Is it worth updating a 2010 6 CORE 3.33 MP

[rjtiedeman]

Now that the new Mac Pro has been revealed. Does it make sense to spend roughly 2K on new EVGA GeForce GTX 680 GPU, PCI SSD adapter & SSDs. I have been reading about the big speed boost that these updates provide but now it seams a little stupid to toss $$$ into old tech. It might be practical, is if these updates would come close to the same performance as a new (first gen) MAC PRO. The Apple care hasn't even run out.

Mac Pro 3.33 GHZ 6-Core 5,1, 32 GB, CalDigit FSATA

 

[derbothaus]

An SSD for a boot disk is always a practical upgrade. If you are not running one now spend on a decent size one and you'll be happy for quite a while.
Samsung 840 probably fits the bill. May not need the Pro either as the writes just about saturate the SATA2 link and the likelihood of you now being able to use it in your next Mac (internally at least) is almost zero. I think the non-pro version is 180.00 on Newegg for 250GB. Put the rest of your data on an HDD and you will not know the difference. Or do a fusion drive with your current hard disk.
GTX 680 is great but is a gamer card. Can't really throw direct comparisons at the workstation FirePro's we know will be in the nMP. If you don't game or need CUDA it is probably a waste for you. Having an entire Mac Pro with SATA2 and all SSD's is also not the best use of money. So throw some money in it. I don't know about 2000.00. It is getting older yes but it is still a fast Mac. It still beats current iMac's in specific multi-core tests. And if you slot the GTX 680 it murders the top of the line iMac in games. It's sad really.

 

[BigJohno]

Now that the new Mac Pro has been revealed. Does it make sense to spend roughly 2K on new EVGA GeForce GTX 680 GPU, PCI SSD adapter & SSDs. I have been reading about the big speed boost that these updates provide but now it seams a little stupid to toss $$$ into old tech. It might be practical, is if these updates would come close to the same performance as a new (first gen) MAC PRO. The Apple care hasn't even run out.

Mac Pro 3.33 GHZ 6-Core 5,1, 32 GB, CalDigit FSATA

I upgraded my mac pro about a year after buying it. Had the base model and put the 3.33 chip in and an ssd. This last year I got a 670 and another SSD and more ram. The thing is a screamer and will last me at least another 2 years. Do you make money using your mac pro? If not then I wouldn't bother upgrading at this point. You could build a system for a fraction of the price and it would be way faster....

My 2010 macbook pro is getting long in the tooth however. Want those haswell macbook pros to come out.

 

[MacMadness]

IMHO it is a great idea.

I just bought a second hand 2010 3.33Ghz a few weeks ago for $1700.00 (1.5 years of Applecare left)
and upgraded it with following components:

ATI 5870 Card
OWC 480 6G extreme 480SSD (boot)
2 Accelsior E2 480GB PCI cards (1 as scratch for Photoshop CS5.5/1 as work drive)
The other 3 bays are occupied by 4TB Black caviar drives (1 work/ 1data /1 data backup.)
(Additional backups on external drives...always a good idea)

(monitors: NEC PA301W / Cinema 23 for PS palettes)

All told I have about $5300.00 into the machine. It's a screamer and couldn't be happier with the performance.
Unless there are software incompatibility issues and the near future, I anticipate 3-4 year cycle of solid workflow performance.

Also in the process of upgrading my 2009 2 X 2.26 Quad to a 2 X 2.93 CPU
($225.00 upgrade, & swapping out the video card for the 5770 that came in the 2010 Machine) It already has the same SSD upgrades as the 3.33ghz installed and 32GB of ram. Will upgrade to 96GB in the near future (and possibly 128GB if Mavericks turns out to be a great OSX).

I'm self employed doing retouching/compositing and animatics for ad agencies. (Daily Photoshop workflow requires working with up to 18 GB files with 50-200 layers/embedded smart objects/masks/etc which explains the extent of upgrades...processing time is $$$)

Hope the advice is helpful. Cheers.

 

[rjtiedeman]

We have at least 6-10 months before the new Pros are available so I might update my MP with a Crucial M500 960 GB SSD. If they ever actually become available. I do a lot of CAD and CS 5.5 work so anything that speeds up the process would be a help. My CAD software will probably not take advantage of the new MP for at least 6 months after it's actual release so I have even more time to wish for new stuff. Also I would like to see an IMPARTIAL comparison between a souped up 2010 MP and a NEW MP instead of the marketing WOO-HAH.

