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MP 6,1 Should I go or should I skip...

T

TheBigHunt

macrumors member
Original poster
May 5, 2013
45
16
Denmark
Hi, I've a nice opportunity to buy a dreamed and hated Mac Pro 2013.. For about 250$.
It has 32gb or ram, a 256 ssd and a 4 core base model xeon.
I'm mainly use notion.so, photoshop, internet browsing, some VMs with VMWARE fusion, illustrator à bit.... Figma and miro.
If I go for it I will upgrade it for the 2667 10 cores cpu (40$ from Ali) and will put a 2 tb nvme ssd I have on the side.
I'm hesitating between go for it and buy a new mini M2 base model for double the price....
I've a macbook air M2 to work on the go.

So my questions are
- any super deal breaker things?
- performance wise, will I be super limited or will I experience big lags on some apps?
- reliability... I'll change thermal pastes and I'm very careful with my stuff... But any thing to consider?
- any advantages to upgrade to Ventura using opencore legacy?

Generally speaking, what are your thoughts on the trash an in 2023?

Thanks

TheBigHunt
 
TheBigHunt said:
Hi, I've a nice opportunity to buy a dreamed and hated Mac Pro 2013.. For about 250$.
It has 32gb or ram, a 256 ssd and a 4 core base model xeon.
I'm mainly use notion.so, photoshop, internet browsing, some VMs with VMWARE fusion, illustrator à bit.... Figma and miro.
If I go for it I will upgrade it for the 2667 10 cores cpu (40$ from Ali) and will put a 2 tb nvme ssd I have on the side.
I'm hesitating between go for it and buy a new mini M2 base model for double the price....
I've a macbook air M2 to work on the go.

So my questions are
- any super deal breaker things?
- performance wise, will I be super limited or will I experience big lags on some apps?
- reliability... I'll change thermal pastes and I'm very careful with my stuff... But any thing to consider?
- any advantages to upgrade to Ventura using opencore legacy?

Generally speaking, what are your thoughts on the trash an in 2023?

Thanks

TheBigHunt
Click to expand...

No need to go for Ventura - 12.6.3 is fine.

Recommend going the 12 core 2.7ghz, it runs quite nicely.

Also suggest RAM upgrade to 64Gb, should be cheap as well.

I have a maximum spec 6,1 (see signature) and it still runs well.
 
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Currently, Ventura is more problematic on Mac Pro 2013 than 2012, which is weird:

 
I bought a 6,1 late last year (4c/64GB/D500) as I still have some uses for bootcamp.

I've upgraded the CPU to a 2667v2 8 core and the SSD to a 2TB NVME drive and while I cannot comment on whether it would be excel in your workflow, it does pretty well for me.

That said, after upgrades you're going to be really close to the price of a base Mac Mini M2 (or a used M1 Mini with 16GB RAM) which is not a dead architecture to Apple and will have software support for many years to come.

EDIT: Noticed you weren't in the US. That probably makes the M1/M2 less appealing due to pricing increases.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
I've bought it today (The TrashCan)... and i'm so happy.
Even if I know that it's not the most recent Mac, i find it so appealing and nice standing on my desk.
I've ordered a 2667v2, as I would like to prioritise Clock speed instead of the number of Core.
And 8 Cores / 16 Threads is already quite good.
So far, so good, it works as fast as I need with the 4c and the 32GB installed. I will see to max the ram.
I'm running on the 256GB SSD but I'll switch soon to my 2TB nvme.
And yes, i'm not in US. I know that my TashCan will probably cost close to the Mini M2... but it's ok, i dont want to compare for the moment.
Cheers
 
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For $250 I'd probably grab one too and tinker with it. I've already shotgunned one of the trashcans at work when it gets replaced with a Studio to make a streaming rig for my students. It's not ideal, but we have no extra money so I work with what we got.
 
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If you haven't done so already I'd recommend setting up a fan control utility to keep tabs on the temperature in that thing to prolong its life. It has a reputation after all for running hot by default and cooking itself over time.

Also it helps temperatures greatly in my experience if you once in a while clean out the dust from the bottom inlets. The 'can seems to act like a desk vacuum cleaner, sucking in any nearby debris.
 
When you do the CPU upgrade, be sure to take the opportunity to replace the battery. 'cans have problems with battery failure and replacing the battery is a PITA. Do it while you have the machine apart. Note that this machine requires a special BR2032 battery, so get that and have it on hand before upgrading the machine.

Speaking of Trashcan problems with failed batteries, mine has a dead battery and of course does not keep time when shut down. That does not bother me. But now it does not like keyboards. Specifically, the <<, >II, and >> playback keys are unresponsive. Other keys work. There is nothing wrong with multiple keyboards, all of which work fine with other machines. So I may have to take it apart and install the new battery I got for it. Has anyone else found that their keyboards attached to MP 6,1 machines act this way when the batteries fail?
 
th0masp said:
If you haven't done so already I'd recommend setting up a fan control utility to keep tabs on the temperature in that thing to prolong its life. It has a reputation after all for running hot by default and cooking itself over time.

