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Is this a good deal on a Mac Pro?

H

Horttiger22

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 2, 2014
7
0
Good deal on a pro?
I really don't know much about the pro's. I have only ever used macs but never ventured into the pro arena as honestly I have never needed that much power. I am looking for something to replace my 2007 MacBook Pro that has since turned into a desktop with its cracked frame around the screen. So I was just wondering if anyone out there could just give me an opinion as to wether this would be a good long term computer or possibly turn into a money pit.

This is the description for it:
Apple Intel Mac Pro Quad Core + 27" Display & Adobe CS5 Final Cut Pro - $850
I am selling my Intel Quad Core Mac Pro. It is VERY fast and has ZERO problems. Adult owned and cared for since new. Complete package, Mac Pro, NEW 27 inch LED Display, Apple Keyboard and Apple mouse.

It runs great and has TONS of Great software installed on the hard drives, FULL versions, NO demos.

I have done a clean install and left all my software on the hard drive, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, Final Cut Studio which includes Final Cut Pro 7, Studio Pro, Filemaker Pro 11 Advanced, iLife, iWork, Toast 10 Titanium, Microsoft Office and Apple's Aperutre.

Mac OS 10.7.5 Lion installed
Quad Core 2.66 Ghz. 4 Intel Xeon Processors
One Fast SATA 250 GB Hard Drive 7200 RPM
Three more Hard Drive Bay's open in tower
4 GB of ram, upgradable to 64 Gigs
Apple Superdrive installed, burns CD / DL-DVD's
One more Optical bay open in tower for Burner or SSD drive
4 USB 2.0 Ports
Firewire 400 and 800 ports
Dual 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port to use as a server if needed
Dual DVI Video Ports on super fast 512 mb. Apple Video card
Apple Pro Keyboard and Apple pro mouse included as well.
BRAND NEW 27 inch LED Display with 2 HDMI ports and SVGA with warranty.

*** The software included would be great for Photography or Film / Video Editing, you would pay way more for the software that you will for this computer.

Cash only, Firm on price, this is a great deal for someone. Please feel free to come by and test drive before you buy. I will not reply to any email that asks "Is this still available", if this ad is still up then it is still for sale.

Please put "MacPro" in the subject line so I know you are human. THANKS

Brand new 27inch aos brand led monitor with two hemisphere inputs
 
I'd stay away - it looks like a Mac Pro 1,1 - the first generation.

For $850 you can do a LOT better - it's only a great deal for the seller.
 
The software installed comes without a license, so it's not yours. Therefore the software value is zip. Oh, no Mac ever shipped with "4 Intel Xeon Processors".

The Brand of the display is not shown.

However, I don't think it's a 1,1 - to me it looks like a 4,1 - Firewire 800.

If the Mac is inexcellent shape and the display is a quality piece it may be worth the price.

However you will need to upgrade the RAM and Video Card.


Lou
 
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The original Mac Pro had 2 firewire 400 and 2 firewire 800. Sounds like a first gen to me, stay away, you can get a 3,1 for that kind of money and it will run Mavericks at least.
 
Naimfan said:
I'd stay away - it looks like a Mac Pro 1,1 - the first generation.

For $850 you can do a LOT better - it's only a great deal for the seller.
Click to expand...

Thanks I was thinking that all the bells and whistles were more smoke and mirrors. What should I look for in a pro? Everything on eBay seems to be a tower only and close to 800. I would like to get keyboard mouse and monitor.

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flowrider said:
If the Mac is inexcellent shape and the display is a quality piece it may be worth the price.

However you will need to upgrade the RAM and Video Card.


Lou
Click to expand...

I asked and he said a brand new 27 inch AOS led monitor with hdmi inputs best monitor by cnet 2012... After only poking around here for a little bit I found out about the iOS maxing out @10.7.5, which he said yeah this one does max out there. So I am already looking at installing an AirPort Extreme card and never being able to get past 10.7.5
 
Horttiger22 said:
Thanks I was thinking that all the bells and whistles were more smoke and mirrors. What should I look for in a pro? Everything on eBay seems to be a tower only and close to 800. I would like to get keyboard mouse and monitor.

----------



I asked and he said a brand new 27 inch AOS led monitor with hdmi inputs best monitor by cnet 2012... After only poking around here for a little bit I found out about the iOS maxing out @10.7.5, which he said yeah this one does max out there. So I am already looking at installing an AirPort Extreme card and never being able to get past 10.7.5
Click to expand...

