Building a MacPro

[nagal]

Yes, the cabling is basically just a bunch of extensions. Make sense as it allows the power supply to be easily removed. It would be an utter pain to have to remove the PSU if all the wiring actually ran down into the case.

 

I do not think you can just splice into the the PSU wiring to extend it. I know the one connector for the unlabeled plug by the memory risers is vastly different in size and pin density than the actually connector on the PSU. I did not bother to check the other connectors but they did seem to be of similar size as the logic board connectors.

 

If I had a Mouser catalog (printed), I am sure I could find out what connectors are being used. I know wish I had not thrown mine away when I moved.

[newtech]

Digitalperformer, don't mean to chastise you, but, ApplePalace pricing is not really out of line. They pay the Apple/GSX price and mark up a reasonable amount. You want outrageous try WeLoveMacs ( aka, dba Memory X ), they go frickin' nuts on mark-ups. The cables are OEM'd to Apple/GSX by Foxconn in china.

 

That is the beauty of the MP 1,1 case, it has the bulkhead connectors for the PSU cables ( kinda rough if you have big hands like me though ).

 

 

 

A few words of warning re the power supply:

 

There is substantial DC Amperage in the output, be careful. As little as 50 mA across the chest can be fatal under certain circumstances.

The PSU output is near the range one might see in a plating shop rectifier ( 3-12 VDC @ 10's of Amps).

[digitalperformer]

BTW... you're not chastising me I'm glad to have you guys here.

 

Digitalperformer, don't mean to chastise you, but, ApplePalace pricing is not really out of line. They pay the Apple/GSX price and mark up a reasonable amount. You want outrageous try WeLoveMacs ( aka, dba Memory X ), they go frickin' nuts on mark-ups. The cables are OEM'd to Apple/GSX by Foxconn in china.That is the beauty of the MP 1,1 case, it has the bulkhead connectors for the PSU cables ( kinda rough if you have big hands like me though ).A few words of warning re the power supply:There is substantial DC Amperage in the output, be careful. As little as 50 mA across the chest can be fatal under certain circumstances.The PSU output is near the range one might see in a plating shop rectifier ( 3-12 VDC @ 10's of Amps).

Thanks newtech... I understand just a little frustrating/annoying when cabling is outrageously priced. Not to worry newtech, I'm a gas turbine controls technician (power generation); also Polytechnic for Electrical Engineering. I eat three phase 440Vac and Sh*t 13.8KV... I would love to run one of my G.T's (24 MW Max) and power a super super super duper computer . Once in a while we get to see a poor animal climb on top of our 138KV / 13.8KV transformer; last sucker (squirrel) blow it's legs off and tripped our feeder...

Yes, the cabling is basically just a bunch of extensions. Make sense as it allows the power supply to be easily removed. It would be an utter pain to have to remove the PSU if all the wiring actually ran down into the case.I do not think you can just splice into the the PSU wiring to extend it. I know the one connector for the unlabeled plug by the memory risers is vastly different in size and pin density than the actually connector on the PSU. I did not bother to check the other connectors but they did seem to be of similar size as the logic board connectors.If I had a Mouser catalog (printed), I am sure I could find out what connectors are being used. I know wish I had not thrown mine away when I moved.

 

Nagal, my power supply that I got from applepalace is box labeled as #667-4309

 

Does this match yours?

 

PS:

 

MLB:

 

[nagal]

Looks just like my PSU and I sure hope so because that is the same part number I ordered. Not sure why you posted the pic of the connectors near the memory raiser slots but that looks just like mine as well.

[digitalperformer]

Looks just like my PSU and I sure hope so because that is the same part number I ordered. Not sure why you posted the pic of the connectors near the memory raiser slots but that looks just like mine as well.

Just wanted to confirm that we received the same power supply.. the MLB was to show that it's a 2007 model... Also it's for on lookers who are interested... One thing about the mac pro is that I haven't been able to find really detailed "close up" photos of it's components; I want to start a photo gallery.

