New computer time-what to expect drive wise?

[mjm333]

Originally Posted by lae777

At the risk of being off topic, I have a similar model "cheese grater" to you (2009) and I upgraded the EFI firmware so that my old 4,1 Mac Pro is now seen as a Mac Pro 5,1 and I am running High Sierra (10.13.2) and PT HD 2018.1 with no problems.

Instructions here;
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...1-efi.1894850/

Perhaps this would be an option for you too?

It is a simple fix which allows me to use the newest Mac OS and newer software (including Kontakt) than what was possible with my "old" 4,1 machine.

It's also much cheaper and there's no need for expansion chassis' etc.

Anyway, just an option.

Take care.

I just learned about this, but I'm hesitant to give it a try. I'm prone to making matters worse when it comes to these things. How difficult was it for you to pull off? I'd rate my abilities in these things around a 4/10.

Thanks!

[Bob L]

Originally Posted by mjm333

I just learned about this, but I'm hesitant to give it a try. I'm prone to making matters worse when it comes to these things. How difficult was it for you to pull off? I'd rate my abilities in these things around a 4/10.

Thanks!

I rate my abilities as similar to yours. I did this update AND immediately swapped CPUs a couple years ago.

The EFI update entails passing through several scary-looking warnings/advisories, and there were a few puckered-sphincter moments, but was ultimately the easier part.

The CPU changes didn't go so well, as I was sent a duff unit (de-lidded) and that took several days to remedy. Everything worked out great in the end.

I'll bet there's someone in the LA Basin with the ninja Mac skills to help bolster your confidence doing this. If you're already prepared to spend the cash on a new machine anyway, why not give it a shot?

[mjm333]

Originally Posted by Bob L

I rate my abilities as similar to yours. I did this update AND immediately swapped CPUs a couple years ago.

The EFI update entails passing through several scary-looking warnings/advisories, and there were a few puckered-sphincter moments, but was ultimately the easier part.

The CPU changes didn't go so well, as I was sent a duff unit (de-lidded) and that took several days to remedy. Everything worked out great in the end.

I'll bet there's someone in the LA Basin with the ninja Mac skills to help bolster your confidence doing this. If you're already prepared to spend the cash on a new machine anyway, why not give it a shot?

Interesting. I'm considering it. I did send in my machine to OWC a while back and upgrade the processors from 2 x 2.3 quad core to 2 x 3.32 quad core. I wonder if this negates my ability to up the firmware? Need to think about this a little more.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by mjm333

Interesting. I'm considering it. I did send in my machine to OWC a while back and upgrade the processors from 2 x 2.3 quad core to 2 x 3.32 quad core. I wonder if this negates my ability to up the firmware? Need to think about this a little more.

That shouldn't affect being able to flash to 5,1. Surprised OWC didn't ask you if you wanted to do that when they had it.

[lae777]

Originally Posted by mjm333

I just learned about this, but I'm hesitant to give it a try. I'm prone to making matters worse when it comes to these things. How difficult was it for you to pull off? I'd rate my abilities in these things around a 4/10.

Thanks!

I found the whole process surprisingly easy.
My skills are fairly basic. I can add some ram or replace an internal drive but I would never attempt a CPU replacement/upgrade for example.
As pointed out, if you're planning to get a new machine anyway, it might be worth trying.
I'm happy with the results in my case and I've managed to get a few more years out of my cheese grater with very little effort.
I'm loving PT 2018.1 and my machine seems fine running High Sierra.
Good luck.

[Bob L]

Originally Posted by mjm333

Interesting. I'm considering it. I did send in my machine to OWC a while back and upgrade the processors from 2 x 2.3 quad core to 2 x 3.32 quad core. I wonder if this negates my ability to up the firmware? Need to think about this a little more.

It might. In my case, I upped from 2x2.26 quad to 2x3.33 hex, which was a supported config for a 5,1. I also swapped memory from the stock 4,1 speed (1066 MHz?) to 1333 Mhz; I also went from 8 to 16 GB. I don't believe any of the memory stuff is required to transform to 5,1, I just thought I needed to do it while I had the machine open. Since, I've gone to 32 GB.

When I made these changes a couple years ago, I was on ML 10.8.5. Probably best to stay where you are now at 10.9.5, do the magic, then upgrade the OS if you're inclined to do that.

I'm sure the fog of time has obscured some of the memories I had on the subject. I strongly suggest researching as much as you can so that you'll know what to expect when making the firmware changes. Perhaps OWC can be helpful with your knowledge-seeking...

Best of luck. O&O.

[skizzo]

Originally Posted by mjm333

I just learned about this, but I'm hesitant to give it a try. I'm prone to making matters worse when it comes to these things. How difficult was it for you to pull off? I'd rate my abilities in these things around a 4/10.

Thanks!

So I just completed this same update and it was a big leap

Started with:
Mac Pro 4,1 (Early 2009) - 2.6ghz 4 cores - 8 GB Ram - OSX 10.6.8 - Pro Tools 8.0.5 LE

Now have:
Mac Pro 4,1 FLASHED TO 5.1 - (same processor, but plan on upgrade to 3.4ghz 6 cores due to firmware update allows this now) - 48GB Ram (you can now use more than 32GB with firmware update) - OSX 10.13.4 - Pro Tools 2018.4

Also added in a Sonnet USB 3.0 PCIe card for 4 more SS UBS ports

I want to add an SSD drive for my system, but am trying to do more reading on that due to Apples new APFS system that may cause some headaches.

But here is my overall message....I was in the same boat and I instantly thought I should be buying another new mac pro as I did in summer of 2010. So 8 years later and the mac pro looks cool being so small but more research says they are not as upgradeable and the reason they haven't made a new iteration since 2013 is because they basically painted themselves into a corner. So prices started making me look at PCs, specifically Sweetwaters most powerful creation station 450. You can get a more powerful PC for less in comparison to a mac pro in my opinion. Then I got more research into my current system and it became obvious it was upgradable, and very upgradable at that. So to spend under $1,000 on computer upgrades or bare minimum $3,500 on a new computer, price alone says stick with the current system. The only thing I WISH I had that I don't is thunderbolt connectivity, but its not a show stopper. All that did was prevent me from getting a Thunderbolt interface but very happy with the USB 3.0 interface I got.

So you will likely need a new interface or something else new in the whole overall system but if its a few hundred dollars for current computer upgrades as opposed to thousands for a new computer I chose the cheaper option. Great thing too is I still can run PT 8 with my Digi 003 Rack+. And I will soon have to try and run Pro Tools 2018 with it, just to see, even though it doesn't serve me any real purpose to have the Digi 003 Rack+ work w/2018 software.

Also the whole 4,1 to 5,1 firmware upgrade is very simple. I had some challenges but that was because I was trying to use an aftermarket HHD instead of the Apple flashed hard drive that came with the computer. Soon as I did the upgrade from that hard drive it went without any issues. I like to think Im a computer savvy guy but I am realistically very limited experience wise. So I had the same worries about ruining my system trying to perform these upgrades. No I am looking at putting in a new processor chip by myself so it certainly has given me some confidence lol. basically as long as you aren't completely new to computers you should be totally fine making the firmware upgrade