Been itching to overclock your Mac Pro? No problem.
By Ryan Block 
posted Jun 29th 2008 2:09PM
posted Jun 29th 2008 2:09PM
[Via Computerworld]
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Huh. I wasn't aware it was so difficult to overclock macs.
I overclocked my Quad Core Mac Pro over a year ago... Just get yourself some ES CPUs like the e5340 or e5350 for sale on ebay right now and do the BSEL Overclock found on http://www.o0o.it For $600 you can upgrade your system to an 8 core 3.0GHz.... then sell your old chips on ebay for $500.... Stock heatsinks work just fine!
Next up for the Mac: watercooling rigs and Tuniq Tower CPU heatsinks.
Many years ago (4-5), it was a well kept secret on older MACs; there was couple of unlabeled jumpers that you could change the FSB and the CPU Multiplier.
There's an available application for overclocking MacBooks, too.
I remember the one time I tried it, I set the new bus speed, and hit 'apply.' Exactly at that moment, my MacBook shut off and wouldn't turn back on. I panicked for a bit, until I realized that the battery had chosen to die exactly then :D
yeah, i've never overclocked, but the same thing happened to me after installing leopard
that was funny
Bad idea to overclock a MacBook. They get too damn hot as it is, and the fan starts at the slightest provocation.
Macbook Pros are pretty hot as it is. Laptops in general won't have too much room for overclocking...
About bloody time! I've been waiting for this forever! :)
I already have my graphics over clocked by hacking the ROM (and converted from a PC only card, as if I was going to pay for a 'Mac Version')
The cooling in the Mac Pro is rather good, Will hopefully get 3.4Ghz or so out of this :)
Well... it seems to have over clocked the machine, but I can't even play back an MP3, it just skips about every second or so :(
It *could* be unstable. Turn that O/C down and see if it goes back to normal.
Actually what happens is the Macs internal clock speeds up with the overclock, so if you look at the date and time, you'll notice that is moving a little faster. What you need to do is reboot your computer (not shutdown) and it should work. I don't have a Mac Pro, I'm just going by what others are saying. If you want more info, check out this page - Read post #59
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=507454&page=3
@Hotrod:
So this utility turns Mac Pro's into a time machine? Sounds like a bonus feature to me.
Tracked down the audio problem... It's because I was using a USB sound card, presumably the buffer of audio is being sent to it at the wrong rate thanks to the increase in system bus speeds and clock timing.
Internal audio works fine, and I've now had it at 3.5Ghz for an hour or so under load which is none too shabby! :)
On another note why is there so many commenting about Macbooks/MBPs?!? The title clearly states Mac Pro, you laptop users need not apply!
that would be cool...........................if i had a macbook
No it would be hot.
That's what happens when you over-clock
your limericks amuse me
Actually it is a problem, unless you can find after market heatsinks, and a way to raise the Vcore.
I used to have this:
http://www.supplierlist.com/photo_images/30540/Industrial_Fan.jpg
I turn the head of the fan to vertical position, then prop the laptop on it.
Cooled it to 20-30 degrees centigrade.
I dont recommend trying this in its current state. If you over clock it past 3.10Ghz it causes you computer to crash. They said this problem is being addressed but for the time being a 100 Mhz overlock(My mac pro is a quad 3.0Ghz) isnt really worth the risk
I dont recommend trying this in its current state. If you over clock it past 3.10Ghz it causes you computer to crash. They said this problem is being addressed but for the time being a 100 Mhz overlock(My mac pro is a quad 3.0Ghz) isnt really worth the risk
I got to 3.35Ghz (3Ghz first gen MP) before I backed down... no crashes but as mentioned I can't play back audio without serious sync problems.
anyone knows how to overclock a mac pro under windows to the same amount as zdnet did? Are there any recommendable tools around?
