MP All Models Buy cheap 7,1 or Studio

[Pezimak]

That's the real question

macOS 15.x support seams realistic. Beyond that is quite the risk.

I speculate that GPU improvements I'm the Studio M3/M4 will advance beyond the best PCIe GPU supported in a 7.1. Possibly there will be an edge case. But in summary, a Studio M3/M4 should be more powerful, not much more $, and will get ~10 years of macOS support.

I'd love to have a 7,1 but the value proposition slides quickly with every passing month.

Yes, I WOULD say an advantage is dual boot to Windows, but MS dropped a lot of support for hardware with Windows 11, is ditching Windows 10 support next year, and the upcoming Windows 12 is also said to drop some support for hardware. People with 2 year old computers couldn't run Windows 11 officially, so IMO it's a gamble how long Windows will support 7.1 hardware, then again if all you use Windows for is games you can not care about security patches as much as if it gets infected you can just wipe it and start again. So long as the Mac OS is left alone.

Then it comes to upgrading. You can upgrade the CPU and storage, but it seems GPU's will be limited.

Have to agree a Studio does seem to make more sense these days. Plus it's cracking value compared to the MacBook Pro range. And of course the Studio costs a lot less to run and fits on your desk.

And these days you need security updates really as holes are being found in Apples software.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Yes, I WOULD say an advantage is dual boot to Windows, but MS dropped a lot of support for hardware with Windows 11, is ditching Windows 10 support next year, and the upcoming Windows 12 is also said to drop some support for hardware. People with 2 year old computers couldn't run Windows 11 officially, so IMO it's a gamble how long Windows will support 7.1 hardware, then again if all you use Windows for is games you can not care about security patches as much as if it gets infected you can just wipe it and start again. So long as the Mac OS is left alone.

Then it comes to upgrading. You can upgrade the CPU and storage, but it seems GPU's will be limited.

Have to agree a Studio does seem to make more sense these days. Plus it's cracking value compared to the MacBook Pro range. And of course the Studio costs a lot less to run and fits on your desk.

And these days you need security updates really as holes are being found in Apples software.

My theory on dual boot: if you need it for games, just spend the $2K and buy a dedicated machine. If you're already going with a 7,1 you are basically used to/expecting big boxes. Actually I built a small form factor gaming PC with RTX-3090, that's not much bigger than a Mac Studio

 

[Regulus67]

If anyone wanted a 2019 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Intel 16-Core 96GB RAM 2TB SSD Radeon Pro W5500X?

The seller has an offer for more than 10 used machines at $1.999 + shipping worldwide

Mac Pro used

 

[avro707]

If anyone wanted a 2019 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Intel 16-Core 96GB RAM 2TB SSD Radeon Pro W5500X?

The seller has an offer for more than 10 used machines at $1.999 + shipping worldwide

Mac Pro used

Tempting- just depends on visual condition of the machine. I think I’d prefer a new one than a scratched up machine.

 

[BeatCrazy]

If anyone wanted a 2019 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Intel 16-Core 96GB RAM 2TB SSD Radeon Pro W5500X?

The seller has an offer for more than 10 used machines at $1.999 + shipping worldwide

Mac Pro used

Tempting- just depends on visual condition of the machine. I think I’d prefer a new one than a scratched up machine.

I would speculate that there's a 50% chance these "Grade A used" machines are actually brand new. They're the same specs as the previous 'new' (Meta) versions.

 

[sfalatko]

I would speculate that there's a 50% chance these "Grade A used" machines are actually brand new. They're the same specs as the previous 'new' (Meta) versions.

I would say not a chance - go to the ipower website and they clearly distinguish between the "new in box" and used and are now charging quite a higher price for the "new in box" versions and for the "new in box" some options are no longer available like the W5700 versions.

Of course if you are curious or interested call or email them and ask about condition, etc - $2000 is still a really great price for those specs. It was probably close to $10000 from Apple.

 

[avro707]

I would speculate that there's a 50% chance these "Grade A used" machines are actually brand new. They're the same specs as the previous 'new' (Meta) versions.

There was a big price difference between the new machines and these.

Still a great machine though and great specs.

 

[BeatCrazy]

There was a big price difference between the new machines and these.

Still a great machine though and great specs.

$2199 was the lowest price for the "new" machine. Keeping in mind they said the "new" machines were open box. But per the video they were really sealed.

 

[sfalatko]

$2199 was the lowest price for the "new" machine. Keeping in mind they said the "new" machines were open box. But per the video they were really sealed.

The "new in box" machines (I bought one) were not open box - they were completely untouched in the original packaging.

 

[BeatCrazy]

The "new in box" machines (I bought one) were not open box - they were completely untouched in the original packaging.

I understand. I'm referring to the $2199 machines that were listed as 'open box', but in reality were indeed new/sealed.

