How often do you upgrade your Mac Pros?

[monokakata]

I finally decided to upgrade my hex 5,1 and wait on the nMP.

Sonnet Tempo Pro with 2x 1 TB Crucial M550
Sapphire 7950 (replacing stock 5770)

That was a lot of cash, so I'll wait a couple of years before thinking again about nMP.

Are we having an old f**t party? I'm just about to turn 71.

 

[Riwam]

I'm still milking my 2010 refurb.

I replaced the CPU and video card. I've put my SSDs on PCI cards to get SATA3. I am about to add a USB3 card.. I think this is it though, not much else I can do but I don't know what I'll do for my next machine. The nMP is more than I need and too expensive.

.........
Make a good choice regarding a USB3 card for your 2010 MP
I had a 2010 MP and bought a LaCie USB3 external drive for Time Machine use which came bundled with a LaCie PCIe USB3 card.
It made my BT devices extremely unstable, particularly the BT mouse jumped!
I regretted having that card very much. It made using my 2010 MP a PITA!
Besides, any external USB3 device NOT made by LaCie, when connected to that card was not even SEEN!

As for the nMP, it is indeed expensive and actually I did not NEED it either.
Nevertheless I bought one and am delighted with it.
It is an incredible machine well worth it's price IMHO.

----------

I

Are we having an old f**t party? I'm just about to turn 71.

..........why not?
Let's show those children how good old wood can be!
What about writing a book "Computer lovers life begins at '70"...

 

[Riwam]

Oh, BTW, I'm 75, so I have you by six years. I look ahead to tomorrow, and hope I'll be around to see it

Lou

.........
Now I understand Lou why you know so many things about so many subjects in so many different threads of this forum
There is a Spanish popular wisdom:
"The Devil knows more because being old, than because being Devil"
("El diablo sabe mas por viejo que por diablo").
But of course, neither you nor I are "old", just "mature"

 

[monokakata]

There is a Spanish popular wisdom:
"The Devil knows more because being old, than because being Devil"

My favorite along those lines is from Richard Pryor: "you don't get old bein' no fool."

 

[Tutor]

Old dogs learn new tricks; but evaluate the reward(s) before performing any of them.

I finally decided to upgrade my hex 5,1 and wait on the nMP.
... .

That was a lot of cash, so I'll wait a couple of years before thinking again about nMP.

My sentiments exactly. My last MacPro purchase is a refurb 2009 that I've hacked or tricked many times [ http://blogs.computerworld.com/geekbench_reveals_next_3_3ghz_mac_pro_update ] and later upgraded to perform like a 2010, then later like a 2012. In the 2013 MacPros, Apple, which is younger than some of us, had a senior moment and forget to include the PCIe slots. For me that was an incredible oversight. Since I want my compute GPUs saturated with CUDA sauce, I'm rolling my own systems for now.

Are we having an old f**t party? I'm just about to turn 71.

Yes, but minus the f**ts. The party's slamming and, at 60 (soon to be 61), I'm glad that I was invited. Happy upcoming birthday Monokakata, and I wish you many happy, prosperous and healthy returns.

P.S. I see that you've great taste in comedic wisdom.

 

[flowrider]

.........
Now I understand Lou why you know so many things about so many subjects in so many different threads of this forum

Thanks - But do you think this is the only forum I post in I drive a modified Lexus ISF, and am pretty vocal in the automotive world too

Lou

 

[Larry-K]

Every 3 years. Corporate policy is to replace desktops and laptops when they go out of warranty. Period.

IRS says: "5 Year Equipment".

 

[Tutor]

Thanks - But do you think this is the only forum I post in I drive a modified Lexus ISF, and am pretty vocal in the automotive world too

Lou

Lou,
So you've upgraded a Lexus ISF. That's one mean system unmodified - 416 horses. After being modified/upgraded, I'd beat that its like having the power of 416 unicorns under the hood, for it must fly. I wish that I had that relative level of power in my MacPros because if I did I wouldn't have to continue with the self-upgrades. Now, I see that your nic "flowrider" has real world significance. Live happy, live well and live long!

 

[AidenShaw]

IRS says: "5 Year Equipment".

OK - what's your point? The IRS doesn't say that you can't replace it before 5 years.

