Has anybody here anything negative to write about Mac Distributors base din Las Vegas. They offer very sweet deals on refurbished Mac Pros, and I am just wondering where the catch is?
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Mac Distributors
- Thread starter newmontecristo
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All I see is that their eBay score is 99.6%. That includes both buying and selling. It looks like they buy a lot CPU chips, RAM and video cards, so they must either replace and/or upgrade components. Nothing scares me here. What exactly are you looking for?
Lou
Lou
Take your money and run some where else. They don't deliver what's promised.
Has that been your experience, could you please elaborate?
I am supposed to get a 3.33mhz 6 core 5.1 from them. They make clear that they refurbish, pretty much building the computer in 2009 cases but putting in it all the components of a 5.1 machine, meaning as I understand it, a 2010 motherboard and a 3.33 CPU.
Hope you get legit parts, and they don't just sell a hackintosh in a mac pro box with KEXTs to make it look legit.
Or that.
Let me put it this way, I bought from them at was not happy with the results or the product I received. The case was beat to crap with the seriel numbers scratched off. My advice is run far and buy a new or refurb from Apple and build your own as I did with my second Mac Pro. Read the negative Ebay feedback
And that will tell you.
It is true that there are not very explicit about where the parts come from. On another hand, they give a 3 years warranty, and I had them specify in the invoice that they would pay for all returns. In the end that is what made the difference for me. Apple does not have any refurbs, and all the other ones on the market seem to be similar on paper, just more expensive and often without warranty. Of course I understand that the warranty might be somewhat of an illusion, yet not totally bogus either.
How would you tell upon receiving the machine that it is a 5.1, and one up to speed?
They claim that they install Apple full specs memory. How do you verify that?
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The simplest (although not completely accurate) explanation is that they take a 2009 motherboard and force the 2010 software onto it, therefore making the CPU work.
Assuming that's what they do (I went through the first 9 pages of that thread), in the end is there anything wrong with that? Aren't the performances the same then?
Are you ok with buying a 2010 car if the seller is in fact selliing you a 2009 with an edited registration card?
That kind of patching is something someone does to extend the life of a product they already own. If they are selliing a patched 2009 then they should say it's a 2009 and not a 2010. The rest of the components are one year older after all.
There are eBay sellers that convert/hack a 4.1 Mac Pro into a 5.1 Mac Pro without disclosing this to the buyer and selling the machine at a higher price. The issue is that some sellers are not upfront and honest in stating this in their eBay for sale ad. Buyers usually prefer buying a stock , genuine 5.1 Mac Pro for the corresponding price level. If it's a hacked 4.1 machine, the seller should disclose this and price this lower.
Performance wise a 4.1 or 5.1 are both good. Try checking other sellers like MacofAllTrades to widen your choice
The point is that I'd like to be sure that your analogy is accurate. The questions are:
* Is there a physical difference between a 2009 and a 2010 model, if the 2009 has been upgraded to a 2010 model through a firmware update that makes it a 5.1?
* Can one tell that an upgraded 2009 is actually just that, other than through its S.N.
* Are the performances of a 2009 model that has been upgraded to a 2010 model through a firmware update (making it a 5.1) less than an original 5.1 from 2010?
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I have checked them, sure enough, they don't have a 3.33mgz. Those machines appear to be rather rare, and apart from those that are re-built the few original ones are typically asked too much for. The price difference between a vintage one and a new one still available from B&H is too small. Hence the interest of what Mac Distributors and a coupe of others offer, as long as it is technically sound, which is what I am trying to determine here, since I am no geek.
if it is a 2009 mac pro then it will have more wear and tear on the parts, and while you can flash a 4.1 to 5.1 there are small changes like the CPU spring thing etc..
it's miss selling is also a problem at least a moral problem while it may be the same speed it's not the same thing it is a '4.1 flashed to a 5.1' not a '5.1'
but i dont know the shop that's just how it looks from whats been mentioned.
ask clearly in advance what it is and if your not happy clam it back on pay pal as not the advertised item and get them to arrange pickup.
i think you can check by SN (if it's still there) or system preff but you will have to aske some one with more knowledge.
it's miss selling is also a problem at least a moral problem while it may be the same speed it's not the same thing it is a '4.1 flashed to a 5.1' not a '5.1'
but i dont know the shop that's just how it looks from whats been mentioned.
ask clearly in advance what it is and if your not happy clam it back on pay pal as not the advertised item and get them to arrange pickup.
i think you can check by SN (if it's still there) or system preff but you will have to aske some one with more knowledge.
Umm.. Apple definitely sells refurb Mac Pros.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro
Yes but they do not have any 3.33ghz and they don't upgrade what they sell refurbished, it is sold "as is."
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I made sure to specify that I was buying a computer with a 2009 case but a 2010 motherboard. So in essence it they end up shipping a 2009 motherboard upgraded into a 2010 one, that is not the same, and you are absolutely right, I could then interrupt the process or have them pick it up (the machine has not been shipped yet). I just wanted to make sure if there was an actual difference between the two, and it seems that it is little, yet enough to warrant probing.
I'll call them soon to clarify the matter.
Thanks,
This alone is a red flag to me. I would definitely pass and seek out a genuine/original product.
but if it's cheep and works might be ok..
up to you,
i know scrumpymacs clearly labels upgraded macpro's.
personally i only trust warranty's from big brands that i know i can trust, but it is a nice bonus.
ebay/paypal give you some protection, if your not happy try to return it then try paypal if it's a real problem, iv not had to do that yet so im not 100% on how it work's
i think your ok as long as the product is miss sold, not as advertised etc?
up to you,
i know scrumpymacs clearly labels upgraded macpro's.
personally i only trust warranty's from big brands that i know i can trust, but it is a nice bonus.
ebay/paypal give you some protection, if your not happy try to return it then try paypal if it's a real problem, iv not had to do that yet so im not 100% on how it work's
i think your ok as long as the product is miss sold, not as advertised etc?
Me, I like to buy new "stuff" - but that's just me. In the past I have always bought new, at the end of life Macs and then I modify (make it mine). My last Mac, a brand new 2010 dual 2.4 quad core is only 6 weeks old and has been modified. I assume I have thrown the Apply warrantee out the window. Everything in it was bought new, except the CPUs, they were seller refurbished, but it's been my experience that CPUs seldom fail.
Lou
Lou
So I exchanged email with Mac Distributors, and they assured me that they were not installing 2009 motherboards "upgraded" into 2010, 5.1 ones. They added that and that the serial numbers inside the machine would confirm that and that anyway they offer full refunds and pay for returns.
They also said that they were aware of this thread and would post here when "they have time."
The interesting thing is that if what they say is true, there is a S.N. on a motherboard and that allows to track what that motherboard was originally.
Can anybody confirm that?
Thanks,
The second link, Apple serial number info is actually helpful to determine if the model was hacked or not. There was an eBay seller selling a 2009 Mac Pro 2.93ghz 8 core. I checked the serial number of the machine using the above link and it showed the machine was actually a 2.26 8 core base model. It should say "CTO" if it was an original 2.93ghz 8 core.
Thanks Lou, I look forward to see the results with the S.N. when I get the computer.