MP 1,1-5,1 Is High Sierra firmware upgrade backward compatible with OSX 10.6 ?

[Superlead]

If I may clarify, I know your question is addressed to tsialex. From your first post, you were concerned if Snow Leopard 10.6.8 will still run and work fine after updating the BootRom to MP51.0089.B00 or to 144.0.0.0.0 BootROM. Though you are also concerned if your existing apps will still work Okay after you have installed High Sierra?

Your question if the firmware can be reverted back to the old firmware, you are referring to the BootROM firmware? Not the 4,1 to 5,1 firmware. On reverting back the BootROM firmware, it may not be possible unless I’m wrong. A Mac technician told me the BootROM firmware cannot be reverted. Note that I’m getting this as a “second hand info”. If the BootROM can be reverted, tsialex will mention this in his WikiPost, MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

To answer your first question :
I was asking the question , to know if , once i will update my Mac pro firmware (my Mac pro 5,1 or my Mac pro 4,1 upgraded to 5,1 , although i haven't already upgraded it to 5,1 as this is my 2nd question ) when installing High Sierra ( as High Sierra installer asks for updating the firmware to be able to install OSX High Sierra ) , all the previous OSX i have been using with those Two Mac Pro 's since i bought them ( going back to Snow Leopard 10.6.x , but also Lion 10.7.x , Maverick , Yosemite , El Capitan , Sierra ...etc ) will still be able to boot those Mac's and be used with them but also if all the hardware i was using with those Mac pro's will still work with them ( mostly Pro Tools High end recording studio Audio systems / cards installed in PCI slots and their external audio converters ) , as well as all the softwares i have been using in those Macs for 10 years with the OSX vrrsion they are compatible with
.
Basicaly , to know if all i have been using with those two Mac pro's for 10 years ( all OSX's , softwares and hardwares ) will still work perfectly after the firmware update needed for installing and using High Sierra .
For that , i read it is the firmware / boot rom that will be updated from MP51.007F.B03 to ??? , if i understood it correctly , if i do the firmware update asked to install High Sierra.

To answer your second question :
The firmwares i was speaking about , when asking if they can be reverted back to older/ previous version(s) or original version installed when bought new in 2009/2010 are :
1/ If i update the firmware to install High Sierra , as i explained above to answer your 1st question , would i be able to revert back that firmware ( if needed ) to the previous one before i update it ( that is to say the actual firmware i have in my Mac Pro 5,1 , that High Sierra installer asks me to update ) .
2/ If i upgrade my Mac pro 4,1 to 5,1 , would i be able to revert it back to 4,1 if needed.
For that , i read it is the EFI of my Mac Pro 4,1 that i need to upgrade from EFI 1.4 to EFI 1.5 , to upgrade it to a Mac Pro 5,1 .

 

[hwojtek]

I was asking the question , to know if , once i will update my Mac pro firmware (my Mac pro 5,1 or my Mac pro 4,1 upgraded to 5,1 , although i haven't already upgraded it to 5,1 as this is my 2nd question ) when installing High Sierra ( as High Sierra installer asks for updating the firmware to be able to install OSX High Sierra ) , all the previous OSX i have been using with those Two Mac Pro 's since i bought them ( going back to Snow Leopard 10.6.x , but also Lion 10.7.x , Maverick , Yosemite , El Capitan , Sierra ...etc ) will still be able to boot those Mac's and be used with them but also if all the hardware i was using with those Mac pro's will still work with them ( mostly Pro Tools High end recording studio Audio systems / cards installed in PCI slots and their external audio converters ) , as well as all the softwares i have benn using in those Macs for 10 years with all thos OSX .

He told you numerous times already - firmware will not break the ability to boot any previous OS nor do anything to your hardware.

1/ If i update the firmware to install High Sierra , as i explained above to answer your 1st question , would i be able to revert back that firmware ( if needed ) to the previous one before i update it ( that is to say the actual firmware i have in my Mac Pro 5,1 , that High Sierra installer asks me to update ) .

No. It won't be needed, either.

2/ If i upgrade my Mac pro 4,1 to 5,1 , would i be able to revert it back to 4,1 if needed.

