MP 6,1 Trashcan - thinking about acquiring one as a Linux box.

[DCBassman]

I have a couple of decent gigs over New Year/January and hope to treat myself to one of these with some of the proceeds.
The plan is to get what I can find (not easy to get hold of hereabouts), then stick in the 2690 10-core and load MX Linux.
There is no use case. I just want one!
Am I completely nuts?

 

[Flint Ironstag]

Not at all. DO eet! Deployed countless numbers of these for enterprise, and have run dozen+ personally. They have high WAF and are still pretty capable even for GPGPU if you don't need a ton of PCIE bandwidth (and many tasks don't).

For years I ran one solely as a Plex server and it was one of the most trouble-free appliances I've ever owned.

 

[avro707]

then stick in the 2690 10-core and load MX Linux.
There is no use case. I just want one!
Am I completely nuts?

Maybe, but they are lovely.

You could probably get the adapter that lets you run multiple NVME blades for storage then you easily can run MacOS Monterey on one drive and Linux on the other and a third one for your storage.

For the processor, I found the 12 core 2.7ghz to be excellent. Beware the GPUs, some of them are an issue (search the forums).

If you were closer by I'd offer you my one which is perfect condition and maximum specs, original box, even still with the original Apple stickers.

 

[DCBassman]

For the processor, I found the 12 core 2.7ghz to be excellent.

A while back, I had a self-build PC with 2.8GHz 2680 10-core. Only reason my mind went for the 2690 was clock speed/core count sweet spot. It's pure whimsy. As I've said elsewhere on these forums, my actual computing needs can be (and are!) met by a Celeron netbook. Every other computer I own has no function other than fun and curiosity. The 6,1 is now the focus of that curiosity.
I know it is a far cry in ease of upgrade from the cMP, and swapping the CPU won't be a walk in the park, but...I want one!

 

[avro707]

A while back, I had a self-build PC with 2.8GHz 2680 10-core. Only reason my mind went for the 2690 was clock speed/core count sweet spot. It's pure whimsy. As I've said elsewhere on these forums, my actual computing needs can be (and are!) met by a Celeron netbook. Every other computer I own has no function other than fun and curiosity. The 6,1 is now the focus of that curiosity.
I know it is a far cry in ease of upgrade from the cMP, and swapping the CPU won't be a walk in the park, but...I want one!

Watch the videos carefully for how to do the CPU upgrade, some parts need real precision and care!

Have lots of zip lock bags for all the different fasteners and label them all.

Don’t rush the process.

It’s also said that you should never ever upgrade a 6,1 Mac Pro… but anyhow, if you are careful should be okay.

 

[bmoraski]

Am I completely nuts?

Nah, not at all.