Hi everyone,

I've a Mac Pro 2.66 Quad and although it's a step up from my old G5 Dual the Quad still hasn't the horsepower I was hoping for, so, I've been looking at possible upgrades of the CPU.

Now, from what I've been reading most people seem to point towards 2x Intel Xeon X5355 processors as an upgrade which I'm sure would give me the power that I've been looking for, the thing that I'm unsure of which some kind folks on here I'd hope would be able to help me out on is this, are all the 5*** series of processors that Intel introduced compatible with the Mac Pro I have.

Also, would I have to muck about with the EFI at all or just leave it as it is?

Mant thanks in advance for any help offered heh

bump.... i have one to i got around the end of 2006 and no complaints it works good but could use a little extra processing speed for logic instead of bouncing down mulit tracks as i use a lot of guitar sims. it would be nice to be able to have a nicer work flow you know without buying a new one which i don't really need. i got a quad with two xeon duals and 8gb ram. I would love to upgrade mine to something a little better!

from what i heard early on they were the same cases as the 8 cores and you can easly add 2 more processors matching to it. I would love to hear some info on the first gen 1.1 mac pros! that would be my next upgrade if doable for sure. the rest of my setup is solid with a rosetta, luncbox and mics ect

The E5335 / 5345 /5355 will all work in the 1.1 mac pro
There is not need for any EFI hack just install them and use SMC Fan control to bump up the cpu fan a bit.

Here a video its German but shows how to do the upgrade

YouTube - Prozessortausch beim Mac Pro

Hi redroom heh

Thanks for the tips on what to buy and also the fan tip too, I was wondering, I keep seeing these HP Intel X5355 pop up >> Clicky << I'm guessing that these are the same processors and will work on the Mac Pro just that HP are selling them after buying a batch from intel?

Great thread !

I've got the same Mac Pro 1.1 2 x 2.66. So this would give me a 8 core (like the current Mac Pro's? What kind of performance jump could I hope for? thumbsup

Hi dude thumbsup

Have you seen the seen the Logic benchmark tests? Our Mac Pro's don't fair too well with track counts, maybe double the track count with an 8 core 2.66 possibly?

Would be super cool to get some real power going on, my machine poops out pretty quickly

Apple's Mac Pro - Upgrading CPUs, Memory & Running XP - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

please feel free to read this about upgrading the cpu's in the 2x2.66.

I'm running one of these as well and I feel fine on my cpu load although I do run a hd2 accel. I do plan on upgrading to a ssd for the os in the near future.

yeah I got a little depressed when I did the Logic test and got 25 tracks...my friend recently got a i7 iMac and got 50 - double what I get on my Mac Pro...

Ive been thinking about doing this CPU upgrade for a while - only problem is I found the processors to be pretty expensive - and when you buy 2 I wonder if its just better to sell the old and get another 8 core 2.8 Mac Pro second hand...prob about £400-500 more which is similar to the cost of 2 of the X5355...then you would get better RAM and architecture...

If you can find cheap CPU then its prob worth it...and you can stomach the tech job...

Thank you for the helpful information JSt0rm,

Did you go the 8 core route?

You know SWAN, I was thinking exactly the same, I've just had a quick look on evil-bay and there's a refurb going for 1.5k, at the time I was looking for a machine all of the 8 core ones were going for around 1.8 to 2.0k which was insanity and those crazy prices were only a month ago !!

Maybe it might be a case of picking up some used chips on the cheap, it's something that might be worth it and save a whole load of money? I don't think the tech work looks that tricky going by the German youtube clip, might be a bit tricky getting hold of a hex screwdriver long enough though, the only thing that I'm not to sure about is how much thermal grease to put on the bottom of the heatsink once cleaned and on the new processors ...

how much can you get for a 1.1 MP-around £900 I should think now...

The cost of these chips haven't gone down in the past two or three years from what I recall. I think maybe once a year since I got into my MP to check on this but still $1100 for an upgrade is pretty darned expensive if you ask me.

2 of these X5355 + an SSD drive for the OS would pimp out my MP

I saw some for around $450 on a site somewhere and am seriously considering. I'd still like to hear more though on what the performance upgrade would be. Already the load isn't spreading out on my 4 cores mainly on the 4th) .I'm running lots of VI's through Vienna Ensemble Pro.

does anybody know of the suitability of the Intel X5355 processors?

There appears to be 3 types...:

Intel Xeon X5355 2.66Ghz 8MB Quad-core SLAC4

Intel Xeon X5355 Quad Core CPU 2.66GHz 2.66 GHz SLAEG

New Intel Xeon X5355 2.66GHz 8MB 1333MHz QuadCore SL9YM

They can be had on Ebay.com for around $400 it seems...

