Looking to Upgrade my 1,1 Macpro

[Apple Master]

Hi there, I have an old mac 1,1 2.66 dual-core intel xeon and im stuck on Lion. I would like to increase the speed and also upgrade to El Capitan. I see than you can upgrade the intel processors. Would you happen to know what processors are the top speed that are compatible with my macpro? If I upgrade the processors will it run El Capitan without having to tweak the boot software?

I also hear that Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 as well as the 3,1 and 4,1 are now "dead ended at El Capitan. Would it be better to just buy a 5,1 off of Ebay? My budget is less than $400 so I don't know if its worth it to upgrade.

Thanks for your help.

 

[skwareman]

Hi there, I have an old mac 1,1 2.66 dual-core intel xeon and im stuck on Lion. I would like to increase the speed and also upgrade to El Capitan.

I see than you can upgrade the intel processors. Would you happen to know what processors are the top speed that are compatible with my macpro?

Get two x5355 cpu's from ebay, not as expensive as the x5365 but powerfull enough to run El Crapitan. IMHO: i would choose Yosemite, it runs smoother on the 1.1

If I upgrade the processors will it run El Capitan without having to tweak the boot software?

Yes, you need to tweak the boot efi...

I also hear that Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 as well as the 3,1 and 4,1 are now "dead ended at El Capitan. Would it be better to just buy a 5,1 off of Ebay?

With that budget, stick to a upgrade and save money for future updates...

My budget is less than $400 so I don't know if its worth it to upgrade.

Mmmmmhhhhh.

* x5355's = $24 (matched pair)
* 32gb memory = $80 (matched with approved heatsinks)
* 240gb ssd = $60
* better video (gtx 660/670) = $100

Thanks for your help.[You are welcome!]

p.s.

* jank out the superdrive for better cooling of the power supply (and put your ssd there).
* step 1= upgrade to yosemite
* step 2= upgrade firmware to 2,1
* step 3= apply yosefix
* after that = upgrade to 10,5,5

 

[Apple Master]

Damn man thanks for the sweet response, much appreciated. Yes Yosemite, or Sierra when it comes out will be better than Lion, you get the drift. I have 32 GB's of memory already, but the SSD and video card are great ideas that I know I will eventually do. I can get a pair of x5365's for $80 so its not that much difference in price.

I wonder if Sierra will support my mac when it gets the x5365's. Would my comp be seen as a 2,1 a 4,1 or a 5,1 ???

Sierra specs says it will support mac after 2010 and later.



P.S. Would the intel x5680's be overkill? Are they compatible or do you run into bus/heat issues with those?

 

[raymanster]

I don't have a 1,1 but I wouldn't get too hung up on running the latest OS. I could be wrong but in my opinion the new features in Sierra are more gloss then substance, perhaps with the exception of the new Apfs. Apple will still continue with security updates for El Capitan, Yosemite and probably even Mavericks for a long while. So if you can still run the apps you need just buy the upgrades as suggested by Skwareman.

Sierra will run on 2009 Pros that are flashed with 5,1 firmware. It also runs on a 2008 with some trickery, see thread on this forum.

 

[Apple Master]

I don't have a 1,1 but I wouldn't get too hung up on running the latest OS. I could be wrong but in my opinion the new features in Sierra are more gloss then substance, perhaps with the exception of the new Apfs. Apple will still continue with security updates for El Capitan, Yosemite and probably even Mavericks for a long while. So if you can still run the apps you need just buy the upgrades as suggested by Skwareman.

Right, my concern is when I go to sell it and its stuck on Yosemite that it will look even more outdated. When I sell it I want it to have the latest OS. Thats all.

 

[thats all folks]

you can upgrade it to a "2,1". you will still be officially stuck at Lion. you can hack the install for later OSs. but I wouldn't put money into a 1,1 with the hope of recovering it from a sale. there are a ton of these machines available on the used market and they just aren't worth much.

