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Mac Pro 3.1 upgrade 2016

HI there,


is there any favorable upgrade I can give my Mac Pro 3.1?

until now I've still been running OS X 10.5.8

I had to install 10.7 on a pny cs1111 ssd I got to repair my old system, which worked.

i was having issues upgrading hardware due to software I was not willing to upgrade, as it worked just fine (which wasn't supposed to change).

I've read through many threads, but still could not conclude which options to take advantage of, for upgrading my Mac Pro.

are ssd safe to use now? Does the trI'm function work.

another issue I have upgrading, is that I'm using a yamaha 01x, which only seems to work 32 bit. Found the hold 3 and 2 key down solution for that, which is fine for me, rather than investing in even getting an equivalent sound device.

Logic Pro seems to be upgradeable all the way, still working on OS X 10.7, which I'm trying to use due to the trim function I need to run the ssd, as far as I figured out.

i also read about the newer technology raid card which might just make my i/o's really fast, but then again I live in germany and I can't seem to find the mini das extender cable here in shops, to actually connect it right.

Most of the upgrading threads I read, don't give conclusion, if the upgrading actually worked stable for longer, which is my goal.

i Would like my Mac to become more safe (trying to find the best bad up solution too) and faster.

Btw. mostly I aktually work with Adobe cs products and Logic Pro.

i hope this all still makes sense. And I will answer any question that may help my quest, in case I have forgotten to mention details needed.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Trying to upgrade soft and hardware

Posted on Feb 9, 2016 12:14 AM

Reply
9 replies

Feb 9, 2016 4:19 AM in response to ElectriMF

Your 3.1/2008 Mac Pro is 64 bit through out and thus can go to El Capitan after you purchase the 10.6 DVD and then go to the Mac App Store.

Lion (10.7) is the last OSX version that supports 32 bit.

Many apps may not work with Lion and above

Upgrading to 10.7 and above, don't forget Rosetta!

SSD are safe and TRIM works fine except in 10.10 through 10.3

http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/29/use-trimforce-trim-ssd-mac-os-x/

For below 10.10 y need an app like this to enable TRIM

http://www.cindori.org/software/trimenabler/


You can upgrade graphics cards and even use a lot of PC but PC cards do not give you a boot screen

User Tip: Mac Pro silver tower (2006-2012) Replacement Graphics cards

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1440150

You can install a fast PCle-based blade SSD

SSD Blade Drive for "Classic" Mac Pro

You can install a USB3 PCle card but note that you can't boot from a USB device connected to the USB3 card


Feb 12, 2016 7:48 AM in response to ElectriMF

The Mac Pro 3,1 has a Mini SAS cable going from the four drive bays to the Mac Pro logic board, this makes it easy to reconnect the four drive bays to a suitable PCI card. You might need an extension cable like this one - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/MaxUpgrades/SZDCMSASR2MS/


If you are referring to this NewerTech RAID card - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/MXPRMS6G1E1I/ then the above extension cable is all you need. According to that web page this card does not support booting in to OS X.


Note: Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 do not have a Mini SAS connection on the logic board so the same (easy) solution is not possible.


If you are using traditional spinning hard disks then you will see no benefit from upgrading to SATA-III however if you use SSDs then you will see a speed boost.


I have successfully booted in to OS X with both a StarTech card (non-RAID) - http://www.startech.com/uk/Cards-Adapters/HDD-Controllers/SATA-Cards/PCI-Express -SATA-III-RAID-Controller-Card-Mini-SAS-… and an AttoTech card (available in both RAID and non RAID versions) - https://www.attotech.com/products/adapters/sas-sata-raid/6gb/ESAS-R644-000%20ESA S-R644-C00 or https://www.attotech.com/products/adapters/sas-sata/6gb-pcie-30/ESAS-H644-000

Mac Pro 3.1 upgrade 2016

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