MP All Models Mac Pro CPU Compatibility List

[apixelpro]

It would be interesting to know the exact CPU chip you have. I was under the perhaps mistaken impression that you had to be flashed to (5,1) level to run the Westmere's such as a W3680. If you have a Nehalem CPU and very CPU bound workloads, it might be worth an upgrade to a W3680 or W3690 if you can find one cheap.

Here's what I got; if this isn't the answer how would I find out?

Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.32 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 24 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 6.4 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.39f5
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f5

 

[h9826790]

Here's what I got; if this isn't the answer how would I find out?

Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.32 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 24 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 6.4 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.39f5
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f5

That’s it, the B08 firmware support newer CPU, but not support the newer macOS.

 

[apixelpro]

That’s it, the B08 firmware support newer CPU, but not support the newer macOS.

So, would flashing to 5,1 provide any benefit, if I wont be able to upgrade to 10.12?

 

[saulinpa]

It would be interesting to know the exact CPU chip you have. I was under the perhaps mistaken impression that you had to be flashed to (5,1) level to run the Westmere's such as a W3680. If you have a Nehalem CPU and very CPU bound workloads, it might be worth an upgrade to a W3680 or W3690 if you can find one cheap.

You were not mistaken as you do need the 5,1 flash. When I swapped logic boards my W3680 wouldn't boot. I had to put the old CPU back and reflash. Then the W3680 worked again.

 

[kschendel]

Here's what I got; if this isn't the answer how would I find out?

Open a terminal and enter:

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

 

[saulinpa]

That’s it, the B08 firmware support newer CPU, but not support the newer macOS.

apixelpro has the oddball 4,1 firmware (someone said it came with refurbished machines). I would still go to the MP5,1 firmware to give the most flexibility.

 

[ActionableMango]

So, would flashing to 5,1 provide any benefit, if I wont be able to upgrade to 10.12?

The 5,1 firmware is newer. There isn't a changelist so we don't know what's better about it other than the obvious differences such as support for Westmere CPUs, 1333 RAM, and Sierra. There are some minor things as well... there is a GPU fan bug that is very prevalent on the 4,1 but not the 5,1, and IIRC when you get an Apple GPU Upgrade Kit 5770 or 5870 you only get audio out of the GPU ports on a 5,1.

Also, if you install High Sierra you'll get an even newer firmware flash to support APFS.

Your "B08" 4,1 firmware is rare and special in that it supports Westmere processors and 1333 RAM. This firmware was only found in the last few new 2009 Mac Pros and then all of the refurbs that followed after those.

Keep in mind if you upgrade to the 5,1 firmware you cannot go back to your "B08" 4,1 firmware--you can only go back to the older "B07" firmware that doesn't have Westmere/1333 support. That being said, I don't know why anyone would want to go back.

 

[h9826790]

There is only one benefit I know that the B08 can offer but 5,1 firmware cannot. Which is to show the boot manager if the boot drive is installed on a Sonnet Tempo SSD card.

But this is a very specific issue, and Sonnet should provide the fix, but not Apple. In fact, Sonnet said they are working on this issue 4 years ago, but never provide any fix or work around.

 

[LightBulbFun]

im curious where is it said that the B08 firmware is compatible with Westmere CPUs? @apixelpro is clearly running a Nehalem CPU in his Mac Pro 4,1 (notice its 4 Core 3.33Ghz with 8MB of L3 cache, all Westmere CPUs at that speed and core config have 12MB of L3 cache) Apple did add a 3.33Ghz Quad Core option to the single CPU 4,1 later in its life. I wonder if its those machines that also got the B08 Firmware...

AFAIK as well the B07 Firmware will also boot with all Nehalem CPUs but might not recognise the Speed on them correctly (Much like fitting Penryn CPUs to an iMac7,1 or Overclocking an iBook G3 clamshell you fitted a 7410 too but forgot to update the BootROM on...)

