Mac Pro 4.1 CPU upgrade

bxs said:

The first think I would do is to goto Pindelski's web site and link the the Apple Service Manual (http://pindelski.org/Photography/2013/07/08/mac-pro-2009-part-tbd/ and browse that to see if there's a process you can follow to determine what your issue is.

I'm just about to upgrade my 2nd MP4,1 today and hope it goes well for me. I will be upgrading to the X5670 processors as well.

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The upgrade of my early 2009 MP4,1 with 8 core 2x 2.26 GHz E5520 processors to a MP5,1 12 core 2x 2.93 GHz X5670 processors was a complete success. At this time this MP5,1 only has a 1TB 7200 rpm internal disk for the OS 10.9.3, 4 GB RAM (2x 2GB sticks) and a stock NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, and its Geekbench 3 64-bit Multi-core score after a 10 hr stress test gave a high Top Score of 26111. The original MP4,1 Geekbench 3 64-bit Multi-core score was 13525. Cinebench R15's CPU Rendering score went from 750 cb to 1404 cb.

The above was the most challenging part of my upgrade... now onto the easy bit.

I will be adding 64GB RAM (8x 8GB 1333 MHz sticks from OWC), a 480GB OWC Mercury Accelsior PCI Express SSD card for OS, replacing the NVIDIA GT 120 graphics card with a Sapphire HD Radeon 7950 for Mac Pro, OWC's 2x 240GB Mercury Electra 3G SSD 2.5" for AE cache use, 2x 2TB Seagate 7200 rpm RAID-0 for Project data, use the current 1TB 7200 rpm internal disk for OS clone and use existing Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. With this final hardware upgrade I expect a Geekbench 3 64-bit Multi-core score of around 27500 and a much more capable and responsive system.

So...this was quite the ordeal...

Did the update, following Pindelski's instructions. It booted with one processor fine. Put the second in. Wouldn't boot. Tightened the heatsink. Loosened it. Back and forth a bunch of times. Took it off. Put in another processor (had another x5670 sitting around). Nothing.

I went to the local Apple store and the Genius suggested I bring it in. I went home and tried one more time, removing and replacing the processor. This time, I saw after removing the heat sink that a few of the pins on the processor board were damaged. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE ON MY PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS. Anyway, at this point, I realized it was hosed, so I boxed it up and took it in to Apple.

Unbelievably, they offered to look at the computer. They said the processor board would cost $260.23 plus $39 in labor. I knew I had to take that because the board was damaged and at this point I was so frustrated, I figured $39 for labor was a steal.

They put in the new processor board and...lo and behold, the power supply blew up -- they reported it started shooting sparks and then made a loud pop. At this point Apple had no idea what was going on and so they ordered a new main board, another processor board, new processors, a new video card and maybe more.

Turns out the video card fried. It worked out in my favor because they couldn't order the card I had because it was no longer made, so they ended up replacing it with an ATI Radeon HD5870 1024MB (twice the VRAM of my previous card). More, I got a new power supply. These items on their dime - totaling $568.32.

I think the hardest part was it cost me a week without my computer, BUT, all-in-all, things worked out well. It's up and running, better than ever.

Before
Video render (~10 min. video): 4:13
Audio render (~10 min. @ 24/48 .wav): 7:48
Geekbench single core/multi core (both 32-bit): 1587/12163 (I don't feel a need spend $10 or whatever Geekbench costs to get the 64-bit numbers)

After
Video render: 2:00
Audio render: 5:58
Geekbench: 2236/23674

Did a quick search but couldn't find a definite answer. Can I use 2 x W3690 instead of X5690 to upgrade a dual processor 4,1 Mac Pro?

NO. W-Xeon have single QPI and can only be used in single processor configuration. as opposed to the X-series which have dual QPI and work in single or dual configuration.

^^^^Your answer is not correct. The leading prefix E, W, or X have absolutely nothing to do do with Single or Dual CPU compatibility.

E = Stands for Enterprise (Usually slower clocked chips)

X = Extra clocked chips

W = Work station, Work Station Fast chips

Single or Dual CPU operation is denoted by the first numeric in the chip description. This is either a 3 or a 5. the 3 is for single operation only. The 5 is for Dual CPU operation. However a 5 series chip will also work in a single CPU configuration. But, as I indicated a 3 will only work in a single CPU configuration.

Lou

flowrider said:

^^^^Your answer is not correct. The leading prefix E, W, or X have absolutely nothing to do do with Single or Dual CPU compatibility.

E = Stands for Enterprise (Usually slower clocked chips)

X = Extra clocked chips

W = Work station, Work Station Fast chips

Single or Dual CPU operation is denoted by the first numeric in the chip description. This is either a 3 or a 5. the 3 is for single operation only. The 5 is for Dual CPU operation. However a 5 series chip will also work in a single CPU configuration. But, as I indicated a 3 will only work in a single CPU configuration.

Lou

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Yikes !! thanks for the correction.

