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MP All Models The "I just ordered/bought/got my new/refurb Mac Pro" thread [Merged]
- Thread starter Einz
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Design shops, studios and tons of other businesses still use these, have for years, and may want a replacement, backup, or additional system. CapEx budgets need to get used!
Hi, I just picked up a 2010 Mac Pro off of Craigslist. It currently has the stock 2.8Ghz quad-core Xeon and Radeon 5770.
My immediate upgrade plans are to grab 3x 8GB DDR3-1333 EEC modules from here and a 1TB WB Blue SATA SSD with a 3.5” adapter, and install High Sierra.
I’ll probably also eventually upgrade the processor to either an X5680 or X5690, and a Radeon 560 or 580, then upgrade to Mojave.
Does this all sound reasonable? Is there a better RAM vendor? Does going with 3 sticks over 4 make a meaningful difference in speed? How much more of a pain is it if I buy a video card that isn’t one of the ones on Apple’s official support page?
Thanks!
My immediate upgrade plans are to grab 3x 8GB DDR3-1333 EEC modules from here and a 1TB WB Blue SATA SSD with a 3.5” adapter, and install High Sierra.
I’ll probably also eventually upgrade the processor to either an X5680 or X5690, and a Radeon 560 or 580, then upgrade to Mojave.
Does this all sound reasonable? Is there a better RAM vendor? Does going with 3 sticks over 4 make a meaningful difference in speed? How much more of a pain is it if I buy a video card that isn’t one of the ones on Apple’s official support page?
Thanks!
Reading more of the subforum, it looks like NVMe booting from a PCIe adaptor is an option under High Sierra if you use the Mojave installer to update the boot rom first. Does anyone know if you need to have a Metal-compatible video card to get far enough in the installer to do this?
edit: apparently the answer is yes, I guess I’ll just throw an old spindle drive in for now until I upgrade the video card.
edit: apparently the answer is yes, I guess I’ll just throw an old spindle drive in for now until I upgrade the video card.
Depending on what you're doing, maybe, but probably not.
Overall, it will be less than 10%, and more likely 5% increase in throughput when using 3 sticks instead of 4.
The thing to keep in mind is that running out of memory is a significant decrease in performance.
If you know how much memory your apps and workflow need (and most people don't - it's not as easy as it sounds), divide by 3 and use a stick size that will accommodate this.
For many, it comes down to this: which do I want to buy: 3x16 or 4x8?
I saw about a 7% improvement when I went with 3 sticks of 8G in 2012 compared to 2 x 4G.
I'm curious - was this a benchmark improvement, or a measured improvement to some aspect of your workflow?
A benchmark. I've setup the memory config to optimal since way back to my Power Mac 8500/180.
Just ordered an early 2009 single CPU (W3520, 3gb RAM, 500gb HDD, Radeon HD 4870) Mac Pro off of eBay. I've had several of these machines in dual and single CPU configuration... some I've sold, and my last one I gave to my son as an introduction in computer use. But for some reason, I just keep coming back to these old cheesegraters and have to purchase another one.
Have a slew of leftover parts that I'm going to throw at it when it arrives:
- firmware update to 5,1
- Install High Sierra and the latest 144 firmware
- X5677 CPU
- 250gb 860 EVO (for boot drive) in an OWC adapter sled
- WD 1tb Black HDD (for user folders)
- 500gb HDD it came with (time machine)
- bluray drive
- 12gb 1333mhz RAM
Future plans involve a RX 480, update to Mojave, and 48gb of RAM. I also have an Angelbird Wings m.2 drive adapter that I plan on throwing in a EVO 970 to try out the whole NVMe thing. Let the tinkering begin!
Have a slew of leftover parts that I'm going to throw at it when it arrives:
- firmware update to 5,1
- Install High Sierra and the latest 144 firmware
- X5677 CPU
- 250gb 860 EVO (for boot drive) in an OWC adapter sled
- WD 1tb Black HDD (for user folders)
- 500gb HDD it came with (time machine)
- bluray drive
- 12gb 1333mhz RAM
Future plans involve a RX 480, update to Mojave, and 48gb of RAM. I also have an Angelbird Wings m.2 drive adapter that I plan on throwing in a EVO 970 to try out the whole NVMe thing. Let the tinkering begin!
