History
This page deals with the Mac Pro "Nehalem" and
"Westmere",
produced from March 2009. For all earlier Mac Pros please
see this
page.
The Mac Pro "Nehalem" was released in March 2009,
moving the range to the Intel Xeon 3500 and 5500 "Nehalem" processors,
and moving from the DDR2 FB-DIMM memory to DDR3 PC8500 ECC
DIMMs which can be used in triple-channel mode. The two FireWire
400 connectors were also replaced with an additional 2 FireWire
800 ports and the optical drive moved from IDE to a SATA interface.
These Mac Pros were released in two major configurations:
The lower end 4-core, which has a single quad core CPU and
has 4 memory sockets each capable of taking a 4GB module for
a total of 16GB (12GB in triple channel mode).
The high end 8-core machine has 2 x quad core CPUs and 8 memory
sockets, each capable of taking a 4GB module for 32GB total.
Apple's own specifications for this Mac can be found here.
In August 2010 Apple updated the Mac Pro with the new Intel
Xeon "Westmere" processor, although they continued to sell
the Nehalem machines as a low end option.
The Westmere machines came with configurations based around
two quad core or one or two 6-core processors. The memory type
on the 6 core and 12 core 2010 machines has been upgraded to
DDR3 PC10600 (1333MHz) memory. The quad and 8 core machines
(both Nehalem or Westmere) use the same PC8500 (1066Mhz) memory
as the 2009 machines.
Apart from an upgrade to the graphics cards, this is the only
difference between the machine as far as upgrading them.
Apple specs for the 2010 machines can be found here.
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How to Identify these Machines
The 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros are also very similar to the earlier Mac
Pros, sold prior to March 2009. System Profiler (Apple Menu > About
This Mac, then click the "More Info" button) is the best
way to tell the difference - in the memory section of System Profiler,
check the speed of the installed RAM modules.
This page deals with Nehalem and Westmere Mac
Pros which use DDR3 1066MHz RAM (PC3-8500) for quad and 8 core
models, and DDR3 1333MHz RAM (PC3-10600) for the 6 and 12 core. The
earlier machines dealt with on here use
DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) or DDR2 800MHz (PC2-6400) memory.
Externally this machine also looks very similar to the PowerMac
G5 and the PowerMac
G5 Dual Core. Internally this machine (like all Mac Pros) is
much more spacious with room for 2 optical drives and 4 hard drives,
as opposed to 1 optical drive and 2 hard drives on the G5s. An
easy identification between PowerMac G5 and Mac Pro can be made
by opening the System Profiler utility and checking the CPU type
since this machine uses an Intel Xeon and the older machines use
a PowerPC G5.
Apple's own specifications for this Mac can be found here.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412 or by email for confirmation.
Memory Upgrades
This page lists memory for the Mac Pro "Nehalem" (released
March 2009 and August 2010) and the Mac Pro "Westmere" (released
August 2010), RAM upgrades for earlier Mac Pros are listed
here.
The easiest way to find out what memory your 2009 or 2010 Mac Pro
needs is to check memory type and number of slots in software.
Go
to Apple Menu > About This Mac. On the window that comes up, click
"More Info" - this brings up System Profiler. In the left hand
pane of System Profiler select "Memory". The right hand pane now
displays the slots the machine has and what memory you have installed.
You can tell the type from the Speed column on any of the installed
modules. This will be either 1066MHz (which is PC8500 memory), or
1333MHz (which is PC10600 memory).
If you do not have access to the machine, memory compatibility breaks
down like this:
The Mac Pro Nehalem (the 2009 model, but also sold as a low end
option from August 2010) was released in 4-core (1 x quad core) and
8-core (2 x quad core) models. The Mac Pro Westmere (only sold from
August 2010, but the Nehalem was sold alongside it) was released
in 6 core (1 x 6 core), 8 core (2 x quad core) and 12 core (2 x 6
core) configurations.
Memory type differences are based not on the Nehalem/Westmere split,
but on the number of cores. All quad core based (so 4 core and 8
core) machines use DDR3 PC8500 1066MHz memory. All 6 core based (so
6 core and 12 core) machines use DDR3 PC10600 1333MHz memory.