No. It won't be needed, either.

 

[tsialex]

I'm really surprised by this thread. The time you are spending on circles with this question, unless your time is totally free, would pay a firmware engineer to dump your original BootROMs and create the intermediate files easily.

 

[Superlead]

I can't help you more than what I already wrote, I don't have any more info about these Snow Leopard DVD installers.

You have to investigate your DVDs and check if it works with your real MP5,1. If it works, then will work with the current 144.0.0.0.0 BootROM and will work with a early-2009 flashed with MP5,1 firmware, what we here on MacRumors call as a MP4,1>5,1.

Again, it's not the BootROM that is validated with the macOS installer, but the board-id and Model Identifier of the Mac. If your installer don't support the board-id and Model Identifier, the installer won't even boot and your display will show a grey screen with a big zero symbol, showing that the installer is not supported with this Mac.

Is the EFI BootRom 144.0.0.0.0 installed with the Catalina installers ( like High Sierra installer asks me to update my firmware ) , as you say it is the actual EFI BootRom ?

 

[Superlead]

I'm really surprised by this thread. The time you are spending on circles with this question, unless your time is totally free, would pay a firmware engineer to dump your original BootROMs and create the intermediate files easily.

Actualy , it has been two monthes that we are in containment in France ( we have had about 26000 persons who died in two months , we are among the countries with the most death with Covid 19 ) and many people ( millions of people , maybe 3/4 or people working usualy and all the people not working , old people retired , all children, cause schools and universities are closed ...) have been obliged to stay home since 16th of March ( except some people working in food sector , health ...etc elementary sectors to keep basic society running and let people buy food and health product, ) because of the Covid 19 , so yes i have the time !
All restaurants , bars , night clubs , theaters and movie theaters , nearly all shops and most public spaces Are closed since 16th of March !

I understood what you and others nicely answered me in that thread about my questions and at the same time i am trying to understand a few more things ( that you spoke about ) better than not caring about all that and doing like some people who every two or three years simply buy a new computer and don't even bother installing a new OSX ( and yes ,i know some and there is much people who doesn't care at all about how a computer is working !).
Is it not a good thing to try to learn and understand more things ?

So , thanks everybody for your answers and explanations , i begin to see those things more clearly and learnt a few things with all that !

I just need to understand a few more things about the EFI BootRom versions and should be more or less ok with this thread if that can make you less worried about the time i spend with all that ! Lol ( i am joking).
I don't have the feeling to go in circles ( if i repeated my question in a previous post it was to answer a person who was asking me something about my original questions in that thread ) as i understand things but sorry i indeed have much less knowledge than you about all that .
I have been mostly using Mac for making music and only learnt very basic things about computer science , so as i am at searching infos about OSX's, firmware update and compatibility , i thought it was a good moment to learn a bit more and refresh my memory about a few other things ; isn't it ?

So, my Mac pro 5,1 EFI which is part of the BootRom is actualy : MP51.007F.B03
( knowing i have not yet updated to High Sierra, updating the EFI BootRom) .

As far as i understood , EFI BootRom MP51.007F.B00 might be an older EFI BootRom than mine ( i suppose it is ) and might have been released for a mid 2010 Mac pro 5,1 like mine but sold a bit earlier than mine , with that slightly earlier EFI BootRom ( that is what i would tend to think but correct me if i am wrong ).

If i update the EFI BootRom installing High Sierra , i will have a new EFI BootRom , is it MP51.0089.B00 and if yes which is the one for Mojave ( i suppose 144.0.0.0.0 is coming with Catalina ) ?

