MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 1.1 - 2.1

[fjkerhart]

Hi everyone,

Im considering buying a Mac Pro 1,1 or 2,1, but Im not entirely sure how GPU compatibility works on these machines. Do I need to stick with officially supported cards, or can I use any modern GPU from a PC? How does it work with boot screens, drivers, and EFI upgrades?

If anyone has recommendations for specific GPUs that work well with these models, Id really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[MacPoulet]

There's a sticky thread at the top of the forum that will answer your question: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gpu-compatibility-list-for-cmp.2174600/

Not sure I'd want to pay money for a 1,1 or 2,1 these days. Maybe if it was a gift, and then...

 

[tsialex]

Maybe if it was a gift, and then...

Even as a completely free gift, I'd think several times since the maintenance work needed will not be free and is very time consuming…

Lets say that the MacPro1,1/2,1 is currently running - it will be too much work to install anything modern, won't run OS X past Lion without hacks (you can run up to El Capitan via Pike EFI hack), is difficult even to run current Linux distributions and Windows 11 24H2 does not run anymore with processors without SSE4.2, like MacPro1,1/2,1 Xeons.

Maybe you want a challenge and I respect that, but you can get a MacPro4,1/5,1 very inexpensively nowadays and you can make it run Monterey perfectly, plus current Linux distributions and Windows 11 without any much trouble - better ROI for your time.

 

[MacPoulet]

Even as a completely free gift, I'd think several times since the maintenance work needed will not be free and is very time consuming…

Lets say that the MacPro1,1/2,1 is currently running - it will be too much work to install anything modern, won't run OS X past Lion without hacks (you can run up to El Capitan via Pike EFI hack), is difficult even to run current Linux distributions and Windows 11 24H2 does not run anymore with processors without SSE4.2, like MacPro1,1/2,1 Xeons.

Maybe you want a challenge and I respect that, but you can get a MacPro4,1/5,1 very inexpensively nowadays and you can make it run Monterey perfectly, plus current Linux distributions and Windows 11 without any much trouble - better ROI for your time.

I completely agree. Even free, not really sure anyone should take it.

Right now, I've got a dead 1,1 collecting dust and the only real use I have for it is to pair it with another one to make a cool bench for a co-worker.

I have a 4,1 at home that I would love to upgrade but it's a media server so the thought of taking it offline for any amount of time to upgrade it has been met with a lot of anger and pushback. Was able to repurpose a 6,1 at work to use in a streaming class I teach. Better than it sitting on a shelf unloved.

 

[OS6-OSX]

 

[MacPoulet]

View attachment 2479379

Would be better if it was pushing up daisies.