 

 

Here is what my build will look like - KEEP IT REAL OL' SCHOOL YO'

[newtech]

That picture of the APPLE I takes me back a ways, wasn't at the HBCC meetings but heard about them first hand. Was still learning BASIC on HP-2000/3000 at that point. Got my first APPLE II+ in late 1980 just after DOS 3.3 came out.

[deleted_account]

nagal awesome work!!! You're the man!!! A little confusion, in essence the four bundles of cables are just extenders from the power supply's connectors to the logic board receptacles; for example pin # 1's wire from the power supply will correspond to pin one of the receiving MLB receptacle, as if it was directly plugged into the logic board without the bundle extender. I was thinking of saving 200 bucks by extending the power supply leads by splicing longer wires in between the PS and the immediate connector; applepalace rapes on frickin simple 12 and 10 conductor molex connectors and wires; $49-54 per bundle... OHHHH Please... $2 for a pair of those molex connectors and wire is practically nothing; I think I'll make those bundles and sell them for cost and shipping... I hate consumer raping!!!! I'm really happy that there is so much interest in building genuine mac pros... I've been reading very encouraging entries and admire the ambition. I'm half-way complete with parts purchases, and ultimately strive to show that it's possible to assemble a fully functional mac-pro (not a hackpro but custom) that undercuts a retail model ($3033.00 after taxes) of equivalent specs for $1000-$1200 less. If you own a mac-pro, and aren't intimidated by looking inside your tower, please help in the quest for knowledge by posting closeup photos, descriptions; if possible simple circuit reverse engineering with a multimeter ( Like Nagal's great reference on the Power Supply) to simplify a circuit i.e front panel board... I'll do my best to do same but I'm trying to limit my purchases to essential mac components necessary to get the computer to function. My contributions will be based on substitutable components. Thanks everyone!

 

My Mac Logic Board ver 2 (MacPro 2,1) Octo dates 2007... # 667-4307

 

Very nice digitalperformer, more pics plZ! if you can...

How much did you get the 2.8 GHz Harptertown Quad-cores for? Are you comparing with 2007 Mac Pro pricing or early 2008 revision?

 

 

..and is that an internal firewire 800 port i see at the bottom rightish of your motherboard picture?

[nagal]

..and is that an internal firewire 800 port i see at the bottom rightish of your motherboard picture?

 

 

there is a cable that runs from that port to the front panel assembly and I have always assumed it was a simple firewire 800 cable and that is how they connect the front panel firewire ports to logic board.

[newtech]

there is a cable that runs from that port to the front panel assembly and I have always assumed it was a simple firewire 800 cable and that is how they connect the front panel firewire ports to logic board.

 

The FireWire PHY is near that port and the rear ports, all ( 400/800 ) on the same bus.

[digitalperformer]

Very nice digitalperformer, more pics plZ! if you can... ;)How much did you get the 2.8 GHz Harptertown Quad-cores for? Are you comparing with 2007 Mac Pro pricing or early 2008 revision?..and is that an internal firewire 800 port i see at the bottom rightish of your motherboard picture?

Hey dude... I'm gonna get the Harpertown 2.5 Quads... http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;srchInDesc=So what if these processors are not 2.8 Ghz... for $370 per the 2.5's are not a bad deal... especially for 2007's mac pro specs. Even up to date, the pricing for the build will be a lot more competitive for the build.Yeah it's a firewire 800.. it takes a standard fw800; just a patch.

 

 

Opinions on this as a possible case for the build? It's gonna to be interesting trying to fit a WTX form factor logic board into it... I'll get it to work!!!!

 

 

 

I also found a mac pro case... I'm hoping for that instead... will mod the {censored} out of it

[nagal]

digitalperformer,

 

I had a thought. Have you tried plugging the power supply connectors directly into the logic board? If everything lines up (except for the one connector which I know is too big), then you can reuse those connector just by extending/rewiring as need. Then you would only have that one connector to hunt down.

[digitalperformer]

digitalperformer,

 

I had a thought. Have you tried plugging the power supply connectors directly into the logic board? If everything lines up (except for the one connector which I know is too big), then you can reuse those connector just by extending/rewiring as need. Then you would only have that one connector to hunt down.