 

[Superlead]

I have Mountain Lion 10.8, Mavericks 10.9 installed in my 5,1 2010 cMac Pro with the BootROM 144.0.0.0.0. They all work just fine with no beachballs or freezings. I don’t have Snow Leopard anymore and could not comment on this. When I still have my 2009 4,1 cMac Pro, my Snow Leopard DVD installer, 10.6.0 will install and work in a 2009 cMac Pro. But this 10.6.0 installer does not work in a genuine 5.1 cMac Pro. I already tried that and does not boot completely. As tsialex mentioned, the Snow Leopard needs to be 10.6.4

I also used to have Yosemite 10.10 and this OS also worked fine with the BootROM 144.0.0.0.0

On another note, I transferred my High Sierra SSD HFS+ to my second 2010 cMac Pro with an old BootRom of MP51.007F.B00 and High Sierra works fine with no problem. Also transferred a HFS+ HD with Mojave 10.14.6 installed to my second cMac Pro with an old BootROM MP51.007F.B00 and also works fine. No beach balls or freezing. All softwares are working Okay on my end. To be clear, if you intend to install High Sierra on a genuine 2010 cMac Pro, you need to update the BootROM meant for High Sierra.

High Sierra running on BootROM MP51.007F.B00
View attachment 909884

MOJAVE in Old BootROM
View attachment 909885

Thanks

Sorry, i had not answered you earlier as i forgot but what you were saying is interesting as well ( at least for me and my questions ).

It seems you are using High Sierra and Mojave with an old EFI BootRom MP51.007F.B00 that seems to be slightly older than mine ( MP51.007F.B03 ) , how is it possible ?

If i understood correctly , maybe you had those OSX installed on a Mac pro with some more recent EFI BootRom but you have transfered the Hard Disks with those two OSX , on an older Mac Pro 5,1 which still has that older MP51.007F.B00 EFI BootRom and it works as you don't use APFS format Hard disks ?

tsialex wrote : "High Sierra and Mojave won’t work with older BootROMs unless you selected HFS+ install with High Sierra and hacked Mojave to work with HFS+."

I understand it might be possible to install High Sierra selecting HFS+ install ( although when i try to install it , it doesn't ask me if i want HFS+ or APFS install and only asks me to update the firmware ! ) or transfer a HD with High Sierra already installed on it from one Mac pro which lets you install it , to boot another Mac pro which has an older EFI BootRom but from what Tsialex says, Mojave needs to be hacked to work with HFS+, is it what you did ?

 

[tsialex]

I’m really trying to help you here, but this is going on with very long circles.

I’m probably failing to transmit the basic concepts about this, but I’m sure that if you read my BootROM and my Mojave upgrade threads you can then go out of the circles that you are now.

Anyway, good luck with your Quarantine endeavors.

 

[Superlead]

He told you numerous times already - firmware will not break the ability to boot any previous OS nor do anything to your hardware.



No. It won't be needed, either.



No. It won't be needed, either.

Sorry but it seems we missunderstood !

You asked me some questions in that post about the questions i was asking , then i answered you but i had understood what tsialex had explained to me as it was very clearly said and quite detailed what was very interesting to read !
I thought you were asking me those questions because you had not understood what i was asking, that's all , so i was answering you to be polite as you were taking some time to try to answer me .
As simple as that !
[automerge]1588554455[/automerge]

I’m really trying to help you here, but this is going on with very long circles.

I’m probably failing to transmit the basic concepts about this, but I’m sure that if you read my BootROM and my Mojave upgrade threads you can then go out of the circles that you are now.

Anyway, good luck with your Quarantine endeavors.

No , all what you told me was very interesting and clear enough for me to understand !
As i said above , if i repeated my original questions in a previous post yestterday or today it was because that person was asking me about my original questions , so i repeated them thinking he had not understood what i had asked but i understood all what you told me and i thank you for the time you took to explain me all that .
I might not have as much knowledge as you but i am not totaly stupid and i understood most if not all what you told me ! Lol ( just joking)
I was just trying to be polite answering that person and people think i am stupid ! Lol

My last questions are just to understand which are the different EFI BootRom that were released after the one in my Mac pro 5,1 and to understand a few more things about those bootRom and their relation to the different recent OSX , like High Sierra , Mojave and Catalina .
Basicaly , to know which is the BootRom installed when updating firmware when installing HS , the BootRom for Mojave and the one for Catalina .

