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edgerider

macrumors 6502
Apr 30, 2018
281
149
I upgraded mine from 8 to 16 core, because from real world performance 16 core is the sweet spot for #core vs frequency of single core... none of the imaging software I use go faster past 16 core. The most significant boost I have noticed was to go from 4 dim 2666 to 6 dim 2933 ram... and putting a second rx580... but very stupidly the thing that sped up the machine a lot, was to go from the areca 1880 with netapp chassis to a 1882 with a promise Vtrak chassis, and ad a sonnet 4xm2 ssd as a scratch , now I have consistent 2gb/s R/W on my media and 8gb/s ultra low latency on my scratch, and I frequently see gpu and cpu at nearly 100%...
I realize that because now the fan ramp up almost all the time when i work on the machine...
I think a good indicator of if your machine has no bottleneck is if you have the fans ramping up frequently, meaning the cpu/gpu are working under load. if your machine fan never ramp up, it is probably because the machine is waiting to R/W data
 

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
From checking prices for retail versions of the CPUs, not QS, does this seem about right?

2nd hand approximate prices, but production versions:

3235 $1000
3245m $1400
3265m $1800
3275m $2500

24 core 3265m seems like a good value for price/performance at these 2nd hand prices
 

reeltime100

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2010
3
0
The most significant boost I have noticed was to go from 4 dim 2666 to 6 dim 2933 ram... and putting a second rx580... but very stupidly the thing that sped up the machine a lot, was to go from the areca 1880 with netapp chassis to a 1882 with a promise Vtrak chassis, and ad a sonnet 4xm2 ssd as a scratch , now I have consistent 2gb/s R/W on my media and 8gb/s ultra low latency on my scratch, and I frequently see gpu and cpu at nearly 100%...
Can you link to the proper RAM? I just picked up a 16-core machine (used, thank God) with 96GB and 1 rx580. I use Resolve mainly and cut in ProRes so an Afterburner card is a sound choice. I do a ton of particle work in After Effects. Looking to help that workflow along. Resolve can use the graphics card to assist render ops. A good graphics card upgrade would make sense. Trying to decide whether a 2nd RX580 or go with a full upgrade to another.
 

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
Has anyone done a CPU upgrade recently on the 7.1 Mac Pro? I guess the trickiest part is navigating all of the eBay sellers to make sure you get a good one.

but compared to the original MSRP, prices are certainly very good for the second hand CPUs.

kind of feels like the 24 core is the best value, since the 16 core is generally only a few hundred dollars less. 28 core 800+ more for marginal gain.

if I was speccing the system out from Apple, I would probably get a 16 core, but secondhand the 24 core does look good.

still I’m slightly apprehensive about making sure I get a retail, non QS, good chip on eBay. I’m pretty confident in installing it physically, I do a lot of custom pc builds.

I guess I’ll make sure to read up on all of the diagnostic test so I can do as well as benchmark it to make sure it’s a good copy.

but I love the upgradeability of the 7.1 Mac Pro. It’s not perfect but it certainly is very exciting to upgrade
 

edgerider

macrumors 6502
Apr 30, 2018
281
149
Can you link to the proper RAM? I just picked up a 16-core machine (used, thank God) with 96GB and 1 rx580. I use Resolve mainly and cut in ProRes so an Afterburner card is a sound choice. I do a ton of particle work in After Effects. Looking to help that workflow along. Resolve can use the graphics card to assist render ops. A good graphics card upgrade would make sense. Trying to decide whether a 2nd RX580 or go with a full upgrade to another.
I bought hynix from à resaler in germany I can give you his contact in mp if you are located in europe
 

ombrenelcielo

macrumors regular
Jan 21, 2011
158
18
Helsinki, Finland
I upgraded 4-5 weeks ago, bought an Intel Xeon W-3265M QS QRSN 2.7GHz 24Core (LGA3647) from China (via eBay) for a total of 1,345$ and I have been super happy ?

Now I need a new graphics card and off we go.

Most of my work is software engineering so ?
 

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cobra521

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2016
393
136
FL

ombrenelcielo,

Interesting screen capture! I have a 7,1 with a 28 core cpu and am using the original 8GB memory sticks, plus others I bought; it is a mixture of 8 genuine OEM Apple Hynix chips and 4 3rd party Micron chips. The memory speed on my "About this Mac" shows a speed of 2933 MHz where yours shows 2666 MHz.

