Second-hand Mac Pro buying advice
in [UK Mac]
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From: Michael H. Phillips on 16 Apr 2010 07:33 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? ===================================================== I'm selling my trusty MacPro1,1 (manufactured in 11/2007) upgraded with two quad-core (making for 8-core) Intel Xeon "Clovertown" E5345 @ 2.33Ghz 2x8MB L2 (ideal for multi-threaded applications and Grand Central Dispatch optimised applications which has been running rock solid over a year, in addition to: RAM: 8GB(a)667Mhz ECC FB-DIMMs (Memory expandable up to 32GB) HD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 + 640GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Apple Bluetooth module Graphics Card: (Now with the fastest available graphics card for a MacPro1,1 / 2,1) ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 (supports DirectX 10.1/OpenGL 3.x under Windows Vista/7, with OpenCL support under MacOS X 10.6.x as well as Windows OS). The graphics card VGA cooler has been replaced with a Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev. 2 + Turbo Module (Note: only 1 fan working since the wire to the 2nd fan has accidentally been cut), very silent (the Turbo Module fan is really quiet!) and efficient cooling. Known issues: 2 of the internal antenna connector cables to the Airport module (not included) are broken, although small, the connectors can be replaced by someone with steady hands (they're really small). The rear audio output jack doesn't seem to be making perfect contact, but there is a easy and permanent workaround to it, so sound's output is fine. Other than that, all working in tip-top shape. Has also 2 external eSATA ports provided by a eSATA PCI header connection to the 2 SATA internal ports (hasn't been tested yet), good for eSATA storage expansion. �1,325.00 ===================================================== (�1,325.00 = � 1,160) -- Michael mhphillips at gmail dot com
From: Elliott Roper on 16 Apr 2010 08:05 In article <hq9hu0$vc8$1(a)news.eternal-september.org>, Michael H. Phillips <mhp(a)odtaa.invalid> wrote: > Does this look like a bargain or would I be wiser to wait and spend twice as > much on the next (should be soon) base model Mac Pro? My Pro is very similar to that except for the lack of a Clovertown cpu hack and I'm using the stock fan on the 4870. It has a proper SATA card. I tried a current iMac in the Kingston Apple store over the Easter weekend in Aperture and FCP. It wipes the floor with my Pro. I hang onto Macs till the current model is at least 4x faster than what I have. If the new Pros are that quick, this one is going to be driving the telly. -- To de-mung my e-mail address:- fsnospam$elliott$$ PGP Fingerprint: 1A96 3CF7 637F 896B C810 E199 7E5C A9E4 8E59 E248
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 16 Apr 2010 09:09 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. Cheers- Jaimie -- Programs that crash have been proven to be less useful than those that don't. -- Apple Technical Note OV04
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 16 Apr 2010 09:19 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 -- "Time's fun when you're having flies" - Kermit the Frog
From: James Jolley on 16 Apr 2010 09:21
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. > > Cheers- Jaimie 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. |