Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is a 2008 Mac Pro worth 1500?
- Thread starter mayhone1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What model specifically?
Anyway, you can upgrade the RAM to at least 32 GB, maybe even more.
You can upgrade the GPU.
You can upgrade the HDDs and even get an SSD or six.
And you can expand its connections via PCI cards.
Anyway, you can upgrade the RAM to at least 32 GB, maybe even more.
You can upgrade the GPU.
You can upgrade the HDDs and even get an SSD or six.
And you can expand its connections via PCI cards.
Last edited:
It has a dual quad core intel xeon processor that clocks in at 2.8 ghz each, thats all I know for now, It's on craigslist.
For reference, in late October 2011 I bought my 2008 Mac Pro eight-core 2.8GHz from MacOfAllTrades.com for...
$1500.
It came with the 8800GT video card, 8 GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and OS 10.5 preinstalled (I cloned the drive as a disk image when it arrived and then re-formatted and did a fresh install of 10.6). It didn't include a mouse, keyboard, documentation, or install discs, but it did include a 90-day warranty (sufficient for me).
I thought it was a pretty good (though not necessarily mind-blowing) deal. Much better than what I saw on Craigslist or Ebay at the time.
Hope this helps.
I wouldn't buy it for that price. $1150.00 or lower maybe. New Quad 2.8 is 2499.00 and slightly faster (refurb 2010 is 2120.00). 4 years on a computer is already pretty decent wear. Even a Xeon based one. It's probably "worth" close to 1500.00 but I wouldn't do it. Not when you can get a 2010 for a couple hundred more.
I'd look for a 2009 around that price or lower. They come up occasionally, and people on this forum have successfully upgraded them to hexacore status. If it comes with the stock gpu and you need OpenCL for any reason (such as if you intend to buy FCPX), that card would have to be upgraded. Ram is extremely expensive for that machine.
It's just too easy to approach the cost of a newer machine with necessary upgrades or very basic repairs. The mac pros sell for quite a lot used relative to their age because they're low volume machines. If a new one comes out in the near future (remember other oems still haven't released sandy bridge E machines) you may see a lot of used 2009s hit the market. A year from now those 2008 machines will be on craigslist for $800. It just reaches a point where they're no longer worth it because the machine starts to seem slow by current standards and the components remain expensive.
I know you weren't sure which one he meant at the time, but ram is just really terribly expensive on that machine. We're reaching a tipping point where it's becoming cheaper to get 32GB in 4 dimms on a newer machine than via 8 dimms in the older machine. Gpu upgrades are possible, but you really pay for them (5870 still $450). At some point it starts to make sense to just buy a newer machine and spend less on upgrades than an older machine with a lot spent on upgrades. A 2009 machine upgraded to a hex would just completely smoke this machine, especially on applications with lesser core scaling given the newer architecture and higher clock (I know the mhz war is over but this is a higher clock speed with higher performance per clock cycle).
It's just too easy to approach the cost of a newer machine with necessary upgrades or very basic repairs. The mac pros sell for quite a lot used relative to their age because they're low volume machines. If a new one comes out in the near future (remember other oems still haven't released sandy bridge E machines) you may see a lot of used 2009s hit the market. A year from now those 2008 machines will be on craigslist for $800. It just reaches a point where they're no longer worth it because the machine starts to seem slow by current standards and the components remain expensive.
I know you weren't sure which one he meant at the time, but ram is just really terribly expensive on that machine. We're reaching a tipping point where it's becoming cheaper to get 32GB in 4 dimms on a newer machine than via 8 dimms in the older machine. Gpu upgrades are possible, but you really pay for them (5870 still $450). At some point it starts to make sense to just buy a newer machine and spend less on upgrades than an older machine with a lot spent on upgrades. A 2009 machine upgraded to a hex would just completely smoke this machine, especially on applications with lesser core scaling given the newer architecture and higher clock (I know the mhz war is over but this is a higher clock speed with higher performance per clock cycle).
Last edited:
I agree with looking for a 2009 model for the same price or even a bit more. Upgrading RAM is SO much cheaper in 2009 models vs 2008 (8GB for $250 I think? vs. < $100)
Unless it comes with a really good graphics card and upgraded RAM (8GB or more) or even a good monitor, I personally would not pay $1500 for it. If it comes with the Nvidia 8800GT, it might even conk out on you soon. Mine did a few months ago.
If you're in an area where Mac Pro's show up on classifieds now and then, I'd say shop around for a better deal.
Unless it comes with a really good graphics card and upgraded RAM (8GB or more) or even a good monitor, I personally would not pay $1500 for it. If it comes with the Nvidia 8800GT, it might even conk out on you soon. Mine did a few months ago.
If you're in an area where Mac Pro's show up on classifieds now and then, I'd say shop around for a better deal.
Got my 2009 for $1200 on ebay (motivated seller, on average same spec was going for $1800 or more). Came with keyboard, mouse, 3.6GB WD drives, 8GB ram, GT120, SL install disc. Point is, be patient. You can find a better deal. I searched for a few months. Good luck.
The thing I have noticed with Mac Pro's is that, for whatever reason, they seem to hold their value. Many of you think, next year they'll drop in price, so far, I've been watching them over the past year, they don't drop much at all. First gen intel Mac Pro 1,1's still command anywhere from $700 to over $1000, they may not get the high end price but thats the range. I upgraded from a Mac Pro 1,1 to a 3,1 with 16GB of RAM and it cost me just under $1000 with trading in my 1,1 which had 9GB of RAM. 2008 models are good machines, 64bit, 8 cores, the only downside is they still use FB DIMMS which are expensive. If you can get a 2009 model for $1500 or less, which I think would be tough, then go for it. If you want to get a 2008 model, then get one with as much RAM as possible so you don't have to buy it afterwards.
Yeah... I own a Mac Pro. Model 2008.
My upgrades over time:
- Grfx card to Radeon 5870
- RAM to 8 GB
- 2 new 1 TB HDs
You'll probably spend over $ 500 to update it.
But, If you have inside that Mac Pro:
- Radeon 4870
- 8 GB RAM
- > 1.5 TB HD's
THEN you wouldn't have to upgrade at all, and then $ 1500 is a very good deal.
My upgrades over time:
- Grfx card to Radeon 5870
- RAM to 8 GB
- 2 new 1 TB HDs
You'll probably spend over $ 500 to update it.
But, If you have inside that Mac Pro:
- Radeon 4870
- 8 GB RAM
- > 1.5 TB HD's
THEN you wouldn't have to upgrade at all, and then $ 1500 is a very good deal.
I wanna do the same thing as you. I have a friend who offered me $1000,(but think I should be able to get $1200 on Craig's list)