not worth $600. I picked up the same CPU's on ebay for $200 about 2 months ago.
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Success: 2006 Mac Pro upgraded - 2 x Xeon 5355 Quad-cores!
- Thread starter JPamplin
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not worth $600. I picked up the same CPU's on ebay for $200 about 2 months ago.
Indeed it is imho.
Mac Pro 1.1 2GHz Geekbench result of 3714.
Upgraded with X5355's, an SSD and ATI Radeon HD4870 1GB gfx card, Geekbench now comes in at 9241.
Mac Pro 1.1 2GHz Geekbench result of 3714.
Upgraded with X5355's, an SSD and ATI Radeon HD4870 1GB gfx card, Geekbench now comes in at 9241.
So then is it worth the $400?
You're really the only one that can answer whether it is "worth it" or not. For me, $200 was worth it. I wouldn't have spent any more than that, but if you need the extra power and don't mind spending $400, I guess it would be worth it.
I just did the dual X5355 upgrade in my MP 1,1 and the speed increase is definitely worth it.
My geekbench came in at 10028.
I got mine from ebay for about $130 each.
I ran the patch at netkas forum to make my 1,1 be recognized as a 2,1 so everything looks good now.
The upgrade wasn't hard at all. The hardest part of the upgrade was getting the fans out. The annoying part of the upgrade was cleaning the old thermal paste and applying new arctic5.
While I was performing the heart transplant, I took the opportunity to get the dust bunnies out. There was LOTS of dust! :O
My geekbench came in at 10028.
I got mine from ebay for about $130 each.
I ran the patch at netkas forum to make my 1,1 be recognized as a 2,1 so everything looks good now.
The upgrade wasn't hard at all. The hardest part of the upgrade was getting the fans out. The annoying part of the upgrade was cleaning the old thermal paste and applying new arctic5.
While I was performing the heart transplant, I took the opportunity to get the dust bunnies out. There was LOTS of dust! :O
I see there are different types of 4870's out there, do I need a special version to run natively/without issue in a mac pro 1,1? I got 16GB of RAM for it, now need 2 processors (I know what to get there) and a video card. I see them on ebay from $110-$150 but some say theirs is guaranteed to work with the mac pro, while other say mac pro in title but don't have any description regarding compatibility. Thanks!
Normally you need one with a flashed firmware to work properly on the Mac (unless it is the original Apple 4870, which had "only" 512MB of Ram). Alternatively you could get the Apple 5770 which is fully supported. As that is a little pricey still, there is another alternative:
If you are running 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) you could also put in an off-the-shelf PC 6870, which will work fine (except for bootscreen, Steam and DVD player - to resolve the latter two google for ATY_init.kext and Netkas) without any additional installation required. I don't know whether 10.6.8 would also support unflashed PC 4870's natively...
I have (and continue to be) a fanboy of snow leopard, only because I have used it extensively both professionally and personally. I did put lion on this guy the other day but would feel no remorse nuking it back to snow kitty. the $125-$175 price point is what I want to spend on a video card...what would you recommend I get? I'm pretty sure I want a compatible-out-of-the-box 4870 with 1GB RAM. Could you point me in the direction of one, or suggest something better based on my budget and what I'm currently looking at? Thanks
PS-picked up 16GB for the pro this morning (8x2GB) for just under $150...good deal?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130644197486#ht_726wt_1112
PS-picked up 16GB for the pro this morning (8x2GB) for just under $150...good deal?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130644197486#ht_726wt_1112
Sorry for being unprecise - should have written 'If you are running 10.6.8 or newer...', because Lion does the same in regard to graphic card support as Snow Leopard 10.6.8. No need to roll back for a graphic card!
In general i would be cautious with used 4870 - they are infamous for dying voltage transformers. In my case my monitor input was damaged as well when they eventually gave in...
Another issue with 4870's is the noise - you would need a special cooling solution for quiet operation, as most cards can become pretty noisy under load.
