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I lust after a nMP, but its insane what I could build with the money

P

Phonzoxd

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 28, 2013
695
538
If I configure the nMP to my satisfaction (6C, 16GB, 256GB storage, D700) it would come out to $4600 + tax.

If I do a big upgrade to my current computer by the end of this year (Haswell Extreme edition thats expected to be 8 Cores, 32GB ram, new X99 Mobo, a Titan 2 or 2x GTX 880) Im only looking to spend under 3K.

Can someone ease my lust?
 
Phonzoxd said:
If I configure the nMP to my satisfaction (6C, 16GB, 256GB storage, D700) it would come out to $4600 + tax.

If I do a big upgrade to my current computer by the end of this year (Haswell Extreme edition thats expected to be 8 Cores, 32GB ram, new X99 Mobo, a Titan 2 or 2x GTX 880) Im only looking to spend under 3K.

Can someone ease my lust?
Click to expand...

building a pc is like buying a car once you drive it off the lot its price goes down 20%.

mac pro is basically good for final cut..if thats what your doing than go with the mac pro, if your going to game and use adobe apps go with the pc.

the mac pro is sexy and comes with bragging rights around here.
 
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Would you be running the X99 rig as a Hackintosh? In a demanding pro environment? Everyone's tolerance for setup hassle and quirky behavior is different, but after trying that for a while, real Apple hardware seems well worth the price of admission.
 
ZnU said:
Would you be running the X99 rig as a Hackintosh? In a demanding pro environment? Everyone's tolerance for setup hassle and quirky behavior is different, but after trying that for a while, real Apple hardware seems well worth the price of admission.
Click to expand...

Honestly, Im not a professional in anyway. For either options it would mostly just because I want the hardware.

Mac because well I always wanted a Mac, so why not go for the top of line Mac.

The new PC, because well they are amazing consumer parts, and it would be good for pretty much anything I want to do, Games, and such.
 
Look at it in the terms of vehicles.

The nMP is a mid-sized pickup. Comes with a decent warranty.

You could buy an older model pickup, change the engine, exhaust, etc, and perhaps get something that's faster and carries more, but you are also supporting it yourself, and no warranty.

You could also build a rice rocket that's much faster, but doesn't carry as much.

If you have the tech skills, and don't mind being under the hood a lot, then sure, build your own.

Myself, I like the warranty, and knowing that I'll get at least 150,000 miles out of it.
 
Phonzoxd said:
Can someone ease my lust?
Click to expand...

Macs hold their value well. Today a 6-year Mac Pro can sell for several hundred dollars. Even an 8-year old Mac Pro can sell for a few hundred dollars.

6-year old self-built PCs are basically worthless. 8-year old PCs are already in the trash.

I've resold all of my Macs for a decent chunk of money, so you should consider that in your total cost of ownership. Example, if you bought a $2500 Mac Pro six years ago and sold it today for $700, then it really cost you $1800. So, if 6-years ago an $1800 PC was equivalent to a $2500 Mac but became worthless after 6 years, the total cost of ownership was exactly the same.

Did I ease your lust?
 
ActionableMango said:
Macs hold their value well. Today a 6-year Mac Pro can sell for several hundred dollars. Even an 8-year old Mac Pro can sell for a few hundred dollars.

6-year old self-built PCs are basically worthless. 8-year old PCs are already in the trash.

I've resold all of my Macs for a decent chunk of money, so you should consider that in your total cost of ownership. Example, if you bought a $2500 Mac Pro six years ago and sold it today for $700, then it really cost you $1800. So, if 6-years ago an $1800 PC was equivalent to a $2500 Mac but became worthless after 6 years, the total cost of ownership was exactly the same.

Did I ease your lust?
Click to expand...

Excellent point. My 2009 cost $3K new and sold it last month for $1000. It's actually the cheapest computer on an annualized basis that I've ever owned - before that I built PCs. :eek:
 
ActionableMango said:
Macs hold their value well. Today a 6-year Mac Pro can sell for several hundred dollars. Even an 8-year old Mac Pro can sell for a few hundred dollars.

6-year old self-built PCs are basically worthless. 8-year old PCs are already in the trash.

I've resold all of my Macs for a decent chunk of money, so you should consider that in your total cost of ownership. Example, if you bought a $2500 Mac Pro six years ago and sold it today for $700, then it really cost you $1800. So, if 6-years ago an $1800 PC was equivalent to a $2500 Mac but became worthless after 6 years, the total cost of ownership was exactly the same.

Did I ease your lust?
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Ummmm you actually did the opposite, because now you are telling me to get the more expensive nMP, lol.

But its cool, I may get the base model nMP.
 
Phonzoxd said:
If I configure the nMP to my satisfaction (6C, 16GB, 256GB storage, D700) it would come out to $4600 + tax.

If I do a big upgrade to my current computer by the end of this year (Haswell Extreme edition thats expected to be 8 Cores, 32GB ram, new X99 Mobo, a Titan 2 or 2x GTX 880) Im only looking to spend under 3K.

Can someone ease my lust?
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I don't see how you could build all of that for under 3K.
 
Got the 6 core, very happy with performance and would not hesitate to purchase again. Great machine.
 
