Mac Pro 5,1 Chip Upgrade Options

[nREMfan]

So I kept my planned upgrade on the back burner long enough and now the w3680 is no longer available from ProVantage as mentioned in the Hex upgrade thread.

Is eBay my only option now? I'd like to go through a reputable dealer with a decent price. Or, is there another upgrade option (different chip)? I have the 2010 2.8 quad, btw.

Thank you.

 

[Celedral]

I've emailed Provantage a few times about the w3680 and no response. I usually get a response the next day, but not nothing.

Anyways I decided to look on ebay and found one for $450 with "10minutes" of usage. Low reputation , but the package is shipped and will arrive on monday.

 

[nREMfan]

I've emailed Provantage a few times about the w3680 and no response. I usually get a response the next day, but not nothing.

They emailed me back yesterday and said "the item has been discontinued and won't be replaced". Mind sharing your ebay link?

 

[Celedral]

You can find the link when you search "w3680" in the completed listings. I'll need to verify the package on monday since this seller's reps are 5 only. Good thing paypal has it covered, or at least I hope they do.

What's funny about provantage was their stock count. I saw it slowly count down from 56 to 51 then the next day Out Of Stock.

 

[cscotto]

W3680

Hi,
I was doing the exact same thing. I would check the supply of W3680s. I started noticing lots of "out of stock" and "discontinued" from vendors. I called Provantage and was told the W3680 has been discontinued. Amazon had them at $615.00 for while, then went up to $666.00. Two day ago, Amazon had them at their original price, $615.00, so I snatched it up. Originally, it was back ordered till 11/20. Within an hour, I received an email saying they found one, and my order is shipping early. It will arrive Monday. I went back to check the supply on Amazon, and now they are selling for $699.00. I did not have much luck with ebay. I would say check Amazon daily. What's going on here? I would have thought with the nMP release, the price would have gone steadily down.

BTW: someone mentioned a Hex upgrade thread. I cannot seem to find it. Can someone provide a link since the search engine has been disabled.

 

[nREMfan]

Hi,
BTW: someone mentioned a Hex upgrade thread. I cannot seem to find it. Can someone provide a link since the search engine has been disabled.

This is it:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1122551/

 

[ActionableMango]

What's going on here?

I cannot find the article now, but I believe that Intel last year warned Westmere would be end of life in fall this year. It sounds like they stopped making them recently and supplies dried up.

If there is still demand being driven by upgraders, the price will go up on what little supply is left.

 

[Celedral]

Just watch ebay here and there. It's bound to show up. BUT don't overpay, unless you necessarily have to due to the need for it.

 

[cscotto]

W3680 Ebay

Hi,

A W3680 just showed up on ebay. Starting bid $500, buy it now, $675. It is used. I would check Amazon. I just paid $615 for a new boxed ship. It arrived today.

 

[Celedral]

Oh man, there really is a scarcity for these chips with crazy asking prices. My W3680 from ebay will arrive on monday. Kinda worried about buying it from someone with low feedback.

 

[MacUser2525]

Hi,

A W3680 just showed up on ebay. Starting bid $500, buy it now, $675. It is used. I would check Amazon. I just paid $615 for a new boxed ship. It arrived today.

That is mine from what I have seen pricing wise on there seems fair enough to me it is in perfect working order.

 

[GearHeadG5]

Just a few weeks ago I checked eBay, and I found a number of w3680/3690's for around $550-$600. But now, there seems to be a mass of people that are now buying them up. In other words if your patient, you'll find a good price.

 

[Macshroomer]

You can thank sites like this one for starters. There are several upgrade-centric vendors on eBay who read these places to get a pulse on what people want and have likely bought the chips up due to pent up demand.

I have been mulling over moving up from my single CPU 6x3.33 to a 12 core 3.46 but given the extra 2 grand I would end up paying after selling my hexacore, I am wondering if it might not be more cost effective to wait a few more years and get one or two builds past the new MacPro to really push the envelope.

I really only use my desktop for mostly processing / exporting D800 raw files and some video, not a ton of digi-work since I am phasing that crap out of my professional life. So I do wonder if what I have listed in my sig won't last me awhile longer or if funding the 12 core 3.46 might be the last desktop computer I ever need to buy. I do need at least one computer that I can use FW800 on for my film scanner, that sucker I will be using for years to come.

 

[Silicon Sam]

I was one of those guys keeping an eye on the ProVantage chips, just to watch them disappear before I could buy one. I saw one pop up on Amazon for $644, hit the Buy button, and 2 hours later the seller cancelled the sale, saying there was a pricing error. 2 hours later, mind you. I left bad feedback, and the seller said that Amazon took a week to process my payment, and they sold the chip to someone else. And it was out of their hands. Basically shifting any blame to Amazon. Creeps. (Top100deals)

I finally located one on ebay for $495, and I picked it up in person just a few miles from my house. I did see those $450 ones too, but was leery of a new seller as well.

Swap went well, but now my Temperature monitor program says all my CPU cores are disconnected. Guess it doesn't support the chip?

 

[pertusis1]

Well, it looks like I waited too long.... bummer

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1654351/

I guess I'll keep an eye on eBay, though I hate to think we'll be bidding up prices against one another

 

[jetjaguar]

I got my w3690 for 550 on eBay a few weeks ago

If I upgrade an 8 core to 12 core I will just get used cpus