Change the CPU in a 1st Generation Mac Pro (Part 2)

[uptownphiladelphia]

yes very great vides tho

[mashmanmash]

Excellent video, very clear, thanks.

[Schattenheim]

Thank You - I will do the same, with my old machine, as soon I get two X5365 (they are on the way ;.)

Your Video is very helpful - The 1.1 is a great machine but a bit hard to tune.

I just upgraded my 2.nd Machine (2010 2,8 Q-Core to a 3,33 Hex-Core) Easy to do and runs great (Geekbench 64 - from 10700 to 16800) .

So take care and stay tuned.

[midphase]

Nope...no way to swap chips on a laptop that I know of.

[OfficialMiguelNQnA]

can i do this with a macbook pro from i5 to i7?

[carlosavilajr]

this video is awesome

[midphase]

girlsdrinkfeck...why don't you get a clue and learn how to read the instructions on how to correctly prepare a heat sink surface instead of critiquing people who do it right?

[girlsdrinkfeck]

wow ,applying paste and wiping 99% of it off ,what the fuck ,man hasnt got a clue

[midphase]

Thank you! I used SMC Fan Control, but actually I found my CPU temperatures pretty stable almost right away (I think thanks to preppying the heat sink surface with the thermal paste). One of the main things to keep in mind is that your CPU's will run hotter due to the doubling of the cores per chip. It's more important than ever to make sure that your computer is sitting in a well ventilated area and that the fans are not obstructed. Other than that...enjoy your new twice-as-fast computer!

[collintheapplegeek]

Nice tutorial! I'll be doing this upgrade soon! I have the same Mac Pro as you (1,1 quad 2.66). I'll be getting my 5345s in the mail soon! Have you used SMCFanControl? That's what I use to control the fans on a couple of my Macs. If your CPUs are getting hot, you can crank up the fans. Any tips for the upgrade that you didn't mention in the video? Anything you thought of afterwards? Thanks!

[hmm2681]

Great video!!! I didn't think that I could upgrade the CPU in the Mac Pro from a 4 core to a 8 core!! THANKS for the video.

[midphase]

The E5345 "should" work, but since I did not use those, you might want to read up from others who have used those CPU's to get their impressions.

[Planeyogurt]

It is very wonderful work!

[dinerman2000]

hi will 2 Intel Xeon Processors E5345 2.33 ghz SLAC5 work in a mac pro 1.1

THANKS great videos

[midphase]

You're must welcome, I'm glad everything worked out smoothly with the swap!

[kritmil00]

Hey, I just wanted to thank you for posting this video. I upgraded my 2.66 4 core Mac Pro to a 3 ghz 8 core Xeon. I followed your instructions to a "T" and had no issues what so ever. I'm running Lion with a ATI 5770 and its running GREAT!

Now my computer is good for another few years. Thanks again!!

[midphase]

PS.

If you Google the following words "insanely mac about this mac" you will find a thread about a possible solution to the CPU description in the About This Mac info box.

[kritmil00]

@midphase : there is a config file on the forums that you can download and unzip then install but........................

This will work with Snow Leopard, but for some reason it will not work while running Lion. just an FYI.

[midphase]

You didn't do anything wrong and there's nothing wrong with the chips. Unfortunately, due to Apple never actually using these particular chips into any of its Mac Pro's, they get a generic description. It is purely an esthetic issue and I assure you that your computer is seeing all of the performance advantages.

[kod3ZeroZeroZero]

great walk thru! I picked up two of the X5365 for less than 500 each online. I followed both videos very closely, thank you for putting this up. I did want to ask if the system recognizes the chips as the model number on yours? My system (running leopard or snow leopard) when I goto the 'About This Mac' it shows the processor as '2 x 3 Ghz Unknown.' Is this the result of a bad install? or its just like that? or even worst, was I sold some bad chips?

[kod3ZeroZeroZero]

@kod3ZeroZeroZero Yes! you're right, I installed win64 with no problems and it recognized the chips. I appreciate the help with "About this Mac" I found the thread and made my own customization to it. :)

Again great tutorial and many thanks!

[midphase]

But yeah, other than that I think that picking up an X5355 or X5356 is a great option for getting another year or two of life from your Mac Pro.

[midphase]

I think one of the considerations to keep in mind is that if you do a lot of graphics work (particularly video and CGI stuff), and you want to avail yourself of the CUDA supported cards like the Nvidia Quadro, you'll need a newer Mac Pro than the 1,1 generation due to the PCI bus being too slow on the 1st gen Mac Pros.

Of course if dropping $1200 on a graphics card isn't an issue, then I assume picking up a new Mac Pro is not a problem either.

[SiliconSam428]

I am getting ready to buy some X5355 processors (cost is a factor) and since I have 4TB of disk space, and 16GB of RAM, it makes sense to spend $300 for a 4 core to 8 core up grade rather than spending a ton on a newer machine. I can get a 2008 Mac Pro for $1800, but my old machine is barely worth $1000.

[SiliconSam428]

@SiliconSam428 Okay, so I lied. I found a pair of X5365 processor on ebay. So tomorrow sometime I'll be installing the new chips. Will let you know how it goes!

[shaunpl]

Ok thanks

[midphase]

I picked them up on eBay...keep an eye out for X5365, ideally it's best if you can pick them up in pairs, but you might need to get one from one vendor and one from another. I paid $500 for the 2 CPU's but I see the prices fluctuate and they actually seem to go for a bit more right now. Try to stick to SLAED chips and not the SL4P type which I believe are an older configuration.

[midphase]

I think if you have all the tools in place and everything that you need, you should be able to do the entire thing in less than two hours.

[shaunpl]

@midphase ok thanks were did u get ur cpus and much

[shaunpl]

how long did this take you

[ldneil]

great! thanks for this part 2. Now... to find some cheap CPUs!  :-)