MacPro 5,1 sweet spot?

[Audiosweeet]

Looking to buy a macpro 5,1 off ebay. Any models I should avoid? Budget is about 6-700 dollars. Should i buy a low spec machine and upgrade later? buy a 4,1 and firmware is to 5,1? Still hanging on with my 002r and i'm tired of mac book pro's logic boards s hitting out (2010).

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by Audiosweeet

Looking to buy a macpro 5,1 off ebay. Any models I should avoid? Budget is about 6-700 dollars. Should i buy a low spec machine and upgrade later? buy a 4,1 and firmware is to 5,1? Still hanging on with my 002r and i'm tired of mac book pro's logic boards s hitting out (2010).

Both the 4.1 and 5.1 are the same if you plan to upgrade CPU's. I have found you will get a much better deal locally via Craigslist as most sellers are unaware of the upgrade potential, therefore sell for less. Most eBay sellers seem to know the upgrade potential and ask a lot more. You should be able to find an 8 core 4.1 for around $450, then it will be about $300 to upgrade it to a 12 core.

I'm here to help if you want for the CPU upgrade.

[Audiosweeet]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

Both the 4.1 and 5.1 are the same if you plan to upgrade CPU's. I have found you will get a much better deal locally via Craigslist as most sellers are unaware of the upgrade potential, therefore sell for less. Most eBay sellers seem to know the upgrade potential and ask a lot more. You should be able to find an 8 core 4.1 for around $450, then it will be about $300 to upgrade it to a 12 core.

I'm here to help if you want for the CPU upgrade.

Appreciate it greatly! I don't mind putting work into a machine if it'll give me solid performance...hell i'm sure whichever 4,1 i find would be just fine for the type of recording i do (50-70 tracks...no VI's...mostly SLATE plugins). At least the potential to upgrade would always be there. Ive heard of video card issues from the stock cards...would it be better to get a machine that has already had the GPU upgraded?

[Panacci]

I just updated my early 2009 4.1 MACPRO to a 5.1. I had bought it new when they came out.Make sure it is an 2009 if you do decide. Firmware upgrade is very easy to do. I just loaded in Sierra and everything runs sweet

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by Audiosweeet

Appreciate it greatly! I don't mind putting work into a machine if it'll give me solid performance...hell i'm sure whichever 4,1 i find would be just fine for the type of recording i do (50-70 tracks...no VU's...mostly SLATE plugins). At least the potential to upgrade would always be there. Ive heard of video card issues from the stock cards...would it be better to get a machine that has already had the GPU upgraded?

Both of the ones I upgraded had the stock video cards and I had no issues in either.

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by Panacci

I just updated my early 2009 4.1 MACPRO to a 5.1. I had bought it new when they came out.Make sure it is an 2009 if you do decide. Firmware upgrade is very easy to do. I just loaded in Sierra and everything runs sweet

Just want to make sure you know that you can also upgrade the CPU's on your computer to a 12 core.

[Matt Hepworth]

The sweet spot is the 3.33 Hex CPU pairs. The very best is the 3.46 Hex pairs.

Get a 4,1 dual 2.26 and the 3.33 hexes. Get 24GB of 1333 ECC RAM, too.

I delidded my CPUs so they were just like the Apple versions. Only took a few minutes and was safe. I can walk you through it using a vice, a rag, and a piece of tape. ;-)

Tools: You'll need a long Allen wrench tool for the CPU coolers, some Arctic Silver thermal paste, some fine sandpaper (if you delid, which you should), a box of razor blades (if you're delidding), isopropyl alcohol, q-tips, paper towels, and about two hours, if you haven't done it before.

You have to flash the firmware while the old CPUs are still in there. There's a trick to that if you get the error. It's easy.

You also have to do the PRAM reset to get the higher RAM speed detected. I just did both my Mac Pros within the last 30 days, so this is fresh on my mind.

If you're scared of all that, I'm for hire. ;-) If you're not scared of it and have at least a bit of handiness and tech savvy you will be done in 3 hours top to bottom.

[Panacci]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

Just want to make sure you know that you can also upgrade the CPU's on your computer to a 12 core.

I sure do ! That if I decide to do will be done by someone who knows what they are doing. There ar a couple of youtube videos to show you how to do it. At this time I have enough power to do the things in my studio. Also great to have Sierra installed and I can keep up for a few more years if this thing lasts

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by Panacci

I sure do ! That if I decide to do will be done by someone who knows what they are doing. There ar a couple of youtube videos to show you how to do it. At this time I have enough power to do the things in my studio. Also great to have Sierra installed and I can keep up for a few more years if this thing lasts

It really is so simple, you can easily do it yourself.

[Panacci]

Really, I thought it was tricky or if you messed up you could have problems. Maybe I will investigate further. I have a youtube video of it.