Finally decided to upgrade video card after reading here and looking at mac OS Mojave.
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MP All Models The "I just ordered/bought/got my new/refurb Mac Pro" thread [Merged]
- Thread starter Einz
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Is that Radeon RX 580 flashed, or does it just work out of the box? (I have the same cMP model)
I bought a spare 8core 2x 2,26 2009 cMP (basic stock configuration) from a website for used computers. Cost me 520 Euro including shipping and came with a 3 years extended warranty.
No keyboard or mouse included - but condition is really great - even though it was only rated "good" I can't seem to find any scratches or dents.
Cheaper then anything I could find on ebay + warranty = pretty amazing !
No keyboard or mouse included - but condition is really great - even though it was only rated "good" I can't seem to find any scratches or dents.
Cheaper then anything I could find on ebay + warranty = pretty amazing !
I've had this computer for probably a year now, but only now have it set up the way I want and actually have it in use.
Unfortunately, I had issues with my X5690s so am running X5675s now. I'll try the X5690s down the road again-I actually exchanged one of them after I bought it because I thought I had a dud, but I THINK I may have sent back the wrong for exchange(I should have asked for a replacement of both).
Snow Leopard boots off a 256gb drive from a "trash can." I also have High Sierra installed-it's on a 128gb PCIe SSD from an MBA. SL is my main OS on this system as I depend on it to run several PPC-native programs. One of those programs-Nikon Scan-controls a Firewire scanner(a $1K Firewire scanner whose only real viable replacements use Firewire, SCSI, or sometimes proprietary interfaces). Firewire pass-through doesn't work in VMWare or any other virtualization software, and it's also a "heavy" enough program(or at least when processing scans that are 10,000 pixels on the short dimension) that I want to avoid virtualization also.
Since SL compatibility is so critical for this computer, I won't be upgrading to Mojave unless someone figures out how to make the Radeon 5770/5780 compatible.
![Screen shot 2018-07-30 at 12.47.30 AM.png]( "Screen shot 2018-07-30 at 12.47.30 AM.png")
BTW, for now I'm using a pair of acrylic 23" HD Cinema displays, although I have a 27" Cinema on the way and as budget allows will either be adding a second 27" or possibly will do a 24" for my secondary display. I'm using an Apple Extended Keyboard via a Griffin iMate, but am debating about getting a Unicomp Spacesaver M. I have the latter on my Mac Pro(1,1) at work, and really like it but have never tried it side-by-side with the original Extended. I've had a bunch of Extended II keyboards, but the keyboard I'm typing this message from is the only Extended I've ever owned and, although the difference between it and an Extended II is subtle, I prefer the extended. The question will be if I want to give up the relatively quiet cream Alps switches(as mechanical keyboards go) for the much louder but better feeling buckling spring on the M. I've used both keyboard types extensively(to the tune of tens thousands of pages equivalent each probably) although spread out over a few different boards, and it's a question I still don't have a definitive answer to.
Unfortunately, I had issues with my X5690s so am running X5675s now. I'll try the X5690s down the road again-I actually exchanged one of them after I bought it because I thought I had a dud, but I THINK I may have sent back the wrong for exchange(I should have asked for a replacement of both).
Snow Leopard boots off a 256gb drive from a "trash can." I also have High Sierra installed-it's on a 128gb PCIe SSD from an MBA. SL is my main OS on this system as I depend on it to run several PPC-native programs. One of those programs-Nikon Scan-controls a Firewire scanner(a $1K Firewire scanner whose only real viable replacements use Firewire, SCSI, or sometimes proprietary interfaces). Firewire pass-through doesn't work in VMWare or any other virtualization software, and it's also a "heavy" enough program(or at least when processing scans that are 10,000 pixels on the short dimension) that I want to avoid virtualization also.
Since SL compatibility is so critical for this computer, I won't be upgrading to Mojave unless someone figures out how to make the Radeon 5770/5780 compatible.
BTW, for now I'm using a pair of acrylic 23" HD Cinema displays, although I have a 27" Cinema on the way and as budget allows will either be adding a second 27" or possibly will do a 24" for my secondary display. I'm using an Apple Extended Keyboard via a Griffin iMate, but am debating about getting a Unicomp Spacesaver M. I have the latter on my Mac Pro(1,1) at work, and really like it but have never tried it side-by-side with the original Extended. I've had a bunch of Extended II keyboards, but the keyboard I'm typing this message from is the only Extended I've ever owned and, although the difference between it and an Extended II is subtle, I prefer the extended. The question will be if I want to give up the relatively quiet cream Alps switches(as mechanical keyboards go) for the much louder but better feeling buckling spring on the M. I've used both keyboard types extensively(to the tune of tens thousands of pages equivalent each probably) although spread out over a few different boards, and it's a question I still don't have a definitive answer to.
My employer happened to have a wrongly ordered Mac Pro sitting around in the storage room and collecting dust.
Finally I can try a "trash can" and give it a spin for $0.
