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Mac Pro 2008 - CPU Upgrade from 2.8 to 3.2 GHz

This is a very simple update. All it takes is money.

Edit:

I forgot about the different HW issues which may come into this. It is still unclear whether the logic board and heat sinks will always support an exchange from 80 W TDP CPUs to 150 W TDP CPUs.
 
Hmmmmm. We were discussing the possibility of this here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/798114/

It looks like the guy at Hexus kept his old heatsinks (and obviously the motherboard). I wonder what his temps are like.

As you can see in the thread above, with the 120w TDP X5482 Apple used beefier heatsinks and, according to the service manual, different coatings on various components -- presumably for better heat transfer. There is also a different logicboard revision, perhaps with voltage or cooling differences.

As a single CPU 2.8 owner, I didn't want to have to buy a new mobo and heatsinks, so I opted for 2 matched E5472 parts... Kind of regretting it if this guy's system is running cool and stable.:(
 
This is indeed a bit mysterious. It would be best to have a service manual to check that the reported different HW parts were actually used on this model. Perhaps there was a mix up with the MP2,1 or there may have been prototypes?
 
What about this idea - 3.0 to 3.2?

Hello,

As many of you know I have a 2008 Mac Pro 3.00Ghz Harpertown. I was wondering if I would see any real difference by removing the 3.00ghz processors and replacing them with 3.2Ghz processors. I know this would require the 3.2ghz logic board which is a separate part number, but is it really worth the trouble to go from 3.00 to 3.20?

Can someone explain to me how much difference really is between 3.00 and 3.20? According to some who told me, it is only about 4.95 to 5 percent difference in speed. So, I ask if going from 3.0Ghz to 3.2Ghz is really worth it?

Remember, I have the Harpertown 3.0Ghz mac pro, and not a clovertown.
 
Nadav35 said:
Hello,

As many of you know I have a 2008 Mac Pro 3.00Ghz Harpertown. I was wondering if I would see any real difference by removing the 3.00ghz processors and replacing them with 3.2Ghz processors. I know this would require the 3.2ghz logic board which is a separate part number, but is it really worth the trouble to go from 3.00 to 3.20?

Can someone explain to me how much difference really is between 3.00 and 3.20? According to some who told me, it is only about 4.95 to 5 percent difference in speed. So, I ask if going from 3.0Ghz to 3.2Ghz is really worth it?

Remember, I have the Harpertown 3.0Ghz mac pro, and not a clovertown.
Click to expand...

You're friend is pretty close (I'd say 5-7 percent). Is it really worth it? All up to you, if you can work with the extra 200 MHz.

I was also under the impression that you would not need a new logic board for new processors. Socket is a socket, and PSU is probably the same.
 
Dr.Pants said:
You're friend is pretty close (I'd say 5-7 percent). Is it really worth it? All up to you, if you can work with the extra 200 MHz.

I was also under the impression that you would not need a new logic board for new processors. Socket is a socket, and PSU is probably the same.
Click to expand...
There's different board and heatsink P/N's for the 3.2GHz models sold, but there's also been at least one post indicating they had 3.2GHz parts on the same board used in the 2.8 & 3.0GHz models.

It was aquired on eBay though (and though advertised as working, was DOA), and may not have all been OEM parts at the time of manufacture (the mix didn't work). Not sure there, and it's produced a lot of confusion as to whether or not any board or cooler will work (of Apple's P/N's of course).
 
I don't think a .4 ghz upgrade would be worth the money. Either keep your system and save for the newer systems or sell it and buy the next revision. It would be nice to be able to overclock our mac pro's besides the software tweek that's out.
 
I recently upgraded from 1 x 2.8 to 2 x 3.0s. A few notes to keep in mind if you decide to upgrade (operating under the assumption you can keep your existing logicboard and heatsinks, since despite the varying part numbers we have yet to see Hexus' claims disproved):

- You are probably going to want to buy both CPUs together, as you want the steppings/revisions to match, and they aren't cheap -- eBay is probably your best bet. Expect to spend $1000+ for the pair unless you get a killer deal.
- Your TDP is going to go up - a lot. from 80W to 120-150W for the 3.2 and 3.4GHz parts (depending on revision). In other words, you are going to be running hotter and using more electricity.
- Replacing these CPUs are a PITA. I have been building computers for the last 15 years and this was the hardest upgrade I've ever done. And for the record, Apple's thermal paste sucks.
- 200-400Mhz isn't much of a performance increase.
 
gugucom said:
If you think that of the 5400 don't even think about tampering with the 5500. :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, they do look more complex. In my defense, a lot of my difficulty was that I couldn't find a long-neck 3mm flat hex screwdriver anywhere (locally), so I had to make do with lots of tiny bits on weird extenders at awkward angles.
 
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