Mac 5,1 & Thunderbolt - it can now be done
Thunderbolt ports in a 2010 era Mac 5,1 Mac Pro. Many posts on the community flatly state that this is "impossible". "Cannot be done", etc. Until recently, they were apparently correct.
It appears things may have changed, for those of you who have lots of opportunities to exploit the still solid and useful Mac 5,1 infrastructure. I'm speaking mostly to audio professionals here. For those folks and similar, this is a 2023 era update for those people who need to get previously "impossible" Thunderbolt port capability into an older but still useful Mac Pro.
This is not quite as simple as insert a card in the PCI-e slot, but it is not terribly difficult, either. Particular beneficiaries include audio professionals using Universal Audio equipment (for example) Other potential beneficiaries include people who want to use the multiple drive bay capabilities of a Mac Pro 5,1 as an outboard storage device, but want thunderbolt transfer speeds into their primary Mac computer.
How: First, read this article. https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/2019/3/15/mac-pro-51-cheese-grater-with-thunderbolt-the-impossible-is-now-possible
A link to the youtube video of an actual working 5,1 2010 Mac Pro system controlling a UA external interface is provided in the article. Looks legit.
Next, a brief snapshot version of how they did it - with details left out that are covered in the article. This will help you assess if you even want to read the article.
QUICK VERSION
a.) Acquire and install a UA compatible PCI-e based Firewire 3 card (for Universal Audio users, of course)
b.) Dual boot a Mac - with Windows 10 Professional running first
c.) Use Windows 10 to install necessary WINDOWS drivers for the firewire card you installed (yup, Windows 10 drivers)
d.) Now, warm boot back to the Mac OS. Warm booting keeps the drivers intact, and this means the Firewire card remains active and visible on the PCI-e bus to the Mac OS now controlling the bus. (The drivers are on the PCI-e firewire CARD, not in the OS
e.) Proceed to use your Mac 5,1 via the Thunderbolt 3 port. If you are connecting to older Thunderbolt 2 devices, like the UA interface (or another earlier Thunderbolt 2 equipped Mac like the i7 Mac Mini) Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adaptor works great. Get one from the Apple Store.
As you can see from the Youtube video in the article, this works fine.
f.) If you wish to connect two thunderbolt equipped Macs (the 5,1 to a Mac Mini, for example) OS limitations and requirements may also exist.
g.) Variations in what OS version you are using matter. Mac High Sierra seems to be a minimum choice, but Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt protocols exist at many Mac OSX levels. See this link from Apple to explain how to make them work. If your thunderbolt ports are working, connecting two Macs using IP over Thunderbolt are part of the native Mac OS since at least High Sierra.
Use IP over Thunderbolt to connect Mac computers - Apple Support
Hope this helps some people trying to keep their Mac 5,1 out of the recycling portal. Audio guys, make sure to thank the people at Production Expert for their assistance with this.
