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Early 2008 Mac Pro Processor upgrade

Ludacrisvp said:
I'm also running a 840 EVO ... really disappointed in the performance from it compared to another SSD I use in my work computer. The EVO is about 1/3rd or 1/2 the performance of the Corsair Force 3 SSD (which is a SATA-III drive like the EVO) I maybe see 100MB/s with the EVO ... read/write doesn't seem to matter.

Code: 
Intel 5 Series Chipset:

  Vendor:			Intel
  Product:			5 Series Chipset
  Link Speed:			3 Gigabit
  Negotiated Link Speed:	3 Gigabit
  Physical Interconnect:	SATA
  Description:			AHCI Version 1.30 Supported

Corsair Force 3 SSD:

  Capacity:			90.03 GB (90,028,302,336 bytes)
  Model:			Corsair Force 3 SSD                     
  Revision:			1.3.3   
  Serial Number:		1203820500000712049C
  Native Command Queuing:	Yes
  Queue Depth:			32
  Removable Media:		No
  Detachable Drive:		No
  BSD Name:			disk0
  Medium Type:			Solid State
  TRIM Support:			No
  Partition Map Type:		GPT (GUID Partition Table)
  S.M.A.R.T. status:		Verified

So I'm looking to upgrade with this path:

StarTech.com PCI Express 2.0 SATA III 6Gbps Mini-SAS (SFF-8087) RAID Controller Card w/ HyperDuo SSD Tiering - PCIe SATA 6Gb RAID Card
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUC3NNS
Chipset: Marvell 88SE9230
Model #: PEXSAT34SFF
Newegg shows it as Mac OSX compatible http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816129107
Startech shows it as well http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapt...Controller-Card-Mini-SAS-SFF-8087~PEXSAT34SFF

So I install that card in one of my PCIe slots and add this handy (expensive) cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AN50E5S (14" female to male mini-SAS / iPass / SFF-8087 extension cable)
and I can plug the new card into the stock wiring of the machine so I can retain the use of the existing drive caddy structure.
Then I'll take the other mini-SAS breakout cable I have from the LSI controller that I tried to use and run that into the optical bay area which will give me 4 SATA connectors in the optical bay and since they would be the ESB2 onboard ones I would be able to boot windows from SATA ODD in IDE mode and I can remove the Apple Shipping drive superdrive and not need IDE/PATA cables in there any longer.

The only worry I have is .... is it bootable with this new card...
Click to expand...

100mb read and write? That's very low - in the sled or a solo x2 and what size is the evo? Has it got the latest firmware?

If so that's the first slow 840 evo or pro I've known in a Mac. Kingston v drives with their SF controllers I avoid at all costs, nightmare with older kit but Samsung?? Is it still rubbish in bootcamp?

If so I would stick it in another machine and if it's still bad there get an rma!
 
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It's running off the odd sata port I think it's the 128GB no idea on firmware I'd have to check into that.
 
Gav Mack said:
100mb read and write? That's very low - in the sled or a solo x2 and what size is the evo? Has it got the latest firmware?

If so that's the first slow 840 evo or pro I've known in a Mac. Kingston v drives with their SF controllers I avoid at all costs, nightmare with older kit but Samsung?? Is it still rubbish in bootcamp?

If so I would stick it in another machine and if it's still bad there get an rma!
Click to expand...

So I moved it into my laptop

Write of a 5GB file:
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd if=/dev/zero of=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k count=5120
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 41.608282 secs (129029820 bytes/sec)

real	0m41.623s
user	0m0.007s
sys	0m5.106s
Read of the same 5GB file:
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ ls -lh /Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file
-rw-r--r--+ 1 ludacrisvp  staff   5.0G Jan 16 07:37 /Volumes/Mavericks SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd of=/dev/null if=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 20.500763 secs (261878500 bytes/sec)

real	0m20.509s
user	0m0.007s
sys	0m3.392s

Code: 
Intel ICH8-M AHCI:

  Vendor:			Intel
  Product:			ICH8-M AHCI
  Link Speed:		3 Gigabit
  Negotiated Link Speed:	3 Gigabit
  Physical Interconnect:	SATA
  Description:			AHCI Version 1.10 Supported

Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB:

  Capacity:			120.03 GB (120,034,123,776 bytes)
  Model:			Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB               
  Revision:			EXT0AB0Q
  Serial Number:		S1D5NEAD826744X     
  Native Command Queuing:	Yes
  Queue Depth:			32
  Removable Media:		No
  Detachable Drive:		No
  BSD Name:			disk1
  Medium Type:			Solid State
  TRIM Support:			Yes
  Partition Map Type:		GPT (GUID Partition Table)
  S.M.A.R.T. status:		Verified

Looks like a firmware update was released very recently:
Dec, 2013 - EXT0BB6Q ... my FW is EXT0AB0Q
Changes: Optimizing TurboWrite algorithm

According to samsung's whitepaper I should be able to get 410MB/s write and 540MB/s read if using SATA-III, I don't see why on SATA-II I'm unable to get anywhere near half of those speeds.
Maybe the firmware update will help.
 
