Question Turning an old 2006/09 Mac Pro into a gamer/workstation

[ragnarok94]

I got this idea while working at my school and coming across some unused macpro workstations (not for sale, im guessing, but quite affordable online)
I found out these are dual-processor workstations, so I wanna know what the community here thinks:
could an upgraded mac pro 1.1/2.1 make an effective adobe workstation while also being half gaming pc?

after these upgrades:
-increased RAM
-upgrades from duo-core to quad-core dual CPUs
-upgraded graphics card (Gtx 960/970 or AMD R9 280x/290/380/390)
-Upgraded to OS X el capitan & Win 7 Pro x64

Why:
Id like a good gaming PC that can also work full 1080 and even 4K video editing, and use mac exclusive editing tools

here's everything I've found so far:
http://www.cnet.com/products/apple-mac-pro-dual-core-xeon-5150-2-66-ghz/specs/
http://www.macvidcards.com/i-want-the-best-graphics-card-for-my-mac-pro-where-do-i-

start.html
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2006-2007-mac-pro-1-1-2-1-and-os-x-el-
capitan.1890435/
http://glennstevenson.com/Blog/TabId/1115/PostId/4/Install-Windows-7-64-Bit-On-Mac-
Pro.aspx
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World
%20Computing/53FB4MPK08GB/http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/faq/mac-
pro-how-to-upgrade-memory-what-type-ram.html
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2734290?tstart=0
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3600819?tstart=0
http://www.delidded.com/list-of-intel-lga-771-xeon-processors/#quad-core-cpus
http://www.macofalltrades.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MP-266-4C-
E06B&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_feed&utm_campaign=comparison_shopping_
feeds&gclid=CjwKEAjwi9K4BRCQzq7d1c6A_XASJABueAO2lXZ4-
zrhYWARex1ZFw9hpiTmeSla19n47ys2IQDrFBoC5mXw_wcB

 

[tsnor]

Start with the memory: Look online to find "...1.0 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC "fully-buffered" FB-DIMM memory (with a heatsink design that is a bit different from generic FB-DIMMs), ..."

As a hobby this could be fun. But it's likely not a cost effective way to build a hackintosh gaming pc vs. an $85 modern MB, cheap DDR3, and an intel i5.

 

[ragnarok94]

Start with the memory: Look online to find "...1.0 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC "fully-buffered" FB-DIMM memory (with a heatsink design that is a bit different from generic FB-DIMMs), ..."

As a hobby this could be fun. But it's likely not a cost effective way to build a hackintosh gaming pc vs. an $85 modern MB, cheap DDR3, and an intel i5.

I think the 2008/2009 models came with DDR3 memory, although online that model is twice the price of the 2006 (http://www.macofalltrades.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=macpro ). but true, I didn't factor in the mother board. My goal was to utilize and upgrade what the mac pro has and make it game-possible, if that helps. still, this is all in theory. I don;t really have the funds to put this into practice yet

 

[ragnarok94]

I did find a video of a guy who did it with a 980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5__XxUynVs

another update: I did find 8gb and 16GB RAM kits for this system

 

[ragnarok94]

okay, after a lot more research, I decided that going with cost, this build doesn't make any sense unless you're just given a macpro.
Not when you can easily build a great PC with parts from ebay/craigslist for the same money, and install mac os x on a secondary drive.

if you can get one for less than $200 USD, maybe. but the old CPUs and mobo are a big anti-performance factor.

 

[davesnothere]

I just run windows 7 on mine. I bought a 16gb mac pro for $500 some time ago to use with my digital audio workstation software. Then I had to do an upgrade and the OSX lion wasn't supported any more. El Capitan had compatibility issues. The pain was getting windows 7 64 bit installed, but I figured that out.

you see the eide controller of the cd rom is preparatory and when it tries to boot it freezes. Now what I did to get it to work is to set up the hard drive on a PC, then I launched a command prompt as an administrator, then I typed: cd sysprep then I executed sysprep. clicked the box next to: "enter out of box expirience (oobe) " and selected shut down as the shutdown options.
then I installed that drive as the only drive in the mac pro.

everything worked, I had to get the graphics driver I do believe but other than that everything set up except for the preparatory eide/sata controller that was for the CDROM. I plugged in a standard pcie sata controller and upgraded my eide cdrom to a sata.

Hope this helps you.
Btw I do have to wait for the apple firmware to times out before it boots windows 7 but after that it works just as good if not even better than my new computers I have.

One of my pains was finding a bracket to adapt a SSD drive to the hard drive bay.

 

[ragnarok94]

I just run windows 7 on mine. I bought a 16gb mac pro for $500 ...One of my pains was finding a bracket to adapt a SSD drive to the hard drive bay.

i found out that OWC sells that bracket on their website

i actually ended up doing a straight pc build, but im sure that info will be very helpful to whoever decides to go with the idea. Thanks

 

[ragnarok94]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=757269&gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwz2KCpqybAF_qhJMlthRnKEWXk9FgzaBcNLYgofQr9hoCjrzw_wcB&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&c3api=1876%2C92051678402%2C&Q=&A=details

OWC 2.5" ssd sled bracket for macpro