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MacPro 2.66 Newbie Questions

W

Waynec

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 6, 2009
35
0
I have just purchased the original Macpro 2.66 which I believe is -

MA356LL/A Model No: A1186 (EMC 2113)

Can I ask the following questions please and if someone could answer them I'd appreciate it very much.

1. What is the largest sized hard disc that this machine can handle will it take 4 x 2tb drives, says on apple site max of 500gb?

2. Can this mac handle OSX Mountain Lion as an operating system?.

3. Can you put Windows 8 on the boot camp drive?

And finally , in specs it says it takes 667 , DDR 2 Fully Buffered DIMM Ram, I can only see server ram on eay in this type , which says not suitable for desktop pcs?.


Any help appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Waynec said:
I have just purchased the original Macpro 2.66 which I believe is -

MA356LL/A Model No: A1186 (EMC 2113)

Can I ask the following questions please and if someone could answer them I'd appreciate it very much.

1. What is the largest sized hard disc that this machine can handle will it take 4 x 2tb drives, says on apple site max of 500gb?

2. Can this mac handle OSX Mountain Lion as an operating system?.

3. Can you put Windows 8 on the boot camp drive?

And finally , in specs it says it takes 667 , DDR 2 Fully Buffered DIMM Ram, I can only see server ram on eay in this type , which says not suitable for desktop pcs?.


Amy help appreciated.
Click to expand...

  1. I think 4TB drives are the largest available at this time so six 4TB drives would be the current internal limit. You can RAID or concatenate those as you please as well.
  2. Yes, but you have to soft-load the 64bit kernel. No biggy, just search with "how to" for the steps.
  3. Yup, no problem.

The MacPro is a server/workstation class machine so it allows you to use ECC memory if you want. I guess almost everyone does. When buying RAM just don't be fooled into thinking that you need to have those ridiculous gargantuan heat-sinks on there. You can buy used server memory for about 1/3 the price and use it NP if you like. You could also sell any ECC memory that's in there now and change over to non-ECC type if you want - but if this is anything more than a game machine I probably wouldn't recommend it.
 
Last edited:
Waynec said:
I have just purchased the original Macpro 2.66 which I believe is -

MA356LL/A Model No: A1186 (EMC 2113)

Can I ask the following questions please and if someone could answer them I'd appreciate it very much.

1. What is the largest sized hard disc that this machine can handle will it take 4 x 2tb drives, says on apple site max of 500gb?

2. Can this mac handle OSX Mountain Lion as an operating system?.

3. Can you put Windows 8 on the boot camp drive?

And finally , in specs it says it takes 667 , DDR 2 Fully Buffered DIMM Ram, I can only see server ram on eay in this type , which says not suitable for desktop pcs?.


Amy help appreciated.
Click to expand...

Ooo who's Amy?
 
TheEasterBunny said:
Ooo who's Amy?
Click to expand...


Updated darned typing errors, I'm Amy wishes to offer advice , it's most welcome!

----------
Tesselator said:
The MacPro is a server/workstation class machine so it allows you to use ECC memory if you want. I guess almost everyone does. When buying RAM just don't be fooled into thinking that you need to have those ridiculous gargantuan heat-sinks on there. You can buy used server memory for about 1/3 the price and use it NP if you like. You could also sell any ECC memory that's in there now and change over to non-ECC type if you want - but if this is anything more than a game machine I probably wouldn't recommend it.
Click to expand...

Is this 100% that you can put server memory in one of the first Mac Pro machines?, I have just looked on ebay and a lot of the listings say not suitable for desktops?, sorry for questioning but I don't really know much about this subject and don't wish to potentially break my new purchase?
 
Waynec said:
Updated darned typing errors, I'm Amy wishes to offer advice , it's most welcome!

----------



Is this 100% that you can put server memory in one of the first Mac Pro machines?, I have just looked on ebay and a lot of the listings say not suitable for desktops?, sorry for questioning but I don't really know much about this subject and don't wish to potentially break my new purchase?
Click to expand...

The Error Correction Code or ECC IS server RAM.
The key factor is the timings (CL5)
It also needs to be 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM or better than 667 Mhz. So 800 Mhz works too
 
Last edited:
Waynec said:
  • Is this 100% that you can put server memory in one of the first Mac Pro machines?,
  • I have just looked on ebay and a lot of the listings say not suitable for desktops?,
  • sorry for questioning but I don't really know much about this subject and don't wish to potentially break my new purchase?
Click to expand...

  • Yep! 100%. I'm doing it myself. 100's or 1,000's in-the-know are doing it as well. No issues at all. You have to get ones with the proper specifications of course. As I mentioned your machine IS a server/workstation class machine - so it would only make sense that it accepts server/workstation class memory.
  • This label has no meaning at all. If the memory is the right type for the system then it is - period. Many if not most desktop systems can indeed accept ECC memory and ECC is the only attribute that separates "server" memory from "desktop" memory AFAIK. So whoever is adding those text labels is a little uninformed.
  • No problem. That's what this place is for. If you don't know search first and then ask. It's all good! And don't worry - if you accidentally get the wrong kind and install it, it will not break anything. It just won't boot up in the worst case. Make sure the seller accepts returns in such a case (10 to 14 days return policy is fine) and just return or exchange it for ones with the proper specifications.
 
