MP 1,1-5,1 CPU Upgrade - X5690

[AbeTheSuccinct]

I bought used X5690s on eBay and they just arrived. They came with thermal paste, but I’m dubious as to their quality, pictured below. Should I just get a tube of high quality stuff or will whatever the Koreans sent me suffice? Also best practices for cleaning the existing paste off specific to the Mac pro’s cpu tray? Any tips before I dive into it? I’ve never done a replacement like this before. 5,1 upgrading from dual E5645s with 64 GB of ram

 

[bmoraski]

I personally would get a tube of arctic paste. And for cleaning I use rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs.

 

[Macschrauber]

Second that, that smear is rubbish. I know the dealer, he does quality. But he would better send no paste.

 

[h9826790]

I bought used X5690s on eBay and they just arrived. They came with thermal paste, but I’m dubious as to their quality, pictured below. Should I just get a tube of high quality stuff or will whatever the Koreans sent me suffice? Also best practices for cleaning the existing paste off specific to the Mac pro’s cpu tray? Any tips before I dive into it? I’ve never done a replacement like this before. 5,1 upgrading from dual E5645s with 64 GB of ram
View attachment 2432036

For CPU / heatsink cleaning, all you need is just some Isopropyl alcohol.

But if you want more "professional", you may use the Artic Cleaner.

Arctic Silver Incorporated - ArctiClean

www.arcticsilver.com

There are a few cMP CPU upgrade websites / tutorials / videos. Please make sure you read them, and have a good idea of what need to be done, and how to do that step by step.

When you do it, make sure you have enough rest and enough time. Do it in rush, or lack of focus may end up with permanent damage.

The CPU are sturdy, but the pins on the socket are fragile. Please make sure you remove / install the CPU very carefully.

For thermal paste, I personally prefer to use better product (In fact, I am using liquid metal now). But TBH, the cMP has an overkill cooling system, no matter which thermal paste applied, the CPU will able to stay at normal operating temperature. The temperature difference between really good / normal thermal paste can hardly more than 5°C. And more often, the CPU will operate at the same temperature range, but the one that has better thermal paste may have low fan speed.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

^^^^ Great advice for this procedure. Did the same using a YT video without issues and ending up with great temps (Macs Fan Controle) to keep within a good (cool) range. The warmer components get the faster they wear off.

Have fun upgrading and enjoying the speed bump. Cheers

 

[avro707]

Also take a look at the northbridge and its push-pins.

It might need new thermal paste and the push-pins don’t last forever.

Personally on the dual CPU machines I prefer to adapt a small Noctua fan to provide additional cooling for the northbridge to keep its temperature below 60°C. That also results in a quieter computer.

I know one user here used to drown on that idea but I prefer that method.