Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

FPCreative

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 1, 2021
4
0
I have an early 2009 tower just sitting here and was wondering if I could upgrade it with a 2010 dual core motherboard? Or does it have to be a 2009 motherboard?
Thanks
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,452
13,601
You can use any case/PSU, but you can't mix match early-2009 CPU trays or backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays/backplanes.

early-2009 CPU trays and backplanes have SMC firmware version 1.39f5, while mid-2010/mid-2012 have 1.39f11. If you mismatch the SMC, all fans will run at full RPM all the time without any possibility of software control. SMC Version is not upgradeable in any way besides removing the microcontroller, it's a 144pin chip, and replacing it.

Read more here:

 

FPCreative

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 1, 2021
4
0
You can use any case/PSU, but you can't mix match early-2009 CPU trays or backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays/backplanes.

early-2009 CPU trays and backplanes have SMC firmware version 1.39f5, while mid-2010/mid-2012 have 1.39f11. If you mismatch the SMC, all fans will run at full RPM all the time without any possibility of software control. SMC Version is not upgradeable in any way besides removing the microcontroller, it's a 144pin chip, and replacing it.

Read more here:

Okay, thank you
 

jim_090

macrumors newbie
Jan 27, 2022
3
0
I have a Mac Pro 3,1 early 2008, running El Capitan, I have finally hit the dreaded, sorry you cannot upgrade to the latest O/S. Sad cause I could use the newer software and that would allow me to use the newer software in Photoshop... Is there a way to get the machine to allow the newer O/S? ?
 
Last edited:

likepro

macrumors newbie
Nov 29, 2023
4
2
Screenshot 2024-11-15 at 11.04.20 AM.png




Hello, I am new here and not quite sure if my question has was appropriately directed and correctly placed so, my apologies if it is't.
Here it is my issue:
recently I got a bad experience with Mac Pro Early 2009 (updated to 5.1 but originally 4.1, 631-1474 Logic Board ) I bought recently. After connecting to 2010 CPU tray with 3.2 GHz, 4 cores single CPU on tray 820-2482-A ( of course my fault ! ) all fans were on high speed and no chime and video/boot came up. This fact alerted me and I recorded all DIAG led activity in the next attempt to boot.
->> When plugged AC leads brief (< 1s) red flash from both OVTEMP CPUA&CPUB.
->> When started py pressing front button and then DIAG button : PSU PWROK , 5V STBY (yellowish) EFI DONE and GPU OK (green) were lit.
->> But SYS PG never ever has shown any activity.

Now, here are my 2 questions:
1. Is it possible that the logic board was damaged because of connecting to 2010 CPU tray for les than 20 sec only ? ( I presume the logic board was working before I bought it but in my hands never booted.
2. If the damage caused by connecting to a wrong CPU tray was only the reason for not booting then is there a way to repair / fix or what can be done?

I read most of your posts related to such but couldn't find any info related so I am sorry is I missed the answers.

Thanks in advance.



You can use any case/PSU, but you can't mix match early-2009 CPU trays or backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays/backplanes.

early-2009 CPU trays and backplanes have SMC firmware version 1.39f5, while mid-2010/mid-2012 have 1.39f11. If you mismatch the SMC, all fans will run at full RPM all the time without any possibility of software control. SMC Version is not upgradeable in any way besides removing the microcontroller, it's a 144pin chip, and replacing it.

Read more here:

 

likepro

macrumors newbie
Nov 29, 2023
4
2
View attachment 2451375



Hello, I am new here and not quite sure if my question has was appropriately directed and correctly placed so, my apologies if it is't.
Here it is my issue:
recently I got a bad experience with Mac Pro Early 2009 (updated to 5.1 but originally 4.1, 631-1474 Logic Board ) I bought recently. After connecting to 2010 CPU tray with 3.2 GHz, 4 cores single CPU on tray 820-2482-A ( of course my fault ! ) all fans were on high speed and no chime and video/boot came up. This fact alerted me and I recorded all DIAG led activity in the next attempt to boot.
->> When plugged AC leads brief (< 1s) red flash from both OVTEMP CPUA&CPUB.
->> When started py pressing front button and then DIAG button : PSU PWROK , 5V STBY (yellowish) EFI DONE and GPU OK (green) were lit.
->> But SYS PG never ever has shown any activity.

Now, here are my 2 questions:
1. Is it possible that the logic board was damaged because of connecting to 2010 CPU tray for les than 20 sec only ? ( I presume the logic board was working before I bought it but in my hands never booted.
2. If the damage caused by connecting to a wrong CPU tray was only the reason for not booting then is there a way to repair / fix or what can be done?

I read most of your posts related to such but couldn't find any info related so I am sorry is I missed the answers.

