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feins

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
93
1
Malaysia
Did any of you use a thermal gap pad? If so, where did you get it from?
Thanks!

Yes i've use thermal pad on the power regulator but use thermal paste on the processor you can see it from my Mac Pro project photos. You can get it on eBay just make sure its a 2mm thick pad will do :)
 

0488568

Cancelled
Feb 17, 2008
406
107
Awesome, I just placed and order for 2 5580. Should get here in a week. Also I have order 3 Coollaboratory Liquid Metal PADs.
 
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0488568

Cancelled
Feb 17, 2008
406
107
CPU have arrived still waiting on the Liquid Metal PADs.


Screw the pads im going with silver arctic 5.

OK Surgery is over I got the CPUs in and working. How can I see if the CPUs are working and their temps? I see 2 CPUs in system profiler but i cant see info on each..

16451 in geekbench is that alright?
 
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feins

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
93
1
Malaysia
CPU have arrived still waiting on the Liquid Metal PADs.


Screw the pads im going with silver arctic 5.

OK Surgery is over I got the CPUs in and working. How can I see if the CPUs are working and their temps? I see 2 CPUs in system profiler but i cant see info on each..

16451 in geekbench is that alright?

ISTAT MENUS 3 will do the job.
 

Transporteur

macrumors 68030
Nov 30, 2008
2,729
3
UK
16451 in geekbench is that alright?

Seems a little bit too low. If you browse the geekbench results online you'll see that the general score for two W5580s is about 19000.
Even my E5520s score about 14000.

But than again, it's a synthetic benchmark. Don't overestimate it.
 

feins

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
93
1
Malaysia
Seems a little bit too low. If you browse the geekbench results online you'll see that the general score for two W5580s is about 19000.
Even my E5520s score about 14000.

But than again, it's a synthetic benchmark. Don't overestimate it.

Yea indeed from the spec you got there its indeed a bit low. Maybe due to the amount of Memory you have there.

Here are my result.
Screen shot 2011-01-23 at 11.02.59 PM.png
 

0488568

Cancelled
Feb 17, 2008
406
107
OK finally got the 24gb of ram (Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK3/12G) and reran the geekbench to find that I was still getting 17000. I realized i was running the 32bit version not the 64bit. Not I'm getting 19336.

benchgeek.gif
 

nlambert

macrumors newbie
Jul 27, 2010
9
0
2009 MacPro with 2010 spec

Big thanks to everyone here & over at Netkas: http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,852.0.html

Following the Anandtech article, http://www.anandtech.com/show/2800/1 on
upgrading plus reading here & on Netkas about the pit falls I decided to try the hack first & then replace the cpu's with a pair of X5650 Hex core's.

The firmware hack could not have been easier & after a few weeks plus a couple of stress tests I decided all was fine for the cpu upgrade. Having performed surgery today I can so far say everything is working. The new cpu's seem to be running cooler than the old E5520 Quad's, which is nice ;)

CineBench score went up, which was also nice. Fingers crossed this looks like
a winner. As cpu's come down in price upgrading to the latest MacPro might be cheaper than you think :)
 

feins

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
93
1
Malaysia
Big thanks to everyone here & over at Netkas: http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,852.0.html

Following the Anandtech article, http://www.anandtech.com/show/2800/1 on
upgrading plus reading here & on Netkas about the pit falls I decided to try the hack first & then replace the cpu's with a pair of X5650 Hex core's.

The firmware hack could not have been easier & after a few weeks plus a couple of stress tests I decided all was fine for the cpu upgrade. Having performed surgery today I can so far say everything is working. The new cpu's seem to be running cooler than the old E5520 Quad's, which is nice ;)

CineBench score went up, which was also nice. Fingers crossed this looks like
a winner. As cpu's come down in price upgrading to the latest MacPro might be cheaper than you think :)

Welcome my fren, yes I've implement the Efi hack on my Mac pro 09 and notice that now my processor and memory was runing at 1333ghz also my ati5870 support hdmi audio output.
 

