Second-hand Mac Pro buying advice
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From: James Jolley on 16 Apr 2010 09:24 On 2010-04-16 14:19:22 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> said: > On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:33:21 +0100, Michael H. Phillips > <mhp(a)odtaa.invalid> wrote: > >> Does this look like a bargain or would I be wiser to wait and spend twice as >> much on the next (should be soon) base model Mac Pro? > > What do you intend to do with it? The new ones are liable to be twice+ > as fast for really parallelised CPU intensive stuff - is that worth > the cost to you? > > It's a pretty good price, as long as the Airport trouble doesn't get > in your way. The only reservation I'd have is the way it seems to have > had so many wires damaged... > > Cheers - Jaimie That's a good point you know. Looking at the info in you're original post, it does seem to have been treated a bit roughly. My own machine is the 2008 Eight Core machine but it's overkill for the present time. My partner uses it for photoshop though so she does like to get the most out of it.
From: Michael H. Phillips on 16 Apr 2010 09:31 On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:19:22 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote: > What do you intend to do with it? The new ones are liable to be twice+ > as fast for really parallelised CPU intensive stuff - is that worth > the cost to you? Mainly for Adobe applications (CS5) -- Illustrator in particular. -- Michael mhphillips at gmail dot com
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 16 Apr 2010 09:41 On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:21:59 +0100, James Jolley <jrjolley(a)me.com> wrote: >On 2010-04-16 14:09:53 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh ><jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> said: > >> On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:05:43 +0100, Elliott Roper <nospam(a)yrl.co.uk> >> wrote: >> >>> I hang onto Macs till the current model is at least 4x faster than what >>> I have. If the new Pros are that quick, this one is going to be driving >>> the telly. >> >> If that's all it'll be doing, you're better off flogging it (the price >> on the OP's is about normal) and getting a Mini at 1.8GHz C2D or >> better to do the same. And �700 to spend on your favourite chocolates. >> >> My TV mini (late 2007 Mini, 2Ghz, 4gig) does the usual EyeTV >> dual-tuner play/record, other media playing, and also runs a VM of my >> services server (DNS, DHCP, mail, antispam). It rarely goes over 30% >> CPU. A Pro - even an old one - is crazy overkill. > >Does it make coffee and serve cupcakes as well? How many login items do >you have on that thing, I bet it takes an age to restart. It sits almost silently under the telly, using about 15W. The login items are EyeTV and VMware - and since the VM is paused and restarted rather than rebooted, the whole thing takes under a minute to come up. Cheers - Jaimie -- "By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates
From: Michael H. Phillips on 16 Apr 2010 09:44 On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:24:23 +0100, James Jolley wrote: > On 2010-04-16 14:19:22 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh > <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> said: > >> It's a pretty good price, as long as the Airport trouble doesn't get >> in your way. The only reservation I'd have is the way it seems to have >> had so many wires damaged... >> >> Cheers - Jaimie > > That's a good point you know. Looking at the info in you're original > post, it does seem to have been treated a bit roughly. The seller claims that "this MacPro has been used in a smoke free environment and regularly cleaned. There are a couple of not-too noticeable scratches on it." He does seem to enjoy tinkering, though, but maybe he knows what he's doing. > > My own machine is the 2008 Eight Core machine but it's overkill for the > present time. My partner uses it for photoshop though so she does like > to get the most out of it. The seller says that "Apple hasn't released (and more than likely won't be) a EFI firmware update, as such both the MacPro 1,1 and 2,1 run on a EFI32 code, as result though the CPU is 100% 64bit, the MacOS X won't be running on a 64bit kernel", which, if I understand it, means that Finder is going to be a bit of a laggard on this machine. Answering my own initial question, I now think it wiser to wait for the next generation of Mac Pro and blow an anticipated income tax refund on it. -- Michael mhphillips at gmail dot com
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 16 Apr 2010 09:47
On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:31:21 +0100, Michael H. Phillips <mhp(a)odtaa.invalid> wrote: >On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:19:22 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote: > >> What do you intend to do with it? The new ones are liable to be twice+ >> as fast for really parallelised CPU intensive stuff - is that worth >> the cost to you? > >Mainly for Adobe applications (CS5) -- Illustrator in particular. What are you running it on at the moment, and what operations are annoyingly slow? You might be better putting a couple of hundred quid into RAM in your current box than �1200 on a new/old machine. .... I've nothing against people buying new machines but I do like people to be doing it for the right reasons. If your expectation is that it'll speed up your current workflow, you're likely to be disappointed unless the workflow is CPU or memory restricted. (I do count "I just want one!" as a fair reason) Cheers - Jaimie -- "Shellfish are the prime cause of the decline of morals and the adoption of an extravagant life style" -- Pliny the Elder |