Yes, if you have the Woodcrest or Clovertown models (First Generation) you can use SysTool:
http://forum.hardmac.com/index.php?showtopic=1639&mode=threaded&pid=8998
Apparently you can also use ZDnet Clock and soft reboot into any OS and the clock speed remains. You lose is after powering off.
Also OSX wouldn't boot for me when I used SysTool to overclock without a power cycle, complaining the memory was running too fast :)
Sweet. Not only will you be able to cut a cake with the AIR, you can bake with the PRO.
...seriously folks, I see the potential for TONS of overheating.
THE Ricardo Torres from gamespot.com?
Welcome to the world of overclocking, may I take your coat?
"Marketing Bus Clock"
Hmm, I meant to say
"Marketing Bus Clock" - haha, so true
But Engadget chops off anything with an angle bracket in it instead of properly escaping comments.
I don't think that overclocking will help. Too risky to lose all my work or burn the motherboard for a small amount of speed. My Mac Pro is maybe only a 2 x 2.66 GHz one but with 6 Go of RAM it runs perfectly OK for me...
Thats alota go
In Spanish (no so common), French and other languages, GB is called Go (Spanish: Gigaoctetos). Maybe that's why he wrote Go xD
Giga-octets? Hmmm, makes sense...sort of.
I dont know much about Macs, but in the PC world software overclocking is generally a bad idea.
Replying to my own post...
This doesn't look like it gives you a chance to play with memory timing or processor and chipset voltage, these ajustments are essential to a stable overclock.
Can you use aftermarket cooling on a Mac?
Haha PC's have had this since ever....
I never knew it was so hard to overclock a mac...
Well I'm sticking to my overclocked PC
yeah me too. im sticking with my AMD Athlon 64x2 6400+ @ 3.5GHZ. not a lot of OCing but its fast enough.
i dont get why you'd want to overclock a Macbook or any lappy. do you want to burn a hole in your pants?
Your...
Haiku...
Sucks and...
Prominently displays...
Your rabid...
Fanboyism...
WRONG! :D
this app sucks.. i have the newest mac pro and when you hit apply the computer just locks up until you power reset...
Macs just work!
yes Macs do just work.. an app designed to over clock the computer is NOT working... idiot.. maybe next time you decide to post something funny you should think about what you are typing..
There's also an application that will overclock the video cards on any mac... I overclocked my iBook G4's ATI Radeon 9200 Mobillty :)
Ooh I bet you got at least 1fps instead of the normal 0.6 :D
Guys, I do a lot of work on macs (or did until I quit my job :p) I used an macbook and an imac (recent version). It's not a good idea to overclock these things, they're pretty dang hot most of the time if you have photoshop open.
Also, my experience with overclocking has always reminded me to spend more and sit back knowing I have a warranty rather than raping every last mhz out of a cpu. I learnt the hard way when I was a student.
Don't do it! Buy some bigger cpus and bigger heatsinks, forget software overclocks. ZDnet is being insane
now i can cook some pizza on my macbook pro!
yeah!
Now that they have OC'ing tools, do they also have programs to test for stability? Do they make Prime 95/Orthos or Memtest for Mac?
first off, a macbook overclocked would probably be the worst idea ever.
a mbpro is even worse, heated metal = really hot.
and the mac pro doesn't need to be overclocked... if you're really into squeezing a little extra performance out of a cpu u shouldn't be software OC'ing.
i use macs on a daily basis, but i've yet to figure out is there a wy to enter bios? i mean there has to be... it's just not apparent when i turn the damn thing on.
if you could install a new bios that allows a HARDWARE overclock, then i could see this being a good idea.
and aquiluz, that's a pretty sick... until your lappy falls off the non flat surface, or you try to type ;-)
but if you could keep ur mac pro open.... and have that thing blowing right into it... sure it'd be loud... but think of how cool it would be inside, so long as it doesn't interfere with any of the fans/heatsinks.....
Macs don't have a BIOS, they use EFI
Anyone know of something similar for a PPC?