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\nThe best computer from Apple. Ever.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\n
In this series of articles I show how to upgrade a 2009 or later Mac Pro to current technologies.<\/p>\n
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- There are many photographs illustrating mechanical processes.\n
- I put heavy focus on objective measurements of performance changes.\n
- All upgrades shown have been tested on one or more of my Mac Pros.\n
- You will never read words like “…. it feels faster ….”<\/i> here. Such expressions are meaningless.\n<\/ul>\n
Article Index.<\/b><\/center><\/p>\n - Part I<\/a> – Choices\n
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- Choices for a used Mac Pro.\n
- Why the 2009 Mac Pro.\n
- FU Steve retires.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part II<\/a> – Xeon CPUs\n
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- Aspects of improving performance.\n
- Stock Geekbench and Cinebench data.\n
- Cable dots.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part III<\/a> – Memory and Airport\n
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- Enhancing memory and its correct installation.\n
- Native Airport card installation for wi-fi.\n
- Processor cage removal.\n
- Migrated Hackintosh issues.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part IV<\/a> – Firmware and EFI\n
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- Power consumption data.\n
- Installing 2.5″ drives properly.\n
- Firmware upgrade from 4,1 to 5,1.\n
- Updating EFI.\n
- SMC and PRAM resets.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part V<\/a> – Relocate an internal SSD and Blu-Ray\n
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- Maximizing internal storage.\n
- Relocating an SSD to the optical bay area.\n
- Blu-Ray DVD reader\/burners and Superdrives.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part VI<\/a> – Manuals\n
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- Where to buy the Service Manual and why one is essential.\n
- Original Mac Pro web page at Apple.com and selling prices.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part VII<\/a> – Parts\n
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- Repairs – common repair parts, sources and cost.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part VIII<\/a> – Graphics\n
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- All about graphics cards.\n
- Better graphics with non-Apple aftermarket cards.\n
- Graphics card installation and benchmarks.\n
- Multiple displays.\n
- Sound levels.\n
- Anomalies with non-‘Made-for-Mac’ cards and their resolution.\n
- Running two graphics cards.\n
- Revised power consumption data with two cards.\n
- nVidia web drivers.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part IX<\/a> – Value\n
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- The value proposition.\n
- Why the Hackintosh no longer solves as an OS X machine.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part X<\/a> – Heat\n
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- Temperature and fan issues.\n
- Cooling down the hot Northbridge chip.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XII<\/a> – Stress tests\n
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- Power consumption.\n
- Stress tests and diagnosis of problems.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XIII<\/a> – Cost\n
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- The all in cost of a state-of-the-art Mac Pro.\n
- What are the major Mac Pro models and their differences?\n
- Don’t be cheated by firmware upgrades.\n
- How to look up your serial number.\n
- Buying used – what to look for and what to avoid.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XIV<\/a> – USB3 and Blu-Ray\n
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- Install a powered USB3 card for a 100%-300% performance gain.\n
- Parts and cost.\n
- Benchmarks.\n
- The unpowered USB3 card option.\n
- Adding a Blu-Ray burner.\n
- Back-up strategy.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XV<\/a> – HTPC\n
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- The Mac Pro as a Home Theater PC.\n
- Model choice.\n
- Enabling HDMI.\n
- USB3 for Blu-Ray movies.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XVI<\/a> – Sata III\n
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- Install a SATA III card for a 100% performance gain.\n
- SATA III drive installation and expansion options.\n
- Converting old SATA II drives to SATA III speed or better.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XVIII<\/a> – HDDs\n
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- Adding a larger SATA III data HDD.\n
- PCIe slot power use and limits.\n
- Striping two SATA II HDDs into one using RAID 0 for SATA III speeds.\n
- Performance data.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XX<\/a> – The new Mac Pro.<\/i>\n
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- A poor value for still photographers.\n
- Can be easily outperformed in PS and LR with a 2009 4-core for 33% of the cost of the nMP.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXI<\/a> – The best Graphics card.<\/i>\n
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- A ‘Made for Mac’ EVGA nVidia GTX680.\n
- 4K capability comes stock.\n
- A cost effective upgrade for the new breed of displays.\n
- Power use and performance data included.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXII<\/a> – Upgrading the 2013 Mac Pro.<\/i>\n
