Feet are officially wet in the MP mods, need optimization advice

[dcase131]

Hello all! new to the macrumours scene, although have used a fair amount of articles in my research over the past several months. Started with a Mac Pro 1,1 with twin 3GHz dual cores, upgraded RAM, card to an Apple 5770. Currently in the process of upgrading the processors to the popular x5355 xeons. Went with a pair of SLAEG models, after reading other stepping has been causing issues from case to case with the fans kicking to max RPM etc. Have another 1,1 that ill be modding soon, potentially to 5365s if budget allows. First question: does the 5365 really have enough of a headup on the 55's to warrant the price change (got the 55's for $40 a pair, looking at 75-100 for a pair of 65's)?

Also, thinking about just buy/selling my current projects to nab a 4,1 or 5,1 model to be my mainstay. For going all out, i'm looking at the entry level 8core model for either gen, x8 2.26, or 2.4 Ghz versions respectively (at least figured if i start with a dual proc tray and can upgrade after firmware reflash). Since anything processor/storage/memory/GPU will be swapped/boosted, is there anything drasticly different enough with the logic board or power supply, bus speeds, total available PCIe lanes, etc between the 4,1 and 5,1 models? As far as the upgrade to the machine, which will be running multiple SSDs/PCIe SSDs, OSX for everything personal and some use of pro tools for hobby music creation and light photo editing, Windows in Bootcamp to run home automation system compostion software and for games. Looking at moving to a Radeon 280x to fit both bills, but as the far as the processors.......SUCH a HEADACHE!
Options currently stand at x5650, x5670, x5675, and x5690. Obviously the speeds increase, cache seems the same@12MB...i just would like to know if there are any real world benefits besides a bump in clock speed to justify spending 500 vs 100 for a pair of x6 xeons? particularly for my applications?? I appreciate any and all input from anyone just some discussion to help me think it out!

 

[dfritchie]

My 1,1 is still my main machine. I keep hoping the price of 4,1 will come down to my budget :-( I did all the upgrades in the last 6 months for less than $300.

 

[benjaprud]

Since anything processor/storage/memory/GPU will be swapped/boosted, is there anything drasticly different enough with the logic board or power supply, bus speeds, total available PCIe lanes, etc between the 4,1 and 5,1 models?

The 4.1 and 5.1 are almost identical except the dual 4.1 uses delidded CPUs.

 

[Bytehoven]

It is widely believed the 2010-2012 Mac Pros are better built to handle greater power loads, although I can not find any info supporting this belief. So when trying to decide between converting a 2009/early 2010 4,1 or looking for a mid 2010-2012 Mac Pro as your project platform, it comes down to what's your end goal.

I have been running a 2009 5,1 conversion with (12 core) 2x 2.93ghz X5670 6-core processors and a GTX 680 GPU for a couple of years without any issues. That also included an SSD in the lower Optical Bay, 4x internal HDDs, SuperDrive and 2 other PCIe cards. So I have had it pretty well loaded down power wise.

When it comes to the 12-core processor upgrades, the cheap upgrade solutions start with trading in a 8 or 12 core tray which then get faster chip sets installed. Upgrading any single processor 2009, or 2010-2012, ends up being more costly as a tray mother board change is required to support dual processors. So. if you have your sights set on eventually running dual x5670/5680/5690 processor set up, be careful which Mac Pro you purchase. Honestly, if that is your goal, with a little patience you can find a 2009 or 2010 already built as a 12 core 2.93ghz, 3.3ghz or 3.46ghz at pretty decent prices.

As far as performance, Barefeats did a nice comparison between the x5670 x5675 and x5690. In an After Effects render, when the x5690 rendered in 35 minutes, the x5670 took 45 minutes. That's a significant speed boost if you have loads of client rendering to do and the performance savings will translate into profits pretty quickly. (caveat.. that speed test was 96gb Ram with x5690 and 64GB with the x5670, which might have been a benefit for the x5690 in a couple of ways).

If we are to believe what many say about the 2010-2012 being the best choice when loading up the Mac Pro, and based on what you're saying about what you might put inside... that is probably where you should start your search.

I mentioned earlier my success with the 2009 rig. I have recently ventured more deeply into 4K editing, and in an effort to make the client experience as quick and friendly as possible, I have been making additional upgrades to the 2009. Today, in addition to those numerous other upgrades, I have decided to switch to a 2010 chassis with (12 core) 2x x5690 3.46ghz processors, and will probably sell my 2009 2.93ghz 12-core in some configuration. (I should probably keep it around as a back up system)

As you have already probably experienced with your previous Mac Pro adventures, it ends up being easier and less expensive to just pretty much buy what you really want. Especially now that system prices are very reasonable.

Good luck with your adventure into a new Mac pro. It's definitely worth the effort.