MP 1,1-5,1 Can any parts from 3,1 MacPro be used as spares for 5,1?

[paalb]

A friend of mine have a working MacPro that he stopped using 3 years ago that he wants to give to me if I have any use for it. This is the specs:

Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.8 (2008) 2.8 GHz Q. Core Xeon E5462 x2

Intro. January 8, 2008 Disc. March 3, 2009
Order MA970LL/A Model A1186 (EMC 2180)
Family Early 2008 ID MacPro3,1
RAM 2 GB VRAM 256 MB
Storage 320 GB HDD Optical 8X DL "SuperDrive"
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics processor.

Is there any parts in this mac that can be used as spares for my two current 5,1 MacPros?

1. Mac Pro 5,1 • 6 Core • X5675 • 16 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM • ASUS Radeon RX 580 8GB
2. Mac Pro 5,1 • 12 Core • X5675 x2 • 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM • ASUS Radeon RX 580 8GB • 2x 970 PRO 1TB • High Point SSD7101A-1 NVMe

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

A friend of mine have a working MacPro that he stopped using 3 years ago that he wants to give to me if I have any use for it. This is the specs:

Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.8 (2008) 2.8 GHz Q. Core Xeon E5462 x2

Intro. January 8, 2008 Disc. March 3, 2009
Order MA970LL/A Model A1186 (EMC 2180)
Family Early 2008 ID MacPro3,1
RAM 2 GB VRAM 256 MB
Storage 320 GB HDD Optical 8X DL "SuperDrive"
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics processor.

Is there any parts in this mac that can be used as spares for my two current 5,1 MacPros?

1. Mac Pro 5,1 • 6 Core • X5675 • 16 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM • ASUS Radeon RX 580 8GB
2. Mac Pro 5,1 • 12 Core • X5675 x2 • 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM • ASUS Radeon RX 580 8GB • 2x 970 PRO 1TB • High Point SSD7101A-1 NVMe

Yes, there are.
Examples:
1) The power cable. (Connecting the MP3,1 to your wall outlets)
2) Wifi module
3) Bluetooth module.
4) Wifi/bluetooth antenna & cable.
5) The SAS to 4x SATA cable.

 

[rpmurray]

I think the optical drive cage may be compatible too, but not the optical drives themselves: PATA vs SATA.
Various screws.

 

[tsialex]

3) Bluetooth module.

Nope, the BT module is completely different between early-2008 and early-2009 to mid-2012.

I'm not sure that the antennas also are interchangeable, since the modules are located on very different positions inside the Mac Pros and the cables length are very different.

5) The SAS to 4x SATA cable.

Another nope, MacPro4,1 and MacPro5,1 doesn't even have a cable for the SATA/SAS ports like the earlier Mac Pros and the SAS signal is muxed via the 4th PCIe slot.

Almost nothing is interchangeable between early-2008 and early-2009 Mac Pro, Even the PCIe card bracket or lateral access door are different.

Talking about the screws, the majority are completely different but the early-2008 HDD carrier screws and the rubber bushing are the same, also the same for the ODD screws and the cage. The HDD carrier itself is completely different, the length of the early-2009 to mid-2012 is considerable bigger since the HDDs connect direct to the backplane SATA ports.

 

[paalb]

I was hoping for the power supply, no such luck. Thank you all!

 

[tsialex]

I was hoping for the power supply, no such luck. Thank you all!

Like me, you have newer Mac Pros to use, so the appeal of an early-2008 is not so great, but a MP3,1 is still very useful if you need to run old apps from time to time. I have one in storage for just that and emergencies, like back in the start of the pandemic when in I've bricked all my Macs, my work issued 15" MBP also had a swollen battery at the same time and I had a work deadline to comply. I've used the MP3,1 for more than a month non-stop until I had time and parts to repair my newer Mac Pros, it literally saved my a$$.

If the Mac Pro is still working, do the basic maintenance like cleaning, replacing the battery and applying new thermal paste to the heatsinks. Get it working again, it's a fun pastime, you never know when you gonna need it.

 

[paalb]

Like me, you have newer Mac Pros to use, so the appeal of an early-2008 is not so great, but a MP3,1 is still very useful if you need to run old apps from time to time. I have one in storage for just that and emergencies, like back in the start of the pandemic when in I've bricked all my Macs, my work issued 15" MBP also had a swollen battery at the same time and I had a work deadline to comply. I've used the MP3,1 for more than a month non-stop until I had time and parts to repair my newer Mac Pros, it literally saved my a$$.

If the Mac Pro is still working, do the basic maintenance like replacing the battery and applying new thermal paste to the heatsinks. Get it working again, you never know when you gonna need it.

Good advice!