I wonder why yours displays a slower speed? Perhaps it is the cpu you have (a QS), or maybe you are using some lower speed chips?

Just curious.

Tom
 
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alexmenn

macrumors newbie
Apr 18, 2021
6
0
I upgraded 4-5 weeks ago, bought an Intel Xeon W-3265M QS QRSN 2.7GHz 24Core (LGA3647) from China (via eBay) for a total of 1,345$ and I have been super happy ?

Now I need a new graphics card and off we go.

Most of my work is software engineering so ?
Hi!! Awesome, im looking for same CPU. You just installed it, and it runs? or you have had to reset PRAM or something?
 

lostinforums

macrumors regular
Oct 4, 2015
124
7
I’m looking at upgrading my cpu on the latest Mac Pro, probably to the W3265M 24 core, what is this ‘QS’ I’ve read about? Not sure I understand.

I was looking at this one from China on eBay - it says NOT es/qs...


thoughts?

thanks
 
Last edited:
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
I grabbed a retail W3265M 24 core, seller from China, was an easy install and works flawlessly, booted right up and recognized it. Huge upgrade over the 8 core
 
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ombrenelcielo

macrumors regular
Jan 21, 2011
158
18
Helsinki, Finland
ombrenelcielo,

Interesting screen capture! I have a 7,1 with a 28 core cpu and am using the original 8GB memory sticks, plus others I bought; it is a mixture of 8 genuine OEM Apple Hynix chips and 4 3rd party Micron chips. The memory speed on my "About this Mac" shows a speed of 2933 MHz where yours shows 2666 MHz.

I wonder why yours displays a slower speed? Perhaps it is the cpu you have (a QS), or maybe you are using some lower speed chips?

Just curious.

Tom

I purchased at launch the ram from OWC, so I have that as max frequency, I'll likely upgrade down the line as the price comes down ;)
 
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
Just upgraded the 8 core base Xeon to a 28 Core W3265M, works perfectly. It is the 2nd Mac Pro I do, the other one I put in a 24 core W3265M.

Entire process took under 30 minutes, and system is working perfectly, Xeon shows up without issue and has great benchmark scores.

I did it with the system standing up, first time I had put it down on its side - but I find it up to be easier. Very easy process and totally worth it for the cheap price you can pick up 3275M or 3265M cpus for compared to what Apple charges.
 
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LeonPro

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2002
933
510
Great job. I've been itching to have a higher core count even from initial purchase, but unfortunately because I use Adobe CC apps they don't make efficient use of higher core versus higher clock rate. Maybe in the future. But who am I kidding. They will never improve their Intel program as they are now focusing on Apple Silicon optimization. In which case, the first to get replaced is my MBP 16 for an M2, M1X revision and let's see if it smokes my Mac Pro by then.

In any case, what thermal paste did you use and did you just clean off the old one with alcohol?

Just upgraded the 8 core base Xeon to a 28 Core W3265M, works perfectly. It is the 2nd Mac Pro I do, the other one I put in a 24 core W3265M.

Entire process took under 30 minutes, and system is working perfectly, Xeon shows up without issue and has great benchmark scores.

I did it with the system standing up, first time I had put it down on its side - but I find it up to be easier. Very easy process and totally worth it for the cheap price you can pick up 3275M or 3265M cpus for compared to what Apple charges.
 
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
Great job. I've been itching to have a higher core count even from initial purchase, but unfortunately because I use Adobe CC apps they don't make efficient use of higher core versus higher clock rate. Maybe in the future. But who am I kidding. They will never improve their Intel program as they are now focusing on Apple Silicon optimization. In which case, the first to get replaced is my MBP 16 for an M2, M1X revision and let's see if it smokes my Mac Pro by then.

In any case, what thermal paste did you use and did you just clean off the old one with alcohol?
I used Thermal Grizzly and cleaned off with alcohol for the old stuff.

In Cinebench, temps seem to stay at most 66c in R20, with a score of 9929. R23 does pull the temps up in the 70s and low 80s if it gets hot enough after the full run, in a hotter room, so temps seem pretty good.
 
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
Great job. I've been itching to have a higher core count even from initial purchase, but unfortunately because I use Adobe CC apps they don't make efficient use of higher core versus higher clock rate. Maybe in the future. But who am I kidding. They will never improve their Intel program as they are now focusing on Apple Silicon optimization. In which case, the first to get replaced is my MBP 16 for an M2, M1X revision and let's see if it smokes my Mac Pro by then.

