Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

5050

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 28, 2009
180
2
Does OS X Mavericks compatibility with the "Early 2008 Mac Pro" include the MacPro2,1?

Thanks!
 

Genghis Khan

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2007
1,202
0
Melbourne, Australia
Our old Mac Pro's aren't actually that fast anymore.

My parents got a new Mac Mini recently (maxed everything out, except the SSD), and it scored similar geek bench results to my 2008 Octo core with an 8800GT.
 

douglasgoodall

macrumors newbie
Aug 11, 2011
5
5
32-bit boot ROM is source of trouble

I have a Mac Pro 2,1 and I am stuck on Snow Leopard. The reason is that for a while Apple shipped the operating systems with both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version of the kernel. The Mac Pro 2,1 will never be able to run the 64-bit kernel because the EFFI32 boot rom just won't do it.

What I want to know though is where I can buy a USB3 adapter that will work in the Mac Pro 2,1.
 

Snowshiro

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2008
387
6
My parents got a new Mac Mini recently (maxed everything out, except the SSD), and it scored similar geek bench results to my 2008 Octo core with an 8800GT.

What that says to me, is not that they're slow, but they they're still perfectly capable of running modern Operating Systems and applications at a very usable pace.

My 2006 Mac Pro 1,1 with upgraded processors gets over 10,000 on geekbench, which only a fraction under a 2012 15" Quad Ivy Bridge Macbook Pro Retina 2.3 Ghz. When your 7 year old machine is still able to run at that pace, it's comfortably good enough for prime time work.

Sure they're not miles ahead of the pack any more, but they're still in the same league as the modern machines most people use every day.
 

Saltymac

macrumors member
Aug 19, 2013
99
0
Rocky Mt State
I have a Mac Pro 2,1 and I am stuck on Snow Leopard. The reason is that for a while Apple shipped the operating systems with both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version of the kernel. The Mac Pro 2,1 will never be able to run the 64-bit kernel because the EFFI32 boot rom just won't do it.

What I want to know though is where I can buy a USB3 adapter that will work in the Mac Pro 2,1.

You can go to Lion with a 2,1 - which gives you access to many of the current apps - however being "stuck" with Snow Leopard is OK if it is running the programs (apps) that you need to run. If I did not have a ipad mini, phone, iMac and pro that I want to keep in sync and use the messages feature I might still be using Snow as my primary OS.
 

deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,227
3,827
What that says to me, is not that they're slow, but they they're still perfectly capable of running modern Operating Systems and applications at a very usable pace.
.....
Sure they're not miles ahead of the pack any more, but they're still in the same league as the modern machines most people use every day.

But were folks who need mainstream computational power the targeted users for the Mac Pro? Slow for whom is the more operative question.

Support for old system has little to do with "fast enough". It has to with:

i. dwindling number of those systems in active deployed use. system die over time and not all of them get repaired or passed down.

ii. parts availability dies off over time. Again leads to a general decrease in actually running deployed systems.

For example, the 3500/3600/5500 Xeons in 2009-2012 Mac Pros are being dropped from retail market this year. ( http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2012/2012031102_Intel_discontinues_Xeon_5500_series_processors.html http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2013/...ues_Xeon_3500_and_3600_server_processors.html ). Apple won't be able to buy them this time next year. Where parts are going to come from to keep these systems running is from old system boneyards. The Mac Pro 2008 ( and earlier) are already in this state.

Desupported hardware doesn't tend to get new software. That isn't an Apple thing. It is a general industry thing. "Fast enough" completely ignores support costs and development allocation issues. If Apple slapped megabuck charges for "extended support" perhaps, but they don't engage in that sort of business at all.
 

Snowshiro

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2008
387
6
I don't dispute a single word of that, but I'm not really arguing against your opinions. I'm just putting a different perspective from a different user (hence "what this says to me").

When I bought by Mac Pro in 2006, I was lucky enough to have been pretty much given a blank cheque by the company I worked for to go out and buy a machine to allow me to work from home. They also made it clear that it would be my machine and I'd be able to keep it if I ever left the firm. So, I pretty much went out and bought what was the best machine on the market at the time, reckoning that with upgradability and performance well ahead of the pack it would give me plenty of years of use before it became obsolete. Now, 7 years later, at the back end of 2013, I have a Mac which can still keep pace with what's required for the work I do.

That to me is exactly what I bought it for. I'm delighted that my old beast still manages to pull its weight, and come pretty close to what most PC users would get if they bought a fairly standard desktop machine today. And apart from having to do a little hackery to get the most recent OS onto it, it's been pretty plain sailing all the way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmp473

kingtj

macrumors 68030
Oct 23, 2003
2,606
749
Brunswick, MD
Bingo!

