Scratches on mac pro

Hi everyone. Recently, I bought a used 12 core Mac pro desktop (Westmere, I think), and inside it's in good shape, however on the outside it's scratched in places, and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what I could use to take out the scratches or at least lessen them. Buying a newer case and reinstalling the internals is not an option right now, just saying......
thanks
John B

thanks, IIIaass. Just got this beastie up and running. The scratches aren't that deep, so I'll just use a little Meguiar's or Mother's polish and leave it at that.
Mind you, this is the first "pre-owned and experienced" MacPro I've ever bought. This one works fine as far as I know, and I got all my settings transferred over WiFi, and I'm updating it to Yosemite as I write this. I still have a bit of work to do on it-swapping the optical drive, swapping the video card, adding in the hard drives, but we're getting there piece by piece. all 4 handles had holes drilled in 'em, for security reasons, maybe rack mounting. I don't know for sure why - but I'm not shipping this thing back and asking for a refund. I'll just have to live with it , and, like you said, there's not much I can do.
thanks for your suggestions, sir
John B

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Interval Since Last Panic Report: 659874 sec
Panics Since Last Report:          3
Anonymous UUID:
Wed Aug 15 17:18:50 2012
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff801bab7b95): Kernel trap at 0xffffff7f9d18f975, type 13=general protection, registers:
CR0: 0x0000000080010033, CR2: 0xffffff81354e4000, CR3: 0x000000001e29d000, CR4: 0x0000000000000660
RAX: 0xffffff803240ff00, RBX: 0xffffff803e95a800, RCX: 0xffffff802ffae7c1, RDX: 0x0000000000000000
RSP: 0xffffff810c24bd90, RBP: 0xffffff810c24bdb0, RSI: 0xffffff803eaad900, RDI: 0xffffff803eaad900
R8: 0x0000000000000a50, R9: 0x0000000000000000, R10: 0x0000000000021294, R11: 0x0000000000000000
R12: 0x0000000000000001, R13: 0xffffff80ede120b4, R14: 0xffffff80ede12000, R15: 0xffffff803e925800
RFL: 0x0000000000010286, RIP: 0xffffff7f9d18f975, CS: 0x0000000000000008, SS: 0x0000000000000010
Fault CR2: 0xffffff81354e4000, Error code: 0x0000000000000000, Fault CPU: 0x0
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff810c24ba30 : 0xffffff801ba1d5f6
0xffffff810c24baa0 : 0xffffff801bab7b95
0xffffff810c24bc70 : 0xffffff801bace4ad
0xffffff810c24bc90 : 0xffffff7f9d18f975
0xffffff810c24bdb0 : 0xffffff7f9d18f6f3
0xffffff810c24be00 : 0xffffff7f9d18f6ab
0xffffff810c24be50 : 0xffffff7f9d18f936
0xffffff810c24be80 : 0xffffff7f9d1745d2
0xffffff810c24bed0 : 0xffffff7f9d17259f
0xffffff810c24bef0 : 0xffffff801be47078
0xffffff810c24bf30 : 0xffffff801be45b8a
0xffffff810c24bf80 : 0xffffff801be45cb9
0xffffff810c24bfb0 : 0xffffff801bab2677
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
         com.apple.GeForce(8.0)[91C40470-82BA-329A-A9D7-4C70F28275FD]@0xffffff7f9d16e000 ->0xffffff7f9d230fff
            dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(8.0.0)[6A699209-FB98-316B-A3C0-DCA82AA8C86B]@0xffffff7f9c0 d8000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.3.4)[E37F420A-B5CD-38ED-9441-5247583B6ACE]@0xff ffff7f9c0c4000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7)[8C9E06A4-13D0-33F5-A377-9E36F0ECC229]@0xffffff 7f9c04d000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.3.4)[5D671681-D21B-3CCA-9810-B15E648C1B27]@0 xffffff7f9c081000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
Mac OS version:
12A269
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 12.0.0: Sun Jun 24 23:00:16 PDT 2012; root:xnu-2050.7.9~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 8D5F8EF3-9D12-384B-8070-EF2A49C45D24
Kernel slide:     0x000000001b800000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff801ba00000
System model name: MacPro4,1 (Mac-F221BEC8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 8723959231719
last loaded kext at 7137625116281: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC          4.1.21 (addr 0xffffff7f9dbfa000, size 16384)
last unloaded kext at 7344248256356: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC          4.1.21 (addr 0xffffff7f9dbfa000, size 12288)
loaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch          75.15
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor          1.9.5d0
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC          1.60
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager          4.0.9f8
com.apple.driver.AppleTyMCEDriver          1.0.2d2
com.apple.driver.AGPM          100.12.69
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBDisplays          352.4.2
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver          122
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA          2.3.0f2
com.apple.filesystems.autofs          3.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet          1.0.0d1
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient          3.5.10
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver          2.3.0f2
com.apple.driver.ApplePolicyControl          3.2.6
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl          1.0.33
com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.0.9f8
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC          1.6.0
com.apple.GeForce          8.0.0
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter          404
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage          2.2.0
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless          1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib          1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache          34
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient          3.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub          5.1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI          4.9.5
com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4331          600.15.20
com.apple.driver.Intel82574L          2.3.0b4
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort          2.4.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI          5.1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI          5.1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.6.1
