Mac Pro (2006/2008) Upgrades
Mac Pro Front

This page covers all the upgrades we sell for Apple Mac Pros in the 2006 and 2008 revisions - models made before March 2009. Choose the type of upgrade you are looking for from the tabs below.(Not the right Mac? See here for more Mac Pros, or here for all Macs.)

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If you want specific upgrades for your exact model, choose it from the Model ID links below, or enter your serial number here:


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Mac Pro Side (open)

History

This page deals with Mac Pro computers made between August 2006 and March 2009, upgrades for the Mac Pro "Nehalem" released in March 2009 are listed here.

With the release of the Mac Pro, Apple finished its move from PowerPC to Intel processors. The Mac Pro replaced the PowerMac G5 Dual Core as Apple's high-end workstation.

Although the case was virtually unchanged, the change from the PowerPC G5 to the Intel Xeon dropped the thermal output of the machine considerably, allowing some of the cooling equipment of the previous machine to be removed to make way for more hard drive bays - addressing one of the major complaints with the PowerMac G5. Apple's specifications of the original Mac Pro can be found here.

In January 2008 Apple released an improved model using Xeon 5400 series processors as opposed to the 5100 series, the bus speed improved from 1.33GHz to 1.6GHz. Apple's specifications for this revision of the Mac Pro can be found here.

How to Identify these Machines

Externally this machine looks very similar to the PowerMac G5 and the PowerMac G5 Dual Core. Internally the machine 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 (Apple Menu > About This Mac, then click the "More Info" button) and checking the CPU type since this machine uses an Intel Xeon and the older machines use a PowerPC G5.

These Mac Pros are also very similar to the later Mac Pro "Nehalem", released in March 2009. System Profiler is the best way to tell the difference - in the memory section of System Profiler, check the speed of the installed RAM modules. The Nehalem Mac Pros use DDR3 1066MHz RAM (PC3-8500), where as the earlier machines dealt with on this page use DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) or DDR2 800MHz (PC2-6400) memory.

There are two main revisions of Mac Pro dealt with on this page, the earlier ones use Xeon 5100 series processors, have a 1.33GHz bus speed and can take up to 32GB of 667MHz FB-DIMM RAM (see Apple specs). The later ones use Xeon 5400 series processors and can take up to 32GB of 800MHz FB-DIMM RAM (see Apple specs) - to distinguish between them use System Profiler to check the bus speed or RAM speed. For Mac Pros using a Xeon 3500 or 5500, see the Mac Pro "Nehalem" page.

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 Mac Pro computers made between August 2006 and March 2009 only, RAM upgrades for the Mac Pro "Nehalem" released in March 2009 are listed here.

These earlier Intel Xeon based Mac Pro requires FB-DIMM (fully buffered DIMM) memory. FB-DIMM RAM has excellent performance and reliability compared to normal DDR2 memory - it is however more expensive.

There are 8 RAM slots in the Mac Pro, the earlier models take 667MHz FB-DIMM RAM and can take up to 32GB in 8 x 4GB modules.

Later Mac Pros (from January 2008) use 800MHZ FB-DIMM RAM and can take up to 32GB in 8 x 4GB modules.

DDR2 667MHz PC5300 for 2006 and 2007 Revisions

OWC 8GB (2 x 4GB) Kit 667MHz FB-DIMM for Mac ProStock: Available£63.28 + vat (£75.94)1
1Suitable for 2006 and 2007 Mac Pros, also compatible with 2008 Mac Pros, though the 2008 machines can use faster 800MHz modules.

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

The RAM is installed on 2 riser boards, each one holding 4 sockets.

Simply turn off the machine, slide the risers out, insert the new RAM, and slide the risers back in.

Apple's instructions for fitting RAM into this machine are here.

CD/DVD/Blu-ray Drive Upgrades

The Mac Pro has slots for two optical drives, these are controlled by standard IDE interfaces so any normal IDE 5.25" unit will fit. You can also fit a Blu-ray drive, but since these are SATA devices you need to attach it to one of the spare SATA connectors on the logic board. We sell a kit to do this and have an installation guide here.