I'm definitely in the category of computer enthusiast and work in the field for a living. Yet I'm not one of the research scientists needing hard-core number crunching capabilities or an artist needing animation renders to take place as fast as physically possible.

I took out a personal loan to buy my first (2006) Mac Pro though, because I was that impressed with what Apple had done with OS X at the time, and wanted a high end system designed for it that would last a while.

In that respect, it was one of the best computer purchases I ever made. I finally resold that system last year (to another MacRumors forum reader, actually) -- but it ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for me that whole time I owned it without a single hardware problem. I upgraded video cards in it twice, and put an SSD boot drive in it, as well as upgrading the RAM to 12GB -- but it always kept pace with anything newer that came along.

Right now, I'm still using a 2008 Mac Pro which I purchased in '08 (because I was so pleased with the '06 machine), and this one serves as my every day "go to" computer for working from home as well as play. Depending on the price point the new Mac Pro comes out at, I might resell or trade this one in towards one of them -- but otherwise? This STILL meets my needs a bit better than any of the new iMacs do.


I don't dispute a single word of that, but I'm not really arguing against your opinions. I'm just putting a different perspective from a different user (hence "what this says to me").

When I bought by Mac Pro in 2006, I was lucky enough to have been pretty much given a blank cheque by the company I worked for to go out and buy a machine to allow me to work from home. They also made it clear that it would be my machine and I'd be able to keep it if I ever left the firm. So, I pretty much went out and bought what was the best machine on the market at the time, reckoning that with upgradability and performance well ahead of the pack it would give me plenty of years of use before it became obsolete. Now, 7 years later, at the back end of 2013, I have a Mac which can still keep pace with what's required for the work I do.

That to me is exactly what I bought it for. I'm delighted that my old beast still manages to pull its weight, and come pretty close to what most PC users would get if they bought a fairly standard desktop machine today. And apart from having to do a little hackery to get the most recent OS onto it, it's been pretty plain sailing all the way.
 

MacinJosh

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2006
676
55
Finland
Zero chance 1,1 and 2,1 will be able to install it.

Not exactly true. While there is zero chance to just install it like on supported machines, there is a 100% chance to install it using Chameleon (with a supported gfx card).

I'm running Mountain Lion on my 1,1 and I will run Mavericks on it as well when it comes out.
 

MacinJosh

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2006
676
55
Finland
With some hacks you can make it run 10.8 and 10.9. Today i just upgraded my 2,1 to Mavericks GM

Same here for my 1,1. I upgraded (dirty install) from Mountain Lion but so far so good. Only problem I came up with was that I needed to update SMBIOS.plist to show I have a Mac Pro 3,1 for it to install. Mountain Lion didn't care that I had 1,1 in it. Everything works super great!
 

MacinJosh

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2006
676
55
Finland
Hacking a Mac to run OS X, now that's funny, hey Mac 1 & 2 owners, welcome to hackintosh, of sorts.

So true. Quite frustrating because my setup is quite capable of running Mavericks. 3.0Ghz Quad Xeon still packs a bit of punch, 12GB RAM, ATI 5770, and SSD, all make for a quite useable machine. It'll retire mid 2015.
 

iRabbit

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2007
445
33
Long Island, NY
...That to me is exactly what I bought it for. I'm delighted that my old beast still manages to pull its weight, and come pretty close to what most PC users would get if they bought a fairly standard desktop machine today. And apart from having to do a little hackery to get the most recent OS onto it, it's been pretty plain sailing all the way.

Same boat! And last year I updated all the hard drives and added more RAM and the machine runs great (mostly). I'm recently unemployed, so not in the position to buy a new Mac Pro at this point, and it's frustrating that it won't install Mavericks.

Not exactly true. While there is zero chance to just install it like on supported machines, there is a 100% chance to install it using Chameleon (with a supported gfx card).

I'm running Mountain Lion on my 1,1 and I will run Mavericks on it as well when it comes out.

I'd really love to know HOW... can you provide a link to find more information about this? I was going to upgrade my GFX card anyway... it's the one last thing I need to update in the machine...

Thanks!
 

mrdavidcoles

macrumors newbie
Oct 28, 2013
1
0
I'd really love to know HOW... can you provide a link to find more information about this? I was going to upgrade my GFX card anyway... it's the one last thing I need to update in the machine...

Thanks!

Same boat - all my googling has turned up quite a few people that say they've done it, but no hints on the actual steps... anybody?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.