What parts can I get to upgrade my Mac Pro

Question

Level 1

0 points

What parts can I get to upgrade my Mac Pro

My uncle gave me a Mac Pro. A1186-2113 3.0ghz x2. He upgraded some of the parts. Ram is 6gb. He also has os at 10.7.2. He added another video card so VRAM is 512mb.

Now, I'm a gamer and would like 1gb of VRAM, 8gb of ram, and at least 500gb of HDD space.

Can anyone find a Video card, two 1gb ram sticks, and a hard drive compatible with Mac Pro A1186-2113?

And I want to dedicate half of my HDD to Windows 8. And can you find all of this under 425?

Sorry for pickiness.

Thanks in Advance

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), old Mac Pro, os upgrade

Posted on Feb 26, 2013 7:59 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Feb 26, 2013 8:07 AM in response to zsollila

we need the model year or Mac Pro 2,1 designation to properly advise you

About this Mac > ( More Info ) ...

also, what Graphics/Displays card is in it now?

What Memory is what slots? (and what slots are open)?

Up to four SATA drives can be installed internally, and you can boot from any drive, internal or external. It works much better if you put Windows on its own drive.

Reply

Answer 2

zsollila Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:07 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

It's a 2006 I think. And there are two slots available. I can't find the graphics.

Reply

Answer 3

Feb 26, 2013 8:08 AM in response to zsollila

Apple Menu > About this Mac > ( More info ) > Graphics/Displays

Reply

Answer 4

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:10 AM in response to zsollila

Don't use the same drive for Windows. Use it on its own.

There is a forum "Boot Camp" for Windows on Mac.

You can use any video card but there are only two 6-pin aux power connectors and there is no early boot video out screen.

MacVidCards on ebay is excellent and prepares Nvidia GTX for Mac but not for pre-2008 models

If you are a gamer build a PC or really the quality today of a gaming PC are excellent and hard to beat - unless you plan to throw in $700 worth of gpu and do SLI/CF

Amazon has 2x2GB FBDIMMs $32

Any hard drive is fine. SSD, 10K WD, anything that is SATA.

Most people call a Mac Pro by its year and by the system profile ID such as "1,1" or 3,1 and 2006-2007-2008 etc

Adding another video card does nothing for improving performance. And enabling SLI is not supported.

Reply

Answer 5

zsollila Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:16 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

1.1 then. I think two GeForce cards. By the way it's

(Ram model)

512mb 1gb

512mb 2gb

1gb 1gb

And I'll use Boot Camp to Install Windows 8.

Reply

Answer 6

Feb 26, 2013 8:16 AM in response to zsollila

You cant upgrade your graphics because it is an ONBOARD or built in the logicboard (motherboard). The ram and hard drive are the only things that can be upgraded.

Reply

Answer 7

zsollila Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Jason Louie

Ok. I'll upgrade RAM and HDD. Thank you for your help.

Reply

Answer 8

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Jason Louie

Jason you have necer used or looked inside. So don't give false statements.

Reply

Answer 9

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:19 AM in response to zsollila

ATI Radeon 5770

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC742ZM/A

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-ATI-Radeon-5770-MC742ZM/dp/B003Z6QH6M

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/726537-REG/Apple_MC742ZM_A_ATI_Radeon_HD_5 770.html

How To Install and Remove Memory Mac Pro

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4433

2x2GB FBDIMM DDR2 667MHz @ $35

http://www.amazon.com/BUFFERED-PC2-5300-FB-DIMM-APPLE-Memory/dp/B002ORUUAC/

Hardware Monitor

http://www.bresink.com/osx/HardwareMonitor.html

UPS

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Compatible-1500VA-Tower/dp/B00429N 19W/

For best performance on Mac Pro, install memory in risers symmetrically

The Mac Pro comes with two memory riser cards, each with four DIMM slots. With a total of eight slots, you can add up to 16 GB of memory.

Note: DIMMs must be installed in pairs of equal size from the same vendor. For instance, you must not have one or three DIMMs on either riser at any time. Additionally, two DIMMs from different vendors should not be combined and used as a pair.

Other configurations of DIMM pairs are still compatible with Final Cut Studio, but may not achieve the same performance levels as when DIMM pairs are installed on both risers evenly.

