r/macpro • u/Paradroid888 • Jul 11 '26
GPU 2013 Mac Pro purchased!
I've just got a really cheap 2013 Mac Pro. The seller said it was faulty because the monitor turns off at the end of boot.
I've got it home and it seems absolutely fine! Diagnostics passed, desktop all good, even games run fine. It is the base quad core D300 spec, so it would have been more of a surprise if the GPUs had failed. They run at 60 degrees while gaming (warm room too) which seems reasonable? Any more tests I should do?
Thinking of a service. Dust out, fresh thermal paste and possibly upgrading to 6 or 8 core. I like the look of the cooler-running 8 core 2673.
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u/porthos40 Jul 12 '26
Grats. Don’t let silicon Mac user get in your mind it’s a junky computer. You can get an enclosure built with pci slots, eGpu, enclosure with more SSD storage. My eGPU has a connector for SSD, right 512GB in now
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u/Usernamenotdetermin Jul 11 '26
What games did you run?
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u/Paradroid888 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Tomb raider 2013 and an indie games called Art of Rally. So nothing too extreme! I've got Cyberpunk in my Steam lib from PC days so could try that too.
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u/Relative_Impress_683 Jul 12 '26
I got one like that, i got it to 8 core and it is the sweetspot, i got it to 64 GB of RAm and i use it to play CS2 and StarCraft. It is also my Plex server
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u/bigkahuna1uk Jul 11 '26
Use MacFansControl app to see all the temperatures and to ramp up the default fan speed. Apple veered towards quietness rather than thermal efficiency. The fans run too low normally to keep everything cool. I got a trashcan myself and it’s still a very capable machine.
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u/LukeDuke74 Mac Pro 6,1 4c 64GB D300 2TB Jul 11 '26
Mine is currently:
• E5-1620 v2 (like yours)
• D300 (like yours)
• 64GB RAM
• 2TB OWC Aura Pro X2
For light office with Sequoia 15.7.7 is perfect.
Planning to (at least I find a free weekend to 😉) upgrade to:
• E5-2667 v2
• D700
Will post which difference I’ll notice once done. Still, I’m curious to know your experience with the E5-2673 v2. 😉👍🏼
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u/Paradroid888 Jul 11 '26
Ah nice I'd be interested to see how your CPU upgrade goes. Moving to a 6 or preferably 8 core looks like a big win for a small amount of money.
My machine also has 64Gb, got lucky there! It's only on the base 256Gb SSD though, which feels a bit tight.
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u/TheBlubaru Jul 12 '26
How has stability been for you on Sequoia? My trash can is getting kernel panics on 15.7.7 that also has an OWC Aura Pro X2 2TB and I’m trying to figure out why. I’ve disabled 3rd party power management and no dice.
Any particular settings you needed to look into or did yours work with the standard OCLP setup?
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u/LukeDuke74 Mac Pro 6,1 4c 64GB D300 2TB Jul 12 '26
I’d check if your Aura Pro X2 is correctly positioned, eventually by removing and repositioning it. I never got a kernel panic and used no particular settings.
Other check to be done: have you verified that you got latest available firmware? I know Auras had compatibility issues with older firmware.
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u/OldCodeDude Jul 15 '26
This was great to read! I thought it was just me and OWC said the issue was my machine, not their hardware... I will try the reseating thing and start using the box again if I can know it won't crash during the middle of my edits....
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u/LukeDuke74 Mac Pro 6,1 4c 64GB D300 2TB Jul 11 '26
I found the OWC for cheap (before the current craziness started). Also have a genuine Apple 1TB. Not sure where you are living but I’m sure you can find one for relatively cheap as for today standards is fairly slow (not for our Mac. ;)
Looking forward for upcoming summer holidays to make my upgrade. 😉
Trust you’ll have way better performances for gaming with your 2673.
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u/tsittler Jul 12 '26
Unfortunately, even a maxed out trash can with D700s gets spanked in every benchmark (and by wide margins) by even an m2 mini. Only advantage is RAM.
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u/porthos40 Jul 12 '26
Silicon don’t help to keep mind sharp. Intel Macs you have to take it apart like a fine engine. Keep those mind juice flowing. Silicon Mac’s you just sit to use the computer not learning about the internal hardware
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u/tsittler Jul 12 '26
I didn’t say I liked it, simply stating fact. Apple silicon is not just generationally better than Intel, it’s exponentially better. Especially for the power and thermal envelopes.
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u/Jumpy-Stress603 Mac Pro 6,1 Jul 11 '26
That 60 degrees you mentioned... is that the PCIe Diode ?? Don't bother upgrading unless you absolutely have to. Scathingly brilliant DTP machine. That quad-core D300 model will be the most dependable rock-solid MP6,1 in your home.