And if i understood you correctly, i should update my EFI BootRom to the very last available to do not have any spectre/ meltdown problem ( except i have the original ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB , not sure it works with Mojave but i don't think it is Metal capable ) , even if i do not use Catlina or Mojave just now and only use HFS+ ( and i should not have any compatibility problem either , from what you seem to say , as were asking my original questions ) , although i m not sure if i need to install those OSX ( mojave / catalina ) to be able to get 144.0.0.0.0 or the previous one , or if i can find it separatly.
I will read more of your Thread about Mojave as i just read quickly for the moment.

 

[Superlead]

I took a look but it seems my 5,1 GPU HD 5770 ATI Radeon is not Metal Capable , so it is not compatible with Mojave, nor my 4,1 ATI Radeon HD 4870 !

My 2009 4,1 is a quad core Intel Xeon 2x 2,66
My 2010 5,1 is a quad core Intel Xeon 2x 2,4

And reading tsialex Mojave Thread first page , i saw the EFI BootRom with High Sierra is MP51.0089.B00 and 144.0.0.0.0 seems to be the one to update to for Mojave .

 

[hwojtek]

Sorry but it seems we missunderstood !
You asked me some questions in that post about the questions i was asking , then i answered you but i had understood what tsialex had explained to me as it was very clearly said and quite detailed what was very interesting to read !

I didn't ask you any questions. I just noticed you are flooding the forum with a logorrhea of rather unwise ideas. This will not help anyone who is going to search for help in the future.
You were answered over 10 times, just upgrade your ancient ROM already. It will do no harm and the newer Boot ROM version you have, the better.

 

[Superlead]

Ok , the backplane is simply the motherboard ! Lol
Obviously when all the things change their names in 20 years ( like Bios and firmware Vs EFI although i understand there are differences ), it is normal to be a bit lost ! Lol
There is nothing to solder , so it dossn't seem complicated to replace .
I saw a video on youtube but the guy specifies 2009-2012 where tsialex said they are not the same .
It seems it is A1289 661-5706 639-0461 for 2010-2012 ( correct me if i am wrong ) .

Here the video :

[automerge]1588570775[/automerge]

I didn't ask you any questions. I just noticed you are flooding the forum with a logorrhea of rather unwise ideas. This will not help anyone who is going to search for help in the future.
You were answered over 10 times, just upgrade your ancient ROM already. It will do no harm and the newer Boot ROM version you have, the better.

Thanks for taking the time to answer me and sorry if i missunderstood you then , i was just answering you politely thinking you were asking me something .
That said , i am not really " flooding the forum with unwise ideas " , i was just asking politely two main questions originaly , in that topic i created .
I am not the only one who wants to be sure about that type of things ( i saw quite a few other topics on the net about that type of updates where people were wondering similar things ) when updating something to be sure to avoid problems after that , sorry if you are bothered with my questions.
It is better to ask before than after if ever if it is difficult or impossible to come back to previous state, especialy when you have an expensive system in your computer !

 

[Macsonic]

To answer your first question :
I was asking the question , to know if , once i will update my Mac pro firmware (my Mac pro 5,1 or my Mac pro 4,1 upgraded to 5,1 , although i haven't already upgraded it to 5,1 as this is my 2nd question ) when installing High Sierra ( as High Sierra installer asks for updating the firmware to be able to install OSX High Sierra ) , all the previous OSX i have been using with those Two Mac Pro 's since i bought them ( going back to Snow Leopard 10.6.x , but also Lion 10.7.x , Maverick , Yosemite , El Capitan , Sierra ...etc ) will still be able to boot those Mac's and be used with them but also if all the hardware i was using with those Mac pro's will still work with them ( mostly Pro Tools High end recording studio Audio systems / cards installed in PCI slots and their external audio converters ) , as well as all the softwares i have been using in those Macs for 10 years with the OSX vrrsion they are compatible with
.
Basicaly , to know if all i have been using with those two Mac pro's for 10 years ( all OSX's , softwares and hardwares ) will still work perfectly after the firmware update needed for installing and using High Sierra .
For that , i read it is the firmware / boot rom that will be updated from MP51.007F.B03 to ??? , if i understood it correctly , if i do the firmware update asked to install High Sierra.

