$900 Mac Pro 2013 or ?

[jkma707]

I have a deal on getting a Mac Pro Late 2013 Quad Core with 16gb ram for $900, is this worth it? I mean I could go hackintosh and all but I would like my Apple Experience to work seemlessly. I do edit 4K and I know lots of computers struggle in that area in general (we use proxies and etc), but Thunderbolt 2 limitations?
Is it better to buy a 2015/14 i7 MacBook Pro with 16gb ram and the added GPU than this Mac Pro? There are basically the same price when I compare.. maybe the new 2017 i7 2.9 GHz MacBook Pro 1TB 16GB added GPU and Thunderbolt 3?

I do wanna build my PC but then again, so much confusion, parts, things don’t work here or there..

*I don’t want an iMac though, they are good machines but in my area the screen is too big I know the screen is amazing but I do want a UltraWide screen instread tbh..

So basically i’m Looking at:

1. Mac Pro Late 2013 256GB Quad Core with the obvious GPU
2. 2015 MacBook Pro Retina i7 16GB Ram with the secondary GPU (some are 750M) around 500GB storage (wanting 1TB tbh lol)
3. 2017 MacBook Pro 2.9 i7 MAX OUT, 1TB, Secondarry GPU, Touchbar, THUNDERBOLT 3
^*pricing around 1500-1700 though..
4. OR Hackintosh..with some headaches (worried that MacOSX wont run 100% complete and I do love Apple but there are advantages for a correctly budgeted PC Hackintosh, just wish Rosen 7 1700 worked correctly on them)
5. MacPro 2010 with two Quad Cores for..... $300..but then upgrading them and all the price starts to add up ya know?

What are you opinions on it all? This is a huge headache for me btw.. lol the quicker the response the better haha. I’m doing all my day to day task off an iPad Pro 10.5” lol.

 

[hrmonik]

I have a deal on getting a Mac Pro Late 2013 Quad Core with 16gb ram for $900, is this worth it? I mean I could go hackintosh and all but I would like my Apple Experience to work seemlessly. I do edit 4K and I know lots of computers struggle in that area in general (we use proxies and etc), but Thunderbolt 2 limitations?
Is it better to buy a 2015/14 i7 MacBook Pro with 16gb ram and the added GPU than this Mac Pro? There are basically the same price when I compare.. maybe the new 2017 i7 2.9 GHz MacBook Pro 1TB 16GB added GPU and Thunderbolt 3?

I do wanna build my PC but then again, so much confusion, parts, things don’t work here or there..

*I don’t want an iMac though, they are good machines but in my area the screen is too big I know the screen is amazing but I do want a UltraWide screen instread tbh..

So basically i’m Looking at:

1. Mac Pro Late 2013 256GB Quad Core with the obvious GPU
2. 2015 MacBook Pro Retina i7 16GB Ram with the secondary GPU (some are 750M) around 500GB storage (wanting 1TB tbh lol)
3. 2017 MacBook Pro 2.9 i7 MAX OUT, 1TB, Secondarry GPU, Touchbar, THUNDERBOLT 3
^*pricing around 1500-1700 though..
4. OR Hackintosh..with some headaches (worried that MacOSX wont run 100% complete and I do love Apple but there are advantages for a correctly budgeted PC Hackintosh, just wish Rosen 7 1700 worked correctly on them)
5. MacPro 2010 with two Quad Cores for..... $300..but then upgrading them and all the price starts to add up ya know?

What are you opinions on it all? This is a huge headache for me btw.. lol the quicker the response the better haha. I’m doing all my day to day task off an iPad Pro 10.5” lol.

If it's for your business, you might want to look into the new macbook pro 2018 with the Vega20 GPU

 

[jkma707]

If it's for your business, you might want to look into the new macbook pro 2018 with the Vega20 GPU

No way I am willing to pay 2500+ for a laptop that will get no interchangable parts.. that an entire body of a camera and lenses

 

[Forbidden Era]

Futureproof, hackintosh wins, sorry.

Although 2010-2012 cMP have had a lot of progress lately in cool updates. But no matter what cool stuff gets unlocked, it'll never be able to upgrade past it's current socket for CPU, or to faster type of RAM or anything like that..

That said, they can be made to be pretty powerful still..I will probably get a 5,1 soon still..if I don't build a hackintosh that is..I did snag an extra 1,1 and G5 towers for such a project

 

[jkma707]

Futureproof, hackintosh wins, sorry.

