I also bought a trashcan Mac Pro based on your videos: D500, 32gb RAM 512gb SSD. Upgraded the CPU from 6 to a 12-core, cleaned it up (it was very dusty), put new thermal paste on CPU and GPU and it works awesome! Played Rise of Tomb Raider on it, it worked perfectly. Super satisfied with it, thanks for your earlier videos, they helped a lot in the decision!
I am now the proud owner of 3 of these bad boy's a 12 core model a 10 core model, and a 8 core model,,,, I got the fever and I used your videos and advice for doing all 3 units thank you.
Found a late 2015, 6 core, 64G ram, D700 on eBay for £330. Stuck a 2TB 970 EVO plus SSD in and it's a blazing little machine! Thanks for all your helpful videos. looking forward to seeing how you get on with the 8 core and if it's a significant upgrade on the 6.
Mine LOOKED clean, until I took it apart to clean, fan and bottom board covered in dust. The thermal paste on the CPU and GPU's was completely shot. OWC at the time had 64GB of 1866 ECC RAM for sale for $50
Great series of videos mate, I love seeing these old machines running and doing well. Makes me think I should get my old blue and white G3 out of the shed!
We've all made simple little mistakes like that. Luckily this wasn't a permanent mistake. You know.. like wiping the wrong drive and loosing everything. Not that I.. ok ok.. yeah.. I've done that before!
Keep up the good work, I definitely want to see the renewal of the thermal past results as I have been hesitant to this to mine and doubted the expected results as did not see much improvement when I did this to other machines.
I have seen a bit of improvement - video coming soon. It's not so much about the performance benefit rather than having peace of mind that the machine isn't going to cook itself and die! 😁
Will your new video show the breakdown and thermal paste for the GPUs by chance. That would be most helpful if you do that. I will be watching for sure if it does. ;-)
Same thing happened to me, ordered a used Mac Pro 2013 off eBay and it came with the slower ram. I put new ram in it and I also replaced the thermal paste on the CPU. Huge difference. From flaky to freaky fast!
Will you take it up to Sonoma? Mine woks surprisingly well on Sonoma! The only thing these Mac Pro’s can’t do is gaming on Windows, mostly down to the duel GPU’s and drivers.
I'm going to put Ventura on it, and I'll probably stay one release behind so that I'm never waiting for OCLP to catch up with the latest version... but that's the sensible part of me talking, and I don't always listen to sense!
snagged an older one with d500's and 64gb ram off eBay last month. also grabbed an 8 core cpu for next to nothing. all in ~$280US, could not be happier running Sonoma via oclp. these are a steal for anyone not doing any crazy gaming, video editing, etc. got to install windows to see how it handles solidworks now....
Curious, as you mention swapping the thermal paste on the GPUs. I wonder if for my D700 video cards making my 2013 Mac Pro do kernel panics, IF it could be as minor as also needing thermal paste to fix? Or are the odds likely the D700 fail elsewhere beyond just thermal paste drying up and that is what kills off these D700s? I have to replace my D700s at some point or wonder if I should try just adding new paste and see if my kernel panics subside? Curious is all. I think you had some D700 issues long ago on your original Mac Pro 2013 or maybe I am thinking of someone else?
Anything is possible. When I dis the thermal paste on this machine (video to come), it was pretty dry. Considering it was manufactured in 2019, I’d say that confirms that it should be done every few years. It definitely made a difference. My previous trashcan was D300, but it did kernel panic occasionally. I redid the thermal paste, and clean installed the OS, and I didn’t have problems after.
Just been through a similar journey myself! I managed to get a 12 core with 32gb ram and 512gb SSD for $450 AUD. D500 GPUs which suits me as a muso! I actually find the machine to be really interesting and the design fantastic to look at. Flawed, yes, but a nice piece of Apple History nonetheless!
I am really keen to get one of these, it seems like the cheapest way to get some serious computing power. (also, I work in design so I am drawn to it for obvious reasons) I was wondering if you had any insight on how 2024 software would run on this computer, I mainly use Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and a CAD/3D design software called Rhino. My current hardware is a 2018 i5 macbook pro with 8gbs of ram and there are some serious computing limitations for my workflow, do you think this would be substantially better than that? Any feedback would be great, as I am totally in the dark about computers. My heart is kind of set on this machine.
