Mac Pro Quad core Intel Xeon upgrade advice please!

Hi all, i have a Mac Pro Quad core 2 x 2.8ghz Intel Xeon (2008 model) with 4gb RAM.
I am planning on giving it some upgrades and a fresh OS install as it is slowly grinding to a halt (particualrly noisey hard drives)
Can anyone recommend best/fastest/silent! S-ATA hard drive to upgrade to?
Can anyone recommend a good replacement ATAPI DL DVD-RW Drive as mine is also on its way out.
Ram upgrade. Lots of space for RAM so what would you all recommend?
Ultimately i am finding myself working with alot of large PS file and so would welcome any suggestions to improve/soup-up the processor/performance.
Thanks for any advice in advance...

24GB RAM gets cost ly when you look at 800MHz FBDIMMs in 2x4GB
You shoudl have added more as 4GB is vary basic and miinimal
Any SATA drive device is fine. WD Black 1-2-4TB / WD 10K VRs are fast but not as quiet though I do hear those WD Blacks.
A single SSD for a system is nice.
10.6.8 works best in that system.
Your GPU most probably is in need of an upgrade.
You should never need to do a reinstall of the OS. Clone. Yes. And start wit h a new OS by not upgrade in place over the old OS but that is when to clean install, clone and use Set up Assis tant.

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Fileshare between my Mac Pro Quad Core Intel Xeon (64-bit) & Power Mac 9600

I want to make my Power Macintosh 9600/233 (Mac OS 9) a shared computer with my Mac Pro Quad Core Intel Xeon (64-bit)(Mac OS 10.6.6). I am using a Netopia Model 3346N-VGx DSL Ethernet Managed Switch to network with my Samsung printer and the Mac Book Pro.
I also have a Power PC G4 (Mac OS 10.5.8) connected (via a Ziplinq 48" Retractable Crossover Network Cable) to a Farallon EtherWave 10 Base-T AAUI Transceiver, which in turn is connected to the Netopia, from which I can share files. All of this is ethernet connectivity.
I thought I could connect my 9600 using the same method as for the G4 or by connecting the ethernet cable from the 9600 directly into the Mac Pro Quad Core. However, neither of these methods work.
An additional stumbling block is that I have not used this 9600 for several years and am not sure of its account name. I'm fairly certain of its password. But because I don't have a second monitor for this machine, I can't muddle my way in.
My questions:
1. What might be a network solution to this dilemma?
2. Or, do I need to get another monitor for this computer and leave it un-networked and just transfer files manually?
3. Or, would whatever hard drives are in the 9600 be transferable into the networked G4 or the main Mac Pro? (not sure what they are.)
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Oh man, what a dilemma...
1. What might be a network solution to this dilemma?
Without a monitor on the 9600, almost none. At the very least you'll need to configure the server with appropriate network settings for your environment, and that can't be done headless.
You might only need a display for long enough to setup the network, but you'll need one all the same.
Once the network is configured your options are either AFP or FTP, but I'm not even sure the old version of AFP is supported anymore, which means you may need to fire up an FTP client on the 9600 and push the files to your MacPro.
2. Or, do I need to get another monitor for this computer and leave it un-networked and just transfer files manually?
As mentioned above, you're going to need a monitor at the very least to configure the network settings. I'd be inclined to say at that point you might as well copy the files off any way you can and put the 9600 to rest. If you're really, really fortunate and the 9600 has a CD burner I'd probably use that and count myself lucky
3. Or, would whatever hard drives are in the 9600 be transferable into the networked G4 or the main Mac Pro? (not sure what they are.)
The 9600 shipped with SCSI drives, which no current Mac support (at least without a SCSI card), so there's no way to remove the drive from the 9600 and attach it directly to the MacPro.

Best Mac Pro Quad-Core Intel Xeon Machine for PhotoShop CS5/Lightroom

I want to buy a new Mac Pro. I use it almost exclusively to process large quantities of digital images, with large files sizes. Am I better off going with the lower power Dual Quad Processor, or the Higher Power single Quad Processor? I want speed for light room and CS5. DO LIghtroom and CS5 support these Dual Quad machines? Or am I better just getting the highest speed single Quad Machine
thanks
Chuck
[email protected]

Hi Photoman1125,
With regard to Photoshop CS5 the 8-Core has the advantage of 64GB maximum RAM compared to 32GB for the Quad Core, and CS5 can use all the RAM which is available.
The 3.33GHz Quad Core would have the edge in performance over the 2.26GHz 8-Core for most applications.
However, the 8-Core could prove more future-proof in the long term, particularly if advancement in software makes more use of the additional processor and extra RAM.
You might find the following links useful:
http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/bto-macpro-configure.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/OptimizingPhotoshopCS5-Intro.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/index.html
Regards,
Bill

Running 10.6.8 on Mac Pro Dual-Core Intel Xeon 2.66GHz processors. Can I upgrade to Lion 10.7

I've just upgraded from 10.5 to 10.6.8 on a Mac Pro Dual-Core Intell Xeon, 2.66GHz. Is it possilbe to upgrade to Lion 10.7 with my Mac Pro Dual Core or have I just hit my ceiling on 10.6.8 update ?