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC          1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS          1.9
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient          196.0.0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall          4.0.39
com.apple.security.quarantine          2
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement          196.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothHIDKeyboard          165.5
com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard          165.5
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothHIDDriver          4.0.9f8
com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver          235.27
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily          10.0.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub          5.1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver          5.0.0
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib          2.3.0f2
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily          1.8.9fc9
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib          1.6
com.apple.kext.triggers          1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface          86.0.2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily          4.0.9f8
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl          3.2.6
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginLegacy          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController          1.0.10d0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP          2.2.5
com.apple.iokit.AppleBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.0.9f8
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI          1.0.10d0
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController          2.3.0f2
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily          2.3.0f2
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily          5.2.0d16
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal          8.0.0
com.apple.NVDAResman          8.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport          2.3.4
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily          2.3.4
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC          3.1.3d11
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite          5.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice          3.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI          2.5.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily          3.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient          5.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily          4.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family          500.15
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily          3.0
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily          2.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily          5.1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime          1.6.1
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily          1.8.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily          1.1
com.apple.security.sandbox          220
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch          1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet          7
com.apple.driver.DiskImages          344
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily          1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore          28.18
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform          1.6
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily          2.7
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily          1.4
com.apple.kec.corecrypto          1.0
Model: MacPro4,1, BootROM MP41.0081.B07, 4 processors, Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 GHz, 8 GB, SMC 1.39f5
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, PCIe, 512 MB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, PCIe, 512 MB
Memory Module: DIMM 1, 2 GB, DDR3 ECC, 1066 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31384A53463235363732415A2D3147314431
Memory Module: DIMM 2, 2 GB, DDR3 ECC, 1066 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31384A53463235363732415A2D3147314431
Memory Module: DIMM 3, 2 GB, DDR3 ECC, 1066 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31384A53463235363732415A2D3147314431
Memory Module: DIMM 4, 2 GB, DDR3 ECC, 1066 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31384A53463235363732415A2D3147314431
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x8E), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.98.81.20)
Bluetooth: Version 4.0.9f8 10405, 2 service, 18 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en2
PCI Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, sppci_displaycontroller, Slot-2
PCI Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, sppci_displaycontroller, Slot-1
Serial ATA Device: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GH41N
Serial ATA Device: Maxtor 6B250S0, 251 GB
Serial ATA Device: WDC WD20EARS-00J2GB0, 2 TB
USB Device: hub_device, apple_vendor_id, 0x9121, 0xfd300000 / 3
USB Device: HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn, 0x03f0 (Hewlett Packard), 0x5417, 0xfd330000 / 8
USB Device: Datacolor Spyder3, 0x085c, 0x0300, 0xfd310000 / 7
USB Device: Apple Cinema Display, apple_vendor_id, 0x921d, 0xfd320000 / 6
USB Device: hub_device, apple_vendor_id, 0x9121, 0xfd100000 / 2
USB Device: DYMO LabelWriter Twin Turbo, 0x0922 (Dymo Corporation), 0x0018, 0xfd130000 / 5
USB Device: Apple Cinema Display, apple_vendor_id, 0x921d, 0xfd120000 / 4
USB Device: BRCM2046 Hub, 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0x5a100000 / 2
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, apple_vendor_id, 0x8215, 0x5a110000 / 5
USB Device: DTZ-2000W, 0x056a (WACOM Co., Ltd.), 0x00c5, 0x1a200000 / 2
FireWire Device: built-in_hub, 800mbit_speed
FireWire Device: unknown_device, unknown_speed

