MP 1,1-5,1 Tips for shopping

[giacomo16v]

Hi to everybody,
for 100 euros I have the possibility to get a MAC PRO 4.1,
Intel Xeon 3500 quad-core @ 2.66GHz-
3GB 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory
and hd 500gb
The mac looks good with no scratches and is in working order. My question are these 3 ..... having to use it with MOJAVE to use a music software (CUBASE11) I will have to first update the firmware to 5.1, then I can install directly from boot with DVD or MOJAVE pen drive? Or do I have to upgrade from HIGH SIERRA to MOJAVE? Then second question, Once MOJAVE is installed with the GT120, will the system always be usable but slow (videos will jerk and applications will open slowly) or is it fluid? 3rd question the price of 100 euros do you think is good considering that in the future if I want to switch to a tray with 2 CPUs 6core @ 3.34 (x5690) and a METAL card I will have to spend more money, at least 300 euros? Thank you

 

[tsialex]

GT120 for 100 euros?!? And with no shipping? Wow I need to sell the cards I have.

Forget it completely, buy at least a NVIDIA GT630 (read this post) for ~US$ 57 and do a BootROM reconstruction with the difference. You will get 144.0.0.0.0 and a perfectly working never booted BootROM image that you can re-flash whenever needed and a GPU with METAL support that works fine with Mojave to Big Sur.

 

[giacomo16v]

tsalex forgive me please, a long part is missing on my post because google translator doesn't copy every thought .....
I wanted to write that for 100 euros I have the possibility to get a MAC PRO 4.1, Intel Xeon 3500 quad-core @ 2.66GHz-
3GB 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory
and hd 500gb

 

[giacomo16v]

Now correct, the post

 

[tsialex]

tsalex forgive me please, a long part is missing on my post because google translator doesn't copy every thought .....
I wanted to write that for 100 euros I have the possibility to get a MAC PRO 4.1, Intel Xeon 3500 quad-core @ 2.66GHz-
3GB 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory
and hd 500gb

Go for it, don't forget that you will need a METAL supported GPU (see the post I linked earlier) to run Mojave and newer.

Also remember that you will have expenses like a new BR2032 RTC battery and depending on the health of the BootROM, a BootROM reconstruction service or even a MATT card.

 

[giacomo16v]

Sorry Alex, I don't understand the second part of your answer. What is the br2032 rtc battery for? And what is the bootrom? Maybe it is the "firmware" of the graphics card, to be passed to an apple-firmware?

 

[giacomo16v]

In any case, what do you think about the price? In the current state the Mac is working and to switch to mojave I would only need the gt 630. I saw that a normal PC version costs very little 30 euros with shipping.

 

[tsialex]

Sorry Alex, I don't understand the second part of your answer. What is the br2032 rtc battery for? And what is the bootrom? Maybe it is the "firmware" of the graphics card, to be passed to an apple-firmware?

RTC = Real Time Clock. It's a special battery, a BR2032 costs around $15 to $20, that keeps the Mac Pro clock/sleep and anything time related working.

BootROM is the Mac Pro firmware, you will need to do maintenance here since the NVRAM is also inside the BootROM image and you have trash being stored there since 2009. A BootROM clean-up/upgrade/reconstruction service will cost around $55.

Usually a 12+ years old Mac Pro needs a new SPI flash memory (a MATT card costs €65 from cmizapper.com), but you can buy this when it fails sometime in the near future (it will fail, it's a expendable component and have a defined lifetime).

In any case, what do you think about the price? In the current state the Mac is working and to switch to mojave I would only need the gt 630. I saw that a normal PC version costs very little 30 euros with shipping.

Nope, you will need that exact card that I linked, no alternatives since the public MacEFI ROM is made for that specific card.

 

[bmoore262]

If I got a 5,1 cheap I would go for it. A 4,1 - not so much.

 

[giacomo16v]

If I got a 5,1 cheap I would go for it. A 4,1 - not so much.

How come you say this? I knew that 4.1 and 5.1 are identical once the 4.1 has been updated both in terms of hardware, performance and software installation capabilities

 

[giacomo16v]

Hi guys , i was looking for a good price GPU and i found this AMD Radeon R7 240 at 40-50 euro....i know that is metal compatible.....and the price is comprenvise of shipment, what do you think about? Also it's AMD and i think that is good also for monteray....

 

[tsialex]

Hi guys , i was looking for a good price GPU and i found this AMD Radeon R7 240 40-50 euro....i know that is metal compatible.....and the price is commprenvise of shipment, what do you think about? Also it's AMD and i think that is good also for monteray....

Not supported, Oland based GPUs are incompatible with macOS.

 

[giacomo16v]

Not supported, Oland based GPUs are incompatible with macOS.

Can i post here a link of the site where there's write the list of all metal compatible gpu?

 

[giacomo16v]

I read now that is a site where they speaking about HACKINTOSH because is metal compatible but with FAKE ID.....a don't now if is possible use this way in a normal MAC PRO. What do you think?

 

[Warrington]

the list of all metal compatible gpu?

Here is a full thread about that. Some metal compatible GPUs are really cheap nowadays:

GPU Compatibility List for cMP

Content: 1. Summary 2. Information on common GPUs that can be used in cMP 3. GPU power consumption 4. Color compatibility 5. Flashing nuances 6. What to choose? 7. Useful links. 1. Summary 1.1. There are 50+ GPU types that are compatible with cMP (classic MacPro = Mac Pro 1.1-5.1/...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[tsialex]

I read now that is a site where they speaking about HACKINTOSH because is metal compatible but with FAKE ID.....a don't now if is possible use this way in a normal MAC PRO. What do you think?

Use the search here for R7 240, then try again with Oland. See if anyone was successful getting it to work.

If it was possible, people would be using it, since it's so cheap.