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Dual Xeon W5590 no boot problem

F

Fuzzb

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
94
I just upgraded my 2009 Mac Pro Octo from 2x Xeon E5520 (2.26) to 2x Xeon W5590 (3.33, SLBGE, D0 stepping, ES), but I've run into a stumbling block and I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

When I swapped the processors out, the Mac Pro refused to boot - no startup chime, no video. I then tried a single W5590 in CPU socket A and it booted fine, so I tried the other one in there and that also booted fine. I then tried them both together again and ran into the same problem. Finally, I tried the original two E5520s just in case there was a problem with CPU socket B, but they also worked perfectly fine.

I know of other people who have done this same upgrade using the same CPUs, so it's not a case of the Mac Pro not supporting this model. I've also updated to the latest EFI, tried resetting the SMC by disconnecting the power cable, pressing the power button to discharge and taking out the battery for over an hour, but still the problem persists.

I had a play around by looking at the diagnostics LEDs and the sequence that they light up during the boot process.

When I have 1x W5590 CPU installed in the CPU-A socket or 2x E5520s, the sequence is as follows:

1. SYS_PG, EFI_Done & GPU_OK light up solid green
2. GPU_OK goes off
3. EFI_Done flashes a couple of times then goes solid green
4. GPU_OK lights up solid green

When I have 2x W5590 CPUs installed, the sequence is:

1. SYS_PG, EFI_Done & GPU_OK light up solid green
2. GPU_OK goes off
3. EFI_Done flashes and never goes solid green
4. GPU_OK lights up solid green

diagnosticleds.jpg


Has anyone had a dual CPU problem like this before? Seems strange that the CPUs work individually but not together.
 
I wonder if there is something wrong with the second QPI on one of the chips. IIRC the first QPI is usually used to link the CPUs to the chipsets and the second to link the CPUs to each other.

Maybe trying a combination of one new chip and one old chip could be constructive (I know they are different speeds but I think most xeon systems will clock down to the speed of the slower CPU if you put in an unmatched pair).
 
Are the W5590s recognized correctly by the system when installed one at a time?
 
plugwash said:
I wonder if there is something wrong with the second QPI on one of the chips. IIRC the first QPI is usually used to link the CPUs to the chipsets and the second to link the CPUs to each other.

Maybe trying a combination of one new chip and one old chip could be constructive (I know they are different speeds but I think most xeon systems will clock down to the speed of the slower CPU if you put in an unmatched pair).
Click to expand...

That's my suspicion also. I didn't know that different speeds would work together so I'll give that a try to see if one of the W5590s works.
 
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