UPGRADED MY MAC 4.1 2.66 to Hexcore

[Vapor matt]

Hi people, Well after reading about it and finding myself a W3680 hex core 3.33ghz boxed retail (DAM HARD TO FIND A RETAIL BOXED) I did the upgrade on my mac pro 4.1 2.66ghz quad.

All info can be found in the following link on how ECT. also all the do's and dont's. make sure you read all the thread as some have made a few mistakes like flashing macpro 5.1 to 4.1 and it not working!

netkas.org http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,852.0.html

I now have me a 3.33ghz hex with 12g of 1333mhz speed ram from crucial and it was all completed inside 20 mins.

my 4.1 2009 machine was a late one with the 08 efi so updated to 5.1 03 efi without a hitch, removed CPU board, removed heatsink which revealed a 2.66ghz Nlem quad with IHS so removed cpu, installed W3680 cleaned surface of cpu and heatsink with alcohol, AS5 applied, put heatsink back on, installed the 1333mhz DDR3 and replaced CPU board. P-RAM reset on first boot. and hey presto! 3.33ghz hex and 1333mhz DDR3

CPU temp 26c ambient temp 20c and thats after an hours running, AS5 can take upto 200 hours to cure and settle so i might see a few C lower yet but iam very pleased with that.

Now the good bit!

CPU cost £500.00
Ram cost £110.00

now i should get some return on 12g of the crucial 1066mhz ram
and also the Nlem 2.66ghz quad.

If i can get £200 for both that makes me a 3.33ghz hex 12G 1333mhz for £410.00 and a nice upgrade for my Mac pro.

Thanks go to MacEfirom for the utility and to netkas for a great site to view, read and learn from.

[philipma1957]

GOOD I am glad the EFI worked out for you. it really is pretty easy to do this and the scores are boosted a lot.

[Jackaubrey]

Hi, congrats on your successful upgrade.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a second hand Mac Pro Quad with the basic W3520 2.66GHz processor.

This is my first Mac Computer and I wanted the Mac Pro as previously I was used to building and upgrading my own PC's, so I was delighted to learn about the upgrade potential to the Hex Processors and the socket compatibility.

However after downloading the EFI utility from Netkas.org I don't know what to do to install the programme to update my EFI.

Any advice for a new Mac owner?

[Vapor matt]

Hi, please make sure you read the whole thread at netkas org, it is easy to update the EFI on your mac to 5.1, it will still see your 2.66g quad and the memory will still read 1066 as the 2.66 cpu only allows 1066 memory speed.


open what you have downloaded and follow on screen instructions, do not switch off your computer while the update is being carried out or you may well lose the ability to boot your mac at all.

most importantly make sure you know what your doing!

[m11rphy]

Can I ask where you got the cpu from ? and why did you want retail over oem ?

[zephonic]

I bought my W3520 for this purpose. Thanks for sharing.

I bought 12GB of 1066MHz RAM. Surely it won't slow the hex down too much?

[Vapor matt]

Can I ask where you got the cpu from ? and why did you want retail over oem ?

well i wanted to make sure i got a B1 steping, some of the CPU,s on ebay are ES cpu's which are engineering samples DO stepping, somtimes the micro code is diffrent and they wont always boot in your mac pro. the main reason i wanted retail really.

I purchased my cpu via amazon uk it came from germany, I did try a UK company who said ordered next day but waited 3 weeks and nothing but excuses, so unless they have stock i wouldnt part with your money

the 1066mhz memory can be faster but the 1333mhz does offer greater bandwidth. to be honest theres nothing in it really. i went for 1333mhz because thats what comes with a 5.1 hex mac pro.

[m11rphy]

thanks is there any other 6 core cpus other than the W3680 ?

[zephonic]

W3670
w3680
w3690

[Jackaubrey]

Hi,

All is well and I have upgraded my EFI to MP51.007F.B03.

The reason that I could not get the EFI Utility to run was because I was still on OS X 5 but when I upgraded to Snow Leopard the utility ran perfectly.

If I now installed a W3580 (I can get one for a very good price), would the interconnect speed be 6.4 GT/s and the memory 1333MHz?

