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Mac Pro 4,1 Buying tips!

I

ipodtouch1stgen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 21, 2014
5
0
Hi Macrumors! This is my first post and I'm excited to join you guys. I'm looking at a 4,1 Mac Pro with a 2.66 quad core processor.

Below is the specs.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-quad-core-2.66-early-2009-nehalem-specs.html

I'm buying this for 450$ Can you guys tell me if this is a good deal or not?

What kinds of things should I be looking for when examining the machine before purchase?

And finally, if I want to upgrade the GPU, what is a decent Mid-range GPU that I can use in this machine?

Also one more thing, can anyone comment on how fast this machine will be compared to a mid-2012 macbook pro non-retina 2.3 ghz i7 processor with daily tasks such as vlc and web browsing?
 
It's a great deal.

Check the diagnostics report in the system information window to see if it passes the check. In the same window go through all the devices to see if they are being recognised properly by the system.

Run Geekbench to see how it compares to other systems.

The best midrange card you can get for it is the GTX 970.

Later when you want to upgrade it some more we will show you how but for now enjoy the machine.
 
THanks for the reply!

So for the mac pro 4,1, the 64-bit single core geekbench 3 score is 2073, where as my macbook pro 2012 is 2974.

Is this a big noticeable difference?

Also the memory speed is 1600 mhz in my macbook pro where as the mac pro will go up to 1066 mhz. Will i notice this difference?

Thanks again for answering my questions. Really appreciate it.
 
ipodtouch1stgen said:
THanks for the reply!

So for the mac pro 4,1, the 64-bit single core geekbench 3 score is 2073, where as my macbook pro 2012 is 2974.

Is this a big noticeable difference?

Also the memory speed is 1600 mhz in my macbook pro where as the mac pro will go up to 1066 mhz. Will i notice this difference?

Thanks again for answering my questions. Really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I prefer multicore scores as there are hardly any productive apps that use only one core.

Buy the machine if it is fully functional. Later when you want to upgrade we will show you how to upgrade the firmware to 5,1 and then use 1333mhz memory, six core CPUs, modern graphics cards, the fastest storage, etc. this forum is the best place to learn.
 
ipodtouch1stgen said:
THanks for the reply!

So for the mac pro 4,1, the 64-bit single core geekbench 3 score is 2073, where as my macbook pro 2012 is 2974.

Is this a big noticeable difference?

Also the memory speed is 1600 mhz in my macbook pro where as the mac pro will go up to 1066 mhz. Will i notice this difference?

Thanks again for answering my questions. Really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

It's not really a valid comparison to compare you laptop to a desktop IMHO. I really doubt you'll notice the difference based on the those to given spec's.

How about these specs, do you need more than 16GB of RAM? Do you need a scratch disk? Do you need an upgradable desktop graphics card? Do you want to be able to upgrade your processor? Do you want your computer to be quiet no matter the task? Do you want ease of serviceability? Do you want another processor?

Plain specs like gigahertz and memory speed is a dishonest comparison when comparing desktop to laptop.
 
The Quad 2.66GHz 2009 is a good deal. It's low retail, high wholesale. I recommend getting the processor upgraded once you get it. It's most cost effective to a 6-Core 2.93GHz or 3.33GHz.

GPU:
GTX 285 1GB is about $150
Radeon 7950 3GB is about $300.

The 2012 Macbook Pro will run about the same speed or faster since they are both quad-core and the Macbook Pro is a newer processor model.

If you upgrade the processor and RAM in the Mac Pro, you will have a super nice system.
 
That is a really good deal and I hope you were able to snag it! I have the same model Mac Pro that I got from a recycler. I have been rebuilding and upgrading it since I got it just unde a year ago. It stands tall with a 3.33GHz Hex-Core Xeon, 16GB of RAM and two SSDs in RAID0 via my Apricorn PCI card. On disk speed, it's not as fast as my rMBP. However, on the actual processing it's much faster and awesome for editing video on (since I tend not to use H.264 for archival proposes). It's a killer workstation and will serve you well for many years to come.
 
2006 mac pro

I am looking at a Mac Pro and would like to ask what folks think about it. The price is $375 plus a 5 hour drive.

Mac Pro Dual Xeon CPU (2)
Dual Core 2.0GHz
4GB RAM
750GB Hard Drive
DVD/RW-CD/RW
OSX 10.7
Year 2006
 
pgrif said:
I am looking at a Mac Pro and would like to ask what folks think about it. The price is $375 plus a 5 hour drive.

Mac Pro Dual Xeon CPU (2)
Dual Core 2.0GHz
4GB RAM
750GB Hard Drive
DVD/RW-CD/RW
OSX 10.7
Year 2006
Click to expand...

