sneezymarble, I've reading up on osx86 project and it seems very interesting. I have Q6600 and the same motherboard as yours but with only 2GB memory. I want to upgrade to 8 GB for video editing and use OSX but I read somewhere that Leopard has trouble handling more than 4 GB. Is this true? Also can you tell me what memory brand are you using and did you overclock your CPU? Thanks.
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"Cheap" Mac Pro? ($1500)
- Thread starter upsguy27
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I haven't noticed any problems using Final Cut with 8GBs. Then again, I haven't watched my system to see whether or not I'm using more than 4GBs of RAM during video editing. But, in principle I don't think OSX has problems with more than 4GBs.
I'm using G.Skill DDR2 800MHz CAS5 RAM. It's quite cheap but gets the job done. My Q6600 is currently running at 3.7GHz with a Thermaltake Ultra 120 Extreme heatsink and 120mm Scythe fan. The hottest core is usually at about 50C and doesn't get hotter than 70C under load.
If you're going to try to go past 3.0GHz then you'll need something better than the stock heatsink and fan. Also, faster RAM will help out with overclocking and overall performance. I believe my RAM is keeping me from going any higher.
The problem with the larger amount of memory comes from using an IDE device attached to the Jmicron controller it starts when you get over the 32bit limit so its somewhere around 3.5gb. If you don't use any IDE devices in your install then you will never have a problem with kernel panics caused by this driver. For my 8gb of ram I use Patriot LL series dimms for my q6600 G0 revision I run it at 3.15ghz stock voltage of 1.2125 it runs at the low to mid 40s idle never seen 60C at full load all cores using the same Extreme cooler mentioned just above this post same fan too it seems...
sneezymarble, 3.7Ghz is a sweet overclock for Q6600 with air cooling. I still kept my @3.0 because I don't want to mess with vcore. Your tempt is also very good too with the TRUE cooler, I have the Tuniq Tower and it does an alright job of keeping my cpu cool @ ~35C idle and ~50 load.
MacUser2525, is there a workaround or patch for the Jmicron controller? I have two dvdrw drive connected to that and also an IDE PCI controller (Promise Ultra 133 TX2) with 3 IDE harddrives attached to it. If I don't use the onboard Jmicron controller, does OSX recognize the Promise IDE controller?
MacUser2525, is there a workaround or patch for the Jmicron controller? I have two dvdrw drive connected to that and also an IDE PCI controller (Promise Ultra 133 TX2) with 3 IDE harddrives attached to it. If I don't use the onboard Jmicron controller, does OSX recognize the Promise IDE controller?
There is a "fixed" .kext that works for some not at all for others so it is a bit of a mixed bag there as to the promise controller not sure about that I would try Google with site:insanelymac.com on the end of the search terms to check if anyone has had success with it.
That's only with the 32bit versions. The 64bit versions work just fine with over 4GBs.
I didn't know that about IDE devices and kernel panics. I'm using all SATA devices. 3.15GHz at stock voltage is pretty nice. Have you tried to push it?
I'm definitely pushing it. I believe my vcore is set to 1.46 right now. So, yeah, I'm not trying to give my Q6600 a long life that's for sure. It's been running at at least 3.6GHz for nearly a year now with no problems.
There are heaps of them. E.g., Crysis, WME, VirtualDub, IE,
Indigo, Blender, etc. etc. I'm just mentioning a few that I've
used and spring to mind. There are many others.
Typically, when I look in the OS X Activity Monitor, everything
or almost everything is 32-bit. The reverse is true under Windows:
I find that most processes (OK, "processes" not "programs") are
64-bit versions. Using 'Process Explorer':
Hopefully Snow Leopard will help change this!
Good luck with finding an MP at that price, I'm hoping mine doesn't depreciate at that rate. Although still wouldn't be as bad as PC's.
Good luck with finding an MP at that price, I'm hoping mine doesn't depreciate at that rate. Although still wouldn't be as bad as PC's.
Yeah don't know why buddy is whining about that anyways what does Leopard have for 64 bit, Chess???
Sad but true I can get a kernel panic any time I want by just connecting not even using an IDE device then put the machine under load.
Tried it will boot around 3.7 to 3.8 but using mprime/Prime 95 shows it fails within usually seconds I can get 3.2ghz stable with around 1.4v but I figure the extra 50mhz is not worth the bother of using that much extra voltage to get it.
For sure its not going to last long you would think, although a year at it so far is pretty good I wonder how long it will keep going.
Since we're talking going the used route in this thread, I'd like to hear more about what's the absolute lowest you should go on certain configurations, and what price ranges might give best bang for buck. I'm really not too familiar with the Mac Pro (have only owned the Powerbook/MacBook Pro and Mac Mini), but want to get more serious about video editing so I'd like to finally get one. But I'd like to learn by researching information in this thread and comparing what's out there. I'm asking some pretty Mac Pro 101 questions in this post so go easy on me.
The information I'm looking for is kind of like the information in this thread here on buying the previous version of the MacBook Air. I was considering it until I saw all the negative remarks. Now I'll go new for that (this is for my wife btw).
It seems that $1500 might be too low to get a good, used Mac Pro. So what if the price was stepped up a bit by a couple hundred bucks. I could wait til January 2009, but I know that I probably won't buy new (a good configuration would probably be $2k+ right?) so I'm not sure how long it would be til the used mac pro computers drop in price.
Here's some of the posts I found helpful:
The information I'm looking for is kind of like the information in this thread here on buying the previous version of the MacBook Air. I was considering it until I saw all the negative remarks. Now I'll go new for that (this is for my wife btw).
It seems that $1500 might be too low to get a good, used Mac Pro. So what if the price was stepped up a bit by a couple hundred bucks. I could wait til January 2009, but I know that I probably won't buy new (a good configuration would probably be $2k+ right?) so I'm not sure how long it would be til the used mac pro computers drop in price.
Here's some of the posts I found helpful:
I won the $1600 Mac Pro 2.0x4, 8GB RAM, 1.4TB Hard Drive (The eBay auction you linked to - I'm zenmaster9, the winner). It seems like you are thinking this would not be enough power. Honestly, I have been using it for a week now with FCP 6, PS4, Aperture, Windows Vista in VMWare, and iTunes all running at the same time with absolutely zero slowdown. So really, it depends on what you're using it for, but 2.0x4 Xeon is more than enough for me. RAM is what makes it all fast, however.
hey upsguy27, I'm just asking and learning as I go along. Glad to hear this is a good configuration then. This is probably what I should aim for then - at least a 2.0x4 and just max out the RAM? Also, could you (or anyone) shed a little light on what generation of the Mac Pro to aim for? (and how to tell/ask in case a seller doesn't know)
The 2006 Gen has slower FSB, less L2 cache, and slower RAM (667Mhz opposed to 800Mhz)
Here's the 2006 model specs, and
Here's the 2008 model specs.
You can tell by asking the seller to go to the "System Profiler" app and looking to see if the RAM speed is at 800Mhz, or if the L2 cache is 12MB. If they are, it's a 2008 model.
Thanks for the response. I want to get used, but would like it to be as recent as possible. So I'll aim to get the 2008 model (by checking on the RAM speed or the L2 Cache). Is yours a 2008 model or a 2006 model?
You could also ask them the model number then go to http://www.everymac.com to look up the original specifications of it.
I have the 2006 model. I've used the 2008 model and I didn't notice much difference between the two.