Still happening after the 10.8.1. Any ideas?

Mac Pro's (early 2008) Back up plan towards a possible OS upgrade to Yosemite

Hello All. Here’re some of the details/background info…hopefully all this won’t be so annoying. Your feedback is highly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
I have 2 Mac Pro’s (Early 2008) 3,1 both running SL (10.6.8). One I have been using non-stop throughout these years, I’d call it MP 2008 (A). The other one once belong to a friend who actually bought it around the same time I purchased mine, only that he didn’t use it much and just recently decided to sell it to me. I’d call it MP 2008 (B). Both MP’s are very light on data on the main, boot HD, just applications,… as everything I work on is kept in external hard drives and backups. I do not usually download any third party stuff (only when strictly necessary for my work) and essentially it’s all about the software and applications (Adobe CS3 and LR 0.2) I need to do my pretty basic work.
All pretty old stuff by now, I know.
Following a couple of mishaps and lots of good advice in these forums, (thanks to the hatter, etc.) I went ahead and bought 16GB of RAM for both, and an NVidia Graphics Card (all from Amazon.com) for my MP 2008 (A) to replace it after it went bad, and everything has been working just fine. As you can tell, I have not tried to upgrade much, but rather keep everything stock and running as smoothly as possible.
I am afraid the next big, important thing I MUST do is back up my almost 6 years-old HD (I know, it should’ve been done long ago). Frankly, I have never done it before because I didn’t even know that could be possible…I learned about it right here, in this forum. In this sense, much I have also read (here) about the SSD option, and about how great of an upgrade that could be too, but I have decided to stick to the regular 3.5” for now. (I just recently found out those SSD even existed!). Hopefully, once I gain a bit of confidence on how this works I’ll jump into the SSD option, cards, etc. So, I purchased 2X 3.5” SATA III HD’s to try cloning my MP 2008 (A) boot, main HD and get this process over with.
QUESTIONS
QUESTION #1: After installing the internal hard drives in bays 2 and 3: Do I have to specifically format them in order to turn them into bootable copies? If so, how do I do that? I have read about using ‘Disk Utility’ to format external hard drives for this purpose but I don’t know if that would apply for internal hard drives as well.
QUESTION #2: What are the settings/features you all recommend I should select/or deselect on CCC so I can have exact, bootable copies of my original HD? No fancy stuff, advanced options, etc…just what I need to have good enough copies that just work.
QUESTION #3: How do I test them?
I noticed that under “System Preferences/System/Startup Disk” I can select the drive/system I want to use to start up my computer from. My question is:
QUESTION #4: Can I permanently choose any of the Mac Pro four (4) bays/bootable hard drives as the main drive/system for startup? I always thought I could only be done from the original, ‘main’ bootable drive in bay 1.
QUESTION #5: What if the copy fails? How do I go back to the HD that works or to the next copy, for that matter?
About my MP 2008 (B): In an effort to sell me his MP, my friend (as knowledgeable as I am) messed up something that delays the start up a lot. I noticed that in the finder, the applications appear double, etc., so I am not so happy with it. Even though the little house icon has his name in the finder, he was able to make me the Administrator for the machine (I don’t know how). But again, it starts up to the typical chime, then a gray screen for quite a loooong while, then the apple logo, then the loading animation…and theeennnn it starts…and no known issues from there. In other words, I am sure he messed something up there while transferring this machine to me and now its startup is so delayed.
QUESTION #6: Let’s say that both the bootable HD copies I created on my MP 2008 (A) work fine: Can I take one out and install it in my MP 2008 (B) and eventually turn it into my startup drive and work from there too? Will this eventually lead to conflicting stuff? (Two machines, same identical cloned start up drive??).
Eventually, the plan is that I learn how to do all this so I can move on and upgrade with a clean install of Yosemite pretty soon.
Hopefully, both my Mac Pro’s 2008 A and B will last me a bit more and I can get to squeeze a few more seasons from them. They are awesome machines!
As you can tell, in theory I might have a little bit of a clue, but all is in the details. If you don’t mind, please shed some light on this process I am about to begin…thanks a bunch!

Thank you!
Kappy Nov 24, 2014 3:01 PM
Re: Mac Pro's (early 2008) Back up plan towards a possible OS upgrade to Yosemite in response to Juan Huerta
All new drives need to be partitioned GUID and formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled before they can be used.
OK, is that an option I'll be prompted to by the OS or do I have to "tell" that to...Disk Utilities (?)
If cloning is your purpose then use Disk Utility's Restore option. It will clone the drives and their Recovery HD partitions automatically.
I didn't know that Disk Utility had an option for cloning a bootable drive...is it better than CCC? (I have used neither one) I really would like to save $40 and avoid downloading additional software/applications...please if you don't mind...what option would that be once I click on "Disk Utility"? If you know of a good link or reliable article on the topic that will work for me too.
Test a clone be trying to boot the computer from it.
Any bootable drive in any bay can be used to boot the computer. Use Startup Drive preferences to set the desired boot volume.
Erase the target and try again.
But if the computer fails to start because I didn't create a good copy, how do I go back? Keyboard shortcuts? I keep reading that a wired keyboard must be used...and that's scary. If that's true, could I hook up any of my Windows based keyboards via USB?
Erase the drive and install OS X. You cannot use any software installed by the prior owner that was purchased via the App Store including OS X. You must start from scratch. (this actually is 5B rather than item 6.)
Well, he created an Admin account for me and I have been handling updates and everything with the new password he created for me. I wonder if I could access the Apple Store with my ID though...it's all under my name in that computer though, so I figure that at the Apple Store I'd just enter my ID...I guess, I have not tried that yet
Yes.

