 'Semi-Pro' versus Mac Pros

Here are some benchmarks of gaming on a current iMac vs a bunch of different systems:

Best Gaming Mac

Is it still worthwhile to throw money at the Mac Pro 1,1-5,1?

A few hundred? Of course it is. It's still cheaper than a new machine.

BTW the cMPs in the Pro Apps benchmarks are only single CPU systems & as the 8-core nMP beats the iMac in all tests while the 4-core nMP does not I predict that a dual CPU cMP would beat the iMac in all test runs. The Pro Apps that I am interested in all scale well on multi-core multiprocessors so a 12-core 5,1 would beat the iMac & will even beat the nMP in some tests. Performance of an 8-core 3,1 will not be too shabby either & I predict will beat the iMac in the intensive rendering applications that scale well on multicore e.g. `Adobe AE rendering benchmark

I have less than zero interest in playing games on the Mac but a brief glance at the games benchmarks article shows a single 6-core CPU 5,1 as the winner in two of the four benchmarks, one where the iMac is the clear winner (probably single threaded CPU-limited) & one where the 8-core nMP wins. Probably the latter scales well on multicore so a dual 6-core 5,1 would be the best & even an 8-core 3,1 would be up there.

 

[pastrychef]

The 5,1 they used has 6 cores and was beaten by a quad core iMac. What do you think it will do to your 3,1?

Here you can see how the older architecture of the 3,1 affects performance vs the 4,1 and 5,1:

Fast GPUs on older Mac Pro versus newer Mac Pro

 

[jvernet]

So finally bought an HD5770 on eBay for 120€. Work like a charm. Installed Yosemite with the good boot.efi (from my MacBook on an USB to SATA converter). Everything work.

Amazing how this 2006 machine will still work (Cinebench Result: GPU 34/252 CPU, compare to my Hackintosh (i5 3.4GHz/GTX 960: 100/547)

Hope it will now run for ten years more.

 

[renton84]

So finally bought an HD5770 on eBay for 120€. Work like a charm. Installed Yosemite with the good boot.efi (from my MacBook on an USB to SATA converter). Everything work.

Amazing how this 2006 machine will still work (Cinebench Result: GPU 34/252 CPU, compare to my Hackintosh (i5 3.4GHz/GTX 960: 100/547)

Hope it will now run for ten years more.

Hi!

I am in your same situation, I want to update my macpro 1.1 to Yosemite or Capitan. I bought RAM, an SSD and now I have doubts about the graphic card. How was yours? Is it necessary to install the drivers? I need some heph with this.

Thank you very much and forgive me for my English, I'm from Spain.

regards