I would recommend to go for a 6870, which is pretty inexpensive these days (available around 140,- to 150,- , so could fit your budget) and works out of the box (see my other post for exceptions). Better performance and lower power consumption compared to the 4870. Currently i'm running a Gigabyte HD6870/1GB (3-fan-solution) in my 1,1 and i'm fully satisfied.
Sounds okay to me, especially having the big heatsinks.
before I ask anything else, let me say thank you for your time and generosity. I looked into the 6870 and the downsides seam plausible with a few concerns. Mainly, "no boot screen" means different things based on who it's coming from. Does this mean I wouldn't be able to do alternate boot functions such as verbose/single user/net boot or see an alternate boot screen (say if I have multiple bootable drives attached)? I'll need to think about any other things that will prevent me from doing. As far as steam and DVD player...I will do as you say because I do plan on playing some old school CS 1.6 and DOD if anyone even plays those any more. Having a DVD player around to watch DVD's sounds handy, granted I don't remember handling a retail DVD to watch on a computer no less. All video plays normally though (avi, mk4, blah blah)? VLC would be my app of choice for playback.
I figure this card, the 16 GB of RAM and pair of x5355 (SLAEG) cpu's will fit the bill. Please feel free to let me know about anything else I could possibly slap in this guy. Also, if you need anything repair/part/etc on apple products let me know as I am apple certified and operate an Apple-centric repair and education/support business.
I figure this card, the 16 GB of RAM and pair of x5355 (SLAEG) cpu's will fit the bill. Please feel free to let me know about anything else I could possibly slap in this guy. Also, if you need anything repair/part/etc on apple products let me know as I am apple certified and operate an Apple-centric repair and education/support business.
That's correct. The workaround for this is to have a second graphic card installed as "helper card" (a cheap, passively cooled card like the 7300 that came with the MP originally, will do) - the helper card will show the boot menu just fine and the 6870 picture will come up after the system is loaded (or for the password entry screen if you configured such a login - that way you can keep the 6870 running as main screen).
If that'd be a deal killer for you, you would probably have to bite the bullet and go for a more expensive original Apple 4870 or 5770. Though i'm just fine with my helper card...
Yes - not one single problem! You can even move (playback or normal) windows seamlessly between monitors, where one is connected to the 6870 and the other to the helper card.
You could consider migrating to a SSD if you did not do so by now. Using one of the "orphaned" SATA ports on the motherboard, you will notice a significant improvement over a conventional harddrive being boot/system drive. The second optical drive bay is a nice spot for the SSD btw. ...
Thanks for your offer!
That's correct. The workaround for this is to have a second graphic card installed as "helper card" (a cheap, passively cooled card like the 7300 that came with the MP originally, will do) - the helper card will show the boot menu just fine and the 6870 picture will come up after the system is loaded (or for the password entry screen if you configured such a login - that way you can keep the 6870 running as main screen).
You could consider migrating to a SSD if you did not do so by now. Using one of the "orphaned" SATA ports on the motherboard, you will notice a significant improvement over a conventional harddrive being boot/system drive. The second optical drive bay is a nice spot for the SSD btw. ...
Thanks for your offer!
ah, yeah SSD is already under the belt, thanks for reminding me about using the stock card as a "helper", I have plenty of 15 or 17" cheapo dell LCD's I can throw on if even necessary to run diagnostics or anything of the like. My main beast right now is a 15" 2.66 GHz i7 MBP (non-thunderbolt) self-upgraded to 8GB RAM, 120GB intel SSD as the OS/system (partially partitioned for boot camp) and a 750GB 7200RPM 2.5" as my /Home and storage drive in my optical bay. The MP is getting the original OCZ Vertex 2 60GB that I had in here originally...left that out unintentionally
Would this happen to be the video card you speak of? I chose it randomly based on my desires and price range and your ideas led me to this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIGABYTE-AT...eo_TV_Cards&hash=item256c4d12a1#ht_6548wt_879
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sorry, forgot to ask...boot camp-any issues? Also, should I seek a specific brand/mfg for the 6870 or will any retail/OEM version work? I see some people saying cables are required (and not included). Thoughts?