 

[Apple Master]

you can upgrade it to a "2,1". you will still be officially stuck at Lion. you can hack the install for later OSs. but I wouldn't put money into a 1,1 with the hope of recovering it from a sale. there are a ton of these machines available on the used market and they just aren't worth much.

Putting money into it is for my personal use, not to sell. It was just my concern that when I did go to sell it, it might be a better selling point that it has the latest OS and not some outdated version.

Part of my question is ... if I do upgrade to a more current intel chip, will the OS see my comp as a a 2010 or newer computer? Or will every OS I install be a hack no matter what I do?

So if you wouldn't put money into a 1,1 what would you do?

 

[roto1231]

You can pick up a 1,1 for about $250 at Mac of All Trades or a 4,1 for about $450.00. You'd be money ahead if you got the 4,1. You'd be able to go to macOS Sierra just by flashing it to a 5,1 with the firmware update tool. It also takes the same RAM as most servers of the same vintage. With a bit of hunting in your local area you can pick up the RAM from local server resellers for less than you can online. SSDs are cheap now and if all you need the SSD for is a boot drive and base applications a 128GB drive is sufficient. If you want max speed out of the SSD I'd recommend the Accelsior PCIe card for the MacPro which you can drop the SSD on and get 400-500 MB/s read and write because you are right on the PCIe 2.0 BUS.

 

[thats all folks]

Putting money into it is for my personal use, not to sell. It was just my concern that when I did go to sell it, it might be a better selling point that it has the latest OS and not some outdated version.

Part of my question is ... if I do upgrade to a more current intel chip, will the OS see my comp as a a 2010 or newer computer? Or will every OS I install be a hack no matter what I do?

So if you wouldn't put money into a 1,1 what would you do?

you cant upgrade past the chipset that runs the system. that leaves you with 32 bit EFI and several other limitations that effect among other things, which operating system will install natively.

better off getting a 4,1 or 5,1 and work with that, which will be able to be current for at least another 15 months but probably well beyond that. and honestly, so much more powerful. or just buy a new mini or iMac that will future proof you and be more powerful than what you have now.

but over all, my advice, unless it's only as a collector/hobbyist, investing in a 3,1 or earlier is money wasted.

 

[Apple Master]

you cant upgrade past the chipset that runs the system. that leaves you with 32 bit EFI and several other limitations that effect among other things, which operating system will install natively.

better off getting a 4,1 or 5,1 and work with that, which will be able to be current for at least another 15 months but probably well beyond that. and honestly, so much more powerful. or just buy a new mini or iMac that will future proof you and be more powerful than what you have now.

but over all, my advice, unless it's only as a collector/hobbyist, investing in a 3,1 or earlier is money wasted.

5,1's are still pricey but I'm seeing a few 4,1's in the $400 range. If I can sell my tower for $150 and upgrade to a 4,1 then I think that is the best way to go for now.

 

[thats all folks]

5,1's are still pricey but I'm seeing a few 4,1's in the $400 range. If I can sell my tower for $150 and upgrade to a 4,1 then I think that is the best way to go for now.

I have to agree with that approach. and remember, it's pricey to you but considering that for a few grand, you can buy a 7 year old computer, add some new and used parts to build a system that gives comparable performance to what Apple sells new now for triple that. suddenly, it's a bargain.

 

[Apple Master]

you cant upgrade past the chipset that runs the system. that leaves you with 32 bit EFI and several other limitations that effect among other things, which operating system will install natively.

better off getting a 4,1 or 5,1 and work with that, which will be able to be current for at least another 15 months but probably well beyond that. and honestly, so much more powerful. or just buy a new mini or iMac that will future proof you and be more powerful than what you have now.

but over all, my advice, unless it's only as a collector/hobbyist, investing in a 3,1 or earlier is money wasted.

When you say chipset you are referring to the motherboard correct? I believe the 1,1 is 64bit, you just have to update the boot efi to 2,1.

I'm sure the bus speeds are different in the 1,1 and the 4,1 and 5,1s. I wonder what the difference is.

