Upgrading my (official) Mac Pro

[FraggadeliX]

I'm guessing that all of the hardware on the compatibility list would also translate to an actual Apple Mac Pro.

I have a Mac Pro 4.1 (2x2.26Ghz QuadCore Xean (Nehalem)
I'm hoping to rejuvenate the ol' gal with an SSD, extra RAM and a new video card.

I saw that there were some considerations to be made when choosing an SSD. Does this also hold true for Apple's own hardware? I found a guide on how to setup your own fusion drive, which i want to give a try.

Will all the video cards in the compatibility list also work in a Mac Pro without a hitch? My main software is Photoshop CC, inDesign CC, illustrator CC and Autodesk Maya 2012, so I hope a beefy card will also speed up my workflow.

Also I'm going to make the jump from Snow Leopard to Mavericks.

If anyone has useful suggestions, please share. Thanks.

 

[Adrian B]

I'm guessing that all of the hardware on the compatibility list would also translate to an actual Apple Mac Pro.

I have a Mac Pro 4.1 (2x2.26Ghz QuadCore Xean (Nehalem)
I'm hoping to rejuvenate the ol' gal with an SSD, extra RAM and a new video card.

I saw that there were some considerations to be made when choosing an SSD. Does this also hold true for Apple's own hardware? I found a guide on how to setup your own fusion drive, which i want to give a try.

I think extra Ram, An SSD & new GPU will rejuvenate an older Mac very well. You can use any SSD - just make sure that the firmware is up to date as this has caused problems for a small number of people. The Samsung 840Pro and Sandisk Extreme are the two favourites here right now for speed/price/performance/reliability.

Will all the video cards in the compatibility list also work in a Mac Pro without a hitch? My main software is Photoshop CC, inDesign CC, illustrator CC and Autodesk Maya 2012, so I hope a beefy card will also speed up my workflow.

I am going to leave this one for someone else to answer although if you do some online research you may find an answer also.

Also I'm going to make the jump from Snow Leopard to Mavericks.

If anyone has useful suggestions, please share. Thanks.

Back everything up - any 32 bit apps or plugins that you have will not work in a 64 bit system like ML or Mavericks.


Adrian B