Mac Pro dead, computer nerds?

[B36arin]

Hey guys, I need a bit of computer help.

The Mac Pro in our studio died a few months ago, as in it freezes when we try to boot it. It's a 2007 Mac Pro version 1.1.

The drives are fine, and we've been able to access all files. We've had a replacement in the studio but we have to give that back to where it came from soon.

We brought the old computer to a tech last week, and his verdict was that it's either the graphics card or the graphic card socket on the motherboard, since the mac always freezes when the OS tries to boot the graphic card.

Now, here's my problem. The tech says that he can't just pop in some other PCI graphic card and see if that fixes the problem, since there will be driver issues. The original card, which came with the computer, is discontinued. Do you guys know if it's possible to get replacements which will work without having to install any drivers?

 

[xTomx]

Worst case scenario if it's irreparable, new ones come out this autumn and unless you use lots of PCI gear will be much better bang-for-buck than buying a current gen.

 

[nspacestd]

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...ics-cards-dvi-dual-link-mini-displayport.html Try to have a look at this. If I understood correctly yours is the "original" one: there are 3 cards listed there for that model, so you could try one of those. But if the motherboard/socket is causing the problem I think you'll be much better off getting a new computer altogether

 

[Pipotron3000]

Search "2007 Mac Pro" on Apple forum and you will have some good responses.
It seems GPU unsolder itself because it is badly cooled down (common issue)

There are few solutions, apart opening the case, pressing down the GPU sides (not fan, of course) and try to boot. If there is a GPU bad solder joint, it will boot when you press it...and crash when you release it because it is too warm

If it is the GPU, you can try to find a second hand graphic card (take a look at this )
http://guides.macrumors.com/Video_Card_Upgrades_for_Mac_Pro

 

[B36arin]

Thanks so far guys!

I should've mentioned that the reason we won't just buy a new one is because we're holding out for a next generation Mac Pro. We've been using a loaned one since our Mac died, but we have to give it back in a few days, so we're just looking for a temporary solution until the new Mac Pros are released.

 

[mickrich]

I recently replaced my MP 1,1 with an i7 mac mini and couldn't be happier.
I was holding out for the new MP but when I saw it was basically a mac mini with super powerful graphics I got the mini instead.
I have noticed a HUGE boost in performance.
Sessions that were maxing the CPU on the MP are showing up as about 20% on each of the 8 cores (the i7 uses hyperthreading so the 4 cores work as 8)
Unless you are also doing video editing, where powerful graphics are needed, I would just get the i7 mini.
External USB 3 drives are working as well as the internal SATA drives on the MP too.
The i7 mini is perfect for studio work.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I was holding out for the new MP but when I saw it was basically a mac mini with super powerful graphics I got the mini instead.

Wha?

The new Mac Pro is HARDLY a Mac Mini with better graphics....

The Mac Mini, with the best processor in it, is using a mobile-quad i7 (i7-3615QM), not the full-scale i7 (i7-3770). The 3615QM (Passmark score of 7288) benchmarks higher than the stock i5 in the iMac (Passmark score of 5722), sure, but it's not anywhere close to the full-sized version, the i7-3770, which benchmarks at 9427, for comparison (or the "slim" model i7-3770S at 9083).

Yes, the old model Mac Pros were pretty pitiful in price/performance ratio (the quad core model's Xeon W3565 benchmarks at only 4766 and starts at $2500) but the 12 core runs 2 Xeon E5645 processors that benchmark at 6753 x 2 = 13,506, significantly above any other model Mac currently produces. Apple is putting the 12 core Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 in the new Pro models, which from early benchmarks suggests performance well above the Haswell i7-4770K, which benchmarks at at 10,133 Passmark score (the last-gen 8-core Xeon E5-2690 processor benchmarks at 14,511, for example).

That being said, I'm sure the 2013 Mac Pro will kill in performance... but I'm also sure it will kill the wallet. People think $2500 for the stock Mac Pro is outrageous right now... with all the stuff coming stock in these computers now, I'd expect to be at least $1500 higher on stock models, maybe more.

 

[Sloan]

Buy one for parts on ebay.

 

[Nitsuj]

I have the same Mac pro as you do. Look for the ATI graphics card on ebay as a replacement for now. The latest Radeon 5770 also works in the Mac Pro 1.1 flawlessly if you can't afford to wait. Probably get it from your Apple Store.

 

[mickrich]

Wha?

