New EFI chip in MacPro 2,1

[jsciamms]

I couldn't find a better place to put this post, and everyone here seems to be super knowledgable, so I thought I would give it a shot. I have an old MacPro 2,1, so 32 bit EFI. I know there are tons of methods to get the 64 bit kernel running anyway (Piker-Alpha, Clover, Tiamo's, ect..) but is there anyway to physically upgrade the EFI. I know you can't software update it and change it form 32 to 64, but can you remove the EFI chip from the logic board, and replace it with a 64 bit version? I know the boards on the 2007 and 2008 models are basically the same, but 2008 has the 64 bit EFI. Could a switch be preformed, or am I totally out of my league here?

 

[Going Bald]

I couldn't find a better place to put this post, and everyone here seems to be super knowledgable, so I thought I would give it a shot. I have an old MacPro 2,1, so 32 bit EFI. I know there are tons of methods to get the 64 bit kernel running anyway (Piker-Alpha, Clover, Tiamo's, ect..) but is there anyway to physically upgrade the EFI. I know you can't software update it and change it form 32 to 64, but can you remove the EFI chip from the logic board, and replace it with a 64 bit version? I know the boards on the 2007 and 2008 models are basically the same, but 2008 has the 64 bit EFI. Could a switch be preformed, or am I totally out of my league here?

Hardware changes to a "Real" Mac should be addressed to Apple support.

 

[jsciamms]

This isn't exactly an Apple Supported mod, and they won't give details on a procedure like this. This kind of mod turns the Mac Pro into a hack Pro, and precisely why I added it to these forums. I have heard of people attempting it, but nobody has mentioned anything else about it working or not. So before I turn this running machine into a really heavy paper weight, I wanted to see if anyone has had experience with this. I'm not opposed to gutting it, and running a full hack, but if I can use mostly apple hardware, all the better. Plus we are about to have a baby, so extra funding for projects has been cut back for a while.

 

[potemkin]

Try macvidcards.com if it was feasible he might know.
He flashes pc vid cards to run on mac. Frequently contributes to piker alpha.
Also makes bt /wireless cards ...
I really doubt this as if it did work you would hear a lot about it.

 

[jsciamms]

Thanks Potemkin. I asked him and am waiting on a response. I think it is going to be a more complicated feat than just switching chips, but rumors are that this can be accomplished, but isn't easy. I'll update as soon as I get a response. I'll keep looking around until then. Someone has got to have documented an attempt at this somewhere.