I've been debating building an OC'd i7 hackintosh or just paying the apple tax for peace of mind by purchasing a refurbished Mac Pro 2.66 quad nehalem and upgrading the processor to a Xeon W3570. I assume this is fairly easy to perform. Does anybody have experience with this?
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Install Xeon W3570 in MP 2.66 Quad?
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Just make sure your socket is correct. If you do some searching you can find several examples of similar upgrades being done. Just make sure you know your MacPro model and the cpu socket it uses but I am sure you are already well aware of this already.
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that came with 2x2.66Ghz Xeons, I purchased two 2.33 Cloverton quad cores and put those in my mac pro and they run percectly. I have built hundreds of PCs in the past and the swap was very easy IMHO. I don't know how tricky it is in the new Mac Pros but I am sure you can find a teardown guide somewhere and it should be pretty easy.
Like me you may even be able to sell your CPU on ebay, I sold my two dual core Xeons for more than the two new quad cores cost so I came out about $100 ahead after the upgrade.
Good luck and report back on what you find out.
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that came with 2x2.66Ghz Xeons, I purchased two 2.33 Cloverton quad cores and put those in my mac pro and they run percectly. I have built hundreds of PCs in the past and the swap was very easy IMHO. I don't know how tricky it is in the new Mac Pros but I am sure you can find a teardown guide somewhere and it should be pretty easy.
Like me you may even be able to sell your CPU on ebay, I sold my two dual core Xeons for more than the two new quad cores cost so I came out about $100 ahead after the upgrade.
Good luck and report back on what you find out.
Hi Altimeter88,
Very interesting, I've got MAc Pro 1,1 2006 with Dual-Core Intel Xeon (5150 i think) could you please confirm that you had only to replace the two processors ? and now you run 8 cores ?
Thanks for your help
Yes, you can drop the W3570 in a base '09 Quad.
Those models use the IHS (integrated heat sink) on the processors, so you won't have to worry about finding the thermal gap material needed with the "naked" processors used in the DP systems.
You do have to be cautious though, as you can bend pins on the socket. The DP systems don't have the latch you find on PC boards (LGA1366 or any other for that matter), and IIRC, it's the same on the SP models as well.
As per the 2006 MP, the fastest chip you can drop in, is the X5365 (3.0GHz Quad Core units). Several people have done it, and located deals on eBay for the CPU's (they pop up from time to time).
curious if anyone has any experience or speculation to add about using the new (quite cost effective) Intel w3565 processor in an '09 quad....
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=39721
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=39721
VT = Yes
VT-d = No
QPI runs at 4.8 GT/s rather than 6.4 GT/s
Always the compromises...
You can do it, you just have to get the clovertown ones. It's the 5300 series. Those work perfect in the Mac Pro 1,1.
I have the same 2.66 Ghz Mac Pro 1,1 and I'm going to upgrade the processors in mine probably with in the next 6 months.
I also did the 5150 upgrade to 5365s on my previous system. It is easy except for the use of an unusual hex key with a long handle. This is needed for the bolts that fix the heat sinks on the logic board. They are not always readily available everywhere.
One other thing I would observe for a Woodcrest to Clovertown upgrade is the CPU frequency. If you actually drop the frequency you end up with a slower Mac for mono threaded apps. Thy are still by far the most used applications and you don't want to slow down your Mac.
One other thing I would observe for a Woodcrest to Clovertown upgrade is the CPU frequency. If you actually drop the frequency you end up with a slower Mac for mono threaded apps. Thy are still by far the most used applications and you don't want to slow down your Mac.
I still have some questions.
According to Intel informations here attached, i found the following:
1 - FSB Parity is not used with X5365 3 Ghz
2 - Power is 65 W for 5150, 120 W for X5355 2.66 Ghz and 150 W for X5365 3 Ghz
3 - PLGA771 support is needed for X5365 3 Ghz
4 - Enhanced Halt State is not present on 5150 but enabled on X5355 and X5365
5 - Intel Demand based switching is not present on 5150 but enabled on X5355 and X5365
My choice would go to X5355 2.66 Ghz that still have "FSB parity", gain "Enhanced Halt State" and "Intel Demand based switching" and keep the same socket.
About the power, double from 5150 2.66 Ghz to X5355 2.66 Ghz (understandable double number of cores...) does it make your Mac Pro more hot ? and mainboard doesn't suffer with double amps ?
Thanks,
According to Intel informations here attached, i found the following:
1 - FSB Parity is not used with X5365 3 Ghz
2 - Power is 65 W for 5150, 120 W for X5355 2.66 Ghz and 150 W for X5365 3 Ghz
3 - PLGA771 support is needed for X5365 3 Ghz
4 - Enhanced Halt State is not present on 5150 but enabled on X5355 and X5365
5 - Intel Demand based switching is not present on 5150 but enabled on X5355 and X5365
My choice would go to X5355 2.66 Ghz that still have "FSB parity", gain "Enhanced Halt State" and "Intel Demand based switching" and keep the same socket.
About the power, double from 5150 2.66 Ghz to X5355 2.66 Ghz (understandable double number of cores...) does it make your Mac Pro more hot ? and mainboard doesn't suffer with double amps ?
Thanks,
Attachments
You should consider the recently announced W3565 (3.2GHz) at approx $560 vs. the W3570 (3.3GHz) at $1000.
VT = Yes
VT-d = No
QPI runs at 4.8 GT/s rather than 6.4 GT/s
Always the compromises...