10.5.7 Fundamental Incompatibility with Mac Pro - Screen/System Lock ups

Hi all.
It looks like 10.5.7 is causing a lot of problems, but I think I found a problem that is very fundamental.
First, my system. It's one of the original Mac Pros with Quad Xeons at 2.66GHz. It has 24GB of RAM and several drives in there. I have 3 30" displays plugged into 3 NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT cards. I originally ran a 10.5.7 combo update on my 10.5.6 system, and experienced these problems (detailed below). As I was also running a beta of iTunes and the iPhone SDK (the 3rd release), and beta 2 of Safari 4, I thought this may have caused some trouble. So, I tried an experiment.
I bought a new Corsair 256GB SSD for my startup drive. Loaded my family pack of 10.5.6 onto it as a fresh install, and just applied the 10.5.7 combo update. I get the exact same behavior with no further software. So, this is a fundamental incompatibility of 10.5.7 with a machine having these specs.
Now the problems. They start with the primary (in my case center) screen locking while the other two screens keep working. Meaning, the primary display "works" but none of the windows move, the clock freezes...yet, if you move the mouse there and luckily grab a window, you could move it out onto the other 2 displays and it would allow you to continue to use the application. If you hit the CONTROLkey and scroll up and down (zooming the display in and out) it can sometimes "unlock" the primary display, but then there are many artifacts. For example, the shadows cast by windows appear as plain grey "dashboard esque" blocks and have black stripes at the edges. Also, at random times, the machine just seems to hang completely, and unlock a minute or 2 later. Eventually it locks for good.
Unfortunately this has lead me into a deadlock situation. My iTunes has been updated to the 3rd beta in the iPhone 3.0 SDK release. The library has been modified and only works with that version now. That version requires 10.5.7. So if I revert back to 10.5.6, I lose my iTunes Library or have to wait till the offical version of iTunes is realeased (although that may still require 10.5.7).
I see lots of people are having Firewire (800 in particular) problems, and I have several drives I need on Firewire. It's not a solution to yank them. It all works fine under 10.5.6, of course.
So the question is...is help on it's way? What to do!?
Thanks for any insights.
More info on the system below:
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 24 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.7f10
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x8
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0393
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3008
Displays:
Cinema HD:
Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Rotation: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-2
PCIe Lane Width: x8
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0393
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3008
Displays:
Cinema HD:
Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Rotation: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-3
PCIe Lane Width: x4
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0393
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3008
Displays:
Cinema HD:
Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Rotation: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
ATA Bus:
SONY DVD RW DW-D150A:
Model: SONY DVD RW DW-D150A
Revision: 1.MD
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: No
Power Off: No
TSSTcorpCD/DVDW SH-S162L:
Model: TSSTcorpCD/DVDW SH-S162L
Revision: LC02
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 1
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: No
Power Off: No
FireWire Bus:
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Built-in Hub:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
FreeAgent Go FW:
Manufacturer: Seagate
Model: 0x2200
GUID: 0x20370200105F82
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 200 Mb/sec
Sub-units:
FreeAgent Go FW Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x10483
Unit Spec ID: 0x609E
Firmware Revision: 0x110
Product Revision Level: 410G
Sub-units:
FreeAgent Go FW SBP-LUN:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Removable Media: Yes
BSD Name: disk5
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
Seagate149GBTote:
Capacity: 148.73 GB
Available: 132.95 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Case-sensitive Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk5s2
Mount Point: /Volumes/Seagate149GBTote
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
GUID: 0x0
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
OEM ATA Device 00:
Manufacturer: OEM
Model: 0x0
GUID: 0x30E102E0454B7D
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 200 Mb/sec
Sub-units:
OEM ATA Device 00 Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x10483
Unit Spec ID: 0x609E
Firmware Revision: 0x110
Product Revision Level:
Sub-units:
OEM ATA Device 00 SBP-LUN:
Capacity: 931.51 GB
Removable Media: Yes
BSD Name: disk4
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
TimeMachine:
Capacity: 931.19 GB
Available: 606.63 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Case-sensitive Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk4s2
Mount Point: /Volumes/TimeMachine
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
Unknown Device:
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Unknown
Memory Slots:
ECC: Enabled
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1:
Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x8551
Part Number: 0x373254353132393230454641335343322020
Serial Number: 0x02007D11
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 2:
Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x8551
Part Number: 0x373254353132393230454641335343322020
Serial Number: 0x02006013
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 1:
Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x8551
Part Number: 0x373254353132393230454641335343322020
Serial Number: 0x0200711F
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 2:
Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x8551
Part Number: 0x373254353132393230454641335343322020
Serial Number: 0x02007012
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 3:
Size: 2 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x830B
Part Number: 0x4E54324754373255344E4231424E2D334320
Serial Number: 0xA4730244
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 4:
Size: 2 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x830B
Part Number: 0x4E54324754373255344E4231424E2D334320
Serial Number: 0x70780241
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 3:
Size: 2 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x830B
Part Number: 0x4E54324754373255344E4231424E2D334320
Serial Number: 0xE4760245
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 4:
Size: 2 GB
Type: DDR2 FB-DIMM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: 0x830B
Part Number: 0x4E54324754373255344E4231424E2D334320
Serial Number: 0xF0770241

