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What did you get, CPU upgrades 4.1 and 5.1

raymanster

raymanster

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 13, 2008
357
128
UK
Picked up a cMP 4.1 with a single 2.6 ghz w3520 CPU earlier this week. It passed numerous stress tests I threw at it using Geekbench. I was a bit worried as I bought it well below average market price here, so thought something must be wrong with it! 5 days now and so far so good, touch wood.

Got excited, did the flash to 5.1 firmware, installed 32 GB of 1333 mhz RAM. I was obsessing over CPUs all week, found a deal on a x5670 (2.93 hex core) which I just received and installed today. Seems to be working, just running a few more stress tests, hoping for no errors, fingers crossed.

Just wondering what CPUs other new 4.1 and 5.1 owners are throwing in at the moment? Ideally I wanted an x5690 but they are close to 300 UK pounds or US $300-400. A x5680 at 150-180 UK pounds or $200-250 are also quite pricey, so I settled for the x5670 which was again half the price of that.

My x5670 is getting around 5-10% less performance then the x5680 according to Geekbench. For my use that is fine, and the extra 5-10% performance is not worth paying double.

These things are so much fun, such a shame Apple stopped making them like this.
 
W3690 for $165 (9 months ago).

I have no idea why prices are skyrocketing for used Westmere CPUs with the highest clocks. Something has severely changed the supply/demand equation, but I don't know what.
 
I definitely agree with your last paragraph. These are incredibly fun machines. After buying new and later selling a 2010 quad-core several years ago, I became interested in these Mac Pros again a little over a year ago and have bought and upgraded three 2009s:

Single processor (originally 2.66 GHz), upgraded to X5680 (purchased for $190 in December 2014).
Dual processor (originally 2.93 GHz), upgraded to dual X5680 (purchased for $125/each in August 2015).
Dual processor (originally 2.26 GHz), upgraded to dual X5677 (purchased for $69/each in January 2016).

The processors for the two dual systems were delidded by box185, so there was some additional cost there.

At present I think the best budget options are X5670, X5675, and X5677, but I wouldn't be surprised if the price of the W3680/X5680 comes down again to a more reasonable level.

(And no, I really don't need three Mac Pros. :) The dual X5680 will be sold soon, and maybe the single X5680 too, though I'm currently leaning towards keeping it as a backup/test system.)
 
ActionableMango said:
W3690 for $165 (9 months ago).

I have no idea why prices are skyrocketing for used Westmere CPUs with the highest clocks. Something has severely changed the supply/demand equation, but I don't know what.
Click to expand...

Dwindling Supply, More Savvy cMP users, the Lack of Apple to build a real Mac Pro and etc. Really makes a lot of sense. If eBay shows us anything it proves the law of supply and demand.

Lou
 
It's addicting and fun.... expensive... all at the same time. Congrats on your machine and upgrades. These cMP are one of the best Apple products ever had put out. It has come a long way from the old PowerPc 603e machines (beige towers). My 2009 is running strong and is still keeping up with my needs.
 
I am really happy with my 12 Core 3.06GHz - seemed like a nice compromise between power and performance, when I upgraded. Went to 48GB of RAM leaving a slot in each CPU bay open, plenty for my VMware machines running. Have 18TB of spinning drives and 3TB with 4 SSD on a built in bracket driven by two CLADigit FASTA-6GU3 cards, which also provide USB 3 plus external eSata connections. I added a Bluray into the second optical bay and a flashed and resistor changed overclocked Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD graphics card. I also upgraded the WiFi BT for continuity. There is also an Inateck 4 Port USB 3 card, which has the pain of needing an internal power connection, but works reliably. I had to tie in internal power wiring for the SSDs anyway, so this was not a real issue. It is currently hooked to a 28" LED Cinema and Magic 2 Keyboard, trackpad, and mouse.

"Neptune" is running 24/7 and in daily use for work (I am a CTO) and play (audio, video, some gaming - not enough.)

