Mac Pro 1,1 advice please - College Student

Hi I recently bought a Mac Pro 1,1 from my college as they were recycling their computers. This is my FIRST mac ever. However I was not aware that I couldn't update to OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion as I thought.

Apple Mac Pro "Quad Core" 2.0 (Original) Specs listed here -

Mac Pro "Quad Core" 2.0 (Original) Specs (Mac Pro, BTO/CTO, MacPro1,1*, A1186, 2113) @ EveryMac.com

I am majoring in Video Production so upgrading the memory and video card is a must.

Questions:

What is the highest OSX that I can install if I upgrade my Mac?

Could I run windows 7 on one HDD and the other HDD for the mac os?

What are the best graphic cards for mac pro 1,1 (Video Production so Final Cut Pro)? List them

Is there any way to skip from OSX 10.4.11 to any other OSX like Tiger without upgrading 1 by 1?

I want my Mac Pro to be as updated as the Macs they are selling in the market. My budget to spend is $300.


Could you guys list product links and other tutorial guys to help me out

I am glad I went to Mac!

carusone93 said:

I want my Mac Pro to be as updated as the Macs they are selling in the market. My budget to spend is $300.

Click to expand...

If what you mean is...you want this Mac 1,1 to be as updated as currently selling Mac Pro's from Apple...it's just not going to happen! In fact...there's no amount of money you could spend on a Mac Pro 1,1 that would make it run like a currently selling Mac Pro. There's just no way you're going to be able to make a 2006 (1st generation Mac Pro) run as fast as a currently selling Mac Pro.

With $300...you may be able to purchase a better video card (there is one I know of that sells for around $250)...and more ram for Mac Pro 1,1's is very expensive (an 8gig upgrade will cost $217.99).

Even with these two upgrades (video card and ram)...you will still be stuck with a slow 2006 logic board architecture and four (relatively slow) 2.0ghz cores. Officially there are no cpu upgrades for Mac Pros...but technically it can be done (if you know what you're doing). But even then...you would still be spending at least another $200-$300 for a faster quad-core cpu.

So in total you would be spending:

- $250 for a video card upgrade
- $217.99 for an 8gig ram upgrade (more if you wanted more ram)
- $200-$300 for a cpu upgrade (that you would need to install yourself...and you could "fry" the logic board...or at least the cpu...if you messed things up)

So you're looking at approx. $650-$750 in upgrades...and this computer would still not run like a currently selling Mac Pro. With that same $650-$750 + what you paid for this Mac Pro 1,1...you could have purchased an already configured newer & faster Mac Pro model...such as a Mac Pro 4,1 (with 8-cores instead of 4).

Upgrading older Mac's (in many cases)...just doesn't work out financially!

HTH,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

If what you mean is...you want this Mac 1,1 to be as updated as currently selling Mac Pro's from Apple...it's just not going to happen! In fact...there's no amount of money you could spend on a Mac Pro 1,1 that would make it run like a currently selling Mac Pro. There's just no way you're going to be able to make a 2006 (1st generation Mac Pro) run as fast as a currently selling Mac Pro.

With $300...you may be able to purchase a better video card (there is one I know of that sells for around $250)...and more ram for Mac Pro 1,1's is very expensive (an 8gig upgrade will cost $217.99).

Even with these two upgrades (video card and ram)...you will still be stuck with a slow 2006 logic board architecture and four (relatively slow) 2.0ghz cores. Officially there are no cpu upgrades for Mac Pros...but technically it can be done (if you know what you're doing). But even then...you would still be spending at least another $200-$300 for a faster quad-core cpu.

Click to expand...

I understand now thanks for all the details. Is there any way to upgrade my OSX from 10.4.11 to anything higher if I upgrade the mac?

carusone93 said:

I understand now thanks for all the details. Is there any way to upgrade my OSX from 10.4.11 to anything higher if I upgrade the mac?

Click to expand...

Sure…and you can do it without doing any hardware upgrades…as long as it currently has at least 2gig of ram. The highest OS you can go with it is OS 10.7 "Lion" (10.7 requires at least 2gig of ram).

- First you will need an OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard" install DVD (must call Apple directly ti get one…NOT the Apple Stores or Apple.com).
- You then install your Mac Pro to OS 10.6 with the install DVD.
- Then use "Software Update" (Apple Menu)…to update to at least OS 10.6.6 to get access to the Mac App Store (OS 10.6.8 is actually the newest version of 10.6).
- OS 10.7 "Lion" is also no longer sold. So you also need to speak with Apple about getting this. I'm not sure if they will send you some sort of install media for 10.7…or if it's a download.

So basically…you need to call Apple about OS 10.6 and 10.7.

HTH,

- Nick