Mac Pros are not PowerMacs. In 2006, Apple changed all its cheesegrater enclosure Macs to have the Xeon chip installed, and changed the name to Mac Pro at that that time from PowerMac G5. That said, all Mac Pros can upgrade to a minimum of 10.7.5. Only the earliest ones can't upgrade to 10.8 and above. 10.7 and later do not have Rosetta, the ability to run PowerPC (pre-2006) applications natively. For other pitfalls, read this tip.

Mac Pro 3.2 GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xeon Running Slow

Hi everyone!
I'm a professional photographer and could use some advise, and thanks for your help in advance!
I have a Mac Pro 3.2 GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 8 gigs of 1066 MHz DDR3 of memory, running on OS 10.9.5, and my main drive for applications is 1TB and has about 420 GB free. I have various other hard drives for storage.
I use Chrome, Lightroom 4, Photoshop CC2014, Blogstomp, Spotify or iTunes, and I have Backblaze Backup running continuously.
When I first got my computer I didn't have any problems, but over the past few months it's been running super slow. I know that LR4 has issues, but I want to make sure that there isn't anything else I need to look into before getting more memory. I mean even Chrome opening up has the beachball.
Thanks!
-Deirdre

etresoft EtreCheck
The output from that, post it, can be useful.
More details on the hardware from it too: amount of memory (24-48GB RAM), any changes or upgrades.
Good tips and advice can be found here, also pro graphics
Macintosh Performance Guide Articles & Reviews
My guess is this is a 5,1 2010-2012. You could use a GTX 680 or later, it has good PCIe (the 2009 is somewhat weaker and crippled by sharing slots 3&4)
A Samsung XP941 512 $525 delivers 1100MB/sec reads and 900MB/sec writes to supercharge your system - one of the best and few such, similar to the same SSD blade used in the nMP 6,1. Lightroom and CS love to be able to load and write scratch, graphic libraries. Bootable. You could use a smaller 256GB $275 for system in slot #3 and one for data and scratch in slot #4 if you wanted to go full out.
You said it was fine originally so maybe something you installed, or an upgrade to the OS or something else that Etrecheck should help show.

Which OS for Mac Pro (3,1) 2 x 3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon?

I purchased my Mac Pro 3,1 2 x 3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 10.5 (Leopard)-
I want to wipe the disc clean and clean install lion.
I do know that sometimes it's better for older configurations to stay with "older" OS platforms....???
thanks

Is there not a full 10.7 OS Disc?
There is no official DVD at all, but there is a thumb drive with both 106 and 10.7 on it for US$70.
On an older Mac, about 2010 or older, you need access to one of:
• The Mac App Store ( such as on a Mac with a working 10.6.8 or better)
• working Recovery HD
• a bootable 10.7 Installer, on thumb drive, Hard drive, or DVD
So for ONE 2010 or older Mac with a bad drive, you would have to buy the US$70 Apple thumb drive, or have previously made a DVD or Hard Drive when you previously downloaded 10.7. Or you re-install 10.6.8 then overwrite it with the downloaded 10.7.
• another Mac with 10.7 installed so you could transfer Recovery HD to the down Mac with "Lion Recovery Disk Assistant"
OS X Lion: About Lion Recovery Disk Assistant
On some 2010 and most 2011 models, if Recovery HD is messed up or not Installed, but you have a working Broadband connection [with DHCP enabled], the Firmware has been upgraded so it will boot from the Internet and do the whole job using "Lion Internet Recovery" as described in the second section of this glossy article:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/recovery/
If no DHCP is available [no Router upstream, either yours or your ISP's], it may not work.

How to delete photos with Zero KB size that were downloaded onto mac pro osx vers 10.5.8, 2x2.8 quad core intel Xeon ?

How to delete picture files ( nikon NeF and jpeg ) with Zero KB size that were downloaded onto mac pro osx vers 10.5.8, 2x2.8 quad core intel Xeon
-- have not been able to move them or move them to trash without crashing Finder ?

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive & clear caches.)
Try trashing them in Safe Mode, reply if that doesn't help.