Great, every time I consider selling my 5,1 I realize how reliable it is, still fast, and flawless. The AHCI m.2 is very fast and I won't gone Mojave until I upgrade the HD 5870 card.
I picked up my first ever nMP (6,1) recently. I've previously owned a 4,1 and a 5,1.
Anyway, I found a pretty good deal on a 8 core/D700/32GB/1TB nMP from 2018.
I'm also putting together a Windows system, X79 based that uses the same CPUs as the Mac Pro. I ordered a 12 core E5-2697 V2 for the nMP and when that arrives, I will put the 8 core E5-1680 V2 from the nMP in my Windows system.
I'll probably upgrade the nMP to 64GB as well since RAM isn't too expensive for it.
The nMP is replacing my i7/32GB/512GB Mac Mini 2018, which I already sold off.
Anyway, I found a pretty good deal on a 8 core/D700/32GB/1TB nMP from 2018.
I'm also putting together a Windows system, X79 based that uses the same CPUs as the Mac Pro. I ordered a 12 core E5-2697 V2 for the nMP and when that arrives, I will put the 8 core E5-1680 V2 from the nMP in my Windows system.
I'll probably upgrade the nMP to 64GB as well since RAM isn't too expensive for it.
The nMP is replacing my i7/32GB/512GB Mac Mini 2018, which I already sold off.
Nice! Hopefully you will benchmark the difference between the 8-core and 12-core versions in Geekbench and Cinebench.
Very interested in these results, as I've been thinking about ditching my 2018 i5 Mini for either a 5,1 (flashed or original) or 6,1 Mac Pro.
FYI this wouldn’t have worked with most 2.5”—>3.5” adapters because they don’t line up the drive with the backplane correctly. OWC sells replacement 2.5” drive sleds that work perfectly (I was short one anyway).
My 12core E5-2697 V2 arrived today and I swapped out the 8core E5-1680 V2 from the nMP 6,1. Everything seems to be working out just fine.
My Geekbench scores are listed on my profile page. https://browser.geekbench.com/user/207068
My highest scores are (highest single-core score/highest multi-core score) (all scores with 32GB of RAM)
6core i7-8700b Mac Mini 2018: 6035/27010
8core nMP: 4093/26422
12core nMP: 3620/32226
My single-core scores went down a bit as the 12 core can't turbo as high as the 8 core, but multi-core went up quite a bit.The multi-core score is higher than the 8core iMac Pro score and just under the i9-9900k 8core iMac 2019 score. Not bad.
Cinebench R20 highest scores (sorry didn't do any single core runs)
8core nMP: 2622
12core nMP: 3345
I don't remember my i7 Mac Mini score, but I think it was close or just under the 8core nMP score.
Not bad for a $330 upgrade (what I paid for the E5-2697 V2), especially since I'm re-using the 8core CPU in my X79 system.
For reference, my i7 mini (2018) w/ Blackmagic eGPU scores 2759 (or 2591 with TurboBoost off if I want it to run quietly). It did cost quite a bit more than $330.
Thanks for the info! Good to know the 12 core systems can hit over 30k in Geekbench multicore. Gives me a little more insight to the differences between the 2018 Mini and the 2013 Pro.
Perhaps next year i will make the leap from my 5,1 to one of the newer machines. Have to get settled into my new house before I make any major purchases, though.
I can't afford to upgrade my trash can Pro given the new tax law changes, but I appreciate that at least we are making Apple grate again!
The 1680v2 is nice as hell too in an X79 as it's multiplier unlocked (only 8c/16t CPU that is). Mine in an X79-Deluxe is running at 4.5 GHz solidly.
Glad to help out. It is definitely a nice machine if you can pick one up for a good price. I found a good deal on mine ( 8core/32GB/D700/1TB) and it was from 2018. Pretty good since selling my i7/512GB Mac Mini 2018 and the 32GB DDR4 kit I bought for it made up quite a lot of the difference.
The SSD on the mini was feeling a bit cramped with Win10 also installed. The 1TB drive is much roomier.
I was using a Nvidia eGPU with it in Windows, which was fine, but in macOS the scaling performance wasn't that great from the iGPU. I had to drop down to using a 2560x1440 effective scaled resolution on my 4k monitor. On my 2016 15" MBP and now the nMP, I have no problems using 3008x1692 scaled with their dGPUs.
