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Mac Pro Upgrade..

I

ivangough

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 14, 2002
11
0
Greetings all..

I have a Quad Core Mac Pro (2 x Dual 2.66 GHz Intel Xeon), which I want to upgrade. I'm told the (relatively) new Intel Quad core CPU's like the Clovertown will slot right in, but I cannot fond much info on the net. I need to know which CPU's I can run, and any additional info I might need. FYI.. I make music with the Mac using Logic Pro 7 and Tiger OS, if that helps..

Cheers.
 
It's probably not economically viable to be honest. You need Xeon CPUs which are spectacularly expensive. You can probably sell your existing machine and buy an Octo-core Mac Pro and spend less than you would on two quad-core Xeons! You'd benefit from a faster FSB by doing this as well...

Edit to add: but you'd have to be willing to run Leopard...
 
You would likely want Intel Xeon X5355 Processors, they are 2.66GHz quad cores and should work fine. They will run you around $1200 + tax for a pair new and maybe $800-$1000 from a source like ebay. So as robbieduncan said, probably better selling your current system and buying new.

Now you could of course sell your old processors and get a good deal on ebay for new ones and maybe spend only $600 or so on upgrading. I guess it depends on how much all that hassle is worth to you over getting a faster, newer, in warranty system vs. the difference in cost. There is alot to consider though depending on what your system has, what you'd sell, what youd want from a new one, but Mac Pro's are holding their price well enough that processor upgrades without overclocking aren't the obvious best financial choice.
 
Hey guys, thanks for your replies..

It's more of a convenience thing for me really. I'm a guy who gets a system working, and then I tend to leave it. I rely on my Mac to make a living, and as such I don't want any downtime. That's why I've stuck with Tiger and Logic Pro 7, because it's working fine. I figure that for another $1000, I can almost double the power, and keep working on that machine for another 12-18 months.

Edit... The CPUs I've seen for sale here in Australia are the Intel Xeon 5430's. 2.66 GHz Quad, 12mb Cache, 133 FSB will they do? Also what's the difference between active and passive?
 
Yeah I thought that might be the case. What kind of power bump can I expect?
 
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