Hex 3.2 update from 2010 quad 2.8 photos new! CPU to use!

[iAmRod]

Originally Posted by philipma1957

try buy.com

I did just that, received my chip last night, and completed my upgrade (mid-2010 Quad refurb) about 2 hours later. So far haven't seen *any* issues, although I've become a bit more sensitive over whether or not my temperatures are anything to be concerned about. I've noticed that at idle the core temp (using iStats Menu) is a bit erratic, jumping between 92F and 95/97F and back down again all in one go.

I don't remember it doing that previously, but then again I don't think I paid it all that much attention when the Quad 2.8 was in there. Perhaps I put a little too much thermal compound on the chip? Not really sure. I'll let it "break in" for a couple of days and see if it keeps up.

Oh, and that retention clip for the CPU required a little more umph to put back into place. Should it be that tight?

When I maxed out core use I saw temp go up to about 158F with normal fan speeds. But after employing phillipma1957's fan speed settings discussed earlier in this thread I saw that come down to the low 130F's under full load. Pretty good, I guess?!

Thank you, sir, for sharing your experience and knowledge with the rest of us!

[philipma1957]

Originally Posted by Jeff Troiano

Can someone tell me how thick the thermal pad needs to be, that is added to the heat sink? So It's raising up 2mm, and I guess I bought the wrong stuff, it came and is 0.5mm. Is it suppose to be 5mm thick?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. I've read so many forums about this lately, I can't remember where I saw where it talked about the m4 washers and thermal pad.

the 2010 mac pro uses paste not pads for thermal contact cpu to heatsink


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Originally Posted by iAmRod

I did just that, received my chip last night, and completed my upgrade (mid-2010 Quad refurb) about 2 hours later. So far haven't seen *any* issues, although I've become a bit more sensitive over whether or not my temperatures are anything to be concerned about. I've noticed that at idle the core temp (using iStats Menu) is a bit erratic, jumping between 92F and 95/97F and back down again all in one go.

I don't remember it doing that previously, but then again I don't think I paid it all that much attention when the Quad 2.8 was in there. Perhaps I put a little too much thermal compound on the chip? Not really sure. I'll let it "break in" for a couple of days and see if it keeps up.

Oh, and that retention clip for the CPU required a little more umph to put back into place. Should it be that tight?

When I maxed out core use I saw temp go up to about 158F with normal fan speeds. But after employing phillipma1957's fan speed settings discussed earlier in this thread I saw that come down to the low 130F's under full load. Pretty good, I guess?!

Thank you, sir, for sharing your experience and knowledge with the rest of us!

the clip is spring loaded and needs some force kind of like an old school mouse trap. 130f under a high load is great.

a 5 degree flux in temps up and down is okay.

[Jon-PDX]

Originally Posted by Jeff Troiano

Can someone tell me how thick the thermal pad needs to be, that is added to the heat sink? So It's raising up 2mm, and I guess I bought the wrong stuff, it came and is 0.5mm. Is it suppose to be 5mm thick?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. I've read so many forums about this lately, I can't remember where I saw where it talked about the m4 washers and thermal pad.

When working on your computer hardware it's better to ask than risk damaging the computer. As Phillip said use paste, not pads on your computer. I have no idea about the washers but I don't think you will need them.....someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, if you have not watched the video that BigJohno made it's worth watching.

Originally Posted by BigJohno

Just finished the upgrade yesterday. Made a video using this thread. Thanks philipma1957

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p08Oh--TaU&feature=plcp

Oh, and Phillip, thanks for starting this thread! I have not done the upgrade yet but it's on my list of things to do when I have the time and $$$.

Jon...

[Sejjr]

This thread is great. I am going to pull the trigger to upgrade my 2009 E5520 @ 2.26 Ghz. Right now it is still 4,1. I had a couple quick questions before I proceed. Can I go ahead and run the Firmware hack and update to 5,1 running OSX 10.8.2? Once the firmware is updated, is the process as simple as the original post, just plug and play, so to speak? Are there any recent issues with Mountain Lion 10.8.2 that might cause problems, and is the W3680 the way to go? It is currently selling for $591 at Provantage. I have 24 GB of RAM currently installed at 1066, which I don't plan on updating. Will that cause any issues?

