1,1 MP Owners: What's YOUR plan?

[Dadioh]

My $0.02 worth?

Choice #1 for very noticeable, instant performance increase... Get an SSD for the OS. Turn your current boot drive into the user drive. Beachballs will likely be a thing of the past. $200

Choice #2 for graphics. Get a 5770. I bought a PC version for $115 shipped and took 5 minutes to flash it... running 3 displays off it now. $115 (if you flash it yourself)

Choice #3 if you do a lot of multithreading. Grab a pair of 5345 (2.33GHz) or 5355 (2.66GHz) quad cores off eBay and drop them in there. Octocore with about an hour of work. ~$250 for a pair of 5345's. About $400 for a pair of 5355's.

So about $600 would turn your machine into an entirely new beast.

Alternatively look at the price differential from selling your Pro and grabbing a 2009 or 2010 refurb. If you can get that down into the $1000 differential range then you might be better off with the brand new hardware.

Tough choice... but at least you know there are choices available for the 1,1. Still lot's of life in them in my opinion.

 

[ListedFirst.com]

Get yourself a RocketRaid 4310 and RAID 0 some SSDs :-D

 

[4JNA]

here to stay.

1,1 with 8gb ram, SSD boot, 2tb spinning-raid, 8800 with silent AC Accelero S1 Rev.2, dual super drives, dell 24", and logitech wireless input.

wicked fast, almost silent, wouldn't sell even at new system prices. could give a crap about 10.7.? and if i'm supported. this works, and will work for years to come. just my two cents.

 

[SmilesLots]

I plan to keep mine. I have lots of external esata drives and plenty of memory. Most of what I do is audio, so the speed is ok. I think I'll wait at least one more year when there is really something worth upgrading to. Hopefully there will be.

 

[cutterman]

I feel like the price for first gen Mac Pros is probably going to drop through the floor not long after Lion comes out and it becomes apparent that Apple most likely won't support the old hardware for new OS releases. If you're planning on selling now is the time to do it. My opinion.

This is a good point. Otherwise I would suggest upgrading what you have now (i.e. SSD, memory), since it seems you don't need the MP for production purposes.

Don't get caught up in the upgrade hype, as the impact of faster processors and Thunderbolt will be small for the average user. There is always something "better" or "newer" on the horizon. . .

 

[GoCubsGo]

I'm not in your shoes model wise but I agree that you should wait. I have a 3,1 and I intend to keep it until it dies. Or at least I hope so. I'm hoping Lion is fully supported (I cannot see why it would not be) and I couldn't care less about Thunderbolt, yet.

 

[DeeEss]

SSD's for now and wait until he next Mac Pro if you have no need to buy now.

SSD's make a ridiculously big difference. Stick 4 of them in RAID and you may not even want to buy a new machine anyway.

 

[bozz2006]

Buy 4 SSDs and you're already half way to buying a new machine.

 

[ListedFirst.com]

Raid

Buy 4 SSDs and you're already half way to buying a new machine.

Very true, I was playing with performance with 4 256GB C300's

Here's the benchmarks for 6 in Raid 0

 

[DeeEss]

Very true, I was playing with performance with 4 256GB C300's

Here's the benchmarks for 6 in Raid 0

That's insane!!! What RAID card are you using?

EDIT: Oh scrub that I can see it in your screen cap.

 

[DeeEss]

Buy 4 SSDs and you're already half way to buying a new machine.

Well firstly half is a good saving and secondly you can always transfer the drives into a new machine later so you do retain some equity.

 

[gullySn0wCat]

Well firstly half is a good saving and secondly you can always transfer the drives into a new machine later so you do retain some equity.

Yeah, but by the time you buy a new machine, SSDs will probably be $100 for 500gb or something ridiculous like that

 

[makoffee]

My MacPro plans

I to have the MacPro 1,1 And I've often thought about what I should do regarding upgrades V buying the latest and greatest.

Honestly - There is still a lot of life in these machines. Take advantage of what it can do today. If you max out the ram to 16gb and rock the latest video cards (I'm using the ATI 5870) there's literally no work or play related task that I can think of that this machine can't handle with ease. Just because there is a newer shinier one doesn't mean you're going to magically get more work done, or be better at an online game.

If you're looking for added performance, consider that your biggest bottle-neck is your hard-drive speed. Drop a few hundred on a quality SSD for your system disc and be blown away by how fast everything loads.

I also have an i7 MBP and although it technically benchmarks higher, my MacPro from 2006 seems faster because of the added ram and higher speed hard-drives and superior video performance.

There is much more bang for your buck by upgrading the right components. I don't think it makes much economic sense to buy a new one until something revolutionary happens like off the shelf video card support or USB3 / Thunderbolt support comes along.

Last point is stability. I have a number of colleagues in the Sound Design and Pro Audio field who swear by the Mac Pro 1,1 as being THE most stable Mac Pro for ProTools. And they actively seek them out. Could be that the drivers are more mature, or that there is better testing data for them.

