Processor upgrade 1.1 macpro. is it worth it?

Hatter, thanks for the recommend on the Amazon FBDIMMs. I just ordered 2 today to fill out my MP 2,1. Wish the 4gb FBDIMMs were cheaper, would love to have a 32gb machine.

Will have to check out the SSD, that is about the only bottleneck I have in my system other than upgrading to a newer model.

I have an issue that when I try to run DVD player after I have upgraded to use the X5355 Xeon CPU's I get the following error when running in the command line:

error: Error getting a reference to /options.

I've heard about needing some kind of new AppleSMBBios.kext file to solve it but could not go any futher.

Currently running Lion 10.7.4.

I've also been having issues with the keyboard and mouse not responding to clickes or types on boot and after a while of use.

So if anyone has any suggestions, I would be most grateful.

Daryl

drmou have not seen that error and problems with DVD player. Normal install of the CPU's does not interfere with the DVR. Wonder if it has failed coincidentally at the same time.

That said go to this link and my post on updating firmware to Mac Pro 2.1 at Netkas Forums. Seems to get rid of a lot of bugs.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2809634?answerId=15829538022#15829538022

I did the upgrade on my machine last year & have been extremely happy. I did, however, not like the temps I was seeing using Arctic Silver 5. I took it all apart, cleaned the processors, then reinstalled the heat sinks using Diamond IC7 (you apply a pea size drop in the center of the processor, then use the pressure from tightening the heat sink to spread it - it is very thick & this is the recommended method for installation). I saw my temps drop from 124 degrees to 106 degrees - huge difference. I never get above 113 degrees now - even when running multiple programs, while also burning discs, & rocking out with iTunes. Diamond IC7 is fantastic stuff (the 7 simply refers to the amount of thermal compound in the tube - I actually buy the Diamond IC24).

Hi Everyone,

I've also taken the plunge and upgraded my Mac Pro 2006 cores from 2.66 quad to 2.66 8 core. X5355's.

I've been reading about the artic silver and think I've got it right but not sure about my temps.

With SMC fan control at 1,000 rpm I have the following temperatures with limited activity. Pluses are, the speed really does increase which is great.

The readings in iStat Pro are much higher.

at CPU A 58 C and CPU B at 52 C. Hardware monitor looks a lot more likely.

Would these temps be okay?

I was also wondering about reapplying the thermal compound. If I'm adding more artic silver, would I just add on or have to clean everything off?

Thanks,

Andrew

Right, I'm going to run the Prime95, TortureTest to see what temp my cores level out at. I had a good chunk of Artic Silver in there so I'm hoping I'll get a good readout.

Well after 5 minutes, iStat Pro has reduced my CPU temps down to CPU 1 36, CPU 2 30 which implies as the cores are stressed, it's running almost half as hot while hardware monitor has increased. At least I know that Hardware Monitor is more reliable that iStat Pro with these cores. ON the i5 Mac Mini cores, I get excellent results with iStat Pro.

There are a couple good youtube tutorials, one that was MacPro 1,1 processor upgrade/swap and applying paste but any good hardware tutorial.

One I liked applied a thin layer, and some would even go for lapping the processor to prepare it to make the surfaces super smooth in order to better bond but requires industrial equipment and is not the abrasive type procedure. Applying a thin layer to fill in any imperfection especially on the heatsink, and then scrape clean (plastic credit card) to allow better adhesion and bonding of grease (solvent).

How to Apply Thermal Paste

No matter how hard manufacturers try, neither this metal piece (the bottom of the heat sink in the case of air cooling, and the CPU block in watercooling) nor the top of the CPU will be perfectly flat. The little imperfections in the surfaces of both of these components hold heat in, and in turn affect how well your cooling will cool the processor. Thermal paste fills in these gaps, eliminating the excess heat.

Some heatsinks have a thermal pad on them, furthering the cooling power of the heatsink.

...

When applying thermal paste to an exposed core, simply put a small amount of paste on the top and spread it, ensuring you do so in a thin and even manner. Be careful not to use too much, as this will put more material for the heat to travel through before it reaches the heatsink/waterblock, drastically reducing the cooling performance. Spread it very thin and even. It should be no thicker than half of a grain of uncooked rice. After doing this, simply apply the heatsink/waterblock as the instructions tell you to do so.

DUAL CORE:

The process is the same as with single core CPUs, but in this case you want a line as opposed to a blob. This is to aid in the cooling of both cores. To make sure you put the line in the correct direction, make sure the corner with the gold triangle is in the bottom left corner, and then apply from top to bottom.

QUAD CORE:

For quad core CPUs, the process is the same as with dual core CPUs, except this time, the line should be horizontal as opposed to vertical.

FINAL NOTE: Please keep in mind that, should the heatsink/waterblock be removed from the CPU, you will need to clean the heatsink/waterblock once again and reapply the thermal paste, as the airtight seal between them will have broken.

http://computersight.com/hardware/processors/how-to-apply-thermal-paste/

Cheers The Hatter,

I guess I need to find out if I need to crack open the Mac Pro and re-apply.

I think my temps seem okay and within 'normal' ranges from the discussions but it is unclear in some strings whether people refer to core temps or heat sink temps in places.

With the Prime95, I want to see how hot the mac cores get and if there will be any problems.

If it's running within the normal ranges (even towards the higher end) all holds together without probs, I won't bother reapplying.

Other than that, in Snow Leopard, it's been rock solid stable and I'm amazed at the overall speed.

After 21 mins:

[Aug 22 20:26] Worker starting

[Aug 22 20:26] Setting affinity to run worker on logical CPU #8

[Aug 22 20:26] Beginning a continuous self-test to check your computer.

