Mac Pro Mid 2010 Purchased on eBay - Genuine or Flashed Modification?

[CheMillan]

Hello,

How do I find out if my Mac Pro Mid 2010 2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon Nehalem W3530 that I purchased on eBay is a genuine MacPro5,1 Mid 2010 or if it was modified and firmware flashed. The ID identifiers and barcode on the back of the Mac Pro is as follow:

Model No. A1289 EMC No. 2314
MAC PRO 2.8QCX/3X1G/1TB/5770/SD - USA
Serial No. Y*********E (see image)

EveryMac.com list the identifiers for this Mac Pro as: Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, Model A1289, EMC no. 2314-2, but look closer at the attached image and you'll see that the EMC number on the back of my Mac Pro is just 2314 - the -2 is missing.

About This Mac, System Information, and MachineProfile show conflicting information. About This Mac shows: Mac Pro, 2.66 Ghz 6-Core Intel Xeon. System Information shows: Mac Pro, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 Ghz. But…..MachineProfile reports: Mac Pro, Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon CPU X5650, Westmere Processor. (see image)

Why the discrepancies? Some specs don't match. Was this Mac Pro modified or was the Nehalem processor replaced with a Westmere processor the only upgrade? Tell me what you guys think. Any comments are welcome. Thanks

Note: For the purpose of this post I partially covered the serial number of the Mac Pro shown on the attached image.

 

[fendersrule]

Hello,

How do I find out if my Mac Pro Mid 2010 2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon Nehalem W3530 that I purchased on eBay is a genuine MacPro5,1 Mid 2010 or if it was modified and firmware flashed. The ID identifiers and barcode on the back of the Mac Pro is as follow:
Model No. A1289 EMC No. 2314 MAC PRO 2.8QCX/3X1G/1TB/5770/SD - USA
Serial No. Y*********E (see image)

EveryMac.com list the identifiers for this Mac Pro as: Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, Model A1289, EMC no. 2314-2, but look closer at the attached image and you'll see that the EMC number on the back of my Mac Pro is just 2314 - the -2 is missing.

About This Mac, System Information, and MachineProfile show conflicting information. About This Mac shows: Mac Pro, 2.66 Ghz 6-Core Intel Xeon. System Information shows: Mac Pro, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 Ghz. But…..MachineProfile reports: Mac Pro, Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon CPU X5650, Westmere Processor. (see image)

Why the discrepancies? Some specs don't match. Was this Mac Pro modified or was the Nehalem processor replaced with a Westmere processor the only upgrade? Tell me what you guys think. Any comments are welcome. Thanks

Note: For the purpose of this post I partially covered the serial number of the Mac Pro shown on the attached image.

It's a 5,1, the label on the back doesn't lie. 4,1 did not come with 5770.

CPU may have been upgraded, but I'm willing to bet it's a 5,1.

I would also be concerned that the Model identifier is missing on "About this Mac"

 

[chrfr]

Hello,

How do I find out if my Mac Pro Mid 2010 2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon Nehalem W3530 that I purchased on eBay is a genuine MacPro5,1 Mid 2010 or if it was modified and firmware flashed. The ID identifiers and barcode on the back of the Mac Pro is as follow:
Model No. A1289 EMC No. 2314 MAC PRO 2.8QCX/3X1G/1TB/5770/SD - USA
Serial No. Y*********E (see image)

EveryMac.com list the identifiers for this Mac Pro as: Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, Model A1289, EMC no. 2314-2, but look closer at the attached image and you'll see that the EMC number on the back of my Mac Pro is just 2314 - the -2 is missing.

About This Mac, System Information, and MachineProfile show conflicting information. About This Mac shows: Mac Pro, 2.66 Ghz 6-Core Intel Xeon. System Information shows: Mac Pro, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 Ghz. But…..MachineProfile reports: Mac Pro, Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon CPU X5650, Westmere Processor. (see image)

Why the discrepancies? Some specs don't match. Was this Mac Pro modified or was the Nehalem processor replaced with a Westmere processor the only upgrade? Tell me what you guys think. Any comments are welcome. Thanks

Note: For the purpose of this post I partially covered the serial number of the Mac Pro shown on the attached image.

