Mac Pro 4,1 Upgrade Advice

[OS-SEX]

I recently purchased an '09 Mac Pro 2.66 quad core with a Radeon 5770 and 12 GB of RAM. It's a pretty powerful machine for my needs but I'd like to squeeze a little more oomph out of it for 3D gaming and some video editing. Given a limited budget, would I get more bang for my buck with a CPU upgrade or should I look into a better video card? I've seen the cpu upgrade videos for this machine and this seems like an upgrade I could definitely handle. What processor or video card would be a solid upgrade without breaking the bank?

 

[h9826790]

You may install x-plane (free download) and run it. Try the setting you prefer for gaming (resolution, texture, etc.). And then check if your machine is limited by the CPU or GPU. If you are happy with the frame rate, may be there is no need to upgrade.

 

[Synchro3]

I've seen the cpu upgrade videos for this machine and this seems like an upgrade I could definitely handle. What processor or video card would be a solid upgrade without breaking the bank?

The Xeon W3690 (6-core 3.46 GHZ) is now at eBay for sale for $340.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40

I bought one for my 4,1 Mac Pro. Single Core +25% Multicore +80% (old Processor was a W3540 2.93 GHz). The increase will be significant compared to your 2.66 Quad.

 

[augusto58]

I hope that is meaningful, otherwise have a 6-core and useless.
I need to buy myself a MacPro 2009 and then make the changes as yours.
good luck.

: Mela:

 

[Hugbrother]

I bought one for my 4,1 Mac Pro. Single Core +25% Multicore +80% (old Processor was a W3540 2.93 GHz). The increase will be significant compared to your 2.66 Quad.

Hey Synchro,

Is this with the 5,1 upgrade?

 

[Synchro3]

Yes, if you want to use a Hex Core, you have to upgrade the firmware to 5,1:

Tool here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=423064&d=1373767759