I can only tell you that I've run 10.5.7 on my Mac Pro, same model as yours, without any problems. As a beta tester my Mac Pro was the main hardware on which 10.5.7 was tested. I currently have it installed on a first generation iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro as well as a second generation MacBook Pro. So far not a single problem.
But, I don't have multiple video cards nor do I use any beta version of iTunes (didn't know there was one since each system upgrade includes the current release) but I do use the Safari 4 Beta - the most recent version just released when 10.5.7 was released.)
I can suggest you read the following about updates of system software:
Essential Steps Before Updating OS X!
Please do things right before updating OS X in order to avoid problems.
A. Repair Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) 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.
B. Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means your backup drive (should be erased first.)
Source means your startup drive or volume.
C. Download the Standalone Combo Updater from Apple.
Be sure you quit all running applications and disconnect all peripherals (except original keyboard and mouse) before running the installer. When the installer is running do not use the computer in any way other than to respond to an installer dialog.
Install the update by double-clicking on the installer package icon. When the installation is completed Restart the computer. Your computer will boot twice - this is normal. Upon completion of the update use Disk Utility to repair permissions. Not all permissions will seem repaired. You will get spurious reports regarding permissions related to iTunes, Front Row. These can be ignored. They will appear every time you repair permissions.
Following these basic steps should prevent most if not all updating problems. Note that if you have unrepairable disk problems reported in Step A then DO NOT update your system until those problems are resolved.
If you find that you did not follow these suggestions, then you might consider reinstalling OS X and going about the process properly in the hope of a successful result:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) 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, then quit DU and return to the installer.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Never owned a Mac, thinking of buying a Mac Pro, could use some advice...

Hey guys,
I know this was a lot to read, but I sincerely hope someone will take the time to answer my questions:
As the title of my post implies I've never owned a Mac in my life. I've always built my own desktops and usually gone to HP or Dell for my laptops. I'm approaching that time again where my custom-built desktop is looking outdated and I'm getting the upgrade itch. I'm looking at all the parts I need to order to build a computer and I can't help but think I'm older now with a full-time job and a one year old daughter in the house. Do I really want to go through the hassle of building a desktop from scratch again? Not really. So I started evaluating things a bit. As I get older I’m really just getting sick and tired of Microsoft’s antics (Vista was a huge disappointment for me) so I decided this could be the year for me to take the Mac plunge.
Now I’m an IT guy, so I have a pretty atypical setup at home. I’m currently running both Windows and Linux on all my computers. Rather than dual boot or use virtualization software I have a pretty intricate system in which I use a product called Acronis Trueimage to experiment with operating systems. What I do is perform a a clean install on an operating system, tweak it as needed for security and to use resources on my LAN than back up the customized OS install to a server a an image file. I have pre-built images for XP, Vista, Ubuntu and OpenSuSE that I can roll out to one of my machines in an average of 15 minutes whenever I get the urge to switch operating systems. I also serve all my data off a NAS box, so since data and OS are kept separate on the network I don’t have to worry about erasing something when I swap between Linux and Windows (as loading an image literally destroys the previous OS install).
So you can see I’m pretty highly specialized. I even have things down to the point to where I have custom images for specific purposes. For instance I have one XP image customized for development, one XP image customized for gaming, etc. Naturally if I got the Mac Pro I’d like to have the freedom to create a similar set of custom OS deployment images (Windows, Linux and OSX) for it as well. In researching the Mac Pro I have some concerns my current system might not work if I go that route. Am I correct in assuming that in order to run an alternative operating system on a Mac I’ll have to run boot camp or something like it? Or upon unboxing my Mac and tweaking Leopard will I be able to use disk imaging software to make a backup image of my preinstalled Leopard hard drive and then do a clean install of Windows XP or Ubuntu and set it up to function like a PC? I guess I’m asking if it’s possible (now that Macs are Intel-based) to run Windows or Linux exclusively on the Mac hardware?
Also I have some concerns about the proprietary nature of the Mac platform. From what I can gather in my research it seems the hardware is pretty locked in. One area that has me really concerned is gaming. I pretty much use Ubuntu exclusively at home for productivity and web surfing. However I still like to load that XP image every now and then to play some games on the LAN with my buddies. I’m not a fan of virtualizing for gaming because of the obvious performance hit you take, so I’d have to be able to run Windows XP free and clear. Also I checked Nvidia’s site and I see no OSX drivers listed there for their cards. Under the Windows platform they are always releasing driver updates to squeeze more game performance out of your card. What if I want to upgrade my video card? How do drivers work on OSX? Does Apple just integrate drivers for just a few specific video cards into the OS? Will I be stuck only able to pick from a handful of video cards approved by Apple?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice!
Message was edited by: ZeusABJ