Just successfully completed an upgrade to my recently acquired 4,1 quad 2.66. Picked up a hex W3690 @3.46Mhz. Ran the 5,1 firmware utility... had some difficulty getting that to work, but finally got it. Apparently I've got an Apple refurbished 4,1, so I won't be able to revert back to the stock 4,1 firmware. Dropped 3X8GB DMS sticks in @1333Mhz as well. I've done cpu upgrades on the 1,1 and 3,1 Mac Pros and the 4,1 upgrade was a breeze. Tinted cap and heatsink and used the vertical line method. Temps are fine so far. Stressed cpu stays at around 80C with 800 rpm cpu fan speed. 64bit Geek bench scores before: 2093/7981 and after upgrade: 2908/16704. I was expecting a little better scores for $400 (cpu/ram), but still numbers wise my fastest Mac yet. My previous MP 3,1 had scores of 1853/12722. I did this upgrade mainly because I was having trouble using AmpliTube in Pro Tools 11 in 96Khz/32bit sessions and using a 64 buffer. Sadly the upgrade didn't help at all, in fact my 3,1 Mac Pro may have handled the cpu spikes better. I really don't get it. I've got a faster cpu with 12 threads compared to 8 cores previously. Maybe some day when the prices drop I'll get a dual cpu socket board and make this a 12-core.

tripmusic said:

Just successfully completed an upgrade to my recently acquired 4,1 quad 2.66. Picked up a hex W3690 @3.46Mhz. Ran the 5,1 firmware utility... had some difficulty getting that to work, but finally got it. Apparently I've got an Apple refurbished 4,1, so I won't be able to revert back to the stock 4,1 firmware. Dropped 3X8GB DMS sticks in @1333Mhz as well. I've done cpu upgrades on the 1,1 and 3,1 Mac Pros and the 4,1 upgrade was a breeze. Tinted cap and heatsink and used the vertical line method. Temps are fine so far. Stressed cpu stays at around 80F with 800 rpm cpu fan speed. 64bit Geek bench scores before: 2093/7981 and after upgrade: 2908/16704. I was expecting a little better scores for $400 (cpu/ram), but still numbers wise my fastest Mac yet. My previous MP 3,1 had scores of 1853/12722. I did this upgrade mainly because I was having trouble using AmpliTube in Pro Tools 11 in 96Khz/32bit sessions and using a 64 buffer. Sadly the upgrade didn't help at all, in fact my 3,1 Mac Pro may have handled the cpu spikes better. I really don't get it. I've got a faster cpu with 12 threads compared to 8 cores previously. Maybe some day when the prices drop I'll get a dual cpu socket board and make this a 12-core. View attachment 601689

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80F under stress sounds very unreal to me. What's your room temperature?

h9826790 said:

80F under stress sounds very unreal to me. What's your room temperature?

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Sorry, I meant 80C. Ambient air is 26C

tripmusic said:

Sorry, I meant 80C. Ambient air is 26C

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This is normal. All fine. Got a W3690 too, with same temperatures under load.

Why your Mac Pro 4,1 is indicated as a Mac Pro (Mid 2010)? Mine is still indicated as Mac Pro 2009. Well in Sys info it is an '5,1' now.

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/screen-shot-2015-11-22-at-2-50-32-am-png.601689/

Synchro3 said:

This is normal. All fine. Got a W3690 too, with same temperatures under load.

Why your Mac Pro 4,1 is indicated as a Mac Pro (Mid 2010)? Mine is still indicated as Mac Pro 2009. Well in Sys info it is an '5,1' now.

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/screen-shot-2015-11-22-at-2-50-32-am-png.601689/

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You need to edit user/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemprofiler.plist with TextWrangler
http://www.tonymacx86.com/general-help/79536-mod-about-mac.html
The other hacks for changing cpu, etc are not working in El Cap for me

I did another stress test using Terminal and maxed out the cpu usage close to 100% Diode temp got up past 90C, then the fans started kicking in, BoostA fan hit 1100rpm or so. Then the temps dropped back down to 85C and the fans decreased as well. Really, you're not supposed to run the machine under a full load right after applying new thermal paste. I think you're supposed to break it in for 100 hours under normal loads. I think it can mess with the thermal compound. I'm satisfied for now... just wanted to ensure I didn't get a dud cpu. I'll give it a good work out in a week or so.

tripmusic said:

I did another stress test using Terminal and maxed out the cpu usage close to 100% Diode temp got up past 90C, then the fans started kicking in, BoostA fan hit 1100rpm or so. Then the temps dropped back down to 85C and the fans decreased as well. Really, you're not supposed to run the machine under a full load right after applying new thermal paste. I think you're supposed to break it in for 100 hours under normal loads. I think it can mess with the thermal compound. I'm satisfied for now... just wanted to ensure I didn't get a dud cpu. I'll give it a good work out in a week or so.

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Apple decide to keep the cMP as quiet as possible and won't spin the fan up until around 85C. If you want to keep it run at a bit lower temperature, just install some fan control software. That 100hr shouldn't make any big difference.

Yea I have smc fan control, but I wanted to see how the system reacted with default fan speeds first

tarafran said:

I bought a loaded tray on Ebay with 2 X 3.46 12 core and 64 GB of ram
My 2009 4.1 is now 5.1 running cooler ,and clocking at 39000 on Geekbench
That 's around the new 2013 "garbage can " bench

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Your old processor tray was a single or dual?..mine is single and Im little confused cose some are saying that it can and others can't be done they want an extra $650 to upgrade the tray plus the cost of 12 core 2x 3.46

Morenosa said:

Your old processor tray was a single or dual?..mine is single and Im little confused cose some are saying that it can and others can't be done they want an extra $650 to upgrade the tray plus the cost of 12 core 2x 3.46

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He bought the whole tray to replace the original one, not just the CPU. In this case, as long as he bought the correct 4,1 tray, everything should work as expected.

However, in general, get a whole used dual processor Mac Pro and sell the original one can cost less.