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Should I try upgrade 1,1 Mac Pro

M

Mpbt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 28, 2014
2
0
I have an orig 1,1 2006 with 2x Xeon 5160 3.0 ghz duo core (4total cores no hyper threading). 12 gig memory, ati 5770 on 10.6.8 OS

I don't play games

Mostly browsing and MS office docs

I was not planning on CPU upgrade as I'm not sure quad core 3.0 is worth hassle. Also no nèed for memory or gpu upgrade.

Question to replace the 4x750 Gb HD with one or more ssd. I'm backed up on an AirPort Extreme and Drobo nas.

1. Does 10.6.8 support ssd for the 1,1 with TRIM
2. Do I need to upgrade to 2,1 with firmware tool if I don't upgrade cpu just because I could go higher in OSX build??
3. Should I install Yosemite and go through all hoops for that? I'm not sure I need it. Continuity not a big thing with me nor is iMessage from computer. ITunes is though but not clear need newest version. Photos stored in aperture already.
 
Should I try upgrade 1,1 Mac Pro

Are you actually lacking in speed. System spec wise your more than covered with the system you have.
Even the mechanical hard drives are fine.

If wanting to speed up app launch times then get an SSD. Not sure about snow leopard and trim.
I've found that snow leopard booting on mechanical HDD to be pretty quick anyways so I've lefty snow leopard machines without SSDs.

I wouldn't bother with trying to get 10.10 running on your machine for your intended tasks. It is more resource hungry so you'll generally find that your experience will worsen.
 
Mpbt said:
I have an orig 1,1 2006 with 2x Xeon 5160 3.0 ghz duo core (4total cores no hyper threading). 12 gig memory, ati 5770 on 10.6.8 OS

I don't play games

Mostly browsing and MS office docs

I was not planning on CPU upgrade as I'm not sure quad core 3.0 is worth hassle. Also no nèed for memory or gpu upgrade.

Question to replace the 4x750 Gb HD with one or more ssd. I'm backed up on an AirPort Extreme and Drobo nas.

1. Does 10.6.8 support ssd for the 1,1 with TRIM
2. Do I need to upgrade to 2,1 with firmware tool if I don't upgrade cpu just because I could go higher in OSX build??
3. Should I install Yosemite and go through all hoops for that? I'm not sure I need it. Continuity not a big thing with me nor is iMessage from computer. ITunes is though but not clear need newest version. Photos stored in aperture already.
Click to expand...

1. Go with the SSD. Better yet, get 2 of them and run them in a RAID 0. Your mac has 2 unused SATA ports on the logic board. Just slide them underneath the superdrive.

As far as TRIM, OSX doesn't support non-apple SSDs, you would need 3rd party for that. Or use SSDs that do not need it. (I have a pair of 240 SSDs by OWC - no TRIM required).

2. No need to update the firmware unless you are replacing your dual cores for quad cores.

3. OS upgrades - I wouldn't bother unless there is something specifically that you need.
 
I'm generally supportive of keeping older Mac Pro's going (as indeed I am with a 3,1). It sounds like you have a fairly well-equipped computer, but I'd suggest keeping your further investments into it in time and money to a minimum from here on out, and saving for an eventual replacement. In particular, I'd suggest not upgrading the CPU's. The expense and hassle won't be worth it.

That said, one thing that would make a big difference, and likely keep your computer feeling younger for a while longer is an SSD. I would not recommend using SSD's in the Pro's sleds at this time. These days, a single SSD on a PCI-card would likely be a faster solution than RAID-0 on two sleds. (I'd have to remind myself if the 1,1 has a free PCI-E 2.0 slot?)

TRIM is nice, but I wouldn't stress over it too much. TRIM Enabler, or some similar utility might suffice, but even without it, just don't fill the disk to the brim and you will be fine.
 
An SSD and Yosemite would likely be upgrades that you "felt" the most.

If you see that you're using swap memory, then more RAM. But if you're not really pushing it, probably not much difference.