I believe that model has the Intel i5-8259U, which is a pretty decent CPU. Compared to any of the 2013 Mac Pro CPUs, it offers considerably better single-threaded performance, and it will beat the 6-core for most multi-threaded workflows. Of course, you can't judge everything based on benchmarks. The RAM and GPU in the MacBook Pro will be limiting factors. The GPU in the Mac Pro will offer about 3x the performance (D300 / D500), or 4x in the case of D700... and that's each one individually. If the software you are using can take advantage of dual GPUs, the difference will be greater. Photoshop does not support dual GPU configurations AFAIK, but other similar apps, like Affinity Photo, do. I'm not familiar with Rhino, but it looks like the default renderer might be CPU, though there are GPU options. It's difficult to recommend an obsolete machine like the 2013 Mac Pro as a main workstation. An Apple Silicon Mac with at least 16GB will likely be a better choice, and will have more longevity with software support. But, compared to your MacBook Pro, you should expect that things like web browsing might feel a bit slower (particularly on modern busy websites). I would expect things like Photoshop and Illustrator to be rather smoother, providing you go for at least an 8-core with 32GB RAM. Rhino may be better thanks to the RAM, and if you're using a GPU renderer it should be noticeably better.
@@Fred_Raimer 8 core / 64gb of ram/ D700 for 300 without the har drive. But I bought a 1tb SSD for 70 on Amazon. I also dual boot with windows 11 on an external SSD. It runs great. I used a tiny11 version.
very good, I baught one for 299 € frome ebay in germany. it had no ram and no SSD. The seller testet it with 8Gb and an external SSD . he told me that it starts up. Ok After recieving it and installing 84 GB and also my old orig. Apple 256 SSD ist was a suprise: Original 8 Core and D700 . So a very good deal and I use it in two ways one with the old 10.9.5 System and the Adobe Creative Suite for some work and another SSD with Catalina for office The only Problem I have that it sometimes shut down and restarts by itself
Hi there CG. Know about the same lanes of ssds. 2 and 4 in the newer. I have got a broad(fat) ssd from 2014. The 1 terra . Mine is 12-1300 read , and 1050 write.
For studio pieces like this, I have a Sennheiser MKE600 mounted just above the frame, which connects directly to a Blackmagic Design Video Assist 7" 12G. I use the Video Assist to record the video using the RAW 5.9K output of a Panasonic S5 camera. It's a good combination, and the MKE600 is an excellent microphone. I've had good results with it connecting to audio recorders and directly to the camera input too. Whilst it needs phantom power, it can take an AA battery, which makes it very versatile. Some of my recent videos (the unscripted types), are shot on DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and I use the DJI Mic or DJI Mic 2 for those. Some commenters have noticed that the audio is not as good as this setup.
I'm thinking of getting a trash can pro now lol Use it as a media storage device to sync with my iPod classics that I plan to upgrade as well... Gonna be a Time Machine 🤣
Is it possible to use egpu on a Mac pro 6.1 (2013) running 14.4 Sonoma (which is installed via OpenCore Legacy Patcher)? I read that it is necessary to use kryptonite, but their guide explicitly states that the operating system must be without hacks, which means Monterey is necessary. But I want to stay in Sonoma.
I'm researching this with a plan to try it out in a future video. As I understand it, Kryptonite uses OpenCore boot loader to inject patches itself, so it's a case of making sure the driver support is present. When you patch with OCLP it makes sure you have appropriate graphics drivers, since Apple doesn't provide them for non-supported systems in the OS release. The developer of Kryptonite has made all the source code available for integration into OCLP - it makes sense to have one patcher doing everything. I can't see from the Github page what the current status of this is. I have noted that there seems to be an AVX2 CPU requirement in the Sonoma drivers for RX6000 series GPUs, so those don't work properly yet. I have a couple of 5700 cards to test, and I'm hopeful that those could be made to work.
Don't remember the name of the exec, but his sardonic earthy rebuttal of post-Jobs Apple detractors always comes to mind almost every time I see this beautiful trash can Mac.
