MP 1,1-5,1 Please help me configure an ultra quiet Mac Pro 5,1

[UndergroundLare]

Hello,

I have a nearly stock Mac Pro 5,1 with the following specs:
- 6 Core 3.33Ghz Xeon W3680
- ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
- 16 GB Ram (4 x 4gb DDR3 EEC 1333mhz)
- Samsung SSD 850 Evo 500GB

I am trying to configure the quietest machine that I can - both at idle and at full load. I bought the 6 core in hopes it would be a quieter base to start from.

I bought this machine mostly for nostalgia and to admire an iconic design. The actual cpu or gpu computing power is not terribly important. Fast is nice, but the real priority is quiet.

If I make any mods, I want them to be fully reversible.

Here is what I want to run on the machine:
High Sierra, Mojave, Ventura
Windows XP (This would be nice from a nostalgia standpoint, but is not an absolute requirement)
Windows 10
Web Browser
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Photoshop
DaVinci Resolve
Pro Audio Capable (I don't have any experience in audio editing so I don't know if this would change the configuration)

How would I best configure this Mac Pro for near silent operation?

I found a thread that shows how to replace the stock fans with Noctua fans and still retain automatic speed control.

Mac Pro (4.1/5.1) aftermarket fans WITH automatic SMC control

@crackajacka77 The most difficult thing is finding appropriate 3-pin fans with the proper fan speeds. They: must be able to spin slowly enough for the SMC to properly control them (see minimal speeds below). Otherwise they stop rotating completely. must be able to spin fast enough to...

forums.macrumors.com

I'm a bit confused on which GPU would be best. I see some reports that an axial fan is generally quieter than a blower. If it is possible to alter the fan curve, TDP, or undervolt the GPU and reduce noise - then it may not matter what type of fan the GPU has as long as it is efficient. It looks like the favorite GPUs are the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 and the Radeon Vega 56.

My initial guess is:
-Replace all fans with the appropriate Noctua fans as described in post #385 in the Noctua thread
-Replace the gpu (but not sure which gpu would be best)

Thanks for your help!

 

[ajr123]

The Sapphire Pulse RX 580 runs silently when not under load and quietly when the fans spin.

But I'm not sure you're ever going to make a 5,1 get to be nearly silent. To admire an iconic design, which is one of your motives, and given you're not concerned about performance, I'd be tempted to hollow out the case a little, put the cheapest new Mac Mini inside the Mac Pro, and enjoy the silence.

 

[aj19876]

The stock fans are pretty high quality, not sure if Noctua or any other brand would make the computer any "better."

You can also use Mac Fan Control app to manually tweak the fan speed settings...

 

[avro707]

6 core X5690 should also be fine.

You can go up to 64gb RAM.

For the GPUs I find the Sapphire RX6600 XT (if you want to go to Monterey) a quiet running card.

I suppose you could also go Radeon Pro W6600 too. I caution that both need to be flashed to work in Mac Pro. I don’t know if they work in Ventura - but it’s not supported anyway.

The single CPU Mac Pro is already a silent machine provided you look after it. Also check the northbridge if it needs new thermal paste and spring clips.

 

[UndergroundLare]

The Sapphire Pulse RX 580 runs silently when not under load and quietly when the fans spin.

But I'm not sure you're ever going to make a 5,1 get to be nearly silent. To admire an iconic design, which is one of your motives, and given you're not concerned about performance, I'd be tempted to hollow out the case a little, put the cheapest new Mac Mini inside the Mac Pro, and enjoy the silence.

Thanks for the first hand account of the Sapphire Pulse RX 580.

I actually have considered putting a used M1 mini inside the mac pro. I will probably do it at some point but wanted to first play with the Mac Pro hardware just to "see how quiet it can be."

The stock fans are pretty high quality, not sure if Noctua or any other brand would make the computer any "better."

You can also use Mac Fan Control app to manually tweak the fan speed settings...

Yep - I am monitoring it now with the fan control app and it looks like all fans are at idle speed (BOOSTA is 50rpm higher than idle). Overall, it is fairly quiet - I was just hoping noctuas would take it to the next level of silence. It sounds like I might already be near the point of diminishing returns - that is good to know before I spend 75 bucks on fans!

PCI 798
PS 598
Exhaust 599
Intake 599
BOOSTA 857 (min speed is listed to be 800)

I put my ear up to each of the fans while I had the case open. The loudest fan seems to be the blower on the HD 5770. The second loudest is the BOOSTA. Third place is everything else - and these remaining fans are pretty quiet.

6 core X5690 should also be fine.

You can go up to 64gb RAM.

For the GPUs I find the Sapphire RX6600 XT (if you want to go to Monterey) a quiet running card.

I suppose you could also go Radeon Pro W6600 too. I caution that both need to be flashed to work in Mac Pro. I don’t know if they work in Ventura - but it’s not supported anyway.

The single CPU Mac Pro is already a silent machine provided you look after it. Also check the northbridge if it needs new thermal paste and spring clips.

I saw the X5690 or W3690 are the fastest CPUs I can put in this machine. I'll keep my eyes open for one, but in the mean time it looks like the W3680 benches within about 4-5% of the best chip.

I will likely max out the ram to 64gb at some point just for giggles.

I'll look into your gpu suggestions. I don't know much about gpu's. I'm mainly looking for something tried and true, quiet, that allows me to boot several OS's, and has reasonably good performance.

