Been offered second-hand Mac Pro - need some advice please...

[AVR2]

Since I've been doing more 3D and HD work in Motion I've been wanting to upgrade my 2006 MacBook Pro, but I just haven't had the cash for a brand-new laptop or desktop.

A friend has just upgraded to a 12-core Mac Pro and has offered me his old one - a 2007 quad-core (Woodcrest) 2.66GHz with 7Gb RAM - for $1300. He's a musician rather than an editor, so he only specified the standard graphics card (GeForce 7300GT) when he bought it.

These may be dumb questions, but...

Will I notice a proper "Hey wow, this was totally worth it!" performance improvement over my first-gen 2.16GHz MacBook Pro, especially in 3D and HD?

Is the 1,1 Mac Pro compatible with all the graphics cards currently available, or would I be limited as to what I could upgrade to?

Is the 1,1 Mac Pro 64-bit compatible, in other words would I be able to run OS X Lion, FCP-X and 64-bit Motion? I've done a bit of Googling and I'm unsure if the Woodcrest-based machines are true 64-bit. I think they are but I'd like confirmation from someone who really knows what they're talking about.

All advice gratefully received

 

[Hellhammer]

1300$ sounds quite expensive. I've seen similar Mac Pro going for ~1000$, so try to get the price down. It will definitely be faster than your current though.

First gen Mac Pro has 32-bit EFI which means newer NVIDIA GPUs are not supported. However, any AMD/ATI GPU works. 32-bit EFI limits you to 32-bit kernel but 32-bit kernel can run 64-bit apps so you won't have any problems with future software either (64-bit kernel doesn't really help anything).

 

[CFoss]

That's too much. I am contemplating selling my 2008 Mac Pro for around the same price, maybe a little more (specs are in my signature).

The 2008 Mac Pro is the first Mac with 64-bit support. However, it doesn't support MiniDVI. The CPU is the problem though. Sure, the RAM is a little slower than today's RAM, and the GPU is a little behind the times (which can easily be upgraded)... but the CPU architecture has made huge advancements since the Core generation. They're about twice as fast. And we're about to move onto a new generation of CPUs too.

My advice is this: Firstly, if you can wait a little longer, wait for the next Mac Pro update. They will be using the new generation of CPUs. Secondly, if you are going to go with a Mac Pro, make sure you can truly support it. These machines will sing their hearts out if you can afford it. Otherwise, you might as well go with a high end iMac/MacBook Pro.

That's my two cents.

 

[AVR2]

if you are going to go with a Mac Pro, make sure you can truly support it. These machines will sing their hearts out if you can afford it

Sorry, you need to explain what you mean by that

 

[cjgonzales1900]

Sorry, you need to explain what you mean by that

They mean the price to upgrade the mac pro. small parts like RAM and Video cards can get expensive especially as they get older and the parts are no longer made for your model.

I would buy a new Mac Pro if you got the cash. Oh and wait tell they release the new ones sometime this year. Also that is expensive. you could put that money towards a newer Mac Pro when they are released.