Refurbished Early 2009 Mac Pro vs Newish Early 2013 Mac Pro?

[dix]

I've been considering one of these. I'm wondering if anyone here has tried a cpu upgrade with success. ...a lot simpler than buying and configuring an entirely new system. However, probably not much cheaper since I could sell my 8-core and recoup much of the cost of a new or old new Mac.

[zuul-studios]

I did think about doing an upgrade/refurbish myself. Somewhere on this bulletin board is a thread devoted to this subject. It was that thread that prompted me to either consider doing the upgrade myself, have someone else do it, or purchase one that has already be upgraded. I've done a fair amount of upgrading to my happy and aging Mac Pro. It was all easy stuff, though. Upgrading CPUs may be easy for some, but I simply do not want to take that chance. Hiring someone else, though, is a real possibility.

[HCMarkus]

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=58848

Just about everything you need to know is in this thread. Nothing but success stories.

I did the single CPU 2009 4,1 upgrade to hex three years ago August.

[dix]

Or have someone do it for you (X5680) for $750::

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Core-3-33GHz ... 1697425298

Btw, this option requires that you to send in your old processor tray (for a refundable deposit he will send you a tray and then you can send back your old one so you have no downtime).

[monkey man]

Upgrading CPUs may be easy for some, but I simply do not want to take that chance. Hiring someone else, though, is a real possibility.

If you check out that thread you'll see my example of the "ultimate buffoon's effort" at upgrading my CPUs, something I'd never done before this. I followed no instructions (silly move, really), and dove in figuring "it's an Apple - how hard can it be?"

You may get a laugh out of the dirty-jeans, doin'-it-on-my-bed and other parameters involved in the story, but the bottom line is all seems fine.

You can do it! Easily, and surely with a whole lot more finesse than I.

[dix]

I did think about doing an upgrade/refurbish myself. Somewhere on this bulletin board is a thread devoted to this subject. It was that thread that prompted me to either consider doing the upgrade myself, have someone else do it, or purchase one that has already be upgraded. I've done a fair amount of upgrading to my happy and aging Mac Pro. It was all easy stuff, though. Upgrading CPUs may be easy for some, but I simply do not want to take that chance. Hiring someone else, though, is a real possibility.

Did you do the upgrade zuul? I'm again considering doing the ebay tray-swap for $750 - like you I have no interest in doing the upgrade myself. I'm wondering where you came down.

[zuul-studios]

Did you do the upgrade zuul? I'm again considering doing the ebay tray-swap for $750 - like you I have no interest in doing the upgrade myself. I'm wondering where you came down.

Not yet. I have to purchase 1000 gallons of propane to heat my home for the 2015-2016 winter season first. Seriously. I'm purchasing the propane Monday.

With the money left over, hopefully, I can purchase the refurbished 2013 Mac Pro within the next couple of weeks. Through eBay, I emailed the gentleman who does these refurbishments. He seems quite willing to help out in answering questions and addressing concerns. I will be going through his eBay store when I make the purchase. He seems to have a good inventory of the refurbished trays as well as refurbished whole computers that are ready to go. (Decisions, decisions.)

Admittedly, I'm too chicken to do the refurbishing myself. It is so cool to have available these "screaming machines" for purchase. These refurbished Early 2009 into 2013 Mac Pros will most probably meet my modest audio and video recording/editing needs for the next few years. But first? The propane. (I have until June 30th to get the propane for $1.69/gallon which is the LOWEST I've seen in YEARS! Gotta have a warm and comfy home during the cold winter months.)

Here is the link to his eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Charlie-Mac-PC?_rdc=1

I wish you well with your purchase.

Ted

[dix]

I've been in touch with that same eBay vendor. He seems very together and helpful. Not having any propane needs myself, I'm thinking I will get one of his trays soon - having him send it before I send back my current tray to make sure it all works. However, I'm also looking into whether it makes more sense to buy a second MP to use as a slave instead of upgrading the one I have. That could be cheaper and might serve my needs better.

