Mac Pro CPU Upgradeability Confirmed With Processor Swap

[dalupus]

Too bad you can't order the new Mac Pro without any CPUs in it. The problem with ordering a lower model and then upgrading to a higher CPU model is that you're still stuck with the original CPU. I suppose you can try to sell it, but you're not going to get what you paid for it (relative to the cost of the machine) back. Unfortunately, Apple won't sell bare-bones machines and let users upgrade it themselves because they make all their BILLIONS by bending the customer over and shoving the parts in themselves at 200-600% markup.

Well OWC offers the ability to trade in your original mac memory when you buy the upgrade. Maybe they will offer up the CPU's and offer to let you trade in your original CPU.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Too bad you can't order the new Mac Pro without any CPUs in it. The problem with ordering a lower model and then upgrading to a higher CPU model is that you're still stuck with the original CPU. I suppose you can try to sell it, but you're not going to get what you paid for it (relative to the cost of the machine) back. Unfortunately, Apple won't sell bare-bones machines and let users upgrade it themselves because they make all their BILLIONS by bending the customer over and shoving the parts in themselves at 200-600% markup.

Same as it is for any pre-configured OEM machine.

 

[rodrigoluizb]

No there is only one processor in the nMP

I thought the 8-core and the 12-core were made with dual xeons, like the old mac pros

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

If you can replace a hard drive in an '06 iMac than swapping out a CPU is bread & butter. Those iMacs are feckin' nightmares to work on.

Guess you never put your hands on an iBook G3/G4 or 12" Powerbook G4

----------

I thought the 8-core and the 12-core were made with dual xeons, like the old mac pros

There's only 1 CPU socket.

 

[Hitrate]

Ahh so now all the "pro" whiners can shut up (fingers crossed)

 

[deconstruct60]

....
The upgradeable CPU in the Mac Pro is a deviation from standard practice for Apple, with most consumer-oriented Macs featuring soldered processors.

That is largely because most "consumer oriented" Macs are laptops. If narrow the scope to desktops the solderd processors have been the odd-balls of late. The Mac Pro from 2006 to date has been replaceable. The iMac has largely been in the same state for the last 3-4 years since it transition to desktop CPUs. The only thing that backslid of late on the desktop line up is the iris Pros in the 21.5" iMacs.

The mini has always been a laptop derivative design. From the Mac Pro product perspective, there is zero deviation here. It is same thing Apple has been doing for the last several decades and consistently since the transition to Intel.

The more pressing question is why this is being whipped up into some "super duper" news story? It is the same feature that was there for the last decade and it is 'breaking news'.

 

[Nermal]

Ahh so now all the "pro" whiners can shut up (fingers crossed)

You live in hope… but don't forget that an upgradable CPU doesn't equal drive bays or PCIe slots.

 

[DustinT]

I thought the 8-core and the 12-core were made with dual xeons, like the old mac pros

Single Xeon processors with 12 cores. There isn't a dual socket machine in the Mac Pro lineup any longer.

 

[Stephent]

You live in hope… but don't forget that an upgradable CPU doesn't equal drive bays or PCIe slots.

To those people I would quote the Rolling Stones

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

 

[calaverasgrande]

dang, now I wish I had bought a quad core with D700s.
I suppose I'll just beat on it until the 6 core no longer blows me away.
At that point I'm sure the 12 core E5v2's will have come down a bit in price.
Or maybe just get a 10 core or a higher clocked 8 core.

Either way, it is wonderful news that CPUs that don't correspond to Apple's model line up are functional.

 

[Porco]

To those people I would quote the Rolling Stones

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

To be fair, those people might well say:

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no ….

 

[calaverasgrande]

Future upgradability will be limited as when Intel moves their Xeons to Haswell, they're not going to use LGA 2011 anymore, so this generation of chips is all that you will be able to upgrade to.

I was under the impression that the Haswells will keep the same socket but be electrically different. Kind of like Socket 7 and Super Socket 7.
Hopefully they will introduce some kind of idiot proof keying mechanism to prevent sleep deprived IT techs from botching a $2000 CPU.

 

[Goftrey]

Guess you never put your hands on an iBook G3/G4 or 12" Powerbook G4

Yep. Owned both a couple of iBook G3's & a couple of PowerBook G4's. The iBooks are a nasty piece of work but with the PowerBook's there's just a lot of screws your dealing with there, as long as your organised Bob's your uncle

 

[thekev]

The more pressing question is why this is being whipped up into some "super duper" news story? It is the same feature that was there for the last decade and it is 'breaking news'.

