Wanted: Mac Pro Tech in Auckland

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harlansmart

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#206017 6-Dec-2016 21:20

Hi, who nearby me, Auckland, does a bit of Apple Mac Pro work... just looking for a hand, need someone want to swap out processors & flash my AMD7950 3GB video card so I get a boot screen. I'm having a mare lol!

Cheers, Harlan

harlansmart

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1686825 13-Dec-2016 08:45

Hi people,

Looking for 2009 - 2012 Mac Pro service / advice ----> diagnostic skills required beyond mine, or a tech who actually has, a Mac Pro.

Advice grateful, sort of getting, nowhere!

harlansmart

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1687584 14-Dec-2016 10:22

Hi - does anyone know a place that knows anything about Mac Pro's, I have a 2009 Claccis Mac Pro (cMP) & been into 6 places now in the last week, and it is a big heavy box to cart round!! Sadly, it seems fancy diagnostic gear or another cMP to use as a test bench to swap processor trays etc till they figure the issue is kinda useful.

While I know nothing, its just enough to determine when others know less.

The answer for me, may simply be grabbing another from TM (a low spec one is $1k) using it to sort mine then selling/gifting it.

Just want to swap in Xeon 3.33GHz processors & flash a AMD Radeon 7950 PC graphics card with Mac f/w.. think the taller processors are preventing the plugs for the fans in the heat sinks making a nice connection, something like that.. still have the OEM chips & OEM graphics card.

Also have 3 x PCIe boards to install too but I can do that, a Sonnet Individual Controller PCIe USB3.0 card to speed up external discs & a Sonnet Dual SSD card to stick 2 SSD's on in RAID0 for the OS, also have an Amfeltec Squid card to install with 4 x Samsung SM950 achi blades in RAID0 when I can find them at a good price (Squid card the home folder or OS am unsure, maybe both if the thing is out of lane width or physical space the 7950 isn't huge it only need the bottom double size slot afai can tell).

cMP is 2009 flashed to 2010 & 5.1 (or it won't recognise the 1333 RAM) it has 64GB RAM.

Someone suggested EXTREMEPC, someone PB TECH, someone Brian Lam /askBLAM and also someone showed good reasons to ask Clean Green Computers.

I'm leaning towards the latter 2, but really I should be seeking an outfit with a cMP

TIA

jaidevp

331 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1687603 14-Dec-2016 10:58

I take it boots with the original Xeons in it?

I did this mod a few years ago with hex core 2.8GHz xeons. I had a cpu/heatsink seating issue initially and it didn't POST on first attempt. Had to pay more attention and go a lot slower when tightening the heatsink screws etc. I also had to cut off the fan connector from the heatsink so they seat properly. I can't remember if I used some nylon washers to prevent over tightening the heatsink.

If I remember correctly the original 2009 and earlier Xeon CPU's without lids, so the heatsink sits lower than the 5.1 cMP's. But when using CPU's that are lidded you need to cut the fan connector off the heatsink and insert it manually while dropping the heatsink down.

Follow this guide, although you still have to be pretty competent with computer hardware/mainboard/cpu replacement to even attempt it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAdgT-hJuXU

harlansmart

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1687611 14-Dec-2016 11:16

You are 100% on the button, have bought 2 x delidded Xeon 3.33's to replace the Xehelam (sp?) 2.3's its what the call the '12 Core Upgrade' apparently, at same time you get a 2GB 7950 AMD graphics card (most open / easily flashed with Mac f/w the cards have no extra resistors physically they're identical (as per Pindelski et al) you get up to 96GB Ram (128 is only useful for Windows) & place the home/OS folders on Blades/SSD's in the PCIe slots & you have a decent computer.

Stuck the originals back in, boots, tried a few more times with the 3.3's, started to run out of thermal paste, threw the 2.3's back in again, it didn't boot & i gave up, thinking how many operations can the delicate looking alloy heatsink allen head fittings take lol

The graphics f/w flash job, at least on a plain jane 7950 AMD doesn't look terrible, but its not my area of expertise & for the next few weeks I could really use it... with Xmas coming up, I use the computer to do pictures if I can find someone who knows what they're doing I will gladly pay, swap, etc, so far, I cannot find a single computer shop that has a cMP even.

Its the fitting of the heatsinks, maybe I'm not getting them dead square, or the fan connectors, or I use too much, too little paste, only had it a few weeks but already love the thing I'm loath to start chopping stuff but I will I guess if needed... just not that keen to leave my baby with a shop that can only say 'we'll take a look' and has no way to test the processor board, no diagnostics ability, no Mac Pro in store, never done a cMP upgrade only has PC etc etc

Yeah man, 100%, you're the most knowledgeable person so far 10/10

gjm

808 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1687689 14-Dec-2016 13:25

We use Imagetext to get our Macs at work repaired....they are in Newmarket. Not sure if they do consumer stuff or just business but can't hurt to ask them.

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harlansmart

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1687731 14-Dec-2016 14:27

Thanks a lot Geoff, I have written them cheers.

Its weird, cos I am asking all these Computer Workshop Repair Expert people about this job, with my giant box sitting next to me, not one of them yet has said:

'oh the Mac 12 core upgrade, cool, ok so yeah very ocassionally a used processor is bung, we have this gadget here, look, its basically a cpu tester, we can set it up to confirm function in yours etc, then we'll look at the heat sink interface, we know what all the lights mean, sometimes we modify the fan power supply plugs, can be a number of things but we've got some Mac Pro's & some diagnostic kit plus we have done the upgrades etc before bla bla'.

jaidevp

331 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

#1687777 14-Dec-2016 16:02

If you are not up for DIY or getting anywhere, The only outfit I'd recommend is NZLaptops because they actually sell cMP's with upgraded Westmere CPU's and do the work themselves.

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CYaBro

4590 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1687779 14-Dec-2016 16:06

I would say what you are wanting to do is pretty rare, and most people that would want to do that sort of upgrade have probably done it themselves.

As an Apple tech I've never heard of this, and we also very rarely get Mac Pros in for any work.

In regards to the CPU tester, I don't know if such a thing even exists, and would probably be expensive. Plus I can count on one hand the number of faulty CPUs I've seen in over 20 years of doing computer repairs. (That didn't have any physical signs of damage)

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Athlonite

1828 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1689798 16-Dec-2016 01:09

CYaBro:

In regards to the CPU tester, I don't know if such a thing even exists, and would probably be expensive. Plus I can count on one hand the number of faulty CPUs I've seen in over 20 years of doing computer repairs. (That didn't have any physical signs of damage)

They do exist but not outside of fab plants mainly because they cost millions