Also note that under MACRS about 80% of the depreciation is claimed in the first 3 years.

 

[flowrider]

Lou,
So you've upgraded a Lexus ISF. That's one mean system unmodified - 416 horses. After being modified/upgraded, I'd beat that its like having the power of 416 unicorns under the hood, for it must fly. I wish that I had that relative level of power in my MacPros because if I did I wouldn't have to continue with the self-upgrades. Now, I see that your nic "flowrider" has real world significance. Live happy, live well and live long!

Thanks for your kind thoughts - I certainly HOPE I do. I lost my Dear Wife at age 67 last October.

Regarding the F, Last time it was on the Dyno it put down 393 WHP. Would have been over 400, but I run with HiFlow Cats.

Lou

 

[RoastingPig]

i think i might start doing it every 3 years because i bought the 5.1 mac pro when i was 18 and i just recently bought the new mac pro at 21

 

[Larry-K]

OK - what's your point? The IRS doesn't say that you can't replace it before 5 years.

Also note that under MACRS about 80% of the depreciation is claimed in the first 3 years.

My point is, that following some arbitrary number established by somebody else for replacing computers is silly. Computers under warranty break all the time and computers out of warranty can run reliably for years, and IRS Classifications are notably brain-dead.

I feel It's better to replace something when it no longer functions adequately or has been eclipsed in real-world performance significantly (a rare occasion in the Mac World).

Of course, if you're managing 20,000 computers, and they're running Office software, it's probably less administrative effort to toss them every three years, but that's not high on my list of things to do.

 

[flowrider]

i think i might start doing it every 3 years because i bought the 5.1 mac pro when i was 18 and i just recently bought the new mac pro at 21

When I was 18, I bought the next Big Thing

Lou

 

[AidenShaw]

My point is, that following some arbitrary number established by somebody else for replacing computers is silly. Computers under warranty break all the time and computers out of warranty can run reliably for years, and IRS Classifications are notably brain-dead.

The IRS doesn't tell you when to replace it, they give you a front-loaded schedule that describes how quickly you can claim the deduction for depreciation.

I don't replace the systems that I own at 3 year intervals - and they're all running reliably when I replace them. I think that every time I've replaced a system it has been because it needs more memory to do what I want - and it's already maxed out.

I feel It's better to replace something when it no longer functions adequately or has been eclipsed in real-world performance significantly (a rare occasion in the Mac World).

Let's see, a five year old lower end MacBook is a Core 2 made of white plastic. A three year old lower end MacBook is a Sandy Bridge Core i5 Air with T-Bolt. ( http://apple-history.com/compare/mb_air_11_mid_11/mb_air_mid_09 )

I'd call that a significant difference in real-world performance.

Especially since the Core i5 has AES instructions to speed up encryption and decryption - and our corporate policy requires full disk encryption on all portables, and VPN for wireless at all times when accessing the corporate network (and from wired outside the firewall). That alone makes a huge difference in "real-world performance".

Of course, if you're managing 20,000 computers, and they're running Office software, it's probably less administrative effort to toss them every three years, but that's not high on my list of things to do.

Nice poke at Microsoft, but the real fact when you're dealing with over 20K computers is that reducing the number of models of systems and keeping them in a reasonable range of performance (which includes RAM and disk space) saves more money than running them until they break. Putting systems on a 3-year retirement cycle is important for the former and huge for the latter. (In another quarter, we will have moved everyone to systems with AES.)

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Celebrate life!

Thanks for your kind thoughts - I certainly HOPE I do. I lost my Dear Wife at age 67 last October.

Regarding the F, Last time it was on the Dyno it put down 393 WHP. Would have been over 400, but I run with HiFlow Cats.

Lou

Sorry to hear about your loss Lou. What can I say more...

~ Cheers and celebrate life!

 

[Larry-K]

Let's see, a five year old lower end MacBook is a Core 2 made of white plastic. A three year old lower end MacBook is a Sandy Bridge Core i5 Air with T-Bolt. ( http://apple-history.com/compare/mb_air_11_mid_11/mb_air_mid_09 )

I'd call that a significant difference in real-world performance.

