With the heatsinks and processors removed, I set about cleaning off the old thermal paste from both parts. Be sure to make note of which heatsink goes to which socket, as they are not interchangeable. Quickly turn the heatsink upside down to prevent the processor from coming loose and falling (although in my case the thermal paste acted almost as glue and it took quite a bit of force to detach it). Be careful to note that the processor will likely be stuck with thermal paste to the bottom of the heatsink and will lift off when you remove it. Once all four screws are removed per heatsink, carefully lift the heatsink up, detaching it from the connector on the logic board that controls fan and thermal settings. The screws themselves are spring-mounted, so simply loosen them slowly until you feel them pop up. A late-night trip to the local hardware store solved the problem, and I recommend purchasing the longest hex wrench set you can find before beginning this process. The only problem is that the screws are recessed about three inches into the heatsink, and I had no hex wrench long enough to reach the screw. The Mac Pro’s CPU heatsinks are surprisingly held in place with common 3mm hex screws. The first challenge I faced was improper tools. They may be used, but at 66% off the retail price, I couldn’t say no. I admit that I was a bit hesitant to purchase used processors, but after some research I found a seller with excellent ratings and an equally excellent price: $1200 for the pair of processors. These processors still retail at a ridiculously high price, between $1500 and $1800 each, but there is thankfully a robust market of used processors on sites such as eBay. Apple Support Article HT4433 helped explain the process, but for those familiar with hardware upgrades it is a very straightforward procedure.įor the processors, I decided to go “all out” and get the highest performance processor I could find. It is a completely tool-less process and requires only removing the side panel from the computer, and then removing the processor tray from the bottom. The Mac Pro RAM is surprisingly easy to upgrade, second in ease perhaps only to the Mac Mini. Prices have now dropped even further, and the same 6x4GB configuration of RAM now costs only $244 as of the date of this article.
I started with the easy part, and ordered 24GB (6x4GB) of RAM from Other World Computing. Considering the options, I decided to accept the risk and move forward with the upgrade.Īpple’s support article explains everything you need to know about RAM upgrades.
#APPLE MAC RAM MACBOOK PRO 2009 UPGRADE#
The RAM would be simple, but I knew the CPU upgrade would be a challenge and that there was a risk that I could irrevocably damage my Mac. The upgrade would come in two phases: RAM and CPU. But if you choose to follow my lead and upgrade your own Mac Pro, please understand that you do so at your own risk. In my case, the warranty had expired so I had nothing to lose in that department. I’d like to take the time to mention here that everything discussed in this article, except for the RAM upgrade, most definitely voids your warranty. Back in June, with the impending launch of Final Cut Pro X and the increasing number of other high-performance applications that seemed to be running slower and slower on my Mac Pro, I knew the time had come to perform the upgrade I had planned. As one of Apple’s few remaining “upgradeable” line of computers, I hoped to upgrade the processors and RAM in the future. When I purchased the machine about two and a half years ago, I knew I wanted eight cores but at the time I could only afford the 2.26GHz option and 6GB of RAM. My primary workstation is a 2009 8-core Mac Pro.
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