2006 Mac Pro vs. 2009 13' MacBook Pro

[MaxKas777]

Hey guys,

So I currently have a 2009 MacBook Pro with the following specs (see below)- and i have a chance to sell it and get a 2006 Mac Pro for $688 with the following specs (second set). Is that a good deal? I will hopefully have $200 to spend on upgrades. I'm just looking for which will run smoother and more powerful. Thanks

-MacBook Pro-
Processor 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB

-Mac Pro-
Model Identifier MacPro1,1
Processor Name Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed 2.66 GHz
Number of Processors 2
Total Number of Cores 4
L2 Cache (per processor) 4 MB
Memory 4 GB
Bus speed 1.33 GHz

 

[Neodym]

Even in its current setting the MacPro should easily offer more performance. The amount depends on your actual usage scenario (does your preferred software make use of more than 1 or 2 cores, how is memory usage etc.).

As upgrades for the MP I would recommend more memory (to have at least 8GB), a SSD and perhaps another video card. In the long run you could even upgrade the MP to 8 cores for an affordable price.

You have to tell us more about your usage scenario, though, otherwise recommendations are a little difficult to give!

 

[ashman70]

The Mac Pro sounds like an ok deal, you don't mention a video card in your specs so I am going to assume its got the stock Nvidia 7300GT which is very dated by todays standards. You don't mention what you are going to use the computer for, so its a bit hard for us to say. I have a MBP mid 2010 model which is a 2.4GHz C2D, with 8GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive, its fast enough for the general things I use it for, office, email, surfing etc. I also have a MP 1,1 same model as you, with 9GB of RAM and an ATI5770 video card, this is my day to day computer. The MP is definitely a faster machine, but again it depends on what you are using it for and whether portability is important.

 

[Sonhascome]

yea the mac pro is an ok deal. if you have the time if you watch ebay and craigslist closely you should be able to find a good deal

 

[reebzor]

I did basically the same thing: Straight up trade my 2.26, 4gb, 500gb 13"MBP for a 2x2.0GHz 1,1.

I would do it again in a second. I do miss the portability, but I have an iPhone and other laptops so it doesn't really matter. Plus once I upgraded to x5355's, this thing screams. I get almost 10k in Geekbench.

 

[Cindori]

I did basically the same thing: Straight up trade my 2.26, 4gb, 500gb 13"MBP for a 2x2.0GHz 1,1.

I would do it again in a second. I do miss the portability, but I have an iPhone and other laptops so it doesn't really matter. Plus once I upgraded to x5355's, this thing screams. I get almost 10k in Geekbench.

nice, like a mac mini 2011

 

[Neodym]

nice, like a mac mini 2011

Not too shabby for a soon 6 year old computer! Plus far superior graphics power (when updated), optical drive(s), more max memory, less cable clutter and faster storage by internal HD bays... Wake me up if mini or iMac come anywhere close to that

 

[Cindori]

Not too shabby for a soon 6 year old computer! Plus far superior graphics power (when updated), optical drive(s), more max memory, less cable clutter and faster storage by internal HD bays... Wake me up if mini or iMac come anywhere close to that

An top speced iMac with a Thunderbolt HDD enclosure and you're basically beyond the MP 2006 performance from every aspect. More expensive, but just sayin'.

 

[quasinormal]

One to consider about a Mac Pro versus a laptop (can't say for imac) is that the MP will run a fair bit cooler when it is pushed.

My 2006 2 x 2.00Ghz Mac Pro runs at about half the speed of a 2011 quad core i7 2.2ghz and about two thirds of the temperature at 100% CPU.

I'll have to install the X5355 Xeons I bought ages ago.

 

[ssgbryan]

An top speced iMac with a Thunderbolt HDD enclosure and you're basically beyond the MP 2006 performance from every aspect. More expensive, but just sayin'.

For the same price as that iMac, one can get a 2010 8 core MacPro w/32Gb of ram. The Mac Pro is still a better deal

 

[thekev]

You guys aren't really helping. Five year old hardware isn't necessarily going to be smoother and more powerful. The OP hasn't even given any real details on how he uses it, so there's no way to tell the source of bottlenecks in his current machine. It can be ram, cpu, gpu, the hard drive, etc. depending on how he uses his machine. Just buying an older tower is not an automatic fix here, and geekbench scores aren't going to help without identifying the current source of his problems.

The other issue I see here is that purchasing older hardware you're taking a risk. Any significant repair is going to cost you quite a lot. Replacing the gpu (7300GT and X1900XT both had issues and either could die) roughly $200 or so for a Mac version of the 5770. A logic board could be $600+ unless you find a salvaged one.