[Aug 22 20:26] Please read stress.txt. Choose Test/Stop to end this test.

[Aug 22 20:26] Test 1, 5300 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M14155777 using type-2 FFT length 720K, Pass1=320, Pass2=2304.

[Aug 22 20:31] Test 2, 5300 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M14155775 using FFT length 720K, Pass1=320, Pass2=2304.

[Aug 22 20:36] Test 3, 5300 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M13969343 using type-2 FFT length 720K, Pass1=320, Pass2=2304.

[Aug 22 20:41] Test 4, 5300 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M13669345 using FFT length 720K, Pass1=320, Pass2=2304.

[Aug 22 20:44] Self-test 720K passed!

[Aug 22 20:44] Test 1, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M172031 using type-1 FFT length 8K, Pass1=32, Pass2=256.

[Aug 22 20:46] Test 2, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M163839 using type-1 FFT length 8K, Pass1=32, Pass2=256.

[Aug 22 20:47] Torture Test completed 5 tests in 20 minutes - 0 errors, 0 warnings.

[Aug 22 20:47] Worker stopped.

Max CPU core 1 hit 78C

in one minute of the stress test, back down to 57C.

I'm not sure how long I should let this run.

Hi Cyclonmills,

How long did you run the torture test for?

Thanks,

Andrew

Further in my reading, once you have applied, you open yourself (paste) to air getting in (not good) by checking. And to limit such. I use to as a kid want to check on plant sprouts and flowers to "see if they started sprouting" and of course they never survived.

Unless you are OC'ing (can't) running flat out 800% all day and the room is very warm, I'd leave it alone, and give it 10 days to "sprout" as it is not at its most efficient when first applied.

And yes Hardware Monitor for us is the best with Mac Pro, FBDIMMs etc.

I just wanted to offer some ideas. I went through reading and listening until my head hurt when I first got into this and all the things to know, take into account and of course various ideas and methods and opinions. In the end I build two systems, one for testing and because I ended up with so many spare parts !

If you did a good job cleaning the old heatsink and your temps now sound excellent, could see slightly better, but I would wait on PRIME95 and other stress tests.

Thanks The hatter,

It's great to gain the benefit of your experience and I totally understand. I know too well the temptation of opening things up often to find out that they were perfectly fine.

Everything looked good when I applied the paste, I watched YouTube tutorials and matched the amounts. I then read instructions about contamination and applied with a special attachment.

I also have had no problems at all and am aware of the 200 hour period where temperatures settle down further as the paste solidifies.

I guess in short, it's looking good.

My temps were back to normal after 5 minutes of ending the stress test which is excellent.

Cheers though, it's great to hear from people who have experienced this CPU upgrade.

78*C is as far as I would be okay with. 80* starts getting hot hot hot.

Westmere with its HT can jump 10-20*C in a millisecond, and form just lauch a program or file, not much at all, but drops immediately also.

Someone used old school coding and would do a "tap tap tap" to ask the processor core, "are you free? are you idle" are you busy? " and then keep checking and of course it was hitting 80-85*C within a minute. That extreme a stress. And maybe doing so twice for each core so could have double the cores with Nehalems HT.

Yours you don't have to worry about that.

I like quiet. I don't like a lot of fans, small fans, and never got into water blocks and too old to start! but I think my next system (2014 probably) will need to, and I'll let a boutigue shop or just a good pre-built. I have too much trouble looking at small type even with magnifying glass and I did have to use one at a couple times with those pins and everything to see.

Darmou, hi. How did you get on with this problem?

darmou wrote:

I have an issue that when I try to run DVD player after I have upgraded to use the X5355 Xeon CPU's I get the following error when running in the command line:

error: Error getting a reference to /options.

I've heard about needing some kind of new AppleSMBBios.kext file to solve it but could not go any futher.

Currently running Lion 10.7.4.

Daryl

Hi, I thought I'd provide an update so that anyone who goes through this process can gain the benefit of my experience.

The Mac Pro has been on for about 10 hours since the my post a few weeks back. (I'm not a heavy user of this current Mac Pro because I have a 2008 Mac Pro).

The temps have dropped.

With the top cores at 37 C, 38C 32C and 32C and the bottom cores at 32C, 30C, 27C and 31C when idle.

Northbridge heatsink at 46C.

I can also confirm that the iStat Pro is not accurate on my Mac Pros (it is on the Mini) since as a control, I've installed all my temp monitoring and fan control software on my Mac Pro 2008 to compare. According to iStat Pro my Mac Pro 2008 CPU is at 72C which isn't correct. I get large differences between this and Hardware Monitor which is consistent on both Mac Pros.

I'm going to work some more on the Mac and keep monitoring this. Hopefully this information will help someone out.

The other really cool things I've noticed is that the 8 core has significantly increased the speed of my Mac Pro 2006 which is brilliant. I've gone from approx 5500 Geekbench score to 9273 (on 32 bit mode which I hear gives about a 1000 gain in 64 bit). Seriously impressive but also very noticeable when actually using the Mac itself. Especially in Bootcamp where before, my Windows XP was struggling and I had to wait endlessly for things to get moving but now - just sails on through. Very happy indeed.

In the forum question title - Is it worth it?

I can say with certainty for me - yes it was worth it! This is fantastic and well worth the time researching CPUs (and stepping), learning about the fan control software and flashing EFIs, the expense of buying the CPUS and other items such as the thermal paste, heat sink tool and finally, the stress of opening up the Mac to do the swap!

I'm very happy with the end result.

I only upgraded from the stock quad 2.66 to quad 3.0GHz. For $36 its a nice speed-bump and didn't increase temperatures.