November 2016
Upgrading my Early 2009 Mac Pro's CPUs
03/11/16 20:08
Now that my old 2009 MacPro4,1 now looks like a slightly-less old 2010 MacPro5,1 I can replace the original 2 x 2.66GHz quad-core Xeons (X5550) with 2 x 3.46GHz hex-core Xeons (X5690):
Original stock CPUs:
Intel Xeon X5550 @ 2.66 GHz
2 Processors, 8 Cores, 16 Threads
Upgraded CPUs:
Intel Xeon X5690 @ 3.46 GHz
2 Processors, 12 Cores, 24 Threads
With the new CPUs it is also possible to use faster memory - I currently have DDR3 1066MHz (PC3-8500) but can now use DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10600). Unfortunately that'll be another upgrade.
Anyway, I lumped for a complete kit on eBay (user ID: friendlycomputersusa) rather than just the bare CPUs. I didn't want to muck around. The kit I got was perfect - everything that was required including instructions.
As I'd already done the firmware upgrade for the macOS Sierra upgrade, all I needed to do was replace the CPUs.
This took me about 15min in total. Pretty easy.
The first thing to do was remove the massive heatsink/fan units.
The X5550s were stuck on the bottom of the heatsinks but these came off pretty easily - remember which heatsink was for which CPU!!!
Here's the CPU daughterboard with the heatsinks and CPUs removed, ready to pop the new CPUs in.
First I need to blow out seven years of crud …
Pop the new CPUs in … and importantly, because they have their 'hats' on still … put three brass washers on each screw post so that they are not crushed when the heatsinks are replaced!
Put everything back together … aaaaaaand, yes, the start-up sound indicating all is well with the Mac!
The result:
(note - the memory is still 1066MHz)
I tried out GeekBench4, running a benchmark before and after.
With the stock 2.66GHz quad-core CPUs:
Single-Core Score
2310
Multi-Core Score
12142
And with the new 3.46GHz hex-core CPUs:
Single-Core Score
2821
Multi-Core Score
16168
A decent improvement! If I replace the memory with the faster modules I should see a further bump in the scores.
My trusty Mac Pro should have a few more years of life in her now (seven so far) … barring Apple deliberately obsoleting her like they tried to with macOS Sierra …
Original stock CPUs:
Intel Xeon X5550 @ 2.66 GHz
2 Processors, 8 Cores, 16 Threads
Upgraded CPUs:
Intel Xeon X5690 @ 3.46 GHz
2 Processors, 12 Cores, 24 Threads
With the new CPUs it is also possible to use faster memory - I currently have DDR3 1066MHz (PC3-8500) but can now use DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10600). Unfortunately that'll be another upgrade.
Anyway, I lumped for a complete kit on eBay (user ID: friendlycomputersusa) rather than just the bare CPUs. I didn't want to muck around. The kit I got was perfect - everything that was required including instructions.
As I'd already done the firmware upgrade for the macOS Sierra upgrade, all I needed to do was replace the CPUs.
This took me about 15min in total. Pretty easy.
The first thing to do was remove the massive heatsink/fan units.
The X5550s were stuck on the bottom of the heatsinks but these came off pretty easily - remember which heatsink was for which CPU!!!
Here's the CPU daughterboard with the heatsinks and CPUs removed, ready to pop the new CPUs in.
First I need to blow out seven years of crud …
Pop the new CPUs in … and importantly, because they have their 'hats' on still … put three brass washers on each screw post so that they are not crushed when the heatsinks are replaced!
Put everything back together … aaaaaaand, yes, the start-up sound indicating all is well with the Mac!
The result:
(note - the memory is still 1066MHz)
I tried out GeekBench4, running a benchmark before and after.
With the stock 2.66GHz quad-core CPUs:
Single-Core Score
2310
Multi-Core Score
12142
And with the new 3.46GHz hex-core CPUs:
Single-Core Score
2821
Multi-Core Score
16168
A decent improvement! If I replace the memory with the faster modules I should see a further bump in the scores.
My trusty Mac Pro should have a few more years of life in her now (seven so far) … barring Apple deliberately obsoleting her like they tried to with macOS Sierra …