 

[apixelpro]

A round of applause for all of you, you guys sure know your stuff! I really appreciate all the replies and input, but it’s starting to go way over my head…

*In simplified terms*, can someone confirm the following:


[Y/N] My current Nehalem CPU supports faster RAM, up to 1333 (yay! I'm currently using 1066)

[Y/N] Flashing the firmware to 5,1 will allow the installation of 10.12.x

[Y/N] A faster CPU is required to install 10.12.x (Sierra, not High Sierra)

[Y/N] Flashing the firmware to 5,1 will allow the installation of a more powerful CPU (of which there is only one, and that one is only slightly faster)


Thanks!

 

[ActionableMango]

im curious where is it said that the B08 firmware is compatible with Westmere CPUs?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2568753

Basically it sounds like a very early Westmere/1333 firmware intended for 2010's but that made it into some very late 2009's.

 

[h9826790]

A round of applause for all of you, you guys sure know your stuff! I really appreciate all the replies and input, but it’s starting to go way over my head…

*In simplified terms*, can someone confirm the following:


[Y/N] My current Nehalem CPU supports faster RAM, up to 1333 (yay! I'm currently using 1066)

[Y/N] Flashing the firmware to 5,1 will allow the installation of 10.12.x

[Y/N] A faster CPU is required to install 10.12.x (Sierra, not High Sierra)

[Y/N] Flashing the firmware to 5,1 will allow the installation of a more powerful CPU (of which there is only one, and that one is only slightly faster)


Thanks!

Yes, B08 support 1333MHz RAM

Yes

No, the macOS supported is limited by the firmware version, not your CPU speed.

No in your case, AFAIK, your B08 firmware support the same CPUs as the 5,1 firmware does.

 

[LightBulbFun]

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2568753

Basically it sounds like a very early Westmere/1333 firmware intended for 2010's but that made it into some very late 2009's.

very interesting thanks has anyone actually tried Westmere CPUs with such Firmware? and I wonder if Westmeres do indeed work, does it support CPUs the 5,1 supposedly does not?

it would be good to dump the Firmware from a B08 machine before someone flashes it to a 5,1 to save the Firmware for historic purposes and also to enable people to flash their 4,1s Back to or to the B08 firmware... (you can dump the Firmware via an EFI shell, theres info about it here http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,874.0.html )

 

[ActionableMango]

very interesting thanks has anyone actually tried Westmere CPUs with such Firmware? and I wonder if Westmeres do indeed work, does it support CPUs the 5,1 supposedly does not?

I'm fairly convinced that people have. Geekbench shows people using Westmere processors on 4,1 Mac Pros with the B08 firmware.

I know Geekbench includes hackintoshes spoofed as genuine Mac Pros, but the entries seem genuine to me because they have memory configurations like 6GB of 1066 RAM that was default on a 2009 but would be weird on a hackintosh. Also, the BIOS version is reported as "MP41.88Z.0081.B08" which would be weird for a hackintosher to pick such a specific rare version to spoof.

 

[kschendel]

(snip)
[Y/N] Flashing the firmware to 5,1 will allow the installation of a more powerful CPU (of which there is only one, and that one is only slightly faster)

Have you done the sysctl Terminal command I mentioned? If you have a Nehalem CPU, as LightBulbFun suggests, you can probably get a nice if modest improvement by going to one of the Westmere CPU's; more than simply clock rate improvement. (If you already had a Westmere W3680, going up to the top spec W3690 is indeed a very minor boost, as it's purely a clock push.)

 

[apixelpro]

Yes, B08 support 1333MHz RAM
Yes
No, the macOS supported is limited by the firmware version, not your CPU speed.
No in your case, AFAIK, your B08 firmware support the same CPUs as the 5,1 firmware does.

Great! So I only need to flash my firmware to 5,1 then I can update to Sierra, and eventually upgrade my ram to 1333's. And while it can be done, upgrading the CPU is not absolutely required for my cMP.