To answer your second question :
The firmwares i was speaking about , when asking if they can be reverted back to older/ previous version(s) or original version installed when bought new in 2009/2010 are :
1/ If i update the firmware to install High Sierra , as i explained above to answer your 1st question , would i be able to revert back that firmware ( if needed ) to the previous one before i update it ( that is to say the actual firmware i have in my Mac Pro 5,1 , that High Sierra installer asks me to update ) .
2/ If i upgrade my Mac pro 4,1 to 5,1 , would i be able to revert it back to 4,1 if needed.
For that , i read it is the EFI of my Mac Pro 4,1 that i need to upgrade from EFI 1.4 to EFI 1.5 , to upgrade it to a Mac Pro 5,1 .

No problem on your late reply. The discussion was getting complicated and veering away from your original inquiry so I asked those questions . It’s healthy to research and get more info though you might be “digesting” a lot of information that are making things go in circles.

To simplify, you can perform the BootROM update. Just follow tsialex’s excellent guide below.

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...

forums.macrumors.com

On your 2009 4,1. cMac Pro, you can update the firmware from 4,1 to 5,1 Under 5,1 firmware, your 2009 cMac Pro will still function and “behave” the same way before the firmware update .

For Logic Pro X, the Apple support page below confirms Logic Pro X 10.3.1 or later works in High Sierra. Thanks

About Apple Pro Apps and macOS High Sierra

Prepare for macOS High Sierra by updating your Pro Apps—including Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, Logic Pro, and MainStage.

support.apple.com

 

[KeesMacPro]

Excuse me for adding something to this thread.
It's not my aim to interfere or add comments.
I think the explanations about updating the BootRom/Firmware etc. are clear and extensive.

I work with audio software and hardware too on daily base, on a Mac Pro 4,1>5,1 .
I never worked with Pro Tools , but work with Logic Pro X.

It's not my aim to offend you, but I get the impression that especially your hardware can be called "vintage".
This leads to possible issues if you want to combine it with more uptodate software.

2 things you might consider installing High Sierra and Logic Pro X:

1- drivers for HS, compatible with your hardware.
I worked with older hardware (Apogee) too, but I noticed that the latency, necessary buffer size etc. was already running on its limits with HS. Later on with Mojave, it just didn't work well.
I don't want to get into the how/why.
I bought new hardware and surprise: it works flawlessly.

2- If you own a Mac Pro 4,1 DUAL processor, and (later on) you're seeing you can't update Logic , because the OS is not supported anymore, you may want to update to Mojave .
In this specific case you have to upgrade your CPU's too.
The audio just doesn't work well, to put it mildly.
This can be found in other threads here.

I would like to update my Sierra HD to High Sierra to be able to buy Logic pro X ...
.... and some softwares and hardwares ( like a big Pro Tools HDX ) compatible with some of these OSX ( especialy with 10.6 ) i need to use !

 

[Superlead]

Excuse me for adding something to this thread.
It's not my aim to interfere or add comments.
I think the explanations about updating the BootRom/Firmware etc. are clear and extensive.

I work with audio software and hardware too on daily base, on a Mac Pro 4,1>5,1 .
I never worked with Pro Tools , but work with Logic Pro X.

It's not my aim to offend you, but I get the impression that especially your hardware can be called "vintage".
This leads to possible issues if you want to combine it with more uptodate software.

2 things you might consider installing High Sierra and Logic Pro X:

1- drivers for HS, compatible with your hardware.
I worked with older hardware (Apogee) too, but I noticed that the latency, necessary buffer size etc. was already running on its limits with HS. Later on with Mojave, it just didn't work well.
I don't want to get into the how/why.
I bought new hardware and surprise: it works flawlessly.

2- If you own a Mac Pro 4,1 DUAL processor, and (later on) you're seeing you can't update Logic , because the OS is not supported anymore, you may want to update to Mojave .
In this specific case you have to upgrade your CPU's too.
The audio just doesn't work well, to put it mildly.
This can be found in other threads here.

