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Old Mac Pro 4K upgrade?

I have a Mac Pro mid 2010.

-2x2.4 GHz quad core Intel Xeon

-10GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC

-Nividia Quadro Fx 4800 1536 MB


OS x 10.9.5


is it possible to still use this tower with upgrades to edit 4K?

Posted on Sep 19, 2024 9:07 AM

Reply
5 replies

Sep 19, 2024 12:45 PM in response to Shotsey

RAM must be exactly the correct RAM for this model, or faster. 72 bits wide ECC.


Don't buy smaller than 8 GB modules for this Mac. They have gotten cheaper so that the cost of ONE 8 GB is equal or lower than the cost of two fours.


You can install 16GB modules, but they have an output Register, so you have to remove all the smaller un-Registered modules on that side, or none will work.


When you new DIMMs arrive, try them with only new DIMMs in the machine before you try to mix old and new.


You can use as few as one on a side, or as many as three, sometimes four but four does not always work.

Sep 19, 2024 11:34 AM in response to Shotsey

Hi, Shotsey… yeeees… it IS possible.. first, I’d recommend ditching that nVidia video/graphics card, the default “good solid” video/graphics card is an RX-580 with 8 Gigs VRAM. Don’t get ones from XFX , maybe MSI, they don’t play well with Mac Pro’s… a more complete list of which cards work in a Mac Pro is this :

Graphics card compatibility for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor - Apple Support (CA)

either Mac native or Mac flashed video/graphics cards will be fine.. about the only “gotcha” is that the more powerful video/graphics cards will require the Pixlas Mod to run at all. Trying to install and run them without it could damage your Mac Pro… go to www.houseofmoth.com for more info on that. Increasing your RAM would be a very good thing ( budget permitting) , also consider having and doing a backup of your Mac Pro via Time Machine… and replacing your conventional hard drive with an SSD, which has faster read/write speeds than a conventional hard drive… the only minus is that SSD’s are more expensive than hard drives ( quite a bit in some cases) and their storage capacity may top out at 8 TB ( maybe)


hope this helps

John B

Sep 19, 2024 8:34 PM in response to Shotsey

You’re welcome, Shotsey… as Grant Bennett-Alder mentioned, Mac Pro’s are very picky about the kind/type of RAM they’ll accept/use… “any old” PC RAM won’t work, please buy your RAM from a reliable vendor, one who will take it back without question if it doesn’t work, eg OWC ( macsales.com) .. your Mac Pro can, I believe go up to 64 GB of RAM ( if you needed to? ) as you have an eight core Mac Pro from 2010 ( please install in pairs) … 64 GB is $107 plus taxes+ shipping…


John b

Old Mac Pro 4K upgrade?

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