And since I confirmed my current graphics is/has EFI, (shows boot manager with option key pressed during bootup) I can/should do the firmware flash to 5,1, then replace the graphics card with a Apple ATI HD 5770 1GB EFI 64 Video Card after the firmware is updated?

Thanks!

Thanks again!
[doublepost=1519249257][/doublepost]

Have you done the sysctl Terminal command I mentioned? If you have a Nehalem CPU, as LightBulbFun suggests, you can probably get a nice if modest improvement by going to one of the Westmere CPU's; more than simply clock rate improvement. (If you already had a Westmere W3680, going up to the top spec W3690 is indeed a very minor boost, as it's purely a clock push.)

I havn't tried that yet, but will this evening. Be prepared for more dumb questions!

 

[ActionableMango]

eventually upgrade my ram to 1333's

I doubt the difference in ram speed will be noticeable in real life use cases unless you are using some sort of exotic scientific program that hammers ram all the time.

If you happen to be removing the old RAM sticks anyway in order to make room for higher capacity sticks, by all means get 1333. But I wouldn't pay to just swap out 1066 for 1333.

 

[apixelpro]

I doubt the difference in ram speed will be noticeable in real life use cases unless you are using some sort of exotic scientific program that hammers ram all the time.

If you happen to be removing the old RAM sticks anyway in order to make room for higher capacity sticks, by all means get 1333. But I wouldn't pay to just swap out 1066 for 1333.

Thanks! It wasn't a priority, just curious. I'm counting on the new 1GB graphics card to pick up the remaining slack I see- waiting for my preview images to fully rez in Lightroom.

 

[h9826790]

Great! So I only need to flash my firmware to 5,1 then I can update to Sierra, and eventually upgrade my ram to 1333's. And while it can be done, upgrading the CPU is not absolutely required for my cMP.

And since I confirmed my current graphics is/has EFI, (shows boot manager with option key pressed during bootup) I can/should do the firmware flash to 5,1, then replace the graphics card with a Apple ATI HD 5770 1GB EFI 64 Video Card after the firmware is updated?

Thanks!

Thanks again!
[doublepost=1519249257][/doublepost]

I havn't tried that yet, but will this evening. Be prepared for more dumb questions!

You can replace the GPU now, that’s OS dependent, but firmware independent. Unless you want to upgrade to a card that required Seirra or later. Then yes, I suggest you flash your 4,1 to 5,1, perform the OS uograde, then install the new graphic card.

 

[apixelpro]

You can replace the GPU now, that’s OS dependent, but firmware independent. Unless you want to upgrade to a card that required Seirra or later. Then yes, I suggest you flash your 4,1 to 5,1, perform the OS uograde, then install the new graphic card.

I was impatient to try out the ATI HD5770 when it arrived, so it's already installed and running fine. I may not be able to get to flashing the CPU for a few days, but I'll chime back in when it's done. Thanks to all!

 

[apixelpro]

Flashed!
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B08 is now
Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03

Everything seems to be running fine so far
Next stop OS Sierra!

Thanks!

 

[ActionableMango]

very interesting thanks has anyone actually tried Westmere CPUs with such Firmware?

Well now someone here at MR has tried it, and it didn't work. So I have to take that back.

 

[tsialex]

With the today’s news that Intel will not mitigate the microcode for Meltdown/Spectre on Gulftown Xeons (W3690/i7-9xx), maybe it’s a good time to update the Xeon table to correctly indicate what’s is what.

 

[kohlson]

Intel will not mitigate the microcode

In reviewing the Intel chart, it seems to almost (but not quite) CPU specific. For example, W3690 won't get the remediation, but W3680 will.
Perhaps a footnote in the chart that references the Intel status: https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/microcode-update-guidance.pdf

 

[h9826790]

In reviewing the Intel chart, it seems to almost (but not quite) CPU specific. For example, W3690 won't get the remediation, but W3680 will.
Perhaps a footnote in the chart that references the Intel status: https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/microcode-update-guidance.pdf

I think that's exactly what tsialex want to express. Only W3690 won't be updated. So, suggest to state that in the table.