Also have a MacBook Pro Retina and MacBook Air 2011 both upgraded to 1TB SSD. The Pro is running with a Thunderbolt display. Happy with all of this gear. Not much temptation to trade up. And my Mac Pro 2,1 is also still going strong with 3.0Ghz 8 Core, 32GB or RAM, a 512 GB SSD and a bunch of spinners. My original Metal Cinema flaked, so it is back to the 24" really old one I bought with it originally, when it was still a 1,1.
 
flowrider said:
Dwindling Supply, More Savvy cMP users, the Lack of Apple to build a real Mac Pro and etc. Really makes a lot of sense. If eBay shows us anything it proves the law of supply and demand.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling that a false market has been created & people are asking these high prices speculatively. The number of Mac Pros in the market for upgrading must be tiny compared to the numbers of Xeon servers with suitable CPUs. You can find complete dual Xeon servers for the same sort of price as a pair of CPUs. I think that the prices will drop when all those sellers who have speculated in CPUs find that there are not sufficient takers for their overpriced CPUs.
 
DPUser said:
I just paid $175 for a W3690 yesterday on Ebay. Made an offer, which was accepted.

Will be building my second 4,1 > 5,1 cMP hex very soon.
Click to expand...
I have 2 Mac Pros as the vendor gave me a second one for just $180, but not sure what to do with 2! What do you plan on using your second for?
 
Great question. I have two as well. At first it was because I had two music studios. I'm kind if holding on because I might again. But I'm making it so I can use Boty at the sane time. But since I upgraded them both do they're 3.46 in not sure how necessary it is.
 
Replaced the original 2.66 Nehalem with a W3680 a couple months ago, and am very pleased with the upgrade. I used a service rather than doing it myself, since this box is my livelihood. The extra $200-ish for the service was worth it to me, and I don't need the extra 120 Mhz from the W3690 given the price premium involved.
 
I replaced the 2 x 2.4 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons in my 2010 Mac Pro with 2 x 3.33 GHz Hex Core Intel Xeons (X5680). I was originally looking to max it out with X5690s, but deals on the X5680s were much better and the difference between the two wasn't really going to be noticeable.
 
Last edited:
BillyBobBongo said:
I replaced the 2 x 2.4 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons in my 2010 Mac Pro with 2 x 3.33 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons (X5680). I was originally looking to max it out with X5690s, but deals on the X5680s were much better and the difference between the two wasn't really going to be noticeable.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1456662817][/doublepost]BBB....suggestions on where and how much to pay for a pair of X5680's today? Did you take the ebay route?
 
yuma said:
[doublepost=1456662817][/doublepost]BBB....suggestions on where and how much to pay for a pair of X5680's today? Did you take the ebay route?
Click to expand...
I'm actually based in the Netherlands, and eBay isn't that helpful for us over here. We have other options, but as it happens another forum user was able to set me up a deal through.

I'd probably be willing to pay between $400 and $500 for a matched pair. They've gone up a bit on prices since I purchased them, I paid 310 euros which is about $340 in todays money.

-Edit-

Here's one on eBay that I would consider a good deal - http://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHING-PA...050035?hash=item35fa62ddf3:g:ihQAAOSw5dNWpukX
 
BillyBobBongo said:
I replaced the 2 x 2.4 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons in my 2010 Mac Pro with 2 x 3.33 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons (X5680). I was originally looking to max it out with X5690s, but deals on the X5680s were much better and the difference between the two wasn't really going to be noticeable.
Click to expand...

You got an even better deal than you thought. 5680s are Hexa Cores !
 
My second Mac Pro will be:

1. My recording studio Mac backup. I can't afford downtime.
2. A host for Virtual Instruments networked to the studio via Ethernet and Vienna Pro.
3. Newsletter and photo editing, general business use.
4. Test mule for El Cap (studio is running purrfectly under Mountain Lion)
 
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There's a Dell Workstation with W3690 CPU that sold for about $157. That's less than bare W3690 CPUs are selling for. The cost of shipping an entire worthless workstation means that the rest of the computer actually has negative value compared to just the CPU.

Macs may cost more, but they hold their value. Mac Pros with hexacores from the same Westmere era as that Dell go for several hundred dollars to over $1000.

nigelbb said:
I have a feeling that a false market has been created & people are asking these high prices speculatively.
Click to expand...

I look at "sold listings", so it's not just asking prices, it's what people have actually paid.
 
Yeah, saw a "kit" for $900 that had sold 115 times.

Glad I upgraded all my machines to 5680s and 5690s a year ago, was much better deal.

Gotta look through my CPU drawer, may have gotten some extras.
 
Some of the huge price differences too can be because people with X58-motherboard PCs are snapping up these 6-cores as an upgrade path from i7 920/930/940.

I know I personally did, grabbed a X5650 (2.66 GHz 6-core), overclocked it to 4.4 GHz. It's a beast
 
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