I've been looking around...
I'm not seeing anything that would prevent this from working..... any ideas?
I'm not seeing anything that would prevent this from working..... any ideas?
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980X in current 2009 Mac Pro Possible?
- Thread starter rshillshooter81
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There is. The microcode. The CPU you currently have (Bloomfield) uses D0 stepping and Gulftown uses B1 stepping. It would need an EFI update but it does not exist.
No it won't. The steppings that each hardware has are different and EFI is crippled to disallow such updates that do not pocket Apple cash.
What do you have at home? Or rather, what does your computer run on at home (CPU wise)?
What do you have at home? Or rather, what does your computer run on at home (CPU wise)?
Yes. The i7-950 uses D0 stepping as well. Your PC may need a BIOS update in order to utilize the new CPU with different stepping because the BIOS version is likely older than the B1 stepping.
Depends on what do you do. It's only 400MHz and you can get W3580 for 600 bucks or so from eBay
I already have the w3520 cpu in my mac pro, I already have an i7-930 and i7-950.
I've been reading and they seem to be the same cpu but the w3520 seems to run cooler ?
It almost seems like it would be a waste of time to switch from w3520 to i7-950
I've been reading and they seem to be the same cpu but the w3520 seems to run cooler ?
It almost seems like it would be a waste of time to switch from w3520 to i7-950
W3520 runs cooler due its lower clock speed. If you have no use for i7-950, then go ahead. 400MHz is 400MHz
from yours truly..
Give me the credit, as I know the person who sold me the processor at Velocity Micro.. for each person I refer, he gives me discounts.
Give me the credit, as I know the person who sold me the processor at Velocity Micro.. for each person I refer, he gives me discounts.
W3580 - all the way...
dude!!!!!!! Forget the middle man, meaning the w3540 - not much of a substantial difference between 2.66 and 2.93, however 3.33 will show its true colors coming from 2.66!
And yes, I am one of many that upgraded the CPU in the 2009 mac pro.
dude!!!!!!! Forget the middle man, meaning the w3540 - not much of a substantial difference between 2.66 and 2.93, however 3.33 will show its true colors coming from 2.66!
And yes, I am one of many that upgraded the CPU in the 2009 mac pro.
I don't think it's worth it to spend over half grand on 267MHz upgrade (i7-950 vs W3580/i7-975). W3580 might be worth it when coming from W3520 but that's 667MHz difference.
Doesn't the ECC RAM work but the ECC will just be disabled? I've read mixed things about this, some say it will and others don't, mostly saying that it's up to you mobo and BIOS, if they are able to force disable the ECC, it should work. However, idk is Mac Pro able to do that.
I think if you choose to use a i7 9xx processor in a Mac Pro, you MUST use non-ECC RAM, the buffered ECC RAM won't even work. It's cheaper, but you would have to purchase all new non-ECC RAM sticks for your Mac Pro. Not worth it, I don't think. If I upgrade, I am going the W3580 route and keeping my 16GB of ECC RAM.
You can have ECC RAM in some desktop mobos but they will simply operate as non-ECC RAM. However, this is not recommended and it may not work with Mac Pro (you can't disable ECC from BIOS/EFI)
You can, but again, depends on your setup (not all support this).
From Crucial: "Adding non-ECC memory to an ECC system will disable the error-checking and correcting ability of your memory modules"
More stuff
Conclusion: It might work but it's not recommended and you may face some issues. This seems to depend a lot on the mobo and BIOS and Mac Pro obviously has no BIOS so that might be a problem. But you're right, he should sell the ECC RAM and get non-ECC or sell the i7 and buy Xeon if he wants to upgrade
I originally had.. a w3520, so I made the jump as you already know for under 600 dollars.. and it does feel snappier.
I guess those with 2.93 singles wouldn't benefit much from the w3580.
not worth it.. as even with turbo boost, your max would be 3.2Ghz which isn't too far from the turbo boost of the 3.33 at 3.6 - I think the w3580 is best for those in my situation with the 2.66 processor.. but you are more than welcome to get it. I can refer you to the person who sold me mine.. perhaps you heard of them? Velocity Micro in Virginia?
No problems.. when I got the i7-975.. but then returned it albeit someone on here complained of sleep issues. Though mine did not suffer from such stuff, I decided to return it and opt for the w3580.
So, yes the desktop processor will work as well as non-ecc memory - no issues, at least on my system..
I guess those with 2.93 singles wouldn't benefit much from the w3580.
not worth it.. as even with turbo boost, your max would be 3.2Ghz which isn't too far from the turbo boost of the 3.33 at 3.6 - I think the w3580 is best for those in my situation with the 2.66 processor.. but you are more than welcome to get it. I can refer you to the person who sold me mine.. perhaps you heard of them? Velocity Micro in Virginia?
No problems.. when I got the i7-975.. but then returned it albeit someone on here complained of sleep issues. Though mine did not suffer from such stuff, I decided to return it and opt for the w3580.
So, yes the desktop processor will work as well as non-ecc memory - no issues, at least on my system..
In terms of the MP, Cindori is right, as the firmware settings are inaccessible to the user.