Even though i did not test it (using Parallels and do no PC gaming, so Bootcamp is not set up anymore on my machine), i don't see why not. With Bootcamp your MP becomes just a normal PC and there are good drivers for a 6870 by ATI/AMD...
Cables are indeed required, as the cables that come with the card are targetted towards a PC and are of no use within a MP. The original Apple cables are probably still listed in the system as being for an X1900 card (don't have the part no ready).
Brand is not an issue for work as described above. Mitigating the existing issues by using the ATY_Init.kext _could_ have varying success depending on brand, though. Usually the pioneers focus on the cheaper cards, so XFX and Sapphire usually are a safe bet.
Completed the processor upgrade this weekend. Thank you for the helpful videos. The heatsink cover wasn't that difficult to remove. I was able to use adjustable screw heads to make sure I didn't strip any of the screws on the memory cage. You just have to loosen them a bit, so it wasn't that tough.
The most difficult part was definitely removing the fan component. The top part near the one screw came out easily, however, it can get stuck in the track that guides it (near the bottom of the case). I've included a pic for anyone that has difficulty, so you can see the track. You can also use one of the PCI bay covers to pull the fan away from the base right next to the track while you pull up (be sure to pull up, not out!).
Before doing the upgrade, I'd recommend upgrading to the Mac Pro 2,1 firmware (http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,1094.0.html). I did this and both processors were detected immediately on the first boot. Good luck to anyone considering the upgrade...it's well worth it!
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My Two Cents
After reading this thread and several other like it, I made the plunge and finished my project today.
Total cost: $145 (for both x5355 CPUs - check eBay!)
My Mac Pro 1,1 had 2x 2x 2.66GHz 5150s.
The videos and links posted very early (1st page) of this thread were all I needed.
Unfortunately, my screwdrivers were very short, and that wound up being the most frustrating part of my install. Get 12" - 18" narrow screwdrivers if you can! Phillips head and T15 bits.
The fan assembly was a close second in frustrating parts, though I found plugging it back in was much worse than taking it out.
New 64-bit Geekbench score: 10,390 (up from ~6,100). 70% increase.
After reading this thread and several other like it, I made the plunge and finished my project today.
Total cost: $145 (for both x5355 CPUs - check eBay!)
My Mac Pro 1,1 had 2x 2x 2.66GHz 5150s.
The videos and links posted very early (1st page) of this thread were all I needed.
Unfortunately, my screwdrivers were very short, and that wound up being the most frustrating part of my install. Get 12" - 18" narrow screwdrivers if you can! Phillips head and T15 bits.
The fan assembly was a close second in frustrating parts, though I found plugging it back in was much worse than taking it out.
New 64-bit Geekbench score: 10,390 (up from ~6,100). 70% increase.
Unfortunately, since i bought my Mac Pro used and immediately upgraded, all I have are synthetic benchmarks.
I'm very surprised and impressed with my boot times, though, considering the age of the machine and the fact that I'm still using a 7200rpm HDD instead of an SSD. Compared to my MBA, it is only a few seconds slower.
A Mac Pro 1,1 user here, upgraded to the 5345 for resale purposes. It gets the same score as my 2009 quad, which is sick considering the memory is literally over twice as fast. This machine is insane for a 2006 machine and I'm glad to hear the 32-bit EFI is not giving issue with the dev preview of Mountain Lion (if you know what you're doing...)
Great machine, I would have kept it like this if I hadn't got my 2009 Mac Pro for a GREAT price.
Great machine, I would have kept it like this if I hadn't got my 2009 Mac Pro for a GREAT price.
That's awesome. I went from 5608 to 9527 in geekbench (32-bit) upgrading from the 2.66ghz 5150s to the 2.66 x5355s. I purchased a 9" 3mm hex key from amazon for about $5. Made it really easy to remove the heatsinks (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X285AW/).
So far things have been running very smoothly. Did you also upgrade to the 2,1 firmware? I also noticed amazon had the 256GB crucial m4 for $295 yesterday (newegg still has it for that price). Was very tempted, but I think I'll wait a little longer before moving to an SSD.
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