Opinions on upgrade of '06 to' 08

[dbnoho]

Hi all, I would appreciate some opinions if possible. I have a 2006 Mac Pro that is maxed out. Minus an ssd drive and memory. The computer works well and does all the CS6 applications I need of it. However a person I trust with computers offered to sell me the add below for $750 and I keep my Hd and graphics card. Do you all think it's worth the $750 to go from an 2006 with a geek bench of 10300* to a '08 with a 12560? Or should I just opt for a 2009 and considering I can always drop in a w3680 at some point. Any advice would be appreciated.

*

MacPro 3,1 ( 2008 model )

Eight Core 3 GHz CPU ( 2 x Quad Core X5472 Intel Xeons . Processors have been freshly re-thermal pasted .)

16 GB 667 MHz FB-DIMM memory ($50 value)

ATI Radeon HD 4870 genuine Mac Edition 512 MB Vram with one DVI and one MiniDisplay port . Open CL capable . ($125 value) . 1 TB SATA II HDD boot Hard Disk Drive .

DVD-RW Dual Layer optical burner . Read and write CD and DVD discs . Apple shipping drive .

Internal bluetooth card , apple .

Internal WiFi card, apple . 802.11 N .

2 external Port USB 3.0 PCIe Card . 235 MB/s sequential throughput per port . Native and universal driver .

Has OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks freshly installed with all updates .

known issues : none .

64 bit Geekbench3 MultiCore = 12506 . (Baseline 2012 model 3.2 GHz Quad Mac Pro 64 bit Geekbench3 MultiCore = 9541 ) . Item passed all diagnostics and a long burn in and is ready to use now .ello, I would just like some opinions.

 

[Marty62]

NO, doesn't make sense to do that for $750, perhaps a couple of years ago but
not now.

Get a 4,1/5,1 and there are many more upgrade options.

It will cost a little more but that GB score increase was "nominal" and you
wouldn't feel it at all.

M.

 

[NOTNlCE]

Believe it or not, there is almost NO CPU based benefit from going to a maxed 1,1 to a 3,1. There is a small FSB incease from the E5300s to E5400s, but performance above that is MARGINAL. You're looking at a Geekbench improvement of 2000 points, which you have stated, but look at the Geekbench of a 4,1 or 5,1 - even a 6 core with a W5580 gives you above 15K. I agree wholeheartedly with Marty, and most other forum members will tell you that a 3,1 and below isn't worth the investment unless you can get them for super cheap.

 

[flowrider]

+1 - I agree with the above two posters. Go with your option #2.

Lou

 

[pertusis1]

+1

Definitely go to the 4,1 version. There are a lot of reasons, but I would consider this a no-brainer. Keep your current working computer until you can afford the upgrade, but don't go to a 3,1 now.

 

[thekev]

Too much money for the 3,1. For a net cost of $750, you should be in range of a 4,1. A 3,1 for that isn't worth it.

 

[ashman70]

Agree with all the other posters here, 2-3 yrs ago maybe, but not now, the 3,1 is too long in the tooth to invest that much in, the shift in tech from 3,1 to 4,1 is huge and makes the 4,1-5,1 last that much longer with far more upgrade possibilities. Invest your money in something that will last, 3,1's are dead.

 

[Naimfan]

Not worth it.

If you could buy the 3,1 as configured for a couple hundred bucks, maybe. But $750 and a little patience will find you a good 4,1.

 

[adam9c1]

The person you trust with computers is trying to rip you off. He is trying to offload a machine.

For $750 you can buy a lower end quad core 4,1.

Get that, transfer over your drives. Then transfer the drive the 4,1 came with to your 1,1 and sell for about 300.

Good luck.
In December I bought 4,1 2.66 dual quad with 16GB ram for $1200

Sold my 3,1 dual quad 2.8 with 24GB ram and three hard drives, monitor, keyboard, mouse on craigslist for $950. It sold the next day.