mac pro 1.1 upgrade

im interested in buying a MAC PRO 1.1, what is the best upgrade i can go for it? cpu ect.??
i want to run logic 9 and dont want any problems or lagging.

any info helpful.
thanks
lj

There really aren't any cpu upgrades (at least no cpu upgrades that are sold as "plug & play").

You can upgrade the HD, ram, an add video cards.

- Nick

but i can see how to's on google of people upgrading their cpus? and what would a 1.1 be like with logic 9? would it be powerful enough for it?

lj

ljpaddock said:

but i can see how to's on google of people upgrading their cpus? and what would a 1.1 be like with logic 9? would it be powerful enough for it?

lj

Click to expand...

Yes...that's what I was trying to say...you can find some info on how to upgrade the cpu on a Mac Pro 1,1...but these are all unsupported upgrades. And believe me...not that many folks have done it. It's not really that cheap (some "upgrades") can cost up to $500 bucks (about half the cost of buying a used Mac Pro 1,1).

And like I mentioned...you won't find this "upgrade" sold at the Apple Store or any other internet store. It's a total DIY project. If you don't know what you're doing...you could trash a $1000+ computer!

As far as Logic 9 on a Mac Pro 1,1. There shouldn't be any issues...the Mac Pro 1,1 easily meets the system requirements for Logic 9:

Apple - Logic Studio - Technical Specifications

HTH,

- Nick

A Mac Pro 1.1 can be upgraded from a Dual Core to a Quad Core by obtaining a pair of Intel X5365 processors for 3GHz, or X5355 for 2.6GHz and these are the only upgraded CPU's that will work in the 1.1 Mac Pro. Hold your breath whilst you check pricing even second hand through auction sites such as eBay. About as much again as you will pay for a 1.1 Mac Pro. Have upgraded my Mac Pro and it is quite an involved job changing CPU's but PM me for more information. Not the sort of job for first up Mac newbies. A computer technician will charge about $150 to install the CPU's as it is a job that takes 1-2 hours.

Personally, would pop in a Mercury Extreme Solid State Drive from OWC, not cheap but lightning fast, upgrade memory to at least 8GB for what you want and improve the graphics card to al least the nVidia GeForce 8800GTS.

A standard Mac Pro 1.1 will eat Logic 9 as Nick has stated.

Here is OWC web site for all things Mac.

http://www.macsales.com/

harryb2448 said:

A Mac Pro 1.1 can be upgraded from a Dual Core to a Quad Core by obtaining a pair of Intel X5365 processors for 3GHz, or X5355 for 2.6GHz and these are the only upgraded CPU's that will work in the 1.1 Mac Pro. Hold your breath whilst you check pricing even second hand through auction sites such as eBay. About as much again as you will pay for a 1.1 Mac Pro. Have upgraded my Mac Pro and it is quite an involved job changing CPU's but PM me for more information. Not the sort of job for first up Mac newbies. A computer technician will charge about $150 to install the CPU's as it is a job that takes 1-2 hours.

Click to expand...

I've considered this upgrade on my Mac Pro Harry...but like you said...it's not exactly a "cheap" upgrade...and not for someone who hasn't done this sort of thing before.

- Nick

harryb2448 said:

A Mac Pro 1.1 can be upgraded from a Dual Core to a Quad Core by obtaining a pair of Intel X5365 processors for 3GHz, or X5355 for 2.6GHz and these are the only upgraded CPU's that will work in the 1.1 Mac Pro. Hold your breath whilst you check pricing even second hand through auction sites such as eBay. About as much again as you will pay for a 1.1 Mac Pro. Have upgraded my Mac Pro and it is quite an involved job changing CPU's but PM me for more information. Not the sort of job for first up Mac newbies. A computer technician will charge about $150 to install the CPU's as it is a job that takes 1-2 hours.

Personally, would pop in a Mercury Extreme Solid State Drive from OWC, not cheap but lightning fast, upgrade memory to at least 8GB for what you want and improve the graphics card to al least the nVidia GeForce 8800GTS.