I bought one on eBay not to long ago that came with 32gb of the wrong ram so I upgraded it to 64gb of the correct ram and the 2.7ghz 12 core and bought some of the newer mx-5 thermal paste and repasted the GPUS and CPU. if you do end up buying one of these from eBay or amazon just be prepared to repaste and clean out the machine and more importantly your fan, there's a ton of listings as "refurbished" but they'd like DK oldies refurbished aka they wiped the outside down. also its very recommended to upgrade the GPU to the 10 core (cheaper than the 8 and 12 core) or the 12 2.7Ghz 12 core which is about 20 bucks. put 64gb of the correct ram in it (20 bucks) and throw OCLP 1.4.1 and Sonoma on that bad boy and enjoy the best used Mac at a super cheap price.
I agree, but I'd take the 2667V2 8-core or the 10-core over the 12-core. Unless you specifically need 24 threads, the other CPUs offer better real-world performance.
@@ConstantGeekeryThanks for your incredibly fast reply! You saved me a lot of bother as I had ordered 128MB at a great price, but not worth it if speed drops. This is a great series and I am thrilled to use such a beauty as my "daily driver." I look forward to your next installments!! Thanks for all your efforts and generous sharing. Take care, Fred
Indeed, as I have said many times, you are better going for Apple Silicon. Of course, this series is about having fun with an old machine, not trying to compare it to new. You shouldn't base a performance assessment of two different architectures from two different eras on Geekbench 6 scores - it doesn't paint a true picture of the performance differential, which is not as wide as these figures suggest.
@@ConstantGeekery Then come up with a better benchmark and tell me how big the performance difference is in a real world test? Geekbench’s only purpose is to get an idea of how fast a computer is compared with another. More than twice as fast seems significant to me. Whereas +10% with better RAM is negligible.
@@jansix4287 I'm not comparing old Mac Pros to Apple Silicon. That is not the point of this video or the series. Providing comparisons with Apple Silicon is utterly pointless - this is about enjoying an iconic, older Mac as a bit of fun, and exploring its usefulness. The RAM test is therefore completely relevant to the subject matter. You need to understand that x86 and Arm are different architectures, and a general purpose benchmark like GB6 does not adequately display the performance gaps between the various strengths and weaknesses of those architectures. It's great for comparing two identical architectures, but otherwise it is a general comparison. The CPU score alone does not factor in GPU performance, or hardware optimisations like video decoders/encoders, which may have a big impact on specific workflows. It's just a set of general tests, intended to represent a "typical" workflow... but not necessarily YOUR workflow. The vast majority of tasks are not bottlenecked by maximum CPU performance. And those GB6 tests include ML workloads which didn't exist when the E5-v2 Xeons were released, so any benchmark factoring them in to an overall average, is going to skew that overall average. In real-world computing, therefore, the gap is not as wide as it might seem. I will in future videos demonstrate how the Mac Pro compares to more modern hardware, but not because I'm recommending it over modern choices - I've never done that - but because it's interesting to see how older machines can still be useful.
I also bought a trashcan Mac Pro based on your videos: D500, 32gb RAM 512gb SSD. Upgraded the CPU from 6 to a 12-core, cleaned it up (it was very dusty), put new thermal paste on CPU and GPU and it works awesome! Played Rise of Tomb Raider on it, it worked perfectly. Super satisfied with it, thanks for your earlier videos, they helped a lot in the decision!
I am now the proud owner of 3 of these bad boy's a 12 core model a 10 core model, and a 8 core model,,,, I got the fever and I used your videos and advice for doing all 3 units thank you.
Found a late 2015, 6 core, 64G ram, D700 on eBay for £330. Stuck a 2TB 970 EVO plus SSD in and it's a blazing little machine! Thanks for all your helpful videos. looking forward to seeing how you get on with the 8 core and if it's a significant upgrade on the 6.
I wanted one of these when they came out. I’m liking your trashcan Mac Pro videos like this.
Mine LOOKED clean, until I took it apart to clean, fan and bottom board covered in dust. The thermal paste on the CPU and GPU's was completely shot. OWC at the time had 64GB of 1866 ECC RAM for sale for $50
Everytime I see a dismantled trashbin Mac it reminds me of Darth Vader. 😂🤷🏻♂️
Great series of videos mate, I love seeing these old machines running and doing well. Makes me think I should get my old blue and white G3 out of the shed!