Although 2010-2012 cMP have had a lot of progress lately in cool updates. But no matter what cool stuff gets unlocked, it'll never be able to upgrade past it's current socket for CPU, or to faster type of RAM or anything like that..

That said, they can be made to be pretty powerful still..I will probably get a 5,1 soon still..if I don't build a hackintosh that is..I did snag an extra 1,1 and G5 towers for such a project

Hm, Hackintosh seems to be the new work around and nice medium of apple OSX and the fun of building your own setup knowing your not over spending money at all

 

[Manzanito]

No way I am willing to pay 2500+ for a laptop that will get no interchangable parts.. that an entire body of a camera and lenses

The entire lineup of macs as of this day gets no intechangeable parts. If that’s a must for you, maybe you should be looking into moving to windows. One can only hope that the next mac pro will be the exception.

But to answer your question, I’d go with a hackintosh. Absolutely no point in getting a 6’1 this late in the game.

 

[th0masp]

At 900 it sounds like it would be worth it - pick it up, run a test project to check if it fits your needs (consider that you can put in more RAM, different storage and CPU later on) - and if its a letdown for your application - simply sell it on? Should be worth a good chunk more in the 2nd hand market at any rate.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

Pros and Cons

Mac Pro 2010
Pro: Can have some hardware upgrade paths.
Con: Bottlenecked by CPU. Can be noisy. Limited OS upgrade path. Mojave could be the last.

Mac Pro 2013
Pro: Can have some hardware upgrade paths. A few years more OS updates.
Con: Dongles galore. CPU is aging. Some had GPU defects.

MacBook Pro 2017 - 2018
Pro: Native eGPU and fast external storage support. No CPU bottlenecks.
Con: Dongles, but can be worked around with new cables.

Hackintosh
Pro: Lots of new ports. Fast CPUs and storage.
Con: Piracy sucks. Not buying a real Mac raises the cost for real Mac users. Maintenance can be a hassle. Third party scripts need to be updated all the time. Can contain spyware and malware. Apple can shut out Hackintosh computers when they fully migrate to their own T series system controllers.

I believe the MacBook Pro (or even base model new Mac mini) is the current best choice but if you can get a Mac Pro 2013 for less than a grand that is an awesome deal.

 

[minifridge1138]

I don't have personal experience with one, but I also suggest checking out the new Mac Mini. For $999 you get the 3.6Ghz i3 with 16GB of ram.

Good luck!

EDITED: I said the SSD was up-gradable, but it is not. Don't know what I was thinking.

 

[chrfr]

I don't have personal experience with one, but I also suggest checking out the new Mac Mini. For $999 you get the 3.6Ghz i3 with 16GB of ram. The SSD is only 128GB, but that's the one part that is user upgradable.

Good luck!

The storage in the 2018 Mac Mini is soldered in. The RAM is upgradable; storage is not.

 

[minifridge1138]

The storage in the 2018 Mac Mini is soldered in. The RAM is upgradable; storage is not.

WHOA! You are correct. I don't know why I typed what I did. My fault.

 

[zephonic]

$900 for base 6,1 is not bad, but if you can’t swap out the SSD I’d look elsewhere. 256GB is not a lot these days.

 

[Slash-2CPU]

$900 for a 2013 model is probably the wiser deal. As much as I like my 2009/2010 flashed, I'll be surprised if it can run the next major Mac OS release and seriously doubt it will run the one after that. 2013 model is being sold right now. It would be reasonable to expect software support through 2024-2025.

Hackintoshes are great until you've got a problem, then you're on your own. Fine for tinkering, but not ok for a work/production system.

I'd give the new Mini a long, hard look.

 

[jkma707]

At 900 it sounds like it would be worth it - pick it up, run a test project to check if it fits your needs (consider that you can put in more RAM, different storage and CPU later on) - and if its a letdown for your application - simply sell it on? Should be worth a good chunk more in the 2nd hand market at any rate.

Yeah I mean right off the bate I would want to upgrade the SSD, Im guessing Samsung. Resell value I'd break even with the SSD upgrade or make a little cash and still be able to have enough for build a Hackintosh if need be..
[doublepost=1542528787][/doublepost]

Pros and Cons

Mac Pro 2010
Pro: Can have some hardware upgrade paths.
Con: Bottlenecked by CPU. Can be noisy. Limited OS upgrade path. Mojave could be the last.

