Dry run for W3670 install.

[philipma1957]

Okay I never did a cpu install on a mac pro so today I did a dry run. I simply opened the quad 2.8 Ghz 2010. Open the latches pulled the tray dusted with a canned spray and put everything back. Then booted and started this thread. some photos.

This is the first photo second photo third photos.
1) Open two latches.
2) start to pull tray out
3)pulled the tray out

At this point I saw that my hex wrench needs to be of extra length. So I dusted the pro out and reassembled. The view of the pulled tray shows 5 holes all need a hex wrench same size but a longer type. Not to worry I am not looking to rush this. oh a shot of the cpu and a nice fan which I will get to sell on ebay making the project cost less.


here is a link to the rest of the build. with both links just about all questions are covered.

A caution;


Please remember Playing/modification and or tinkering with electrical devices can harm you, your home and your equipment. So if you do this and get a bad result it is your choice and your fault. Not my or anyone else's fault but yourself for doing it.

now the other link;

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1122551/

 

[Johnf1285]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

I don't think you'll be able to use that heat sink that came with your CPU. I did some research while exploring new fans. Exploring the stock heat sink is something I did too. Apparently the CPU board has 3 contacts that the fan connector mates up against once the stock heat sink is properly secured. Just an FYI.

It's too bad too I'd love go put a different heat sink on my 2010 Pro!

Keep us posted!

 

[Johnf1285]

EDIT

Realized you said you're selling your intel heat sink. Thats what happens when I view this forum on an ipod touch... I can't read correctly!!

 

[nanofrog]

The heatsink currently used in the MP is a custom unit, and will have to be re-used (presume the OP knew this, but if not, he'd have figured it out when the unit provided with the new CPU doesn't fit ).

phillipma1957 - just make sure you clean off the old thermal paste well (rubbing alcohol is all that's in the ready-made wipes, so you don't need to go get a specialty product), and apply a new coating of a decent thermal paste (arctic silver 5 is a well regarded product if you don't already have something on-hand to use).

 

[philipma1957]

The fan heat sinks go for ten to twenty bucks on ebay. I just may hold on to it. here is the canned air cleaner and the arctic silver kit I am using.

(amazon sold the full kit for 10 bucks)

I will need a long hex maybe 5 inches to reach the hex head on the 5 screws. I will pick one up this weekend.

 

[Joshuarocks]

w3670

The replacement procedures for the w3670 are the same for the w3680.. I had absolutely no problems replacing the quad-core 3.33 w3580 in my 2010 mac pro with the w3680.. This is PC 101.. nothing else has changed.. cpu upgrades are apart of the PC process, and not just restricted to Apple machines.

You will find the cpus on the 2010's, like the 2009's are very easy to change. Its the duals that are not worth it because by the time you put in, say x5680's, you are already 100 dollars away from a new system.

The single is worth it.

 

[Hellhammer]

Its the duals that are not worth it because by the time you put in, say x5680's, you are already 100 dollars away from a new system.

Don't look at the Intel's pricing. You will be able to find them for a lot cheaper in eBay in a year or two. Clovertown quads used in 2006/2007 Mac Pros used to cost over 1000$ each but now if you're lucky, you can find a pair of them for less than 500$.

 

[philipma1957]

A quick update. this cpu

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Intel-Xeon-...EN_Servers&hash=item230e914a2e#ht_3265wt_1250

from a real ebay seller with a real warranty for about 620



I purchased this set of allen wrenches



http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Wrench-...APCM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1300662135&sr=8-3


this set of arctic silver

http://www.amazon.com/ArctiClean-3-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1300662245&sr=1-1


about 25 more total of 645 (usd). Now I got some discounts (100usd) and if I sell the quad 2.8 for 200 (usd). the upgrade will cost about 350 usd.

********************************************************************

the two of these (arctic silver kit wrench set) add to over 25 bucks and get you free shipping.


the heat sink needs a 3mm hex wrench see photos. the photo shows.



A short wrench set where the 3mm wrench which is just long enough to work.
about 92 mm or about 3 3/4 inches. that is the long part before the bend. I don't recommend using as it is just big enough.

the sears set is expensive 40 usd I am returning it but i know that the shaft is an inch longer and it fits with ease. Point is some people may just go to sears to buy the wrench set, But since you need the arctic silver just buy it with the wrench set and get free shipping. I hope to assemble this on tues as I need to do something this monday. It will be good to see and compare scores. I have a hex 6 set of scores for a machine with 32gb. I will compare this machine to it as I am curious .

