Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,081
Upgrading the CPUs of a Mac Pro 1.1
Has anyone else here other than my self and Dadi_oh taken on the challenge of a DIY upgrade of the CPUs of their Mac Pro 1.1?
I just finished upgrading my Mac Pro quad 2.66 GHz gen 1.1 to a Mac Pro quad 3.0 GHz gen 1.1. I got the matched set of Xeon 5160s (dual 3.0 GHz) CPU for a really great price on eBay. I found a German instructional video, YouTube - Prozessortausch beim Mac Pro online:
It really doesn't matter that I couldn't understand what they were saying as the visuals were great in explaining the process. Also for text and picture based instructions you can go to:
It was a great little project and wasn't hard at all if you take your time. Total time from disassembly to up and running again was probably 1.5 to 2 hours (with a couple of breaks). I used to do this sort of thing all the time in my PC days but I have to say doing it with a Mac Pro is such a pleasure comparatively speaking because the Mac Pro is so beautifully designed and engineered. No tangle of cables and the clutter typically found in a PC.
If anyone is contemplating such a thing, I would say just do your home work to know what CPUs are compatible and make sure you have some confidence in working around the inside of a PC and it can be a great inexpensive (relatively speaking... all the compatible quad core Xeons are still pretty expensive, although you can find deals if you look diligently) way to extend the useful life of your Mac Pro 1.1 (especially if you have a quad 2.0 GHz).
Very easy upgrade if you take your time. Biggest roadblock could be finding a suitable 3mm long handle hex driver to remove the heatsinks. I made my own with a 3mm hex bit... cut a slot in the base with a dremel tool and taped a long handled flat head screwdriver into the slot. Worked great.
Spend a week or two researching the prices on eBay and then just wait for the right deal to come along. You can use any of the Clovertwon Xeon's.
__________________ Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board • Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great • OWC at par Trades welcome
Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,081
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacDoc
Can I get a ballpark cost to say a 2.8 8 core?
Can't be done at 2.8 (you have to go no higher than a 53xx series i.e. Clovertown)... you either have to go 2.66 GHz (X5355 Clovertown quad x2) or 3.0 GHz (X5365 Covertown quad x2) both are still crazy expensive but I have seen a single 2.66 GHz X5355 Clovertown quad for around $300... but I haven't seen any matched pairs recently.
Last edited by screature; Jan 15th, 2011 at 09:32 AM.
I've got a matched pair of qx9775 processors with lga771 pin configuration. What can I wedge these into? If I can pick up an old Mac pro 1,1 or 2,1 that can take them, it might be worth it!!
Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,081
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mckitrick
I've got a matched pair of qx9775 processors with lga771 pin configuration. What can I wedge these into? If I can pick up an old Mac pro 1,1 or 2,1 that can take them, it might be worth it!!
These will not work in any Mac Pro. All Mac Pro CPUs are Xeon server/workstation grade processors. The only processors the will work in a Mac Pro 1.1, or 2.1 are Xeon 5100 series ("Woodcrest") or Xeon 5300 series (Clovertown).
Quote:
5100-series "Woodcrest"
Woodcrest Produced From 2006 to 2009
Max. CPU clock rate 1600 Mhz to 3000 Mhz
FSB speeds 1066 MT/s to 1333 MT/s
Min. feature size 65nm
Instruction set x86
Microarchitecture Core
CPUID code 06Fx
Product code 80556
Cores 2
L2 cache 4 MB
Application DP Server
Package(s)
* LGA 771
Brand name(s)
* Xeon 51xx
List: List of Intel Xeon microprocessors#"Woodcrest" (65 nm)
On 26 June 2006, Intel released the dual-core CPU (Xeon branded 5100 series) codenamed Woodcrest (product code 80556); it was the first Intel Core microarchitecture processor to be launched on the market. It is a server and workstation version of the Intel Core 2 processor. Intel claims that it provides an 80% boost in performance, while reducing power consumption by 20% relative to the Pentium D.
Most models have a 1333 MT/s FSB, except for the 5110 and 5120, which have a 1066 MT/s FSB. The fastest processor (5160) operates at 3.0 GHz. All Woodcrests use LGA 771 and all except two models have a TDP of 65 W. The 5160 has a TDP of 80 W and the 5148LV (2.33 GHz) has a TDP of 40 W. The previous generation Xeons had a TDP of 130 W. All models support Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), the XD bit, and Virtualization Technology, with the "Demand Based Switching" power management option only on Dual-Core Xeon 5140 or above. Woodcrest has 4 MB of shared L2 Cache.
