Mac Pro upgrade processor

[jamesjingyi]

Hi, just a quick question. I know that the processor in the Mac Pro is user upgradeable but just wondering whether I can put a core i7 in place of the current Xeon Quad core. It has the same socket type LGA2011 (I think), just wondering whether OS X will recognise it?

Thanks

 

[Macdctr]

xcodeSyn posted this in another thread....

Yes, you can if you choose to after upgrading to firmware 5,1 of course. The i7 970 is equivalent to the W3670 Xeon but without ECC memory support and only supports memory speed up to 1066MHz. Your ECC memory would be wasted and you can use non-ECC desktop memory instead.

Here's the link to the thread he posted in if you want to read up some more.... https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-2-26-to-dual-2-93-ghz.1523036/#post-16651132

 

[jamesjingyi]

xcodeSyn posted this in another thread....




Here's the link to the thread he posted in if you want to read up some more.... https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-2-26-to-dual-2-93-ghz.1523036/#post-16651132

Thank you!

 

[Macdctr]

You're welcome!

 

[bokkow]

EXCEPT! The Mac Pro uses S1366, not S2011, be carefull which CPU you're going to buy.
In the single CPU Mac Pro you can indeed use consumer grade i7's, you can use 920 to 990X but why not look for the Xeon equivalent? They are roughly the same price and maybe even a bit cheaper!

 

[handsome pete]

EXCEPT! The Mac Pro uses S1366, not S2011

No, the current Mac Pro uses socket LGA2011.

You should be able to use an i7, but with the limitations listed above. Quite frankly, I don't believe there is much of a benefit to "upgrade" to an i7 because the cost savings are minimal (if any).

The Broadwell chips that the MacPro speculators are waiting on use the LGA2011-3 socket, so you will not be able to use them as an upgrade (much like the currently available Haswell Xeons). The Skylake cpus next in line will likely use a different socket as well, further blurring any speculation whether or not Apple will even bother with Broadwell at all.

 

[bokkow]

Are we talking Mac Pro 5.1 or 6.1? I saw 5.1 so that's why I said S1366, otherwise you're right indeed!

 

[handsome pete]

Are we talking Mac Pro 5.1 or 6.1? I saw 5.1 so that's why I said S1366, otherwise you're right indeed!

I assumed 6.1 since he said "current Xeon quad core."

 

[jamesjingyi]

Yes, sorry I do mean the 'trashcan' -esque designed one. Might just stick with my quad core until I have enough for the 8 core version which I think will be better suited for my needs. Thanks for your help!