Riser A contains:	Riser B contains:
2 x 512MB	2 x 512MB
2 x 1GB	2 x 1GB
2 x 2GB	2 x 2GB
4 x 512MB	4 x 512MB
4 x 1GB	4 x 1GB
4 x 2GB	4 x 2GB

https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1957

Reply

Answer 10

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:23 AM in response to zsollila

Your mac has 32-bit ROM EFI.

Windows 8 now looks for UEFI 64-bit.

Using 32-bit Windows is a disaster. You get 1,9GB RAM is all.

Your RAM sets are on the same Riser, not "across" Risers, and 4x2GB is a nice way to go for $64.

While the ATI 5770 seems to cost too much and not best it is good to have one on hand. Otherwise the Nvidia 8800GT for using Mac and troubleshooting. Even the OEM 7300GT are trouble. And the X1900 is terrible.

Not sure even what gpu you have

X1900

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/X1900XT_Overheating/ATI_X1900_artifacts.html

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/radeon_X1900XT/X1900XT_dust_buildup.html#sto rytop

Reply

Answer 11

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:29 AM in response to zsollila

Windows. Start the install on a PC. Stop after it has created a user account. Then move it over, before it does all of the updates, but wait for it to finish the initial install which takes one or two restarts.

Otherwise modify and reburn the DVD - write to disk drive as ISO with Imgburn and reburn.

Some people do that from within a VM like VirtualBox which is free or there are Mac utility.

download a free iso burning program for Mac (we used SimplyBurns Mac). That program runs you through the necessary steps to properly burn the iso file you need. After doing so, Bootcamp recognized the installation file and everything worked as it should.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3410900?start=45&tstart=0

SimplyBurnsis a Mac OS X application with a GUI, which allows the user to burn CD / DVD media.

Features:

Emphasis on ease of use
Audio CD project, Data project (Filesystems: ISO9660, Joliet, HFS+, UDF) and Burn image mode
Erasing rewritable media
Persistence

http://simplyburns.en.softonic.com/mac

See this article on downloading the ISO:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/windows-7-iso-x86-and-x64-official-direct-download -links-ultimate-professional-and-home-premium/

(Make sure you choose the ISO that matches the version you bought).

Here's instructions on burning an ISO with Disk Utility:

http://lifehacker.com/251758/mac-tip--how-to-burn-an-iso-or-dmg-file-to-disc

http://lifehacker.com/251758/mac-tip--how-to-burn-an-iso-or-dmg-file-to-discAnd this thread on burning a Windows DVD in OSX:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2039118?start=0&tstart=0

(Summary: you can use Disk Utility to burn the ISO, but choose a slow burn speed)

Reply

Answer 12

The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Feb 26, 2013 8:31 AM in response to The hatter

Mac 101: Using Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1461

Helpful Apple Support Resources(Forum Overview)

Boot Camp 4.0, OS X Lion: Frequently asked question

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4818

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup_10.6.pdf

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup_10.6.pdfcreate a Windows support software (drivers) CD or USB storage media

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4407

The Boot Camp Assistant can burn Boot Camp software (drivers) to a DVD or copy it to a USB storage device, such as a flash drive or hard drive. These are the only media you can use to install Boot Camp software.

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4569

Installation Guide

Instructions for all features and settings.

Boot Camp 4.0 FAQ

Get answers to commonly asked Boot Camp questions.

Windows 7 FAQ

Answers to commonly asked Windows 7 questions.

http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Macs that work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846

Some computers require Microsoft Windows 7

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4410

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1899

FAQ:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3986

Option = Mac boot device manager to select where to boot from

x = attempt boot Mac OS X if possible

OH, AND EVEN NOW WINDOWS 8 DRIVERS FROM APPLE AND SUPPORT? THEY HAVE NOT MATERIALIZED.

IT WORKS BUT i USE WINDOWS 8 W/O ANY APPLE DRIVERS.

Reply

Answer 13

Feb 26, 2013 2:14 PM in response to The hatter

Learn to SPELL and this is a Macbook Pro discussion I didn't see that it was a Mac Pro. I just restored and fully upgraded a Powermac and a Mac Pro. IFY

Reply

Answer 14

Feb 26, 2013 3:20 PM in response to Jason Louie

this is a Macbook Pro discussion

This forum is for the Mac Pro 65lb tower computers.

The MacBook Pro is over here:

MacBook Pro

Reply