Mac Pro 4,1 Single 2.66 Frugal Upgrade

[pointvicente]

$332 is a little better and hopefully that will drop to under $200 next year and I may lean that direction.

Regarding the ASMedia ASM1061 SATA Card:
Ok after a little googling I was finally able to find some information on the ASMedia ASM1061. The $13 card on ebay looks like its a Syba. There maybe more issues I need to be aware of but it looks like this might work up to 390MB/s for my new 850 Pro(not EVO I was concerned that the sata pci may not be able to boot into but this thread below confirmed that it does. Quality control of the boards themselves could be an issue we'll see. Hopefully i'll buy the right sata iii cable (36") but at this point it looks like all i need unless i'm missing something. In the threads below people talked about buying two cards and setting up a RAID 0 but not sure if anyone has tried that and noted a boost in performance. My guess is that it probably is not practical.

Confirmed that these cards are bootable
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1280517/

"I am tired of searching for a good SATA-3 controller that boots OS X. I have bought 6 pieces so far, they are all junk."
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1280517/

Debate on whether or not SATA III increases workflow performance.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1280517/​

 

[pointvicente]

I have searched high and low for an answer to this question. Is it possible to upgrade this 2009 mac pro single core with 1 1333mhz 16gb stick? Or do i need to buy more than one? I was hoping to upgrade again later to max it out.

 

[h9826790]

AFAIK, you can run the machine with only a single 16G stick as long as the spec is correct.

 

[pointvicente]

Memory Upgrade

"As long as the spec is correct"
So do you mean as long as the memory is qualified for the 2009 Single CPU machine/slot configuration? Does that also mean that you have to update the firmware from 4,1 to 5,1 and upgrade the CPU to handle the 1333MHZ? OWC states that they also need to be the same part number? Well that may not work then if I decide to buy one 16GB stick now and then later because the part numbers change? I'm sure this has been discussed in a different thread but havne't seen it yet. There seems to be conflicting information on pairing:

OCW 16GB Module Sets require that all installed modules be of the same p/n OWC 16GB modules.

MacPro5,1 "memory does not need to be installed in matched pairs."

OWC Ben M @ 3:48 pm on November 21, 2014
"To clarify, the 2006 (MacPro1,1)-2012 (MacPro5,1) Mac Pros require pairs or triples. It is only the 2013 MacPro6,1 that can use individual modules as outlined in this blog post"
​

 

[flowrider]

One stick is fine. The issue with 16GB Dims is registration. Read the the second page of this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1818276/

Post #36.

You can also see how I feel about OWC.

Lou

 

[weaverra]

1. $89+tax Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 Extreme(VEL-SOLO-X2)

2. $129+tax 250GB Samsung SSD Pro from Fry's

3. $150 ebay 16GB (4X 4GB) DDR3 1066MHz Memory Apple Mac Pro 4,1 2009 Quad-Core 2.66 2.93GHz

I bought the same MP and I can say that these three upgrades will yield you the most bang for your buck right now. I have done the SSD and Ram upgrade. Even without the Apricorn it still screams. I have one ordered and I'm going to try it out.

 

[pointvicente]

Well I am finally getting around to posting results. I opted for the ASMedia ASM1061 SATA Card and it worked great for maybe a month or two (as boot drive). I went on vacation for a week and turned on the macpro only to find out it did not boot. I pulled the card out re-installed it and it worked. This happened a couple of times (1-2 weeks after) then it died. I haven't tried it since. When I received it from ebay it was in a small box with no foam protection. It was loose bouncing around inside the box. You get what you pay for. So I've for the mean time i just plugged the ssd back into the motherboard and it works fine but slower. Still have not bought the single ram stick 16GB because I haven't decided to buy RAM or video card first.

 

[DPUser]

X5680s are now running about $130 shipped on Ebay. Word on the street is they do not die, so used is not an issue. Installing one in your machine will dramatically increase both single and multi-threaded tasks. Just know you have to update EFI first. I did it over three years ago (paid $600 for my W3680 and was worth it even at that price) and my hex 3.33 has performed flawlessly since then. So has my bargain-basement ASM1061 SATA3 card, too; sorry yours didn't pan out.