Hi Zeus
I may be able to answer some of your questions. And sorry in advance if this sounds like yet another of those "religious conversion" stories
I'm a software developer/architect, mostly doing Microsoft .NET/C#/Web Services coding. I'd been a loyal Microsoft guy since I started on the original IBM PC back in the 80's. Like a lot of people (or so it seems) I just got fed up with Microsoft's high-handed and self-important ways. More importantly, the company always seemed to be lagging behind technically. Looking at beta versions of Vista did not bode well for the future - it just seemed awful. When Vista came out it it was the last straw - I just could not get enthusiastic about this bloated, slow, mess of an operating system. I really hated it. Still do. Even with a top-spec machine, Vista didn't run in the snappy, responsive way it I thought it should. Nothing seemed well thought out.. yuck!
Then, by chance, I was staying for a few days with somebody who had a Mac. Now, for years and years I not even considered Macs as remotely serious machines. My only experience of them was in the late 80's when somebody at work had one. He took delight in pushing a floppy disc into the machine so that it would respond "Ah, it's so big!". Great, just a toy. Not for serious programming work. So, encountering Mac OS X Tiger on my friend's iMac was something of a shock. It was so responsive, clean and elegant. When you turned it on it only took about 30 seconds or so for the thing to be ready for use, etc, etc.
Long story short, I bought an iMac, then a newer, bigger, faster iMac, then a MacBook Pro and now I have a Mac Pro. I still have to work with Windows to do my .NET-related day job. But 95% of the time I work on the Mac using various VMWare virtual machines. I can switch between Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP in a few seconds and still be working in a Mac environment. And the performance of running Windows inside VMWare is even better than on my dedicated top-spec Windows laptop! I have a selection of virtual machines to choose from and, because these virtual machines are just files, I can back them up, revert to saved copies, etc. I've tried Bootcamp but it's much less convenient and performance inside the virtual machines is never an issue (although I don't do any gaming). So, you could keep virtual machines on your NAS box or local Mac hard drive.
With regard to graphics drives, etc. I've never had any problems whatever in this respect. For example, when I installed Windows XP on VMWare it automatically recognised all my hardware (including some obscure audio interfaces, USB-based MIDI interfaces, etc.) and made it available. I must admit that when I was new to the Mac I expected to have driver issues, but never have had... So, my guess is that you'll be able to run all your Windows and Linux distros on the Mac without too many problems.
You mention Apple's hardware as being "locked-in". I don't think that's the case. Certainly the consumer Mac models like the iMac can't be upgraded (by you or me) internally, expect for memory. The Mac Pro though is very easy to upgrade - though there may be some limitations with regard graphics cards.
Re your questions about graphics card drivers. Yes, these come with OS X in just the same as as with Windows. Because I've also used the card that comes "with the box" this has not been an issue for me. However, unless you get a Mac Pro you can't swap-in your existing graphics card. And even then I think you may find restrictions. However, other, more knowledgeable Mac users on this forum may have other thoughts.
Overall though, the experience of using the Mac in terms of software is very much the reverse of Windows - the OS is very open and well documented. It really is an IT person's dream machine - so much to fiddle around with (particularly if you know anything about Unix!). Unlike Microsoft who charge a FORTUNE for their development tools, Apple give them to you for free. And very good they are too!
Finally, one bit of advice. If you are considering buying a new Mac, join the Apple Developer Connection scheme as a Select member. It'll cost you around $400 to join but they give you a hardware discount for Apple-store purchased items that will save you a ton of $$$'s - absolutely definitely worth doing.
Hope this helps (and good luck)!
Russ

Vista Business 64-bit Mac Pro 2.66 4-core

Hi,
Before 10.5 release, I tried to install Vista Business 64-bit twice, Erasing and starting from scratch both times (on a dedicated internal hard drive).
Both times I had driver issues...I eventually Erased a 3rd time and went with 32-bit.
I learned today Apple is now supporting 64-bit at least on some later 2007 Mac Pro models.
My 4-core 2.66 is April 2007.
MY QUESTION:
Does 64-bit work on a Mac Prow tower 2.66Ghz, 4-core (10gb ram)?
(I'm not brave enough to try it on my 8-core).
Will Windows Bootcamp SOFTWARE UPDATE give me all the required drivers -- no basic issues that would waste my time again trying to make 64bit work?
+++++
Note: I have the Tiger 10.4 OEM disks and a retail Leopard 10.5.0 install disk to work with.
I also have both 64 and 32 bit disks for Vista Business.
Is there a trick to doing this?

I'm done for today, but there was only one trip-up, getting the 2008 64-bit Apple drivers.
I started with Vista RC1 two years ago, and no major deal breakers in the last year or so (late '07 seemed to clear up most driver and applications).
Format drive as MBR and NTFS (and skip using BootCamp Assistant).
Install.
Update.
Install Apple drivers.
Don't install what you don't need (I learned to avoid Norton).
I've used Business, Home Premium and Ultimate, all 64-bit.
If you have a 2008, then use its OEM DVD for BootCamp 2.01 64-bit, you need those sort of for HAL and stuff. The 2008 officially supports 64-bit due to its EFI64 ROM is UEFI 2.01+.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846