A standard Mac Pro 1.1 will eat Logic 9 as Nick has stated.

Here is OWC web site for all things Mac.

Performance Upgrades; FireWire USB SATA Storage; Memory, more at OWC

Click to expand...

Not exactly right or at least complete. E5345's will also work as will X5160s, which depending on which flavour (2.0, 2.66, 3.0) you have are all upgrades for a Mac Pro 1.1. The quads you mention (Clovertown's) are ridiculously expensive for old CPUs. The E5345 (quad 2.33 Clovertown) can be had on eBay for around $450 a pair. The X5160 (dual 3.0 Woodcrest), which is actually one of the original Mac Pro 1.1 CPU offerings is a decent upgrade for anyone with a 2.0 or 2.66 as they are cheap on eBay. I recently picked up a pair for $79.

There are videos out there for how to do the upgrade and if you are at all comfortable mucking around on the inside of a computer or have changed a CPU in the past on a PC, it really isn't that difficult, certainly not wroth $150 bucks for some tech you don't know who could much it up just as bad you doing it yourself if you don't take the necessary precautions and educate yourself ahead of time. You really just need a screw driver and a long 3mm hex driver to get the heatsinks off and patience.

pigoo3 said:

Yes...that's what I was trying to say...you can find some info on how to upgrade the cpu on a Mac Pro 1,1...but these are all unsupported upgrades...[/url]

Click to expand...

What kind of "support" are you going to get with any 4 year old Mac Pro. Even if you had Apple Care it is most likely run out by now or soon will. ;D

With 5160's being Dual Core, a Quad Core would be a huge improvement. And 5345 whilst being Quad Core are 2.33Ghz ~ alright for those moving backwards lol!

And the OP asked for advice on a 1.1 specifically. If some of us want 1.1 so be it without smart advice. We even offer assistance with iMac G3's.

screature said:

What kind of "support" are you going to get with any 4 year old Mac Pro. Even if you had Apple Care it is most likely run out by now or soon will. ;D

Click to expand...

I don't think you understand what I mean by an "unsupported upgrade" when it comes to upgrading the cpu on a 1st gen. Mac Pro...but let me say that it had nothing to do with support from Apple or Applecare.

- Nick

harryb2448 said:

With 5160's being Dual Core, a Quad Core would be a huge improvement. And 5345 whilst being Quad Core are 2.33Ghz ~ alright for those moving backwards lol!

And the OP asked for advice on a 1.1 specifically. If some of us want 1.1 so be it without smart advice. We even offer assistance with iMac G3's.

Click to expand...

And has been mentioned by yourself and others, very expensive bang for the buck relatively speaking... and despite your "Quad Core would be a huge improvement" statement you previously still somewhat discouraged it...?

It depends on what you are doing and where you are coming from... lol. If you have a quad 2.0 Mac Pro 1.1 a 2.33 octo is a HUGE improvement. Even if you have a 2.66 quad a 2.33 octo is a HUGE improvement for video related work... it is all relative. ;D

I only provided specifically 1.1 advice. Your post was not comprehensive, I merely added to your incomplete post... What the heck is the relevance of "We even offer assistance with iMac G3's"... a little bit of irrelevant self promotion???

"If some of us want 1.1 so be it without smart advice." What? You don't want to provide smart advice????

If the OP has previous experience upgrading CPUs on a PC, with the instructions that are available on the web for the Mac Pro 1.1, it isn't that big a deal IMHO.

pigoo3 said:

I don't think you understand what I mean by an "unsupported upgrade" when it comes to upgrading the cpu on a 1st gen. Mac Pro...but let me say that it had nothing to do with support from Apple or Applecare.

- Nick

Click to expand...

So please explain what you mean by "supported" on a Mac Pro 1.1 that is unlikely to have any relevant Apple Care and processors that are almost certainly to be used (as they are 3+ years old technology at this point)...