 

[haralds]

I bought a Mac Pro 4,1 with 4GB Ram last year for $500 that came with (2) 21" monitors. It seemed like a good deal. The price for a Multi-Core was so much more expensive so I opted for the frugal approach. My questions today are how can I upgrade this mac pro for less than $300? I was hoping to get some confirmation so here goes:

1. $89+tax Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 Extreme(VEL-SOLO-X2)

2. $129+tax 250GB Samsung SSD Pro from Fry's

3. $150 ebay 16GB (4X 4GB) DDR3 1066MHz Memory Apple Mac Pro 4,1 2009 Quad-Core 2.66 2.93GHz

Wow that's about $400 with the tax and shipping. Add that to the original purchase price and that's $900. Hmm. I guess i could have got a 8-core 2.26 for $900 not sure if that would have been much better. I guess its easier for me to justifiy $100 upgrades at a time

I have heard horror stories of the x2 not booting as a primary boot drive. Also I've heard the trim debate and for now I'm I'll opt to turn off kext signing and enable trim to ensure speed and longevity from what I've read. Does anyone have any recommendations for drive preparation and sequence of installation? Trim no Trim?

As far as memory I'd like to get at least 16GB for casual video editing in FCP6 (not ready for spending $300 for FCPX, although that would be nice). It looks like memory is very expensive so many different combinations could work what do people recommend 4X4GB or 2X8GB? When I read this I figured more RAM good 1333MHZ too expensive for me.

"I edit video, and I use four sticks. I had 4x4GB and recently switched to 4x8GB. It makes a big difference. More RAM is far more valuable than triple channel, if you ask me. It's still double channel, and 1333MHz RAM is fast so unless you can afford 3x16GB, I'd do 4x8GB. "

Anyways.. Any additional thoughts on a graphics card would be great too. I'm thinking of trying something people have had confirmed without trouble like a GTX 660.

By far the greatest improvement in performance is from the SSD and RAM. Unless you have a lot of virtual machines running, going beyond 16GB there will not add much.
There are relatively few task, where more cores or high CPU speeds change the perceived performance.
Exceptions: video, audio, or photo processing (Final Cut, Logic Pro, Photoshop)

 

[haralds]

Ditch the Apricorn and you'll be back down to your $300 limit. The 4,1 is fine with an SSD and 16GB. I've edited plenty of 1080p videos on mine (both Final Cut and iMovie) using the GT120 that came with it. I upgraded to a 7950 after four years but haven't noticed any real difference to the pace of my workflow.

Don't sweat TRIM, you'll have a new machine long before it becomes an issue.

Good point for the card.
TRIM is no longer hard to do in Yosemite or El Capitan

 

[pointvicente]

Good point for the card.
TRIM is no longer hard to do in Yosemite or El Capitan

I haven't turn trim on in Yosemite yet and as each day goes by my anxiety level goes up. So if i ever have spare time i may look into trim again.

Question. If i upgrade the processor and first run the firmware update for 5,1. How can I ever get Snow Leopard installed again? Can I restore to an image i created before the firmware? Or do i have to modify the plist in a 10.6.4 installation version that i would have to buy? I am thinking my image should be just fine but wanted to confirm and avoid any surprises after updating the firmware. I would not want to find out after upgrading the firmware that my other drive won't boot Snow Leopard.

 

[Synchro3]

Just keep a volume with 10.6.8 before you upgrade the firmware. Or install 10.6.8 on an other Mac and switch the HD/SSD to the Mac Pro.

 

[pigsyn]

You could also buy Non ECC RAM for a low price : http://goo.gl/B9SXaG
I have 6 4GB sticks and never had any trouble so far.
If you're familiar with command line and / or know someone that can flash a card under windows, then an ATI 7970 for 90 USD is a nice upgrade. (flashed with EFI for boot screen and no pain OS X updates)

 

[pointvicente]

Ok so I bit the bullet and actually opened up my wallet. But not after a little research to attempt to find the most bang for the buc. I ended up with the components linked below. All in all it costed me around $113 out the door. Hopefully I will still have my sanity after I install it. I'll have some time at Christmas to fiddle with this and install everything. My biggest concerns BEFORE getting started is this:

w3570 - heat on CPU (i figured 3.2 quad will buy more time in getting a w3690 for cheap)
HD 6870 - compatibility with FCPX, not waking from sleep, and fans running too fast
PC3-10600R - server memory will this cheap of memory really work, I'll find out

I really would like to just get in the door with Final Cut Pro X to see if I can cut down the time to export a H.264 video for Youtube right now with FCP6 it takes way too long (40 minutes? I'll have to test).

