3.2 8-Core Harpertown - still a good buy?

[RealEvil]

Hi,

There are quite a few of these floating around on eBay for around £1400. Geekbench puts them at around 10,000 which is still on par (or a little behind) the current top iMac.

Apart from having an old video card which are incompatible with FCPX are these still a good purchase? I do lots of video conversion (so real 8 cores should be better than 4+4 HT right?). But I really want the flexibility over my current iMac (I want to put several SSDs into it to run lots of development VMs for my job) which is just too hard to do on my iMac.

Money is not my primary concern but value is - and this seems like the sweet spot? Or am I missing something? Help!

Neil

 

[clyde2801]

Has 64 bit architecture, so no potential problem with possible OS upgrades like the 06 and 07 models. Try a site like www.mac2sell.net to help you determine a baseline for the worth of the unit. They usually quote on the low side (making it a great resource to get a private seller to come down off of a high quote).

 

[bamf]

I just bought a 3,1 Mac Pro off of Ebay with 2 x 3.0's for $1295 delivered. It's on the delivery truck today, so I can let you know tomorrow what I think of it.

I think these machines still provide decent value though. Particularly if you can get a decent deal.

 

[TheStrudel]

At $1300, I'd say they're a pretty good deal. Most software still can't fully exploit all their resources.

 

[ActionableMango]

I just bought a 3,1 Mac Pro off of Ebay with 2 x 3.0's for $1295 delivered. It's on the delivery truck today, so I can let you know tomorrow what I think of it.

I think these machines still provide decent value though. Particularly if you can get a decent deal.

That seems like a pretty good deal. I wasn't able to find anything that good at that price on Ebay, and I watched for a couple of months.

 

[akm3]

I just bought a 3,1 Mac Pro off of Ebay with 2 x 3.0's for $1295 delivered. It's on the delivery truck today, so I can let you know tomorrow what I think of it.

I think these machines still provide decent value though. Particularly if you can get a decent deal.

2x DUAL core 3.0 or QUAD core? Huge difference there. Probably a good price for the dual or an amazing price for the quad.

edit: I see you say 3,1 that would be the quad right?

 

[RealEvil]

Thanks for the input guys. I wish I could pay the dollar prices you are suggesting - Mac2Sell suggests £1400 is about right which is about $2200...

 

[bamf]

2x DUAL core 3.0 or QUAD core? Huge difference there. Probably a good price for the dual or an amazing price for the quad.

edit: I see you say 3,1 that would be the quad right?

Yes, it's the 3,1 (2008), so it's 2 x Quad Core 3.0's. I'm very pleased with the deal.

I've had a Hack Pro for years (along with my real Apple products), but the difficulty in worrying about every single patch finally threw me over the edge.

Would I have preferred a 4,1 or 5,1 machine - sure, but at $1300 (delivered) I was more than pleased.

 

[bearcatrp]

How much ram is in it? Wouldn't pay over 2 grand US dollars unless it has 16GB or more. The 3.2 quads are 150 watt chips so they run hot. The ram for these are still expensive too. Figured the ram would have dropped by now though. Might want to look at the 09 models for better future proof or even a 2010 with low processors that you can upgrade later down the road, depending on what your willing to spend. My 2008 was rock solid before I sold it. Those were the best priced Mac pro's. Seems apple wants your next born for the newer models. One of the reasons I decided to build my own. To expensive unless your making allot of cash with it.

 

[nanofrog]

Thanks for the input guys. I wish I could pay the dollar prices you are suggesting - Mac2Sell suggests £1400 is about right which is about $2200...

The 2008's are still great machines.

As to whether or not it's a good deal, posting the details would help (memory capacity, storage, and GPU). Particularly useful for UK users IMO, as they're more likely to know the used market where you are (based in the US doesn't help much here I'm afraid ).

Figured the ram would have dropped by now though.

It hit bottom some time ago, and has risen again (supplies are shorter now, so the price has climbed back up).

As per a 2009, it can be more attractive than it was when the 2010's came out due to the hacked Firmware Update Utility (allows it to be flashed with 2010 firmware = can run B0 stepped CPU's).

But as you also mention with the memory, it needs to be calculated ($) as to whether or not it's a good deal vs. a 2009 or 10 since DDR3 ECC is cheaper (GPU may also make it more financially sound than a 2008 as well).

Refurbished would be nice in terms of financial impact if they can be located (2010's more likely than 2009's I should think).

 

[clyde2801]

<reads posts on thread about 09's>
<pets his 'new' 09 appreciatively>
<looks at newegg.com for w3670>
<checks his bank account>
<drums his fingers on his desk>

And I hear what you're saying about the 09 prices, especially on the apple refurb store. Almost a two year old computer, with base specs, for less than $500 off?

 

[nanofrog]

And I hear what you're saying about the 09 prices, especially on the apple refurb store. Almost a two year old computer, with base specs, for less than $500 off?

I wasn't aware they still showed up from time to time.

But I agree with your sentiment on the price. By the time you add in another GPU and CPU (presuming this is the intent), it's not a bargain. Better to go for a 2010 if the user is able to live with the 5770 (if a 5770 isn't viable, the 2009 may get a second glance if the CPU/s doesn't need to be swapped out).

 

[clyde2801]

I wasn't aware they still showed up from time to time.

But I agree with your sentiment on the price. By the time you add in another GPU and CPU (presuming this is the intent), it's not a bargain. Better to go for a 2010 if the user is able to live with the 5770 (if a 5770 isn't viable, the 2009 may get a second glance if the CPU/s doesn't need to be swapped out).

If I can get a 3.2 GHz six core, I'll have $2000 into a machine that would retail well over 4000.

 

[nanofrog]

If I can get a 3.2 GHz six core, I'll have $2000 into a machine that would retail well over 4000.

Compared to what, and how much are the upgrades (source of upgrade parts will matter in particular as used can be had from time to time)?

To me, it all depends on the exact pricing (where used and refurbished parts can make a real difference). So under specific circumstances, it's a viable solution.

Otherwise, the math won't work out in favor of the older system + upgrade route.

 

[clyde2801]

Compared to what, and how much are the upgrades (source of upgrade parts will matter in particular as used can be had from time to time)?

To me, it all depends on the exact pricing (where used and refurbished parts can make a real difference). So under specific circumstances, it's a viable solution.

Otherwise, the math won't work out in favor of the older system + upgrade route.

Comparing a 09 with 3.2 ghz 6 core westmere system with a '10 3.33 6 core with similar specs.

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC560LL/A?mco=MTg2OTUwMjQ

$1300 plus $599 chip equals 2010 machine (except for lesser graphics card). It's been reported that the only difference between the architecture between the 09 and 10 model is a firmware update.

 

[nanofrog]

Comparing a 09 with 3.2 ghz 6 core westmere system with a '10 3.33 6 core with similar specs.

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC560LL/A?mco=MTg2OTUwMjQ

$1300 plus $599 chip equals 2010 machine (except for lesser graphics card). It's been reported that the only difference between the architecture between the 09 and 10 model is a firmware update.

Seems you missed my point...

It's not about the technical issues (firmware flash = allows B0 stepped parts which means Hex core CPU's are possible in a 2009, and upgrading the GPU is easy), but about the pricing.

Not everyone will be able to access the same pricing you did, or may decide they want a faster clocked part ($1300 is a good price for a 2009 SP system, particularly vs. new base Quad 2010, which is ~48% off of new retail). Quite a discount.