It ia fun to watch projects like tho one you are doing, great Job done, and Thank You, can't wait for the CPU change. from Tampa Florida
Got one of these machines on eBay recently and now my main all around workstation. Good info on the memory, I’ll be checking what I have next.
"Only a simpleton...". I resemble that 🤣
We've all made simple little mistakes like that. Luckily this wasn't a permanent mistake. You know.. like wiping the wrong drive and loosing everything. Not that I.. ok ok.. yeah.. I've done that before!
@@Chimpur 😂
Love it! Thanks for all the insights, tests and what not what you do. These “old” macs can do a lot yet!
This is a beautiful machine…when the shell is removed.
With the shell it’s just a shiny cylinder.
Why couldn’t they make a transparent shell?!
That would have been cool!
Awesome video Dave. Looking forward to the rest of them.
Keep up the good work, I definitely want to see the renewal of the thermal past results as I have been hesitant to this to mine and doubted the expected results as did not see much improvement when I did this to other machines.
I have seen a bit of improvement - video coming soon. It's not so much about the performance benefit rather than having peace of mind that the machine isn't going to cook itself and die! 😁
I'll definitely keep following this adventure, as I hope to by a used trashcan Mac Pro sometime soon (probably after April 15th...).
Will your new video show the breakdown and thermal paste for the GPUs by chance. That would be most helpful if you do that. I will be watching for sure if it does. ;-)
Yes it does 😁
Same thing happened to me, ordered a used Mac Pro 2013 off eBay and it came with the slower ram. I put new ram in it and I also replaced the thermal paste on the CPU. Huge difference. From flaky to freaky fast!
I will get one soon for nostalgia and tinkering.
Had the same experience with the RAM, and indeed, the difference is impressive
Will you take it up to Sonoma? Mine woks surprisingly well on Sonoma! The only thing these Mac Pro’s can’t do is gaming on Windows, mostly down to the duel GPU’s and drivers.
I'm going to put Ventura on it, and I'll probably stay one release behind so that I'm never waiting for OCLP to catch up with the latest version... but that's the sensible part of me talking, and I don't always listen to sense!
I run Sonoma on mine and it runs fine but I do not always update immediately.
I have to stay on Monterey due my eGPU software has been update yet
Definitely will be doing the same (once I have money)
Looks like fun.
Congrats
snagged an older one with d500's and 64gb ram off eBay last month. also grabbed an 8 core cpu for next to nothing. all in ~$280US, could not be happier running Sonoma via oclp. these are a steal for anyone not doing any crazy gaming, video editing, etc. got to install windows to see how it handles solidworks now....
Curious, as you mention swapping the thermal paste on the GPUs. I wonder if for my D700 video cards making my 2013 Mac Pro do kernel panics, IF it could be as minor as also needing thermal paste to fix? Or are the odds likely the D700 fail elsewhere beyond just thermal paste drying up and that is what kills off these D700s? I have to replace my D700s at some point or wonder if I should try just adding new paste and see if my kernel panics subside? Curious is all. I think you had some D700 issues long ago on your original Mac Pro 2013 or maybe I am thinking of someone else?
Anything is possible. When I dis the thermal paste on this machine (video to come), it was pretty dry. Considering it was manufactured in 2019, I’d say that confirms that it should be done every few years. It definitely made a difference.
My previous trashcan was D300, but it did kernel panic occasionally. I redid the thermal paste, and clean installed the OS, and I didn’t have problems after.
Just been through a similar journey myself! I managed to get a 12 core with 32gb ram and 512gb SSD for $450 AUD. D500 GPUs which suits me as a muso! I actually find the machine to be really interesting and the design fantastic to look at. Flawed, yes, but a nice piece of Apple History nonetheless!
I am really keen to get one of these, it seems like the cheapest way to get some serious computing power. (also, I work in design so I am drawn to it for obvious reasons) I was wondering if you had any insight on how 2024 software would run on this computer, I mainly use Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and a CAD/3D design software called Rhino. My current hardware is a 2018 i5 macbook pro with 8gbs of ram and there are some serious computing limitations for my workflow, do you think this would be substantially better than that? Any feedback would be great, as I am totally in the dark about computers. My heart is kind of set on this machine.
