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Swapping a late 08 Logic Board with a 2013?

M

marker227

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
349
5
Hi, I'm noticing my computer just isn't fast enough even after having a 5870, 10 gigs of ram, 2.8 Quad Core.

Is it possible to swap the logic board with a new gen i7 logic board? I don't want to buy a whole new computer...
 
B

bax2003

Cancelled
Dec 25, 2011
947
203
You can't. Chassis is different on inside, logic board and connectors for power supply.

Add another Harpertown CPU (Intel Xeon E5462 + Heatsink) and SSD for system, and than you will feel difference.
 
Last edited:
B

bax2003

Cancelled
Dec 25, 2011
947
203
Just to be shure , shut down, open your mac pro, and left from the memory cage iz metal cover held by magnets. Remove it and you should find place for two processors. If your have Quad (one Quad CPU not 2 x Quad) one is populated + large heatsink and one is empty.

macpro2008.jpg


If you have one empty CPU socket 771 you need Intel Xeon E5462 (SLANT) and one Mac Pro CPU heatsink like this:

$(KGrHqJ,!o!FEIYd(SFUBROKvcz)kQ~~60_35.JPG


"Empty" place will be populated by dummy like this:

$(KGrHqF,!nUE63Tf4qzkBPEJ,!Q+Rg~~60_12.JPG
 
M

marker227

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
349
5
I know this is an old thread, but I have a new Mac Pro. It's a 3.20GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xenon.

Are there any upgrades I can do to this machine to make it perform better. I wasn't sure if I could put an i7 or something newer in it.
 
W

Wardenski

macrumors 6502
Jan 22, 2012
464
5
marker227 said:
I know this is an old thread, but I have a new Mac Pro. It's a 3.20GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xenon.

Are there any upgrades I can do to this machine to make it perform better. I wasn't sure if I could put an i7 or something newer in it.
Click to expand...

Just put an SSD in it. Nothing else you can do. I have an 08 myself. Our processors are old now, no match for today's i3s, i5s and i7s etc which are completely different architecture.
 
666sheep

666sheep

macrumors 68040
Dec 7, 2009
3,686
291
Poland
marker227 said:
I know this is an old thread, but I have a new Mac Pro. It's a 3.20GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xenon.

Are there any upgrades I can do to this machine to make it perform better. I wasn't sure if I could put an i7 or something newer in it.
Click to expand...

Better in what? Rendering? Gaming? Photo/video/audio editing?
How much RAM does it have and what video card?
 
M

marker227

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
349
5
I have a 2013 3.20GHZ Mac pro. 8 GB of ram. My GPU is a Radeon 5870. I know it's old, I'm planning on upgrading it. I'm just waiting to see if the next gen cards from Radeon come out for mac.

Mostly, I use it for gaming on a dedicated SSD for Bootcamp. I do all my productivity work, minor editing, photoshop, etc. on the Mac non-ssd drive.

I'd rather not think about upgrading to the new Mac pro 2014 anytime soon.. I want this 2013 model to last me a few years first :).
 
D

Draeconis

macrumors 6502a
May 6, 2008
985
280
CPUs you can use;

Intel Xeon W3670
Intel Xeon W3680
Intel Xeon W3690
Intel Core i7 980

Has to be LGA1366. Stepping on the Xeons doesn't matter (B1 or C0), not sure about the i7.
 
666sheep

666sheep

macrumors 68040
Dec 7, 2009
3,686
291
Poland
So, as always:
– W3680/3690
– decent GPU: GTX 780 (from MVC if you need bootscreen) or Radeon R9 280x
– RAM to 16GB minimum
...and you're set for both worlds IMO.
 
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