What Apple setup to buy for DP 9

[bayswater]

As I recall, close to, but just a tad shy of, the 12 core 6,1. Depends on which Geekbench you use for the test.

Close enough. Thanks.

[jfmusic]

So, I ordered a 4,1.

Now what's the story on De-lidded chips?

I read the threads and have not found much on them.

Thanks

[HCMarkus]

So, I ordered a 4,1. Now what's the story on De-lidded chips?

A lot of folks have done the upgrades. First step for a 4,1 Mac Pro is the Firmware (EFI) Update. Here are a couple of informative links from MacRumors with tons of info:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ma ... st.1954766

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/cm ... on.2099092

Now, we don't know if you bought a single or dual CPU 4,1.

Single CPU 4,1s (and ALL 5,1s) use regular lidded CPUs, so no special handling is required. Swap is very straightforward. You need 3mm long-handled Allen wrench, thermal paste and paste remover and a lint-free cloth.

4,1 Dual CPU Mac Pros use de-lidded CPUs (IHS removed). There are a few ways to handle:

1. Use lidded CPUs; Adjust the Mac Pro with washers and additional thermal padding under heatsink to compensate for lid height.

2. Buy de-lidded CPUs
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Delidded- ... rk:11:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pair-o ... :rk:6:pf:0

3. Have your CPUs de-lidded by a service... a little cheaper than buying de-lidded.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Delidding-Serv ... :rk:5:pf:0

4. De-Lid CPUs yourself. MOTUNation Hero Michael Canavan succeeded. Others have succeeded and some have failed. Watch out for those tiny capacitors under the lid! The Vice method appears to work consistently well. The Hot Iron method also works well.

When doing the CPU swap, it is also a good idea to re-paste the Northbridge Chip heatsink, accessible under the CPU heatsink (the right-hand heatsink in dual CPU models.). You will need replacement heatsink pins or bolts to accomplish this task. This thread, which details several approaches, tells all you need:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/cl ... 891/page-4

I used the inexpensive spring rivets purchased from eBay without any trouble, but the bolt method, using the original springs, also looks very solid.

I have found the CPU upgrade to be a gratifying (and $$$$-saving) endeavor... Good luck!

[HCMarkus]

Just saw this when researching above post:

Geekbench scores for dual Xeon X5680 Mac Pro (3.33gHz):

Geekbench v4.2.2 2,894 single-core score, 24,398 multi-core score

Geekbench v4.0.4 2,750 single-core score, 17,333 multi-core score

Geekbench v3.4.1 2,719 single-core score, 30,957 multi-core score

Interestingly, the multi-core score for the dual Xeon X5680 is almost exactly the same as the multi-core score for the fastest 2018 Mac Mini, which scores 24,072. (Geekbench v4.3).

You can buy the fastest Mini, if you get minimum 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD, for $1,100. If you get a good deal on a used Mac Pro, you can do considerably better cost-wise, and your machine will be able to use stock PC parts, including NVMe PCEi SSDs under Mojave, to upgrade. Downside is, obviously, you will be working with a much older machine, you won't have a warranty, and continuing OS support is unlikely beyond Mojave.

[mikehalloran]

continuing OS support is unlikely beyond Mojave.

Well put.

Nobody knows—even though there are those on MacRumors who treat this speculation as gospel.

We'll know soon enough, no doubt. Apple will likely release the compatibility list just before the first public beta of OS 10.15. If you don't count on moving past Mojave, you won't be disappointed if you can't and pleasantly surprised if you can. Every now and then, Apple's list gets more inclusive as the beta process moves forward—there was one OS that was to have excluded late 2009–2011 iMacs but brought them back in by the 3rd beta (forgetting what it was now).

Although Apple announced early that 5.1 MPs with Metal Graphics cards would run OS 10.14. it was very late in the beta process before that promise was made real.