PAINFULLY slow Mac Pro 2.66

About a week or so ago I bought an Apple refurb Mac Pro 2.66
It is replacing a Dual 1.8 G5 with 2GB of RAM. My plan was to "suffer" with 1GB of RAM in the Mac Pro for a while until RAM prices went down. At the same time I bought a MacBook 1.83/512MB to replace my iBook 1.33/512MB laptop.
Right to the point, the Mac Pro pages out of control, all the time. Even closing windows causes extreme paging. To put it into perspective, my Mac Pro pages significantly more than my old iBook that only had 512MB of RAM. It is so slow I can't even do work. I was going out of my mind. Then, I figured I'd boot the Mac Pro off of the MacBook and run all the disk utilities I could find just to make sure nothing was wrong. Oh I guess I should also say first that the MacBook is just as slow, although with 512 - 64 MB of RAM, it has an excuse at least. So I booted the Mac Pro off the MacBook over Firewire, and started running tests. All the tests were fine. The directory wasn't scrambled. The disk was barely fragmented, no volume problems at all, S.M.A.R.T. tests all passed. But then I noticed something. The machine was no longer paging. Booted off the MacBook's drive, it was acting like a machine with 1GB of ram. It has its slow moments but over all it was fine. Apps opened super fast. It was as fast as I thought the Mac Pro was going to be. So at this point I started to get suspicious of the hard drive. Despite passing all tests. So I googled it's model number and found a manufacturers spec sheet. The first thing I noticed was this quote:
"Super-quiet drive is almost inaudible. Difference between idle and seek can hardly be detected by human ear, making drive operation almost silent."
My drive spins up nice and quiet, but seeking is so loud, I can hear it across the room. So now I'm really starting so suspect something is wrong. Both computers have been so slow, I've barely been using them lately but I have much work to do.
--also as an out of order note, I do run Adobe software, but all the slowness observations happen even when running ONLY intel native apps. Running PPC stuff just makes it worse but its still painfully bad without them.
So hows this for a theory. I've been told that intel code is optimized more for fast execution likes larger amounts of ram, so a system short on ram feels the pinch more. That, plus the fact that 64MB is being used for video RAM, is making my MacBook legitimately slow. The Mac Pro on the other hand, has a hard drive problem which is causing super slow paging. So I'm hoping that once the drive is replaced, I'll be able to work on the machine normally, or almost normally.
To give you an idea of how bad the paging is: remember when we used system 7 and would click on a program, and stop everything, walk into the other room, and come back when the application was opened. Thats what I do now on a 1 GB machine. Even switching between apps can take a minute or two.
What do ya think?

Unless you yourself did a full fresh clean install of the OS, that is the first thing to do.
Second, don't migrate any files except data to the Mac Pro. And definitely not PPC program files, install those, but don't use Migration Assistant.
It sounds like your system is just suffering from "molasses effect" of a poorly installed and updated system, and that someone used Migration Assistant on it.
2GB of RAM is nice, but if you are running heavy files or memory hungry, 4GB would be nice.
You may want to setup a boot drive, a scratch drive, and a data drive to help spread the work over multiple drives. Also, the OEM drives do tend to be slow and sluggish, and you want your boot drive to be your best, whether 300GB or 500GB best of class, or 10K Raptor.
Wipe the drive, zero-all, do a fresh system install and update, and I think you'll find it behaves. Clone the system before installing 3rd party so you have a known good system state and don't have to customize everything again.

New Mac Pro 2.66 Ghz Nehalem Quad and FCP and Compressor

When something goes well for a change it deserves its rightful place in the posts of this discussion forum. I just completed my hook-up and an initial test on my new Nehalem quad Mac Pro, and I must say that once in a while things do work out.
1. The noise level is non-existant. I literally had to check to make sure that the unit was on. This in comparision to my G5 which sounds like the SST on take off. I might now actually hear the audio on my video monitor.
2. The speed is INCREDIBLE! Prior to shutdown, I ran a test by sending an hour's worth of mixed XDCAM EX/HDV footage to Compressor on my G5. At the highest quality 2 hour setting for DVD encoding (double pass) it took the G5 12.5 hours to encode. Running the same clip through the same version of Compressor in the Mac Pro took approximately 45 minutes. This roughly translates into a 16.5X increase in speed over my dual 2.5 Ghz processor G5. I'M SOLD! And for now, the Honeymoon continues.
The only drawback (besides the price) is that I had to buy a $100 adapter/power supply to enable my old 25" Cinema screen run on the new video card.
Thanks
fastfreddy

Mac Pro 1,1 (all Mac Pro models come with Xeon).
What matters is cleaning the X1900 of dust and from clogging intake and exhaust - every three months.
Run Apple Hardware Test from your OEM DVD.
Install SmcFanControl 2.x and keep the fans rpm to 800-900 instead of 499-599 base as minimum at least.
Monitor temperatures with Hardware Monitor or similar.
Have you been looking to see in System Profile: Memory if there are any errors?
Normally, clone backup update weekly and running Disk Warrior at the same time should be done to spot disk directory and file system problems before they get worse. Or any time your system freezes.
Freeze... and what you have 90% of the time is a corrupt directory and other errors.
At which time you may need to restore if you can't fix the problem. And don't rely on only Apple DU First Aid to find and repairs any and all errors.
For Snow Leopard maybe a flashed ATI 4870 to replace the X1900.
You may need to start over from scratch to get things stable once you find what is happening, and work with a test system until then with some trial and error. Format/initialize and clean install of 10.6.x for the OEM 10.4.7+.
At nearly 4 yrs now since it came out, not sure if you have plans for a new one.

