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Hi guys, Im new to this forum and this is my 1st question for the Pro geeks.

dreamersofeden

dreamersofeden

macrumors member
Original poster
May 26, 2011
62
0
Spain
Hi guys,

My name is Daniel, and im new to this awesome forum.

Im seriously thinking of buying a Mac Pro Quad Xeon (1.1, 2006 model) that I saw in another forum for only 800€, so here is my first question:

If I buy it, I'll make some upgrades:

1- Replace the 250GB HDD with my 120GB SSD
2- Replace the ATi Radeon X1900XT with a Radeon 6870 (probably: http://es.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&prod_no=2144 or http://es.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&prod_no=2106)
3- Replace the 2 CPU's with 2 Quad Xeon L5420 (in the same forum I saw one for 50€, so I'll have to buy another one from eBay), making 8 core in total.

The question is if that Quad Xeons will work well, because the upgraded 1.1 Mac Pros that I saw on many forums have been replaced only with X5355 models (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=28035), not the L5420 (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=33929), and they use the SAME socket (LGA771)... So well, what do u think, will they work or not?, as the Intel page says, the X5355 has "65nm litography", but the L5420 has 45nm... I don't know if that makes sense, but well... if they are the same socket what's the problem?

Thanks in advance,
Daniel.
 
Last edited:
Mac pro 2006 and 2007 models use woodcrest (5100) for dual core processors and clovertown (5300) for quad cores. If your going to make it a octo (8 core) system, you need the xeon clovertowns. Both are 65nm. The 2008 Mac pro's switched to the harpertown 5400 series xeons, which are 45nm. Unless your getting real good deals are parts to upgrade, might be better to save for at least a 2008 model. I wouldn't pay more than 600 bucks for a 2006 Mac pro. Have seen 2008 models go for around 1000 bucks, depending on set up. Another issue with the 2006 and 2007 models, is it's only 32 bit EFI. Not sure if the next upgrade OS will work. The 2008 is 64 bit EFI and should work with Lion.
 
bearcatrp said:
Mac pro 2006 and 2007 models use woodcrest (5100) for dual core processors and clovertown (5300) for quad cores. If your going to make it a octo (8 core) system, you need the xeon clovertowns. Both are 65nm. The 2008 Mac pro's switched to the harpertown 5400 series xeons, which are 45nm. Unless your getting real good deals are parts to upgrade, might be better to save for at least a 2008 model. I wouldn't pay more than 600 bucks for a 2006 Mac pro. Have seen 2008 models go for around 1000 bucks, depending on set up. Another issue with the 2006 and 2007 models, is it's only 32 bit EFI. Not sure if the next upgrade OS will work. The 2008 is 64 bit EFI and should work with Lion.
Click to expand...

The Lion betas support 32bit EFI Macs and work flawlessly on 1.1 Mac Pros, in addition, there are a lot of rumors confirming that the retail release of Lion will continue supporting the 32bit EFI, so I think that the only problem will be Mac OS X 10.8, because probably Apple is planning to use 64bit "purely" after Lion.

Where did u see that 2008 Pros for 1000 bucks?, in eBay they are for 1200€ or more, so there is no reason to pay the double than a 2006 Pro for a 2008 one if I can get the same power (and a better GPU) with a little upgrade.
 
If lion supports 32bit then the 2006 mac pro is okay at the right price. Since you are in europe my thoughts on price won't help you.

USA prices are a lot better.
 
6870 is problematic, but if as long as you are aware of the problems and don't mind, I guess that's okay. Who knows what will happen when Lion releases.
 
ActionableMango said:
6870 is problematic, but if as long as you are aware of the problems and don't mind, I guess that's okay. Who knows what will happen when Lion releases.
Click to expand...

If there are problems with Lion I'll continue using Snow Leopard or I'll sell the card to buy a "non-problematic" one, for example the 4890.
 
666sheep said:
Yeah, ask them which graphic drivers they use and how comfortable OS updates are... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

BTW, which card u recommend?, I need a powerful one. I like the 5870 but I saw on reviews that they're noisy... is that true on depends on model (XFX, Sapphire, HIS, MSI...)?
 
dreamersofeden said:
BTW, which card u recommend?, I need a powerful one. I like the 5870 but I saw on reviews that they're noisy... is that true on depends on model (XFX, Sapphire, HIS, MSI...)?
Click to expand...

IMHO noise level is user sensitivity relative. Some people would say that reference 5870 cooler is noisy, and others would say it's quiet. 5870 (flashed) it's good choice if you're aware of its limitation, i.e. VGA only boot screen.

If it would too noisy for you, you can always put this big boy on it: http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/20/accelero-xtreme-5870.html
 
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