Xeon X5680s Now $45... October 2018

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HCMarkus
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Xeon X5680s Now $45... October 2018

Post by HCMarkus »

Just an FYI for those interested in supercharging their 4,1 and 5,1 Mac Pros. Lots of used Xeon X5680 CPUs are available on Ebay. Prices have been dropping as servers around the world are updated and the Xeon Westmeres are replaced. You can now pick up X5680s (3.33 hex CPUs) for under $200. Here's an example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-Six- ... 566d20bc0a

These CPUs will work in any 4,1 (single or dual CPU) that has its firmware flashed to 5,1 using the simple (and free) software available here (fourth post down):

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread. ... are+netkas

Note the single CPU 4,1 upgrade is super simple, but dual 4,1s are a lot more fiddly due to Apple's use of unlidded CPUs and no CPU retainer clamp in the 4,1 dual. If you have a 4,1 dual, proceed with caution and do your homework before you upgrade!

These CPUs will also work in any 5,1 (single or dual CPU) without any firmware changes, and the dual CPU upgrade is just as easy as the single.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1122551 has lots of info.

In August 2012, I paid a tad under $600 for my Xeon 3680. That was a good price then. My 4,1 almost doubled in CPU horsepower as a result. The prices available now make the upgrade a COMPLETE NO BRAINER for anybody with a 4,1 single or 5,1. single or dual CPU Mac Pro. If you install two X5680s in your 4,1 or 5,1, your Mac will be almost as fast as the latest trashcan 12 core Mac Pro. Single CPU Macs upgraded to 5680 will be faster than the quad trashcan MP. (Relative speeds for CPU intensive tasks, like running DP. You can also upgrade GPUs if you need video processing horsepower, but that's a story for another day.)

Note that the X5680 CPU works in single OR dual CPU Macs, the X3680 works only in Single processor Macs. Used X3680s are now more expensive than X5680s, because they weren't used in as many servers.

EDIT: Changed thread Title to reflect reality October 2018. Just checked eBay and found multiple X5680 U.S. Seller offers $45 or under.
Last edited by HCMarkus on Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by Michael Canavan »

Bumping this to give it some thought.
I have an 09 dual, but the jump from 8 core 2.66 to 12 core 3.33 would be about double speed. :shock: The main problem seems to be the lids on the CPUs, there's a de-lidding service for $200 that I guess makes it easy, then the price goes up...

I think I'll watch eBay for these for a while and bite when they become rare. Because of the possible damage to the machine, it makes the most sense to wait a while on this.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by HCMarkus »

I heard it best described like this Michael:
"Upgrading a 4,1 single or 5,1 single or dual CPU is a science… upgrading a 4,1 dual is an art."
Sixstring geek just bought a 5,1 dual and dropped those CPUs in it. He told me it flies.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by kgdrum »

HC,

why are you torturing me! lol

I'd love to upgrade my 2012 4 core to a Hex core,I'm not confident in my ability to do this and OWC charges too much $$ for this($1200).
I need to hunt down a qualified and reasonable tech here in NYC to do this,as the Mac is a 5,1 the upgrade should be pretty straight forward,I hope I can find a way to do this......
to be continued.....
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by Michael Canavan »

There's a similar subject as far as modding Mac Pros are concerned are SSDs. Been doing my homework on it, so here's a thread on that. :)

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=58855
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by HCMarkus »

kgdrum wrote:HC,

why are you torturing me! lol.
We always hurt the ones we love. :)

I'd only done one CPU before my hex update, and that was years ago. Still the job took me, proceeding very cautiously, only 30-40 minutes or so. A skilled tech can almost certainly do it in 15. Sounds like a minimum charge job to me.

By the way, you would't even have to move your whole Mac. Just take the processor tray to the tech!
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by kgdrum »

HCMarkus wrote:
kgdrum wrote:HC,

why are you torturing me! lol.
We always hurt the ones we love. :)

I'd only done one CPU before my hex update, and that was years ago. Still the job took me, proceeding very cautiously, only 30-40 minutes or so. A skilled tech can almost certainly do it in 15. Sounds like a minimum charge job to me.

By the way, you would't even have to move your whole Mac. Just take the processor tray to the tech!



Thanks,I know this should be easy,why OWC wants $1200 for this when the Mac doesn't even need the firmware upgrade baffles me.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by HCMarkus »

'Cause it's OWC, KG. They provide some great products/services, but are a specialty Mac provider, not a low-cost provider. Anyone who builds PC's can do your Mac Hack for you.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by James Steele »

I'm in. Just seems too good to be true. Got this one for $179:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231418934758

There's one left.

I do need to remember to run benchmarks prior to installing it so I can see how much the change is. :headbang:
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by HCMarkus »

James Steele wrote:I'm in. Just seems too good to be true. Got this one for $179:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231418934758

There's one left.

I do need to remember to run benchmarks prior to installing it so I can see how much the change is. :headbang:
Nice price. Very sweet. Call me when it arrives.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by James Steele »

Just read one somewhat troubling thing (for me). It looks like once I install this processor, I can't boot Snow Leopard anymore (unless I can get my hands on a 10.6.4 DVD which is rare?) Also I was reading a thread about w3860 chips. Is the x5680 essentially the same?
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by James Steele »

Okay...my bad. I can run 10.6.8 that I keep on another partition and boot from it. I just wouldn't be able to do a clean install from the retail 10.6.3 DVD. I can live with that I think.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by HCMarkus »

For safety's sake, keep a clone of boot drive with 10.6.8 around, or at least a disc image you can restore to a drive in the future if you need it.

The X5680 is the same except:
1. it has the QPI (I think that's what it's called) that allows the CPU to be use in Dual-CPU machines; and

2. It can address a full 64 gigs of memory per processor. The 3680 can, if I recall correctly, address only 56g.
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by James Steele »

Dowloaded the Tool to update the EFI. Only one thing that makes me hesitant about that: it says my Mac will default to booting in the 64-bit kernel and all my hardware drivers must be 64-bit compatible. I'm assuming my MOTU hardware is fine, but I love my old AlphaTrack with the 64-bit compatible bundle. I'm going to reboot and hold down "6" + "4" keys and just verify my AlphaTrack still works okay. Should double check my Liquid Mix with 32 Lives also. :)
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Re: Xeon X5680s Now Under $200

Post by James Steele »

Okay... fears unfounded. Looks like AlphaTrack and LiquidMix (with 32 Lives) seems to work just fine in 64-bit kernel. Here I go... :)
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