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Mac Pro 2010

M

mavericks7913

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Original poster
May 17, 2014
812
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Well, It seems that my school is going to sell Mac Pro 2010 for just $100 which already installed 2X 2.4 quad core, 12gb ram, AMD 5870, and 1tb HDD. They recently replaced all Mac Pros to the newest model with full options.

I def gonna buy it but there few things that I want to know about upgrading.

1. How can I install El Capitan on SSD instead of HDD?

2. If I change CPUs like 2.66 6 cores, will it affect RAM's max speed from 1066mhz to 1333mhz?

3. For PCIE SSD, do I need extra cable?

4. I can't upgrade RAM till I upgrade CPU first right?

5. Are there any solutions to enable hand off features for Mac Pro?
 
mavericks7913 said:
Well, It seems that my school is going to sell Mac Pro 2010 for just $100 which already installed 2X 2.4 quad core, 12gb ram, AMD 5870, and 1tb HDD. They recently replaced all Mac Pros to the newest model with full options.

I def gonna buy it but there few things that I want to know about upgrading.

1. How can I install El Capitan on SSD instead of HDD?

2. If I change CPUs like 2.66 6 cores, will it affect RAM's max speed from 1066mhz to 1333mhz?

3. For PCIE SSD, do I need extra cable?

4. I can't upgrade RAM till I upgrade CPU first right?

5. Are there any solutions to enable hand off features for Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

That is an incredible steal! They're worth waaaaaaaay more than that.

1) Yes
2) If the ram is 1066 it will remain. Upgrade processors and ram to achieve 1333
3) No cable on most of the PCIe cards I've used. The SSD just plugs into the card and the card into the slot
4) Correct
5) Handoff requires WIFI-AC and Bluetooth 4. I've upgraded my 5,1 to that using this: http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p33/Wifi_AC_and_Bluetooth_Airport_Card.html. Never really gained much with this feature though.
 
rawweb said:
That is an incredible steal! They're worth waaaaaaaay more than that.

1) Yes
2) If the ram is 1066 it will remain. Upgrade processors and ram to achieve 1333
3) No cable on most of the PCIe cards I've used. The SSD just plugs into the card and the card into the slot
4) Correct
5) Handoff requires WIFI-AC and Bluetooth 4. I've upgraded my 5,1 to that using this: http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p33/Wifi_AC_and_Bluetooth_Airport_Card.html. Never really gained much with this feature though.
Click to expand...

Ummm I want to know how for the first question. OS is installed in HDD but if I remove it then it will be gone.

For 5th one, it's already out of order. Any other solutions?
 
for the os you would want to create a os usb with disk maker x before you take the drive out. then you would put the new drive in and boot off the usb. id also recommend keeping the old drive formatting it and using it as an extra storage drive. and man you sure did get a steal on that mac $100 is such a steal i paid more then that for my 1,1 pro and you are gettingg a much more beastly band updated machine then what i have. enjoy it id also recommend a beefier gpu idk what but something.
 
jdasikainen said:
for the os you would want to create a os usb with disk maker x before you take the drive out. then you would put the new drive in and boot off the usb. id also recommend keeping the old drive formatting it and using it as an extra storage drive. and man you sure did get a steal on that mac $100 is such a steal i paid more then that for my 1,1 pro and you are gettingg a much more beastly band updated machine then what i have. enjoy it id also recommend a beefier gpu idk what but something.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Very helpful. Well it is a steal but they wanted to get rid of old Mac Pros asap so Im really happy about getting Mac Pro 2010 for just $100 but I need to get it before others do. We'll see.
 
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mavericks7913 said:
Awesome. Very helpful. Well it is a steal but they wanted to get rid of old Mac Pros asap so Im really happy about getting Mac Pro 2010 for just $100 but I need to get it before others do. We'll see.
Click to expand...

If you can, buy like 5. They'd sell like hot cakes here. I know I'd buy one! ;)
 
rawweb said:
If you can, buy like 5. They'd sell like hot cakes here. I know I'd buy one! ;)
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have $500 due to my own uses for supplies...

And they might have a policy to prevent buying more than one Mac Pro.

Also, I can't carry 5 Mac Pros to my house which is 1 hour away from school.
 
mavericks7913 said:
Well, It seems that my school is going to sell Mac Pro 2010 for just $100 which already installed 2X 2.4 quad core, 12gb ram, AMD 5870, and 1tb HDD. They recently replaced all Mac Pros to the newest model with full options.

I def gonna buy it but there few things that I want to know about upgrading.

1. How can I install El Capitan on SSD instead of HDD?

2. If I change CPUs like 2.66 6 cores, will it affect RAM's max speed from 1066mhz to 1333mhz?

3. For PCIE SSD, do I need extra cable?

4. I can't upgrade RAM till I upgrade CPU first right?

5. Are there any solutions to enable hand off features for Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

1) Just install the SSD (plug that into the lower optical bay). And run the install from the current HDD. Select SSD as the target drive. No need to make use boot drive or burn a disc or anything. Since the Mac Pro can hold lots of drives internally, it's very straight forward to make a clean OS installation or clone + upgrade.