 

[thats all folks]

When you say chipset you are referring to the motherboard correct? I believe the 1,1 is 64bit, you just have to update the boot efi to 2,1.

I'm sure the bus speeds are different in the 1,1 and the 4,1 and 5,1s. I wonder what the difference is.

the chipset is specifically a set of chips that support the CPU but could be more broadly considered the motherboard but also the system architecture. Intel made a major architectural shift between the 3,1 and 4,1. it's been a while so I don't have specifics at the ready but for example the memory controller moved from a secondary system to being on CPU. that has greatly increased memory throughput. also, on multi CPU systems, previously, the chips had to communicate with each other and each others RAM through a controller where as now the communicate directly (QPI). and much more.

so you can on a 1,2 or 2,1 hack the boot EFI and some other bits to install OSes that wont install natively. but that is something you will always be chasing with every update.

but I think my larger point was meant to be that investing in any machine prior to the 4,1 was a bit of a waste as the 4,1 on are truly superior machines all around have a little more time left on them.

 

[jbarley]

so you can on a 1,2 or 2,1 hack the boot EFI and some other bits to install OSes that wont install natively. but that is something you will always be chasing with every update.

Does this "always be chasing" come from your own personal experience, or is it just hearsay?
Because it is not the norm for many, if not most of us who have, and still are running early MacPros with today's current operating systems.
Updating tese systems may have been a problem in the very early years of getting these early MacPros to boot modern OS's but the problem was quickly overcome with the help of some really keen hackers, many who are members of these forums.

 

[thats all folks]

Does this "always be chasing" come from your own personal experience, or is it just hearsay?
Because it is not the norm for many, if not most of us who have, and still are running early MacPros with today's current operating systems.
Updating tese systems may have been a problem in the very early years of getting these early MacPros to boot modern OS's but the problem was quickly overcome with the help of some really keen hackers, many who are members of these forums.

I admit, it's not something I've dealt with. I stuck with 10.6 (and still miss it) until just about 2015 and let go of my 1,1 as part of the changeover. I've just noticed on here that threads that deal with it tend to run dozens of pages and this place has trained me to see that as a topic with more opinions than answers. if things have gotten better that is good news and I wish you all the best in keeping these old tanks running. it certainly seems that they will keep running for many more years.

 

[CapnDavey]

Well I was looking to upgrade mine as well but I found a 8 core 2.66 4.1 for 400 dollars. From the same local dealer I got my 06 from so for 300 more its 3 times as fast it was a no brainer good luck
( Note if I had spent about 100 dollars on a pair of 5365's my 06 mac pro would only be about as fast as a low end 4 core 09 so think about that )

 

[Apple Master]

Well I was looking to upgrade mine as well but I found a 8 core 2.66 4.1 for 400 dollars. From the same local dealer I got my 06 from so for 300 more its 3 times as fast it was a no brainer good luck
( Note if I had spent about 100 dollars on a pair of 5365's my 06 mac pro would only be about as fast as a low end 4 core 09 so think about that )

great deal good find !

do they have any more?

 

[Apple Master]

So I just upgraded my OS from 10.6.8 to 10.7.5. I did this so that I could use unarchiver to uncompress the pike's Yosemite installer. It was in a weird compressed format but anyways, stuffit expander worked to unstuff it and I can now install Yosemite but when I try it says apple needs to check my elegibility to install? WTF?

The other problem I having is that there is a new out of control flickering happening on chrome on video pages and other pages. I wonder is this is a flash issue. It doesnt happen in Safari tho. Apple is really making it a pain to keep my old 2.66 dual. Sorry apple but Im not about to pony up $5,000 for that ashtray when my comp here can do the same thing.

I bought a SSD drive so I'm just waiting for the 3.5 to 2.5 adapter to show up in the mail. I'll prob install Yosemite on that.

 

[jbarley]

So I just upgraded my OS from 10.6.8 to 10.7.5. I did this so that I could use unarchiver to uncompress the pike's Yosemite installer. It was in a weird compressed format but anyways, stuffit expander worked to unstuff it and I can now install Yosemite but when I try it says apple needs to check my elegibility to install? WTF?

