Mac Pro 2009 Processor Upgrade

I have 2009 quad core Mac Pro / 2.93ghz -- has anyone upgraded their processor to 6-core? Performance difference?

I have an upgraded my 2009 to a 2010 12-core with 2.66 Westmere processors. The firmware had to be flashed first. It allowed me to use faster memory too. I am not going to profess to be an expert. I tend to tinker and fumble my way through a lot of upgrades. I also purchased my dual processor caddy with the processors installed. I suggest you do some reading and research.

Start here: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...rocessors.html#mac_pro_processor_instructions

I also suggest roaming through the Macrumors Mac Pro forum. I found a lot of information there.

As to did I see a performance upgrade? Yes. I currently use it to create videos that run 45 to 60+ minutes long. I do this on a weekly basis. I have to encode the videos for four different formats. I can stack them in the encoder and start it when I am done with all the formats. It takes less than an hour to finish all four formats. I then burn one to a DVD which takes longer for me to set up the menus than it does to spit out the finished produce.

Dual 2.66 Westmeres, 64GB - DDR3 1333Mhz memory, 2- SSD's and various external drives using USB3 internal card connection.

My Geekbench3 scores went from 20000 to 27000 (1 don't remember exact numbers but it will give you an idea.)

Lisa

Are they still worth anything

I got one of these from a friend and it needs ram and a hard drive. Would it still be worth putting money into it today?

@Lisa congrats on those changes. Wish I'd had the guts to try something like that when I was running my Mac Pro.

I have built many many Windows machines. I like to tinker. But when I got my Mac Pro I was hesitant - at first. Then I realized it is SOOOO easy to work on. I mean WOW. I wish Windows cases were that nice and easy. No clutter of cables I mean there are so few! Everything is modular and plugs in. Well, I could go on....

I just pulled the OWC SSD main drive and mounted it on an OWC Accelsior S PCIe card. I did not get a huge boost on the write speeds but the read speeds doubled to 560MB/s.

I told my boss when I took the job that I keep my "girls" accessible because I am always changing it up and improving their performance. They no longer get nervous when they see me in the middle of what looks like a computer mess because they realize I am in a creative fugue and will emerge victorious. My Windows editor I put together in 2007 using a Tyan Server board. It still runs amazingly fast and I am still using it. I have added Memory, an SSD, a faster video card, additional storage drives, USB 3.0 card and probably more. At this point I doubt I will do anymore with her. I have my Mac Pro to direct my tinkering addiction at.

Lisa