I'm looking at buying a used Mac Pro. However, I want to know what I'm really buying as the serial number he provided does match the processor configuration in the about:
EveryMac says this is what the machine is according to its serial number:
The 2.4 GHz 6-Core configuration wasn't released until 2012 according to EveryMac:
So my question is, am I buying a 2009 Mac Pro, originally shipped with an "Eight Core" main board, but has been upgraded to a 2012 2x 6-Core main board?
If so, will I need to upgrade the firmware to match the new board?
Best Answer
The firmware had to have been updated before the newer processors were installed.
The differences between the 4,1 '09 & the 5,1 '10 - '12 are minimal. What you're looking at is a hybrid, older machine [quad-core Nehalem originally] with upgraded firmware & newer 6-core Westmere CPU.
In itself, there's nothing inherently wrong with that - I'm typing on one right now.
The fans are a little noisy - my older 3,1 you cannot even hear the fans until it's working hard - but it really has no issues, to all intents & purposes it's now a 2012.
This is mine
The 5,1 upgrade does allow it to run Sierra too - I just don't like Sierra.