MP 6,1 2013 Mac Pro 6.1 TB connections and heat

[Php4u]

I recently purchased a 2013 6,1 with 6-core Xeon, 32GB memory, and dual D700s. I just installed a 2TB Sabrant Rocket (from an old project) and get R/W speeds of 1400. My questions are:

1) what cables to use to connect dual monitors? I am thinking DisplayPort to TB2 cables. Will I get 60Hz?
2) Is anyone using a fan under the device to cool it off? I can feel a lot of heat on top.
3) Do you see any value in upgrading to an 8 or 10-core Xeon? I do a little graphics work with Luminar Neo, Word, Excel, watch YouTube, and a few light games.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[edanuff]

Not a problem to do two 60hz 4K monitors off of a 6,1 but you need to be aware that there are 3 Thunderbolt buses and you don’t want to have two monitors on one bus, you need to have each monitor on a different bus. See this tech note

Non-Apple SSDs put out a lot of heat, you might need to be careful with that one.

 

[Php4u]

Not a problem to do two 60hz 4K monitors off of a 6,1 but you need to be aware that there are 3 Thunderbolt buses and you don’t want to have two monitors on one bus, you need to have each monitor on a different bus. See this tech note

Non-Apple SSDs put out a lot of heat, you might need to be careful with that one.

Good to know, thanks. I can plug them into ports 1 and 4 to ensure they are on separate buses.

 

[rpmurray]

What kind of deal did you get on that 6,1? I can't imagine anyone choosing one of those over the Studio unless it was very inexpensive.

 

[Php4u]

$400 on eBay, 20% of the price of a Mac Studio. I'll pick up one later, I've never had a trash can so I'm playing with it as a project.

 

[cloudphrenia]

lol $400 for a d700! that's insane! And I wouldn't bother with upgrades, that money could be better spent on a newer Mac to supplement the 6,1. Like a refurb Mac mini to use for hardware acceleration.

 

[Php4u]

I resolved the heat issue - pulled the top and bottom off, and vacuumed the insides and the fan. Now running 64 C versus 90 C. Ha!

 

[avro707]

I resolved the heat issue - pulled the top and bottom off, and vacuumed the insides and the fan. Now running 64 C versus 90 C. Ha!

Woah - 90C! Big drop to 64C.

If you feel confident, you could get the 2697V2 processor upgrade from Amazon fairly cheaply - but it's a little tricky to install (you have to be really careful). The 12 core 2.7 seems to run fairly cool.

 

[th0masp]

I'd skip the CPU upgrade. For what you are planning on doing with the computer I can't see how it could be worth it. You'd have to be really bored to go through all that (dis)assembly procedure to add a mere 2 or 4 cores with the tiniest change in single core perf.

 

[DouglasCarroll]

What kind of deal did you get on that 6,1? I can't imagine anyone choosing one of those over the Studio unless it was very inexpensive.

I just got one for free….that was a better deal than a Mac Studio!

 

[rpmurray]

$400 on eBay, 20% of the price of a Mac Studio.

Prices seem to have really dropped since the announcement of Ventura.

 

[Php4u]

Many devices are pushing $1k, but the seller was not informed and listed his Mac Pro with D300 when it had D700 GPU. I just got lucky.

 

[Freeangel1]

just enjoy your 2013 Mac Pro. I have 2 of them and like them.

Don't listen to the Apple silicon lovers. follow your heart and do what you wanna do.

When their SSD which is on the chip goes bad and can't be replaced you will have a 100 percent repairable and upgradable machine.

 

[DouglasCarroll]

I think the 2013 Mac Pro is really a cool machine. How much you want to bet in another 10 years people will want one like how certain people want “G4 Cubes” because suddenly they’re “cool”…

 

[darthrazz]

Hi everyone , I have a question regarding the temperature of the GPU’s on the 2013 Mac Pro. I have 12 core with 128gb of Ram. I was recently given D700 chips by a colleague. I upgraded my mac from the d500 and I noticed that even while idle, one of the d700 chips hovers around 65-70 C. The other is usually 55. Is this common for these cards or might they be defective?

 

[scottrngr]

I think the 2013 Mac Pro is really a cool machine. How much you want to bet in another 10 years people will want one like how certain people want “G4 Cubes” because suddenly they’re “cool”…

I sold my cube a few years ago for $100 to a collector. I should've kept it. I'm not making the same mistake with my 2013 Mac Pro. I will say the Studio runs circles around it though. Too bad they didn't come up with a cool design for the Studio instead of making it a triple decker Mini.