INSTALL SERVICE - Internal SATA CD/DVD Drive in an 2006/2008 Mac ProStock: Available£29.00 + vat (£34.80)
Lite-On 24X DVD+/-RW DL Internal SATA and kit to install in 2006-08 Mac ProStock: Special Order£29.00 + vat (£34.80)
External USB 2.0 CD/DVD-RW Drive - Bus PoweredStock: Special Order£29.00 + vat (£34.80)

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 3 / 5 - Average (SATA unit)

See our guide here for fitting the SATA unit.

If you do have an IDE drive to fit, refer to this pdf document on Apple's website for detailed instructions on installing an internal optical drive. Overview of fitting an IDE drive is as follows:

Internal CD/DVD drives are mounted in a removable 2 bay cage.

Turn off the machine and remove the side access panel.

Lay the Mac on its side and ensure the latch on the back panel of the machine is in the up position.

Pull the optical drive mounting cage (located top left as you look at the machine on its side) away from the machine, detach the power and IDE cables to allow it to be completely removed.

The existing optical drive is secured by four screws and can be easily removed or replaced. A second drive can also be mounted in the free bay.

Reconnect power and IDE cables - note, the first (middle) IDE connector should be used for the top drive - and replace the mounting cage in the machine.

Internal Hard Drive & SSD Upgrades

In a major improvement over the PowerMac G5, the Mac Pro has mountings for up to 4 internal SATA 3.5" hard drives. Fitting is easy since all the bays are readily accessible.

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.

Installation Services

INSTALL SERVICE - Internal Drive in a Mac Pro 2006-2012Stock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Clone Original Internal DriveStock: Available£25.00 + vat (£30.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Fit Customer Supplied PartStock: Available£17.50 + vat (£21.00)

3.5in Hard Drives

Seagate Barracuda SATA 600 1TB 7200RPM 32MBStock: Special Order£43.10 + vat (£51.72)
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA 600 2TB 7200RPM 64MBStock: Available£60.11 + vat (£72.13)
Seagate Barracuda 5900RPM SATA 600 8TB 256MBStock: Available£167.19 + vat (£200.63)

Internal Solid State Disk (SSD) Drives

OWC Mercury 120GB Electra 3G with 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor SATA 300 SSDStock: Available£46.26 + vat (£55.51)
OWC Mercury 250GB Electra 3G with 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor SATA 300 SSDStock: Special Order£60.08 + vat (£72.10)
OWC Mercury 500GB Electra 3G with 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor SATA 300 SSDStock: Special Order£88.13 + vat (£105.76)
Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD with 2.5-3.5 adapt SATA 600 Stock: Available£68.79 + vat (£82.55)
Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD with 2.5-3.5 adapt SATA 600 Stock: Available£94.40 + vat (£113.28)
Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD with 2.5-3.5 adapt SATA 600 Stock: Available£156.10 + vat (£187.32)
Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD with 2.5-3.5 adapt SATA 600 Stock: Available£276.10 + vat (£331.32)
Samsung 860 EVO 4TB SSD with 2.5-3.5 adapt SATA 600 Stock: Available£543.40 + vat (£652.08)
Startech 2.5in - 3.5in SATA drive enclosure adaptorStock: Available£22.00 + vat (£26.40)

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.

Graphics Cards and Displays

These Mac Pros use PCI-Express for their graphics cards. Listed below are the compatible products that we sell.

INSTALL SERVICE - Graphics Card in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)

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

Like the dual-core PowerMac G5, the Mac Pro uses high-bandwidth PCI-Express for its 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 Card.

INSTALL SERVICE - Expansion Card in a Desktop MacStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 PCIe Card 4 portStock: Special Order£49.00 + vat (£58.80)1
1Requires 10.8.5 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.

Trust 3 button USB Optical MouseStock: Available£6.75 + vat (£8.10)
Cherry Strait 3.0 USB Keyboard - UK Mac LayoutStock: Available£32.00 + vat (£38.40)

Power Supplies & Batteries

Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products we supply for this Mac.

3V Coin Cell Lithium PRAM/Clock BatteryStock: Available£4.00 + vat (£4.80)

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.

Cables & Tools

Listed below are power cables, tools and related products we supply for this Mac.