I saw this for $630, would this be what is needed? I alway see these with names like Dell/HP/Compaq at the beginning, aren't these just Intel? Also, are any other parts needed, and will my existing RAM (667 MHz DDRE2 FB-DIMM) still work, or will I need "faster" (in MHz) to match the new processor?

The Problem with upgrading a MacPro 1.1 is cost efficency for me.

So you need 2 new CPUs, and for a significant performance boost you need a good quad core. Those sell at at bout 400-500 dollars (x 2). So lets say you may spend about 1000$ for an upgrade. If you sell your mac pro you will get almost the same amount, and adding the additional 1000$ for the CPU upgrade is almost a new mac pro...

Its just not worth it unless you get a GREAT deal on the CPUs...

Its sad but true. And since you cannot overclock a 1.1 Mac Pro conveniently (yes you can but only with the compromise that your time will be off, which is stupid) its just not worth the hassle when you can get a new one (good used one that is way faster) for the same money when selling your old Mac Pro...

yes - we will see in a year or so time when I decide whether to upgrade what the prices are for the X5355 and the resale of the old 1.1 MP....but you cannot get a second hand 8 core MP for $2000....more like $2500-3000...

As I said, "almost". 2500$ will get you a new one which is probably significantly faster than a 1.1 with CPU upgrade... Thats what I meant: I wont spend 2000$ for something that will be faster when I could spend 2500$ to get something that is WAY faster...

And I dont think the 5355 CPUs will drop price any time soon since they already have been around for some time and havent dropped much yet. Thats the problem with the server CPUs in the mac pro. They are expensive as hell.

the way to grab those cpu's is to try to nab them used on ebay.

I'm running 4core btw. I have no need for more cpu. I wont buy a new macpro until 6gb sata is standard as 3gb sata is saturated by ssd and really thats the new frontier. CPU power has hit a plateau.

In almost all cases, upgrading a CPU is NOT worth it. Especially with macs. You're always better off selling your machine at a loss and buying a newer, faster one. The good news is that just like your old mac, the new one will hold it's value very predictably. I've found it's best to upgrade every 2 years or so, for me this seems to be the least depreciation on your old mac and the most significant improvement in power. There have been a few slower periods where upgrading simply didn't make sense(going from a G4 to a G5 wasn't really worth it for most people, but going from a G4 to an intel mac was a huge improvement).

been thinking about it myself after reading this thread and in think U.S. last time i check mp 1,1 was going for 1,500 or so for the quad so i would suppose just selling it on ebay taking your hard drives out and leaving what stock ram came with it and putting up an extra 1,200 would be much better. you would think apple would have some type of trade in program as big as they are huh?

it would be nice to buy a new mac pro and trade the old one in for 1,500 off but then again i can't remeber the last time i bought anything directly thorugh apple even with a student discount it's costly.i got mine for 2,100 when it came out of off site i found on price watch. i won't complain though most of my friends still have duals and not one a quad with the amount of ram i can use so i'm still getting pretty good resluts just have to bounce midi down to audio sometimes on heavy plugs and same with guitar sims at times. it sucks when you have a take really good and you get a hang up with 25 tracks or so running :P

Just got a pair of x5355 for my Mac Pro 1.1 for £300

Plopped them in they are working great

woah good call! Found the plop pretty easy then? Where you get them for that price?

Got them of Evilbay

I found some great info on how to do it all which made things a lot easier

wow I had a look on Ebay a month or so ago and didnt see them going anywhere near that price - are they used and was it a private seller or business trader with more?

Can you share the love of this info?

They were from a trader who deals in Computer stuff so they were tested and working.Ive noticed that the x5355 sell cheaper than the e5335 and e5345 this is because the x5355 uses a lot more power so is not suited for a lot of peoples machines.


Just before I bought them I noticed a matched pair of e5335 for about £400 they are probably still on ebay.

i don't have the cash right now...but you are right just checked and they are going pretty cheap right now down to the last few hours!i have a step up from the 2.0ghz so i don't know how it would work in mixed pairs and if i had to buy two if i wanted it to work. hmmm def. going to look into this if i can get a good deal at the end of the money if it's easy to install them.

cool £300 makes it more worthwhile....not read y for £400 I might give it 6 months anyways...

Do you have the link for the helpful instructions?

£400 for literally double the horsepower is good

Try these

Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English - Upgrading CPUs of a Mac Pro to Quad Core Xeons

Apple's Mac Pro - Upgrading CPUs, Memory & Running XP - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Picasa-verkkoalbumit - jiimaa - 5150 to 5160

Ive just replaced my 2 x5150s with 2 x5355
the difference is double the cpu power

Im a heavy Nebula user and this upgrade is a huge benefit