Mr Ski 73

macrumors regular
Dec 11, 2007
237
0
Hi thinking of getting a 2.93 quad, question is how is the CPU held in place. Is it the clasp version or held in place by pressure of the heat sink?
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,367
251
Howell, New Jersey
Hi thinking of getting a 2.93 quad, question is how is the CPU held in place. Is it the clasp version or held in place by pressure of the heat sink?



the sp quads are clasp translation easy to do.

the dp quads are heat sink so is the 2.93 a sp or a dp as IDR?



http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC183LL/A?mco=MTMyMTU3OTY

this is the easy one as it is a sp


BTW


http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB871LL/A?mco=MTEzMjY2NTA


this one is cheaper if you are dropping in a sp hex like the one below


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-X...57?pt=CPUs&hash=item2312528b49#ht_2969wt_1189
 

Mr Ski 73

macrumors regular
Dec 11, 2007
237
0
Many thanks I am looking at couple of SP versions. Just to check I need to upgrade fw to 2010 spec and drop in hex. Not worried about processor upgrade as have changed 1.1 a couple of times. May need a bit of help with RAM spec though




the sp quads are clasp translation easy to do.

the dp quads are heat sink so is the 2.93 a sp or a dp as IDR?



http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC183LL/A?mco=MTMyMTU3OTY

this is the easy one as it is a sp


BTW


http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB871LL/A?mco=MTEzMjY2NTA


this one is cheaper if you are dropping in a sp hex like the one below


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-X...57?pt=CPUs&hash=item2312528b49#ht_2969wt_1189
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,367
251
Howell, New Jersey
Many thanks I am looking at couple of SP versions. Just to check I need to upgrade fw to 2010 spec and drop in hex. Not worried about processor upgrade as have changed 1.1 a couple of times. May need a bit of help with RAM spec though





yes you just need to update the 2009 firmware and you will be good to go. here are ram links for you

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D3-13R8GH1

8gb sticks 85 a stick


http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D3-13R4GS2


4gb sticks at 47.50
 

Taipan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2003
604
496
Hi!

I've got a question regarding the CPU swap:
The Apple Service Manual shows a retaining frame on the octocore's CPUs. If I swap the CPUs with new one including a heatspreader, are these frames not needed anymore?
Sorry for the dumb question, any answer is appreciated!
Thanks!
 

Tutor

macrumors 65816
Hi!

I've got a question regarding the CPU swap:
The Apple Service Manual shows a retaining frame on the octocore's CPUs. If I swap the CPUs with new one including a heatspreader, are these frames not needed anymore?
Sorry for the dumb question, any answer is appreciated!
Thanks!

Dual 2009's don't have CPU retention brackets, but the single CPU version does. At least this was the case when I performed the first successful swap, even before Anand, in late June 2009 http://blogs.computerworld.com/geekbench_reveals_next_3_3ghz_mac_pro_update.
 
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Taipan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2003
604
496
Dual 2009's don't have CPU retention brackets, but the single CPU version does. At least this was the case when I performed the first successful swap, even before Anand, in late June 2009 http://blogs.computerworld.com/geekbench_reveals_next_3_3ghz_mac_pro_update.

Sorry, I probably didn't express myself clearly enough. I didn't mean the metal frame with the lever, but the thin plastic frame on top of the CPU. I'm doing the swap right now, and it obviously doesn't fit on the headspreader, so the question is answered.
ATM I'm thinking about a way to avoid breaking the fan plug. Did I understand this correctly that you broke the lower, roughly U-shaped plastic thing off to be able to pull the plug all the way through?
 

Tutor

macrumors 65816
Sorry, I probably didn't express myself clearly enough. I didn't mean the metal frame with the lever, but the thin plastic frame on top of the CPU. I'm doing the swap right now, and it obviously doesn't fit on the headspreader, so the question is answered.
ATM I'm thinking about a way to avoid breaking the fan plug. Did I understand this correctly that you broke the lower, roughly U-shaped plastic thing off to be able to pull the plug all the way through?

I just very carefully clipped away a little of one side of the rim at the top of the black plastic plug connected to the heatsink by 4 small diameter wires (i.e., the side closest to the CPU socket - which is the side over which I would then drape the wires). I only cut away just enough of that side so that it didn't pinch those wires attached to it when the heatsink was tightened down. This was done so that I could control, by hand, the setting of the plug in its receptacle to ensure a perfect connection/fit. In other words, I no longer ran those 4 wires thru the hole on the heat sink (and the black plug is no longer attached to the body of the heatsink as had been the case originally). Also, I wanted to be able to lift the heatsink slightly upon future removals without it necessarily pulling the plug out. If I wanted to completely detach the heat sink, I could then carefully detach that plug by pulling it up by hand or needle nose pliers (so I left those tiny protrusions on the sides of the plug to enable a good grip by hand or needle nose pliers).
 
