Upgrading a Mac Pro 5.1 12core 2.4Ghz

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by SDDP

just changing out the chips to 5690s

I don't have OWC, just transint ram (4 x 8gb) and apple oem that it came with 4 2gb (hynix)

I will be very carefull with the static, already bought the full kit with Artic silver paste/cleaner/metal bracelett with aligator clips to ground metal, 3mm 5" hex wrench


Since my GPU is non EFI and don't see a boot screen, can I still zap the nvram/pram?

That's something I've been trying to find an answer for myself and haven't come across anything. I'd be thankful if you do get an answer would you let me know?


I mentioned ram because you were talking about it. OWC is a good place to buy RAM from - bought from them many times before. And like I said if you trade-in your old ram if/when you buy the new ram you'll get a credit. To tell the truth I'd stay away from RAM purchased through eBay. Buy from someone reputable.

[SDDP]

Originally Posted by musicman691

That's something I've been trying to find an answer for myself and haven't come across anything. I'd be thankful if you do get an answer would you let me know?


I mentioned ram because you were talking about it. OWC is a good place to buy RAM from - bought from them many times before. And like I said if you trade-in your old ram if/when you buy the new ram you'll get a credit. To tell the truth I'd stay away from RAM purchased through eBay. Buy from someone reputable.

OWC won't accept trade ins on non own ram, at least not with my transintl, already checked with them.

About resetting the others with the RX 580, hopefully someone else can chime in? Darryl maybe?

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by SDDP

About resetting the others with the RX 580, hopefully someone else can chime in? Darryl maybe?

You can reset the PRAM/NVRAM with any GPU, just do it blind, it does not rely on the GPU at all.

Personally I would get my GPU flashed so it worked with POST, especially if making a bunch of other changes to the computer.

On DRAM: there are *no* promises, the best bet is usually with identical part numbers from the same vendor. Paying attention to channel matching for performance. What works when mixed, even if identical claimed specs can be a crap shoot. And passing a memory exercises/testers/diags is not that much of a guarantee... still run them... failing them at least tells you it's a no go.

If you get extra DIMMs to add to the larger ones you have now you will have to see how it goes and if there are problems then the next step would be to replace the old ones with the same make/model as the new ones you have and see if that works.

You are doing multiple things here, I would do one thing carefully at a time. Like get the GPU updated, add DIMMS and test and run for a while, then upgrade CPUs etc. You can even start by confirming you can reset PRAM.

And to be clear I no longer have a Mac Pro Classic Cheese Grater, I mostly keep up with this because I'm fascinated by the NVMe support added to them. If I owned one now with I'd probably be upgrading it, especially given the ability to run NVMe, even run Mojave, and the upcoming migration to Apple ARM.

[SDDP]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You can reset the PRAM/NVRAM with any GPU, just do it blind, it does not rely on the GPU at all.

Awesome, I kinda thought so, just wanted a confirmation

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

On DRAM: there are *no* promises, the best bet is usually with identical part numbers from the same vendor. Paying attention to channel matching for performance. What works when mixed, even if identical claimed specs can be a crap shoot. And passing a memory exercises/testers/diags is not that much of a guarantee... still run them... failing them at least tells you it's a no go.

If you get extra DIMMs to add to the larger ones you have now you will have to see how it goes and if there are problems then the next step would be to replace the old ones with the same make/model as the new ones you have and see if that works.

This is what I was afraid of, so with that being said, I guess I'll spend the extra $ and buy the other two 8gb from Transintl, since they are in southern cali as I am, and they told me if it doesn't work, they'll replace/refund.

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

And to be clear I no longer have a Mac Pro Classic Cheese Grater, I mostly keep up with this because I'm fascinated by the NVMe support added to them. If I owned one now with I'd probably be upgrading it, especially given the ability to run NVMe, even run Mojave, and the upcoming migration to Apple ARM.

Would like to/need to upgrade to the new mac, but that $10,000 price tag for the 7,1 16 core is a bit out of my budget now. Especially since mine is working flawlessly, just with bigger sessions and faster turn around and plugs chewing up so much CPU, need the speed for faster bounces, renders, quicktime, etc.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by SDDP

Would like to/need to upgrade to the new mac, but that $10,000 price tag for the 7,1 16 core is a bit out of my budget now. Especially since mine is working flawlessly, just with bigger sessions and faster turn around and plugs chewing up so much CPU, need the speed for faster bounces, renders, quicktime, etc.

No I meant I would keep upgrading the old Mac Pro as much as I could.

If it was business use and I could afford a new Mac Pro, and be willing to replace in in ~2-3 years and really needed the extra performance then sure I'd upgrade. For folks doing post especially a brand new Mac Pro likely makes a lot of sense.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You can reset the PRAM/NVRAM with any GPU, just do it blind, it does not rely on the GPU at all.

But not having a cheesegrater anymore I guess you haven't actually tried it right? Still looking for someone that has actually tried zapping the nvram/pram with a non-flashed card. There's a big difference between saying it should work versus that it does work. Even people that sell these cards haven't been able to give me a solid answer. I've asked this question before here and have received zero answers.

[Hugh-H]

Hello,

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm
You can reset the PRAM/NVRAM with any GPU, just do it blind, it does not rely on the GPU at all.

....Still looking for someone that has actually tried zapping the nvram/pram with a non-flashed card. There's a big difference between saying it should work versus that it does work.....

Daryl speaks with experience as usual and didn't elaborate on the fact that resetting pram has nothing to do with the graphics card. You can compare it to the question "will the power button still work with another graphics card?" Yes, as long as the graphics card didn't short out your power supply and your power button is functional. What you lose is the boot manager which we use for emergency boot drives, not everyone needs that.

We still have several of the MP5,1s left in our stable, some with flashed graphics cards and some not yet, and I can assure you from experience resetting pram works with a flashed or non-flashed graphics card.

H

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Hugh-H

Hello,





Daryl speaks with experience as usual and didn't elaborate on the fact that resetting pram has nothing to do with the graphics card. You can compare it to the question "will the power button still work with another graphics card?" Yes, as long as the graphics card didn't short out your power supply and your power button is functional. What you lose is the boot manager which we use for emergency boot drives, not everyone needs that.

We still have several of the MP5,1s left in our stable, some with flashed graphics cards and some not yet, and I can assure you from experience resetting pram works with a flashed or non-flashed graphics card.

H

Thank you Hugh for your posting - that's exactly what I wanted/needed to hear from someone who actually did the deed. I know Darryl knows his stuff but saying it should work versus actually doing it is something entirely different. I know I'm repeating myself but it had to be said.


Theory and practice are two different animals.

[Darryl Ramm]

I’ve reset multiple Mac PRAM/NVRAMs that have totally dead GPUs and no video. In old Pros and more the MacBook Pro 17 with NVIDIA GPU failure (the one that was supposedly the reason Jobs kicked NVIDIA out at Apple). The only doubt I have about it working is the person doing it pressing the right keys and hearing the chimes to know it happened... which is why I suggested practicing it before doing anything else.

[SDDP]

Thanks everyone. So just so I know the proper procedure. After installing the new X5690 CPUs, then reset?

And which resets should I do/need to exactly and in what order?