Your CPU has been replaced with a 6-core. It's not necessarily an older CPU; I am writing this on a 2x6core Mid 2012 that has 2 of the same CPUs as your computer. No firmware changes would have been necessary on the 2010 machine to use this CPU.
Flashing the firmware from a 2009 (4,1) to a 5,1 does not change the model description, but it may be that this configuration doesn't match up with anything in the list that the OS uses to identify.
If you enter your serial number here, it'll tell you what Apple thinks the computer is: https://checkcoverage.apple.com

 

[adam9c1]

To show the model identifier on about this Mac you need to be connected to the internet.

Go to https://checkcoverage.apple.com and enter the serial number. You will know if it is a 2009 or 2010.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Hello,

How do I find out if my Mac Pro Mid 2010 2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon Nehalem W3530 that I purchased on eBay is a genuine MacPro5,1 Mid 2010 or if it was modified and firmware flashed. The ID identifiers and barcode on the back of the Mac Pro is as follow:

Model No. A1289 EMC No. 2314
MAC PRO 2.8QCX/3X1G/1TB/5770/SD - USA
Serial No. Y*********E (see image)

EveryMac.com list the identifiers for this Mac Pro as: Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, Model A1289, EMC no. 2314-2, but look closer at the attached image and you'll see that the EMC number on the back of my Mac Pro is just 2314 - the -2 is missing.

About This Mac, System Information, and MachineProfile show conflicting information. About This Mac shows: Mac Pro, 2.66 Ghz 6-Core Intel Xeon. System Information shows: Mac Pro, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 Ghz. But…..MachineProfile reports: Mac Pro, Mid 2010, MacPro5,1, 6-Core Intel Xeon CPU X5650, Westmere Processor. (see image)

Why the discrepancies? Some specs don't match. Was this Mac Pro modified or was the Nehalem processor replaced with a Westmere processor the only upgrade? Tell me what you guys think. Any comments are welcome. Thanks

Note: For the purpose of this post I partially covered the serial number of the Mac Pro shown on the attached image.

this machine looks like it is indeed a real 5,1 to me, but someone has changed the CPU and Graphics card in it.

notice the SMC Firmware version is 1.39f11, on 4,1s even ones flashed to 5,1 it is always 1.39f5.

the serial number tho is very odd thats not a normal serial number I wonder if this is a Prototype or some sort of Apple Demo machine (like the ones used/pictured in the official service guide)

the (Mid 2012) etc you see in about this Mac is generated from your serial number and seeing as yours is not normal its understandable that its not showing any model.

if you can, can you please post photos of the inside of this machine? it would be interesting to see if theres any more anomalies (like if it has a Red/non-black Logic-board or extra diagnostic LEDs that Prototype Mac Pros have)

 

[ActionableMango]

• The sticker shows that the chassis is from a 5,1. Good.
  
  
• Missing model identifier is normal for a BTO/CTO system. Normal.
  
  
• The SMC firmware shows that the CPU tray is a genuine 5,1. Good.
  
  
• x5650 CPU is a strange choice. That's not a standard offering from Apple, nor BTO/CTO as far as I know. It's also a dual-Xeon processor in a single processor machine. It's also one of the slower hexacores. It's totally compatible and totally fine, but it also shows that this was upgraded with a strange choice for a CPU. Odd.
  
  
• The GPU is suspicious. A 5,1 came with HD5770 or HD5870. Your sticker says HD5770. So yours with a GT120 is a pretty big downgrade, and the GT120 happens to be the GPU that comes with the 4,1. If someone changed the GPU, I would expect them to upgrade it, not downgrade it. I wonder if it is even a real Apple GT120 or a flashed PC one. Bad.

 

[adam9c1]

I'm not an expert. I thought that the no model number was due to lack of internet connection. It looks like this 2010 core was built with "spare" "on hand" parts.

My 2009 was a CTO (having dual video adapters) and it does show the model year.

 

[bsbeamer]

Note: For the purpose of this post I partially covered the serial number of the Mac Pro shown on the attached image.

Did you cover the serial number on all the images, or does it indeed have a Y with a bunch of *'s and an E at the end?

 

[CheMillan]

Did you cover the serial number on all the images, or does it indeed have a Y with a bunch of *'s and an E at the end?

