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What are the Best possible processors for this motherboard?

M

MrWizard64

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 8, 2013
49
1
I just bought a mac pro from craigslist for 600 bucks... thinking that it has 2x 2.66 mhz quad core processors... it does not, they are dual core. I have fallen prey to false advertisement.

That's what it says in the "about this mac" section, and on geekbench.

Call me names if you like... I'm ok with it.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if there's any way that I can find out the "Best" possible processors to upgrade this thing to.

Motherboard: Apple Computer, Inc. Mac-F4208DC8 PVT

I found a couple of ntel Xeon Quad Core X5365 3.00GHz/8M/1333MHz 's out there for like 200 bucks, and I'm thinking that this might be a good route.

Can I go any better?

Sidenote: I need a bluetooth card... any suggestions?

Second sidenote... does anyone possibly have a tutorial handy for this? If not, I can prolly dig one up, but I thought one of you guys might have a top-notch one that you recommend.

Anyhow, thank you guys for all of you help... this thing will be a video editing beast if it's the last thing I do!

---FightSmartTrav
 
The information we need (assuming it boots of course) is on the Apple - About This Mac - More Info screen.

Underneath Mac Pro, it will say the year model, it will list the processors and the RAM amount and speed.

Once we know that, we can start making suggestions.
 
MrWizard64 said:
I cant for the life of me find anything about the year.

Processor 2x 2.66 ghz dual-core intel xeon

Memory 4gb 667 mhz DDR2 FB-DIMM

the ad reported 2009, but i don't know if that's accurate. The processors weren't!

Thanks for the reply

----------

http://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=UPZ

this might help... is the "quad core" 2.66 I assume
Click to expand...
It's a MP 1.1 (2006). Entry Model (2x dual 2.66GHz CPUs).
I think the X5365 should work.
 
I understand that there is a major discrepancy in what I got vs what I thought I was getting.

Let's focus on the positives... I paid 600 dollars, and this thing is highly adaptable. With three basic changes, this thing could be a beast. I just need to make sure I know what's possible.

1. Purchase 2x quad core processors. I'm thinking these:

2 x Intel Xeon X5365 3.00 GHz 8M Quad Core Apple Mac Pro 1.1 Upgrade CPU's SLAED

2. Bluetooth Card:

Mac Pro 2006 2007 2008 Bluetooth 2.0 With Screws A1186 A1115 Kit

3. Ram Currently 4gb. I want 8bg with this chipset:

8GB Mac Pro 2x 4GB DDR2 PC2-5300F FBDIMM Fully Buffered CL5 667Mhz 240-Pin ram

Please let me know if you guys think these mods will work and/or be worth it.

----------

and will the same heat sinks from my current dual cores work?
 
Remember that Apple products are not like PCs - you can't just swap out the old heatsinks for something by another manufacturer since there are sensors embedded in the original ones.

Yes, your current heatsinks will be fine once you have swapped the processors.

You may want to consider more RAM - 8Gb is fairly low.
 
Upgrading an old MP1,1 may provide you with the most bang for the bucks, depending how cheap you get the parts. I upgraded mine with two quad core CPUs running at 3 GHz and 16GB or RAM.

A few remarks:
- swapping CPUs on 2006 Mac Pros is a pain - you need special tools, patience and need to be quite careful not to break anything - google for tutorials
- 2006 Mac Pros, especially when they are full of FB DIMMs, suck a lot of electricity - mine consumes close to 300W when idle and close to 700W at full power (but I also have a GTX570 graphic card).
- 2006 Mac Pros are getting quite old - who knows how much life is left in their logic board...

But in terms of CPUs, the X5365 are the most powerful ones officially released by Intel that you can fit in the machine.

You can get a bit more juice from overclocked E5350/X5350 Engineering Samples (google for BSEL mod), running at 3.3GHz (although About this Mac will still report 2.67GHz).
 
Thank you guys for the responses....

So you're saying that I can actually bump up to 16gb of ram? I didn't know that. I just grabbed the x5365 pair, so that should be coming soon.

Is there anywhere specific that I can grab the tools that I need? I thought a tiny screwdriver set would work just fine... guess not.

If either of you guys have a suggestion for a ram chip that would let me bump up to 16 gb, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks again for your time.

---Trav
 
You can put up to 32 GB of RAM (8 DIMMs of fully buffered ECC DDR2 667Mhz RAM each 2GB in size). That might be a bit over the top. I went for 16 (8*2) as I benefitted from a good deal on clearance items. I guess OWC still sells them new but I'd rather look on eBay for second hand server memory. In theory you need Mac Pro approved DIMMs with large heat sinks but a lot of people run regular server memory without problem.

You will need a special tool to un mount the CPU heat sinks. A long hex key if I remember well. Google for a tutorial and look for the reference.
 
Last edited:
MrWizard64 said:
I understand that there is a major discrepancy in what I got vs what I thought I was getting.

Let's focus on the positives... I paid 600 dollars, and this thing is highly adaptable. With three basic changes, this thing could be a beast. I just need to make sure I know what's possible.

1. Purchase 2x quad core processors. I'm thinking these:

2 x Intel Xeon X5365 3.00 GHz 8M Quad Core Apple Mac Pro 1.1 Upgrade CPU's SLAED

2. Bluetooth Card:

Mac Pro 2006 2007 2008 Bluetooth 2.0 With Screws A1186 A1115 Kit

3. Ram Currently 4gb. I want 8bg with this chipset:

8GB Mac Pro 2x 4GB DDR2 PC2-5300F FBDIMM Fully Buffered CL5 667Mhz 240-Pin ram

Please let me know if you guys think these mods will work and/or be worth it.

----------

and will the same heat sinks from my current dual cores work?
Click to expand...

The thing, is, that would get your cost up to $1000, and you'd be better off builing a hackintosh for less money.

Ask for your money back, and if that doesn't work, resell it. MP 3,1 still have life in them whereas 1,1 models, I'm afraid, do not.
 
Thanks guys... I ended up taking your advice and buying a 2009 4,1. In it's current state, it has one 2.66 quad core.

I still have these 2 quad core 3.0 ghz sitting around, can I drop these in the logic board in its current state, or do I have to buy additional stuff to make it work?

Thanks again for all of your help.
 
MrWizard64 said:
Thanks guys... I ended up taking your advice and buying a 2009 4,1. In it's current state, it has one 2.66 quad core.

I still have these 2 quad core 3.0 ghz sitting around, can I drop these in the logic board in its current state, or do I have to buy additional stuff to make it work?

Thanks again for all of your help.
Click to expand...

Will never work as they're totally incompatible. Sell them and purchase a W3680. You'll need to flash the firmware to 5,1 first though using the tool from netkas.
 
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