I am hoping to boost this quad 2.8 from about 10000 to 15000 on 64 bit geekbench.

 

[johnnymg]

A quick update. this cpu

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Intel-Xeon-...EN_Servers&hash=item230e914a2e#ht_3265wt_1250

from a real ebay seller with a real warranty for about 620


snip............

Thanks for posting this!

That's an excellent discount compared to the typical $1050 price of the 3.33 GHz version. I'm sure you've done the math but for the benefit of others, that's 96% of the clock speed and just 60% of the cost compared to the 3.33.

Looking forward to the results. I should do this myself............. but I'm waiting to see if the upcoming rev of FCS actually uses multi-core.

For fans of quality tools: http://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-17099-Balldriver-L-wrenches-BriteGuard/dp/B000E80G7A/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_c

or this: http://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-12146-L-wrenches-Length-1-5-5mm/dp/B000E80CGA/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1300666951&sr=1-17

cheers
JohnG

 

[philipma1957]

Yes I am trying to do this very slowly and clearly. Basically this is pc 101 and for a mac to get this much bang for the buck with a pretty easy mod is rare indeed.

 

[Joshuarocks]

Yes I am trying to do this very slowly and clearly. Basically this is pc 101 and for a mac to get this much bang for the buck with a pretty easy mod is rare indeed.

Why rare? I do it constantly.. My last upgrade to my 2010 mac pro(was 2009) was getting the w3680 six core processor for a nice price of 750.00. After that, I am done.. its not worth the extra to go to a w3690 which is only 5 percent faster.

 

[nanofrog]

Why rare? I do it constantly.. My last upgrade to my 2010 mac pro(was 2009) was getting the w3680 six core processor for a nice price of 750.00. After that, I am done.. its not worth the extra to go to a w3690 which is only 5 percent faster.

I presume it's due to the general situation of Mac upgrades do usually cost more than PC's to upgrade (think of all the 3rd party adapters from MaxUpgrades and similar companies for example).

In the case of CPU's, cost effective may hinge on finding the right deal for used parts, as retail pricing on Xeons stays higher than consumer CPU's over a given time frame.

 

[philipma1957]

Why rare? I do it constantly.. My last upgrade to my 2010 mac pro(was 2009) was getting the w3680 six core processor for a nice price of 750.00. After that, I am done.. its not worth the extra to go to a w3690 which is only 5 percent faster.

Buying used parts with no warranty for 750 is not the same as buying new parts with 2 year warranties from large legit companies. I could have purchased the w3680 for 750 actually for 675 with the 10 percent coupon I had for ebay. I am trying to show an example of a full warranted mod with parts available from major sellers. So the w3680 is not 750 it is 1000 plus. think of a legit company making a living with the mac pros they have. An IT guy is not going to justify buying a used part from an ebay seller. BTW a local seller had a W3690 for 875 while it was tempting once again no warranty.

I made a decent business upgrading mac minis on ebay for a few years. (Until the 2010 came out)

I learned that buying non-warrantied parts was bad business.

 

[nanofrog]

Buying used parts with no warranty for 750 is not the same as buying new parts with 2 year warranties....

Valid point.

Not everyone is comfortable buying used parts, even if they truly do work (no defects).

 

[zephonic]

FWIW, Intel lists the W3670's price as $583, so not sure why that ebay offering is supposed to be a good deal?

 

[philipma1957]

583 USD is for 1000 pieces.

I happen to have a minimum of 5% off any ebay purchase 24/7/365, but this time I had 10% plus 2% and 5%. So my cost was about 520.

Any person in the USA can get 3% to 5% off ebay 24/7/365. All they need is the right credit card ( free if you pay on time) and join a rebate club. (rebate club is free).

I am not attacking buying used parts at a discount for personal use. I did this write up from a business viewpoint. Not a hobbyist. I am sure you could find a W3670 at a better price then 612. If you have a link for a sealed W3670 for a better price with a 2 year warranty from Intel and the seller is an Intel reseller let us have it. Many people would want it.

