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Since 2026 began, I have turned a fifteen year old MacPro4,1 into a Ubuntu 24 powerhouse (using a 2019 GPU with HBM2). Before this, I knew little about computer

Since 2026 began, I have turned a fifteen year old MacPro4,1 into a Ubuntu 24 powerhouse (using a 2019 GPU with HBM2). Before this, I knew little about computers not running macOS. Although I grew up on Macs, and have three modern Silicon machines... my old MacPro is again my daily driver (because: Linux). It's incredible that this ancient machine runs Ollama3.1 faster than my M2Pro/M3/M4 machines (entirely due to the GPU, still "ancient" by modern standards).

bjelkeman-again 4mo ago
I have one 4,1 standing around in the cellar. Probably not with a nice GPU, but I now need to see what type of Linux machine it will become.
- ProllyInfamous 4mo ago
  The only "bummer" with the 4,1 is: in order to get a bootscreen, you need to either "hack it" with Open Core Legacy Patcher (OCLP) -or- purchase a modified-firmware GPU from macvidcards.com (I run his custom VEGA56/firmware, personally; it's faster than most Apple Silicon for Ollama3.1 [about 74 tokens/second]) -or- use a stock Apple GPU with an additional GPU plugged into main display. With OCLP you can run Linux using quite-modern GPUs (presuming you can power them). I performed my Pixla's modification all the way into the powersupply's PCB/rails, which can safely deliver 500W via stranded 8awg copper capped with dual 8-pins. During wintertime, I use the dual Xeons to mine Monero (for underdesk heater), which gives about a 1/2000 chance to blockwin (daily) – as I do not have a heatpump, this effectively costs nothing. This is about 20x slower than a modern Ryzen CPU – but again: free during wintertime. ---- For some reason, I could not install Ubuntu v24 directly; instead, I had to use a v22 installer USB and then update to v24 via software update. I haven't gotten any later version to work, but modern Mint installed just fine (an alternate Linux distro). My favorite thing about Linux is it's just quick. Minimal bloat. Absolute control of system functionality (but you can also destroy everything really quickly/easily). Only noticeable gripe: VLC sucks on the MacPro4,1 in Ubuntu (skipping around tears the video, leaving it to lag badly). No MacFanControl GUI is available, and the software work-around is frustrating (I instead just run a secondary centrifugal fan, pointed right at the northbridge heatsink, sitting atop the back RAMsticks).

bjelkeman-again 4mo ago

I have one 4,1 standing around in the cellar. Probably not with a nice GPU, but I now need to see what type of Linux machine it will become.

ProllyInfamous 4mo ago
The only "bummer" with the 4,1 is: in order to get a bootscreen, you need to either "hack it" with Open Core Legacy Patcher (OCLP) -or- purchase a modified-firmware GPU from macvidcards.com (I run his custom VEGA56/firmware, personally; it's faster than most Apple Silicon for Ollama3.1 [about 74 tokens/second]) -or- use a stock Apple GPU with an additional GPU plugged into main display. With OCLP you can run Linux using quite-modern GPUs (presuming you can power them). I performed my Pixla's modification all the way into the powersupply's PCB/rails, which can safely deliver 500W via stranded 8awg copper capped with dual 8-pins. During wintertime, I use the dual Xeons to mine Monero (for underdesk heater), which gives about a 1/2000 chance to blockwin (daily) – as I do not have a heatpump, this effectively costs nothing. This is about 20x slower than a modern Ryzen CPU – but again: free during wintertime. ---- For some reason, I could not install Ubuntu v24 directly; instead, I had to use a v22 installer USB and then update to v24 via software update. I haven't gotten any later version to work, but modern Mint installed just fine (an alternate Linux distro). My favorite thing about Linux is it's just quick. Minimal bloat. Absolute control of system functionality (but you can also destroy everything really quickly/easily). Only noticeable gripe: VLC sucks on the MacPro4,1 in Ubuntu (skipping around tears the video, leaving it to lag badly). No MacFanControl GUI is available, and the software work-around is frustrating (I instead just run a secondary centrifugal fan, pointed right at the northbridge heatsink, sitting atop the back RAMsticks).