UPGRADED MY MAC 4.1 2.66 to Hexcore

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.

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!

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

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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.

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.

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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.

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

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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