Thanks guys,

This is good information, at least it gave me some answers. I'm happy that my Mac Pro is indeed a genuine Mid 2010 which is what I paid for. I plan to remove the Nvidia GT120 and replace it with an ATI Radeon HD 5870 I bought a few months ago. I redacted the serial number on all the images. The serial number on the back of the Mac Pro is authentic, it begins with a Y and ends with an E, it hasn't been tampered or modified in any way, I just covered it.

 

[orph]

wow are the American macpros made in china? my 2 uk ones are made in Ireland (well assembled at least?).
(was a tax loophole i think, assemble computers/things in Ireland to avoid EU import tax?)

 

[bsbeamer]

I redacted the serial number on all the images. The serial number on the back of the Mac Pro is authentic, it begins with a Y and ends with an E, it hasn't been tampered or modified in any way, I just covered it.

That is part of the confusion. Photoshop/replacing them with *'s is making people think it's a test/demo model. You'd be better served putting a black box over the entire serial number, or the portion you want to cover.

 

[LightBulbFun]

wow are the American macpros made in china? my 2 uk ones are made in Ireland (well assembled at least?).
(was a tax loophole i think, assemble computers/things in Ireland to avoid EU import tax?)

I think if the Mac Pro had BTO options chosen it had a higher chance of coming from somewhere like Cork or the USA, where as the OPs model looks like it would of started life as one of the Pre configured off the shelf builds apple would of sold at the likes of an Apple store which where mostly made in Asian countries from what I have seen. I think iMacs are/where the same way too

Most of my Desktop Macs are also Made in Cork, But I have a G3 Beige Mini Tower (with a few BTO options) that was made in the USA (and for reference I also have a baseline G3 BW with no BTO options that was made in Singapore)

 

[kwikdeth]

• 
  
• The GPU is suspicious. A 5,1 came with HD5770 or HD5870. Your sticker says HD5770. So yours with a GT120 is a pretty big downgrade, and the GT120 happens to be the GPU that comes with the 4,1. If someone changed the GPU, I would expect them to upgrade it, not downgrade it. I wonder if it is even a real Apple GT120 or a flashed PC one. Bad.

a quick pic would solve that question quickly. If its got the grey plastic shroud over the card, or it has mini displayport connectors, that's a legit Apple part. what's likely is they just removed the original GPU and put in a lower one. gt120s were somewhat rare in the retail market as they were mostly OEM-only cards.

 

[MisterAndrew]

You could update it to High Sierra with the latest firmware update and see if the model type appears.

 

[RyanXM]

What are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th digits of the serial number? That will give you the year (2009 will be a "9" for the 3rd digit, 2010 will be a "0" or the 3rd digit) and the week of the year that it was assembled. Apple did away with this encoding in the serial number after 2011.

 

[CheMillan]

What are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th digits of the serial number? That will give you the year (2009 will be a "9" for the 3rd digit, 2010 will be a "0" or the 3rd digit) and the week of the year that it was assembled. Apple did away with this encoding in the serial number after 2011.

The third, fourth, and fifth character of the serial number is: 136. Correct me if I'm wrong (1 represents the last digit of the year of manufacture and 36 represents week of manufacture). This would imply that this Mac Pro was manufactured in 2011 week 36 which doesn't makes sense because this Mac Pro is a Mid 2010 model.

 

[adam9c1]

It's a mid 2010 model which was produced in 2011. That's fine. It was made into 2012. The tower was again updated in mid 2012.

 

[h9826790]

The third, fourth, and fifth character of the serial number is: 136. Correct me if I'm wrong (1 represents the last digit of the year of manufacture and 36 represents week of manufacture). This would imply that this Mac Pro was manufactured in 2011 week 36 which doesn't makes sense because this Mac Pro is a Mid 2010 model.

A 2010 model can be manufactured in 2011 (but not the other way around). So, your serial number make perfect sense indeed.

 

[tevion5]

Most of my Desktop Macs are also Made in Cork

Of my collection, made in Cork by my fellow Irishmen/women include:

Macintosh Classic II
Power Macintosh 8600
Power Mac G4 Quicksilver
Power Mac G5 Quad

While my Apple II is a US import, even those were made in Ireland, as early as 1980.
Ireland's being the first factory Apple set up outside the US I believe.