Step 2) Install Snow Leopardīefore we can move forward, we need to upgrade the installed version (10.5.8 or Leopard) to Snow Leopard (10.6). We simply need to slide out the CPU try on the bottom of the case and replace the memory dimms with the newer ones.Īfter doing this, in my case I replace the 3x2GB with 2x16GB, About this Mac showed the following:Īs you can see, the upgrade was a success and this also shows what our starting point is for the software version. The memory upgrade, as long as it is below a maximum of 48GB, can just be done without any software adjustments and you will benefit from it immediately. Step 1) Upgrade the memoryĪlthough this is an optional step, with the 6GB the machine came and definitely with the 3GB which would have been standard on this model, you would need to be patient without the upgrade.
Luckily all seemed fine and we can start with the whole process. Upgrade the video card to a Metal-supported modelįirst thing I did when I got the hardware, was to clean out all the dust and dirt which the machine collected over the years.Īfter that, I did a first boot of the Mac Pro to see if it was working.Create patched bootable Big Sur installation media.Install Snow Leopard (mandatory before you can go higher).This is something I learned with previous upgrades on Mac Pro 4,1’s. There is a reason for each step, which I will clarify and the order is, in most cases, important as well. The steps I need to go through are as follows. The model I got, and will use for this article, has the following specifications:įrom software perspective, it was still running Mac OS 10.5.8, better known as Leopard. Obviously I hoped for a dual CPU model but this was not the case. I bought the Mac Pro at an auction for around €100, not knowing what exactly would be in the box. The Mac Pro which I will use for this article is not the first one that I’m upgrading from both hardware and software perspective but it’s the first time that I will try to document this properly.
If you know that some newer Apple Macs are less performant for a multitude of the price, one cannot be suprised.
As mentioned, the hardware still looks very nice and thanks to the large community around these devices, it’s still very well usable today. The Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 have been released more than 10 years ago now but a quick search online clearly shows that they are still alive and even popular today.
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