Because I really don't understand what "support" could possibly be provided in the given circumstance.

screature said:

So please explain what you mean by "supported" on a Mac Pro 1.1 that is unlikely to have any relevant Apple Care and processors that are almost certainly to be used (as they are 3+ years old technology at this point)...

Because I really don't understand what "support" could possibly be provided in the given circumstance.

Click to expand...

No thanks. All 4 of your posts on Mac-Forums so far have had a VERY negative tone to them...so it would seem that you're really not interested in information...but more of an argument.

In my humble opinion...that's not much fun.

Have a good one!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

No thanks. All 4 of your posts on Mac-Forums so far have had a VERY negative tone to them...so it would seem that you're really not interested in information...but more of an argument.

In my humble opinion...that's not much fun.

Have a good one!

- Nick

Click to expand...

I would actually say quite the contrary. My posts have done nothing more than provide facts and clarification to further the OPs understanding of what is possible relative to his initial question. It is you and harryb2448 that have been negative without providing any substantial/comprehensive assistance to the OPs inquiry. Although harryb2448 did offer the very good advice of throwing in an OWC SSD as a boot drive which is great for performance gains and bumping up the RAM and the video card (although personally I would say the new ATI Radeon HD 5770 is the way to go)... but as far as a CPU upgrade is concerned, lots of opinion with little to no real world input. Upgrading the CPU of a Mac Pro 1.1 is entirely possible and not that difficult really if one has the experience of doing it with other PCs and is confident in their technical abilities.

Sorry if you took offence, I didn't realize that providing further information and asking for clarification as to what one means by "support" would be considered confrontational or argumentative. You have a good one as well.

That being said... some people will pay good money for an argument a la Monty Python ;D:

Monty Python - Argument Clinic

screature said:

Not exactly right or at least complete. E5345's will also work as will X5160s, which depending on which flavour (2.0, 2.66, 3.0) you have are all upgrades for a Mac Pro 1.1. The quads you mention (Clovertown's) are ridiculously expensive for old CPUs. The E5345 (quad 2.33 Clovertown) can be had on eBay for around $450 a pair. The X5160 (dual 3.0 Woodcrest), which is actually one of the original Mac Pro 1.1 CPU offerings is a decent upgrade for anyone with a 2.0 or 2.66 as they are cheap on eBay. I recently picked up a pair for $79.

There are videos out there for how to do the upgrade and if you are at all comfortable mucking around on the inside of a computer or have changed a CPU in the past on a PC, it really isn't that difficult, certainly not wroth $150 bucks for some tech you don't know who could much it up just as bad you doing it yourself if you don't take the necessary precautions and educate yourself ahead of time. You really just need a screw driver and a long 3mm hex driver to get the heatsinks off and patience.

Click to expand...

Hi all,
I have a mac pro 1-1 2.6ghz, I took screature's advice , And got a matching pair of X5160's (dual 3.0 Woodcrest) And i have to say. Its much faster than it was. All of a cost of £19. Yes matched pair of X5160's for £19 posted. Took me about half hour to do. Well pleased.

So you went for a 15% increase?

To give you some idea a Mac Pro 1.1 updated with the X5355's jumped the Geekbench score from 4833 to 9118!. Be interesting to see what the 3GHz comes in at. Original Geekbench score was 5357.

harryb2448 said:

So you went for a 15% increase?

To give you some idea a Mac Pro 1.1 updated with the X5355's jumped the Geekbench score from 4833 to 9118!. Be interesting to see what the 3GHz comes in at. Original Geekbench score was 5357.

Click to expand...

Just done Geekbench Test, Score was 6163

Can you explain a little bit on the Spec codes for the Xeon cpu's? I've got a MP 1,1 /2.66 and looking to upgrade the chips. All the you tube vids stress finding the SLAED spec. Is this imperative, or will other specs work in this model Mac Pro? Yeah the 5365's are still a bit pricey at $350 for a pair. I might think about the 5345's and sacrifice the decrease in clock speed for 8 cores. I'm doing DAW work with this Mac. Thanks