MP 1,1-5,1 Very hot CPUs on Mac Pro 1,1 under El Capitan. No problem on Snow Leopard, Linux or Windows.

[-MB-]

Hi!

My updated Mac Pro 1,1 (8-core Xeon 5355 @ 2.66GHz) that “About This Mac” says are ‘Unknown’ but Terminal got it right

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

says are a pair of

Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X5355 @ 2.66GHz


The problem is that under El Capitan the CPUs are always too hot. Macs Fan Control says about

85ºC (185ºF) CPU A Core 0
88ºC (190ºF) CPU A Core 1
91ºC (195ºF) CPU B Core 0
93ºC (199ºF) CPU A Core 1

This is using the Mac Pro not intensively. Mac Pro rear is really hot as is the air coming from the fans. CPU_MEM fans quick-in at a low 635rpm when a CPU core reach 96ºC (204ºF) and then they don’t blast much more. To cool the CPUs I need to full blast the fans using Macs Fan Control. It seems Mac OS X is fine letting run the CPUs so hot!?

Under Solus linux (getsol.us) the temperatures are almost half the temps seen under El Capitan and the fans remain silent. The rear is not hot and the air is just mild warm. Same lack of hot temperatures happens under Windows10. Both Solus and Windows10 running natively.

This high temperatures on El Capitan are a really nuisance. Under Snow Leopard (10.6.8) the Mac Pro is cold. Why is the Mac Pro CPUs running so hot under El Capitan? How can I fix this?

My DC G5 2.3GHz is way cooler, the air from the fans is cold even when the fans rev up!

Left to Right. El Capitan, Solus and Windows10 temperatures.

Thanks!!

 

[mikas]

What about activity monitor and processor usage in there? Nothing there?

 

[-MB-]

Hi!

Nothing at all. Activity Monitor the hightest, under 10%. There is no stress on the computer but the temps are high.

 

[mikas]

Obviously you did reset SMC already?
And you have upgraded the firmware to 2,1 ?

 

[mikas]

You seem to still have only four cores, should have 8. Is there 4 or 8 cores in activity monitor?

 

[-MB-]

There are 8 cores on activity monitor.

 

[mikas]

About this Mac, System information:
Boot ROM version: ?
SMC version: ?

I've got an exact same machine with 2x 5355 up and running. DIMMs are hot, not CPUs.

 

[-MB-]

Boot ROM Version: MP11.005D.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.7f10

 

[-MB-]

These are the temps just after booting, CPUs hot, DIMMs OK?

 

[-MB-]

all cores over 90ºC now.. doing not much ?

 

[MacRS4]

There are 8 cores on activity monitor.

View attachment 943763

That's probably just due to hyperthreading. Here's my 8 core iMac Pro for example, showing 16 cores.

 

[-MB-]

That's probably just due to hyperthreading. Here's my 8 core iMac Pro for example, showing 16 cores.

Oh, do you mean I may be missing one CPU or four cores? I think this CPU does not do hyperthreading?

 

[-MB-]

Intel® Xeon® Processor X5355 (8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) Product Specifications

Intel® Xeon® Processor X5355 (8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

 

[mikas]

No hyper threading, you are correct, these 5355s don't have HT.

I think it could be a mismatch of firmware and SMC.
Or just wrong firmware.

I believe you should do an upgrade to boot ROM: MP21.007F.B06
That's what I have done. SMC version is the same as yours.
My assumption is that firmware MP11.xx would not correctly identify those newer 4 core CPUs in OS X. You would need to do a 1,1 to 2,1 firmware update for this.

 

[mikas]

I did the 1,1 to 2,1 FW upgrade a few years ago, and I don't remember all of it.
You might have to read through some threads and pages unfortunately.
Something like #1 and #1 .

I remember that apple changed some hierarchies at some point, and that the original tool didn't work as expected after that. Maybe you had to download the firmware by yourself and mount the disk image for it to work, or something like that.

 

[-MB-]

Thanks! I am reading that threads.

 

[-MB-]

Tried many things, still here

Boot ROM Version: MP11.005D.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.7f10

 

[EugW]

Tried many things, still here

Boot ROM Version: MP11.005D.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.7f10

1. That's the old MacPro1,1 SMC firmware. You ideally should have this MacPro2,1 firmware:

2. Which stepping of X5355 do you have? The older steppings supposedly idle at about 50 Watts. You want the latest G0 stepping that supposedly idles at 25 Watts.

3. What memory do you have? The RAM with non-OEM heatsinks not recommended. Probably not relevant here, but just asking.

4. It seems to me that El Capitan is much more CPU and RAM intensive than Lion (or Snow Leopard).

 

[-MB-]

Hi!

1. I am triying, and failing to, to update to MacPro 2,1 firmware.

2. Where can I check that?

3. Yes, they don’t have the ‘massive’ OEM heatsinks but they work and never gave errors.

4. oh well, thanks.

 

[-MB-]

Hi!

Done the whole thing about six times without errors. But, when I shutdown and then the Mac Pro boots, the power button light blinks followed by a beep to update the firmware as expected, this update doesn’t happen, it just went to boot on El Capitan, no updates applied.

 

[mikas]

You have disabled SIP (System Integrity Protection) first before firmware update?
Or maybe try with an earlier OS, I believe SIP was introduced in El Capitan.

 

[EugW]

Yeah I did my 2,1 firmware update on Lion. Note that I was getting a 5530 error but there is a way around that if you encounter the error.

 

[-MB-]

I did try on Snow Leopard, I can upgrade to Lion if needed.

I can’t disable SIP on El Capitan. There is no Recovery Partition on this Mac.

I have seen that video. I did all of that. The Mac Pro tries to apply the update but the screen you see when this happens just last one or two seconds as much and goes into a reboot loop.

 

[EugW]

You still have the old 1,1 SMC firmware as well. I wonder if having just the 2,1 SMC firmware without the 2,1 EFI firmware is good enough to solve your problem. Have you tried flashing the SMC firmware yet?

 

[-MB-]

Thanks! I was able to update the SMC version to 1.15f3 as seen on that video but CPU temps remain high just after booting. There is a new temp sensor now “CPU Diode"

These are the temps, what are yours?