MP 1,1-5,1 Restoring old Mac Pro 1,1

[max2020]

Hi everyone, although I've been a reader for some time, I just created an account. I just got a Mac Pro 1,1 for free that has been sitting for a few years. It has RAM installed (5gb, 4x1gb and the original 2x512mb) and an old SSD, but no video card. I love the design, and I want to install El Capitan or at least Mavericks, and for that I guess I have to buy a new(ish) card, like a Radeon 5770. I live in Argentina, and original Mac cards are REALLY hard to find at a good price (they go for over 200 usd) except for 7300 GT in mercadolibre, the Argentinean eBay. So I was wondering, is it possible to do all the installation with a PC 5770? Or I need an original 7300GT or compatible Mac card to start? Maybe i could buy a PC 5770, install Windows, flash it and then install OS X? It currently has no OS at all. Also, is 5gb RAM enough for basic internet browsing? I would really appreciate some answers so I can get it working. Thank you for reading.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

I recommend a minimum of 8 gb RAM, or at the very least make sure each RAM slot has the exact same memory card. You may run into some issues if you don't. The absolute limit for this Mac Pro is 32 gb.

The latest version of OS X it can handle is 10.7.5 (Lion).

List of supported graphics cards: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, GeForce 8800 GT, Quadro FX 4500, or ATI Radeon X1900 XT

 

[jeyf]

did these old MBP have some sort of video card issue??
caution

 

[Juicy Box]

I recommend a minimum of 8 gb RAM, or at the very least make sure each RAM slot has the exact same memory card. You may run into some issues if you don't. The absolute limit for this Mac Pro is 32 gb.

Do you mean in pairs?

I have mixed RAM (sizes, brands) in my Mac Pro 1,1, but they have identical pairs. I have 11GB, consisting of 4x2GB, 2x1GB, 2X512MB sticks. No problem with mine.

To the OP: For basic web browsing, 5GB should be fine.

The RAM for these Macs can be expensive, but I did get some of the "budget" ones. They look the same, and have the huge heatsinks, but I notice they they tend to run about 15% hotter than the Apple Approved ones. That said, they have been fine for me.

If you have some slots free, see if you can find some cheep sticks to put in there. Just use identical pairs.

The latest version of OS X it can handle is 10.7.5 (Lion).

This is the official supported OS, but the Mac Pro 1,1 runs great on El Capitan. Actually, the HW is more than capable on OS versions past Lion, but Apple never updated the 32-bit bootloader, preventing any official support for 10.8+.

But, you can do an easy boot loader mod to run newer OS versions. My Mac Pro 1,1 gets used daily, and is currently on 10.11.

List of supported graphics cards: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, GeForce 8800 GT, Quadro FX 4500, or ATI Radeon X1900 XT

I guess this is the official list, but there are many other GPUs that are supported, but example, my Mac Pro 1,1 came with the 7300 GT, a few years later I upgraded to the 8800 GT, then again to the 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870. I think the 5870 was a BTO option for the Mid-2010 Mac Pro, but you could get the stand-alone GPU from the Apple Store and install it yourself.

I put it in my 2006 Mac Pro, and it was a huge improvement over the 8800GT.

did these old MBP have some sort of video card issue??
caution

The OP is referring to the Mac Pro, not MacBook Pro.
[automerge]1584948431[/automerge]
If you are curious, here is a screen shot showing my 2006 Mac Pro 1,1 specs, GPU, and RAM setup:

 

[max2020]

Do you mean in pairs?

I have mixed RAM (sizes, brands) in my Mac Pro 1,1, but they have identical pairs. I have 11GB, consisting of 4x2GB, 2x1GB, 2X512MB sticks. No problem with mine.

To the OP: For basic web browsing, 5GB should be fine.

The RAM for these Macs can be expensive, but I did get some of the "budget" ones. They look the same, and have the huge heatsinks, but I notice they they tend to run about 15% hotter than the Apple Approved ones. That said, they have been fine for me.

If you have some slots free, see if you can find some cheep sticks to put in there. Just use identical pairs.


This is the official supported OS, but the Mac Pro 1,1 runs great on El Capitan. Actually, the HW is more than capable on OS versions past Lion, but Apple never updated the 32-bit bootloader, preventing any official support for 10.8+.

But, you can do an easy boot loader mod to run newer OS versions. My Mac Pro 1,1 gets used daily, and is currently on 10.11.

I guess this is the official list, but there are many other GPUs that are supported, but example, my Mac Pro 1,1 came with the 7300 GT, a few years later I upgraded to the 8800 GT, then again to the 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870. I think the 5870 was a BTO option for the Mid-2010 Mac Pro, but you could get the stand-alone GPU from the Apple Store and install it yourself.

I put it in my 2006 Mac Pro, and it was a huge improvement over the 8800GT.


The OP is referring to the Mac Pro, not MacBook Pro.
[automerge]1584948431[/automerge]
If you are curious, here is a screen shot showing my 2006 Mac Pro 1,1 specs, GPU, and RAM setup:
View attachment 900591
View attachment 900592

Hi, thank you for your reply. I've decided to move forward with this project. The Mac Pro 1,1 came with no graphics and no HD (it was free so no complaints), so it does not have an OS. My guess is that I would need a boot screen for installing Lion first (?), so does a PC version 5870 display a boot screen when flashed? If not, would a PC version 7300GT/8800GT or similar PC card flashed display boot screen if needed? I don't know very much about computers sorry.

PD: In my country it is only possible to get a PC version card, Mac edition ones cost approx. 200-300 USD, while I can get a PC version 5770/5780/7300GT for less than 30 USD.

 

[MoerBoer]

They run Linux pretty well I must say.

I've got mine running El Capitan and Elementary OS and the latter is fast and secure. I suppose it all depends on what you want to do.