I have a Mac Pro 4,1 quad core intel Xeon running mac OSX 10.6.8 and I have just moved studios and now need to use the Internet wirelessly but there's no airport facilities on this model can anyone tell me what model of airport card I would need for this

I have a Mac Pro 4,1 quad core intel Xeon running mac OSX 10.6.8 and I have just moved studios and now need to use the Internet wirelessly but there's no airport facilities on this model can anyone tell me what model of airport card I would need for this mac

Instead of getting a wireless card for the Mac Pro, you might want to consider getting an 802.11ac wireless bridge device that would enable you to connect more than one device to it by Ethernet cable and to eventually take advantage of the faster 802.11ac wireless standard.

HT201343 I have a late 2008 Mac Pro Quad Core 2x2.8 Intel Xeon with Lion 10.7.5- do I need Maverick and will this hardware support the Airplay Mirroring?

I have a late 2008 Mac Pro Quad Core 2x2.8 Intel Xeon with Lion 10.7.5… do I need Maverick and will this hardware support the Airplay Mirroring?

It doesn't mention anything about a Mac Pro. So no.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5404
If your computer did support it, you would still need 10.8 or 10.9 for Airplay to work.

UPGRADING AND MIXING MEMORY ON MY MAC PRO QUAD CORE DUAL 2.8 (Xeon)?

Hello,
I have a Mac Pro Quad Core Dual 2.8GHz (Xeons) with 4GB of memory (2 x 1GB Apple modules + 2 x 1GB other brand - Shown as "Manufacturer 0x855D") and now I want to fill the other 4 memory slots by adding an additional 16GB (4 x 4GB modules) for a total of 20GB of RAM.
My 2 questions are:
1.- In which order/pattern should I install these new 4 X 4GB modules along with my original Apple 2 x 1GB modules and the "Manufacturer 0x855D" 2 x 1GB modules the best way (for better performance)? - I have heard stories that if I do it improperly, I could slow down my Mac Pro...
This is how I have them configured right now:
Raiser A / DIMM 1 = 1GB (Manufaturer "0x830B") - I assume this is the Apple memory, right?
Raiser A / DIMM 2 = 1GB (Manufaturer "0x830B")
Raiser A / DIMM 3 = Empty
Raiser A / DIMM 4 = Empty
Raiser B / DIMM 1 = 1GB (Manufacturer "0x855D") - How can I find which manufacturer is this?
Raiser B / DIMM 2 = 1GB (Manufacturer "0x855D")
Raiser B / DIMM 3 = Empty
Raiser B / DIMM 4 = Empty
2.- What brand would be most compatible to work with my Apple 2GB (2 x 1GB) factory memory? Kingston? Crucial? Mushkin? iRam? Corsair? OWC? (Does OWC sell their own brand? or which one do they carry?-its not specified on their web)
Thank you so much in advance for all your help!

About RAM installation in the Mac Pro
Mac Pro memory arrangement photos
Mac Pro Memory Configuration
Memory Tests- "2008" Mac Pro
Ram should be installed minimally in matched pairs and optimally in matched quads. This means the memory modules are the same size and specifications. They should also be equipped with the Apple-certified style of heat sink.
Brand really doesn't mean much as long as they work.

Ere are the specs on the Mac I need more power on. Mac Tower Processor 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Memory 6 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB Serial Number H00354XF20G Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) Harddive 640 GB SATA

ere are the specs on the Mac I need more power on.
Mac Tower
Processor 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 6 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB
Serial Number H00354XF20G
Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)
Harddive 640 GB
SATA Disk
(2) Harddrives 1 TB
SATA Disk
RAM 6 slots total -- 6 are filled with 1GB
(3) UAD Quad cards installed
I use this computer stictly for audio recording.
Pro Tools 10.3.7
Interface Apollo 16
Pro Tools is curretnly not compatible with Maverick. Also, I believe that Pro Tools 10 only allows 4GB ram to be utilized (not sure )
I know Pro Tools 11 allows more, but not sure how much more. Also not sure if the upgrade to Pro Tools 11 I will have to purchase all new plug ins or if my existing ones will continue to work in it.
The platform changes from 32 bit to 64 with the upgrade to 11
If it is as simple as adding more ram, what mode-part #l would you recomeend. Can the processor be upgraded also ?
The new tube like Macs are non compatible with UAD Cards. Those cards a must my sessions