If you did anything with the GPU, you could upgrade to a more modern one.
 
My understanding is that you can't upgrade to more "modern" CPU's. All you can do is get a pair from that same generation that clocks a little higher. It's just not worth it.

Yosemite would indeed require "hoops". I'd stay on 10.6 for it's high stability and significant forward/backward support, unless/until you are forced to update because some important program requires it.

12 GB is plenty for almost all general tasks such as browsing and office stuff. I have 12G and basically never hit swap almost no matter what I do, including editing large stitched photos, etc.
 
I have a similar machine: Mac Pro 1,1 2 2.66GHz dual core Xeon CPUs
10 G RAM, 7300 GT video card 500GHD

I had attempted to move to Mavericks in January and after many hours I gave up, it didn't work. I just did the Yosemite update in 30 minutes with a USB drive and the new Piker installer. It was quick and painless. I sent the author money as that installer saved a lot of hassle.

I was also thinking about adding an SSD for the main OS/Apps drive. The mechanical drive feels really slow after using a macbook air. However I don't know if the logic board can really handle the throughput? It could be an SATA or PCI SSD, however aren't these systems running older versions? If so, which SSD is best? Is a firmware update to the logic board needed?

Regarding Trim and MacOS. This is widely misunderstood. For more informaton See http://www.zdnet.com/article/os-x-yosemite-and-third-party-ssds-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ If you get a SSD with Trim functionality built in, you don't have to worry about it, the OS treats it as a regular drive, and the drive figures out where to store the bits to increase drive longevity. Get a SSD with a sandforce controller and forget about Trim.
 
rdymond said:
I have a similar machine: Mac Pro 1,1 2 2.66GHz dual core Xeon CPUs
10 G RAM, 7300 GT video card 500GHD

I had attempted to move to Mavericks in January and after many hours I gave up, it didn't work. I just did the Yosemite update in 30 minutes with a USB drive and the new Piker installer. It was quick and painless. I sent the author money as that installer saved a lot of hassle.

I was also thinking about adding an SSD for the main OS/Apps drive. The mechanical drive feels really slow after using a macbook air. However I don't know if the logic board can really handle the throughput? It could be an SATA or PCI SSD, however aren't these systems running older versions? If so, which SSD is best? Is a firmware update to the logic board needed?

Regarding Trim and MacOS. This is widely misunderstood. For more informaton See http://www.zdnet.com/article/os-x-yosemite-and-third-party-ssds-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ If you get a SSD with Trim functionality built in, you don't have to worry about it, the OS treats it as a regular drive, and the drive figures out where to store the bits to increase drive longevity. Get a SSD with a sandforce controller and forget about Trim.
Click to expand...


I also have a Mac Pro 1,1 with the original graphics card but was under then impression you need to upgrade it to a newer card for it to allow for a Yosemite installation. Would you have any tips or tricks? Also, the link to get the installer doesn't work would you know where I could get a copy?
 
Ih8reno said:
I also have a Mac Pro 1,1 with the original graphics card but was under then impression you need to upgrade it to a newer card for it to allow for a Yosemite installation. Would you have any tips or tricks? Also, the link to get the installer doesn't work would you know where I could get a copy?
Click to expand...

You can go through install fine with 7300GT / X1900XT, but when you boot into fresh install of M Lion / Mav / Yos, graphics will be choppy and slow. So minimum is Radoen HD 2600XT / GeForce 8800GT +
 
bax2003 said:
It will work. Install it on another HDD/partition, and decide for yourself is it usable with old GPU.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1714626/
Click to expand...

Thanks, I tried it and slow graphics doesn't even express how bad it was. The mouse was slow and didn't track properly making it a nightmare. At least now I know it is possible and hopefully with the Radeon HD 5770 I am getting soon it will work properly!
 
bax2003 said:
You can go through install fine with 7300GT / X1900XT, but when you boot into fresh install of M Lion / Mav / Yos, graphics will be choppy and slow. So minimum is Radoen HD 2600XT / GeForce 8800GT +
Click to expand...

