Make Mac Pro 1,1 as powerful as it can be

[louij2]

Hi,

Using my old Mac Pro 1,1 as a backup server and I want to make it as powerful as I currently can for a low cost of course.

I know I can upgrade the cpus from dual core to quad core but what ones do I use

What RAM should I get as well as i want to max out all the DIMMs
currently have a 650ti boost as a GPU that was working but I now get a no signal detected
May give it an SSD as the boot drive then have 6TB in HDD

 

[JedNZ]

I used the X5365 3.0GHz in my cMP 1,1 - have to firmware upgrade to 2,1.
Throw as much ram in it as you can afford (240-pin PC2-5300 667Mhz).
An SSD - something like the Samsung 850 EVO. If you want to go even further, add an Accelsior S SATA III PCIe card for the SSD and get even more speed out of it (the direct connect bays are only SATA II).
Consider also getting a WiFi 802.11ac/BT-4 combo card (BCM94360CD).

 

[jbarley]

If you want to go even further, add an Accelsior S SATA III PCIe card for the SSD and get even more speed out of it (the direct connect bays are only SATA II).

As noted in this quote from "OWC", for maximum data speeds in a MP1,1 or 2,1 install the SSD in an onboard drive bay.

"2006-2007 Mac Pro. These models utilize PCIe 1.0 slot which cannot be configured (even with the Expansion Utility in OS X) to address Accelsior S as anything but as a first generation one-lane card. As a result, Accelsior S performance will be limited to 190-200MB/s data rates. If maximum data rate speed is desired, we recommend the installation of a 2.5" OWC Mercury SSD in an open Mac Pro drive bay."

Quote taken from this link.

 

[JedNZ]

Oh yes. Quite right

 

[jbarley]

As a point of interest, I use 2 Samsung evos in my MP1,1 installed in the internal bays configured as a Raid0 volume which gives me almost Sata III speeds.
So far this is the best I can come up with, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Wiltonian]

I'm in a similar position. Any recommendations for the very cheapest video card that will work with the current Snow Leopard and the future El Capitan, please? This is a project for a back-up Mac, for which minimal cost is the main criterion - hence the planned use of a pair of X5355s (2.66GHz quad cores) to keep upgrade costs down. Stuart.

 

[orph]

cpu options https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-cpu-compatibility-list.1954766/
nvida gpu options https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...out-nvidia-pc-non-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/