I believe that model has the Intel i5-8259U, which is a pretty decent CPU. Compared to any of the 2013 Mac Pro CPUs, it offers considerably better single-threaded performance, and it will beat the 6-core for most multi-threaded workflows. Of course, you can't judge everything based on benchmarks. The RAM and GPU in the MacBook Pro will be limiting factors. The GPU in the Mac Pro will offer about 3x the performance (D300 / D500), or 4x in the case of D700... and that's each one individually. If the software you are using can take advantage of dual GPUs, the difference will be greater. Photoshop does not support dual GPU configurations AFAIK, but other similar apps, like Affinity Photo, do. I'm not familiar with Rhino, but it looks like the default renderer might be CPU, though there are GPU options.
It's difficult to recommend an obsolete machine like the 2013 Mac Pro as a main workstation. An Apple Silicon Mac with at least 16GB will likely be a better choice, and will have more longevity with software support.
But, compared to your MacBook Pro, you should expect that things like web browsing might feel a bit slower (particularly on modern busy websites). I would expect things like Photoshop and Illustrator to be rather smoother, providing you go for at least an 8-core with 32GB RAM. Rhino may be better thanks to the RAM, and if you're using a GPU renderer it should be noticeably better.
@@ConstantGeekery thank you for the insight!
Mine is coming today
Mine too! What are you specs, and if you don't mind, what did you pay?
@@Fred_Raimer 8 core / 64gb of ram/ D700 for 300 without the har drive. But I bought a 1tb SSD for 70 on Amazon. I also dual boot with windows 11 on an external SSD. It runs great. I used a tiny11 version.
@@Fred_Raimer I also repasted the GPUs as well.
very good, I baught one for 299 € frome ebay in germany. it had no ram and no SSD. The seller testet it with 8Gb and an external SSD . he told me that it starts up. Ok
After recieving it and installing 84 GB and also my old orig. Apple 256 SSD ist was a suprise: Original 8 Core and D700 . So a very good deal and I use it in two ways
one with the old 10.9.5 System and the Adobe Creative Suite for some work and another SSD with Catalina for office
The only Problem I have that it sometimes shut down and restarts by itself
Hi there CG. Know about the same lanes of ssds. 2 and 4 in the newer. I have got a broad(fat) ssd from 2014. The 1 terra . Mine is 12-1300 read , and 1050 write.
I really like this computer. It is huge shame Apple does not support it!!
What microphone are you using to record the audio? What audio interface are you using?
For studio pieces like this, I have a Sennheiser MKE600 mounted just above the frame, which connects directly to a Blackmagic Design Video Assist 7" 12G. I use the Video Assist to record the video using the RAW 5.9K output of a Panasonic S5 camera. It's a good combination, and the MKE600 is an excellent microphone. I've had good results with it connecting to audio recorders and directly to the camera input too. Whilst it needs phantom power, it can take an AA battery, which makes it very versatile.
Some of my recent videos (the unscripted types), are shot on DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and I use the DJI Mic or DJI Mic 2 for those. Some commenters have noticed that the audio is not as good as this setup.
@@ConstantGeekery have you ever used the SM 7DB microphone?
@@Bradleybrookwood no. I’ve heard good things, but it wouldn’t work for my setup as it would have to be in shot.
I'm thinking of getting a trash can pro now lol Use it as a media storage device to sync with my iPod classics that I plan to upgrade as well... Gonna be a Time Machine 🤣
Is it possible to use egpu on a Mac pro 6.1 (2013) running 14.4 Sonoma (which is installed via OpenCore Legacy Patcher)? I read that it is necessary to use kryptonite, but their guide explicitly states that the operating system must be without hacks, which means Monterey is necessary. But I want to stay in Sonoma.
I'm researching this with a plan to try it out in a future video. As I understand it, Kryptonite uses OpenCore boot loader to inject patches itself, so it's a case of making sure the driver support is present. When you patch with OCLP it makes sure you have appropriate graphics drivers, since Apple doesn't provide them for non-supported systems in the OS release.
