MP All Models Pondering a used Mac Pro 2019 Model

[bakron1]

I currently use a 2017 iMac Pro in my home based technical documentation business with a 3.2 8 Core Xeon W, 64 gig or ram and a 2TB flash drive and it has performed perfectly for me. I mainly use it for my technical documentation files and my Adobe Lightroom and photoshop digital photography images.

I have always wanted a Mac Pro model, but as most folks know, the cost of these machine was insane and I could not justify the cost compared to buying a used iMac Pro, my current one cost me a $1000 at a local estate sale and I don't think they ever used the machine.

I was looking on eBay and seen a few of the 2019 Mac Pro machines with decent specs for under 2K, so I thinking about buying one and find a nice used studio display and would have a killer desktop machine for around 3k, I don't know much about the 2019 Mac Pro so I am looking for guidance.

 

[Regulus67]

I currently use a 2017 iMac Pro in my home based technical documentation business with a 3.2 8 Core Xeon W, 64 gig or ram and a 2TB flash drive and it has performed perfectly for me. I mainly use it for my technical documentation files and my Adobe Lightroom and photoshop digital photography images.

A great computer in my opinion. Still using mine every day.

I have always wanted a Mac Pro model, ...

I was looking on eBay and seen a few of the 2019 Mac Pro machines with decent specs for under 2K, so I thinking about buying one and find a nice used studio display and would have a killer desktop machine for around 3k, I don't know much about the 2019 Mac Pro so I am looking for guidance.

They are starting to drop to good price levels.
We have been discussing the Mac Pro 7.1 (2019) in this forum. So I would suggest you have a look at the topics discussed concerning this mac. As you are not specifying what guidance you are looking for.

https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/mac-pro.1/?prefix_id=74

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/buy-cheap-7-1-or-studio.2421880/

In one sense, the Mac Pro is in a similar situation as the iMac Pro. Apple has not approved any drivers for later AMD cards than the 6000-serie (RDNA 2 graphics architecture).
And the upgradable graphic cards were often the main argument for the Mac Pro.
You can run the latest generation, or even nvidia cards with Windows 10/11.

The Mac Pro is very easy to work with, when installing upgrades of any type. Be that CPU, GPU, memory and storage etc.
And it is quiet even under load, but so is the iMac Pro

 

[Seiko4169]

I went down the same path, no regrets as I wanted the last of the Macs that could run windows natively. Combined with an XDR display, it works flawlessly, quietly and proficiently for my game development needs and feels like an upgrade to the iMac Pro in all areas.

Note, accessories are harder to come by now and performance wise it doesn't hold a candle to my Macbook Pro with M1 Max yet alone any newer M variants.

If you want native Windows then the 7'1 is an option. If not I would seriously just invest in the newer M4 options.

Have fun either way.

 

[bakron1]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the feedback, I mainly do technical writing, photoshop and Lightroom for my digital photography stuff, the iMac Pro I currently have is a beautiful machine and works well, but I am going to move into a Mac Pro 7.1 unit.

I figure if I can find one similar to what my iMac Pro has within my budget, I will go for it. As I said my iMac Pro which has a 3.2 8 Core Xeon W, 64 gig of ram 16 gig video and a 2TB flash drive I will go for it. I have seen the majority of the Mac Pros I have looked it have at least 96 gigs of ram or better so that will work.

 

[Raunien]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the feedback, I mainly do technical writing, photoshop and Lightroom for my digital photography stuff, the iMac Pro I currently have is a beautiful machine and works well, but I am going to move into a Mac Pro 7.1 unit.

I figure if I can find one similar to what my iMac Pro has within my budget, I will go for it. As I said my iMac Pro which has a 3.2 8 Core Xeon W, 64 gig of ram 16 gig video and a 2TB flash drive I will go for it. I have seen the majority of the Mac Pros I have looked it have at least 96 gigs of ram or better so that will work.

DM privately and maybe we can figure out a price that fits your budget

 

[Regulus67]

Darn, I am in Ocala Florida and wish it had a bigger SSD, I need one with a 2TB, but I will look and see what a 2TB would cost if I were to buy and and install it myself.

Why not check iPowerResale? They sold some brand new Mac Pro 2019 recently. People reported they could even get AppleCare on those. You can find them on ebay as well.
The SSD kits are very rare, and often demand a high price

 

[pmiles]

@bakron1

Just curious, your Photoshop and Lightroom, are you on an Adobe subscription plan or do you own physical media for said products? The reason that I ask is because if you own physical media, you may not be able to install it on a different Mac. I had a 2010 Mac Pro that I had the CS suite installed on. Had to replace the system drive one day. Was unable to reinstall from media as it required authentication from Adobe servers that no longer exist. In a nutshell, you can run said software forever, so long as the system continues to run, and you never have to reinstall it.

Given the age of your current Mac, I suspect that you might be using physical media and not paying a subscription. Just thought I'd give you a head's up in case you are running a legacy version of said software. Might have more things to consider prior to upgrading.

 

[bakron1]

@bakron1

Just curious, your Photoshop and Lightroom, are you on an Adobe subscription plan or do you own physical media for said products? The reason that I ask is because if you own physical media, you may not be able to install it on a different Mac. I had a 2010 Mac Pro that I had the CS suite installed on. Had to replace the system drive one day. Was unable to reinstall from media as it required authentication from Adobe servers that no longer exist. In a nutshell, you can run said software forever, so long as the system continues to run, and you never have to reinstall it.

Given the age of your current Mac, I suspect that you might be using physical media and not paying a subscription. Just thought I'd give you a head's up in case you are running a legacy version of said software. Might have more things to consider prior to upgrading.

I have a paid subscription from Adobe and haven’t had any issues with the software running on my 2017 iMac Pro unit.

I just make sure I log into my account and disable my subscription before I switch over to a new machine, I also do the same for my MS Office suite subscription.

I always use migrate over Ethernet when transferring my files to a new machine, been doing it that way for years with zero issues.