I already have 1333Mhz memory installed but of course it only runs at 1066MHz because of the W3520 Processor.

Later on I will upgrade to one of the Hex Processors when the price is right.

Jackaubrey

[Vapor matt]

If I now installed a W3580 (I can get one for a very good price), would the interconnect speed be 6.4 GT/s and the memory 1333MHz?

I already have 1333Mhz memory installed but of course it only runs at 1066MHz because of the W3520 Processor.

Yes to both, you will get 6.4GT/s as long as cpu supports it and also your memory will run at 1333mhz, P-ram reset required after instalation, also reset SMC and your done.

[funkahdafi]

BENCHMARKS. Before and after. Or it didn't happen

[Vapor matt]

BENCHMARKS. Before and after. Or it didn't happen

never thought to benchmark my 2.66ghz quad against the 3.33ghz hex. but i know one thing iam not puting the old cpu just for a benchmark lol

[wonderspark]

My score went up about 300-400 points from before.
Was a 4,1 3.33 quad with 16GB 1066Mhz RAM, now it's 5,1 3.33 quad with 32GB 1333Mhz RAM.


Maybe I'll swap up from W3580 to W3680 or W3690 someday.

[zephonic]

I'm leaning more toward the W3565, which sits in the current $2899 model and can be had for around $300. I presume this CPU is a straight drop-in and would not require the firmware tweak?

[wonderspark]

Originally Posted by zephonic

I'm leaning more toward the W3565, which sits in the current $2899 model and can be had for around $300. I presume this CPU is a straight drop-in and would not require the firmware tweak?

W3680 is currently $560 or something at Provantage! It's a deal! And the firmware tweak is stupid easy. I JUST did it an hour ago.

If I swap in a W3680, I will sell my W3580 cheap... but it's been a total champ for two years now, so I'm not sure it's worth quad to hex for me just yet.

[wonderspark]

Well, thanks to you guys, I ordered a W3680. In a few days, I'll join the "2009 Hex Club."

[fabriciom]

If I where you I would have waited for the new mac pro and current Intel CPUs prices to drop...

[wonderspark]

Originally Posted by fabriciom

If I where you I would have waited for the new mac pro and current Intel CPUs prices to drop...

I figured they already dropped the chip from $1000 to $587, and I have so much work to do that it's more beneficial to go from 4 to 6 cores now. I'm just happy that I extended the life of a 2009 Mac Pro well into 2012 (or maybe 2013) for my business!

[fabriciom]

Originally Posted by wonderspark

I figured they already dropped the chip from $1000 to $587, and I have so much work to do that it's more beneficial to go from 4 to 6 cores now. I'm just happy that I extended the life of a 2009 Mac Pro well into 2012 (or maybe 2013) for my business!

Well you made me doubt there for a second but the chip you bought its not what the 2010 machines use they go with the X56.. which are still expensive as hell.

[toxic]

Originally Posted by fabriciom

Well you made me doubt there for a second but the chip you bought its not what the 2010 machines use they go with the X56.. which are still expensive as hell.

X is for dual-CPU, single uses W.

[fabriciom]

Originally Posted by toxic

X is for dual-CPU, single uses W.

Yep I was thinking dual machine

[wonderspark]

Just got my W3680 in the mail. Off to the store for some Arctic Silver 5, Goof-Off and spudgers! So excited right now.

[wonderspark]

Had to go buy a 3mm long hex tool kit when I found out mine was too short, haha.

Anyway, I'm a happy camper! So far, it's running about 6 deg F cooler than the W3580 did.

[g4sean]

i did the same UPGRADE to my mac pro 2009 also!

The people like me that have done this UPGRADE to a 6 core 3.33ghz
what would happen or have to do if you had to do a Clear install of mac os x?
is it going to stay mac pro 5.1 when you do the install?

Should i keep my old 2.66ghz w3520?, i know that if you downgrade 5.1 to 4.1 the mac pro won't boot up!

What should people like me do??? if i need to do a clear install of mac os x?

Thanks
Sean