[Jeff Troiano]

Thanks for the reply guys. I found what I was looking for. I've read so many threads lately, I couldn't remember where I saw certain info. As far as the pads go......

I have a 2009 8 core, and the processor in those are lidless. So when installing the new "lidded" processor, it takes 2mm washers to raise the heat sinks up, to account for the new lidded processor. That I will use the thermal past (on top of the processor).

The thermal pad was for a section to the heat sink that comes with a strip of thermal pad on it. By raising the heat sink 2mm, that original thermal pad needs to be replaced with a slightly thinker piece.

Just added that, in case someone like myself comes back through this thread.

Thanks again guys.

[xcodeSyn]

Originally Posted by Sejjr

I am going to pull the trigger to upgrade my 2009 E5520 @ 2.26 Ghz. ... and is the W3680 the way to go?

If you have a dual-processor MP as you seem to indicate, the w3680 is not for your MP since it is designed for single-processor MP. Also the CPU upgrade for 2009 Dual-processor MP requires washers/thermal pad because of the gap caused by switching from lidless to lidded CPUs as indicated in the previous post.

[Jeff Troiano]

Originally Posted by Sejjr

This thread is great. I am going to pull the trigger to upgrade my 2009 E5520 @ 2.26 Ghz. Right now it is still 4,1. I had a couple quick questions before I proceed. Can I go ahead and run the Firmware hack and update to 5,1 running OSX 10.8.2? Once the firmware is updated, is the process as simple as the original post, just plug and play, so to speak? Are there any recent issues with Mountain Lion 10.8.2 that might cause problems, and is the W3680 the way to go? It is currently selling for $591 at Provantage. I have 24 GB of RAM currently installed at 1066, which I don't plan on updating. Will that cause any issues?

I can't comment on the 10.8.2 upgrade, as I haven't done it yet. But I recently upgraded from 4,1 to 5,1 with 10.7.5 installed, and all was fine. I also have the 2009 2.26 Ghz dual processor mac. You'll want to look at the X56xx series processors. I have my sites set on the X5680's.

[Jeff Troiano]

With regards to The thermal pads I was asking about. If you look at Phillips pictures in Post 3 and Post 9. He shows the under side of the heat sink you see a thin pinkish strip, that is the thermal pad I was referring too. That's why I came here asking about it. I couldn't remember where I saw a post with someone talking about how think it needed to be, once the washers were installed. Incidentally, in case someone again come looking here for it. The person I found who made mention of it, used some 5mm thick thermal pad (its kind of like a putty type material. I haven't found 5mm, but ordered some 4mm. Thinking I'm only raising 2mm, the 4mm should cover the distance.

[Sejjr]

Originally Posted by Jeff Troiano

I can't comment on the 10.8.2 upgrade, as I haven't done it yet. But I recently upgraded from 4,1 to 5,1 with 10.7.5 installed, and all was fine. I also have the 2009 2.26 Ghz dual processor mac. You'll want to look at the X56xx series processors. I have my sites set on the X5680's.

Thank's for the reply. I do have the 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core processors in my 4,1 Mac, so I guess it will be a little more pricey to upgrade, seeing that you have to purchase dual processors. Any idea on what the best price/performance processor would be? It looks like the X5650 is around $1,500, while the X5680 is closer to $2,500. Damn. This project just became less appealing...

[philipma1957]

Originally Posted by Sejjr

Thank's for the reply. I do have the 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core processors in my 4,1 Mac, so I guess it will be a little more pricey to upgrade, seeing that you have to purchase dual processors. Any idea on what the best price/performance processor would be? It looks like the X5650 is around $1,500, while the X5680 is closer to $2,500. Damn. This project just became less appealing...

dual cpu update is very pricy

here is the best price I know for 1 x5650




https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XE-X5650

and the best price for 1 x5680

https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XE_X5680

[Jon-PDX]

WOW....at those CPU prices it would be hard to justify upgrading a dual CPU system.

Jon...

[adr1974]

For DP systems, you could run one X5680 (which are fairly cheap right now -- can be had for not that much more than a W3680)...and then still maintain the option at some point down the road to throw in a second chip...

