Early Mac Pro for replacement Imac 20" (mid 2007)

[Dimitris1980]

Hello,

i have an imac 20" (mid 2007) from April 2008 with mac os yosemite installed. I use it for usual stuff like internet, office, music etc. It is an old computer now and i think it deserved the money. I can still do my job although the speed is not like when i bought it with mac os leopard. It was the first mac i bought (before i had windows pc, dos pc, amstrad cpc 464, acorn electron but never a macintosh system) and then i got older retro machines like performa 6116, imac g3 and powerbook 540c for old games of the 90s. The truth is that i don't like the fact that the imac cannot be upgraded. It has the same cpu, the same graphics card with only 128mb vram and the only upgrade i did is the ram. It had 1 gb when i bought it and some months after i upgraded it to 4 gb. I really like mac pros because of the tower and because they are so expandable but they are expensive. I would like to ask if it is worth to buy an old model for instance from 2008. I would like to find sth cheap but to be able also to run mac os yosemite. I saw that mac pro 2006 officially do not support the last version of mac os but there are solutions for this. Is it better to look for a newer version? The expandability of mac pros of 2006-2008 will make these systems to last for years? Their cpu is faster that the today's imacs?

Thank you
Dimitris from Greece

 

[NOTNlCE]

Hey there Dimitris,

While all of the Mac Pro models are rather upgradable, the Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 (those are the models produced after 2009) are most definitely the only thing worth investing in. I know that in many countries outside of the US and the UK, Macs are considerably more expensive. However, many (if not all) of the active forum members here will tell you that (unless you are able to get a hell of a deal) the 2009/10 models are the ones worth purchasing. Here in the US, a 4,1 (2009) Mac Pro with a single socket goes for around $500-600 US, and dual socket 2009s go for around $1K. The 2010 models are nearly identical, and the 4,1s can be "flashed" with the 2010 firmware to enable faster memory and processors. If you're reasonably satisfied with how your 8 year old iMac is performing, I think that a single processor Mac Pro would be plenty for you. Even the base model would be worlds faster than that iMac. Check out the thread HERE for upgrade options.


EDIT: I've done a bit of research on prices in your area, and wow they are steep. As far as looking at older Mac Pros, I think "worth it" depends on the price you can get one for, and whether or not you're prepared to deal with the downsides. 06-08 Mac Pros are based on the older Core 2 Architecture, and therefore take "FB-DIMMs" which can also get very expensive if you were to ever want more than 16GB of RAM. I know in the US, FB-DIMMs are not terrible in price if you get them used and in 2GB sticks (8 x 2GB config = 16GB of RAM). Not sure if you'd be able to get them as easily or as cheap over in Greece. Also, they run HOT. VERY hot. Last summer, I sold off my 2008 Mac Pro because I couldn't deal with the thermal output. So unless you've got a large room or a great way to disperse the heat, be ready for a new radiator in your home. And, if you go for an '06-07 Mac Pro, be ready for the software troubles. Personally, I own an '06 Mac Pro and an '06 Xserve, both of which have come to run Yosemite using Piker Alpha's mods, which clearly you've read about. They're just as straightforward as they sound, but if something were to go wrong in an update, you've got to have the know how and patience to fix it. Might not be a con, in your opinion, but just be aware that accidents do happen. Personally, my 1,1 sits at work, and my boss's son unknowingly ran an update one day, and the machine was out of commission for a week until I had time to fix it.

Even after all this, I still stand by my recommendation to spring for an '09 or newer, if it's feasible. They're all around better machines if you're looking to get a Mac Pro, and are most likely going to last you longer than an '06-08 would. If you think about it, those are almost as old as your iMac.

Hope this helps,

-N

 

[leon771]

I'd save money and just put an SSD in your iMac. Use it until it dies, then just replace with a slightly newer/faster iMac (2009/2010) from the 2nd hand market.

Nothing you've mentioned really needs the speed potential of the Mac Pro.

 

[NOTNlCE]

I'd save money and just put an SSD in your iMac. Use it until it dies, then just replace with a slightly newer/faster iMac (2009/2010) from the 2nd hand market.

Nothing you've mentioned really needs the speed potential of the Mac Pro.

This is also a great recommendation. If you'd like to get some more life out of your iMac, this will make a ton of difference, especially in everyday activities as you are describing. Perhaps it could buy you some more time if you need to save up for the tower of your dreams.

 

[Intell]

The 2007 iMac is oddly upgradable. You can upgrade it CPU and video card. However, even when it's fully upgraded, it'll still be much slower than a stock 2008 Mac Pro.

 

[Dimitris1980]

Thank you for your answers. I find both opinions very good. I will check the installation and the cost of a ssd drive for imac but i will also check for mac pro (probably 2009 models) from outside Greece for instance from United Kingdom. I think the prices are a lot better from my country. Even the used mac pros are very expensive. Imagine that i bought an imac g3 back to 2008 from UK at a price of 117 euros total with the transportation expenses and here in Greece i could find the same systems with a price of 300-400 euros. United States has a lot of apple machines and especially rare computers from 80s and 90s but the problem is the high cost for the transportation and the custom expenses. I also remember ( i think the year was 2009) that i went to store here in Greece with apple computers and i loved a lot the mac pro. It was connected with a 30" cinema display and was so fast. One click to open an application and boom!! there was the window!

Regards
Dimitris from Greece