 

[rpmurray]

I still have my PowerMac 9600/350, but nobody is offering me huge wads of cash for it. Might get a bit for the Mac (wicked fast) IIfx. I baby my Macs so they're both in excellent condition.

 

[DouglasCarroll]

I sold my cube a few years ago for $100 to a collector. I should've kept it. I'm not making the same mistake with my 2013 Mac Pro. I will say the Studio runs circles around it though. Too bad they didn't come up with a cool design for the Studio instead of making it a triple decker Mini.

That’s cool. Of course new computers will always run circles around the ones they replace, but some are just iconic looking and cool. I’d argue a 2013 Mac Pro will be a hell of a lot more capable to use in 10 years versus a G4 Cube would be. All in all I’m thrilled having a 2013 Mac Pro as my “weird Apple computer”.

 

[DouglasCarroll]

I still have my PowerMac 9600/350, but nobody is offering me huge wads of cash for it. Might get a bit for the Mac (wicked fast) IIfx. I baby my Macs so they're both in excellent condition.

True but I’d bet if you had a 20th anniversary Mac or a G4 cube you’d get some money for them. It’s always the unusual bizarre Mac computers worth the most later.

 

[Php4u]

Hi everyone View attachment 2018614 , I have a question regarding the temperature of the GPU’s on the 2013 Mac Pro. I have 12 core with 128gb of Ram. I was recently given D700 chips by a colleague. I upgraded my mac from the d500 and I noticed that even while idle, one of the d700 chips hovers around 65-70 C. The other is usually 55. Is this common for these cards or might they be defective?

See my attached screenshot for my 2013 6,1 with 6-core Xeon and D700 GPUs with 64GB memory. I placed a small fan under the device which is providing more cool air and has it running a few degrees cooler. My GPUs are at 63-61 C at idle.

 

[darthrazz]

See my attached screenshot for my 2013 6,1 with 6-core Xeon and D700 GPUs with 64GB memory. I placed a small fan under the device which is providing more cool air and has it running a few degrees cooler. My GPUs are at 63-61 C at idle.

Ok, thank you, so I'm going guess that the D700's just naturally run hotter? What fan did you place under it? I was looking at a 140mm fan on Amazon.

 

[Php4u]

I used this one from Amazon and placed the 6,1 right on top in the middle, so that the fans are pushing up fresh cool air into the device. As a side, my grandkids loaned me 4 square Leggo blocks to raise the fans off the desk for better circulation. Seems to work great now.

ELUTENG Dual Cooling Fan Whisper Quiet 80mm USB Fan 3 Adjustable High Speed USB Port Heatsink Fan Compatible for PS4, PS5, Router, Laptop, PC, Xbox Cooling Electronics

Product Features: 1. Name: USB Dual Row 8cm Fan with 3 Speed Controller 2. Brand: ELUTENG 3. Color: Black 4. Voltage: L: 3.4V/M: 4.1V/H: 5.0V 5. Current: L: 0.32A/ M: 0.39A/ H: 0.50A 6. Speed: L: 2050 / M: 2400 / H: 2750 rpm +/- 10% (×2) 7. Air volume : L: 23.9 / M: 27.9C / H: 31.98CFM (×2) 8. No...

www.amazon.com

 

[darthrazz]

Great idea!

I used this one from Amazon and placed the 6,1 right on top in the middle, so that the fans are pushing up fresh cool air into the device. As a side, my grandkids loaned me 4 square Leggo blocks to raise the fans off the desk for better circulation. Seems to work great now.

ELUTENG Dual Cooling Fan Whisper Quiet 80mm USB Fan 3 Adjustable High Speed USB Port Heatsink Fan Compatible for PS4, PS5, Router, Laptop, PC, Xbox Cooling Electronics

Product Features: 1. Name: USB Dual Row 8cm Fan with 3 Speed Controller 2. Brand: ELUTENG 3. Color: Black 4. Voltage: L: 3.4V/M: 4.1V/H: 5.0V 5. Current: L: 0.32A/ M: 0.39A/ H: 0.50A 6. Speed: L: 2050 / M: 2400 / H: 2750 rpm +/- 10% (×2) 7. Air volume : L: 23.9 / M: 27.9C / H: 31.98CFM (×2) 8. No...

www.amazon.com

Great idea!

 

[darthrazz]

I still have my PowerMac 9600/350, but nobody is offering me huge wads of cash for it. Might get a bit for the Mac (wicked fast) IIfx. I baby my Macs so they're both in excellent condition.

I had my Centris 650 at my office up until a few years ago, we used to play Oregon Trail on it until the HD died and I couldn't find a replacement. It was a beast for it's day, 4mb Ram and a 250MB HD, lol.