[Jeff Troiano]

Originally Posted by adr1974

For DP systems, you could run one X5680 (which are fairly cheap right now -- can be had for not that much more than a W3680)...and then still maintain the option at some point down the road to throw in a second chip...

So I can upgrade one processor at a time? Good to know.

[adr1974]

I think there are a decent number of people who will tell you that this doesn't work. I ran the idea by Tutor, who confirmed that it is indeed possible.

[Sejjr]

Doesn't that limit you to half of the RAM slots if you only run 1 processor? The cheapest X5680 I saw online is about $900, which is about $300 more than the W3680. It would likely cost $2,000 to upgrade the DP model. Also, do the processors have to be a matched pair, or could you use any of the same chip?

[xcodeSyn]

Originally Posted by adr1974

I think there are a decent number of people who will tell you that this doesn't work. I ran the idea by Tutor, who confirmed that it is indeed possible.

Just because you can do it does not mean it's a great idea. Just ask around this forum if anyone is currently running only one processor in a DP machine. When only one processor is installed, the intake and exhaust fans would start to blast at their full speed as soon as the SMC detects no signals of temperature and heatsink fan speed from CPU B. You can certainly use apps such as smcFanControl or others to manually override the fan speeds, but Mac Pro is clearly not designed to run one processor in a DP model and you'd need to monitor temperatures and fan speeds on your own with a manual override. Also exposing the CPU socket unprotected is a very bad idea, so you definitely need to get a protective shield over the CPU socket. If you still think this is feasible, let us know how it goes.

[adr1974]

I don't entirely disagree with xcodeSyn, which is why I asked Tutor in the first place. I specifically asked about fans blasting, etc, and he told me that resetting SMC post installation should do the trick (as well as making sure that heatsinks were neither too loose nor too tight). Maybe he'll chime in...

[Jon-PDX]

Interesting discussion regarding one processor in a DP system. I would not have thought it would work. I would also be concerned about not having the second processor in there to keep the heat sink(s) level.

If it was me, because of the cost to upgrade I would be tempted to hold off and see if Apple really does come out with an updated Pro. Then decide at that time what the best (most cost effective) upgrade path would be.

Jon...

[ivid]

Hi Guys,
First, great thread. Very helpful and informative!
I did the upgrade from my Quad 2.8 to Hex 3.33 (2010 MP) and everything is working BUT having some overheating issues.
My CPU A Core Temp has climbed up to 162F (with very light CPU load), meanwhile the heatsink sensor is showing 83F (see attached screenshot). I did put the thermal paste on as per instructions... does it mean i just didnt do enough? or didnt spread it evenly? any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks.

[cal6n]

I'd guess you need to reapply your thermal compound. I flashed a 2009 2.66 quad and dropped a hex 3.33 in it. My max temp for any of the CPU cores is 45C

What paste did you use?

[iAmRod]

Originally Posted by ivid

My CPU A Core Temp has climbed up to 162F (with very light CPU load)

It sounds like you're referring to the "Core 0 Relative to HotProc" reading, correct?

This isn't showing what your current core temperature is, I believe it's an indicator of how much "room" you have until your CPU reaches 100C/212F. You should see the HotProc number increasing/decreasing inversely to your current "CPU A Tdiode" reading.

What happens at that point? Not entirely sure, but it would probably be a bad thing. Try some online searches with your favorite engine using "Intel" and "HOTPROC".

Good Luck!!

[cal6n]

Good catch...

A TDiode reading of 88F equates to 31C. Cooler than mine.

Fans are high speed, though.

[spoonie1972]

my x5570 chips are showing up today and monday - if i wanted to install just one to see if it works, the fans wouldn't go bananas? (assume 2nd cpu tray empty, no heatsink/fan attached). system would boot and operate as if it was a single-chip system?

[stix666]

Wow! Prices have more than doubled in the UK for W3680/3690

When I did this, the W3690 cost me £380. It's now over £800. It wouldn't be worth doing for me at that price point.

[PowerPCMacMan]

Just get it from the USA.. Much cheaper.

Originally Posted by stix666

Wow! Prices have more than doubled in the UK for W3680/3690

When I did this, the W3690 cost me £380. It's now over £800. It wouldn't be worth doing for me at that price point.