With the graphics card I'm hoping I can flash it get it to work test in in FCPX if it can wake up from a sleep I may keep it but if there is a more reasonably performing graphics card that is around a $100 bucs I may trade up again. I am planning to put it in the AMD athlon PC to try to flash it there since I don't have windows installed yet.

The next step is to research more on the M.2 SM951 and pci cards to see if i can get up past 1000mb/s for under $200 with a RAID of some kind. Anyways hopefully someone has already done this with a 4,1 flashed to a 5,1 that can provide some warnings to help me avoid potential problems.

Micron 16GB (2X8GB) MT36JSZF1G72PZ-1G4D1DD PC3-10600R Server Memory
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252177834100?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 ( 100314-3L )
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252201623653?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Intel Xeon W3570 SLBES 3.20GHz 8MB 6.4 GT/s Server CPU Processor 3849A662
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301770334696?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[js2704]

"The next step is to research more on the M.2 SM951 and pci cards to see if i can get up past 1000mb/s for under $200 with a RAID of some kind. Anyways hopefully someone has already done this with a 4,1 flashed to a 5,1 that can provide some warnings to help me avoid potential problems."

I went with the Lycom DT120 and an SM951 on a 5.1 - I'm seeing more than 1000mb/s without RAID. Well worth it as a boot drive.

 

[pointvicente]

"The next step is to research more on the M.2 SM951 and pci cards to see if i can get up past 1000mb/s for under $200 with a RAID of some kind. Anyways hopefully someone has already done this with a 4,1 flashed to a 5,1 that can provide some warnings to help me avoid potential problems."

I went with the Lycom DT120 and an SM951 on a 5.1 - I'm seeing more than 1000mb/s without RAID. Well worth it as a boot drive.

That's impressive. How much did the DT120 and the SM951 set you back?

 

[BombKilla]

Reviewing your desires for low-cost upgrades, the order and items I would recommend looking at are:

1. RAM. At $100-150, you would run a little (3%) faster with 3 DIMMS than 4, assuming you have sufficient memory in either case. For what you described doing, I would suggest 3 x 8GB DDR3 1333 DIMMs for 24GB total.
2. Disk Storage. The least expensive route, a SATA-II SSD 2.5" drive hooked up on an internal port (either in the optical bay or on a Mac Pro carrier/adapter) would still feel much better than a spinning disk. Top speeds would be limited, as you already know. Forget PCIe-SATA-III cards for a boot drive; the PCIe adapter-SM951 as suggested above is a far superior option, albeit at a higher cost... your call as to what you can afford. The performance vs. cost difference overwhelmingly favors the SM951 option.
3. Processor. Currently, the best bang for the buck in single-processor 2009-12 cMPs is either the Xeon W3680 ($176, shipped, eBay) or W3690 ($200-240). Both of these are 6-core (50% more than yours) and take DDR3 1333 RAM (up from 1066, if your RAM supports it). Your call as to whether the 3680 at 3.33GHz (3.6 in Turbo) or the 3690 at 3.47GHz (3.73 Turbo) would be preferred.
4. Video Card. More good options appear every day. I have a 970 but some good lower-cost 960s have been introduced. Also, the 750/780/760/660... are good cards and good ATI options are also around. This isn't my area of expertise, though and there are many threads already in the forums on this topic.

Note that 3 and 4 could easily be swapped: your specific tasks (and model selection) will determine whether you would benefit more from doing CPU or the video card first. Maybe doing a W3680 AND an NVidia 960 (or 750, etc) would be a better overall upgrade than keeping your existing CPU and getting a more-expensive video card (like a 970).

 

[pointvicente]

Well at $36.99 16GB is not too bad. So far its working just fine at 1066 at the moment. Hopefully with the w3570 CPU it will run at 1333MHZ. The other components are in the mail.

Well I thought everything was fine but when I tried to save this image I received an error message. That never happened before but i think its the SSD without trim

Here is the error..

Is there an easy way to reset the drive and enable trim without paying for parted magic? Can i pop the SSD 850 in my PC and do it free over there? I read that in 10.10.4 yosemite now enables trim with trim force. Unfortunately it looks like i can only get El Capitan. Hmm.

https://larryjordan.com/articles/caution-ssd-drives-and-yosemite/

UPDATE: 12/18/15 1:52PM
10.10.4 installed with trim support. Despite the warnings its working fine. Apparantely the samsung 840,850 reported issues but it was on the linux OS so says Samsung.