As long as the computer isn't needed - and since it was ordered with the wrong GPUs they won't need it - I can keep it at home to play around with it.
I do understand why people don't like it, but for now I'm more amazed by the quietness of the cooling system and the stuff you can actually throw on it without making the system struggle.
Specs: 4-Core E5, 16 GB RAM, D300 and 1 TB SSD
Finally I can try a "trash can" and give it a spin for $0.
As long as the computer isn't needed - and since it was ordered with the wrong GPUs they won't need it - I can keep it at home to play around with it.
I do understand why people don't like it, but for now I'm more amazed by the quietness of the cooling system and the stuff you can actually throw on it without making the system struggle.
Specs: 4-Core E5, 16 GB RAM, D300 and 1 TB SSD
Awesome, and... WOW. A free 6,1! I would love to play around with one of those, but just can’t justify the price.
Have fun with it! Any upgrades planned?
Not really. Since they maybe need the machine back, I would end up with parts of a machine I don't own.
I thought about getting one by myself, but I can't justify the price. The machine itself is a beauty, runs like a champ but it shows its age in the GPU department.
For Final Cut it still runs beautifully, but since I don't edit 4k or higher material it is also a huge overkill.
Just got my first Mac Pro in the mail today - a standard 3.1 quad core. Quite sad that I missed out on a dual quad core with 20-something gigs of ram on it for $30 more but o well. 
I plan on installing either Yosemite or Sierra on it based on some older software I have. Any thoughts on better performance? I also have a quadro k4000 (I think) from work that I’ll try to get to run on it. Any thoughts there on OS based on that?
I’ve got literally a stack of hard drives that will go in there eventually- will just need to stock up on ram for it as well.
I plan on installing either Yosemite or Sierra on it based on some older software I have. Any thoughts on better performance? I also have a quadro k4000 (I think) from work that I’ll try to get to run on it. Any thoughts there on OS based on that?
I’ve got literally a stack of hard drives that will go in there eventually- will just need to stock up on ram for it as well.
Just got my first Mac Pro in the mail today - a standard 3.1 quad core. Quite sad that I missed out on a dual quad core with 20-something gigs of ram on it for $30 more but o well.
I plan on installing either Yosemite or Sierra on it based on some older software I have. Any thoughts on better performance? I also have a quadro k4000 (I think) from work that I’ll try to get to run on it. Any thoughts there on OS based on that?
I’ve got literally a stack of hard drives that will go in there eventually- will just need to stock up on ram for it as well.
Better to stay at Yosemite if you don't want El Capitan. 3,1 is not natively supported by Sierra. If you don't need it, better to stay away from it to avoid unnecessary trouble.
K4000 should be plug and play in Yosemite anyway.
Awesome. Thanks for the response!
Edit:
Th Mac Pro came in the best wrapped, most protected box I’ve ever seen. The seller will be getting rave reviews from me. Absolutely stellar packing job- even every nook and handle had the perfect amount of bubble wrap and cardboard. Machine runs perfectly, looks great. Came with El Capitan installed but will downgrade to Yosemite hopefully tonight.
I’m seeing some dual 3.0 Xeon x5472 upgrade kits on eBay for around $80/$90. A worthy upgrade from a single 2.8?? Otherwise I’ll just be increasing the ram and adding ssd drives.
Double edit: can you even upgrade a single yo a dual??
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Yes, all 3,1 motherboards have provisions for the 2nd CPU in place. Just have to purchase an extra heat sink to go with the 2nd processor.
Also, at that price, couldnt you spring for the top-of-the-line X5482s at 3.2ghz? Looks like you can get a single CPU for around $30. Just make sure its the “SLANZ” variation.
I just stumbled upon the 2.8’a but yeah, you’re right.
But wait...
So I ordered and installed 16GB ram, making it 20 gb total in the system now. Go to “about this Mac” to confirm it all showed up and it did- also noticed this gem:
“2x 2.8 quad core Xeon processors”
Apparently it came with 2, not 1.
Needless to say, I’m ecstatic right now.
Looks like all I need now is another 16GB ram at some point!
Very nice!I just stumbled upon the 2.8’a but yeah, you’re right.
But wait...
So I ordered and installed 16GB ram, making it 20 gb total in the system now. Go to “about this Mac” to confirm it all showed up and it did- also noticed this gem:
“2x 2.8 quad core Xeon processors”
Apparently it came with 2, not 1.
Needless to say, I’m ecstatic right now.
Looks like all I need now is another 16GB ram at some point!
Just have in mind that the 2.8 cpus are very good, 3.x GHz ones have little to no difference at all in everyday use.
So, be happy!
Yeah there’s no reason at all for me to upgrade now. I’d have gone from a single to a dual mostly just for fun- but I’ll stick with the dual 2.8 definitely.
So not new except to me. Just picked up a used 4,1. Overall fairly pleased but a couple of questions.
First RAM is 32GB. 16GB in the #1 and #3 slots. No way will I tax this machine heavily enough to cause any page-outs. Nor do I do anything as intensive as video editing. Have as yet to see a beach-ball. Any real advantage to adding a 4 or 8GB stick to one of the other slots?