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Taipan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2003
604
496
Hm, OK, I did it a bit differently, but I guess it works.
Sorry, but I have another question: I swapped CPU A and wanted to test it before inserting CPU B. Now my Mac Pro boots to the desktop flawlessly, the diagnostic LEDs seem to be OK, but the CPU fan goes to full speed after a short time. Is this because the system thinks there's something wrong with the second CPU and thus normal behaviour, or does it mean there's something wrong?

I'm not quite sure how strong to tighten the screws. I put two 9mm washers on the screws before I dropped the heatsink, so in theory I shouldn't be able to overtighten them. What strikes me is that when tightening the four screws, the resistance isn't equal, some are easier, some harder to tighten. But I noticed that already when loosening the screws to remove the original CPU.

Edit: OK, I noticed the heatspreader seems to add much more thickness than the two washers make up for. Whe I look into the heatsink form the side, I can see that there's still about 1mm between the washers and the heatsink, so they don't have any effect at all.
 
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Tutor

macrumors 65816
Hm, OK, I did it a bit differently, but I guess it works.
Sorry, but I have another question: I swapped CPU A and wanted to test it before inserting CPU B. Now my Mac Pro boots to the desktop flawlessly, the diagnostic LED seem to be OK, but the CPU fan goes to full speed after a short time. Is this because the system thinks there's something wrong with the second CPU and thus normal behaviour, or does it mean there's something wrong?

I could run one CPU without fans running at full tilt. Full tilt could mean that the CPU is running hot. Check those temps with smcFanControl 2.3 and be sure that the CPU is properly seated and especially that none of those 4 wires are being pinched. You may need to bump up the fan speeds slightly in any event with smcFanControl 2.3. I do. Also, try both CPUs at the same same.

I'm not quite sure how strong to tighten the screws. I put two 9mm washers on the screws before I dropped the heatsink, so in theory I shouldn't be able to overtighten them.

Sorry, but this part of the mod is more art than science. Sort of like a jurist once said about pornography, [you'll] know it [s right] when [you] see it [works as expected].

What strikes me is that when tightening the four screws, the resistance isn't equal, some are easier, some harder to tighten. But I noticed that already when loosening the screws to remove the original CPU.

That's not unusual. My experience is the same. Here too - more art than science.
 
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Taipan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2003
604
496
My machine is up and running again. I inserted the second CPU and it started without any problems, fans didn't rev up anymore. It has only been running for about half an hour now, but for now everything seems fine. I just ran a few benchmarks, but no heavy load yet, and temperatures and boosta fan speeds (according to iStatMenu) are actually lower than before.
I have now converted my 2009 entry model to 2009 top model (2,93 GHz), paying 640€ for the CPUs. Guess that's not bad.

Thanks to everybody here for this thread, it made it really easy. And special thanks to Tutor for your fast answers! I'm glad some people are spending their whole time in front of their machines. :)
 

Tutor

macrumors 65816
My machine is up and running again. ...
Thanks to everybody here for this thread, it made it really easy. And special thanks to Tutor for your fast answers! I'm glad some people are spending their whole time in front of their machines. :)

Thanks to my Apple iPad, I was able to give you that mis-impression - "spending their whole time in front of their machines". I'm in my backyard cutting up trees that were blown down when the ferocious storms came thru Alabama earlier this year. On breaks, I check my iPad. I'm trying to clean up the storm damage before the Alabama (ranked #2) - Louisiana State University (LSU - ranked #1) college football game airs today. But Alabama isn't just about tornados and college football. Alabama is home to, among others, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp, Apple's CEO Tim Cook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Cook and of course, since 2009, really fast Macs (4-cores as fast as 6-cores; single 6-cores faster than dual 4-cores; single 6-cores and dual 4-cores as fast as dual 6-cores; dual 6-cores faster than _______; waiting on Ivy Bridge 10 cores x2).
 
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Taipan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2003
604
496
Oh, sorry to hear that. For us here in Germany this year was the first time (that I know of) that weather went crazy like that. Though still in a smaller scale than in the US. My girlfriend just bought a house with a big garden, and two months later the biggest and most beautiful tree was felled by storm. Some smaller towns got all roofs blown away. Hope it doesn't get worse.
 
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