I have a 3Ghz 1,1 Mac Pro, and I upgraded to an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. I know it's technically supported, but would my graphics be choppy with that card if I were to install one of these three newer Mac OSX versions? In other words, would I be running comfortably with my 2600 XT or would I be running on-the-edge?

Also, is Yosemite the easiest to install? I'd rather have Mountain Lion or Mavericks, but not if they are a pain to get running. I may just stick with Snow Leopard if Yosemite is my only choice...
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
I have a 3Ghz 1,1 Mac Pro, and I upgraded to an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. I know it's technically supported, but would my graphics be choppy with that card if I were to install one of these three newer Mac OSX versions? In other words, would I be running comfortably with my 2600 XT or would I be running on-the-edge?

Also, is Yosemite the easiest to install? I'd rather have Mountain Lion or Mavericks, but not if they are a pain to get running. I may just stick with Snow Leopard if Yosemite is my only choice...
Click to expand...

I would not recommend 2600XT for Yosemite. It will work OK in Mavericks. For smooth graphics, do not go beyond Mountain Lion with 2600 XT.

If you understand all options in SFOTT utility, you won't have problem installing either of them (10.8 / 10.9 / 10.10).
 
bax2003 said:
I would not recommend 2600XT for Yosemite. It will work OK in Mavericks. For smooth graphics, do not go beyond Mountain Lion with 2600 XT.
Click to expand...
I think this really depends on what you are doing.

If running non-OpenGL/OpenCL productivity applications on the OS X desktop, the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT is fine and is fully supported. It's the previous generation ATI card (Radeon X1900 XT) is unsupported in Yosemite, and also unsupported with any other OS X that runs a 64-bit kernel.

If running professional graphics work or games where OpenGL or OpenCL performance is important, then there are much better modern options.
 
bax2003 said:
I would not recommend 2600XT for Yosemite. It will work OK in Mavericks. For smooth graphics, do not go beyond Mountain Lion with 2600 XT.

If you understand all options in SFOTT utility, you won't have problem installing either of them (10.8 / 10.9 / 10.10).
Click to expand...

Are there any easy, custom installers that have been created for Mountain Lion? I have never done this before, so I consider myself a n00b (by this I mean installing an unsupported version of Mac OSX on a Mac Pro).

Are there any hardware adjustments I need to make? By the way, I kept my original 7300 card for my second monitor; would Mountain Lion eat that thing alive? The second display is used as a simple desktop expansion tool---nothing too intensive.

I'd like to play certain games on my main GPU, general tasks, and possibly creative suites.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
Are there any easy, custom installers that have been created for Mountain Lion? I have never done this before, so I consider myself a n00b (by this I mean installing an unsupported version of Mac OSX on a Mac Pro).

Are there any hardware adjustments I need to make? By the way, I kept my original 7300 card for my second monitor; would Mountain Lion eat that thing alive? The second display is used as a simple desktop expansion tool---nothing too intensive.

I'd like to play certain games on my main GPU, general tasks, and possibly creative suites.
Click to expand...

SFOTT tutorial: (one of many)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF05shc-e2E&spfreload=10

Problem with 7300GT and X1900XT is that 10.8+ do not have proper kexts (kernel extensions, aka drivers) which means that you will get GUI without any hardware acceleration, so VERY choppy, mouse problems etc.
 
bax2003 said:
SFOTT tutorial: (one of many)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF05shc-e2E&spfreload=10

Problem with 7300GT and X1900XT is that 10.8+ do not have proper kexts (kernel extensions, aka drivers) which means that you will get GUI without any hardware acceleration, so VERY choppy, mouse problems etc.
Click to expand...

Hmm, well maybe I will consider it if I cannot stand SL later on. However, I feel as if I may just stay on SL for now. I would need a new GPU too.
 
And you would need some more RAM as well. Anything newer than SL requires more than 4GB for working smoothly. BTW, as you own 2009 MBP, easiest method of 10.8/9/10 installation is target disk mode, not the SFOTT.
 
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