The developer of Kryptonite has made all the source code available for integration into OCLP - it makes sense to have one patcher doing everything. I can't see from the Github page what the current status of this is. I have noted that there seems to be an AVX2 CPU requirement in the Sonoma drivers for RX6000 series GPUs, so those don't work properly yet.
I have a couple of 5700 cards to test, and I'm hopeful that those could be made to work.
Don't remember the name of the exec, but his sardonic earthy rebuttal of post-Jobs Apple detractors always comes to mind almost every time I see this beautiful trash can Mac.
Was it Phil Schiller's "can't innovate anymore, my ass"? 😁
@@ConstantGeekery exactly the quote, and I’ll trust you that it was Schiller.
at how many RPM is everybody running their Macs Fan Control ????
never knew about Rescuezilla...is it similar to Clonezilla?
Rescuezilla is basically a GUI for Clonezilla.
I bought one on eBay not to long ago that came with 32gb of the wrong ram so I upgraded it to 64gb of the correct ram and the 2.7ghz 12 core and bought some of the newer mx-5 thermal paste and repasted the GPUS and CPU.
if you do end up buying one of these from eBay or amazon just be prepared to repaste and clean out the machine and more importantly your fan, there's a ton of listings as "refurbished" but they'd like DK oldies refurbished aka they wiped the outside down. also its very recommended to upgrade the GPU to the 10 core (cheaper than the 8 and 12 core) or the 12 2.7Ghz 12 core which is about 20 bucks. put 64gb of the correct ram in it (20 bucks) and throw OCLP 1.4.1 and Sonoma on that bad boy and enjoy the best used Mac at a super cheap price.
I agree, but I'd take the 2667V2 8-core or the 10-core over the 12-core. Unless you specifically need 24 threads, the other CPUs offer better real-world performance.
Awesome
Would using 128GB at 14900 (1866) speed also clock down? Thanks!
If you use 128GB it clocks down to 1066.
@@ConstantGeekeryThanks for your incredibly fast reply! You saved me a lot of bother as I had ordered 128MB at a great price, but not worth it if speed drops. This is a great series and I am thrilled to use such a beauty as my "daily driver." I look forward to your next installments!! Thanks for all your efforts and generous sharing. Take care, Fred
Mac pro 2013.
Mac Pro 790 / 3718
M1 iMac 2333 / 8325
Indeed, as I have said many times, you are better going for Apple Silicon. Of course, this series is about having fun with an old machine, not trying to compare it to new. You shouldn't base a performance assessment of two different architectures from two different eras on Geekbench 6 scores - it doesn't paint a true picture of the performance differential, which is not as wide as these figures suggest.
@@ConstantGeekery Then come up with a better benchmark and tell me how big the performance difference is in a real world test? Geekbench’s only purpose is to get an idea of how fast a computer is compared with another. More than twice as fast seems significant to me. Whereas +10% with better RAM is negligible.
@@jansix4287 I'm not comparing old Mac Pros to Apple Silicon. That is not the point of this video or the series. Providing comparisons with Apple Silicon is utterly pointless - this is about enjoying an iconic, older Mac as a bit of fun, and exploring its usefulness. The RAM test is therefore completely relevant to the subject matter.
You need to understand that x86 and Arm are different architectures, and a general purpose benchmark like GB6 does not adequately display the performance gaps between the various strengths and weaknesses of those architectures. It's great for comparing two identical architectures, but otherwise it is a general comparison.
The CPU score alone does not factor in GPU performance, or hardware optimisations like video decoders/encoders, which may have a big impact on specific workflows. It's just a set of general tests, intended to represent a "typical" workflow... but not necessarily YOUR workflow. The vast majority of tasks are not bottlenecked by maximum CPU performance.
And those GB6 tests include ML workloads which didn't exist when the E5-v2 Xeons were released, so any benchmark factoring them in to an overall average, is going to skew that overall average. In real-world computing, therefore, the gap is not as wide as it might seem.
I will in future videos demonstrate how the Mac Pro compares to more modern hardware, but not because I'm recommending it over modern choices - I've never done that - but because it's interesting to see how older machines can still be useful.
Got the 8core D700 for $200 Made in 2018