Especially since the Core i5 has AES instructions to speed up encryption and decryption - and our corporate policy requires full disk encryption on all portables, and VPN for wireless at all times when accessing the corporate network (and from wired outside the firewall). That alone makes a huge difference in "real-world performance".

I'm reading my mail right now on one of those, and I dare say I couldn't read my mail any faster on any Mac Made.

Nice poke at Microsoft, but the real fact when you're dealing with over 20K computers is that reducing the number of models of systems and keeping them in a reasonable range of performance (which includes RAM and disk space) saves more money than running them until they break. Putting systems on a 3-year retirement cycle is important for the former and huge for the latter. (In another quarter, we will have moved everyone to systems with AES.)

Microsoft deserves all the pokes they get, despite massive improvements in computer performance over the years they still manage to produce a bloated, sluggish unstable office suite.

When you consider what can be done with high end 3D software on a Mac, it should be embarrassing to compare the massive struggle Powerpoint goes to in its never-ending mission to put the masses to sleep.

 

[Larry-K]

The IRS doesn't tell you when to replace it, they give you a front-loaded schedule that describes how quickly you can claim the deduction for depreciation.

I don't replace the systems that I own at 3 year intervals - and they're all running reliably when I replace them. I think that every time I've replaced a system it has been because it needs more memory to do what I want - and it's already maxed out.

I always have at least two overlapping systems with similar capabilities, because downtime is much more expensive than hardware, and it all gets comfortably written off, but frankly I can't get anything to break these days.

My 10 year Old G-5 Quad still functions reliably and runs a few things I like to use on a regular basis, so I'm waiting for it to leak at this point.

 

[slughead]

Do you mean replace, or are you literally talking about upgrades?

You know, I'm wondering how many answered thinking that this was the question

 

[riggles]

I've never replaced my Mac Pro. Although it wasn't until this past December that I bought my first one, but who's counting. I've upgraded the graphics cards and HDD/SSD. Don't think I'll do much else to her for a while.

Typically, I replace my Macs every 3 years. I like having a Mac under warranty (my refurbished 5,1 is actually under warranty still for another year) and my needs sometimes change (desktop/notebook). Also, technology or design improves enough in 3 years to attract my attention and I've always gotten good reselling value from my Macs.

 

[applereviewguy]

-2007 MacBook
-2009 MacBook Pro
-2010 MacBook Pro
-2011 iMac 27" i7
-2012 Hackintosh
-2006 Mac Pro
-2012 Retina MacBook Pro
-2008 Mac Pro

At this point I only own the 2008 Mac Pro, rMBP, and the 2007 MacBook. It's hard to get rid of your first, ya know?

I only bought the Mac Pro a few weeks ago, but I've dropped in 32GB RAM, and I have a 280X I am working on making a Mac card right now (already got bootscreens )

My dad owns the 2006 though. Also heavily upgraded. (X5365s, 8GB RAM, Crossfire 4870's, 120GB SSD)

 

[slughead]

I misinterpreted the question.

I upgrade my trusty MacPro 1,1 every other year with RAM, CPU, GPU or SSD, whatever is the weakest part. I plan to keep it another three years minimum. Best purchase I ever made.

I think almost everyone did. If you look at the views on the threads, you find that there are thousands of people upgrading GPUs, RAM, etc all the time.

Also, especially with the nMP, the line between peripherals and "upgrades" is pretty blurrier and getting blurrier. Is an internal HD an upgrade? what about an external HD? Is a new soundcard an upgrade? what about a USB sound card?

 

[crjackson2134]

You know, I'm wondering how many answered thinking that this was the question

Probably a few to be sure... Look at the 1st choice on the poll. It should have never been there unless upgrades were included. MacPro's aren't updated every year.

 

[AppleDroid]

My assumption was "how often do you replace your Mac Pro with a brand new Mac pro". If I included every upgrade (ram, hdd etc) it'd be once every 2 years at least.

 

[Riwam]

Thanks for your kind thoughts - I certainly HOPE I do. I lost my Dear Wife at age 67 last October.

Lou

...........
Sorry to hear about losing your wife.
I cannot even imagine my life without my wife.
I hope I go first since I am older.
Sorry for you.
It is fine that you still keep so active and interested in so many things.
My admiration to you
Ed