I'd suggest separating your search. Look for a 2009 Mac Pro (It is a 4,1) and get your monitor separately. Bundles on eBay of Mac Pro and monitor rarely appear to offer good value. You'll be able to find a good MP in your price range, and a number of sellers will include the mouse and keyboard. Then get a decent but inexpensive monitor to tide you over until you can get one you're really happy with (or stretch if you can now to get a good one).

The one you asked about is a MP 1,1 from 2006, so it's up there age-wise for a computer. As an estimate, the seller's package is worth about half what he's asking (the software is worthless since the licenses are not being transferred).

If you can be just a bit patient you'll land a great system!
 
Have to agree with just about everything above. I actually just purchased a very similar machine to the one described here, though I paid $70 for it, not $850. As a real daily driver computer, the 1,1 and even the 3,1 cMPs aren't really cutting it if you're doing heavy work or gaming. If you're in the market for a cMP, make sure to go with a 4,1 UNLESS you find a GREAT deal on an older model. My 3,1 cost me $100, and my 1,1 cost me $70. Had spare parts lying around, and the upgrades I stuck in my 3,1 can be carried into another machine when I upgrade again.
-N
 
NOTNlCE said:
Have to agree with just about everything above. I actually just purchased a very similar machine to the one described here, though I paid $70 for it, not $850. As a real daily driver computer, the 1,1 and even the 3,1 cMPs aren't really cutting it if you're doing heavy work or gaming.
-N
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll be honest I was probably about to bite the bullet and get this thing very glad I didn't considering you got one for $70. I doubt I am doing heavy work or gaming I do like the idea of being able to actually work on the pro myself vs the iMac or MacBook Pro. I'm more of a recreational user, but who knows what's around the corner. I have thoroughly enjoyed and loved my MacBook Pro but it's dragging and the frame around the hinges and side have started cracking.
 
ashman70 said:
The original Mac Pro had 2 firewire 400 and 2 firewire 800. Sounds like a first gen to me, stay away, you can get a 3,1 for that kind of money and it will run Mavericks at least.
Click to expand...

You're right it did. And, yes, the more I read - it does sound like a 1,1. And Yes - Stay Far Away!!!!

Lou
 
Is eBay the best/easiest place to look for deals, or is there somewhere in the forums that has stuff for sale?
 
Horttiger22 said:
Is eBay the best/easiest place to look for deals, or is there somewhere in the forums that has stuff for sale?
Click to expand...

eBay is one of the best place to buy. Just need to choose a reliable seller and carefully take note of the details in the sellers ad content. Try to look for sellers that show the actual photo of the Mac Pro instead of a stock image. Mac of All Trades is another website to check out. If you will be using the Mac Pro as a hobby and you anticipate upgrading and tinkering in the future, a 4.1 2009 Mac Pro may be the choice. Good luck.
 
Horttiger22 said:
Thanks! I'll be honest I was probably about to bite the bullet and get this thing very glad I didn't considering you got one for $70. I doubt I am doing heavy work or gaming I do like the idea of being able to actually work on the pro myself vs the iMac or MacBook Pro. I'm more of a recreational user, but who knows what's around the corner. I have thoroughly enjoyed and loved my MacBook Pro but it's dragging and the frame around the hinges and side have started cracking.
Click to expand...


$70 for 1,1 and $90 for 3,1 are extremely rare as in parts machines and even that should be more.

You should be able to get a 1,1 for about $350 and $3,1 500 if you look hard enough.
If you see a unit with tons of ram already then ok go for it, but look up pricing for ddr2 fbdimm buffered 667 for 1,1 and 800 speed for 3,1 and you will see pricing is way way more than any ddr3 that 4,1 Mac Pro would take.

Now for $70 I would have snatched the 1,1 as well if it needed a hard drive or two or lets say 2more GB of ram or something like that.
 
adam9c1 said:
$70 for 1,1 and $90 for 3,1 are extremely rare as in parts machines and even that should be more.

You should be able to get a 1,1 for about $350 and $3,1 500 if you look hard enough.
If you see a unit with tons of ram already then ok go for it, but look up pricing for ddr2 fbdimm buffered 667 for 1,1 and 800 speed for 3,1 and you will see pricing is way way more than any ddr3 that 4,1 Mac Pro would take.

