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Upgrading a 2010 Mac Pro Quad (2.8Ghz) to a Xeon W3690

^^^^They have not been tested, but since they are just lower clocked versions of the X5690, there's no reason why they shouldn't.

Lou
 
I thought you didn't need to flash the firmware if you had a 2010 model. Only 2009s

I have a 3.3 currently buy my brother want to upgrade a 2010 2.8 quad. Will he have to flash the firmware to 5.1?

Firmware flash to 5.1 if need be you do before and can be found on apples site correct?
 
^^^^Maybe I should have written my above post as 5,1 or flashed 4,1. the 2010 Mac Pro and 2012 Mac Pro are both 5,1 Mac Pros and need no firmware flashing. The only difference between 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros is the CPUs that Apple supplied. Otherwise the machines are identical.

Lou
 
scottsjack said:
I've been looking at those every day. Should I? Should I?, Should I? I'll probably end up going for it. The change in my 5,1 3.2quad with 1333-capable RAM would probably be noticeable.
Click to expand...

Im going from a 2.66 quad to a 3.46 hex. I plan on keeping the old memory for now, but I expect a big jump in performance.
 
Hello,

To those planning to upgrade from a 2.66 quad: unless you'll really use and max out the 6 cores on the hex, don't expect dramatic results in day to day usage. I just upgraded mine for the 3.33 quad (from 2.66) and honestly, if someone had done it without my knowledge, I'm not sure I would have noticed it.

Loa
 
Loa said:
Hello,

To those planning to upgrade from a 2.66 quad: unless you'll really use and max out the 6 cores on the hex, don't expect dramatic results in day to day usage. I just upgraded mine for the 3.33 quad (from 2.66) and honestly, if someone had done it without my knowledge, I'm not sure I would have noticed it.

Loa
Click to expand...

what do you mean max out the 6 cores.
 
^^^^Utilize applications that are multi-core aware and will recognize and use all six cores.

Lou
 
flowrider said:
^^^^Utilize applications that are multi-core aware and will recognize and use all six cores.

Lou
Click to expand...

Hey guys bumping an old thread. Just upgraded my 2009 to a 2010 via firmware flash and added a w3690 six core 3.46 cpu with 2x 8Gb of 1333 ram. Also added a 780gtx card..

I'm only hitting around 14000 with geek bench 32bit trial.. I'm not sure why I'm not hitting higher scores?
 
jezzy said:
Hey guys bumping an old thread. Just upgraded my 2009 to a 2010 via firmware flash and added a w3690 six core 3.46 cpu with 2x 8Gb of 1333 ram. Also added a 780gtx card..

I'm only hitting around 14000 with geek bench 32bit trial.. I'm not sure why I'm not hitting higher scores?
Click to expand...

You need to use the 64bit version of Geekbench
 
Hi all,

Confused after reading the posts. But can someone recommend the best upgrade for my stock Quad 2.8ghz 5,1? What's the best option for me?
 
HuRR said:
Hi all,

Confused after reading the posts. But can someone recommend the best upgrade for my stock Quad 2.8ghz 5,1? What's the best option for me?
Click to expand...

"Best option" will be a function of your needs and budget. The following processors (along with a few others) will be drop-in replacements:

W3680 or X5680 (6 cores, 3.33 GHz)
W3690 or X5690 (6 cores, 3.46 GHz)
W3670 (6 cores, 3.20 GHz)
X5677 (4 cores, 3.46 GHz)
X5675 (6 cores, 3.06 GHz)
X5670 (6 cores, 2.93 GHz)

If in doubt, and if your budget allows, go for the W3680 or X5680.
 
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scott.n said:
"Best option" will be a function of your needs and budget. The following processors (along with a few others) will be drop-in replacements:

W3680 or X5680 (6 cores, 3.33 GHz)
W3690 or X5690 (6 cores, 3.46 GHz)
W3670 (6 cores, 3.20 GHz)
X5677 (4 cores, 3.46 GHz)
X5675 (6 cores, 3.06 GHz)
X5670 (6 cores, 2.93 GHz)

If in doubt, and if your budget allows, go for the W3680 or X5680.
Click to expand...
Which of these chips is the newest? Basically, I want to use my Mac Pro as a streaming computer. I have bootcamp installed and run OBS. But it seems that OBS is pretty CPU intensive and has difficulty with 60 FPS video rendering. I'd like something that is cheap, cool, and will breathe life into my Mac Pro.

EDIT: What is the difference between the W and X chips?
 
Last edited:
HuRR said:
Which of these chips is the newest? Basically, I want to use my Mac Pro as a streaming computer. I have bootcamp installed and run OBS. But it seems that OBS is pretty CPU intensive and has difficulty with 60 FPS video rendering. I'd like something that is cheap, cool, and will breathe life into my Mac Pro.
Click to expand...
They're all from the same series, released within months of each other. These are the newest CPUs available for your Mac Pro.

All would be an improvement over the W3530 that you currently have. The X5675 and X5670 are lower-power than the others listed, but all are within spec for the single-processor 2010.

The W3680 is the processor that was in the six-core 2010/2012 Mac Pro from Apple.
 
HuRR said:
EDIT: What is the difference between the W and X chips?
Click to expand...

"W" are meant for single-processor systems and the "X" are meant for dual-processor systems (but will work just fine in a single-CPU system).

For the W3680/X5680 and W3690/X5690 pairs, the only difference is that the "X" models allow for a max of 64GB (4x16GB) RAM. I believe the "W" models are capped at 56GB (3x16GB + 1x8GB).
 
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scott.n said:
"W" are meant for single-processor systems and the "X" are meant for dual-processor systems (but will work just fine in a single-CPU system).

For the W3680/X5680 and W3690/X5690 pairs, the only difference is that the "X" models allow for a max of 64GB (4x16GB) RAM. I believe the "W" models are capped at 56GB (3x16GB + 1x8GB).
Click to expand...
Awesome. Thanks a lot for the help. I really appreciate it.
 
scott.n said:
"W" are meant for single-processor systems and the "X" are meant for dual-processor systems (but will work just fine in a single-CPU system).

For the W3680/X5680 and W3690/X5690 pairs, the only difference is that the "X" models allow for a max of 64GB (4x16GB) RAM. I believe the "W" models are capped at 56GB (3x16GB + 1x8GB).
Click to expand...

Second QPI link in the X series allows for dual processors it is disabled in the W which is why they do not work in dual systems, the ram is the Apple firmware limitation I believe.
 
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HuRR said:
What is the difference between the W and X chips?
Click to expand...

From a post I made a year ago:

flowrider said:
Intel's Part Number Descriptions Explained here:

Intel has changed what the leading Alpha means. The change happened when going from the 35XX (55XX) to the 36XX (56XX) series.

In the older series it meant:

E = Enterprise and CPUs with a TDP of 80 Watts
X = Accelerated and CPUs with a TDP of 95 Watts
W = Workstation and CPUs with a TDP of 130 Watts

and in every case the leading numeric after the alpha meant:

3 = for single CPU use only (1 x I/O Bus)
5 = for dual CPU use, but will work in single CPU applications (2 x I/O Bus)

the the later series, the above nomenclature rules stayed constant EXCEPT - The "X" prefix means accelerated (95 or 130 watt TDP) and is only used on CPUs with a 2 x I/O bus. The "W" prefix is now used only in the single CPU series (1 X I/O Bus).

In any case in both series, the meaning of leading numeric after the alpha has remained the same. A "3" for CPUs with a 1 x I/O bus and a "5" for CPUs with a 2 X I/O Bus.

I hope this makes sense to you. It took me awhile to figure it out.
Click to expand...

Lou
 
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