Ludacrisvp said:
So I moved it into my laptop

Write of a 5GB file:
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd if=/dev/zero of=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k count=5120
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 41.608282 secs (129029820 bytes/sec)

real	0m41.623s
user	0m0.007s
sys	0m5.106s
Read of the same 5GB file:
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ ls -lh /Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file
-rw-r--r--+ 1 ludacrisvp  staff   5.0G Jan 16 07:37 /Volumes/Mavericks SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd of=/dev/null if=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 20.500763 secs (261878500 bytes/sec)

real	0m20.509s
user	0m0.007s
sys	0m3.392s

Code: 
Intel ICH8-M AHCI:

  Vendor:			Intel
  Product:			ICH8-M AHCI
  Link Speed:		3 Gigabit
  Negotiated Link Speed:	3 Gigabit
  Physical Interconnect:	SATA
  Description:			AHCI Version 1.10 Supported

Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB:

  Capacity:			120.03 GB (120,034,123,776 bytes)
  Model:			Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB               
  Revision:			EXT0AB0Q
  Serial Number:		S1D5NEAD826744X     
  Native Command Queuing:	Yes
  Queue Depth:			32
  Removable Media:		No
  Detachable Drive:		No
  BSD Name:			disk1
  Medium Type:			Solid State
  TRIM Support:			Yes
  Partition Map Type:		GPT (GUID Partition Table)
  S.M.A.R.T. status:		Verified

Looks like a firmware update was released very recently:
Dec, 2013 - EXT0BB6Q ... my FW is EXT0AB0Q
Changes: Optimizing TurboWrite algorithm

According to samsung's whitepaper I should be able to get 410MB/s write and 540MB/s read if using SATA-III, I don't see why on SATA-II I'm unable to get anywhere near half of those speeds.
Maybe the firmware update will help.
Click to expand...

Update the SSD on the laptop using the Windows magician software, it's also got a good diagnostic in the program too. I must have installed over 25 840 evo's in Macs, though only 250Gb upwards, most before that firmware update. I know the speeds are slightly slower with the 120 over the larger models but that's ridiculous, but you're getting barely faster than a WD black, not right..

SATA 2 on both my 750 and 250 Evo in the sleds was about 260 read and 240 write. I've got all the sleds loaded up migrating 3TB > 4TB drives for the next few days so can't double check.
 
Gav Mack said:
Update the SSD on the laptop using the Windows magician software, it's also got a good diagnostic in the program too. I must have installed over 25 840 evo's in Macs, though only 250Gb upwards, most before that firmware update. I know the speeds are slightly slower with the 120 over the larger models but that's ridiculous, but you're getting barely faster than a WD black, not right..

SATA 2 on both my 750 and 250 Evo in the sleds was about 260 read and 240 write. I've got all the sleds loaded up migrating 3TB > 4TB drives for the next few days so can't double check.
Click to expand...

Updated firmware...

Write of a new 5GB file (removed the old one first):
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd if=/dev/zero of=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k count=5120
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 28.255890 secs (190003185 bytes/sec)

real	0m28.264s
user	0m0.006s
sys	0m4.828s

Read of the new 5GB file:
Code: 
osx:~ ludacrisvp$ time dd of=/dev/null if=/Volumes/Mavericks\ SSD/Users/ludacrisvp/Desktop/testing_file bs=1024k
5120+0 records in
5120+0 records out
5368709120 bytes transferred in 19.253143 secs (278848451 bytes/sec)

real	0m19.257s
user	0m0.005s
sys	0m2.732s

Write OLD:
5368709120 bytes transferred in 41.608282 secs (129029820 bytes/sec)
Write NEW:
5368709120 bytes transferred in 28.255890 secs (190003185 bytes/sec)
So a 32% write speed bump.
1.41563404 gigabits / second on 3Gb/s SATA-II ... so 47% of theoretical Max for SATA-II.

