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Xeon W3540 2.9Ghz to Xeon W3580 3.33Ghz - MacPro 2009/10 build


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Posted (edited)

Let's see if I can get my object density a littl higher!

Xeon 3.33Ghz W3580 from EBay: $299 incl shipping.

Now Enroute to pickup a Torx wrench set ($12) and some thermal paste ($5)...

Pictures forthcoming. It's a beaut day outside today in Sydney.

For the locals: got a nice Torx set at Bunnings in Artarmon. Next stop Octagon Computers in Chatswood for the arctic silver.

Edited by chris k
Posted (edited)

Thermal Paste Silver purchased.

Guy behind counter - can't understand a word he was saying (and probably vice-versa).

Nice enough fellow though. Lots of smiles and nod-ding. "CPU paste?" "thermal gel?" "Put on Intel chip - make cool?" -insert random pointing at SSD disks and USB adapters under glass- "yeah, that stuff"

Torontonians: Think "College and Spadina" - next to Dragon City. Good place to shop for electronics. i.e. "You Pay Cash! No Box - OEM!" No manual, etc...

Great success. !

Edited by chris k
Posted

Ah Chatswood, love it, we've stayed there a few times when up your way, damn fine restaurants too.

Kewl, this is like a live blog, a live BRICKING. No pressure maaatte!!

Posted (edited)

Bus to Chatswood....

 

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Cheap Pharmacies, and INTER WEBS!

 

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Arriving at the local parts dealer....

 

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- CK.

Edited by chris k
Posted (edited)

Back home...

 

New CPU - W3580 out of the sleeve and ready for brain transplant

 

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Popping the old one out:

 

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New CPU In, adding the thermal paste:

 

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Putting it all back together, and back in the case:

 

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... Moment of truth!

Edited by chris k
Posted (edited)

Is the chip? Yes.

 

Is OSX EFI capable of doing it? No.

 

Not to worry - My most demanding object and texture hungry scenery so far .... is now totally usable - at stupidly insane levels of detail. ;)

 

The 6.4 GT/sec vs 4.8 GT/sec "Front Side Bus" (QPI now) is making a huge difference as well - 33% faster RAM/PCIe/CPU access generally.... at least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it ;)

 

I also reran the "battery of standard X-Pane benchmarks" and I'm ahead anywhere between 13% to 22%. Pretty cheap upgrade at $299 FWIW. The 3.46 Hexacore was way out of my price-range (>$1000) for not much return-on-investment.

 

- CK

Edited by chris k

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