I am mainly running SnowLeopard using the drive(s) from my door-stopped 1,1. This unit came with the original 640 Gig WD caviar HD. Currently building an ElCap system on that drive and zero issues, but given the age will probably replace it with a new 1 or 2 TB drive, or a 250GB SSD. Again given the parameters would there be any advantage to the SSD?
First RAM is 32GB. 16GB in the #1 and #3 slots. No way will I tax this machine heavily enough to cause any page-outs. Nor do I do anything as intensive as video editing. Have as yet to see a beach-ball. Any real advantage to adding a 4 or 8GB stick to one of the other slots?
I am mainly running SnowLeopard using the drive(s) from my door-stopped 1,1. This unit came with the original 640 Gig WD caviar HD. Currently building an ElCap system on that drive and zero issues, but given the age will probably replace it with a new 1 or 2 TB drive, or a 250GB SSD. Again given the parameters would there be any advantage to the SSD?
As with most (all?) systems, an SSD will dramatically improve your experience. If nothing else, it really speeds up booting.
You may find this document helpful, such as in RAM placement.
You may find this document helpful, such as in RAM placement.
If 32GB RAM is definitely good enough for your usage, better not to add more smaller capacity DIMM, which won't help much, and may causing trouble if you have no idea about the exact spec of your current DIMM.
IMO, SSD is a must for El Capitan. That can easily make your whole computer 5-10 times more responsive in normal OS /desktop environment.
Thanks that was also my opinion on the RAM. Did shift to using the recommended 1 & 2 slots but no noticeable difference. Did however confirm that the #2 slot was OK.
Trying to keep purchases within Canada to avoid cross border shipping and exchange hassles. Was thinking of adding the SSD through a PCIe slot. Any thoughts on this combo.
https://www.amazon.ca/Crucial-MX500...9877256&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=ssd+drive&psc=1
https://www.amazon.ca/Express-Adapt...d=1539877044&sr=1-4&keywords=ssd+pcie+adapter
NOTE: Divide by 1.3 to convert the Canadian to US dollars
If you check the review, that PCIe card can only do up to 400MB/s. In worst case, it may only give you ~350MB/s in real world. IMO, not worth to spend a PCIe slot, and the money, and possible more trouble to add this card. 250MB/s and 350MB/s sequential speed is not the bug difference in most real world usage.
It the real important "4k random read performance" shouldn't make any difference on SATA II or SATA III anyway.
I will say better skip the card and simply plug the SSD into the optical bay's SATA port.
If you really want to fully utilise the MX500's speed (e.g. you need that speed for 4k 60FPS ProRes HQ video editing. Then that card won't help anyway, you will need something like the TempoSSD card. But that's expensive (compare to the SSD), not worth in general. If you don't mind to double the cost, it make much more sense to buy a cheap 500GB NVMe + the DT-120 adaptor. That will way faster than the MX500 in sequential speed. And cost less in total (if you go for those expensive high end SATA III card).
NVMe not always that expensive.
There may be a few reasons for wanting to put a SATA drive in a PCIe slot, but I don't think performance is one of them. If you're looking for performance, and costing perhaps just a few dollars more, take a look at this thread. @h9826790 can elaborate more, but if I understand his set up then IOPS bring more performance, and this can be achieved by using the "right" SATA SSD. In any event, using *any* SSD will bring a good performance boost.
My 6,1 upgrade was pretty smooth, just a few hours. So glad I got it with a factory Apple branded SSD so I could get newer firmware installed correctly with support for NVMe.
10 cores, 64GB, but bone-stock "basic" GPUs (D300) ... still, nice improvement over the 7950 in my 2008 Mac Pro.
VirtualBox Guests run WAY smoother...
10 cores, 64GB, but bone-stock "basic" GPUs (D300) ... still, nice improvement over the 7950 in my 2008 Mac Pro.
VirtualBox Guests run WAY smoother...
I know that maybe next week apple announce a new Mac, but just now I got a sweet deal ($675) and because I never have a real Mac Pro before then I just take this 2009 Mac Pro dual cpu 2 x 3,46Ghz Quad core Xeon X5677, 16Gb DDR3 1333Mhz, 1Tb HDD (mechanikal drive), Nvidia GTX680 Mac native. the seller also include a bracket for SSD.
Also already bought a 480Gb SSD, a Mac Pro compatible wifi ac+BT 4.1 card (Broadcom) and NGFF PCIe card for my NVMe drive.
if actually apple released a new Mac next week I will not disappointed since it will expensive
but I'm curious, is this 2009 Mac Pro can be flashed to 5,1 firmware?
Also already bought a 480Gb SSD, a Mac Pro compatible wifi ac+BT 4.1 card (Broadcom) and NGFF PCIe card for my NVMe drive.
if actually apple released a new Mac next week I will not disappointed since it will expensive
but I'm curious, is this 2009 Mac Pro can be flashed to 5,1 firmware?