How would 4.8GT/s vs 6.4 GT/s make the system slower when using handbrake? Same goes for VT-d?
Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E5310 1.60 2x4 1066 80
L5310 1.60 2x4 1066 50
E5320 1.83 2x4 1066 80
L5320 1.83 2x4 1066 50
E5335 2.00 2x4 1333 80
L5335 2.00 2x4 1333 50
E5345 2.33 2x4 1333 80
X5355 2.66 2x4 1333 120
X5365 3.00 2x4 1333 120
Only the X5355 and the X5365 have at least 2,66 GHz. They both run a TDP of 120 W. According to praxis experience the 120 W are well within the envelope of the original MP1,1 design. No problems with that. All Woodcrest and Clovertown CPUs use the LGA771
socket. The MP1,1 and MP2,1 both used the Intel 5100 San Clemente chipset with ESB2 SATA. There are no features on the X53xx chips that cannot run in the MP1,1.
I was just posting the differences between the chips. Whether or not it will impact specific usage, is up to the individual, as not everyone will use it the same way.
In the case of handbrake, it won't make any difference at all. But for software that's PCIe or disk intensive it could (anything outside the CPU, save the memory), as the system is waiting for for data (QPI is shared by the chipset and ICH10R on the board, so it affects the throughputs of PCI (NIC and audio), PCIe devices, and disk drives). VT-d would be important to those that run VM's.
I was just curious becuase the only time I wish I had more CPU power is when encoding blu rays to m4v in Handbrake...so I'm trying to decide if this or a 3580 would best suit me.
Increased clock speeds would benefit you, as the encoding process is CPU bound. Disk performance helps too, but a single drive won't be affected by the differences in QPI GT/s rates, as the drive throughput is the bottleneck for that aspect.
Interesting that the W3565 was just released. Most places sell the W3570 for nearly $1K, but I was able to find a few vendors in the $600-650 range. The 65 and 70 seem identical except for the QPI speed (4.8 vs 6.4).
Thanks, my chipsets are known as Intel 5000X, is it correct ?
http://www.intel.com/products/server/chipsets/index.htm?iid=serv_nav+chip
There's a little more than just the QPI throughput. The VT-d feature is missing on the W3565. Other than those two issues, the feature set is the same.
For an '06, yes.
Yes, you are right. The 5000X had the ESB. The 5100 had an ICH9. It looks like Apple skipped that one.
Mac CPU upgrade Works, "About this Mac" fixed ...
So I got two intel xeons 5365's in my early mac pro and its running like a champ. Somehow cooler and quieter too... instillation was easy with this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOF435jCg8E
took about 20 minutes. make sure you have that 9" hex wrench... that was the only tool I had to buy. (Ace Hardware online)
ONE THING that sucked until today was that in the "About this Mac" in the apple menu it said "unknown"... which wasnt a big deal until I tried to install Silverlight on my box to watch Netflix and it said "not compatible with PowerPC"... You see, "unknown" and "powerPC" seem to be the same thing to this particular installer...
Then I found this thread:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98775
its a little installer that once you run it, it will automatically put the CPU info in the "About this Mac" document, solving the last issue I might have had.
I have to say, if anyone wanted to argue the power of the intertubes... it wouldnt be wise to do it with me... so much information, sitting out there, waiting...
So I got two intel xeons 5365's in my early mac pro and its running like a champ. Somehow cooler and quieter too... instillation was easy with this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOF435jCg8E
took about 20 minutes. make sure you have that 9" hex wrench... that was the only tool I had to buy. (Ace Hardware online)
ONE THING that sucked until today was that in the "About this Mac" in the apple menu it said "unknown"... which wasnt a big deal until I tried to install Silverlight on my box to watch Netflix and it said "not compatible with PowerPC"... You see, "unknown" and "powerPC" seem to be the same thing to this particular installer...
Then I found this thread:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98775
its a little installer that once you run it, it will automatically put the CPU info in the "About this Mac" document, solving the last issue I might have had.
I have to say, if anyone wanted to argue the power of the intertubes... it wouldnt be wise to do it with me... so much information, sitting out there, waiting...
Hi! About to purchase OEM Intel w3580 or w3570
Nanofrog,
I also have a 2.66 single quad-core mac pro.. In July as a birthday present, I plan to get the w3580 or w3570 - like the other person.. will this be just a simple drop in replacement? I know to apply artic silver evenly throughout the die of the chip, being careful not to overdo it.
However, for those with duals - its much more difficult and from what I gather not possible.
Nanofrog,
I also have a 2.66 single quad-core mac pro.. In July as a birthday present, I plan to get the w3580 or w3570 - like the other person.. will this be just a simple drop in replacement? I know to apply artic silver evenly throughout the die of the chip, being careful not to overdo it.
However, for those with duals - its much more difficult and from what I gather not possible.
Yes, you can drop the W3570 in a base '09 Quad.
Those models use the IHS (integrated heat sink) on the processors, so you won't have to worry about finding the thermal gap material needed with the "naked" processors used in the DP systems.
You do have to be cautious though, as you can bend pins on the socket. The DP systems don't have the latch you find on PC boards (LGA1366 or any other for that matter), and IIRC, it's the same on the SP models as well.
As per the 2006 MP, the fastest chip you can drop in, is the X5365 (3.0GHz Quad Core units). Several people have done it, and located deals on eBay for the CPU's (they pop up from time to time).