It’s time to retire the old Mac Pro. I bought it used in September 2011, a 2009 model (official designation 4,1) and with upgrades, additions and replacement parts it lasted more than ten years. That’s astonishing, in computer years this thing is like 169 years old now.
Its longevity has made it a cost-effective purchase. I bought it for $1800, added 12 (3x4) GB RAM and three 1TB Hitachi hard drives for ~$300.
Four years later I added the first SSD, a2.5” SATA drive in an PCIe adapter, total cost around ~$200.
In 2017, I replaced the RAM with 24(3x8)GB for ~$130, and upgraded the CPU to a 6-core for ~$170. A year later I replaced the stock GPU (GT120) with a used Radeon HD5870, the largest and fastest official Apple GPU for that machine for ~220. I also added another SSD and PCIe adapter for another $200.
Finally, last year the HD5870 died on me, and I found a used HD5770 to hold me over for $60, which brings the total I’ve spent on this machine to ~$2900, let’s say $3K because I’m sure I forgot some stuff.
Still, it’s been running faithfully for 127 months now, which brings total cost of ownership to ~$24 per month.
Has it been worth it? It has been a cost-effective purchase, for sure. The replacement 16” MacBookPro costs ~$4800 and I’ll be lucky to get five years out of it, which would make cost of ownership roughly $80 per month.
But the fact is that Apple doesn’t make upgradeable computers anymore, so it would have to be a Windows PC. I did think about that, but prices are ridiculously elevated right now because of the component shortage, and I like the portability of the MBP. I’ve been traveling a lot and to always have my entire studio with me is an enticing idea.
I did look at the Mac Studio for a hot second, but decided at this point in my life the MBP is the better option as I have been traveling a lot, and I want to consolidate both desktop and laptop into one computer that does it all.
But I’m a bit melancholic about retiring the old cheese grater. I’m not selling it, they’re worth nothing now, and it’s too big to keep around for no purpose. We’ll see where it ends up. As with my (still functioning) 2007 iMac, there is something aesthetically pleasing about the design, so I’d like to keep it just for that.
But whatever happens next, I will remember it fondly.
Its longevity has made it a cost-effective purchase. I bought it for $1800, added 12 (3x4) GB RAM and three 1TB Hitachi hard drives for ~$300.
Four years later I added the first SSD, a2.5” SATA drive in an PCIe adapter, total cost around ~$200.
In 2017, I replaced the RAM with 24(3x8)GB for ~$130, and upgraded the CPU to a 6-core for ~$170. A year later I replaced the stock GPU (GT120) with a used Radeon HD5870, the largest and fastest official Apple GPU for that machine for ~220. I also added another SSD and PCIe adapter for another $200.
Finally, last year the HD5870 died on me, and I found a used HD5770 to hold me over for $60, which brings the total I’ve spent on this machine to ~$2900, let’s say $3K because I’m sure I forgot some stuff.
Still, it’s been running faithfully for 127 months now, which brings total cost of ownership to ~$24 per month.
Has it been worth it? It has been a cost-effective purchase, for sure. The replacement 16” MacBookPro costs ~$4800 and I’ll be lucky to get five years out of it, which would make cost of ownership roughly $80 per month.
But the fact is that Apple doesn’t make upgradeable computers anymore, so it would have to be a Windows PC. I did think about that, but prices are ridiculously elevated right now because of the component shortage, and I like the portability of the MBP. I’ve been traveling a lot and to always have my entire studio with me is an enticing idea.
I did look at the Mac Studio for a hot second, but decided at this point in my life the MBP is the better option as I have been traveling a lot, and I want to consolidate both desktop and laptop into one computer that does it all.
But I’m a bit melancholic about retiring the old cheese grater. I’m not selling it, they’re worth nothing now, and it’s too big to keep around for no purpose. We’ll see where it ends up. As with my (still functioning) 2007 iMac, there is something aesthetically pleasing about the design, so I’d like to keep it just for that.
But whatever happens next, I will remember it fondly.