Regardless, it's still a badass rig - So focus on what you can make the computer DO and less on what's under the hood.

 

[DeeEss]

Yeah, but by the time you buy a new machine, SSDs will probably be $100 for 500gb or something ridiculous like that

By the time prices come down that far you would have hopefully made enough money from your computer anyway (that is if you are using it for work) and moved on.

 

[hbryan]

I'll be running my 1,1 for a bit yet.

I work off a five year replacement plan which means I'll be looking at upgrading around the beginning of next year. For what I do, software hasn't caught up with the hardware of the 1,1. Not to mention that as of yet, there are no TB peripherals. So there is no rush for a new machine.

I have upgraded the video card (5770), ram (22gb), and hard drives (4 x2 TB Hitachi). I still have some upgrades to go - I am ordering a pro caddy 2 & 2 more Hitachis this weekend.

With the exception of the ram and the pro caddy 2, all of these components can move to my next machine.

Or I can just leave them in the machine & it becomes my media server.

I'll upgrade when there is a reason. So far, there isn't a reason.

 

[spda242]

I have not been to happy about my Mac Pro 1,1 buy, I feel screwed by Apple when it comes to the 32-bit EFi and the situation with graphics cards.

I might not be a typical Mac Pro customer since the I bought it for the flexibility (which is questionable) and the possibility to change graphics card (Which is a joke) since the most demanding thing I do on the Mac Pro are gaming.

I want a new computer, I have wanted a new computer for 2 years due to the limitations with 32-bit EFi. I don't want to mess with to much 3rd part GPUs and injectors and such.

I have to keep my Mac Pro 1,1 since as you all know it came at a premium price and I can not afford to replace it. To make myself a little bit happy with it have recently upgraded it with:
4GB more memory, I got 10GB now.
A new headset (yea I know, not a Mac Pro specific part)
2x2TB external HDD for storing less valuable files.
An Icy Dock for my 80GB SSD
I also have a Vertex 3 with Icy Dock on pre-order
A friend will buy a 5870 GPU when he goes to the states in a few weeks.

My thought with this were that I can re-use everything except the memory in a new Mac Pro or if i buy another computer I can sell the 5870.

I hope that Apple decides to release a 'xMac' but I don't think that will happend.
I will probably not do anything before the new Mac Pro are released.
As a last option I will maybe change to a Mac Mini if the next one comes with similar specs to the high-end 13" and a gaming PC

 

[green86]

I have not been to happy about my Mac Pro 1,1 buy, I feel screwed by Apple when it comes to the 32-bit EFi and the situation with graphics cards.

I might not be a typical Mac Pro customer since the I bought it for the flexibility (which is questionable) and the possibility to change graphics card (Which is a joke) since the most demanding thing I do on the Mac Pro are gaming.

I want a new computer, I have wanted a new computer for 2 years due to the limitations with 32-bit EFi. I don't want to mess with to much 3rd part GPUs and injectors and such.

I have to keep my Mac Pro 1,1 since as you all know it came at a premium price and I can not afford to replace it. To make myself a little bit happy with it have recently upgraded it with:
4GB more memory, I got 10GB now.
A new headset (yea I know, not a Mac Pro specific part)
2x2TB external HDD for storing less valuable files.
An Icy Dock for my 80GB SSD
I also have a Vertex 3 with Icy Dock on pre-order
A friend will buy a 5870 GPU when he goes to the states in a few weeks.

My thought with this were that I can re-use everything except the memory in a new Mac Pro or if i buy another computer I can sell the 5870.

I hope that Apple decides to release a 'xMac' but I don't think that will happend.
I will probably not do anything before the new Mac Pro are released.
As a last option I will maybe change to a Mac Mini if the next one comes with similar specs to the high-end 13" and a gaming PC

This 32 bit efi crap is getting old. What situation with video cards? That we can't use the craptastic Nvidia ones?

 

[spda242]

This 32 bit efi crap is getting old. What situation with video cards? That we can't use the craptastic Nvidia ones?

The 32 bit efi crap might be getting old but it is still a reality for me every day and yes we got 5770 and 5870 NOW, but they are not supported and If I don't remember wrong 8800GT (released way to late with that special EFi 32 support) was the last supported card for Mac Pro 1,1. I think that we as users could atleast expect to have a minimum of 3 years of supported GPUs (and other hw) and not 1,5 year or whatever it was.

 

[Macdctr]

I'll be keeping mine until it dies. That said I may look at getting a mac mini in the future and just using my 1,1 as a home server for all of my media and files. As long as they still make SATA hard drives, I'll be fine with using my 1,1 for server use (may sell the 5770 upgrade I got and leave it headless in the print room, but hey, it'll still do what I need it to.)

I'm inclined to agree with MRiOS. My 1,1 has been working great for what I use my Mac for and, if anything, I will upgrade my processors to 8-core 3.0 Ghz sometime in the future. As long as your computer more than satisfies the purpose you have for it I don't see any reason to buy a completely new computer but that's my opinion.