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- An expensive machine.\n
- CPU, SSD and memory upgrades.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXIII<\/a> – Replacing the backplane board.<\/i>\n
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- Most likely required for a machine which refuses to chime or boot.\n
- An easy job once the error in Apple’s Technician’s Manual is corrected.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXIV<\/a> – Installing Apple Hardware Test.<\/i>\n
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- A powerful analytical tool.\n
- No longer installed on modern Macs – follow this to install it.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXV<\/a> – Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11ac wifi.<\/i>\n
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- Required to use Handoff and Continuity with OS X Yosemite.\n
- Allows phone calls to be made from the MacPro with an iPhone nearby.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXVI<\/a> – Thunderbolt disk speeds.<\/i>\n
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- RAID 0 with an Apricorn Duo PCIe card.\n
- An inexpensive solution offering Thunderbolt disk speeds.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXVII<\/a> – The 30″ Apple Cinema Display.<\/i>\n
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- The best non-4K LCD display in the business.\n
- Addresses the two models of the display Apple sold.\n
- Issues with the DVI dual link to MiniDisplayPort\/Thunderbolt adapter firmware versions are identified.\n
- Using two Displays at full resolution with the Nvidia GTX680 and GTX980 GPUs.\n
- Parts and repair sources are linked.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXVIII<\/a> – Using mSATA drives in the Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- The fastest storage approach available.\n
- New inexpensive PCIe card allows four mSATA drives to be installed in one PCIe slot.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXIX<\/a> – Fan management in the Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- Yosemite is a retrograde step for keeping things cool.\n
- How to remedy that.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXX<\/a> – The GTX980 GPU for the Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- One of the fastest graphic cards on the market.\n
- Exceptional performance, less noise, less power consumption.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXI<\/a> – Adding a Fusion Drive<\/i>\n
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- Apple’s Fusion Drive technology can be applied to dual SSDs.\n
- A Fusion drive allows a Recovery Partition to be created, unlike with a RAID0 drive.\n
- Ideal for speedy backups with an additional failsafe, if not as fast as RAID0.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXII<\/a> – The LG 34UM95C ultrawide display<\/i>\n
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- Huge real estate.\n
- Two of these need a dual DisplayPort graphics card.\n
- Excellent value for money.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXIII<\/a> – OS X – the new Windows<\/i>\n
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- OS 10.11 El Capitan is a disaster.\n
- Avoid at all costs.\n
- Apple is the new Microsoft – add ‘feature bloat’, subtract stability.\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXIV<\/a> – Recent Nvidia cards in the Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- Broken drivers yield a Catch 22 situation\n
- Several ways around this\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXV<\/a> – Windows on the Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- Hold your nose\n
- A cheap way to install Windows 7 Pro, the least bad version of Windows\n
- Bootcamp provides optimum performance\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXVI<\/a> – The 2019 Mac Pro<\/i>\n
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- Function over form returns\n
- If you ask ‘How much?’, you cannot afford it\n
- Ugly, too\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXVII<\/a> – The 2019 Mac Pro – ugly and no bargain<\/i>\n
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- Not much change from $65k\n
- The monitor stand and roller legs for just $1400 extra are bargains\n
- Butt ugly, but I’m having the innards rehoused in the classic Mac Pro case\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXVIII<\/a> – The 2010 Mac Pro – the best value<\/i>\n
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- $1000 gets you one of the fastest image processing rigs available\n
- Infinitely repairable\n
- Nice to look at\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXIX<\/a> – Intuit’s sloth<\/i>\n
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- No need for a new GPU to do your taxes\n
- HR Block’s software works fine with OS X High Sierra\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
- Part XXXX<\/a> – AMD Radeon GPUs<\/i>\n
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- Adding Metal compatibility\n
- For use with the latest OS X versions – Mojave and Catalina, where Nvidia GPUs do not work\n<\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Article Index. Where to find things. The best computer from Apple. Ever. In this series of articles I show how to upgrade a 2009 or later Mac Pro to current technologies. There are many photographs illustrating mechanical processes. I put heavy focus on objective measurements of performance changes. All upgrades shown have been tested on … Continue reading Mac Pro<\/span>
- Part I<\/a> – Choices\n