How should I test Mac Pro 4,1-> 5,1 before buying?

[max2020]

Hi everyone, next week I'm getting (locally) a Mac Pro 4,1 flashed to 5,1.

I need to stress test it before buying to ensure it will perform well, since I will do a lot of upgrades that require a lot of power (more RAM, Pixlas mod and Vega 64/5700XT, X5690 upgrade, multiple PCI cards and full HD and optical bays), and it would be a real PITA to find out there's something wrong with the board, or the PSU, or the provided HDs.

Can you please recommend me some programs to stress test it so I tell the owner to have them ready and later this week when I go check it I can run them? Any other advice or anything I should check out? I would really appreciate if you help me out.

I read that some PSUs tend to die early, so there a way to check out that the PSU delivers 980W (or close) and that it works properly so I can be sure it is not going to fail any time soon?

I read that it is recommended to test Macs with ASD (Apple System Diagnostic), but since it is flashed to 5,1, would I need to bring a copy that works with a 4,1 or 5,1, and how long does it take to complete?

I'm sorry if this is the wrong section for this post, feel free to correct me. I would really appreciate if you help me out with this.

 

[KeesMacPro]

Since you're planning on ,more or less, replace about all the parts except for the PSU, Logic Board and the Processor Board, the results of a stresstest might not be very significant ...
e.g. with a Vega 64 the power draw is lets say ~10X the original GT120...

Anyway with running e.g. Unigine Heaven (GPU), GeekBench (CPU /GPU), Luxmark (GPU/CPU) or Cinebench you can tell if the MP is working correctly I assume.

You could run DriveDX to test the HDD, but if the HDD is about 10 years old, I wouldn't rely on it anyway..

AFAIK there's no app to test the PSU.

Check the NorthBridge rivets (visually)that hold the small heatsink, its a typical Achilles, the plastic can break after all these years of heat, resulting in too high Temps for the NB.(Its next to CPU A, halfway underneath the CPU heatsink).


Since you don't know the history of the MP, its hard to tell the way it has been used.
They're very well made but still 11 years old...

First thing I'd do after buying it, would be clean it thoroughly and de-dust it completely and repast the NB.
Second install MacsFanControl ,iStats menus or so to monitor the Temps .
A download of the Technician Guide for this model is recommended too, for maintenance, disassembly and troubleshooting.

 

[max2020]

Ok so I guess I'll test it with cinebench and ASD. Thanks for your answer