For now any USA ebayer with a good credit rating can join a rebate club and get 1.5% off computer purchases on ebay. If they have an ebay credit card they will get 2% more. That is 3.5% off the 612 price That's about 590. No sales tax either. I like that people present questions and challenges to ideas on the site.

To be honest every idea I have posted on this site is not perfect,but this one is a good idea. Turning a 2010 quad 2.8 into a 2010 hex 3.2 for under 650 is pretty good. But in my case I spent 550 with tools and parts. If I sell the old cpu MY net cost is 350.

 

[zephonic]

Did not mean to offend, I am only an ignoramus looking for info.

Buy.com has the W3670 for $604.99

http://www.buy.com/prod/intel-xeon-...ga-1366-hexa-core-12/q/loc/101/217024356.html

BTW, thanks for starting this thread. It has given me an idea of what the possibilities are.

 

[philipma1957]

Posting on the net is always hard to do. Long posts can be boring short posts can be misunderstood. It is cool don't worry.

 

[ActionableMango]

583 USD is for 1000 pieces.

Macrumors group buy!

Seriously though, I am following this thread with interest. I look forward to the final result.

As for the allen wrench, so you would recommend 4" or longer then?

Also would like to know what your typical fan speeds were before and after. There will be extra heat to dissipate with the faster CPU, right?

 

[philipma1957]

Okay it is finished so far the temps are equal. May be that the attachment of the old cpu was over greased with lower quality grease. the new cpu is using the arctic silver greas and running 2 degrees lower. see the other link


https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=12225807&posted=1#post12225807

 

[Crike .40]

Is there any reason that this same upgrade (w3670/80) cannot be applied to the single proc 2009s (4.1)? I have been looking around to see if anybody can pull this off but it appears there is some EFI issue getting in the way. Any thoughts?

 

[Hellhammer]

Is there any reason that this same upgrade (w3670/80) cannot be applied to the single proc 2009s (4.1)? I have been looking around to see if anybody can pull this off but it appears there is some EFI issue getting in the way. Any thoughts?

6-core CPUs use different stepping (B1) and 2009 Mac Pros do not support it.

 

[melgross]

2009 Mac Pro upgrade

A question. A while ago, Anand did an upgrade to the 2009 dual 2.66 GHz Mac Pro, which I also have. He burned out the cpu mobo. He found that Apple was using chips without the top casing, so the bare chip was contacting the heatsink. As a result, the chip was just a bit thinner, and when he tightened the heatsinks down, they moved the chips, partly damaged one, and shorted out the mobo, which he had to replace.

When he tried it again, he didn't tighten the heatsinks down all the way.

What's the situation? Are later Mac Pro's using standard chips? I'd like to upgrade mine. But how does one "feel" the tightness? I'm not an amateur at this, having designed pro audio equipment. But, I've also learned the value of being cautious.

 

[nanofrog]

What's the situation? Are later Mac Pro's using standard chips? I'd like to upgrade mine. But how does one "feel" the tightness? I'm not an amateur at this, having designed pro audio equipment. But, I've also learned the value of being cautious.

• 2009 DP systems = naked CPU's (no Integrated Heat Sink = no metal surface on the CPU).
• All 2010 models use CPU's with an IHS.

If you've a 2009 DP, don't crank down on the cooler's mounting screws - snug is all you should do. You can even put IHS equipped CPU's in a 2009 DP system (SP versions used IHS equipped CPU's), but you'll have to pull the fan connector from the cooler, and be careful when reconnecting it.

Hope this helps.

 

[melgross]

• 2009 DP systems = naked CPU's (no Integrated Heat Sink = no metal surface on the CPU).
• All 2010 models use CPU's with an IHS.

If you've a 2009 DP, don't crank down on the cooler's mounting screws - snug is all you should do. You can even put IHS equipped CPU's in a 2009 DP system (SP versions used IHS equipped CPU's), but you'll have to pull the fan connector from the cooler, and be careful when reconnecting it.

Hope this helps.

It helps. Unfortunately, it was what i was afraid of. Too tight and "crack". Too loose and burnout.

I wonder if I use one of my mike's and measure the difference, I can put washers between the screws and the board. I have a device for making washers from 0.001" to 0.020" thick in varying sizes.