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Thanks it would be great if someone else could confirm that server memory is suitable for insertion into the macpro 1.1 , if anyone is actually running their macpro original 2006 model with this memory then please could you post on here.

Thanks to the folks whom have replied thus far , appreciated.
 
Waynec said:
Thanks it would be great if someone else could confirm that server memory is suitable for insertion into the macpro 1.1 , if anyone is actually running their macpro original 2006 model with this memory then please could you post on here.

Thanks to the folks whom have replied thus far , appreciated.
Click to expand...

Huh? :confused:

I confirmed it. TheEasterBunny also confirmed it and told you some of the specific attributes (kind) to look for.

I am running "macpro original 2006 model with this memory" as I already specified.


But I'm afraid you have to be more specific than just saying "server memory". There is about 40 or 50 different kinds of "server memory". Give us a part number or paste the description in a message here.
 
MyMac1976 said:
The IBM is dual rank but its low power..

Remember you have 8 slots and 32GB of total capacity pick you densities wisely.
Click to expand...

64GB actually. Well 63.5GB according to Intel. ;) And my buddy has 64GB in his MP1,1 working without a hitch - so the myth that 32GB is the limit is just that, a myth. :)

-----------------

Anyway, to the OP, I agree with the others... You should get higher density RAM. Given the sizes you linked to, I'd recommend getting two 2GB DIMMs instead. Using 1GB DIMMs like you linked to is a little cheaper but then when you go to upgrade more the 1GB DIMMs become a wasted purchase - unless you're gonna sell them again or something.

Something to consider is that OS X is dynamic. It uses percentages of the total RAM amount to determine how much of the OS File components to keep in RAM where it's ultra fast and how much to keep on the disk where it's ultra-slow. I could notice a system performance boost going from X to Y as noted below:

From 4GB an upgrade to 8GB resulted in a positive speed boost!
From 8GB an upgrade to 12GB resulted in a positive speed boost!
From 12GB an upgrade to 24GB resulted in a positive speed boost!
From 24GB an upgrade to 32GB didn't. I couldn't tell any speed difference in general use!

So my conclusion is that OS X likes to have at least 24GB. 12GB wasn't too bad tho. :D So if I were to recommend a specific amount for general use I think it would 16GB and I would recommend getting four 4GB DIMMs to achieve that - unless you're really strapped for cash - in which case eight 2GB DIMMs would be a little cheaper.
 
Tesselator said:
64GB actually. Well 63.5GB according to Intel. ;) And my buddy has 64GB in his MP1,1 working without a hitch - so the myth that 32GB is the limit is just that, a myth. :)
Click to expand...

What sticks he is exactly using? Does he boot 64-bit kernel (I guess so)?
 
666sheep said:
What sticks he's exactly using? Does he boot 64-bit kernel (I guess so)?
Click to expand...

I dunno the answer to either of those. I called a few weeks ago to find out for Rominator but his wife said he'll be in Korea for a few months. But I linked to an e-bay auction of eight 8GB DIMMs that said it was specifically for the MP1,1 and 1,2 in the same thread. So I guess booting a 64bit kernel isn't necessary.

Intel's Data Sheet on the 5000X MCH also says it's capable of addressing 64GB (63.5GB).

Also if I may ask; Why is it you think only single and dual rank DIMMs will work? Why wouldn't quad rank DIMMs sour for example?
 
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Tesselator said:
I dunno the answer to either of those. I called a few weeks ago to find out for Rominator but his wife said he'll be in Korea for a few months. But I linked to an e-bay auction of eight 8GB DIMMs that said it was specifically for the MP1,1 and 1,2 in the same thread. So I guess booting a 64bit kernel isn't necessary.

Intel's Data Sheet on the 5000X MCH also says it's capable of addressing 64GB (63.5GB).

Also if I may ask; Why is it you think only single and dual rank DIMMs will work? Why wouldn't quad rank DIMMs sour for example?
Click to expand...

Neve had a chance to try myself, but AFAIR 32GB RAM is 32-bit OS X kernel limitation.

Regarding ranks: I don't know even single case when 4R RAM worked in 1,1-3,1. Dual rank do work in 98% of cases. BTW, I've read that Apple has removed 4R modules support on EFI level, but I don't know how trustworthy this info is.
 
Waynec said:
Can I ask is the following what you need to do to soft load Mountain Lion in the 1.1 Macpro after installing ML?

http://m.wikihow.com/Run-Mac-OSx-in-64-Bit-Mode
Click to expand...

In order for the Mac Pro to run ML, it needs a boot loader such as Chameleon. Apple has disabled the Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 along with a few other models in ML.
The App store will not even let you download it on an "incompatible device"
The directions you found activates 64bit mode in Apples "compatible device" list.
Your Pro and mine are not in that list.
 
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