I was wondering about that. This is somehow news to tech writers?

 

[Gulaschkanone]

Question is: Will replacing the CPU (or the SSD) void the warranty? Normally only "officially" granted updates like RAM upgrades do not void your warranty...

 

[Stephent]

To be fair, those people might well say:

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no ….

To which the ghost of Steve Jobs would say

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith

 

[57004]

Yep. Owned both a couple of iBook G3's & a couple of PowerBook G4's. The iBooks are a nasty piece of work but with the PowerBook's there's just a lot of screws your dealing with there, as long as your organised Bob's your uncle

The PowerBook wasn't just screws, separating the topcase from the bottom one required a lot of patience if you didn't want to damage it. A lot of clips to loosen with almost no space to maneuver. I hated working on those, the unibodies are so much easier! Even with the funky screws Apple uses, if you buy the right tools it's easy.

But I agree with being organised, I always get some duck tape, tape it upside down on the table (with the ends folded over) and draw a picture of what I'm working on and stick the screws in the right places. That way you can always be sure to get each screw back in the same spot and you don't have to worry about different lengths/threads etc.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Yep. Owned both a couple of iBook G3's & a couple of PowerBook G4's. The iBooks are a nasty piece of work but with the PowerBook's there's just a lot of screws your dealing with there, as long as your organised Bob's your uncle

They were nasty little boogers. Apple sure has come a long way cramming so much in such a little space. Imagine if Apple used the unibody design back in the G3/G4 days.

 

[UncleGuido]

Is the logic board truly identical for all variants of the new Mac Pro? For example, the L3 cache size varies with the different Mac Pro options. Is the L3 cache included inside the CPU package, or is it on the logic board?

 

[dmax35]

All arm chair quarterback apple haters... go stand in the corner in shame. All your left with is your stupid, it looks like a trash can comments.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

Too bad you can't order the new Mac Pro without any CPUs in it. The problem with ordering a lower model and then upgrading to a higher CPU model is that you're still stuck with the original CPU. I suppose you can try to sell it, but you're not going to get what you paid for it (relative to the cost of the machine) back. Unfortunately, Apple won't sell bare-bones machines and let users upgrade it themselves because they make all their BILLIONS by bending the customer over and shoving the parts in themselves at 200-600% markup.

kind of a ridiculous concept. you can buy barebones all over teh web. a mac pro look alike will come around soon enough.

the type of people who hate companies for making a profit is the very reason many people become republicans. this is just pure business, nothing shady. you either want to buy it or you don't. you can't blame apple for making money off of people WHO ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT.

 

[deconstruct60]

Is the L3 cache included inside the CPU package, or is it on the logic board?

Inside the CPU. The socket is the same ( so memory and PCI-e lanes supplied by CPU are the same too ). The supporting chipset on bottom board is the same.

 

[wonderspark]

All arm chair quarterback apple haters... go stand in the corner in shame. All your left with is your stupid, it looks like a trash can comments.

Silly thing to say, but hey - - get it off your chest. Looks like the hater is in the mirror, mang.

I'm thrilled to see the options aren't limited by some awful code or what have you. When I swapped the CPU on my 4,1 from quad to six-core, the extended life and boosted performance keeps it current with my needs, and saves me the need to buy this new version. If we're all *really* lucky, Apple will make another tube with improvements that I can get behind, like Thunderbolt that runs at least 4GB/sec in real-world use! I'm also looking forward to seeing how GPU leverage works out as time marches on. Quite exciting times are yet to come!

 

[Goftrey]

The PowerBook wasn't just screws, separating the topcase from the bottom one required a lot of patience if you didn't want to damage it. A lot of clips to loosen with almost no space to maneuver. I hated working on those, the unibodies are so much easier! Even with the funky screws Apple uses, if you buy the right tools it's easy.

I'm assuming you're on about removing the bottom case? If so then yeah absolutely, although for 90% of repairs/upgrades that isn't necessary.

The top case is a pretty simple process - the clips are little bit of a nuisance but nothing major at all.

 

[AndyUnderscoreR]

Single Xeon processors with 12 cores. There isn't a dual socket machine in the Mac Pro lineup any longer.

Intel have single Xeon processors with 15 cores on their roadmap though.