The other problem I having is that there is a new out of control flickering happening on chrome on video pages and other pages. I wonder is this is a flash issue. It doesnt happen in Safari tho. Apple is really making it a pain to keep my old 2.66 dual. Sorry apple but Im not about to pony up $5,000 for that ashtray when my comp here can do the same thing.

I bought a SSD drive so I'm just waiting for the 3.5 to 2.5 adapter to show up in the mail. I'll prob install Yosemite on that.

I also ran into that "Apple eligibility" message when I tried running the dmg image from the desktop.
In my case, I solved that by using Carbon Copy to copy the image to a USB pen drive and used the pen drive to boot from.
The install proceeded OK after that.

 

[Apple Master]

I solved the flickering, I'm making a USB boot drive now to get around the eligibility.

 

[Macsonic]

Hi there, I have an old mac 1,1 2.66 dual-core intel xeon and im stuck on Lion. I would like to increase the speed and also upgrade to El Capitan. I see than you can upgrade the intel processors. Would you happen to know what processors are the top speed that are compatible with my macpro? If I upgrade the processors will it run El Capitan without having to tweak the boot software?

I also hear that Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 as well as the 3,1 and 4,1 are now "dead ended at El Capitan. Would it be better to just buy a 5,1 off of Ebay? My budget is less than $400 so I don't know if its worth it to upgrade.

Thanks for your help.

In this video the author made a super upgrade on his 1,1 classic Mac Pro. He upgraded the CPUs to an 8 core Xeon X5355 2.66Ghz, upgraded the GPU to Nvidia GTX 980SC, up the ram and added SSD, WiFi. Upgraded to 2.1 firmware and to Yosemite 10.10. All the answers are here. Though I know that in your other post your budget for the GPU is limited. But in the future you might have a bigger budget and can spend more on the GPU.

Here is another video of another classic Mac Pro 1.1 owner and explains the financial side of using this machine.

Some design studios I work with still uses cMac Pro 1.1 and still running fine. They said though this is an old tech it still helps bring in the income for the day. They're not bothered how old their cMac Pro is.

 

[Apple Master]

Thanks for the reply above. Thats essentially what I am doing. I gotta figure out what the best performance is for the least amount of money in order to get a decent machine. I'm upgrading my mac for personal use plus I might buy some old 1,1's down the road and upgrade them to sell for a profit. If they have all of the latest software on there they might sell at a good price. Not everybody has $3,000 to buy a new ashtray so hopefully upgrading these will be a solution to the high costs.

 

[Macsonic]

Thanks for the reply above. Thats essentially what I am doing. I gotta figure out what the best performance is for the least amount of money in order to get a decent machine. I'm upgrading my mac for personal use plus I might buy some old 1,1's down the road and upgrade them to sell for a profit. If they have all of the latest software on there they might sell at a good price. Not everybody has $3,000 to buy a new ashtray so hopefully upgrading these will be a solution to the high costs.

You're welcome. Nowadays most companies are cost conscious on equipments. It's great if one upgrades his machine at the lowest possible cost. Also another factor is how software responds to hardware. Sometimes the speed gain is minimal when used on different old and newer hardware and cpus. I've used different Macs including the 2013 black tube in clients' offices. Some graphic tasks speed are just almost the same between the classic Mac Pro and the black tube Mac Pro.

 

[CapnDavey]

If you get a cheap sapphire 4870 flash it and get a good deal on a pair of clovertown cpu's maybe extra ram and for under 200 dollars it might be worth doing

 

[Apple Master]

If you get a cheap sapphire 4870 flash it and get a good deal on a pair of clovertown cpu's maybe extra ram and for under 200 dollars it might be worth doing

Great minds think alike that is exactly what I am doing. I just popped in the SSD card and installed Yosemite for the reliability. So far its really nice, the lag on my old nvidia card sucks as expected but my new ati radeon will be here in a few days.

I just wonder what happens to my OS when I update.