Upgrade Mac Pro 3.1 (2008)

[Freeks]

This thread have been great!
I could get dual cpu 3.1 for free, but didn't take it as 800mhz RAM is so expensive. Now i read here that i could use 667hhz ram.

I would use it for video apps like FCPX and Resolve. Both like good GPU with lot of memory.

So my question is: is it possible to add two 4gb graphics cards to x16 pci busses and still add SSD and USB3 cards?

And does it work with dual cards? I found pre-flashed nvidia 4gb cards for $300 and will find out will Resolve support those.

Cheers

 

[JoSch]

This thread have been great!
I could get dual cpu 3.1 for free, but didn't take it as 800mhz RAM is so expensive. Now i read here that i could use 667hhz ram.

I would use it for video apps like FCPX and Resolve. Both like good GPU with lot of memory.

So my question is: is it possible to add two 4gb graphics cards to x16 pci busses and still add SSD and USB3 cards?

And does it work with dual cards? I found pre-flashed nvidia 4gb cards for $300 and will find out will Resolve support those.

Cheers

I have a 3,1 with a HD5770 and GTX 750Ti. FCPX works quite well.
Physically, you insert two graphics cards, but since most cards are built to cover the space of two slots, the third slot will probably be covered.
Then, you have to consider the electrical load of the two cards. I don't know the correct rating of PSU at the moment, but it's low by today's standard. So you are probably better off just using one good card, perhaps with the installed card (which would some old card, I guess) as a boot screen provider.

 

[Luis Ortega]

Thanks. Indeed, there seem to be HK-based sellers selling 4x4GB PC-5300F for about £20 (compared to around double for the UK-based ones). Only annoying thing is delivery times. On the other hand, PC-6400F is prohibitively expensive.

I have the 2008 mac pro with 2 x 2.8ghz cpus, 16 gb ram, a 512gb ssd and an nvidia 285 video card running el Capitan.
It runs very well, although it does feel slower now with some newer software. Final Cut Pro X runs slower on my machine than on a newer iMac I use at work. I suspect that the ram speed on the 2008 mac pros are becoming the bottleneck in performance.
I hear that it won't support the next mac os sierra, so you might want to consider that in how much you invest in that computer.
I've never had a computer that has lasted as long as this mac pro and I love it, but it is getting long in the tooth.
I can't afford the new mac pros and I worry about the limitations of an iMac, so I am worried about which way to go once the mac pro dies.