Mac Pro 2.0 outperforming Mac Pro 2.66, WHY?

Ok Guys, I am stumped here and hopefully someone can shed some light.
I have 2 Mac Pros: System 1 - 2 x 2.66 with 9GB of memory and System 2 - a recently acquired 2 x 2.0 with 5 GB of memory.
System 1 has banks filled as follows:
Riser A
Bank 1: 2gb
Bank 2: 2Gb
Bank 3: 512
Bank 4: 512
Riser B
Bank 1: 2gb
Bank 2: 2Gb
Bank 3: empty
Bank 4: empty
In System 2, I installed snow leopard after reformatting a 500 GB WD (7200rpm)caviar drive w/16 MB cache. There is also a 2nd WD drive (1 TB, 7200 Rpm)
Having plans to upgrade the 2.O Mac pro, I decided to compare it against my "faster" Mac pro 2.66. I took a video file that is 1hr 23 mins. It took 56 mins to render in IDVD coming from ImovieHD. Knowing that the 2.66 is significantly faster than the 2.0, I was thinking it would take maybe 44 mins to complete on the Mac Pro 2.66... to my surprise it took 1 hr 49 mins.
Thinking that the benefits were due to snow leopard. I backed up the system, reformatted the drive and installed Snow leopard and all my apps on the Mac Pro 2.66. I did the same test, the performance was even worst - it took 2 hrs 3 mins. After dropping the F-bomb a couple times I started looking at other things.
The Mac Pro 2.6 has 2 x 1 TB 7200 drives the OS drive has a 32 GB cache the other drive a 16 Mb cache.
The memory in the 2.0 is configured as follows:
Riser A
Bank 1: 1gb
Bank 2: 1Gb
Bank 3: 512
Bank 4: 512
Riser B
Bank 1: 512
Bank 2: 512
Bank 3: 512
Bank 4: 512
The video files on both systems are located on the non-OS file but I create the disk image from IDVD to the desktop on the OS Volume. The workflow is identical on both systems.
Both video cards are the stock Nvidia 7300. All drives are 7200 rpm. Why is my Mac Pro 2.0 outperforming the MacPro 2.66 with almost twice as much memory? I even filled the two empty slots on the MAC pro 2.66 thinking that is why it was taking a hit, it did not help.
Any good suggestions welcome.

Some tidbits:
RAM should be in quad and paired across Risers.
4 x 2GB (or 4 x 4GB) is your best as far as memory bandwidth
6 DIMMs is not ideal (8 DIMMs properly paired is okay but higher latencies)
Higher density RAM also shows improvements.
HARD DRIVES are an easy investment and can be used in whatever system you need now or later.
7.2k drives are fine, yours are on the old side.
Especially that 500GB model.
SATA III, latest models, show 20% improvement, 64MB cache
4 WD Caviar Black 640GB @ $70 eachm or 1TB to 2TB ($85-170)
boot from one, and stripe the other two or three.
You probably aren't ready to throw SSDs in, nor do you want $200-275 for 10K WD VelociRaptors (300-600GB) which are fast and make nice drives for system, scratch, and of course in arrays.
Other throught - cpu upgrade project 5300: get a set of 5355s off ebay and have an 8-core frenzy for $400 the set.
2006 Mac Pro Clovertown (Quad core) CPU Swaps Revisited
2006 Mac Pro Quad-Core CPU Upgrade report (5350's OC'd to 3.3GHz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOF435jCg8E
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/jan11/011311.html#S28002
- search cpu upgrades
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/cpucards.html
Time to replace those 7300s, if they aren't ready to bulge and blow a capacitor already. Shame that there really are few choices, 5770 or... 5770.
OS drive should be lean, fast, and just OS and apps
data or media drive
editing drives
higher capacity drives w/ 64MB cache are a plus, just being 3rd generation of Caviar Black line improvements rather than 4 yr old 500GB 16MB cache model
+Tried to break-down and decipher your setup and results for my own use:+
System 2
Installed snow leopard
500 GB WD (7200rpm)caviar drive w/16 MB cache.
2nd WD drive (1 TB, 7200 Rpm)
Mac pro 2.O against my "faster" Mac pro 2.66.
video file is 1hr 23 mins. It took 56 mins to render in iDVD coming from ImovieHD.
I was thinking it would take maybe 44 mins to complete on the Mac Pro 2.66... to my surprise it took 1 hr 49 mins.
Thinking that the benefits were due to snow leopard. I backed up the system, reformatted the drive and installed Snow leopard and all my apps on the Mac Pro 2.66.
I work with a 2006 2.0 and a 2009 4-core 2.66GHz and the difference between the two is noticeable enough to consider upgrading my 1,1 to 5355s, 4 x 2GB (or more), and 5770, JUST so it can 'compete' on equal footing with $2k Mac Pro Special:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro
Or for just $1800
http://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2011/20110123_MacProBargain--macpro.html

Scratches on mac pro

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