 

 

Hey Nagal. Yeah the four bundles attach, that was my first game plan of splicing the PS leads to elongate them. That medium receptacle shouldn't be hard to track down... Hardest part be will to nicely crimp the inserts; gonna go it with my trusty electricians lineman. I will eventually make my own convertor cables to make any high powered PS mac-pro compatible; Just need the beast up so I can reverse engineer the power supply... I hate waiting for the parts!!! Do you have any Molex connectors at work that you can reference to help in the hunt down process. Tons of molex on mouser; I can guesstimate by measuring but don't want to waste time with trial and error.

[newtech]

Listed1st.com has added more comments over at http://www.o0o.it/pro/ recently in regards to 54xx Xeons. I am encouraging him to come here and post along with the "usual suspects".

[nagal]

Listed1st.com has added more comments over at http://www.o0o.it/pro/ recently in regards to 54xx Xeons. I am encouraging him to come here and post along with the "usual suspects".

 

I talked to him via email and also encouraged him to come over here. He did read the thread and said he was going to try the 54xx in a Mac Pro 2,1 if he had one. Have not heard anything else from him since I emailed him instructions on how to hack the About This Mac to show the correct processor names.

[tazevedo317]

so nagal, about that watercooling? =]

[newtech]

Water cooling will only achieve less fan noise, with the BSEL mod he is as over clocked as a Xeon can get. MP OEM fans are rather quiet so I say water cooling is too much trouble to persue based on the return.

[digitalperformer]

Yeah but water cooling is a hell of a fun project to work on; not just interested in a one... two... thank you over type of project.

[tazevedo317]

i just think water cooling is great. and i would love to watch someone try it out in a mac pro =]

[Listed1st.com]

Hey Hey Eyerybody!

 

Thanks to Nagal & NewTech for the invite! Turns out I don't have a Mac Pro 2,1... I was hoping one of the newer models I acquired would be one. Personally I'm doubtful that they will work. What I've read about other server boards running the Harpertown is that the chipsets support it, but they need a BIOS Flash, Personally I'm not expecting Apple to toss that into the next EFI update.

 

Brings a question to mind... Would we be able to snag the EFI from the Mac Pro 3,1 and flash a Mac Pro 1,1 or 2,1 for that oh so coveted support?

 

As far as for those of you who have asked what happened when I installed the e5420's in the 1,1 system: Nothing, nothing at all. the drives did spin up, no "Chuuuummm" or anything. I'm struggling to remember, but I believe the bright red CPU error lights also came on.

 

One questions I have for ya'll: Anyone here skilled at supercooling LGA771 sockets? I'm sitting on a pair of 2.66GHz Intel ES Clovertown chips that WILL Overclock to 3.3GHz! When overclocked, PowerFractal clocked in at 94 GigaFlops! The only problem is it takes a bit of cooling to keep the system stable, i.e. frosty heatsinks. I emptied an entire can of dust off (Upside down of course) and completely froze the CPUs, (Used the Dynatron H53G Pure copper heatsink). I had about 5 minutes of pure bliss before the thaw. I'd love to hear any suggestions, room temperature it seems is just not going to cut it. I put a pair of ultras high speed fans on the H53Gs, (and obviously tried the stock MP Heatsinks with serious airflow).

 

 

-J

 

 

Oh, and just for kicks I've included this link

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/02/11/window-...c-water-cooler/

[newtech]

Welcome listed1st,

 

X5350 ES would be good candidates for water cooling. Firmware flashing is my research project. Best bet is to snag the 3,1 firmware from an updater or firmware restore CD if/when it gets an update like 1,1 and 2,1 have had.

 

My thinking is that 54xx needs a newer SMC firmware than 1.7f(x) ( as on MP1,1 ) perhaps SMC 1.15f(x) ( as on MP2,1 ) will accept them. the EFI firmware should be processor agnostic.

[digitalperformer]

Would it be possible to copy the MP EFI with external hardware (or even software) and rewrite to another X86 motherboard that is EFI capable? Has anyone come across a researcher in this field?

