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Mac Pro 5,1 longevity

C

cinergi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 2, 2012
56
12
Hello,

I'm considering a Mac Pro 5,1 for general office-type work. I don't have a requirement for audio or graphics/video production, which seem to be the most common use cases for these machines. Rather, I just want a solid Mac that I'll be able to upgrade as needed to keep it running for as long as possible. With this in mind, what's the outlook for support in future OSX versions beyond Mojave (which we already know is supported)? I don't necessarily mean official support from Apple, since dosdude1's Patch Tool can be used to upgrade machines that are not officially supported unless Apple drops support for a fundamental underlying technology in older machines (like OpenGL vs. Metal in Mojave, for example). Given the 5,1's relatively easy upgradability, are there any showstoppers foreseen for future OSX support? For example, the aging chipset?

Thanks
cinergi
 
No one can say as there and anyone who does is doing so on conjecture. My recommendation to you is if you should buy this system do so knowing that it runs 10.13 and may not run anything later (yes, I'm aware Apple has said it will run 10.14 but don't count on it until you see it).

If OS support is important to you then I would recommend looking at a different system. Either a 6,1 Mac Pro (if you want to stay with the Mac Pro), an iMac, or even the current Mini. All will suffice for the tasks you outlined.
 
pl1984 said:
(yes, I'm aware Apple has said it will run 10.14 but don't count on it until you see it).
Click to expand...

With a Metal support GPU, Beta's have been happily running for months. The FW has been updated and things are ready to go for the cMP 5,1 and Mojave. No doubt in my mind!

Lou
 
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flowrider said:
With a Metal support GPU, Beta's have been happily running for months. The FW has been updated and things are ready to go for the cMP 5,1 and Mojave. No doubt in my mind!
Click to expand...
Copland, Rhapsody come to my mind.
 
pl1984 said:
Copland, Rhapsody come to my mind.
Click to expand...

From over 20 years ago Unknown.jpeg

Lou
 
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InuNacho said:
Buy a used Mac Mini. Mac Pros chew through power and generate an obscene amount of heat just sitting around doing nothing.
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Not true. My 27" iMac generated probably 3 times more heat than my 2010 MacPro does. Heck even my son't 21.5" iMac generates more heat than my MacPro.Not to mention fan noise, my MacPro is easily 10 times quieter than my 27" iMac or my son's 21.5" iMac. Yes it does use more power, but also it is a much more advanced computer than the iMac or Mini.
 
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verdejt said:
Not true. My 27" iMac generated probably 3 times more heat than my 2010 MacPro does. Heck even my son't 21.5" iMac generates more heat than my MacPro.Not to mention fan noise, my MacPro is easily 10 times quieter than my 27" iMac or my son's 21.5" iMac. Yes it does use more power, but also it is a much more advanced computer than the iMac or Mini.
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OP said office work, I'm going to go on a limb and say advanced computing beyond a Macbook Air isn't required here.
 
flowrider said:
With a Metal support GPU, Beta's have been happily running for months. The FW has been updated and things are ready to go for the cMP 5,1 and Mojave. No doubt in my mind!

Lou
Click to expand...

Little doubt also but I remember the early beta releases of Mountain Lion officially working on the 5,1 and then suddenly........
 
I'd definitely go for a later model iMac for your use case.

iMac's CAN be upgraded, CPU's, RAM and HDD's can all be replaced with better ones - You just have to not be scared to pull it apart/void warranty.
 
The 2012 and newer iMac's have the screen held in place with adhesive making drive upgrades a little more tricky. The 2011 and older used magnets to hold the screen glass in place. You would use suction cups to remove the glass thereby getting you access to the screws holding the display in place.
 
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verdejt said:
The 2012 and newer iMac's have the screen held in place with adhesive making drive upgrades a little more tricky. The 2011 and older used magnets to hold the screen glass in place. You would use suction cups to remove the glass thereby getting you access to the screws holding the display in place.
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Having opened up a 2013 iMac just last week I can say that I would not recommend doing so. The adhesive is an absolute nightmare. Avoid.

If I was the OP, I would wait until November and see if we get a new MacBook Air replacement or even a new Mini. Sure, they’re not upgradeable but they’ll last a lot longer than a 5,1 at this stage.
Both would be more suitable given the use case IMO. Hook up to a nice 1440p monitor and job done.
This is my go to these days...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M913DVG/
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
flowrider said:
From over 20 years ago
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Yes. Apple had stated they would work with various model Macs, included support for those Macs in beta versions, and ultimately dropped them. Based on this I learned never to trust anyone when they say "It will..." until "It does". Buy something for what it is known to do and not what it will be expected to do.
 
This is exactly why I have been cautiously optimistic for Mojave with the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB GPU. The chances of 5,1 Mojave support are MUCH higher than previous betas, but there have been recent instances where Apple removed support in final versions. Just look at TB1/TB2 with eGPU around the 10.13.4 release time (may be off point version). TB1/TB2 was being tested with users (and mostly working fine) and it was fully dropped from release with just TB3 supporting eGPU natively. There are hacks to enable TB1/TB2, but that is not support - it's a hack.

