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Is it worth upgrade my 2009 4.1 quad 2.93ghz Mac Pro to Hex 3.33ghz?

C

chiefroastbeef

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 26, 2008
909
0
Dallas, Texas/ Hong Kong
Hello,

I've had my 2009 MP since it came out, amazing machine. I use it for Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Suite, and some others.

I just recently learned that the 2009 board can be flashed to accept Westmere CPUs after reading some threads on here.

If I were to upgrade to the 3.33ghz Intel W3680 processor, would I see significant improvement? Most of the 2009 MP upgrade threads were with the stock 2.66ghz processor.

What do you guys think? Money is not much of an issue, but I just want to make sure it will make a significant improvement with the applications that I am using. Plus, I love tinkering with electronics. And I do want this computer to last as long as possible.

Thank you for any input!
 
Yes. Improve it will. 600.00 worth? Yes. Everything will benefit from the 400MHz bump. All but Final Cut 7 will love the extra 2 cores as well.
 
derbothaus said:
Yes. Improve it will. 600.00 worth? Yes. Everything will benefit from the 400MHz bump. All but Final Cut 7 will love the extra 2 cores as well.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your input... I will start looking around for the best price here in HK...

I guess even if I am not ready to upgrade yet, at least the 2009 Nehalem is upgradeable, it is good knowing that.

My Applecare ends this coming November, I guess I will do the hex core upgrade then, along with a new pc GPU.
 
Last edited:
SadChief said:
For those of you reading French, here you have a very good tutorial:
http://www.macbidouille.com/articles/370/page1
With lots of good photos speaking for themselves if not proficient in French.
Written early 2011 prices are not up-to-date, but all the rest is pertinent.
Click to expand...

I don't speak a word of french, but I agree that the pictures alone give a great explanation of how to upgrade the single CPU MacPro.

I just wish the 2009 dual-processor machines were as easy.
 
I did the W3680 swap a few days ago on my 2009 2.66 (W3520). FWIW, it's very easy, and the Mac Pro Firmware Upgrade utility over at Netkas works flawlessly. I put a little pictorial over on my personal site, if you want another (English-language) look at it; I also have some CineBench and GeekBench results there. Long story short, it's a ton faster and a bit cooler. Obviously the 2.66 ain't the 2.93, so it'll be less of a total improvement, but I think if anything you do is multithreaded, you'll find the swap very worth it.

If you feel you could use the extra cores but not so much the MHz, you can also look for a W3670 (3.2 6-core). They work just as well and can be had for $100-150 less than the W3680.

SadChief said:
For those of you reading French, here you have a very good tutorial:
http://www.macbidouille.com/articles/370/page1
With lots of good photos speaking for themselves if not proficient in French.
Written early 2011 prices are not up-to-date, but all the rest is pertinent.
Click to expand...

That is a good guide. However, their application of thermal compound differs from what seems to be the recommended configuration. Here's a guide [PDF] from Arctic Silver that details the recommended method -- a vertical line running north-south (assuming the alignment mark is pointing south-west). I gave Intel a call (because I was curious) and they said the same thing.

It almost certainly doesn't make much difference. However, if you're gonna go to all the trouble, you might as well get the best results :).
 
JuniperMonkeys said:
...their application of thermal compound differs from what seems to be the recommended configuration. Here's a guide [PDF] from Arctic Silver that details the recommended method -- a vertical line running north-south (assuming the alignment mark is pointing south-west). I gave Intel a call (because I was curious) and they said the same thing.

It almost certainly doesn't make much difference. However, if you're gonna go to all the trouble, you might as well get the best results :).
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for this guide, it has very valuable information for those wanting to take the plunge (as I do).
Regards,

Sadchief
 
minifridge1138 said:
I don't speak a word of french, but I agree that the pictures alone give a great explanation of how to upgrade the single CPU MacPro.

I just wish the 2009 dual-processor machines were as easy.
Click to expand...

They are. Just use 2.3mm washers and you are set.
 
lastmile said:
Do you happen to know of a source for the appropriate washers?
Click to expand...

I got mine at the local true value hardware store. Brought along my digital micrometer. I used 16 m4 stainless steel washers that were about 1.1mm thick - 2 per heat sink post. Has worked great for more than a year now. I had to clip the heat sink fan connector so it would connect.
 
derbothaus said:
Yes. Improve it will. 600.00 worth? Yes. Everything will benefit from the 400MHz bump. All but Final Cut 7 will love the extra 2 cores as well.
Click to expand...

Somehow I missed this thread before. Photoshop "barely" scales past 4 cores. Even adobe admits severe diminishing returns. The biggest recent gain was the addition of OpenCL acceleration with CS6. Aperture should see some gain from core count. I haven't used it in a long time. The older versions were weird at times. With photoshop I typically say add ram until you stop seeing significant scratch disk use.
 
thekev said:
Somehow I missed this thread before. Photoshop "barely" scales past 4 cores. Even adobe admits severe diminishing returns. The biggest recent gain was the addition of OpenCL acceleration with CS6. Aperture should see some gain from core count. I haven't used it in a long time. The older versions were weird at times. With photoshop I typically say add ram until you stop seeing significant scratch disk use.
Click to expand...

On CS4/CS5 a W3680 (6-core 3.33) comes in faster than a W3580 (4-core 3.33) at same clock. So as you said but "barely" accounts for a little something.
 
Thank you guys, do you guys think the w3680 will come down in price at all the next few months? My warranty ends in November, but if the chip prices won't come down,I might just upgrade my Mac pro with new cup, gpu, and ram early, possibly an ssd.
 
chiefroastbeef said:
Thank you guys, do you guys think the w3680 will come down in price at all the next few months?
Click to expand...

It already fluctuates between retailers. It's not likely to drop further. These cpus started at $1000 suggested retail pricing. That was reduced by 40%, which brought it to $600. In some cases you'll hear about really old/outdated cpus cheap on ebay. I don't see retail pricing dipping much lower.
 
I got mine from Provantage for $585 quite a while ago now... December or January, I believe. Looks like it's still the same price.
 
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