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carpsafari

Suspended
Sep 13, 2015
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the Netherlands
That info is not correct, also the W3680 recognizes the 16Gb ram. It will be best 48Gb
64Gb...so 4x16Gb...pretty useless too, because take out 1 strip and you will see its faster than 4x16Gb

2 mistakes
 

FGamble

macrumors newbie
Oct 19, 2014
8
0
That info is not correct, also the W3680 recognizes the 16Gb ram. It will be best 48Gb
64Gb...so 4x16Gb...pretty useless too, because take out 1 strip and you will see its faster than 4x16Gb

2 mistakes

What info is not correct about the X series taking 64GB and the W series not? I was under the impression that W series can only recognize up to 56GB (3x16gb and 1x8GB) whereas the X series can recognize the full 64GB RAM. Is this a mistake?

Also, I have seen people state that the extra RAM in slot 4 is probably of more value than the small potential and mostly theoretical loss in performance over just using the 3 slots.
 

carpsafari

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Sep 13, 2015
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That Apple info and Intel info is wrong...W series will see 64Gb. I have 48Gb 3x16Gb in a 6-core.
And people say a lot, mostly not knowing better or they repeat somebody else, test it yourself, I did,...3x... is faster.
Has to do with the way the cpu is running, Triple channel, so will be faster with only 3 slot to check it will take longer to address the extra 4th slot.
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
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Hong Kong
That Apple info and Intel info is wrong...W series will see 64Gb. I have 48Gb 3x16Gb in a 6-core.
And people say a lot, mostly not knowing better or they repeat somebody else, test it yourself, I did,...3x... is faster.
Has to do with the way the cpu is running, Triple channel, so will be faster with only 3 slot to check it will take longer to address the extra 4th slot.

Sorry to tell you that you are wrong. The W36xx may be can take 64G RAM, but not in a cMP. It's been proved that it can only take up to 16x3 + 8, with 4x16G RAM, the w36xx won't boot in a cMP. You can try that yourself, and prove all other members are wrong.

3x16 can run faster in benchmark, which intentionally disable the cache. In real world, cache should be used, and the performance hit by not optimising the triple channel architecture is almost zero. However, I must agree that if anyone's workflow cannot utilise more than 48G of RAM, then 48G is better then 64G. But if the software can use more then 48G (e.g. as cache), then 64G sure run better in real world.
 
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carpsafari

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Sep 13, 2015
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When the CPU reads SLBVX as this one, it is the right one.

BTW you upgrade a 8 core or a 4 core, for a 4 core this one is cheaper, works only for single cpu!

INtel W3690

You cannot mix RAM!
 

zoomp

macrumors regular
Aug 20, 2010
230
389
When the CPU reads SLBVX as this one, it is the right one.

BTW you upgrade a 8 core or a 4 core, for a 4 core this one is cheaper, works only for single cpu!

INtel W3690

You cannot mix RAM!

Thanks a lot. My mac pro is a dual CPU one, so I would go with linked pair. I had the impression that the 1333 RAM could run as 1066. So, would I need to change all my current 1066 RAM to 1333?
 

h9826790

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Apr 3, 2014
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flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
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Yes 1333Mhz ram will run at 1066 in a 4 core, you can keep the 1066 after upgrading or change ALL for 1333Mhz, you can't mix them!

Not really true. There are four core CPUs that will support 1333MHz RAM at full speed. A couple of examples are:

X5590, W5677. There are more.

Lou
 

zoomp

macrumors regular
Aug 20, 2010
230
389
Not really true. There are four core CPUs that will support 1333MHz RAM at full speed. A couple of examples are:

X5590, W5677. There are more.

Lou


So, if I upgrade to a X5690 and keep my RAM at 1066, will it be OK? Will I gain a lot by upgrading my whole RAM to 1333?
 

zoomp

macrumors regular
Aug 20, 2010
230
389
Will I feel the difference from a E5620 (mid 2010 5,1 dual quad 2.4) to a X5690? From geekbench website, it reads like it's only 35% faster.
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
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^^^^I have a 5,1 cMP and wen from dual E5620s to X5677s. 2.4 to 3.46 dual quads. I certainly felt the difference. My Geekbench scores are attached.


E5620 Geekbench.jpg X5677 Geekbench.jpg

I know the The E5620 is Geekbench 2 and the X5677 is Geekbench 3, but I believe the scores are comparable, unlike Geekbench 4.

Lou
 
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justintylermoore

macrumors newbie
Sep 15, 2016
1
0
United States
AWESOME resource! Thanks guys! I’ve been slowly upgrading my 5,1 and I may have finally reached the max? I was thinking of upgrading the processors but I’m not sure I can do any better.... What my specs are as of now:

2x6-Core Intel Xeon @ 2.66GHz
64GB RAM
2x500GB Internal SSD’s (this has made the biggest improvement of anything)
8TB RAID system (4x4TB Drives)
Bluetooth LE 4.02 (usb dongle and some hacking)
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 3x27" Dell IPS Monitors (I know. Dell. Don’t judge. I do have 2 Apple Cinema Displays from the same era as the machine but they just don’t produce the brightness or colors these do.)

Should I stop while I’m ahead? or can I upgrade the processor to be speedier? Or should I upgrade the graphics card? I don’t know what would be wisest. Thoughts?
 

orph

macrumors 68000
Dec 12, 2005
1,884
393
UK
:E what do you do on your computer?
id not upgrade things that will not improve your workflow.
what do you want to see improvement on ?
 

Khendal

macrumors member
Sep 8, 2010
38
2
I've upgraded my mac pro 4.1 to 5.1 and it worked, then to 32gb of ram 1333 with stock cpu...and it worked... now i've just installed a Xeon X5680 in a single cpu... and first time i reach the login screen...then shut down.
Now i have a red led... what does it mean?

Thanks for your help.
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
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Hong Kong
I've upgraded my mac pro 4.1 to 5.1 and it worked, then to 32gb of ram 1333 with stock cpu...and it worked... now i've just installed a Xeon X5680 in a single cpu... and first time i reach the login screen...then shut down.
Now i have a red led... what does it mean?

Thanks for your help.

How did you apply the thermal paste?
 

owbp

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2016
719
245
Belgrade, Serbia
@ActionableMango ,
Hey, i have just one question regarding first post.
It says that E5520/50/70 are compatible with Xserve3,1 but E5530 and E5540 are not.
Now, since the Xserve is the least popular Mac, did you just put CPU's that are stock from Apple, or did you add them from user experiences?
I ask that because all 5 CPUs have the same CPUID and there shouldn't be any difference between them that Mac can see.


P.S. This isn't in any way critique of the thread, just me comparing microcodes, firmwares and other things that i do not understand. :D
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
@ActionableMango ,
Hey, i have just one question regarding first post.
It says that E5520/50/70 are compatible with Xserve3,1 but E5530 and E5540 are not.
Now, since the Xserve is the least popular Mac, did you just put CPU's that are stock from Apple, or did you add them from user experiences?
I ask that because all 5 CPUs have the same CPUID and there shouldn't be any difference between them that Mac can see.


P.S. This isn't in any way critique of the thread, just me comparing microcodes, firmwares and other things that i do not understand. :D

I am not very familiar in this area, but it seems all about if the CPU is listed in the Mac's EFI. e.g. Not all Westmere CPU can be used on the 5,1.
 
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