2) Yes, the max RAM speed is basically determined by CPU + firmware + RAM. If all of them support 1333, then the max speed it 1333. If any of them max at 1066, then the overall max become 1066.

3) No, but you need a adaptor.

4) you can actually upgrade the RAM before the CPU. The machine will still boot, all RAM will still be recongnise and working. However, they may not run at max speed until you upgrade the CPU.

5) Yes, all you need is a new WiFi + BT mini PCIe card.

P.S if I were you. I will buy all of them and sell the rest at least $500-600 each. So at the end. I can have my own fully upgrade 5,1 for free, or much lower cost.

It's too bad that this deal is not in my town. Otherwise I will ask you to help me get one now without think twice.
[doublepost=1474530332][/doublepost]
mavericks7913 said:
Well, I don't have $500 due to my own uses for supplies...

And they might have a policy to prevent buying more than one Mac Pro.

Also, I can't carry 5 Mac Pros to my house which is 1 hour away from school.
Click to expand...

If there is some policy, then nothing you can do. But for transportation, that's easy to fix. Especially this is a investment, you are going to make some money.
 
Last edited:
Tip for OP: go to www.macsales.com

That's literally the only website dedicated for upgrading older macs and make them run as new again.

They also include really awesome installation videos if you have no idea what to do.

Make sure you buy the right adapter for the SSDs (which are also sold on www.macsales.com)
 
rawweb said:
That is an incredible steal! They're worth waaaaaaaay more than that.

1) Yes
2) If the ram is 1066 it will remain. Upgrade processors and ram to achieve 1333
3) No cable on most of the PCIe cards I've used. The SSD just plugs into the card and the card into the slot
4) Correct
5) Handoff requires WIFI-AC and Bluetooth 4. I've upgraded my 5,1 to that using this: http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p33/Wifi_AC_and_Bluetooth_Airport_Card.html. Never really gained much with this feature though.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hijack this thread, but are you able to use universal copy and paste with this card? And you don't by chance have an apple watch do you? A bunch of us 5,1 owners are trying to figure out if automatic unlock is at all possible on the 5,1.

Thanks for letting me sneak a question in here.
 
Nunyabinez said:
Sorry to hijack this thread, but are you able to use universal copy and paste with this card? And you don't by chance have an apple watch do you? A bunch of us 5,1 owners are trying to figure out if automatic unlock is at all possible on the 5,1.

Thanks for letting me sneak a question in here.
Click to expand...

I haven't updated my 2010 just yet, I just yesterday got my 2009 (5,1 flashed) upgraded. I've got a Tascam audio interface critical to production on the 2010 that seems to break every upgrade since El Cap. Takes Tascam forever to release a fix for the driver. And sadly, after connecting the interface to my rMBP to test last night, it does appear Sierra busted their crummy driver. :(
 
ActionableMango said:
X5690

There is a link to a full list of compatible CPUs in my signature.

So, uh, y'all got any more of those $100 Mac Pros?
Click to expand...

Hmmm will it be worth it to get this instead of 3.06? I usually use Photoshop and Lightroom usually and I do export a lot of images like 500 images.
 
mavericks7913 said:
Hmmm will it be worth it to get this instead of 3.06? I usually use Photoshop and Lightroom usually and I do export a lot of images like 500 images.
Click to expand...

It's definitely not the best bang for the buck... it's like 14% faster for much, much more money.

But you asked what was the fastest, and it's the fastest.
 
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^^^^Agreed, unless you regularly use applications that use more than 8 cores. I have X5677s.

Edit: The answer the OP got to his question #4 is false. You can most definitely upgrade RAM prior to the CPU upgrade. 1333MHz RAM will run @ 1066MHz until a CPU that supports 1333MHz RAM is installed.



Lou
 
Last edited:
AkuskaUK said:
X5677.
Click to expand...
flowrider said:
^^^^Agreed, unless you regularly use applications that use more than 8 cores. I have X5677s.

Edit: The answer the OP got to his question #4 is false. You can most definitely upgrade RAM prior to the CPU upgrade. 1333MHz RAM will run @ 1066MHz until a CPU that supports 1333MHz RAM is installed.



Lou
Click to expand...

Well I use Photoshop and Lightroom mostly. Maybe for Premier Pro. I heard that Adobe programs support multi cores. X5677, X5675, or X5670 seem to be a great choice to me.

Edit: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CC-Multi-Core-Performance-625/ I see that Photoshop require higher frequency instead of multi cores unless I use Premier Pro. I guess I should get X5677.
 
Last edited:
mavericks7913 said:
Well I use Photoshop and Lightroom mostly. Maybe for Premier Pro. I heard that Adobe programs support multi cores. X5677, X5675, or X5670 seem to be a great choice to me.

Edit: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CC-Multi-Core-Performance-625/ I see that Photoshop require higher frequency instead of multi cores unless I use Premier Pro. I guess I should get X5677.
Click to expand...

In fact, Lou is who convinced me to go x5677, I did the upgrade and didn't look back, great processors!
 
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