Building a MacPro, Yes, a MacPro not a Hackintosh Options

[gramarye]

in my opinion, this is probably the most beautiful thread in this forum...thanks for this nagal

[Harloe]

I agree =D It's so inspiring I'm even trying to blog for cash to go towards my own build =D

[gramarye]

15" x 10.5" x 7" . L x W is approx and H is a guess as I am not sure how tall the memory riser cards are but it will not be taller than 7 ".

Are there any other cases / chassis / enclosures that actually support that-sized form factor? Don't get me wrong, I still love the G5 enclosure, probably more than any other case.

Apparently, the Mac Pro at one point used the BTX Form Factor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of...er_form_factors


I'm thinking this case might, having a dimension of 8.7'' x 23.4'' x 24.2'', seems mod-able otherwise: http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/3126/20...24114204uz9.jpg

[nagal]

Well for starters we are not talking G5 cases here. While they are similar to the Intel Mac Pro case they are different beasts. As for the form factor of the Mac Pro logic board, I doubt it is a standard size. Macs have never used BTX as that is strictly a PC form-factor. it might have similarities to BTX but thats about it. I have no idea if that case will work but my inner voice says no. You need to get specs on the internal area available inside the case and not the size of the case over all.

If it was me, keep looking for a case. Don't forget you also need the front panel assembly which can be bought separately but is usually part of the case.

Also if it was me, get a real Mac Pro! With the release of the single CPU Mac Pro they are affordable now. You buy your memory else where and later on put in another CPU. That is the route I would take if doing this all over starting today. Even the standard 2.8 GHz octos are pretty affordable and not far off how much I spent.

[gramarye]

Well for starters we are not talking G5 cases here. While they are similar to the Intel Mac Pro case they are different beasts. As for the form factor of the Mac Pro logic board, I doubt it is a standard size. Macs have never used BTX as that is strictly a PC form-factor. it might have similarities to BTX but thats about it. I have no idea if that case will work but my inner voice says no. You need to get specs on the internal area available inside the case and not the size of the case over all.

If it was me, keep looking for a case. Don't forget you also need the front panel assembly which can be bought separately but is usually part of the case.

Also if it was me, get a real Mac Pro! With the release of the single CPU Mac Pro they are affordable now. You buy your memory else where and later on put in another CPU. That is the route I would take if doing this all over starting today. Even the standard 2.8 GHz octos are pretty affordable and not far off how much I spent.

Just curious to know about the Form Factor motherboard, since it's a quite foreign dimension to me.

I certainly agree with you. Like I've expressed in other threads, the expenses building the perfect hackintosh....really for what is spent, minus well go with a real mac pro, minus time and stress, and it's legitimate. I've always been a supporter for the real thing, and I seems to be always shut down by this with someone replying with 'oh no way, hack is better'...hey I understand the bias here, but essentially, the real thing is always better

I've saved up for a MacBook Pro for starters...though a Mac Pro right now would be nice.

Again, one of the most comprehensive threads here, a personal favorite, and thanks for sharing.

[newtech]

The Mac Pro MLB was designed by intel and is loosely based on their 5000VSX server reference board. It is an Extended ATX form factor. Be careful about rethinking cases, the board is laid out to match the air management of the Mac Pro case. Also be aware Apple uses metric fasteners vs. SAE fasteners on standard PC cases.

The case you link to would be great if air management was right, lots of room for drives if you wanted to use the Apple RAID card and still use on board SATA ports for internal drives.

[Harloe]

Hey nagal,

any updates on that board switchout? Hope it went according to plan, should be buying the case next month =D

[nagal]

Nothing to update I called Wed he asked for me to send the serial #'s again which I did. Tuesday I channel my inner bastard and get this taken care of.

[Harloe]

HAHA! Inner bastard xD Good one!

This is Kemmi by the way! Name change =D yay hope you can get this sorted!

[nagal]

Finally heard back from MacPro.com and the verdict, can not replace only refund. So while I can get my money back I also get stuck with no computer while I hunt down a new logic board.

Not happy.

[Harloe]

Ahh better than nothing though right? Pretty soon you'll be swimming in official 10.5 heaven =D I'm still trying to make a little cash on the side, lol

[nagal]

I just bit the bullet and ordered a OctoCore (pn 661-4307) Logic Board from ApplePalace.com. $782 with tax shipped I did call them first to verify stock and I will say it was a very pleasant experience unlike my previous dealing. They guy I talked to asked what happened to my original logic board so I told him I was building a Mac Pro from parts. He laughed and said gotcha. I went with the OctoCore board over the QuadCore one because it was cheaper by a whole 30 cents

Whats the difference between the OctoCore and QuadCore? I am *think* nothing but the firmware they ship with. There are specific firmwares for each board version. The PSU I bought was listed specifically for OctoCore and it works fine.

As soon as I get it, I will let everyone know what happens and how things go. I also will update the original posts price list to reflect then new cost.

[Bearcat]

While I'm not 100% sure. but it sounds like the quad core board is from the old mac pro with 1333mhz bus, and the octo core board is from the new mac pro with a 1600mhz bus, and also supports the new 45nm xeons.

This is a guess only fwiw.

EDIT: After thinking about it for a bit, it could also be the board in the old high end mac pro, that was also an octo. You might be right, it may be just a revision change.

