CPU upgrade Mac Pro 2008

[Baunkjaer]

Thinking about upgrading my CPU´s, but I´m not quite sure wether it has to be matched pairs or not?
I´m aware I wont gain much performance increase, but the Xeon E5472 is not that expensive, and I think it would be fun to do the upgrade.

 

[666sheep]

You'll get 200 MHz per core and slightly faster cache with 5472s. Not much, but better than nothing. You could go with 5482s instead if you'd find a good deal. http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/2008_MacPro_Dual_X5482s.htm

 

[nigelbb]

I too have a dual 2.8GHz Mac Pro 3,1 & looked at this but considering the hassle factor & risk of damage the performance improvement is going to be marginal. It's probably better value to buy a used 3.2GHz machine & then sell your 2.8GHz system.

 

[SDAVE]

2.8 > 3.2 is not a big upgrade. Not worth it. The architecture is just too old.

Get an SSD instead and at least 10GB of RAM and you're set for a while—or wait until something new comes out.

P.S. I have the 8 Core 2008 3.2Ghz...I've used the 2.8Ghz and they're fairly similar in real world tests.

 

[Baunkjaer]

What about the issue with matched pairs?
Understand the stepping has to be xxAx in order to work in the 2008 model.
BTW I've alleady two SSD's om the rig, and 16GB RAM.

 

[666sheep]

Matched or not isn't an issue in MP. Stepping is. Must be C0 for MP: 5472 - SLASA, 5482 - SLANZ.

 

[Baunkjaer]

Matched or not isn't an issue in MP. Stepping is. Must be C0 for MP: 5472 - SLASA, 5482 - SLANZ.

Only these two steppings?
Wont the 5482 run rater hot due to higer TDP?

 

[666sheep]

Only these two steppings?
Wont the 5482 run rater hot due to higer TDP?

Actually one Both are C0.
About temps after 5482 upgrade: check link I've posted.

 

[Baunkjaer]

Actually one Both are C0.
About temps after 5482 upgrade: check link I've posted.

Well, one stepping each CPU
Temp doesn´t seems to be a problem. I´ll look into it, and, maybe, report back.
Thanks for your help - and time. Much appreciated.

 

[Phrygian]

I too have a dual 2.8GHz Mac Pro 3,1 & looked at this but considering the hassle factor & risk of damage the performance improvement is going to be marginal. It's probably better value to buy a used 3.2GHz machine & then sell your 2.8GHz system.

ditto.


I did the right thing and purchased 12gigs of ram for around 100 dollars for the 3.1 before the prices tripled or even quadrupled.

A year later i upgraded the gpu to a AMD hd 6870 1g for 180 bucks (aprox) and purchased a Crucial m4 256g boot drive for around 190. Also replaced the optical super driver for 40 bucks (IDE is more costly these days and harder to find...) between what i paid in march of 2008, and what I paid in upgrades, this has been by far the cheapest and best computing experience i have had over a 5 year period.

overall, the SSD was the biggest improvement, even though i did not purchase a PCi card to take advantage of the sata III potential. Running it on sata II was still a massive step up frankly. If i'm ever feeling quirky i might try the PCi sled deal, but that would only be if i purchased another ssd... from what i hear, win 7 boot camp doesn't like to be on anything but sled 1... could be wrong about that last bit though.

 

[Baunkjaer]

I don´t run Windows on my MP. OS X (ML) from the 256GB Samsung 830, and the 2TB Seagate Barracuda for storage and TM.
The 180GB Intel 330 was ment for my former Windows Workstation, which I sold, and replaced with this refurbished MP. Hence I only use it for my CD-compilation and iPhoto/Aperture library.
Please keep in mind these MP´s still cost a minor fortune i Denmark. Bought it from ebay - 11.500 DKR which equals around 2K USD
So it won´t be replaced this week og the next. As I mentioned in first post, this upgrade should only be for the fun of it.
So far, the machine has fully lived up to my expectations, and I´m very happy with it.

 

[Phrygian]

I don´t run Windows on my MP. OS X (ML) from the 256GB Samsung 830, and the 2TB Seagate Barracuda for storage and TM.
The 180GB Intel 330 was ment for my former Windows Workstation, which I sold, and replaced with this refurbished MP. Hence I only use it for my CD-compilation and iPhoto/Aperture library.
Please keep in mind these MP´s still cost a minor fortune i Denmark. Bought it from ebay - 11.500 DKR which equals around 2K USD
So it won´t be replaced this week og the next. As I mentioned in first post, this upgrade should only be for the fun of it.
So far, the machine has fully lived up to my expectations, and I´m very happy with it.

honestly dude, its not worth it. If you want to do it anyway, go for it.