2009 Mac Pros get new lease of life with firmware hack

There is nothing quite like a programming genius to ensure some of the older devices out there in the market are still able to keep pace with newer ones, at least from the firmware perspective. A Mac enthusiast managed to find a method that allows Mac Pros from 2009 to run like models from 2010 – time travel of sorts, don’t you think so? Of course, the exterior will be different in their own right, but it is nice to know that a shot in the arm like this does not need you to pony up additional cash. The firmware hack is already available online, where users can install Westmere CPUs and faster RAM in their towers, while sending audio out through Mini DisplayPorts.

Westmere-class Xeons did make an appearance in the 2010 Mac Pros, but Apple has closed the door to an upgrade path where processors are concerned in the Mac Pro. Sure, you will be able to throw in additional PCI Express cards, extra hard drives, an additional optical drive and even a RAID card, but the CPU will remain non-servicable, swapping or tampering with it will ensure your guarantee becomes null and void.

Non-supported firmware running on your machine will also ensure that AppleCare is void, but how many Mac Geniuses out there are able to tell the difference? The hack works by tricking 2009-era machines into running an EFI Firmware update that was specially intended for 2010 machines. You can also revert back to the original firmware if you so desire, but that is not a guarantee since a bunch of sub-versions of the 2009 Mac Pro EFI Firmware can be quite hard to come by these days. Anyone given it a go yet?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Apple, Computers
Tags: firmware, Hacking, mac pro