Q: 2010 or 2012 Mac Pro?
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Jul 29, 2016 12:15 AMby kaz-k,HelpfulThey are using different CPU, Westmere(2012) and Nehalem (2010).
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/faq/mac-pro-mid-2012-performance-b enchmarks.html
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Jul 28, 2016 4:37 AMby John Lockwood,You can replace the 2010 CPU chips with ones identical to those shipped in 2012 Mac Pros and then not only is it as fast CPU wise, but the CPU interconnect is also automatically upgraded to the same 2012 speed, and support for 1333MHz RAM is also enabled again automatically. It then literally is identical to the 2012 model.
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Jul 28, 2016 2:41 PMby FatMac>MacPro,The 2010 Mac Pro came first with Snow Leopard; the 2012 Mac Pro came first with Lion. Snow Leopard was the last version of Mac OS X that supported PPC software. Since typically a Mac will not support an OS earlier than the one it was first released with, if PPC support matters, the 2010 might be a better choice. At the same time, Snow Leopard Server can be installed as a Virtual Machine using VMware Fusion, Parallels or Virtual Box to get the PPC support.
On the other hand, my 2010's PS failed about the time its button battery failed and it's either at or near the end of Apple's support.
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Jul 29, 2016 12:15 AMby mandarcy,It was actually Leopard (10.5.8) that was the last to support PPC. However backwards compatibility will not be an issue for me as I'm keeping my old G5 anyway to run some older software that I still want.
I didn't realise that the the 2010 5.1 used a different processor, I thought it used Westmere's as well! The thing for me here is that even if there is only a small advantage in the 2012, I think it's probably wise to go for that one as even a 2012 is getting on a bit now and I'd need this to last a few good years yet ;-)
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Jul 29, 2016 9:12 AMby FatMac>MacPro,mandarcy wrote:
It was actually Leopard (10.5.8) that was the last to support PPC...
What I wrote was "Snow Leopard was the last version of Mac OS X that supported PPC software" which was provided via Rosetta.
Also, you asked about the 6 core machine (which is what I have). Both years use the Westmere processor.
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Jul 31, 2016 2:31 AMby Christian Stueben,lllaass wrote:
There are no real differences between the 2010-2012 Mac Pros
What about the motherboard, cpu carrier card, firmware of the 2010 and 2012 mac pro. Is it identical, or different?
Ahem, yes, firmware must be different to get another model number displayed in about your mac.
Greetings from gemany
Chris
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Jul 31, 2016 2:29 PMby kahjot,Note that you CAN run Snow Leopard on a 2012, under certain conditions. You can't install it on that machine, but you can set up a Snow Leopard drive on another Mac that works with the Snow Leopard retail disc, and then put that drive into the 2012 Mac Pro. Might come in handy if the G5 dies.