[radov4n]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I couldn't find it.. where would you get a Mac Pro motherboard? I tried googling it up over and over, but I can't find.. is it even possible?

 

I would certainly be interested in building my own Mac Pro.. I am already wiring my hackintosh into the G5 case atm

[newtech]

The SMC and EFI firmware a very hardware specific. My best guess is the MP 1,1 or 2,1 firmware *might* work on an intel 5000XVN board as that is the board MP is based on. Though I'd suspect a few patches would have to be made to accpet the non-Apple ID_strings embedded in the board. Even then I forsee it would be much the same as the developer boards that Nagal and I have used.

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I couldn't find it.. where would you get a Mac Pro motherboard? I tried googling it up over and over, but I can't find.. is it even possible? I would certainly be interested in building my own Mac Pro.. I am already wiring my hackintosh into the G5 case atm

Nagal and I both got developer boards from Mac-Pro for $487.50, best to steer clear as firmware wont update. ApplePalace sells service part boards for >$800.00. I found a Board on eBay a while back that I picked up for $250.00

[nagal]

Hey Hey Eyerybody!

 

Thanks to Nagal & NewTech for the invite! Turns out I don't have a Mac Pro 2,1... I was hoping one of the newer models I acquired would be one. Personally I'm doubtful that they will work. What I've read about other server boards running the Harpertown is that the chipsets support it, but they need a BIOS Flash, Personally I'm not expecting Apple to toss that into the next EFI update.

 

Brings a question to mind... Would we be able to snag the EFI from the Mac Pro 3,1 and flash a Mac Pro 1,1 or 2,1 for that oh so coveted support?

 

As far as for those of you who have asked what happened when I installed the e5420's in the 1,1 system: Nothing, nothing at all. the drives did spin up, no "Chuuuummm" or anything. I'm struggling to remember, but I believe the bright red CPU error lights also came on.

 

One questions I have for ya'll: Anyone here skilled at supercooling LGA771 sockets? I'm sitting on a pair of 2.66GHz Intel ES Clovertown chips that WILL Overclock to 3.3GHz! When overclocked, PowerFractal clocked in at 94 GigaFlops! The only problem is it takes a bit of cooling to keep the system stable, i.e. frosty heatsinks. I emptied an entire can of dust off (Upside down of course) and completely froze the CPUs, (Used the Dynatron H53G Pure copper heatsink). I had about 5 minutes of pure bliss before the thaw. I'd love to hear any suggestions, room temperature it seems is just not going to cut it. I put a pair of ultras high speed fans on the H53Gs, (and obviously tried the stock MP Heatsinks with serious airflow).

-J

Oh, and just for kicks I've included this link

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/02/11/window-...c-water-cooler/

 

Welcome aboard!

 

As far as your cooling goes those Dynatron are not the best heat sinks out there. I tried some in mine board and was highly disappointed and they are now sitting in a box in my closet. The Thermalright HR-01 X gave me a 15C drop easily compare to the pure coppers. I did not have fans on the coppers I used but I do not have fans on my Thermalrights either, just the 2 front fans in the Mac Pro case. This is where I got my HR-01X and be warned they are huge! http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thhrforinxe5.html

 

As for water cooling. I still want to do it but its all about money and time now. There are other things I want to spend the money on and I want to spend the time using my computer for a change

 

I doubt the 3,1 EFI would work at all on the older boards as the 3,1 uses the 5400X chipset. As for the 54xx working in a 2,1, if anyone has a pair and is in Southern California, I'd be more than will to meet up and we can swap them into my computer to see what happens. Other than that, we have to wait for digitalperformer to report back.

 

On the CPU heat sink sensor front, still nothing. The diode's I got are surface mount and I am afraid my sloppy soldiering skills fried the diode when I tried attaching it to a cable. I might try to hunt down some diodes in TO-92 package and give those a try.

[newtech]

The SMC and its firmware has to recognise the 54xx processor just to power up and do POST's, before gettting to the point where EFI firmware does its thing. The SMC is active all the time the machine is plugged in, even when powered off. The SMC literally activates the mains for the PSU and sends the CPU's their start-up power and reset vector.