I read the Definitive Classic Mac Pro Upgrade Guide. There is a ton of GPU information in there that I will have to re-read a few times to make sure I understand all the variables. I'm still new at this, so I will probably lean toward the "easier" options. I am ruling out the PIXLAS mod cuz I want to keep things as reversible as possible.

Thanks for the tip on checking the northbridge diode. Mine likes to likes to hang out around 53 C. I will probably repaste the northbridge, the CPU, and the GPU in the next few days. The temps look good right now but it will be good to do just to make sure everything is optimal.



Thank you all for your suggestions so far!

 

[frou]

The single CPU Mac Pro is already a silent machine provided you look after it.

Nonsense, never was. In the old days it was considered a quiet machine by the low standards of the time, but that's about it.

 

[avro707]

Nonsense, never was. In the old days it was considered a quiet machine by the low standards of the time, but that's about it.

Nice of you to be so polite…

I have one here that doesn’t make a lot of noise at all. It’s not much different with my 7,1.

The dual CPU machines are louder. I have one of those here.

 

[frou]

Well the problem is that you will make the OP utterly confused and send them on a wild goose chase by claiming that the stock 5,1 can be "silent".

I had the single-CPU 5,1 myself (and PowerMac G5 before that) and it was not even silent in the easiest test, i.e. even when it was totally idle it was instantly obvious when walking into the room whether it was turned on or not.

 

[UndergroundLare]

The single CPU Mac Pro is already a silent machine provided you look after it.

In the old days it was considered a quiet machine by the low standards of the time, but that's about it.

I have one here that doesn’t make a lot of noise at all. It’s not much different with my 7,1.

The dual CPU machines are louder. I have one of those here.

Well the problem is that you will make the OP utterly confused and send them on a wild goose chase by claiming that the stock 5,1 can be "silent".

I had the single-CPU 5,1 myself (and PowerMac G5 before that) and it was not even silent in the easiest test

Thank you both for sharing your real world observations. Combining both of your experiences has given me a well rounded idea of what may or may not be possible.

It sounds like getting the single core was a good choice for what I am trying to achieve - even though it will never be truly silent.

 

[avro707]

It sounds like getting the single core was a good choice for what I am trying to achieve - even though it will never be truly silent.

Although you can try fan mods, I doubt you’ll get it much quieter.

The only reason to keep those Noctua fans in mind is if the original fans fail - which they can and they are old so finding original replacements are difficult. The machine is very old.

On the dual CPU machines I found that fitting a small Noctua fan to give additional cooling to the northbridge heatsink helped keep that machine overall quieter. It meant the other fans didn’t need to speed up as much. And instead of the northbridge being 70°C it was mid 55°C.

Your impression of silence may be different to mine. I have a relatively noisy environment with traffic noise coming from outside - but I do notice computer fan noise.

 

[ajr123]

I'm really sensitive to the noise computers make and looked into this more than most when my 5,1 was sending me crazy back when new in 2012. My son uses the machine now, says he can't hear it, and when I highlight the noise to him, he acknowledges there is a sound but just doesn't think it's loud. This is giving the machine a few more years use!

Anyway, given Apple are one of the few companies that publish the loudness of their machines, the 5,1 comes in at around 25/26db at operator position. Whether that is loud to you will be personal.

For comparison, the M2 Mac mini comes in at 5db at the same position. Remember that db is logarithmic and it is way quieter (to my ears, silent).

 

[UndergroundLare]

I'm really sensitive to the noise computers make and looked into this more than most when my 5,1 was sending me crazy back when new in 2012. My son uses the machine now, says he can't hear it, and when I highlight the noise to him, he acknowledges there is a sound but just doesn't think it's loud. This is giving the machine a few more years use!

Anyway, given Apple are one of the few companies that publish the loudness of their machines, the 5,1 comes in at around 25/26db at operator position. Whether that is loud to you will be personal.

For comparison, the M2 Mac mini comes in at 5db at the same position. Remember that db is logarithmic and it is way quieter (to my ears, silent).

Yep - I also like my computers quiet. I have an M2 Pro Mini and it is inaudible to my ears. The Mac Pro 5,1 is just for fun.




As I learn more about this project I am beginning to understand that the stock fan configuration might be good enough. I will probably still always wonder it it could be a little quieter - in which case I may elect to buy a full set of Noctua fans just to be sure. I do appreciate everybody warning me that this might be a fool's errand.

Does anyone know whether we can run the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 in a "low performance mode" (either with a physical switch/jumper or through software settings) so that it stays quiet under all conditions?

I saw there is also the Sapphire RX 580 Nitro+ which has a larger heat sink. Now that these GPUs are getting older, I am seeing them sell used for under 100 bucks. Does it make any sense to get the Nitro+ with a larger heat sink or do you think the Pulse is just as quiet?

Sapphire RX580 cards are appealing to me because they have DVI-D output. I have an old Apple Cinema 30 monitor that looks great next to the Mac Pro and it is nice to be able to connect it without any adapters.

 

[avro707]

Sapphire RX580 cards are appealing to me because they have DVI-D output

But they are not very quick anymore. A W6600 Radeon Pro or a RX6600XT is better performing.

I find the RX6600XT Sapphire card quieter than the RX580.

Discussion on GPUs: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/whos-using-an-amd-w6600-pro-in-a-cmp-reports.2389322/

 

[aj19876]

To answer your question: RX580 does not have "high/low" switch