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What model Mac Pro did I just buy?

G

ggoerl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 18, 2007
211
2
So I just purchased a mac pro from ebay but unfortunately don't know what model it is, it's in the mail currently but I'm hoping to find out before so I can order graphics card for it. It's a Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon dual. I checked the wikipedia and it could possible be the 2006 mac pro 1,1 or the 4,1 from 2009 possibly? As of right now I just need to get some ram and a graphics card to get it running. I'd like to order it before it arrives if possible so I'm not stuck waiting for everything.
 
Doesn't the eBay article page state a year of release or purchase or a model identifier?

Maybe you can deduct the year by the price you paid for the machine?
 
No it doesn't. But by judging by the case now I saw the 2009s have two FW8000 ports on the front meaning they got rid of the old 400 port on the front so it's a 2006 1,1.

QUESTION IS. What graphics card would be compatible with it? Obviously an apple one or windows based that has been flashed other than that is it real picky? Currently looking at an ati x1900xt.
 
Last edited:
ggoerl said:
QUESTION IS. What graphics card would be compatible with it? Obviously an apple one or windows based that has been flashed
Click to expand...
Running 10.6.8 or higher you have support for unflashed PC cards out of the box. Iirc the Radeon 6850/6870 have been considered the sweet spot between cost, compatibility and performance - you only have to accept that you have no Mac boot screen (unless you have a second card installed that supports it, like e.g. the 7300GT originally found in the 1,1).

Perhaps nowadays nVidia support has matured so that you can also install something like a GT5x0 or GT6x0...
 
ggoerl said:
No it doesn't. But by judging by the case now I saw the 2009s have two FW8000 ports on the front meaning they got rid of the old 400 port on the front so it's a 2006 1,1.

QUESTION IS. What graphics card would be compatible with it? Obviously an apple one or windows based that has been flashed other than that is it real picky? Currently looking at an ati x1900xt.
Click to expand...

Why would you bid without knowing this? Usually jerks just list the 2.66 hoping to fool people into paying too much for a 1,1.
 
ggoerl said:
So I just purchased a mac pro from ebay but unfortunately don't know what model it is, it's in the mail currently but I'm hoping to find out before so I can order graphics card for it. It's a Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon dual. I checked the wikipedia and it could possible be the 2006 mac pro 1,1 or the 4,1 from 2009 possibly? As of right now I just need to get some ram and a graphics card to get it running. I'd like to order it before it arrives if possible so I'm not stuck waiting for everything.
Click to expand...

If you have a link to the ebay auction somebody on here could probably answer this for you in seconds.

Also, maybe do some research before bidding next time?
 
Caveat emptor.
eBay allows questions from buyers to sellers, why not ask the seller now?
 
meh, didn't matter at the time. I didn't pay an insane amount of money or else I would've done more research. I'm pretty positive it's a 2006 1,1 as I stated earlier about the front firewire connections. I only paid $250 shipped.
 
not a bad deal if it has at least 4gb ram in it.

you can probably find period-correct 7300GT for it dirt cheap. :)
 
spoonie1972 said:
not a bad deal if it has at least 4gb ram in it.

you can probably find period-correct 7300GT for it dirt cheap. :)
Click to expand...

Define dirt cheap. Because everyone on ebay want's 100-150. Do you know any other sources?
 
ggoerl said:
No it doesn't. But by judging by the case now I saw the 2009s have two FW8000 ports on the front meaning they got rid of the old 400 port on the front so it's a 2006 1,1.

QUESTION IS. What graphics card would be compatible with it? Obviously an apple one or windows based that has been flashed other than that is it real picky? Currently looking at an ati x1900xt.
Click to expand...

the 1,1 and 3,1 both have 1 FW400 and 1 FW800 port on the front, so that doesn't mean you've necessarily got a 1,1.
Why not just look up the serial number on apple's site? That'll tell you what it is.
 
If it's a dual-processor quad, you definitely got a 1,1.

3,1s all used quad-core Harpertown (5400 series) CPUs, in single or dual configuration.

A Radeon 5770 is probably your best bet as a GPU for a 1,1. Beyond that, you'll run into PCIe performance bottlenecks on that machine.

You can also upgrade the CPUs to Clovertown (5300 series) quads pretty cheap these days, and that would give you a reasonably fast machine for being over 6 years old.
 
I agree.. I see tons of "2.66 ghz" Mac Pros on ebay.. and almost none state what generation it is. For all we know they are mostly 1,1.. Yes, there is and was a 2.66 4,1 Mac Pro.. but Ebay sellers won't mention what they are.

Sad. I hope you didn't get ripped off by the seller, op.



thekev said:
Why would you bid without knowing this? Usually jerks just list the 2.66 hoping to fool people into paying too much for a 1,1.
Click to expand...
 
PowerPCMacMan said:
I agree.. I see tons of "2.66 ghz" Mac Pros on ebay.. and almost none state what generation it is. For all we know they are mostly 1,1.. Yes, there is and was a 2.66 4,1 Mac Pro.. but Ebay sellers won't mention what they are.

Sad. I hope you didn't get ripped off by the seller, op.
Click to expand...

The OP stated that he only paid $250, so it's not that bad. I just hate that some of them are intentionally ambiguous in their descriptions. Describing a machine solely by Ghz should have ended a decade ago.
 
Is anyone going to answer my previous question. Does anyone know where to find a cheap card other than ebay or how to tell what cards are compatible since there are so many different 7300 gt's and radeon 5770's.
 
had no idea, I'll look at it.

Does anyone know the differences between the 1st gen and gen 2nd gen 8800 gt's as in spec and cosmetic wise a way to tell the between them? trying to find a 1st gen 8800gt for cheap.
 
ggoerl said:
Does anyone know the differences between the 1st gen and gen 2nd gen 8800 gt's as in spec and cosmetic wise a way to tell the between them? trying to find a 1st gen 8800gt for cheap.
Click to expand...

Specs and cosmetics-wise both versions are exactly the same.

Product numbers and ROM versions are different, though.

EFI32, ROM version 62.92.20.00.16

EFI64, ROM version 62.92.20.00.00

8800 are plagued with failures, there are few better and more reliable cards to flash, such as 4870.
 
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