It's good information to know, and I'm glad the option is available, but it's not like replacing the CPU on the nMP is like putting in some RAM. From what I read of the teardown, it's a quite laborious job that your average customer would be leery of performing. The use of the word "swap" makes it sound like it's a 10 minute procedure.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Pro CPU Upgradeability Confirmed With Processor Swap
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That is true. They did limit themselves in that regard with the initial launch, but we will undoubtably see a Mac Pro quick upgrade where they upgrade the Motherboard to a Haswell compatible socket. Also I do not know if the processor board is removable, if so they could, but probably won't sell an upgrade board. I don't even know if such an upgrade would be compatible.
I think I'm gonna pick up a refurbished 2nd gen base model. By all accounts, the D300 is good enough (Maybe D500 will be stock by then), I can always upgrade the RAM & CPU at a later date. I could use a little more internal storage, but those will probably be upgradeable in a year or two for a lot cheaper.
I would advise people to still buy an AppleCare warranty and then wait until after it's over to do the upgrade for Three reasons.
1. AppleCare will cover the computer for 3 years.
2. The price of these more expensive chips will come down in price 3 years from now and then it will breath more life into the system because it's out of warranty.
3. These chips aren't covered by Apple's warranty and they'll know what you did since the processor you bought originally is tracked with the serial number.
So, do it AFTER your warranty is over with.
1. AppleCare will cover the computer for 3 years.
2. The price of these more expensive chips will come down in price 3 years from now and then it will breath more life into the system because it's out of warranty.
3. These chips aren't covered by Apple's warranty and they'll know what you did since the processor you bought originally is tracked with the serial number.
So, do it AFTER your warranty is over with.
I think Apple noticed that their gap between new Pro Macs models are so big that user upgradability was necessary now. Then again they could have found this was cheaper than soldering chips to the board thus making even more money. Either way, it's good news for the owner so they can do their own replacement should parts go bad.
You can. But only in HP (Dell etc) workstation that has two sockets. nMP has only one socket.
It would have been a ten minute procedure on my 4,1 Mac Pro, but since I was inspecting things, cleaning dust and generally having fun with it, my swap took about 40 minutes.
If any of you guys want anything to braggingly show to those who said it was soldered on... maybe a little too braggingly:
----------
Could you put 2 of those new 12-core Xeon CPUs in a 2012 Mac Pro (since it has dual sockets)?
----------
Then what's the point of using Xeon?
----------
Could you put 2 of those new 12-core Xeon CPUs in a 2012 Mac Pro (since it has dual sockets)?
----------
Then what's the point of using Xeon?
No. It doesn't. GRR. I seethe with generic rage about video cards! And if it isn't the video cards then it's something else. Double standards exist for a reason. That 8/10 from iFixIt flies in the face of it. Like Celine Dion singing the Titanic theme song, my hate will go on and on.
Not sure I'd use "simple", but then I've never swapped a CPU. (I did successfully replace the HD in a 2006 Core 2 iMac, which certainly wasn't simple).
I did too (the 2006 iMac). Ugh, that was a nightmare. I thought I lost a screw in the computer and looked around for an hour until I realized it was on the floor. I was so mad that it wasn't as easy to open as the iMac G5s, which would totally open up after removing 2 screws from the bottom.
Replacing a CPU is easier but riskier. Last time I did it, the motherboard strangely stopped working unless a CD-ROM drive was attached... not sure if it was my fault.
----------
Hey, if it wasn't for my Mac Pro's PCIe slots, I'd be stuck with a noisy lawnmower Radeon 2600 forever... well I could upgrade to a non-noisy one.
The GPUs are proprietary, but replaceable from the look of the iFixit teardown. I doubt anyone will make a replacement alternative for them, but there may be a limited eBay market, much the way there was for the GeForce 2MX card on the Mac Cube back in the day. Won't be cheap.
I'd be very surprised if the GPU on the next generation of Mac Pro aren't backwards comparable with this generation, which may boost alternatives for people looking to mod-up the tube later.
I'd be very surprised if the GPU on the next generation of Mac Pro aren't backwards comparable with this generation, which may boost alternatives for people looking to mod-up the tube later.
Generally, yes. That's why often you'd have to keep both CPU/SSDs, to place it back when you need it warranted.
The board is replaceable, look at Fixit's teardown. Majority of the components are on separate cards all connected via ribbon cables to the logic board.
It is entirely possible and would be awesome for Apple to actually offer upgrade boards.
That's the thing we have to hope for, that Apple would provide upgrades for older nMPs. There's no reason that such nMPs can't get upgrade parts for the next 2-3 years. Apple can still earn profits at 20% markup on each of the parts.
If Apple does this, then it is possible a lot of more folks would opt for this system rather than something else.
The question is, how much would it cost to upgrade nMPs over 4-5 years than replacing iMacs/MBPs every 2-3 years, would it be worth it?
Wish they follow the same thing for iMacs as well. Aside from 27" ones having RAM user replaceable, rest everything is tucked deep inside. Watching the youtube video to replace RAM in 21.5" itself will give you a mild heart attack.
Normal top end CPU
Normal RAM
Two Titans
Thank you
Suddenly the machine appeals to a MUCH wider marketplace.
I don't see Apple making a consumer based Tower, all the Towers Apple have made are production based machines running Xeon processors ect. If they did iMac and Mac Mini sales would be cannibalized. I know i would sell my iMac and buy a consumer Tower if Apple made one.
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.
Too bad ... then bad Apple wouldn't exist or make any of the great products they make today.
They GIVE away most of the their software. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. They make their money are hardware markups. Everyone knows that.
The shame is Intel processors don't typically drop in price, they just get phased out and a new socket gets introduced.
Guess you never put your hands on an iBook G3/G4 or 12" Powerbook G4
Replacing the HDD in an eMac is a treat as well.
----------
Wish they follow the same thing for iMacs as well. Aside from 27" ones having RAM user replaceable, rest everything is tucked deep inside. Watching the youtube video to replace RAM in 21.5" itself will give you a mild heart attack.
Agreed. That's essentially what made me switch to a mini. I'm not paying Apple to max my RAM...
soon OWC will also offer SSD upgrades
OWC still doesn't have PCIe SSD upgrades for the 2013 Macbook Air...
You would actually cap at 6 with i7 versions, and they cost the same amount anyway. With the socket used for mainstream desktop cpus, you cap out at 4 cores and 32GB of ram. Anyway E5-1600 Xeons only support one socket configurations. Apple uses those on the 4 and 6 core models. They're using 2600s (support dual configurations) on the 8 and 12 core models. The boards only have one socket either way, but that doesn't matter. What matters is whether it suits your personal needs and budget.