MacPro CPU user upgradeable?

[akadmon]

I'm about about this --><-- much from buying a Mac Pro and it would be so reassuring to know that when I outgrow the machine in 3-4 years I can give it a new life by putting in a faster processor.

CNET in their article in which they talk about replacing the quad xeon with the "pin-to-pin compatible" octo xeon made it sound like this is not something people should be trying at home. I thought it was supposed to be as simple as pulling the old one out and sticking the new one in. What's the truth here? Is the CPU really buried in there under a dozen other components?

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I about about this --><-- much from buying a Mac Pro and it would be so reassuring to know that when I outgrow the machine in 3-4 years I can give it a new life by putting in a faster processor.

CNET in their article in which they talk about replacing the quad xeon with the "pin-to-pin compatible" octo xeon made it sound like this is not something people should be trying at home. I thought it was supposed to be as simple as pulling the old one out and sticking the new one in. What's the truth here? Is the CPU really buried in there under a dozen other components?

It takes a bit of careful disassembly but the processors can be switched and will be upgradeable it seems, since the quad core chips seem to work fine. :-D

 

[knome]

yes they are kinda hard to get at. You have to take off the fan housing then the memory casing, then the heat sinks and then you can put in the cpu's but it is kinda hard because the screws are so hidden.

 

[akadmon]

yes they are kinda hard to get at. You have to take off the fan housing then the memory casing, then the heat sinks and then you can put in the cpu's but it is kinda hard because the screws are so hidden.

Hm. I think I'd rather pay to have it installed by a certified tech.

 

[gnasher729]

I'm about about this --><-- much from buying a Mac Pro and it would be so reassuring to know that when I outgrow the machine in 3-4 years I can give it a new life by putting in a faster processor.

CNET in their article in which they talk about replacing the quad xeon with the "pin-to-pin compatible" octo xeon made it sound like this is not something people should be trying at home. I thought it was supposed to be as simple as pulling the old one out and sticking the new one in. What's the truth here? Is the CPU really buried in there under a dozen other components?

Problem is, anything that is better than the current chips in the Mac Pro costs about $1100. Per chip. So that is $2200 per upgrade. You might as well sell the Mac Pro and buy a new one with better processor instead of upgrading.

 

[Umbongo]

I don't think it's something you should be concerned about. Unless I'm mistaken the shift to 45nm chips means a new socket so anything produced after 2007 won't work in the Mac Pro anyway so you will either see a minimal speed increase or a possible move to more cores at the same sort of speed. Chips will probably not be that easy to find and I imagine the whole ordeal is only worth it from an enthusiasts point of view rather than a reliable way to prolong the life of your mac pro.

Intel are planning 8 core chips (16 core Mac Pros?), with 12mb of L2 cache and a 32nm process for 2009 and 22nm by 2011. I can't imagine that not buying the latest hardware or at least the previous generation used would not be a much better choice.

Anyone buying a Mac pro shouldn't really be thinking that a processor upgrade is going to be a good future option, despite it being possible.

 

[knome]

yes as for right now intels new quad core chip is going to work in the current chip-set boards but i heard that the 8 core chip, which is currently in development will not use the same chip-set, so at most the people with mac pro's right now can upgrade 1 more cpu level and then its time to buy a new comp. Which i can say for me, my computers lasts me about 5 years but with the extra cpu upgrade i expect to keep this computer 7 to 8 years. I think by that time i'll be ready.

Of course i may be wrong, i'm pulling this information from a conversation i had with a friend around the time when the core duo's were coming out.

 

[Transeau]

Check out my thread here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/239517/

I ordered my Mac Pro with the very basic of hardware, and only added the X1900. I did this because I'm a Dell hardware reseller and I knew that I could get the memory, cpu's and harddrives much cheaper...

Apple's policy is that the CPU's are not user upgradeable, but they are in fact upgradeable (by an Apple service tech). It's not a complicated process, but it does take a lot of time and patients.

The details are all in the Mac Pro service manual.

 

[akadmon]

Problem is, anything that is better than the current chips in the Mac Pro costs about $1100. Per chip. So that is $2200 per upgrade. You might as well sell the Mac Pro and buy a new one with better processor instead of upgrading.

I see. I guess my best hope will be to get a pair of used Clovertowns in 4 years for a couple hundred bucks each

My wife already told me that I'm buying this computer on one condition: I will not get another until kids finish college. That means it has to last me 8 years since our youngest just started high school!

 

[dusanv]

Unless I'm mistaken the shift to 45nm chips means a new socket so anything produced after 2007 won't work in the Mac Pro

My current understanding is that there'll be a 45 nm (Peryn) based chip for the LGA771 socket (used in Mac Pro). But Intel has changed their server chip plans so many times in the last year that nobody knows what will happen in a year from now. I'm not sure whether they'll release any faster Woodcrests as 3.0 is already at 80W, but they might.

 

[Transeau]

Intel's roadmap for the Xeon shows 771 based Xeons being released in Q3'07 and well into '08. Socket 771's predecessor (604) had a fairly long life of 4 years and counting. (They just released a few new processors for 604)

 

[pastrychef]

Anyone buying a Mac pro shouldn't really be thinking that a processor upgrade is going to be a good future option, despite it being possible.

It was actually a very important consideration for me. If the CPU and GPU were not upgradable, I would most likely have not purchased this machine.

 

[BackInTheSaddle]

I think as time goes on, you're gonna see a boatload of upgrade options for these machines. We're very early in the lifecycle of the Intel-based Macs. I'm sure you'll be able to upgrade the Mac Pro, although you may want to just trade it in or sell it on eBay and go to a brand-new machine in a few years.

 

[slughead]

It was actually a very important consideration for me. If the CPU and GPU were not upgradable, I would most likely have not purchased this machine.

I'm the same way, I only bought my Mac Pro AFTER I saw anantec's 8-way article and the flashing of x1900 XT -> Mac from PC (I now own one).