Cables & Adaptors

USB 3 (Type A) to USB-C M/F AdaptorStock: Available£6.00 + vat (£7.20)
USB 3 to 2.5in SATA Drive Cable (for accessing a 2.5in SATA drive via USB)Stock: Available£6.49 + vat (£7.79)1
FireWire 400 - 800 Adaptor Cable M/M (6pin - 9pin) 6 ftStock: Available£11.00 + vat (£13.20)
Mini DisplayPort - VGA M/F Video AdaptorStock: Available£15.72 + vat (£18.86)2
Mini DisplayPort - DVI M/F Passive Video AdaptorStock: Available£12.50 + vat (£15.00)2
Mini DisplayPort - DVI M/F Active Video AdaptorStock: Available£28.00 + vat (£33.60)2
Mini DisplayPort - HDMI M/F Passive AdaptorStock: Available£14.00 + vat (£16.80)2
Mini DisplayPort - HDMI M/F Active AdaptorStock: Available£26.15 + vat (£31.38)2
DVI-I - VGA M/F Video AdaptorStock: Available£6.50 + vat (£7.80)3
Sonnet Tempo eSATA Cable Set - 1m (2 x eSATA Connectors)Stock: Unavailable£16.00 + vat (£19.20)4

Tools

Precision Screwdriver Set, 31 Piece - Phillips/Torx/TR6Stock: Available£12.50 + vat (£15.00)
Anti Static Wrist StrapStock: Available£8.50 + vat (£10.20)
1This can be connected to this Mac to access a 2.5in SATA drive. But this Mac does not use a 2.5in SATA drive internally.
2For models where a graphics card with Mini DisplayPort has been added.
3For models with a DVI video output port.
4For use with an eSATA PCI card, e.g. Sonnet Tempo X4P eSATA PCI/PCIX Card, to connect to an eSATA external device.

External Drives & Enclosures

With USB, USB 2.0, FireWire and FireWire 800 connectivity, the Mac Pro can use a wide range of external hard drives.

Additionally its PCI-Express slots allow additional connectivities such as eSATA and SCSI to be added, allowing yet more external storage options.

3.5" USB 3 External Drives

SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB USB-C & USB 3 External SSDStock: Available£151.66 + vat (£181.99)1
SanDisk Extreme Portable 2TB USB-C & USB 3 External SSDStock: Available£281.24 + vat (£337.49)1
WD Elements USB 3 (USB 2 compatible) 3.5in External HDD - 4TBStock: Available£91.46 + vat (£109.75)2
WD Elements USB 3 (USB 2 compatible) 3.5in External HDD - 6TBStock: Available£141.51 + vat (£169.81)2

2.5" USB 3 External Drives

Seagate 1TB Portable 2.5in USB 3 External Hard DriveStock: Available£41.73 + vat (£50.08)
Seagate 2TB Portable 2.5in USB 3 External Hard DriveStock: Available£58.21 + vat (£69.85)

3.5" USB Enclosures

Startech USB 3.0 Enclosure for 3.5in SATA DrivesStock: Available£33.67 + vat (£40.40)

2.5" USB Enclosures

Startech USB 3.0 (USB 2 compatible) Enclosure for 2.5in SATA Drive with UASPStock: Available£17.27 + vat (£20.72)3
1Requires a USB 3.0 expansion card.
2Requires OSX 10.6 or later.
3This can be connected to this Mac to access a 2.5in SATA drive. But this Mac does not use a 2.5in SATA drive internally.

Complete Machines - Refurbished

Any complete machines of this type or similar that we have for sale are listed here. Please note that these are refurbished models with a 3 month warranty, and that delivery is likely to take 3 - 5 working days. These can be purchased online with the standard website courier delivery charge for the mainland UK only. Please contact us for a quote on shipping to other areas.

There are none available.

Repair Services for this Mac

Here are the various repair services we offer for this Mac. You can have us take the machine in for evaluation, or book a fixed-price repair if you already know what the fault is and the service is listed below (for services without parts, please see the relevant tab on this page for compatible parts that we sell). If you know what the fault is, but we don't have a fixed-price repair listed below, please contact us for a quote.

Evaluation Services

Mac Repair - Evaluation ServiceStock: Available£39.00 + vat (£46.80)

Installation Services (parts not included)

Collection ServiceStock: Available£24.68 + vat (£29.62)
INSTALL SERVICE - Internal Drive in a Mac Pro 2006-2012Stock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Clone Original Internal DriveStock: Available£25.00 + vat (£30.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - RAM in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£10.00 + vat (£12.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Graphics Card in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Expansion Card in a Desktop MacStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Internal SATA CD/DVD Drive in an 2006/2008 Mac ProStock: Available£29.00 + vat (£34.80)