Read OLD:
5368709120 bytes transferred in 20.500763 secs (261878500 bytes/sec)
Read NEW:
5368709120 bytes transferred in 19.253143 secs (278848451 bytes/sec)
And a 6% read speed bump.
2.07758286 gigabits / second on 3Gb/s SATA-II ... so 69% of theoretical Max for SATA-II.

I'd have to put it back in the Mac Pro to know for sure at this point but I think that it may perform even better in the Mac Pro compared to this older laptop even on SATA-II for both machines as we are comparing a laptop SATA controller to a workstation class controller.

There must have been some nasty firmware bug to eat up so much performance.
I didn't do any testing with the magic utility in windows 7 since I don't have any NTFS partitions on this drive.

You might also be surprised to know that I haven't run Win7 on the Mac Pro for a long long time, to the point where it isn't even installed on any drive in the Mac. All that AHCI work for 'nothin'. lol
 
CaptainChunk said:
IMHO, upgrading Harpertowns isn't even worth the money and effort. You'd still be on the same old school FSB architecture and the small frequency increase really isn't justified. Even when the 3,1s were new machines in 2008, the CTO CPU upgrades weren't really worth the extra money to most of us.
Click to expand...

Preach on brother. If you unload the 2008 plus factor in the cost of the CPU upgrade, it'd likely be the price of the 4.1.
 
Ludacrisvp said:
So I'm looking to upgrade with this path:



StarTech.com PCI Express 2.0 SATA III 6Gbps Mini-SAS (SFF-8087) RAID Controller Card w/ HyperDuo SSD Tiering - PCIe SATA 6Gb RAID Card

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUC3NNS

Chipset: Marvell 88SE9230

Model #: PEXSAT34SFF

Newegg shows it as Mac OSX compatible http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816129107

Startech shows it as well http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapt...Controller-Card-Mini-SAS-SFF-8087~PEXSAT34SFF



The only worry I have is .... is it bootable with this new card...
Click to expand...

So the new card is NOT bootable it was a long shot at best.
I'm running 3 laptop drives plus 1 BD-RE sata in the optical bay off of the ESB2 chipset now and using the new card to run the 4 sleds using the oem backplane wiring thanks to that extension cable.

Haven't done any testing yet as far as speed goes (it does report 6gbps connections available) and since it isn't bootable I'm not using the SSD on that card. I'm going to install windows again to see if I can do anything with the raid utility via windows or if I'll have to continue using the apple software raid.
 
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Ludacrisvp said:
So the new card is NOT bootable it was a long shot at best.
Click to expand...

Turns out that is not correct, it is bootable most of the time.
You can see the BIOS screen flash during a boot attempt to windows but it doesn't respond to the Ctrl+M to enter the card config for hardware RAID.
Doesn't seem to want to show as a boot device when there was only 1 drive attached.

StarTech.com says this card is not able to handle a port multiplier coming off of the mini-SAS port.
However System Profiler would suggest otherwise. (based on how many Generic AHCI controllers show up).
I'll probably modify the kext to fix the name.

Still haven't gotten around to installing windows ... I was able to boot from a SATA ODD coming off of the ESB2 chipset as the 4 sata cables going into the ODD bay area are now the original ESB2 bays 1-4.

Drives show as external drives too.
The Apple Software RAID is able to RAID drives across the two controllers without issue as well.

attachment.php


# lspci
pcilib: 0000:0d:00.0 64-bit device address ignored.
pcilib: 0000:02:00.0 64-bit device address ignored.
pcilib: 0000:02:00.0 64-bit device address ignored.
pcilib: 0000:01:00.0 64-bit device address ignored.
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 20)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset PCI Express Port 1 (rev 20)
00:05.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset PCI Express Port 5 (rev 20)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset PCI Express Port 9 (rev 20)
00:0f.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset QuickData Technology Device (rev 20)
00:10.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FSB Registers (rev 20)
00:10.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FSB Registers (rev 20)
00:10.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FSB Registers (rev 20)
00:10.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FSB Registers (rev 20)
00:10.4 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FSB Registers (rev 20)
00:11.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset CE/SF Registers (rev 20)
00:15.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FBD Registers (rev 20)
00:15.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FBD Registers (rev 20)
00:16.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FBD Registers (rev 20)
00:16.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5400 Chipset FBD Registers (rev 20)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB High Definition Audio Controller (rev 09)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 09)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 09)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev 09)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev 09)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset UHCI USB Controller #1 (rev 09)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset UHCI USB Controller #2 (rev 09)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset UHCI USB Controller #3 (rev 09)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset UHCI USB Controller #4 (rev 09)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset EHCI USB2 Controller (rev 09)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev d9)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset LPC Interface Controller (rev 09)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB IDE Controller (rev 09)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB SATA AHCI Controller (rev 09)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset SMBus Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G92 [GeForce 8800 GT] (rev a2)
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0fc6 (rev a1)
02:00.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0e1b (rev a1)
03:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6311ESB/6321ESB PCI Express Upstream Port (rev 01)
03:00.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6311ESB/6321ESB PCI Express to PCI-X Bridge (rev 01)
04:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6311ESB/6321ESB PCI Express Downstream Port E1 (rev 01)
04:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6311ESB/6321ESB PCI Express Downstream Port E2 (rev 01)
04:02.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6311ESB/6321ESB PCI Express Downstream Port E3 (rev 01)
05:00.0 SATA controller: Unknown device 1b4b:9230 (rev 10)
06:00.0 USB Controller: Texas Instruments Unknown device 8241 (rev 02)
07:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 80003ES2LAN Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper) (rev 01)
07:00.1 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 80003ES2LAN Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper) (rev 01)
0b:00.0 PCI bridge: Texas Instruments XIO2213A PCI Express to PCI Bridge
0c:00.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments XIO2213A 1394b OHCI with 3-Port PHY
0d:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 03)
Click to expand...

