GPU Options for Mac Pro 1,1 Upgrade Project

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Level 1

10 points

GPU Options for Mac Pro 1,1 Upgrade Project

I'm planning on upgrading an old Mac Pro that I received from my grandfather last year in his memory (R.I.P Grampa), and I would just like to ask the community what GPU I should use.

It's currently a Mac Pro 1,1 (2x2.66GHz Xeon, 4x512MB FB DDR-2, GeForce 7300 GT 256MB, 500GB+250GB HDD, OS X 10.4.11+OS X 10.7.5). I'm planning on using the firmware patch to bring it over to a 2,1 Mac Pro for more flexibility.

I'm looking at purchasing a pair of 3GHz Xeon X5365, either 32GB (8x4GB) or 64GB (8x8GB) FB DDR-2 667MHz RAM, an OEM Apple Bluetooth 2.0 Card, and 4x1TB 7200rpm HDDs. (Please let me know if there are any concerns with these upgrades, I've never done a patch upgrade job before)

The last thing that I need to upgrade that trash-tier 7300 GT. This is where the question comes in. What GPU/GPUs should I look in to for the upgrade? I'm planning on using this machine for video editing, as that was his life passion. As far as I understand, only AMD cards will allow for hardware acceleration when editing/rendering in Final Cut Pro X, so I would prefer an AMD card for that reason. I'd like something that can handle 1080p60fps editing smoothly, that won't completely destroy my bank account.

Thank you all in advance for all your help/suggestions!!!

Mac Pro, OS X 10.10

Posted on Oct 31, 2019 1:46 PM

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Answer 1

Geotrax

Level 3

568 points

Nov 4, 2019 7:37 PM in response to JakeyNerf

As Grant said, you can technically and unofficially get these machines running El Capitan. Not going to link it here but you can find it pretty easily by googling "Mac Pro 1,1 El Capitan" or something like that.

If you are insistent on upgrading it, and SSD is a must in my opinion. It will make the machine much more useable.

There are GPU guides, and while you can stick a better card in there, something like an ATi Radeon HD 5770 would probably not be bottlenecked by the CPUs. Just make sure you're running Mac OS X 10.6.5 or later.

The Ram should be fine so long as it is Apple-compatible.

I hope this helps, good luck!

-Geotrax

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Answer 2

Oct 31, 2019 2:29 PM in response to JakeyNerf

I would not suggest anyone pay money for a Mac Pro 2008 or older today. The only reason to fuss with it at all is that it "fell on you" for free.

This is the guide you want to read and follow:

http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2018/05/07/definitive-mac-pro-upgrade-guide.html

It may contain procedures that will damage your Mac, and you need to proceed with extreme caution. If you are not handy and think like a developer, do not attempt these hacks.

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Answer 3

Geotrax

Level 3

568 points

Nov 4, 2019 7:53 AM in response to JakeyNerf

Hey JakeyNerf,

I've owned a 1,1 and to be honest, I don't think they're worth upgrading. The latest OS they can officially run is OSX 10.7, which is over eight years out of date at this point.

Their CPUs are slow compared to todays standards, and FB-DDR2 is a drag.

I would invest money into a newer iMac, or a 4,1/5,1 Mac Pro. I use one of those as my daily driver.

Hope it helps!

-Geotrax

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Answer 4

JakeyNerf Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 4, 2019 7:57 AM in response to Geotrax

I understand that the machine, it’s software, and all of the hardware is absurdly out of date, and that I shouldn’t realistically work on it, but I’m doing this in memory of my grandfather. I don’t plan to use this as my main editing rig, I have a 2016 MBP and a 2012 iMac for that. This is more to remember him.

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Answer 5

Nov 4, 2019 8:56 AM in response to JakeyNerf

Look in Greg Gant's guide (linked above) for the heading:

Mac Pro 1.1/2.1 and Pike's Script

for additional links to hobbyist hacks that can move that older Mac Pro model up to 10.11 El Capitan.

As always, use these at your own risk as they could harm your Mac or your person. These modifications are not for production, only for your amusement.

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GPU Options for Mac Pro 1,1 Upgrade Project

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