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Mac Pro CPU Upgrade Question Need Help

I

iGrant

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2006
542
0
Ridgeway
Hey Guys,

I trying to help my Dad out. He has a Mac Pro with 2 x 2Ghz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor. I know an upgrade is possible on this machine, but what I want to know is can I upgrade the machine with two 54XX series Intel Xeon Processors and make his Mac Pro a 8-Core Mac. Here are the ones I am looking into ordering for my Dad and installing:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117151

Or we might getting one that is even faster, but still apart of the 54XX series.

Thanks
iGrant
 
The original (1,1) Mac Pros do not support 5400 or 5200 series processors according to those who have tried it. Selling and buying a faster system will likely be the best option.
 
Umbongo said:
The original (1,1) Mac Pros do not support 5400 or 5200 series processors according to those who have tried it. Selling and buying a faster system will likely be the best option.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by (1,1)???


Thanks
iGrant
 
You can upgrade the processors. I have the same system and been looking at doing this. Here is a link... http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6 . You have to use clovertown processors. The 3ghz are 1200 per processor at newegg. You can grab a refurb octo for almost the same price as buying 2 quad processors. The 2.66 is a bit cheaper though. You might want to wait and see if the new mac pro's coming out with the i7 processors are worth it. From what I have read, it should be an enormous speed bump. Not sure of the cost though. At least the older pro's should drop in price. I'm waiting until the new one's come out before deciding myself.
 
(1,1) is the value of the computer model machine identifier string, when you drill down to -- About this Mac > More Info > Hardware > Model Identifier > MacPro1,1
 
Basically 5100 and 5300 series chips are compatible, and 5200 and 5400 are compatible as far as chipsets go. That's the easy way to remember it. The old Mac Pro (1,1 and 2,1) versions were based on 5100 and 5300 CPU's. The newest Mac Pro which already has quad core chips (3,1 I believe) are based on the 5400 chips.

I just upgraded my old (1,1) Quad 2.66 (Dual-Dual is what I would rather call it) to Dual Quad chips. I went the route of 5320's and did the BSEL mod to mod them from 1.86ghz and 1066mhz fsb to 2.33ghz chips at 1333mhz fsb. When using single threaded apps I am losing a bit of performance, but comparing things like Handbrake I'm seeing a 1.6-1.7x improvement, which would make sense. I went from 10.64ghz to 18.64ghz. I happened to find a deal and picked up two matched chips (same SL spec number SL9MV and same stepping) for $150 each. Seemed like a pretty cheap upgrade to quad core CPU's.

I hope this helps.
 
Are any 53xx CPU compatible? In particular, I see that there are E5310/5320/5330 and 5335/5345 models out there.

I am looking at a used Map Pro (original model, everything stock apart from RAM @ 4GB) and would not mind upgrading the CPU if can be done at a reasonable cost. I know about Apple's refurb store but halas that's not an option where I live.
 
All of the E53xx series should be compatible. I'm not sure about the L53xx series. But the E5310/5320 will run at 1066mhz FSB unless you do the BSEL mod. The E5335/5345/5355/5365 should run at the native 1333mhz fsb by default without the BSEL mod.
 
I'm also thinking to upgrade my Dual 2.0 Mac Pro with 5300s. Someone at insanelymac got 2.4ghz engineering samples with 1066FSB and BSEL mod to 3.0ghz.
 
First generations Mac Pro's still sell for crazy high prices... a bit of an anomaly in the computer world. This is mainly due to the fact that the 2nd generation came out with more features, but at a higher price...

The second the 3rd generation Mac Pro's come out, the first generation prices will plummet, like the DOW did today (yesterday I guess).

MY guess, you can probably sell your Mac Pro 4-core 2GHz for about $1700-$1800. Sell it in december.. then... hopefully new Mac Pro's come in January with a price drop back to the $2500 mark or less.
 
socket 771 iirc. Just use any chip that is apple uses in their boxes and you shouldn't have a problem
 
Clock speed vs number of cores

As my sig says, I have an first gen. Mac Pro with 2x2.66ghz for 4 cores total. It's extremely difficult for me to bring my equipment over here to India, so I really want to maximize the life of the box.