Also it helps temperatures greatly in my experience if you once in a while clean out the dust from the bottom inlets. The 'can seems to act like a desk vacuum cleaner, sucking in any nearby debris.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've installed "Macs Fan Control"m the free fan control for mac that i'm also using on my macbook pro 2018. I've let it to smart control. Would you recommend another fan control?
I plan to change all thermal pastes when i'll upgrade the CPU (CPU, GPUx2).
My Can is on my desk that is super clean.
 
BlueMacawBird said:
When you do the CPU upgrade, be sure to take the opportunity to replace the battery. 'cans have problems with battery failure and replacing the battery is a PITA. Do it while you have the machine apart. Note that this machine requires a special BR2032 battery, so get that and have it on hand before upgrading the machine.

Speaking of Trashcan problems with failed batteries, mine has a dead battery and of course does not keep time when shut down. That does not bother me. But now it does not like keyboards. Specifically, the <<, >II, and >> playback keys are unresponsive. Other keys work. There is nothing wrong with multiple keyboards, all of which work fine with other machines. So I may have to take it apart and install the new battery I got for it. Has anyone else found that their keyboards attached to MP 6,1 machines act this way when the batteries fail?
Click to expand...
Is there a big difference between the CR and the BR? I can see that the BR last longer and is a bit more stable in terms of voltage but i guess a CR can also work very well dont you think?
 
Go to iFixit and look at their guide to replacing the battery. Then ask yourself how often you want to do that. So, get the correct long-life battery and do it right.

And long-life is relative; my Trashcan was a late one, made in June of '18, and the battery was dead when I got the computer last Fall. So the battery only lasted less than five years, which is way less than I'm used to seeing CR2032 batteries in my other Macs last.
 
TheBigHunt said:
Yes, I've installed "Macs Fan Control"m the free fan control for mac that i'm also using on my macbook pro 2018. I've let it to smart control. Would you recommend another fan control?
Click to expand...
That sounds fine to me. Just make sure you don't have the computer running with some parts at 70 degrees Celsius in idle or the like.

Mine did that when I got it. New and a 2018 build. Also started failing about year later. Coincidence? I think not. ;)
 
An extract from the Apple technician's manual for the MP6,1 regarding the specified battery:
 

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Since I had the battery and my MP was acting strangely I went ahead and installed the new battery. The procedure is more annoying than challenging, unless you're not used to taking computers apart. Before installing it I checked the new battery and it tested just over 3V. Once I had the new battery in the IO board I tested it agin using the contacts provided on the board. It now tested 2.8V and was dropping as I watched. I ran the machine for a few hours and shut it down so I could test the battery again. It now tested 1.7V so there is clearly something wrong with my IO board. Short of replacing that component there is not much I can do about this.

The new battery did fix the keyboard issue I mentioned, where the multimedia keys were unresponsive. We'll see how long they continue to work.
 
TheBigHunt said:
Hi, I've a nice opportunity to buy a dreamed and hated Mac Pro 2013.. For about 250$.
It has 32gb or ram, a 256 ssd and a 4 core base model xeon.
I'm mainly use notion.so, photoshop, internet browsing, some VMs with VMWARE fusion, illustrator à bit.... Figma and miro.
If I go for it I will upgrade it for the 2667 10 cores cpu (40$ from Ali) and will put a 2 tb nvme ssd I have on the side.
I'm hesitating between go for it and buy a new mini M2 base model for double the price....
I've a macbook air M2 to work on the go.

So my questions are
- any super deal breaker things?
- performance wise, will I be super limited or will I experience big lags on some apps?
- reliability... I'll change thermal pastes and I'm very careful with my stuff... But any thing to consider?
- any advantages to upgrade to Ventura using opencore legacy?

Generally speaking, what are your thoughts on the trash an in 2023?

Thanks

TheBigHunt
Click to expand...
I guess at that price its ok but before you do any work on it remember you can get a base m2 mac mini for $499 ... just saying. Trashcans are a pita to work on.
 
macguru9999 said:
I guess at that price its ok but before you do any work on it remember you can get a base m2 mac mini for $499 ... just saying. Trashcans are a pita to work on.
Click to expand...
Hey, yes of course I know abut the m2 mini... I was really considering it... but my nostalgic mindset and the beauty of the Can pushed me to it. And so far, i dont have any lag with what i'm doing with it so i'm pretty happy especially as i upgraded the memory to 64Gb for 40$ and will soon receive my 2667 v2...
I love to fix and to clean things.. so :))))
 
By the way, is there any advantage to upgrade the GPU to the D500? D700? I've read that there could be some thermal issues...
 
If you want to upgrade the GPUs, search for a Mac Pro with the GPUs you want, buy it and sell your current one. It will be much more cost effective than buying the GPU spares.
 
tsialex said:
If you want to upgrade the GPUs, search for a Mac Pro with the GPUs you want, buy it and sell your current one. It will be much more cost effective than buying the GPU spares.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and this is what i've in mind as I've seen a Can with a D500 at around 300$... I just wonder if the D500 is better than the D300 in terms of reliability and if it's a real upgrade or just ...
 
A factory D500 Mac Pro with build date after 2017 is the most reliable late-2013 Mac Pro, almost the same performance of D700 when your application doesn't need 6GB of VRAM.
 
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