That spec is very basic. You won't enjoy using it especially if you update the software to something modern. You should ideally go for a 2009 model minimum as it has a very good upgrade path.
 
New deal

I just found another Pro for $420 and a 6 hour drive.

"Mac Pro Dual 2.8GHz Quad Core Xeon - Apple Computer A1186
Apple Mac Pro "Eight Core" 3.0 (2,1) Specs

Awesome computer for gaming, home/office, graphics, or web server.

12 GB of RAM
Airport Extreme installed (wiFi)
OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Installed fresh and updated
300 GB internal ATA drive (2x150GB) (add 2 more for $150)
ATI Radeon 512MB Video Card, Dual DV-I Output
DVD-RW (add 1 more for $55)
OS CD is not included

Original Price (US): $3999, Est. Current Retail: $1000-$1400 (Before upgrades)"
Whats this look like?
 
Last edited:
pgrif said:
I just found another Pro for $420 and a 6 hour drive.

"Mac Pro Dual 2.8GHz Quad Core Xeon - Apple Computer A1186
Apple Mac Pro "Eight Core" 3.0 (2,1) Specs

Awesome computer for gaming, home/office, graphics, or web server.

12 GB of RAM
Airport Extreme installed (wiFi)
OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Installed fresh and updated
300 GB internal ATA drive (2x150GB) (add 2 more for $150)
ATI Radeon 512MB Video Card, Dual DV-I Output
DVD-RW (add 1 more for $55)
OS CD is not included

Original Price (US): $3999, Est. Current Retail: $1000-$1400 (Before upgrades)"
Whats this look like?
Click to expand...

It sounds like a 3,1 not 2,1. If it really is a 3,1 then it's about $50 to high IMHO if I could get it around 350 I'd probably make the drive
 
I would second the 2009 (4,1) suggestions.

The 4,1 has a much better upgrade path than the 3,1 and earlier, plus it will likely get software support a generation longer.

A stock single CPU 4,1 is usually a great value, and is flexible enough to go from general facebooking right through to gaming to most light/medium content creation.

With a simple RAM/CPU/GPU upgrade, (read on these forums a while first) it can compete quite well with more recent computers.

There is however a limit to all this though, where you can arrive at the same cost/capability as a more modern machine, with the only major advantage being that the suped up 4,1 will run OS X. For example, a six-core 4,1 to 5,1 conversion with trim supported ssd and modern graphics card will cost/perform about the same as a i7-4790K equipped PC build, but with lower single thread performance. Of course, you won't have to run Windows on the 4,1 except for gaming so there's that.

As for the modern laptop/older workstation comparison, the numbers don't really tell the whole story. Yes, the single thread performance benchmarks are significantly higher, and there are certain tasks that depend more heavily on single thread performance, but with a laptop you quickly run into the problem of heat. All modern CPUs will throttle back under high heat, and with a significant sustained load, that's exactly what your laptop will do. The 4,1 however, literally has a CPU heatsink the size (volume) of your entire laptop, so can maintain its performance level basically indefinitely.
 
lowendlinux said:
It sounds like a 3,1 not 2,1. If it really is a 3,1 then it's about $50 to high IMHO if I could get it around 350 I'd probably make the drive
Click to expand...

The Mac Pro 2,1 came with 2 x Intel X5365 3.0GHz quad core processors. Additionally the Mac Pro 2,1 came with the ATI Radeon X 1900 XT 512MB video cards. The Mac Pro 3,1 did not come with a ATI 512MB video card.
 
brand said:
The Mac Pro 2,1 came with 2 x Intel X5365 3.0GHz quad core processors. Additionally the Mac Pro 2,1 came with the ATI Radeon X 1900 XT 512MB video cards. The Mac Pro 3,1 did not come with a ATI 512MB video card.
Click to expand...

I'm confused why did you post this?
 
new deal

I just looked at this computer. Here's the info.
-Mac Pro 2008 3.1
-2 x2.8ghz Quad-core Xeon
- OS-10.7.5
-Ram- 8gb
-HD- 4TB
-Blueray and DVD/RW
-Video cards-Geforce 8800GT and GT 120
This looks like a good deal I think. It's $560.
 
Last edited:
pgrif said:
I just looked at this computer. Here's the info.
-Mac Pro 2008
-2 x2.8ghz Quad-core Xeon
- OS-10.7.5
-Ram- 8gb
-HD- 4TB
-Blueray and DVD/RW
-Video cards-Geforce 8800GT and GT 120
This looks like a good deal I think. It's $560.
Click to expand...


That sounds pretty good
 
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