Checking eBay I see 2x2.33ghz Clovertown (quad core instead of my present dual core) for $400 shipped - maybe cheaper if I win auctions. Cheap upgrade to double my number of cores, but at a slight loss of clock speed. I'm not hitting any kind of bottle neck, I'm thinking more for when Snow Leopard comes out and having 8 cores will be better - and I'm concerned that if I wait 2 years to upgrade I won't be able to find any 'ancient' Clovertown processors to upgrade to at that point in time.

I know nobody knows much about Grand Central and Snow Leopard, but do you think it's a worth-while upgrade?

Also, just to sneak in a second question, do you have to have matched pairs for processors? Say I find a deal on just one 3.0ghz Clovertown, can I stick one of those in? Do both processors have to be identical?

Thanks guys!
 
The processors have to be identical. If you aren't utilizing all 4 cores most of the time then don't bother doing anything. Grand Central isn't going to automatically make more cores useful. It has to be taken advantage of by developers so it would be wiser to wait and see what the developers of the software you intend want 8 cores for do with it. Right now, for most things, more MHz are better than more cores so stick with what you have. 2.33GHz Clovertowns are going to be on the used market for a long time to come yet so I wouldn't worry about not being able to find them in the future.
 
Interesting feedback. I think I'll do as you suggest: wait and see if Snow Leopard will bring real life benefits. Wish faster Clovertowns weren't insanely expensive. I'll keep watching on eBay.

As for Grand Central's benefit, here's a pasted excerpt - I'm not disputing your claim - just parroting the marketing hype in ignorance :)

It talks about how the industry is moving from faster clock speed to more cores... "Grand Central takes full advantage by making all of Mac OS X multicore aware and optimizing it for allocating tasks across multiple cores and processors."

I do wonder if that means, like it sounds, that all bundled Apple Apps (Mail, Safari, iTunes etc.) will be multicore aware, unlike now where only Plex and Visualhub (among the apps I use) are multicore aware.

8 cores processing 3kb emails will be awesome :D
 
Mac Pro CPU Upgrade Question Need Help

I'm thinking of upgrading my two dual-core 2.00GHz Woodcrests (5130) to two quad-core 2.33GHz Clovertowns (E5345). My only concern is that the power consumption of my Woodcrests is 65W each, while the Clovertowns consume 80W each. I'm wondering whether I'd need to upgrade my heatsinks as well.

Thanks.
 
yaysprinkledirt said:
I'm thinking of upgrading my two dual-core 2.00GHz Woodcrests (5130) to two quad-core 2.33GHz Clovertowns (E5345). My only concern is that the power consumption of my Woodcrests is 65W each, while the Clovertowns consume 80W each. I'm wondering whether I'd need to upgrade my heatsinks as well.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No you don't need to.
 
tobyg said:
Basically 5100 and 5300 series chips are compatible, and 5200 and 5400 are compatible as far as chipsets go. That's the easy way to remember it. The old Mac Pro (1,1 and 2,1) versions were based on 5100 and 5300 CPU's. The newest Mac Pro which already has quad core chips (3,1 I believe) are based on the 5400 chips.

I just upgraded my old (1,1) Quad 2.66 (Dual-Dual is what I would rather call it) to Dual Quad chips. I went the route of 5320's and did the BSEL mod to mod them from 1.86ghz and 1066mhz fsb to 2.33ghz chips at 1333mhz fsb. When using single threaded apps I am losing a bit of performance, but comparing things like Handbrake I'm seeing a 1.6-1.7x improvement, which would make sense. I went from 10.64ghz to 18.64ghz. I happened to find a deal and picked up two matched chips (same SL spec number SL9MV and same stepping) for $150 each. Seemed like a pretty cheap upgrade to quad core CPU's.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Hi,

can you show me a URL where this BSEL mod is exactly shown?