[dix]

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=58848

Just about everything you need to know is in this thread. Nothing but success stories.

I did the single CPU 2009 4,1 upgrade to hex three years ago August.

Eventual success stories in many cases in this sprawling thread. Given the risk of downtime and weirdnesses that could effect productivity and deadlines, I'm not comfortable doing this myself. I'm now wondering if my graphics card and sata3 card will be compatible with the new cpu tray. Can I assume all that will still work? There's so much info in that thread, but I can't find anything that addresses this.

[HCMarkus]

No issues with graphics or SATA cards known to me; I trust you will be installing a 2009 tray in your 2009 unit, as there will be issues with trays from 2010-2012 in a 2009 Mac Pro.

Referencing the "sprawling thread", I should mention that the results were immediate, non-problemmatic and very gratifying for almost all who elected to do the upgrade. TooHip has a possible CPU problem, and Monkey Man is worried about temps after slathering thermal grease about (by his own admission). Otherwise, all is well. We even had a brave MOTUNation member, Mr. Michael Canavan, who elected to remove his own IHS's to upgrade his 2009 dual, with success, earning hero status in the process.

Gravity Jim put it like this:

danworks, anybody can do this if they're just careful. It's a cinch. A 3mmm hex key 5" long or more will do the trick.

It works. It is not hard. Do not be afraid.

[Gravity Jim]

No eventual success here. My upgraded 2010 5,1 has been running perfectly ever since... And I have fewer DP problems/conflicts than anybody.

My newly-12-cored Mac produces GeekBench scores that almost equal the high-end black trashcans, and all my old disks, memory and USB and FireWire stuff still works. It's unbeatable, and I'll repeat that anybody can do it.

[dix]

But is there some reason NOT to swap trays? Apart from the cost are there any other advantages to doing the upgrade myself? Is it less likely to have compatibility issues for instance? - my inclination to opt for the the tray-swap rather than doing the upgrade myself is driven less by fear than it is by lack of interest or patience for such things. Thx.

[Gravity Jim]

It takes 30 minutes if you go real slow. If you don't have a half hour for the upgrade, I don't know what to tell you. Im fairly certain there have been architecture changes on the trays over the years of production, and I would rather keep the one I've got.

[Steve Steele]

I bought a used 2009 2x2.26GHz 8-Core MP with 64GBs of RAM, three OWC sata SSDs, one OWC Accelsior PCIe 480GB SSD, and eSATA card and internal large HDD for TM. I then swapped the CPUs to the X5690s (3.46GHz 12-core) and my Geekbench score went from 14000 to 32000.

Total cost was $2000. No kidding.

Swapping de-lidded CPUs is almost as easy as swapping RAM.

[zuul-studios]

I bought a used 2009 2x2.26GHz 8-Core MP with 64GBs of RAM, three OWC sata SSDs, one OWC Accelsior PCIe 480GB SSD, and eSATA card and internal large HDD for TM. I then swapped the CPUs to the X5690s (3.46GHz 12-core) and my Geekbench score went from 14000 to 32000.

Total cost was $2000. No kidding.

Swapping de-lidded CPUs is almost as easy as swapping RAM.

Follow-Up

Well. . . for good or for bad, I made the "investment" to purchase an entire refurbished 2009 Mac Pro that now has the 12-Core 3.33 Ghz CPUs. (It is still in the process of being delivered by UPS. I should have it by the middle of next week.) Of course, this means that I now have TWO Mac Pro computers. My reasoning is that should I need that extra computer for a "Master/Slave" set-up, I'll have it. Both Mac Pros should work fine for me for the next few years and my plan during this time is to purchase additional orchestral libraries that may require all the CPU power available.

Should it come to pass that I do NOT need a second Mac Pro computer, I will probably put my trusty 2009 Mac Pro with 32 GBs of RAM up for sale. I will probably include a couple of SSDs in it to help make the deal more enticing. Curious. . . Steve Steele. . . How much did you pay for your 2009 Mac Pro? I do not expect to get much for mine should I put it on the market.