In any case, what thermal paste did you use and did you just clean off the old one with alcohol?
I have the 24 core In another machine, so imo for me it's definitely worth it. Even with video editing, like with Pro Res raw, and other raw formats, I always see those cores in use, and the 8 core gave me much lower times.

I put an afterburner card in there too for pro res raw - that one is harder to tell what improvements it is doing without a lot of testing.
 
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
I just got my 7,1 basic model.
Any one upgrade to a 24 or 28 that has a 16 left over?
No, just 8 core. When I saw pricing, the 16 core wasn't much cheaper than a 24 core on the 2nd hand market, and sometimes the 28 core was close too - still much cheaper than Apple. I just figured a few hundred dollars more was worth it to step up to the 24 or 28 core vs 16.

And it gets used a lot depending on your workflow, for me raw video maxes out 28 cores frequently, even with powerful GPUs depending on what it's doing.
 

mcmon

macrumors newbie
Sep 3, 2021
4
1
I’m new to the party, just bought the MP with the 8 core (big sur OS), ordered a 28 core from eBay (China) installed very easily and now won’t boot and ultimately found this forum.
I get the power light but nothing else. I note that my 28 core is QS and having read through the posts on this topic I’m contemplating returning it. Unless of course there is a fix. I haven’t reset nvram yet or reset the t2 chip. Anyone else had this issue, if so did you manage to solve the issue?
 

mcmon

macrumors newbie
Sep 3, 2021
4
1
I upgraded 4-5 weeks ago, bought an Intel Xeon W-3265M QS QRSN 2.7GHz 24Core (LGA3647) from China (via eBay) for a total of 1,345$ and I have been super happy ?

Now I need a new graphics card and off we go.

Most of my work is software engineering so ?
Did your Mac boot without issue after install or did you have to reset the T2?
 

mcmon

macrumors newbie
Sep 3, 2021
4
1
I’m new to the party, just bought the MP with the 8 core (big sur OS), ordered a 28 core from eBay (China) installed very easily and now won’t boot and ultimately found this forum.
I get the power light but nothing else. I note that my 28 core is QS and having read through the posts on this topic I’m contemplating returning it. Unless of course there is a fix. I haven’t reset nvram yet or reset the t2 chip. Anyone else had this issue, if so did you manage to solve the issue?
It’s working!!!

I can 100% confirm that you can upgrade a Mac Pro 7,1 cpu running Big Sur without issue. No need to reset T2 chips, flush nvram, no other wizardry needed - just plug and play.

I was beginning to think Apple had done something to prevent diy cpu upgrades but evidently not.

I bought the 8-core MP and upgraded to the 28 core cpu, which I bought from eBay (China). Initially it didn’t work after careful installation, but only afterwards I realised that I didn’t fully tighten the heat sync screws properly - so my advice to anyone willing to give it a go is have a good look at the heat sync screws to make sure they’re screwed into place correctly (no gaps).

I am a power user, so need a beast to render 3D animations and edit 6K footage with ease, so I’ll post some benchmarks if anyone’s interested
 
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strangerthanlight

macrumors member
Mar 17, 2021
68
37
I made the upgrade from 16core to 28core, also bought from eBay Chinese seller. Working flawlessly right now. In the beginning I have issues due to not tightening the heat sink enough. It has to be 10 and a half turns for the screws on each side (the ones you need the long screw driver to reach)

This is really why I love the 2019 Mac Pro. So easy to upgrade at a fraction of what apple charges. If this is the last intel Mac Pro I’m going to keep it for a long time.
 
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dapa0s

macrumors 6502a
Jan 2, 2019
523
1,032
Are the Chinese sellers for the 28 core just so much cheaper, or? i thought of paying 7k to Apple, but I guess I‘ll just buy the base mac pro and upgrade it myself and save like 3500€ lol
 

Korican100

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2012
1,213
617
I made the upgrade from 16core to 28core, also bought from eBay Chinese seller. Working flawlessly right now. In the beginning I have issues due to not tightening the heat sink enough. It has to be 10 and a half turns for the screws on each side (the ones you need the long screw driver to reach)

This is really why I love the 2019 Mac Pro. So easy to upgrade at a fraction of what apple charges. If this is the last intel Mac Pro I’m going to keep it for a long time.
can you post the link to your seller, i would be interested in purchasing it!
 
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