Last week, we confirmed that the processor in the new 2013 Mac Pro is, in fact, user upgradeable. Now we have begun the process of testing compatibility with different processors.
We’re still in the process of testing and can only recommend processors that we’ve been able to test and verify. We have supplied other notes on other processors for informational purposes only. Processors appearing on this list, unless noted as OWC tested, does not mean the processor will work or should be tried by anyone other than OWC staff at this moment.
Any upgrade to processors should be done at the user’s discretion and own risk. OWC cannot guarantee warranty status after any upgrade or alteration to the Mac Pro aside from upgrading its memory through OWC, which is a user upgrade approved by Apple that will not affect warranty status.
Check out the list of processors below:
OWC’s Mac Pro 2013 Processor Upgrade Compatibility Testing
| Processor | Cores | Clock Speed | Cache | TDP | Lith. | Socket | Part Number | Notes |
| Intel® Xeon® | 4 | 3.70 GHz | 10MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-1620 v2 | Apple offering |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 3.50 GHz | 12MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-1650 v2 | Apple offering |
| Intel® Xeon® | 12 | 2.70 GHz | 30MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2697 v2 | Apple offering |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 3.50 GHz | 25MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2643 v2 | OWC Testing |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 3.70 GHz | 15MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-1660 v2 | OWC Qualified |
| Intel® Xeon® | 8 | 3.30 GHz | 25MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2667 v2 | OWC Qualified |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 3.00 GHz | 25MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2690 v2 | OWC Qualified |
| Intel® Xeon® | 4 | 1.80 GHz | 10MB | 80 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2603 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 4 | 2.50 GHz | 10MB | 80 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2609 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 4 | 3.50 GHz | 15MB | 130 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2637 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 2.00 GHz | 15MB | 50 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2618L v2 | Not tested, low power |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 2.10 GHz | 15MB | 80 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2620 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 2.40 GHz | 15MB | 60 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2630L v2 | Not tested, low power |
| Intel® Xeon® | 6 | 2.60 GHz | 15MB | 80 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2630 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 8 | 1.90 GHz | 20MB | 70 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2628L v2 | Not tested, low power |
| Intel® Xeon® | 8 | 2.00 GHz | 20MB | 95 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2640 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 8 | 2.60 GHz | 20MB | 95 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2650 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 8 | 3.40 GHz | 25MB | 150 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2687W v2 | 150 W TBD, BEWARE |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 1.70 GHz | 25MB | 70 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2650L v2 | Not tested, low power |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 1.90 GHz | 25MB | 70 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2648L v2 | Not tested, low power |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 2.20 GHz | 25MB | 95 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2660 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 2.40 GHz | 25MB | 95 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2658 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 2.50 GHz | 25MB | 115 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2670 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 10 | 2.80 GHz | 25MB | 115 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2680 v2 | Not tested |
| Intel® Xeon® | 12 | 2.40 GHz | 30MB | 115 W | 22nm | FCLGA2011 | E5-2695 v2 | Not tested |
Hi OWC
Im your Loyal customer from Serbia Accelsior E2 before 4 years ….
I though I upgraded my Mac pro 2013 with interesting CPU 12 core which you didnt
put on your List of compatible CPUs the CPU is:
E5-4657LV2
How did I got it ? ( ebay I purchased E5-2697 V2 ) but when I installed it in Mac pro
first thing I recognised that its on 2.5ghz instead of 2.7ghz.
The most strange thing is that all CPU testing apps recognise it as
Family 6 Model 62 stepping 2 ,no real name only , Geniue Intel CPU @2.5ghz.
Geekbench 5 result is actually better than E5-2697 V2 abaut 7300 points.
What do you think about this CPU ?
We would recommend contacting the seller you purchased from, as it does not sound like you received the correct processor.
Hi i would like to know can it upgrade to the 20 core 40 thread cpu? Intel Xeon E5-2673 V4 SR2KE 20C/40T 2.3GHz 50M 135W LGA-2011 Processor CPU
So what I’m learning here is if I’m purchasing a MacPro 2013 for the first time I need to get the biggest (meaning max of 12 cores) and the fastest processor.
Hi !! Can I swap my 4 core Mac Pro CPU with the Xeon E5-2620 v4 – 8 Cores – TDP 85w …??
Thanks
Hi, Rolando. For the best answer to this, please reach out to our customer service team by phone or Live Chat: https://eshop.macsales.com/Service/
Thanks!
Thanks!!
I would like to upgrade my Mac Pro late 2013 4 core 3.7 Processor can you help
Hi, Kenn. You can view the OWC Processor Upgrade Program options here: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/MacPro2013/2013_Xeon_Processor/Apple_Mac_Pro_2013
Feel free to reach out to our helpful customer service team if you need further assistance. Thanks!