Thank you for the info! I had forgotten what my scores were as I just ran R20 once or twice before I sold it off. Well the nMP did cost more than that, although not too much more than what I paid for the mini and 32GB kit.For reference, my i7 mini (2018) w/ Blackmagic eGPU scores 2759 (or 2591 with TurboBoost off if I want it to run quietly). It did cost quite a bit more than $330.
Yes, I know! That's why I wanted to put it into my X79 system instead of keeping it in the nMP. I'm using the same motherboard! Asus X79 Deluxe along with 64GB of Corsair Vengeance Pro RAM (8x8GB) and the GTX 1080Ti that was in my eGPU box before. I did some benchmarks at 4.6GHz, but right now I'm running it at 4.5GHz.
Geekbench multi core score of 29,515 not bad and Cinebench R20 score of 3391, which is pretty much the same as the 12core E5-2697V2 that I put in my nMP.
After years of hackintoshing I have finally switched to an older cMP. My X79 - 4930k system was getting more and more difficult to hack and stay stable. Found a 12C 4,1 flashed to 5,1 Mac pro with an SSD and 64Gb of ram for $200 locally. Threw an NVMe boot drive, 10Gbe network card and an RX580 in there and it works pretty well. (Couple minor issues with the 10Gbe card, but hoping to work that out soon). It has X5650s in there now, but I found some pretty cheap X5680s. All in under $500 and runs Mojave perfectly and is plenty fast enough for my current workflow.
Picked up a single CPU 4,1 today. Plan on a GPU upgrade & a 6 core. Maybe 32GB RAM. It's clean, and cheap ($120, usually go for $300+ here)
Hi,
New to the forum. I recently found a 2010 Mac Pro at Goodwill. It had two CPU trays and a 5870. Not sure on the rest of the specs, it is still on its journey here. In the meantime I have ordered an RX 580, NVMe setup, Maxpower eSata card and an enclosure, two x5690s, and the parts to upgrade the wifi/BT. I can't wait to put it all together.
Thanks for the wealth of information here!
All the best,
FTB
New to the forum. I recently found a 2010 Mac Pro at Goodwill. It had two CPU trays and a 5870. Not sure on the rest of the specs, it is still on its journey here. In the meantime I have ordered an RX 580, NVMe setup, Maxpower eSata card and an enclosure, two x5690s, and the parts to upgrade the wifi/BT. I can't wait to put it all together.
Thanks for the wealth of information here!
All the best,
FTB
Just scored a dual CPU 2009 off craigslist. Seller claimed it didn't power on, and only wanted $100 for it. After getting it home, I thoroughly cleaned the machine (was heavily dusty and had all kinds of crud in it), re-pasted the CPUs, and held the power button for 10 seconds with the machine unplugged to give it a reset. After plugging it back in, it fired right up!
Future plans involve a flash to a 5,1, firmware update, HS install, and dual X5677s (I have a pair lying around). Tinkering with these upgradeable MPs is so much fun!
Future plans involve a flash to a 5,1, firmware update, HS install, and dual X5677s (I have a pair lying around). Tinkering with these upgradeable MPs is so much fun!
Hi,
I hope it is a right place to ask and my loud thinking is not so strange
As Apple is planning to introduce 7.1, stores started ditching 6.1 and I found that the new MP with specs: 3.0GHz 8-core, 16 GB, D700 can be bought for 2700$ (on APPLE Store is for 3999$). Is it worth the money in 2019?
Also, I know it is hard to guess, but is it possible to predict how long it will be getting macOS updates?
I am wondering if it is a good to buy it and have it for next 7-8 years. Currently I am using rMB 13 from 2013 and was considering rMB 15 2019 but as I stopped traveling and rMB 15 is currently on the same price point as MP I am considering it as a better long term device.
I hope it is a right place to ask and my loud thinking is not so strange
As Apple is planning to introduce 7.1, stores started ditching 6.1 and I found that the new MP with specs: 3.0GHz 8-core, 16 GB, D700 can be bought for 2700$ (on APPLE Store is for 3999$). Is it worth the money in 2019?
Also, I know it is hard to guess, but is it possible to predict how long it will be getting macOS updates?
I am wondering if it is a good to buy it and have it for next 7-8 years. Currently I am using rMB 13 from 2013 and was considering rMB 15 2019 but as I stopped traveling and rMB 15 is currently on the same price point as MP I am considering it as a better long term device.
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