The new Mac Pro is HARDLY a Mac Mini with better graphics....

The Mac Mini, with the best processor in it, is using a mobile-quad i7 (i7-3615QM), not the full-scale i7 (i7-3770). The 3615QM (Passmark score of 7288) benchmarks higher than the stock i5 in the iMac (Passmark score of 5722), sure, but it's not anywhere close to the full-sized version, the i7-3770, which benchmarks at 9427, for comparison (or the "slim" model i7-3770S at 9083).

Yes, the old model Mac Pros were pretty pitiful in price/performance ratio (the quad core model's Xeon W3565 benchmarks at only 4766 and starts at $2500) but the 12 core runs 2 Xeon E5645 processors that benchmark at 6753 x 2 = 13,506, significantly above any other model Mac currently produces. Apple is putting the 12 core Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 in the new Pro models, which from early benchmarks suggests performance well above the Haswell i7-4770K, which benchmarks at at 10,133 Passmark score (the last-gen 8-core Xeon E5-2690 processor benchmarks at 14,511, for example).

That being said, I'm sure the 2013 Mac Pro will kill in performance... but I'm also sure it will kill the wallet. People think $2500 for the stock Mac Pro is outrageous right now... with all the stuff coming stock in these computers now, I'd expect to be at least $1500 higher on stock models, maybe more.

Alright, I was a bit over the top but the mac mini i7 has serious power.
The new MP, although very powerful, seems overkill for studio work.
It seems more aimed at graphics and film guys.
The fact that it has no PCIe slots means a lot of extra expense to use external chassis if you need process cards.

I can't see myself needing more power than the i7 mini has for the next few years unless the next gen of plugins uses massive amounts of processing.

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

 

[SethTheGreat]

Based on this link, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4863019?start=0&tstart=0 and the link nspacestd provided, if it were me, I'd grab whatever video card is cheapest out of the suggested cards and pop it in. You'll find out for sure if it's the video card or the PCIe slot. It's much more likely the video card than the PCIe slot.

 

[Potshot]

Have you actually booted said drive in the loaner mac or just accessed the files on it?

If you haven't booted it, I'd suggest the usual raft of troubleshooting, hold left shift on boot for safe mode and see if that gets you any further, if not, cmd+v to boot verbose and see how far it actually gets which may help see what the problem is, often times it can be a simple matter of repairing disk permissions/ACLs from the OSX installer disc, or repairing the actual disk if there is a problem with it. If you do find a problem such as invalid file count, b-tree errors, etc, which may still allow a drive to be read/written to but stop from booting depending on where the corruption is, the single user mode command line has a more thorough disk repair option that will try 3 times before giving up on an error, and if run multiple times can often fix disk errors that the installers disk utility claims cannot be repaired. To get into that, boot with cmd+s then type mount / -uw, followed by fsck -fy

If you have a spare drive sitting around, try a fresh install of OSX as well, just to completely rule out software as the problem.

Obviously if none of this works, you've got some kind of hardware problem, and you can get a PC x1900 XT and flash it with the mac EFI bios, but it must be the 512mb version, you can pick them up for ~$5-$20 on ebay if you're feeling adventurous, or get the legit Apple one for probably around $100-$150 from someone not trying to rape you on second hand pricing, which still seem to show up at up to around $400 from douchebags.

Prior to spending money on a new card though, there's also a set of diagnostic LED's next to the memory risers which may point to the problem if hardware related, and an SMC reset button next to said LED's which you should try hitting as well. I'd also recommend the simplest hardware troubleshooting after all the software stuff, to be pulling out one riser card entirely and testing, switching it to the other slot and testing again, then repeat with the other riser card, and even going down to the minimum amount of RAM and testing, and if working, adding sticks back in till it stops, corrupt RAM can cause all kinds of stuff like this.

I found far more often in my ~2 years as a Genius/Genius trainer at Apple (back when you actually needed to know your shit ) that the stuff I've mentioned other than the gfx card was a more likely cause of these sort of problems than the gfx card or logic board themselves with these models.

Best of luck!

 

[B36arin]

Wow, thanks for a great reply.

We've tried booting off a different drive and the exact same thing happens, so it's definitely hardware related. The tech working on it has been analysing where in the process it stops, and it's always at the same step. We were hoping to be able to test popping in a new gfx card before buying one, but I haven't been able to find a similar mac locally from where we can borrow parts to troubleshoot it properly.