 

[SDAVE]

But... he could have this NOW, for a fraction of the cost, and it will still be overkill for audio production for several years (again as above, there are still audio professionals doing high end stuff using 5,1 and earlier!).

🤷‍♂️

When the 7,1 gets too old, upgrade to the M6 or M7 or whatever is current at that point, in the meantime I say save the money!

I'm more worried about software support, the 7,1 hardware is still fine for most people (except for the 8 core which is pretty bad imo).

If you want to be on the latest and greatest versions of pro apps, I would advise against the 7,1 as most of these software companies such as Adobe will stop supporting Intel as soon as Apple drops support. It just costs them too much money to keep both platforms going. Software development costs have risen dramatically, it's not the same as it was in the 2000s when we went from PPC > Intel.

 

[avro707]

I'm more worried about software support, the 7,1 hardware is still fine for most people (except for the 8 core which is pretty bad imo).

If you want to be on the latest and greatest versions of pro apps, I would advise against the 7,1 as most of these software companies such as Adobe will stop supporting Intel as soon as Apple drops support. It just costs them too much money to keep both platforms going. Software development costs have risen dramatically, it's not the same as it was in the 2000s when we went from PPC > Intel.

That's when it's time to use the Windows versions of Adobe software, that will keep people going until Apple drops support and that's when we drop support for Apple and move to a proper Intel workstation from HP, Lenovo or one of the others.

 

[Regulus67]

The "new in box" machines (I bought one) were not open box - they were completely untouched in the original packaging.

I just saw you can get an Apple warranty for your new Mac Pro 👍

 

[sfalatko]

I just saw you can get an Apple warranty for your new Mac Pro 👍

View attachment 2369558

Awesome and thanks for posting. Just talked with Apple Support and I'm now under warranty and eligible for AppleCare+!

 

[m1maverick]

Damn! The deal just got too good and I had to pick one up. It's not one of the NIB systems but it's a grade A one. For $450 less I can forego it being NIB.

 

[m1maverick]

They're now selling grade B systems for $1,799 OBO:

2019 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Intel 16-Core 96GB RAM 2TB SSD Radeon Pro 580X

 

[avro707]

Damn! The deal just got too good and I had to pick one up. It's not one of the NIB systems but it's a grade A one. For $450 less I can forego it being NIB.

Welcome to the resistance movement. Congrats on the new purchase.

I can see the 7,1 is going to eventually take over from the 5,1 when that becomes too old.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Welcome to the resistance movement. Congrats on the new purchase.

I can see the 7,1 is going to eventually take over from the 5,1 when that becomes too old.

When!?!

I still have my maxed out 5,1, so I'm no hater, but I do think we've reached the point of it being too old. Still super useful for many things, but man, it's 14 years old!

As for the 7,1, I think if apple does the right thing and updates it to at least macOS 15, it's going to have some legs in the enthusiast community, and good things can happen for it becoming the new torch bearer.

 

[m1maverick]

Welcome to the resistance movement. Congrats on the new purchase.

Thank you. I'm not sure what I am actually going to do with it but I decided to pick one up as I feel this is going to be the last of the upgradeable Macs.

I can see the 7,1 is going to eventually take over from the 5,1 when that becomes too old.

I love my 5,1...it's been a great system and I expect to keep it in service despite buying this one.

 

[avro707]

I have a 5,1 the 6 core machine that does nothing else other than run my indoor cycling paincave. It has been very dependable considering it was second hand only to get its CPU tray (which was a dual CPU one).

Replacing it with a second 7,1 would be very very tempting. I’d stay the base GPU and probably just put the RX6600XT in it. Could probably put something much higher spec in it too. I suppose a PC W6800 32GB would work.

 

[Regulus67]

I kind of feel sorry for hornedrum. He started this discussion, and has missed everything that has happened this week

 

[SDAVE]

That's when it's time to use the Windows versions of Adobe software, that will keep people going until Apple drops support and that's when we drop support for Apple and move to a proper Intel workstation from HP, Lenovo or one of the others.

Even by Windows standards the 7,1 is dated. You can build a much faster PC with a 4070/4080 GPU. It's literally 5 years old. Please don't spread disinformation.

 

[avro707]

Even by Windows standards the 7,1 is dated. You can build a much faster PC with a 4070/4080 GPU. It's literally 5 years old. Please don't spread disinformation.

I am NOT, I REPEAT, NOT spreading "disinformation" as you called it.

If someone has a machine that is working and has Windows already running on it without problem then there is absolutely NO POINT building a PC while the existing one works.

It's nonsense. Complete nonsense. Keep the existing machine going and then go and buy a windows workstation only when needed.

The above is your opinion. As others are entitled to their own opinion.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^Disinformation

Lou

 

[m1maverick]

They now have grade A systems listed on their website for $1,749 with free shipping.