 

[Macsonic]

We have at least 6-10 months before the new Pros are available so I might update my MP with a Crucial M500 960 GB SSD. If they ever actually become available. I do a lot of CAD and CS 5.5 work so anything that speeds up the process would be a help. My CAD software will probably not take advantage of the new MP for at least 6 months after it's actual release so I have even more time to wish for new stuff. Also I would like to see an IMPARTIAL comparison between a souped up 2010 MP and a NEW MP instead of the marketing WOO-HAH.

Hi rjtiedeman. I think it's a good idea to get the SSD. For the Nvidia GTX680 I read from reviews it's a fast card though Derbothaus may be correct to describe it as more of a game card. I know that the new 2013 Mac Pro will be a fast machine or will be much faster than my current Mac Pro tower. But the new Mac Pro does not fit my workflow and in my opinion it's not always the fastest specs we should always look for. I am satisfied with my current Mac Pro as it gets the job done and helps bring food on the table with smooth operation with no hardware hiccups.

 

[iPadPublisher]

I'm Upgrading Mine

After seeing what the new Mac Pro has to offer, and based on my working needs, I'm doing that. I'm upgrading my 2x 2.66 6-core system to the 2x 3.46 chips and just bought an OWC PCI Express SSD drive to replace my normal SSD.

Those two things combined, and I'm sure I'll make it through the next two years. I'm at 48GB of RAM now, considering bumping to 64GB just to round out the upgrade, but I've honestly never tapped out at 48GB, so I may just hold off on that.

Total cost is just under $4k vs. whatever the new machine is gonna ring in at on their >3.46GHz chips. I think I'll be okay.

 

[The-Pro]

I just wanted to add that if you do a lot of work which required CUDA then a GTX 580 is better then the 680. Due to the new architecture in the 680 the CUDA performance went down but the gaming performance increased over the 580.

 

[derbothaus]

I just wanted to add that if you do a lot of work which required CUDA then a GTX 580 is better then the 680. Due to the new architecture in the 680 the CUDA performance went down but the gaming performance increased over the 580.

GTX 680 performs like a GTX 570 in CUDA. A little tiny bit faster but a LOT more expensive. If not gaming and need only CUDA get 570. 580 requires extra power in most cases.

 

[The-Pro]

GTX 680 performs like a GTX 570 in CUDA. A little tiny bit faster but a LOT more expensive. If not gaming and need only CUDA get 570. 580 requires extra power in most cases.

Yes the 570 is the better option then the 580 in terms of power, but I thought the GTX 680 would need extra power too so I didn't think the OP cares about that

Didn't know the 680 drops to the 570 level for CUDA. You should be able to get 2 570's to work in a Mac Pro right. That would be very good CUDA performance if you need it.

 

[derbothaus]

Yes the 570 is the better option then the 580 in terms of power, but I thought the GTX 680 would need extra power too so I didn't think the OP cares about that

680 is 2x6-pin. Some of the factory OC'd ones are 1x8 and 1x6. The Mac Edition from EVGA is 2x6. Not trying to nit pick but for me it was a question of extra crap I didn't want. Like a 2nd PSU. So maybe important? Cheers.

 

[rjtiedeman]

Thanks to all for the good info. I will be upgrading my Mac Pro with an EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition. Because: 1. the cad software I use most of the time works best with OpenGL not CUDA. 2. I do not want to mess with non a mac GPU. I have been reading the forum about how to mess with the system to make them work and it's just not my thing. Plug and go is the best part of the Mac Pro. Next part of the update is still the much belated Crucial M500 SSD 960 GB for under $600. Has any one installed a Crucial M500 in a Mac Pro?

 

[derbothaus]

Has any one installed a Crucial M500 in a Mac Pro?

Piece of cake. Just treat it like any other HD.

 

[Hutch60]

Updating Mac Pro

Updated the Mac Pro 4,1 to 5,1 W3680 CPU, GTX 680 Mac Edition, 16GB 1333 Memory And Samsung 840 SDD 250GB. I have not look back best upgrade I ever done. I was waiting for the new mac pro....

 

[philipma1957]

Thanks to all for the good info. I will be upgrading my Mac Pro with an EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition. Because: 1. the cad software I use most of the time works best with OpenGL not CUDA. 2. I do not want to mess with non a mac GPU. I have been reading the forum about how to mess with the system to make them work and it's just not my thing. Plug and go is the best part of the Mac Pro. Next part of the update is still the much belated Crucial M500 SSD 960 GB for under $600. Has any one installed a Crucial M500 in a Mac Pro?

I got one in a mac mini as a diy fusion much harder install.


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1568313/

works very nice