Thanks in advance.
Sorry, but forgot to mention : when correct CPU tray was connected all fans started as low speed but the logic board didn't boot and the diagnostic led pattern was exactly the same as reported above when used a 2010 CPU tray.
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,452
13,601
View attachment 2451375



Hello, I am new here and not quite sure if my question has was appropriately directed and correctly placed so, my apologies if it is't.
Here it is my issue:
recently I got a bad experience with Mac Pro Early 2009 (updated to 5.1 but originally 4.1, 631-1474 Logic Board ) I bought recently. After connecting to 2010 CPU tray with 3.2 GHz, 4 cores single CPU on tray 820-2482-A ( of course my fault ! ) all fans were on high speed and no chime and video/boot came up. This fact alerted me and I recorded all DIAG led activity in the next attempt to boot.
->> When plugged AC leads brief (< 1s) red flash from both OVTEMP CPUA&CPUB.
->> When started py pressing front button and then DIAG button : PSU PWROK , 5V STBY (yellowish) EFI DONE and GPU OK (green) were lit.
->> But SYS PG never ever has shown any activity.

Now, here are my 2 questions:
1. Is it possible that the logic board was damaged because of connecting to 2010 CPU tray for les than 20 sec only ? ( I presume the logic board was working before I bought it but in my hands never booted.

I've been testing mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays with early-2009 Mac Pros and vice-versa for more than a decade. Never had any issues. Fans running full RPM/full time is always the unwanted effect of mismatching SMC firmware, 1.39f5 for early-2009 and 1.39f11 for mid-2010/mid-2012. SMC firmware is not upgradeable.

SYS_PG is the abreviation of System Power Good, usually is PSU related or could be short in one of the boards/SATA drives causing a PSU problem.

2. If the damage caused by connecting to a wrong CPU tray was only the reason for not booting then is

No.

there a way to repair / fix or what can be done?

I'd start testing the PSU from the non working Mac Pro with a working Mac Pro. Then the CPU tray, then the front panel board and lastly the backplane.
 

Darko66

macrumors newbie
Mar 16, 2014
10
15
I have a Mac Pro 3,1 early 2008, running El Capitan, I have finally hit the dreaded, sorry you cannot upgrade to the latest O/S. Sad cause I could use the newer software and that would allow me to use the newer software in Photoshop... Is there a way to get the machine to allow the newer O/S? ?
FYI, even with OCLP running a more recent MacOS, the newest versions of Photoshop will not run on a 3,1 because of lack of SSE 4.2 support. I think the last version that will run is Photoshop 2020. The 2021 version will install, but crashes at launch if I recall correctly. I think there might have been a workaround for 2021, but not sure if it worked for all of the updated versions of it. More recent versions of Photoshop won’t install.

Also note that in order to get the 2020 version of Photoshop, you would likely need to contact Adobe to get an installer for it and it will only be the original v21.0 and I don’t think you’ll be able to apply the inter-version updates to it.
 

likepro

macrumors newbie
Nov 29, 2023
4
2
I've been testing mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays with early-2009 Mac Pros and vice-versa for more than a decade. Never had any issues. Fans running full RPM/full time is always the unwanted effect of mismatching SMC firmware, 1.39f5 for early-2009 and 1.39f11 for mid-2010/mid-2012. SMC firmware is not upgradeable.

SYS_PG is the abreviation of System Power Good, usually is PSU related or could be short in one of the boards/SATA drives causing a PSU problem.



No.



I'd start testing the PSU from the non working Mac Pro with a working Mac Pro. Then the CPU tray, then the front panel board and lastly the backplane.

Tsialex,​

thank you so much!
->>In fact I didn't mention but the PSU has been tested twice and passed the test. Once before (for the first and second attempt to boot ), using the wrong cpu tray (from MP2010) and tested again, before my attempt to boot for the third time, with a correct CPU tray provided by the seller who informed that the cpu tray was booting normally with this logic board in question above.
->>Also, I didn't mention that when attempted to boot for the third time with the MP4.1 CPU tray ( 1.39f5 ) the pattern of diagnostic light was the same as when used 1.39f11 CPUI tray . However, in this occasion all fans were spinning normally ( at low speed) but no boot. This fact telling me that the backplane still recognise the CPU tray version.
->>I also removed all memory from 1.39f5 CPU tray and when attempted to start the front white led wasn't start blinking ( the light was keeping steady on ) so the state of presence or absence of RAM is undetectable for the backplane.
->> Also, started with pressing start/stop front button for more than 10 sec but again this action wasn't recognised from the backplane and the front white light continued to be steady.
->>Regarding the front panel - it was working before, when the original backplane of my MP 2010, 5.1 became unresposcable and I bought the one in question as replacement. Also, I tested to manually power on the machine by shorting SYS PWR ( as explained in the technical manual) and I didn't find any difference in the starting patterns in both ways - diagnostic light pattern and no video and chime were the same.
/->> Is there a test to discover " short in one of the boards/SATA drives causing a PSU problem." ? I Didn't have any SATA connected during the test .
/>> Is it possible a Mac Pro to boot properly if SYS PG is off by any reason?

So, this is all I did and as expected I stuck here.
Thanks to everyone who read/advised/suggested any action in order to reveal what the fault is and is there any way to make the backplane bootable again.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.