[nagal]

While I'm not 100% sure. but it sounds like the quad core board is from the old mac pro with 1333mhz bus, and the octo core board is from the new mac pro with a 1600mhz bus, and also supports the new 45nm xeons.

This is a guess only fwiw.

I wish I'd love to have one of the new Mac Pro logic boards as it would offer some good upgradability. The new Mac Pro are using a different chipset than the older ones. The pre-2008 Octo (as well as the Quads) are using the 5000X chipset while the new Octos are using the 5400X chipset. This is why there is a jump to 1600 FSB and support for the Harpertown Xeons. Of course it is might be possible that the Harpertowns with 1333 FSB will work in the older Macs. This will give more cache and lower temps and only a slightly higher clock speed (3.16 GHz).

Its all kind of mute as even now running 8 cores at 2.13 GHz with a FSB 1066 has been more than enough for what I am doing in Logic. Having 8 cores @ 3.0 GHz with a FSB of 1333 should keep me happy for a long long time.

[Bearcat]

Thanks,

I see, 661-3919 seems to be Rev 1, and 661-4307 is identified as Rev 2.

My board identifier ends in VNBA, so I'm assuming it's a 3919, even though it says 630-7608 on it.

[newtech]

The octocore Mac Pro 2,1 board is a newer revision of the 1,1 board. About the only noticeable physical change is the new position of the CPU_B thermal sensor connector ( no longer under the riser cage ).

The only reported instance of trying Harpertowns on the older boards was a no go.

[RouteZeroDesign]

First of all, amazing build, i have been hoping to do this for a long time as i just cant afford the price of a full on macpro.

Just as a matter of interest, is there a list available on the net of processors that fit the macpro logic board?
I was wondering would it be possible to fit two qx6850s onto the logic board, but i think the qx6850 is socket 775 and the xeon is 640 or something like that.

I ask this because my dad knows the ex-head of intel ireland and he can get processors for me at cost price, so what would be the best processor i could go for?

[nagal]

First of all, amazing build, i have been hoping to do this for a long time as i just cant afford the price of a full on macpro.Just as a matter of interest, is there a list available on the net of processors that fit the macpro logic board?I was wondering would it be possible to fit two qx6850s onto the logic board, but i think the qx6850 is socket 775 and the xeon is 640 or something like that.I ask this because my dad knows the ex-head of intel ireland and he can get processors for me at cost price, so what would be the best processor i could go for?

In theory any Woodcrest or Clovertown Xeon should work and the older Dempsey may even work but why use those? All of these are LGA 771 no LGA 775 is going to work. Period. Now if you can get a hold of one of the new early 2008 Mac Pro logic boards then you can add Harpertown to that list.Now Apple used the following CPUs (I might have missed one or two but these were the most common for sure)2.0 GHz Xeon 5130 - Woodcrest (Dual Core)2.66 GHz Xeon 5150 - Woodcrest (Dual Core)3.0 GHz Xeon 5160 - Woodcrest (Dual Core)3.0 GHz Xeon X5365 - Clovertown (Quad Core)Since you can get these at cost and assuming money is not any issue, it would seem silly to get anything other than the X5365s. I do not know if the E5450 Xeon will work in the Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 logic boards but if they do, I would get those over the X5365.Here is the Intel comparsion chart of all the 5100 series Xeonshttp://www.intel.com/products/processor/xe...n5000+tab_specs

Edit

Okay I found an interesting doc from Intel on the new 1600 FSB Harpertown Xeons. According to it, they WILL work with the 5000X chipset. Does this mean that the Mac Pro Logic board will function? Dont know. The memory would have to be replaced with the new higher speed FB-DIMMs. There is nothing physically different between the 667 MHz and 800 MHz FB-DIMMs so they should work in the old memory risers as well. It really all depends if the Mac Pro logic board can handle the increased FSB without problems and if it will even recognize the higher FSB and run the processors at it.Here is the link to the dochttp://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.asp...p;culture=en-US

[newtech]

5000X chipset has max FSB of 1333 MHz, so putting 1600 Mhz FSB Xeons on the old board is not of any value as they will declock/underclock by that 25%.

Xeons used in Mac Pro's....

Macpro 1,1 ( 1333 MHz FSB )

2 GHz 2 X 2 core = E5130

2.66 GHz 2 X 2 core = E5150

3.0 GHz 2 X 2 core = E5160

Also known to work E5110(1.60), E5120(1.86), E5140(2.33), E5305(1.60), E5310(1.86), E5320(2.00), E5330(2.13), E5340(2.40) BSEL mod will raise 53x0 by 25%

E54xx/X54xx have not been shown to work.

Mac Pro 2,1 ( 1333 MHz FSB )

3.0 GHz 2 X 4 core = X5365

All 51xx and 53xx should work.

Mac Pro 3,1 ( 1600 MHz FSB )

2.83 GHz 1 X 4 and 2 X 4 core = E5462

3.0 GHz 2 X 4 core = X5472 ( as per evidence on geek bench results site )

3.2 GHz 2 X 4 Core = X5482

[RouteZeroDesign]

Thanks for the reply guys, i wasnt expecting such a fast reply seeing as it isnt even my thread.
Theoretically, if i bought a mac pro with say 2 x 2.83ghz processors on it, would i be able to swap them out for two 3.2ghz models?

I have searched on google and havent really came up with any answers if its possilbe to upgrade the macpro's cpu.