Now for $70 I would have snatched the 1,1 as well if it needed a hard drive or two or lets say 2more GB of ram or something like that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, real deals on my end for sure. The 1,1 was "non functional," but for $70, I couldn't pass it up. Just needed a new graphics card. I found both my deals on Craigslist, and funnily enough, they were both listed under the "Mac G5" search tag. That seems to be where the deals are is when an unknowing person just wants to get rid of this huge brick of aluminum in their house. That being said, IF you can get a deal like this on a cMP, by all means, go for it. The RAM risers and processors in the 1,1 I purchased were worth way more than $70, even if I wasn't able to get it functioning.

Good luck with your search!
 
I'm 90% certain it a 1,1. If the machine was owned by a Pro, they would have probably kept the machine Up-To-Date. That being said, 10.7.5 is the last version of OS X that will run on 1,1 and 2,1 machines as both are EFI32. EFI64 didn't come around until the 3,1. They can both run 10.8 and 10.9 unofficially. I believe their is a guide here on MacRumors to do that as well.

I'd recommend getting a 2009 or newer. The reason is because the RAM is cheaper since you don't have to use those big and expensive FB-DIMMS. Parts are more expensive as they are (mostly) interchangeable between the 4,1 (2009) and 5,1 (2010/2012). The 2009 and newer also use SATA ODDs, but 2008 and earlier machines are easier to upgrade to SATA III (6Gbps).

Stay with 2009 or newer is my recommendation if you want a Pro, but no later then 2008. If you want to keep it for a long time, go with 2010 or newer.
 
If it's a 1,1 then that's quite expensive however it depends what you'll be using it for, ideally a 3,1 at least, but my 1,1 hasn't even stopped for my music production needs, it flies through everything. So the 1,1 & 2,1 aren't as bad as everyone makes out.
 
I have the perfect computer for you...

Go to the eBay link below... This guy sells 8-Core 2008 Mac Pro's with 4GB ram for only $645!! I have one right now, it came with microsoft office 2011 and the newsiest iWork collection. It also came with mavericks installed on it. Its a great running computer. For 645 you can not beat it. I would get from this guy if I were you. I also bought 2 24' Acer monitors for about $140 each and I like them a lot, crystal clear. For under 1000 you can't beat it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/261371046439?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
 
mikewebberross said:
Go to the eBay link below... This guy sells 8-Core 2008 Mac Pro's with 4GB ram for only $645!! I have one right now, it came with microsoft office 2011 and the newsiest iWork collection. It also came with mavericks installed on it. Its a great running computer. For 645 you can not beat it. I would get from this guy if I were you. I also bought 2 24' Acer monitors for about $140 each and I like them a lot, crystal clear. For under 1000 you can't beat it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/261371046439?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
Click to expand...

Not worth it, in my opinion. With only 4GB of RAM and a baseline video card, you're going to be putting more than another $200 into upgrades for something that's going to perform even adequately under today's standards, plus you're running an obsolete architecture without hyper-threading. I wouldn't buy a 3,1 without upgrades for any more than $400. I threw $200 into my 3,1 after I purchased it for $200, and that included a monitor. For that price, you're better off getting a machine with native SATA III or a decent GPU.
 
The machine is an A1186, "1,1" Mac Pro, for the price and it's age ild say NO. Stay in the market and try to purchase a "4,1" 2009 model. I own a 2009 2.26GHZ 8core that im upgrading and in the long run it's MUCH cheaper to build and update than a 1,1 could ever be. August 2006 1,1's are slow compared to modern day standereds whilst the 2009 4,1 models can be updated and upgraded. Even with the bundle it's overpriced.

The only reason I say it's a 2006 1,1 model is the fact it's running 10.7.5 and that's the last release of OSX for that model. If it was the 2009 quad 2.66 it would of been updated to keep with the times.
 
AkuskaUK said:
The machine is an A1186, "1,1" Mac Pro, for the price and it's age ild say NO. Stay in the market and try to purchase a "4,1" 2009 model. I own a 2009 2.26GHZ 8core that im upgrading and in the long run it's MUCH cheaper to build and update than a 1,1 could ever be. August 2006 1,1's are slow compared to modern day standereds whilst the 2009 4,1 models can be updated and upgraded. Even with the bundle it's overpriced.

The only reason I say it's a 2006 1,1 model is the fact it's running 10.7.5 and that's the last release of OSX for that model. If it was the 2009 quad 2.66 it would of been updated to keep with the times.
Click to expand...

+1

The '09s didn't have FireWire 400 ports, and came standard with a 250GB Hard Drive, if you needed more assurance that this is an '06.
 
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