Code: 
lspci -v -s 05:00
05:00.0 SATA controller: Unknown device 1b4b:9230 (rev 10) (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])
	Subsystem: Unknown device 1b4b:9230
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	I/O ports at 2028
	I/O ports at 2034
	I/O ports at 2020
	I/O ports at 2030
	I/O ports at 2000
	Memory at a7e00000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable)
	Expansion ROM at ffff0000 [disabled]
	Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [50] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+
	Capabilities: [70] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [e0] SATA HBA <?>
	Capabilities: [100] #1b4b
	Capabilities: [923] #2001
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2014-01-27 at 10.09.05 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-01-27 at 10.09.05 PM.jpg
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JoeRodwell said:
Apologies for dragging up an old thread.. I'm thinking my upgrade from Quad core 2.8 to the 8 core 3.2 will be actually worth the extra cash. (Also, since upgrading a fair bit RAM wise, I'm not so keen to get the Nehalem 2009 Mac Pro).

I'm not so knowledgeable on these things, but would this be the sort of thing to look for?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en
Click to expand...

Those will work. If you think the 3.2s are worth the extra cash, sure, go for it, but you really aren't getting that much more performance boost than just adding another 2.8 - which by the way, will only run you about $40 instead of $250. Keep in mind you're going to need another heat sink, since the open socket on your 3,1 just has a placeholder at the moment. Good luck with your upgrades!
 
JoeRodwell said:
Apologies for dragging up an old thread.. I'm thinking my upgrade from Quad core 2.8 to the 8 core 3.2 will be actually worth the extra cash. (Also, since upgrading a fair bit RAM wise, I'm not so keen to get the Nehalem 2009 Mac Pro).

I'm not so knowledgeable on these things, but would this be the sort of thing to look for?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en
Click to expand...


Either way around is a good move from a single Quad 2.8
I did this in 2010, added a second quad 2.8 which then was only £120 from
Evil bay and I ordered the correct Apple heat sink from "VIZ" I think, they
are a UK parts specialist.
The heat sink was £170 !!!
Has been a really great system and still is but I'm just upgrading to a 2012
hex core 3.33.
Take your time and be careful since you have to effectively take the whole
computer to pieces, get the 2008 service manual - a link was posted here about
two weeks ago.
Long handle 3mm hex wrench is needed, at least 15 cm only costs about £4

Regards,
Martin.
 
i have an 08 2.8 quad. thinking of adding another quad for 8 cores. What will I gain with this? Thanks Scot
 
Are SLANZ CPU's required for 3.2 upgrade?

Original post deleted.

After further searching, I found that the SLBxx E0 steppings of the the X5482 won't work in the 2008 Mac Pro. It requires SLAxx C0 CPU's.
 
Last edited:
Does someone here has experience with removing the 3.2 CPU's on a 2008 Pro? The liquid metal thermal paste is worrying me, as you don't have much time with before it can damage both the heatsink and CPU. Air makes it harden etc., and you might need to sand the HS and CPU!

I created a thread on it, but I haven't got a reply yet. I really need to get rid of that liquid metal..

Reading that others are using the 2.8ghz HS with 3.2ghz and normal thermal paste is good news, as I have both 3.2ghz CPU and HS, but I need to remove the logic board, and I'm probably going to use much more than 15-30mins to install it in a new chassis.
 
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