The biggest things that slow the average user down are typically related to hard drive speed, drive clutter, lack of ram, and in gaming often the gpu. If you're not really going into any really heavy software, your problem is probably in one of those areas.

An top speced iMac with a Thunderbolt HDD enclosure and you're basically beyond the MP 2006 performance from every aspect. More expensive, but just sayin'.

Imacs have a lot of problems, and that display isn't so great. I've seen many imacs where the display gets that purple cast around the edges within a couple years. Also have you ever seen one of those Promise enclosures? Many people hate computer noise, and Apple is always trying to build silent machines. The thunderbolt raids are extremely noisy relative to the computer. It's just a really bad combination. Buy an imac designed to reduce desk clutter, and place a big noisy box beside it.

 

[reebzor]

One to consider about a Mac Pro versus a laptop (can't say for imac) is that the MP will run a fair bit cooler when it is pushed.

My 2006 2 x 2.00Ghz Mac Pro runs at about half the speed of a 2011 quad core i7 2.2ghz and about two thirds of the temperature at 100% CPU.

I'll have to install the X5355 Xeons I bought ages ago.

Yea you should definitely do the upgrade. It really only took me about 30 minutes, but it was not the first time I've upgraded a Mac Pro so YMMV

If you need a little motivation
Before:

After:

 

[cryingrobot]

Hey guys,

So I currently have a 2009 MacBook Pro with the following specs (see below)- and i have a chance to sell it and get a 2006 Mac Pro for $688 with the following specs (second set). Is that a good deal? I will hopefully have $200 to spend on upgrades. I'm just looking for which will run smoother and more powerful. Thanks

-MacBook Pro-
Processor 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB

-Mac Pro-
Model Identifier MacPro1,1
Processor Name Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed 2.66 GHz
Number of Processors 2
Total Number of Cores 4
L2 Cache (per processor) 4 MB
Memory 4 GB
Bus speed 1.33 GHz

The 1,1 is a tank and will likely outlive the 09 macbook. If you max out specs, it is still very capable and only really high end rigs will be noticeably better/faster.

That being said, Apple might not support its 32bit EFI going forward so you run that risk.

 

[ashman70]

You guys aren't really helping. Five year old hardware isn't necessarily going to be smoother and more powerful. The OP hasn't even given any real details on how he uses it, so there's no way to tell the source of bottlenecks in his current machine. It can be ram, cpu, gpu, the hard drive, etc. depending on how he uses his machine. Just buying an older tower is not an automatic fix here, and geekbench scores aren't going to help without identifying the current source of his problems.

The other issue I see here is that purchasing older hardware you're taking a risk. Any significant repair is going to cost you quite a lot. Replacing the gpu (7300GT and X1900XT both had issues and either could die) roughly $200 or so for a Mac version of the 5770. A logic board could be $600+ unless you find a salvaged one.

The biggest things that slow the average user down are typically related to hard drive speed, drive clutter, lack of ram, and in gaming often the gpu. If you're not really going into any really heavy software, your problem is probably in one of those areas.





Imacs have a lot of problems, and that display isn't so great. I've seen many imacs where the display gets that purple cast around the edges within a couple years. Also have you ever seen one of those Promise enclosures? Many people hate computer noise, and Apple is always trying to build silent machines. The thunderbolt raids are extremely noisy relative to the computer. It's just a really bad combination. Buy an imac designed to reduce desk clutter, and place a big noisy box beside it.

I just came across another one of your replies in another thread where you are basically saying the same thing about old hardware. It's nothing new that old hardware comes with a certain amount of risk, however how many Mac Pro 1,1's have you heard of dying? Have you ever used a Mac Pro 1,1? You can find them for sale all over Ebay and Craigslist, they are 'tanks' as someone else put it. I've had one for almost a year, its been on 24/7 and I've had no issues with it, and its coming on 6 years old now. I already pointed out that he doesn't state what he's going to use the machine for, but that being said, the Mac Pro 1,1 is still a powerful machine. Any Mac Pro that suffers a logic board failure is going to be an expensive repair, only ones covered under the Apple Care will be covered, yet I don't think many die anyway. Throw a few new SATA drives in the Mac Pro and if you need the graphics, buy the AMD 5770, sure it might cost you $300 but if your going to keep the machine for a few years, its worthwhile investment. The one downside to these machines is the RAM costs an arm and a leg compared to their more recent brethren which is a shame.