Thanks for your answer and no i am not offended by my hardware called vintage ! Lol
Always interesting to have advices .
To answer you i am obliged to deviate a bit from my first questions.
As a matter of fact it is not really vintage as my pro tools HDX system is manufactured and sold since 2011 with HD i/o 16x16 audio interface /converters for 16 i/o audio analog each ( and still sold new today but they released recently a new 384 khz 16 i/o audio interface/ converter ) and the pro tools native card was released in 2011 as well i believe and still sold new today .
So only my older pro tools HD3 is nearly vintage as sold between 2002 and 2011 .
The pro tools HDX ( one PCIe card with several processors to start with and you can add several HDX cards in a system with each costing 4000 euros bought new ) that i have , with 4 x 16 I/O analog converter ( for 64 i/o analog but if one needs more it is possible ) 24 bit / 192 khz is sold for a total about 25000 euros ( with only one HDX card ) and about 25000$ in USA , for just the audio part ( without third party softwares and plug ins , audio sample libraries ...etc only Pro Tools software and its plugins ), without the computer and all its own hardware ( HD's , ram, GPU ...etc ).

So , that is why i was asking those questions about compatibility , as this is much money that was invested in all that and i needed to be sure to do not have any compatibility problem with all that , knowing i am just in betwwen a moment where all that might become legacy in the next years and not be sold anymore ( so some hardware might become difficult or impossible to buy new , for what is better to buy new and not second hand ) and i need to know if i just keep that system up to date for not much more money (if it can let me work for several more years without problems ) or go towards some newer hardware ( like a new Mac pro which is at least 6500 to 10000 euros for what i need , plus the displays ) what would be again tens of thousands euros / dollars investments !
Especialy if i have to replace my pro tools HDX system with new audio interface converters that are sold for the new ones , each for about 13000 euros for each 16 analog i/o ( but they keep selling my audio HDi/o converters as well ) and maybe some new Pro Tools PCIe cards that might be released in the next 1 or 2 to 5 years , as for the moment the HDX cards still work with New Mac pro 2019 .
I can't invest about 50000 to 70 000 euros , in a brand new whole system , so i try to see if i can work several more years with mine , even if it is getting older ( but still sold new nowdays and not obsolete yet ).

About Latency ,Avid / Pro Tools hardware/ software is still the standard for many years ( and still work in the new Mac Pro 2019 with Catalina it seems ) , for audio / recording studios all around the world and also post production audio sync to video , for TV and Cinema ( movie theaters pictures ) .
I have a mac pro 4,1 2x 2,66 (2 x quad core ) but i also have a 5,1 2 x 2,4 ( 2x quad core ) and yes , i saw there can be possible problems with new OSX and those Mac proS ( they don't work with Catalina but there could be problem with Mojave as well ) , so that is exactly what i am trying to sort out at the moment , between OSX compatibility , GPU compatibility , audio hardware and maybe processors compatibility problems as you say, so it is much informations to search for !

 

[KeesMacPro]

I understand you invested a lot of money.
The development in the computer world is incredibly fast and ruthless.
You're lucky you have 2 Mac Pro, so you could try whatever you would like to do with one and keep the other one as a backup.
Walking is falling and putting your feet in front of you in the adequate moment...

 

[Superlead]

No problem on your late reply. The discussion was getting complicated and veering away from your original inquiry so I asked those questions . It’s healthy to research and get more info though you might be “digesting” a lot of information that are making things go in circles.

To simplify, you can perform the BootROM update. Just follow tsialex’s excellent guide below.

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...

forums.macrumors.com

On your 2009 4,1. cMac Pro, you can update the firmware from 4,1 to 5,1 Under 5,1 firmware, your 2009 cMac Pro will still function and “behave” the same way before the firmware update .

For Logic Pro X, the Apple support page below confirms Logic Pro X 10.3.1 or later works in High Sierra. Thanks

About Apple Pro Apps and macOS High Sierra

Prepare for macOS High Sierra by updating your Pro Apps—including Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, Logic Pro, and MainStage.

support.apple.com

Thanks for your answer !
I want to make one thing clear as i might not have been understood by some here , so yes all what tsiAlex told me and took the time to explain me in this thread was very clearly explained and very interesting informations , so i thank him very very much for taking the time to help me , him and the few others who tried to help me nicely without scorn for some of my lack of knowledge about some things !