Mac Pro 2013
Pro: Can have some hardware upgrade paths. A few years more OS updates.
Con: Dongles galore. CPU is aging. Some had GPU defects.

MacBook Pro 2017 - 2018
Pro: Native eGPU and fast external storage support. No CPU bottlenecks.
Con: Dongles, but can be worked around with new cables.

Hackintosh
Pro: Lots of new ports. Fast CPUs and storage.
Con: Piracy sucks. Not buying a real Mac raises the cost for real Mac users. Maintenance can be a hassle. Third party scripts need to be updated all the time. Can contain spyware and malware. Apple can shut out Hackintosh computers when they fully migrate to their own T series system controllers.

I believe the MacBook Pro (or even base model new Mac mini) is the current best choice but if you can get a Mac Pro 2013 for less than a grand that is an awesome deal.

Yeah I heard Apple is going COMPLETELY APPLE. CPU is pretty old that's what worried me tbh, and the "GPU" that isn't really a GPU.
MacBook Pro 2017-18, ya the mobility is one nice thing, have a dock and slap it with a nice monitor knowing its still current

Hackintosh is gonna beat lots of modern company built Mac's but ya lots of "scripts" and etc to make it all work properly the end result is done right but god forbid I update in non correct way and all goes down hill
[doublepost=1542528825][/doublepost]

$900 for base 6,1 is not bad, but if you can’t swap out the SSD I’d look elsewhere. 256GB is not a lot these days.

Yeah 256gb is like minimum to run anything without installing any programs
[doublepost=1542528944][/doublepost]

$900 for a 2013 model is probably the wiser deal. As much as I like my 2009/2010 flashed, I'll be surprised if it can run the next major Mac OS release and seriously doubt it will run the one after that. 2013 model is being sold right now. It would be reasonable to expect software support through 2024-2025.

Hackintoshes are great until you've got a problem, then you're on your own. Fine for tinkering, but not ok for a work/production system.

I'd give the new Mini a long, hard look.

Yeah the Mini is something but being how small it is and the heat, I wonder if itll lower the speed because of the heating issues it might have.
2013 are nice, I like to compact look I just dont like the GPU tbh and the "bang for the buck" compared to a hackintosh but the reliability is there and come on.. its $900

 

[krakman]

$900 for base 6,1 is not bad, but if you can’t swap out the SSD I’d look elsewhere. 256GB is not a lot these days.

Since a recent firmware update for the 6.1 you can swap the SSD for a standard Samsung NVME drive. you just need to buy the adaptor from amazon or ebay - costs about 20USD

You will find more info if you search this forum

 

[th0masp]

256GB is not a lot these days.

Honestly, that was absolute bottom line around 2010, too. I don't know how this started to become acceptable again. Low end in the day of spinning platters was 500 GB - about 10 years ago. I have a 500 GB SSD in my MBP and it's a constant fight to keep enough free space around - and that's more like a webbrowsing work-station, lol.

Still, enough to load it with a video editor and a project and go test how well it performs i reckon. With the MP it also seems advisable to really test it out to check it's not a lemon with GPU freezes.

 

[nguyenhm16]

Since a recent firmware update for the 6.1 you can swap the SSD for a standard Samsung NVME drive. you just need to buy the adaptor from amazon or ebay - costs about 20USD

You will find more info if you search this forum

Yup, a $900 is a decent deal for a 6,1 Mac Pro. OWC were selling refurbs for around $1,600 earlier this year, though those seemed to have dried up. That's where I got mine.

It was easy to upgrade mine to a 970 PRO SSD following the instructions on this thread:
NVMe with ST-NGFF2013-C; Vega Internal GPU; Mac Pro 2013 (6,1)

If you need more CPU down the road, you can get a Xeon E5-2667v2, which has 8 cores, a high clock, and a ton of cache, for around $200 all day long on eBay.

 

[pl1984]

What do you intend to do with the computer? You didn't mention which GPU was in the Mac Pro so I'm going to guess, based on the other specs, they're D300. $900 is a good price even for the low end configuration (they've held their value extremely well, probably do to lack of alternatives).

 

[djangofan]

No brainer in my opinion. That $900 has a faster single-core performance than the 12-core. The D300, which I own is terrible with games. If you upgrade the firmware on the Mac Pro , by updating to Catalina on the OEM drive, then you can put a Intel 660P 2TB Ahci drive in there that works perfect.

 

[bsbeamer]

Is this a Halloween stunt? Another thread that is nearly 1 year old being resurrected from the dead...