This list was never updated, why? The other Xeons were never tested?
I think they’re waiting for a Mac Pro refresh… or Intel CPU updates. But let’s face it, what they NEED are GPU upgrade options, not CPU.
Because every Xeon that came after switched to socket 2011-v3 leaving the Mac Pro SOL
Does anybody know if v3 12core 3,4Ghz 160watt Xeons are compatible with the LGA motherboard of the 2013 Mac Pro 6,1???
The E5-2695 V2 is OK and no pb at all!
I did it and videos on youtube show that i am not alone in this case!
Some ES are available in this part number, mine i had it for 400$ so for 12 cores and 24 threads not so bad!
I guess (but not verified) that all the 115W are OK too…
Cheers
PS: in my opinion, dont think that a v3 and above can be OK, just the v2 are ok!
Did u use the Engineering Sample ES for 2695 v2. It is still working fine. With Sierra os x ?
Do you know if 2696 v2 will work too.
Thanks!!!!
Intel Xeon E5-2675 V3 16 core 32 thread
will work ?
That is not in Intel’s ARK, most likely b/c it is a custom chip? Or at least only available outside of the US…
Update?
Any update??
Any updates to this chart?
any of E5 4600 v3 compatible with Mac Pro late 2013? E5 4655, 4660, 4667, 4669 v3
At this time OWC has not tested any of the E5 4600 v3 (E5 4655, 4660, 4667, 4669 v3) Processors.
Is CPU swap upgrade applicable with 4-core stock model, specifically, ME253?
The MacPro ME253LL/A (MacPro 6,1, 3.7 GHz) is compatible with the CPU upgrade. We have been able to verify that part number E5-1620 v2 is compatible. This is currently being offered by Apple.
does the subversion matter? SR19H etc.. ?
Great question Neil,
At this time, the Intel Processor E5-2697 v2 will have the subversion of SR19H. This will be compatible and not matter!
Please feel free to contact our Technical Support Team if you have any further questions.
Will this processor be compatible with the latest, maxed-out Mac Pro? – Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-8890 v2 (37.5M Cache, 2.80 GHz).
The Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-8890 v2 (37.5M Cache, 2.80 GHz) has not been tested her at OWC. We’re still in the process of testing and can only recommend processors that we’ve been able to test and verify.
Do you have geekbench results for each processor compared to the stock variants?
Also, at the top you say ‘OWC Tested’ means it’s OK, but the list shows ‘OWC Testing’ and ‘OWC Qualified’ without further explanation.
We have compiled the GeekBench scores for the processors we have tested on this OWC Blog post. “OWC Qualified” indicates which processors are OWC Tested and confirmed as compatible, while “OWC Testing” means we are in the process of testing that particular processor.
As Baz noted a few days ago you’re missing the Apple 8-core option in your chart. I believe it’s an E5-1680 v2.
I wouldn’t count on OWC being able to get better prices than any other shop, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Intel publishes prices based on trays of 1000 processors and many shops sell for only a little bit more than that. If you want a significant discount from Intel you have to be prepared to buy 100,000 at once and even the big wholesale distributors can’t afford that.
Thanks for all the hard work guys! Can’t wait to see some benchmarks. Keep up the good work!
I’d be interested in seeing you actually test the 2687W; are you planning on it? Given its higher TDP, there are risks involved, but those 8-cores are far easier to find in the retail channel than the 2667 chips are.
Good Work OWC.
Rest assured, we will be offering processor upgrades in some sort of upgrade path. However, the exact details are still to be determined.
Ray Terry: I also would like for OWC to spell out their intent of selling or simply telling us about these processor upgrades. I would hope with OWC as the buyer from Intel that they would receive a favorable discount on pricing.
You have not listed Apple’s 8-core offering, yet you have don’t so for the 4, 6 and 12 core models! Was this intentional, and if so, why ?
Thanks much for posting that list of processors…. very detailed indeed.
This leads me to ask… Does “OWC Qualified” indicate or mean that OWC offers or will offer this on their web site for purchase ? If so when might that happen and at what cost and what would be the process for upgrading, such as sending the Mac Pro to make the upgrade ?
Also, why is OWC not indicating they will/might offer the 12-core (E5-2697 v2 Apple’s offering) for Mac Pro owners of the Apple’s stock 4-core and 6-core models ? Why would OWC not offer this, especially if the cost for doing so is lower than what Apple charges ?
Will you be selling the processor upgrades? Or just tell us what works and have us buy them from intel? I hope you sell the upgrades and not just tell us how to do it.