As you just wrote , it is quite some informations i had to digest , especialy as i had to search for several things on the net , to understand what tsialex wrote ( and other infos i needed for all that ), cause , even if i asked some more questions , i also took much time to search on internet to avoid asking even more questions to understand better all what he was explaining to me ( and i still have to search for compatibility issues , with my Mac pros, GPU cards , Mojave , Logic X , Pro tools...etc) !

I have been working all those years mostly with Snow Leopard and all my equipment , only installing Lion 10,7.5 several years ago and El Capitan 2 years ago but only really worked with audio soft and hardware on 10.6.x .
I also downloaded all the OSX since 10.6 except Catalina for if i needed them at some stage and some other updates for my audio softwares but i have not been able to search for all the things we speak about in this thread , keep up to date as i had many problems to deal with (I won't tell you about my life but many things were difficult and did not happened as planned , especialy when health and family problems add to it ) ,what is the reason and explain why i did not update little by little, regularly for the past 10 years , except what i wrote above and 10.6 was working correctly enough for what i was doing when i was able to work with all that .
So now , i have to do all of that at the same time And have to search for many infos and digest them , to understand things that happened since 2010 and compatibility , with all this hardware , softwares and OSX's , to make up for lost time and try to be back up to date for the next few years .

 

[Superlead]

I understand you invested a lot of money.
The development in the computer world is incredibly fast and ruthless.
You're lucky you have 2 Mac Pro, so you could try whatever you would like to do with one and keep the other one as a backup.
Walking is falling and putting your feet in front of you in the adequate moment...

Yes , things are going incredibly fast , much faster i believe ,than it was 20 to 15 years ago , so it is very good for some and difficult , especialy with compatibility issues and obsolescence , at the same time , for others.
I have those Mac pro for about 10 years now , but if i can keep all my whole system a few more years , to work in my recording studio ( knowing i have other investments to do to find another place for it) , then i might consider it as i could not absorb as much as i had hope the cost of all that investment i made for the studio ( not just computer based audio workstation but all the audio hardware equipment as well , including mixing desk , mics , vintage analog synths , audio peripherals and all that ) .

I think about keeping both for the moment and update ( and upgrade processors and RaM) all that , see what i can do with it and if it can still suits my needs in the recording studio for the work i need to do .
Then , see in the next months or year(s) , if i have enough work/ incomes to justify investing in a newer system and if i really need it as i will still have other investment for the recording studio ( which can easily become a bottomless pit concerning money ).

I was told by a shop here in Paris , which is specialised in upgrading processors in those Mac Pro ( to whom i might ask to do it for me ) , that if i upgrade my two Mac Pro , i should be goog for the next 5 years knowing there is not that much power difference ( from what they say ) with the new Mac pro for the configuration they sell about 7000 euros ( 8 core ?) and also knowing that for audio i don't need as much power as for video and also because i partly also rely on PCIe card with processors ( with Pro Tools HDX but i might buy some Universal audio DSP cards/ rack as well ) for some of the work i do .
And they also told me Catalina can be made to work on those Mac pro 4,1>5,1 and 5,1 ( what i had also read somewhere ).

 

[KeesMacPro]

Salud!
I agree with you.
I think asking somebody with the skills who could upgrade the CPUs for you is a wise decision, install more RAM(1333mHz), above all install some SSD (samsung 860EVO I never had problems with) will get your Mac Pros working fine for Logic Pro X.
At the same time upgrading will still let you use your older hardware ,plus the bonus that it will be faster,as long as its compatible with 10.6.8 and above.
As said by others dont install OS from version you kept but download the latest versions.

The link I send to you is from a seller I can recommend, good quality, good prices and excellent service.
Its in Germany so delivery time and costs to France are ok.

EDIT: When you plan to do a firmware update ,read the chapter about firmware updates in the technician guide , together with all the information by tsialex, it will guide you smoothly through the firmware updates.

Officially Mojave is the latest OS supported for these machines, so install Catalina might be a bit complicated (and maybe not even necessary for your purposes).
About the Metal graphics card , you will need for Mojave: there are so many that will work, but purely for audio, i think its really not necessary to invest lots of money in it.(see thread about GPU for Mojave).