 

[nightfly13]

Keeping mine for a while, too..

Like everyone else who's actually done it - an SSD for boot/apps makes a huge difference. The only apps that are still slow are iTunes and iPhoto - because their respective libraries are on HDDs. I got an Intel 80GB unit a couple years ago.

My primary reasons for getting the Mac Pro were expandability (where it's served admirably, with 5 SATA drives, twice upgraded GPUs and 9GB) and to be able to run multiple screens.

This is my biggest concern for the future - in another 2-3 years when I do finally upgrade (probably when I can't live without the newest OS that isn't supported - I'm guessing 10.8 Sabertooth - makes my 1,1 extinct!) my concern is, how do I run 4 DVI monitors.

I love my monitor setup (a 30" flanked by two portrait 24s + a HD projector) and love having lots of storage inside, but don't want to pay for another Mac Pro when I don't need the huge crunching capabilities. I'm leaning toward a Hack Pro the next time around. There's no iMac or anything else in the Mac lineup that can run 4 displays, is there?

Incidentally, since I live in India, we have regular (daily) power outages and I run on a battery backup system and/or generator every day for 1-4 hours. The Mac Pro is the WORST computer I can conceive of for this scenario. I think every stick of ram consumes 15 watts or something (I'm maxed out at 8).

 

[green86]

The 32 bit efi crap might be getting old but it is still a reality for me every day and yes we got 5770 and 5870 NOW, but they are not supported and If I don't remember wrong 8800GT (released way to late with that special EFi 32 support) was the last supported card for Mac Pro 1,1. I think that we as users could atleast expect to have a minimum of 3 years of supported GPUs (and other hw) and not 1,5 year or whatever it was.

This is a joke right? What handicap are you living with everyday exactly.

I Lolz hard at this. Every ati board made for Mac pros has worked with the Mac pro 1,1. You can even buy flashed Nvidia cards newer then the 8800 on eBay. The 32 bit efi really has little effect on things. Apple regularly drops support for hardware that is still capable...

Don't like have your hardware dropped from being supported? Don't buy a Mac. Seriously.

 

[spda242]

There is a BIG difference between works and supported?

Is it Ok that a 2-year old very expensive professional workstation doesn't get any new supported GPUs? I don't think so! I belive that to be to short and that we should expect more from Apple.

Do I know that about every card released for Mac Pro except Nvidia gtx285? works in a Mac Pro 1,1. Yes!

Do I know that I can buy regular cards and work with injectors, flashing and even regular cards (6850/70) now, YES!
Would I wanna do that? No, it just seem to be to much work comparing to giving Apple those extra $ for their hardware.

I agree that today this is not such a big problem (since the relase of 5770/5870) but from shortly after relase of the 8800GT to today if has been problem. Have we had 64-bit EFi we could have used that gtx285 for example which had been really nice.

Do I belive that we as customers should expect more from Apple when it comes to supported GPUs (in this case), yes I do? Do I expect 10 years of support with Steve Jobs personally coming to homes replacing faulty HW, NO!!!

 

[Lesser Evets]

• Don't wait and upgrade to a current Pro Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge be damned?
• Do wait until early 2012 for MP refresh? (Hopefully)
• Bite the bullet and go with a soon-to-be-refreshed iMac?
• Or keep your trusty old 1,1 until it dies?

I purchased my 1.1 around June 2007. So it is 4 years and frankly it's quite good today. Older mac towers would show distinct age by 3 years onward, but not this one.

All the newer stuff coming soon will be completely awesome, but this machine handles as professional and recreational functions perfectly at this time. My plan is to keep it another 4 years before upgrading. By that time all the iMacs will have insanely fast architecture and will be a cheaper road for me. All the drive memory in this big machine will fit onto a single drive in 2015.

The 1.1 is so good. I've owned a dozen macs over 30 years, and this is the best one so far. It'll probably retire to be a "pro machine" in some nook of my house beyond 2015. It'll probably have another decade of usefulness.

Hell, I still have an orange clamshell iBook from 1999 I still use for word processing and email on the move. Unless your machine is a problem to use, keep it.

 

[Garamond]

I'm quite baffled to see all the people clinging to the aging 1,1. I had a 2,1 until last year, when the time was right to upgrade. I mean, if you guys are using the MP for any kind of production - there shouldn't be any questions. Buy a new rig when you need it.

 

[sOwL]

My Mac Pro 1,1 has 2 quadcore processors at 3.0ghz and 10gb ddr2 fully buffered ram. It has a flashed Ati 4890 HD and a Blu-Ray driver. Only thing I'm upgrading in the future is upgrading to an SSD drive. No cpu or memory upgrade could have such a significant change in speed as with an SSD drive. The computer still rocks and is very reliable. Why would i change it yet if it still does my tasks sleek and fast? People buy a computer nowdays and it's still not up to par with my MP. Even if mine is 5 years old...