Don't forget to factor in your labour.... unless you work for free. Also don't forget the value of the one stop warranty on the nMP. If the nMP has problem, software or hardware, it is one phone number to call and you get to make them solve the problem. With a home built system you have to figure out if the problem is SW or HW and then do fair bit of problem solving before you call for tech support.

It all depends on valuable your time is... if your valuable and you need to minimize the downtime of the computer then the price difference will seem well worth it. If your time is not that valuable then the cash savings will look more attractive. I use my computer professionally - so the one stop warranty is well worth the price. YMMV....
 
Still not helping ease your lust

What your upgraded PC will look like:
En9Mk.jpg


What your nMP will look like:
mac-pro-teardown-top.jpg
 
the new mac pro looks way better than my pc build in a windowed define r4

sold the matching black and gold evga 780 in anticipation of the 800 series
 

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Phonzoxd said:
If I configure the nMP to my satisfaction (6C, 16GB, 256GB storage, D700) it would come out to $4600 + tax.

If I do a big upgrade to my current computer by the end of this year (Haswell Extreme edition thats expected to be 8 Cores, 32GB ram, new X99 Mobo, a Titan 2 or 2x GTX 880) Im only looking to spend under 3K.

Can someone ease my lust?
Click to expand...
.......................................................................................................
I can just add my voice to the others regarding the fact of keeping value of a MacPro after several years.
My MacPro Mid 2010 8 core sold after 2 1/2 years (with still 1/2 year Apple Care) here in Switzerland for the equivalent of almost US$ 3.000.
I had added a 512GB SSD and PCIe cards for USB3 (a PITA !) and eSATA, so I certainly did not make any profit on it!!! I am not a dreamer!
However for a 2 1/2 year old PC, even a very good one, I would hardly find a buyer at all, and if found one, I would get a miserable low price.
To sell a Hackintosh should be even harder in my humble opinion.
So from the point of view of re-selling it after several years, a new MacPro seems to me certainly a good choice.
I do not mention the unique beauty of its design.
Beauty is a subjective matter. Money however is entirely a realistic criterium.
 
Don't forget that you are comparing consumer and server components, the latter being more expensive for valid reasons. Just look at the cost differences between non-ECC and ECC memory alone and the separation of price dwindle.
 
snberk103 said:
Don't forget to factor in your labour.... unless you work for free.
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This gets trotted out there a lot and it's a bit misleading. Sure, if the time it takes to do the upgrades is taken directly from time that would have been producing income, then it's a loss. But most of us have time management skills as well as free or spare time.

Besides, how many hours is this upgrade really going to take?
 
ActionableMango said:
What your upgraded PC will look like:
Image
Click to expand...

Here's what my PC looks like - 12 hard drives and all.
xBLgLV4.jpg


Not everyone wires things like an idiot :)

ActionableMango said:
What your nMP will look like:
Image
Click to expand...

I like how you brought up resale value --which is to say, future value. The machine he's talking about will be < $2000. He could basically throw it away and lose less money than keeping a nMP for that time and reselling it. You're also not factoring in upgradability. In 2 years, he can upgrade his GPU, his CPU, his motherboard, his case. In 2 years he could have a very new and different machine, with a total price still less than the nMP is today--which will be antiquated in comparison.

What does resale value matter if you're replacing the components as you need to. If the PSU and case are still good, keep them!

So, in 2 years time, his PC can still be top of the line for the money he saves today. At the same time, here's what your nMP with GPU & CPU upgrades will probably look like:

79kHAC0.jpg
 
hakkamukka said:
Don't forget that you are comparing consumer and server components, the latter being more expensive for valid reasons. Just look at the cost differences between non-ECC and ECC memory alone and the separation of price dwindle.
Click to expand...

Actually the price difference is pretty damn close nowadays. And in some cases I have found some non ecc ram even more expensive on new egg.

----------
slughead said:
Here's what my PC looks like - 12 hard drives and all.
Image

Not everyone wires things like an idiot :)



I like how you brought up resale value --which is to say, future value. The machine he's talking about will be < $2000. He could basically throw it away and lose less money than keeping a nMP for that time and reselling it. You're also not factoring in upgradability. In 2 years, he can upgrade his GPU, his CPU, his motherboard, his case. In 2 years he could have a very new and different machine, with a total price still less than the nMP is today--which will be antiquated in comparison.

What does resale value matter if you're replacing the components as you need to. If the PSU and case are still good, keep them!

So, in 2 years time, his PC can still be top of the line for the money he saves today. At the same time, here's what your nMP with GPU & CPU upgrades will probably look like:

Image
Click to expand...

That is some nice wiring.

Imagine the nMP with 12 hard drives attached to it.
 
RoastingPig said:
we have same board same power supply....are you calling me an idiot?:D jk
Click to expand...

I was referring to this image he posted. I didn't see your rig before I posted. I Can't believe we have the same stuff.

Looks like your case is pretty small. I recently moved to a Thor V2 and it removed a lot of my headaches. Huge case but big fans (silent, cool) and plenty of room to throw the cabling in the side.

I also can't believe the GTX800 are coming. I feel like I just bought this GTX780 ! DAMN!

PS: This was my situation before the new case (note the video card isn't even in yet)
ryHiV07.jpg
 
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