You can use Activity Monitor to check if apps run as 32 or 64 bit - simply look at the "Kind" column (you may need to select it under View -> Columns) and see if the app in question is listed as "Intel" i.e. 32 bit or as "Intel (64 bit)".
While in Activity Monitor you can also check if Pro Tools is close to the 3-4 GB limit of a 32 bit app - if you aren't you will probably not benefit from more RAM.
Your MacPro (it appears to be a Early 2009 model) should have come with a small booklet showing how to install RAM and what kind of RAM that you need. Any RAM that fulfills the requirements should work but your safest choice is probably to buy from a retailer/online store that supports Macs as they will usually know what kind of RAM you need for your mac model.
Upgrading the CPUs should be possible, but I haven't seen Apple document how to do this, so you will probably have to google around a bit to find instructions and CPU part numbers.
Your choice of CPUs will also be limited by the motherboard and CPU socket so you may be limited to faster version of your current CPU chip and some slightly newer versions.
Going from your current CPU to the fastest version included in the 2009 MacPros would be going from 2.26 GHz to 2.93 GHz. This would only give a modest 30% speed boost. Using newer and highly clocked CPUs might boost this somewhat more maybe to 50% ?

Can my mid '12 MacPro 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon handle Final Cut Pro X?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro5,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.39f11
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f11
ATI Radeon HD 5770:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5770
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0xXXXX
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-C0160C-180
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436
Displays: P191W:
Resolution: 1440 x 900 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Macintosh HD:
Available: 829.06 GB (829,058,117,632 bytes)
Capacity: 999.35 GB (999,345,127,424 bytes)
Mount Point: /
File System: Journaled HFS+
Writable: Yes
Ignore Ownership: No
BSD Name: diskXXX
Physical Drive:
Media Name: WDC WD1001FALS-XXXXXX Media
Medium Type: Rotational
Protocol: SATA
Internal: Yes
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

Most don't know this...
If your Blue-Ray video is under 30 minutes, you can burn it to DVD disc using a DVD burner. I haven't had any problems playing these discs in a Blue-Ray player. The quality is the same as burning to a Blue-Ray disc.
First I make a disc image and open that in the VLC player to check the quality... after that... burn to disc.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

AirDrop on my MacBook Pro but not on my Desktop MacPro (Quad-Core Intel Xeon). Does the desktop not support it?

AirDrop on my MacBook Pro but not on my Desktop MacPro (Quad-Core Intel Xeon). Does the desktop not support it? What gives?

See if your Mac model supports it:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4783
Thanks ... Ken

Since I upgraded to OS 10.6.8 from 10.5.x my 2x3GHz quad-core Intel Xeon desktop spontaneously turns off as if I pulled the plug. Mostly it happens when there is no open software and it's in the sleep mode, but it has happened while I'm working.

Since I upgraded to OS 10.6.8 from 10.5.x my 2x3GHz quad-core Intel Xeon desktop spontaneously turns off as if I pulled the plug. Mostly it happens when there is no open software and it's in the sleep mode (because it spends more time like that), but it has happened while I'm working. It just suddenly quits.

This is a suspicious sign of power supply failure. I would have that checked into. Others who have had similar problems have had the power supplies replaced which fixed the issue.

Can I install Mavericks on Quad-Core Intel Xeon (w/10.6.8)?

From everywhere I have read so far, the answer looks like "yes I can install Mavericks", but I'm a bit confused and wanted to check with folks here before I dive in...
I'm running an early-2008 Mac Pro with 10.6.8 (check!), but I could swear that in the past when I tried to update certain pieces of software (and OS), that 10.7+ (or 10.8+) required a later processor than is running on my Mac Pro (which is a Quad-Core Intel Xeon).
With the Mavericks release, it seems to be that I can now update the OS even with this older processor, and then be able to run all the latest software (I really just use MSFT and Apple software). It seems counter-intuitive to me, so I just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something and will be left in deep doo-doo after trying to install Mavericks!
Thanks much all-

       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
You must have the third generation MP in order to run Mavericks. You can install over Snow Leopard:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
If all is well then run the Mavericks installer that you downloaded. Prior to this you may wish to make your own installer:
Make Your Own Mavericks, Mountain/Lion Installer
1. After downloading the installer you must first save the Install Mac OS X application. After the installer downloads DO NOT click on the Install button. Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the installer. Move the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes installing.
2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:
Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the leftside list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash drive size.
3. Use Lion DiskMaker 3.0 to put your installer clone onto the USB flash drive.
Make your own Mavericks flash drive installer using the Mavericks tool:
You can also create a Mavericks flash drive installer via the Terminal. Mavericks has its own built-in installer maker you use via the Terminal:
You will need a freshly partitioned and formatted USB flash drive with at least 8GBs. Leave the name of the flash drive at the system default, "Untitled." Do not change this name. Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder. Copy this command line after the prompt in the Terminal's window:
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app --nointeraction
Press RETURN. Enter your admin password when prompted. It will not be echoed to the screen so be careful to enter it correctly. Press RETURN, again.
Wait for the process to complete which will take quite some time.

Mac Pro Quad core Intel Xeon upgrade advice please!

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