Mac pro buying advice

[David-fr]

Hey all,

Need some input from ya'll. I came across a first gen, quad core 2.66 ghz xenon mac pro. It looks like is all stock, except for the ram, it has 9gb, for 170 usd

My needs are for a machine that is always on, or can wake up on demand, that is headless and runs windows 7.

I use windows 7 media center as a dvr and cable box through a cable card decoder (HD Home run prime). This machine is in my walk in closet and my xbox 360 at multiple rooms connect to this machine via windows media center extender to watch recorded channels or live tv.

The problem with my current machine is that is old. It runs a c2d, is a HP slim line machine, it needs to go. I can't stream to more than 2 xbox as the machine's resources struggle and the output bandwidth gets clogged. I have all wired through gigabit ethernet.

I also have a 2012 mini, which i thought of using for this porpuse, but came accross this mac pro and is a hard deal to pass, I think.

My concerns with the pro are: Power, seems too power hungry? Noise? How does it compare in terms of power against my other electronics? TV, fridge, etc.. Is this a good deal? I'd be happier having another mini for this purpose, but for that money i can built a windows machine that is small too. So yeah, main concern is how energy efficient this machine is? At idle, sleeping and then while on.

Thank you!!

Oh, and why can't this run Yosemite?

 

[GameFreak348]

The CPUS are really bad for today. I would advise you to get it and buy the newest cpus for it you can. they are pretty cheap

 

[ixxx69]

The CPUS are really bad for today. I would advise you to get it and buy the newest cpus for it you can. they are pretty cheap

And the CPU will still suck. That's 8 year old CPU architecture. This isn't a 4.1 or 5.1 (and even the best CPUs those can sport are getting rather creaky). That CPU isn't going to be much better than the C2D he's sporting now.

To the OP - save your money and get another Mac Mini, even a used one of more recent vintage. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Acronyc]

If you're worried about energy efficiency, I'd second the Mac mini option. They are very energy efficient, super quiet, and from 2011 up they'll be faster than your current C2D and the cheap MP. The MP might seem like a good deal now, but once you start putting some money into it to bring it up to speed you'll be approaching what you would have spent on a mini, which will be a lot quieter, use less energy, and take up a lot less space.