Switch to 2X Xeon 5680 6-core, Will this work?

I think it has been, or tried to, answer here before and on MacRumors.

There is firmware and microcode on the logicboard to contend with to support 5600s. Can't go from 5500s to 5600s without those two elements. And no, you need processors that support ECC (probably) and dual-processor path which i7-9xx's lack.

Sell what you have for whatever does fit your bill later. You don't want to put $3500 roughly into un-warranted Mac upgrades in lief of a PC where that can be done... I'd buy a dual processor PC board like EVGA SR-2 ($600) and build away!

I would just sell yours when new models come out. In the meantime, throw in some SSDs and see how they improve performance and the like.

I sortof have never used but fond now of Windows 7 and built a couple last year.

. I am not willing to pay for the apple upgrade

Apple doesn't offer cpu upgrades once shipped, only build to order at time of buying.

TechReport
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19196

*Intel's Xeon 5600 processors*
July 23, 2010

+These Xeons promise two more cores at the same clock speed and TDP. How good are they? We collected a host of systems in Damage Labs to find out.+

What sort of work are you doing? Is it really compute-bound with 8/16 processors?

Hatter's suggestion of SSD drive(s) for your System Drive may produce a tremendous speed-up depending on what you are doing. Splitting your workflow across multiple drives may also produce large speedups.

Take a look at a discussion over on MacRumors, and see what the pricing is about.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=10701802#post10701802

Maybe you would have been better with just 3.33GHz - all depends on if you need more fast cores, memory (both), or something else.

The retail prices on those 5680's I take it you have not looked into?

some more

Geekbench imac vs MP 4,1 vs 12-core build
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=25822c39b95e5bca475aaaaa03fcb96f&t= 964933

A DIY went wrong
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2800/11

RAM helps. A lot of people bought 8 cores that didn't need it and only wanted more DIMM slots.
http://macperformanceguide.com/Shootout-MacPro-benchmarks.html

While there are reports of users who have successfully replaced the CPU's with other Xeon 5500 series (specifically using clockspeeds/steppings that are in current shipping Mac Pros), there are no reports of the 6-core 5600 series working. They need chip specific microcode, something that Apple would need to provide in a firmware update specific to the 2009 Mac Pro hardware. That's not likely going to happen - they've already released the final update and coded that firmware as 'locked'

It's also worth noting that some technically advanced users who have done this have botched the job along the way, resulting in dead CPU's and logic boards (in other words, >$1000 of very out of warranty damage). The processors Apple uses in the dual processor systems are not 'stock' Intel boxed processors, and don't quite fit the Mac Pro's heat sink.

What you may want to consider is simply selling the machine and replacing with a new one. You won't get your full purchase price back, but Mac Pro systems have a generally high resale value (especially compared to PC's). If you have AppleCare on the system, then it's even more valuable as the warranty is transferrable to whomever you sell it to. From there you can get a new system with the # of cores and the clock speed you're looking for. If you go with the 6 or 12 core systems, you'd also be able to take advantage of the faster 1333MHz memory speed, too.

Get the new processor tray with the westmere firmware on it.. replace the current processor tray and you are done.. as the rom is not on the backplane logicboard.. and because of Intel's tick tock.. very highly unlikely apple did any major work to the PCB of the backplane logic board.. as that is the same part as in the 09..

Really, the 2010 is the 2009 except for the firmware update and GPUS.. same case, same logic board, same processor tray.. except for the firmware update...

Wait awhile to get the new processor tray which can be had for as little as 250 or 300 dollars.. then put your processors on that - assuming the processors come down in price(5600 series).

The rom where the EFI is on is NOT on the backplane logic board as this wouldn't make sense..

1333 mhz is governed more so by the Processor - in this case.. w3680 supports 1333 mhz.. the x5600 series all support 1333 mhz.. the 2.4 on the 8-core which is the E5620 supports no more than 1066.. and the two quads are nehalem 09 machines using two different bloomfield(slower) processors without modded firmware.

So, what´s your opinion?
My 2007 MBP can´t handle my 1080p/APR 422 renderings, and is slow with RAW 21 mp images, etc. It stops, with heat and fatigue I guess. I need a Mac Pro and I´ve waiting...
Should I go for a 2010 new model or I could put my money on a previous generation Mac Pro with a good price from an Apple reseller if I find it? Will I loose some more future proof caracteristics or much better performance right now. What would be a good model from the previous generation?
Because as far as I understood (I don´t know much; I´m just as a regular user who reads topics and articles) the differences aren´t enormous, isn´t it, between the previous and the current 2010 brand new models?
Please help think different and put my money according to my needs.
(I do HD video for the web and DVD/art gallery projection, photography, illustration and graphic design all for print and web. Some sound treatment in the future).
Thanks.

A single 6-core 3.33GHz w/ 3 x 8GB RAM, 4 hard drives, ATI 5870.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html
Mac Pro 2010 Configuration

Even the Apple Store Special has had the stock 2009 2.66GHz $2149 which can be an excellent value and investment. Very slim pickings lately, that could change after the 9th.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

My 4 yr old Mac Pro doesn't feel any slower or the worse and maybe better than it did originally.

A ton of info on buying, performance, and strategies and how to optimize for photography and other applications:

http://macperformanceguide.com/

Some benchmarks of the newest iMac and others:

http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp16.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac10g.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac10c.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac10.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imi7.html

http://www.barefeats.com/nehal17.html
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3597&p=11

Thanks for all the info; very usefull.
Meanwhile I´ve found second hand machine, near my studio, from another studio, still with one year AppleCare Warranty.

The machine is:

MacPro Two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5GB GDDR3
Dual Channel 4GB FC PCI Express Card
Mac Pro RAID Card
8x 2GB 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM ECC
4x 300GB 15.000 rpm SAS 3Gb/s
16x SuperDrive
AirPort Extreme Card (Wi-Fi)
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard & Mac OS (Int'l English)

I don´t know yet the serial number so I can´t find the year, model, etc.
Is this an 8 core machine? Is this Bespoke machine?
What´s the equivalence for the current 2010 models?
What could be a fair price for it? I must put an offer tomorrow.
Any thoughts about this Mac Pro? Processor?

Thank a lot for the help.

An excellent 2008 model, the fastest they offered, 3,1 models.

Can tell by RAM speed and 1600MHz bus.

High-end storage cards, otherwise would be in the $2900 bracket.
So a good buy.

PS, usually best to start your own thread.