5300-series "Clovertown"
Clovertown Produced From 2006 to present
Max. CPU clock rate 1600 Mhz to 3000 Mhz
FSB speeds 1066 MT/s to 1333
Min. feature size 65 nm
Instruction set x86
Microarchitecture Core
CPUID code 06Fx
Product code 80574
Cores 4
L2 cache 2x4 MB
Application DP Server
Package(s)
* LGA 771
Brand name(s)
* Xeon 53xx
List: List of Intel Xeon microprocessors#"Clovertown" (65 nm)
A quad-core (2x2) successor of the Woodcrest for DP segment, consisting of two dual-core Woodcrest chips in one package similarly to the dual-core Pentium D branded CPUs (two single-core chips) or the quad-core Kentsfield. All Clovertowns use the LGA 771 package. The Clovertown has been usually implemented with two Woodcrest dies on a multi-chip module, with 8 MB of L2 cache (4 MB per die). Like Woodcrest, lower models use a 1066 MT/s FSB, and higher models use a 1333 MT/s FSB. Intel released Clovertown, product code 80563, on 14 November 2006[13] with models E5310, E5320, E5335, E5345, and X5355, ranging from 1.6 GHz to 2.66 GHz. All models support: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, Intel 64, XD bit (an NX bit implementation), Intel VT. The E and X designations are borrowed from Intel's Core 2 model numbering scheme; an ending of -0 implies a 1066 MT/s FSB, and an ending of -5 implies a 1333 MT/s FSB.[12] All models have a TDP of 80 W with the exception of the X5355, which has a TDP of 120 W. A low-voltage version of Clovertown with a TDP of 50 W has a model numbers L5310, L5320 and L5335 (1.6 GHz, 1.86 GHz and 2.0 GHz respectively). The 3.0 GHz X5365 arrived in July 2007, and became available in the Apple Mac Pro [6] on 4 April 2007.[7][14] The X5365 performs up to around 38 GFLOPS in the LINPACK benchmark. [8]
Actually the 9775 are xeons underneath (hence the lga771 socket). They are an unlocked "look what we can do" processor from intel and work with a dual CPU motherboard with a 5400 (I believe) chipset which is also used typically with Xeons.
I guess I'd just need a willing guinea pig system to see if it would work before spending any molah.
To your point though, this might require a 3,1 system and they're 1600 FSB so with thr price of a 3,1 system being pretty steep it might be worth it.
Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,081
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mckitrick
Actually the 9775 are xeons underneath (hence the lga771 socket). They are an unlocked "look what we can do" processor from intel and work with a dual CPU motherboard with a 5400 (I believe) chipset which is also used typically with Xeons.
I guess I'd just need a willing guinea pig system to see if it would work before spending any molah.
To your point though, this might require a 3,1 system and they're 1600 FSB so with thr price of a 3,1 system being pretty steep it might be worth it.
Sorry they are not Xeons. They are Core 2 Extreme Processors
LGA 771, also known as Socket J, is a CPU interface introduced by Intel in 2006. It is used in Intel Core microarchitecture based DP-capable server processors, the Dual-Core Xeon is codenamed Dempsey, Woodcrest, and Wolfdale and the Quad-Core processors Clovertown, Harpertown. It is also used for the Core 2 Extreme QX9775.
As has already been provided if you want to know all things Xeon go to:
Yes the 9775 runs on a 5400 chipset but that doesn't mean it will be compatible with a Mac Pro 3.1. It may work but it certainly was not designed to and like you said you sure would want to have a "guinea pig" system to test it out on...
At any rate it isn't a Xeon and isn't "designated" to work on any Mac Pro.
Last edited by screature; Jan 16th, 2011 at 10:56 AM.
Given a $1k trade to a Nehalem 2.66 from an entry original and all the benefits of that seems a lot of work to upgrade something with limited bus and ram speed and no multithreading....
Now if a 2.66 Nehalem could got to a 3.33 for $600 THAT might be worth it.
__________________ Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board • Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great • OWC at par Trades welcome
Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,081
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacDoc
Given a $1k trade to a Nehalem 2.66 from an entry original and all the benefits of that seems a lot of work to upgrade something with limited bus and ram speed and no multithreading....
Now if a 2.66 Nehalem could got to a 3.33 for $600 THAT might be worth it.
I agree that isn't worth the cost of upgrading a 1.1 to octos (unless you can get a really good deal like Dadi_oh did). But for a Mac Pro 1.1 2.0GHz to a 2.66GHz or 3.0 GHz quad or a 2.66GHz to a 3.0 GHz quad where the cost of the upgrade (roughly $100 -$200) is less than upgrading your RAM by 2 or 3GB, it is money well spent IMO.
Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board • Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great • OWC at par Trades welcome
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