There are also differences in the number of slots: single processor
machines (Nehalem 4 core and Westmere 6 core) have 4 slots. Dual
processor machines (Nehalem 8 core, Westmere 8 core and Westmere
12 core) have 8 slots.
Please call us on 01223 833 412 if you need any advice.
| 1 | Suitable for 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros which have either 4 cores or 8 cores, with a memory speed of 1066MHz. |
| 2 | Suitable for 2010 Mac Pros which have either 6 cores or 12 cores, with a memory speed of 1333MHz. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Memory is very much a user installable part, for full instructions on how to fit RAM, as well as recommended configurations for which order to fill your slots, see this Apple guide (pdf).
CD & DVD Drive Upgrades
The Mac Pro "Nehalem" and "Westmere" use a 5.25" SATA
optical drive and have bays for two units. The following compatible
products are available.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
A replacement or additional optical drive is user installable part on this Mac. Full instructions can be found in this pdf.
Internal Hard Drive Upgrades
The Mac
Pro Nehalem and Westmere have bays for 4 x 3.5" SATA hard drives.
All of the drives listed below are fully compatible.
If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.
Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
For detailed instructions on installing internal hard drives in the Mac Pro, see this pdf on Apple's website.
Shut down the computer and remove the side access panel.
The four hard drive bays are in a horizontal row below the power supply and optical drive bays. There is no need to mess around with cables, the drives can be just slid in and out.
Slide out a drive tray - empty if installing an additional drive, or the one containing the drive you wish to replace.
Fit the new drive(s) with the screws which are already in position.
Slide the drive bay back in until you feel it snap into position.
Restart your Mac and format the new drive with Disk Utility.
eSATA Storage
This Mac can have an eSATA controller card added into an expansion socket - allowing it to control an array of eSATA drives.
For an explanation of what eSATA is, please see our eSATA FAQ. To see our full listing of eSATA products, please see the eSATA category.
eSATA products compatible with this Mac can be found on this page - eSATA controllers can be found on in the expansion cards section, eSATA enclosures are with the external hard drives, and SATA hard drives are listed with the internal hard drives.
Graphics Card Upgrades
These Mac Pros use PCI-Express for their graphics cards. Listed below are the compatible products that we sell.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy.
Install software, Turn off Machine, open side door. Remove the existing
graphics card from its PCI-Express slot, and insert the new card
in its place. If you are unsure call or email our
team. Apple's installation instructions can be found here.
Expansion Card Upgrades
These Mac Pros uses high-bandwidth PCI-Express for their expansion
cards. PCI-Express slots are not backwards compatible with PCI/PCI-X
cards, so the only expansion cards for the Mac Pro are those listed
here. The Mac Pro also has a slot for an Airport Extreme 802.11n
Card.
| 1 | Requires 10.4 or later on the Mac Pro. |
| 2 | Requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy (PCI-Express).
Install software, Turn off Machine, open side door. Locate a free
PCI-Express socket and remove holding screw. Replace card with new
Card - If you are unsure call or email our
team. Apple's installation instructions can be found here.
Keyboards & Mice
The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Power Supplies & Batteries
Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Cables & Tools
Listed below are power cables, tools and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
External Hard Drive Upgrades
With USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 connectivity, the Mac Pro can use a wide range of external hard drives. Please note that to use a FireWire 400 peripheral on a FireWire 800 connection, you will either need a 6pin - 9pin FireWire cable, or this adapter.
Additionally its PCI-Express slots allow additional connectivities such as eSATA and SCSI to be added, allowing yet more external storage options.
| 1 | Requires an eSATA connection to be added to this Mac (eg Tempo E2P). |
| 2 | This product requires an eSATA controller that support port multipliers, such as the Sonnet Tempo X4P or Sonnet Tempo E4P. |
| 3 | This product is an accessory for the Sonnet Fusion D500P external SATA controller. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy
Install any supplied software, attach the new drive with the supplied cable, and format the drive with Disk Utility.