I think one thing is becoming abundantly clear - there is (likely) no officially released magic potion that will make the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 behave like an Apple issued GPU. This was the initial beta hope of many, but unless there is a major firmware change (or new product release in the next few days) it does not appear likely.

Personally feel 10.14 will be the last official OS for 5,1. You'll likely be able to get to additional OS's with hacks of some kind (like the 3,1/4,1 users who can install 10.13 and 10.14 with patchers), but that is not officially supported.
 
verdejt said:
Not true. My 27" iMac generated probably 3 times more heat than my 2010 MacPro does. Heck even my son't 21.5" iMac generates more heat than my MacPro.Not to mention fan noise, my MacPro is easily 10 times quieter than my 27" iMac or my son's 21.5" iMac. Yes it does use more power, but also it is a much more advanced computer than the iMac or Mini.
Click to expand...

I think you mean the iMac run hotter (higher temperature), but not really generate more heat (energy lost).

The cMP definitely generate much more heat (use more energy), but because it has a better cooling system, therefore, able to remove heat very effectively, and keep the components run at a lower temperature.
 
h9826790 said:
I think you mean the iMac run hotter (higher temperature), but not really generate more heat (energy lost).

The cMP definitely generate much more heat (use more energy), but because it has a better cooling system, therefore, able to remove heat very effectively, and keep the components run at a lower temperature.
Click to expand...

I was gonna say the same thing. the cMP can dissipate the heat way better than an iMac even though the cMP makes more heat in comparison
 
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It's not out of the question that the 5,1 might run macOS 10.15 officially. IIRC Apple have been known to keep the same overall system requirements for 2 releases in a row.

Though, if the 2019 MP is out by that point, they'd probably instead want to send the not-so-subtle hint that it's time to buy the new model.
 
bsbeamer said:
Personally feel 10.14 will be the last official OS for 5,1. You'll likely be able to get to additional OS's with hacks of some kind (like the 3,1/4,1 users who can install 10.13 and 10.14 with patchers), but that is not officially supported.
Click to expand...

I agree with that statement.

Lou
 
frou said:
It's not out of the question that the 5,1 might run macOS 10.15 officially. IIRC Apple have been known to keep the same overall system requirements for 2 releases in a row.

Though, if the 2019 MP is out by that point, they'd probably instead want to send the not-so-subtle hint that it's time to buy the new model.
Click to expand...
It's doubtful many here would need any kind of motivation from Apple in order to buy the new model. In fact it seems the other way around: People here want the new model, they just need Apple to provide it.
 
pl1984 said:
It's doubtful many here would need any kind of motivation from Apple in order to buy the new model. In fact it seems the other way around: People here want the new model, they just need Apple to provide it.
Click to expand...
Hard to say until it's known whether Apple can resist making some idiosyncratic decision that makes the product goofy.
 
Thanks to all for your recommendations! I should add a bit of context. I currently have a mid-2011 27" iMac that I've upgraded myself over the years with extra RAM and an SSD. It runs great for my needs. However, its AMD Radeon 6xxx series GPU is no longer supported in Mojave (because Metal). No problem, I thought to myself, I'll just upgrade the GPU to a Metal-capable one. Turns out it is impossible to find a Metal-capable GPU with the Apple EFI ROM in the MXM form factor used by the iMac - such a thing doesn't exist. I can find plenty from Alienware or MSI laptops, but not with the EFI ROM without which I won't have a boot screen nor brightness control for the built-in iMac display. No go.

My options are therefore to stay on High Sierra (not sustainable in the long term), upgrade to Mojave using dosdude1's patcher and lose GPU acceleration, or buy a new computer (hence my original question in this thread). I think I'll try upgrading without the GPU acceleration just to see how it runs; some people who have tried say it's acceptable while others say it's unusable. If it's the former, great; if it's the latter, the only choice left is a new computer... probably a 5K iMac or a new Mini, if one is released. I've given up on the Mac Pro 5,1 idea because it's an old platform and I don't want to end up with the same upgradability issue in 1 or 2 years.

-cinergi
 
cinergi said:
Thanks to all for your recommendations! I should add a bit of context. I currently have a mid-2011 27" iMac that I've upgraded myself over the years with extra RAM and an SSD. It runs great for my needs. However, its AMD Radeon 6xxx series GPU is no longer supported in Mojave (because Metal). No problem, I thought to myself, I'll just upgrade the GPU to a Metal-capable one. Turns out it is impossible to find a Metal-capable GPU with the Apple EFI ROM in the MXM form factor used by the iMac - such a thing doesn't exist. I can find plenty from Alienware or MSI laptops, but not with the EFI ROM without which I won't have a boot screen nor brightness control for the built-in iMac display. No go.
-cinergi
Click to expand...
Check the netkas forum. They just solved your problem.
 
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