Thanks!

Ron
 
yaysprinkledirt said:
I'm thinking of upgrading my two dual-core 2.00GHz Woodcrests (5130) to two quad-core 2.33GHz Clovertowns (E5345). My only concern is that the power consumption of my Woodcrests is 65W each, while the Clovertowns consume 80W each. I'm wondering whether I'd need to upgrade my heatsinks as well.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I am thinking of doing the same thing. Looks like a good idea if you can pick up the E5345's for a cheap price. The higher speed CPus ramp up exponentially in price.
 
chipchen said:
First generations Mac Pro's still sell for crazy high prices... a bit of an anomaly in the computer world. This is mainly due to the fact that the 2nd generation came out with more features, but at a higher price...

The second the 3rd generation Mac Pro's come out, the first generation prices will plummet, like the DOW did today (yesterday I guess).

MY guess, you can probably sell your Mac Pro 4-core 2GHz for about $1700-$1800. Sell it in december.. then... hopefully new Mac Pro's come in January with a price drop back to the $2500 mark or less.
Click to expand...

1. Anything with an Apple logo retains value better than it should.

2. The first gen prices will not likely "plummet", simply drop a little.

3. Notwithstanding the fact that that time has already passed due to the age of this thread, anyone who expects the Mac Pro to get CHEAPER is delusional.
 
I am also looking into the costs of upgrading my Mac Pro 1,1 (2 x Dual 2.66GHz processors - Intel model 5150).

I've been looking at all of the following 1333MHz FSB processors:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9RU - Existing 5150 (Woodcrest Dual 2.66GHz, 65nm)
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLAED - X5365 (Clovertown Quad 3.0GHz, 65nm)
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLASB - X5450 (Harpertown Quad 3.0GHz, 45nm)
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLANP - X5460 (Harpertown Quad 3.16GHz, 45nm)
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBBF - X5470 (Harpertown Quad 3.33GHz, 45nm)

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon5000/specifications.htm - comparison matrix

I don't understand the earlier comment about 51xx/53xx not being compatible with 54xx. Everything I have read about the introduction of Harpertown (54xx) suggests the 45nm models are interchangeable with the 65nm models. Why would this not be the case for Mac Pros?

Has anybody here done an upgrade to one of the above processors, and if so, could they confirm whether it is working?
 
the harpertown (54xx) processors are NOT compatible with the 1,1 mac pro. if you have a woodcrest (51xx) mac pro and wish to upgrade to 8 cores, you must use clovertown (53xx) processors
 
bozz2006 said:
the harpertown (54xx) processors are NOT compatible with the 1,1 mac pro. if you have a woodcrest (51xx) mac pro and wish to upgrade to 8 cores, you must use clovertown (53xx) processors
Click to expand...
Do you know why, and also for sure, bozz2006? As I say, I have read that all the 1333MHz FSB 54xx chips are normally interchangeable with the 1333MHz 51xx/53xx range. This would mean that the Mac Pros are unique in this respect.
 
sibruk said:
Do you know why, and also for sure, bozz2006? As I say, I have read that all the 1333MHz FSB 54xx chips are normally interchangeable with the 1333MHz 51xx/53xx range. This would mean that the Mac Pros are unique in this respect.
Click to expand...

They have been tested by others. There is (or was) a long thread on the insanelymac forums about building your own Mac Pro and people in there tested them.

It's a firmware thing I guess and Apple have no interest in making them work. It certainly wouldn't be the first time firmware/bios updates were needed to get compatible processors working, it happens all the time on the PC side.
 
Umbongo said:
They have been tested by others. There is (or was) a long thread on the insanelymac forums about building your own Mac Pro and people in there tested them...
Click to expand...
OK, thank you for confirming. So it looks like the fastest processor I can put in my Mac Pro 1,1 is going to be a 5365 then... I'd better get saving!
 
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