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Used Mac Pro 2.8 8 core

J

Jroweski

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 12, 2012
3
0
Toronto
Hello out there,
I am finally upgrading my system to a new Mac Pro. I found an 8 core 2.8 (early 2008) for less than $2000 and was wondering if I should jump on it. This price includes 8 GB of RAM and a current video card. The reputable reseller states that it has been a solid industry standard and he will include a 23" Dell LED monitor. Since I am a student/Educator I can get Avid Media Composer 6.5 at a great price and I'd also like to look into FCPX. The last version of Final Cut I used was FCP5. I am not well versed in Mac Pros and want to make sure what I am getting is decent and will last me for a while.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
For that kind of money you can almost buy a refurb 2010 from the Apple store, a 2008 dual quad core should be in the neighbourhood of $12-1400.00 depending on how much RAM it comes with and what video card and drives. The 2008 model uses very expensive RAM, the 2009 model and onward use much less expensive DDR3 RAM. I would advise against buying a 2008 model unless you are unable to find a 2009/2010 model for a reasonable price.
 
ashman70 said:
For that kind of money you can almost buy a refurb 2010 from the Apple store, a 2008 dual quad core should be in the neighbourhood of $12-1400.00 depending on how much RAM it comes with and what video card and drives. The 2008 model uses very expensive RAM, the 2009 model and onward use much less expensive DDR3 RAM. I would advise against buying a 2008 model unless you are unable to find a 2009/2010 model for a reasonable price.
Click to expand...


Like I said, I'm unsure what is good out there. I had been steered initially
toward the 27" iMac i7 as a great machine for editing video by the folks at Apple. A sound editor friend, however, said I might be limiting myself in terms of versatility. I'll avoid the 2008 model. Is there a particular Mac Pro that is fairly recent that you could suggest?
Thanks again.

----------

Just pulled this off the Refurbished section on the Apple site.

Refurbished Mac Pro 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program

Originally released August 2010
One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor
3GB (3 x 1GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC memory
1TB Serial ATA 7200 rpm
18x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5 memory

$1859.00
 
There is also this that caught my eye.

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program

Originally released May 2011
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics with 1GB memory

Built-in FaceTime HD camera

$1869

Honestly, I am so Mac illiterate I'm not sure which is better at face value aside from the fact that one comes with the monitor.
 
Jroweski said:
There is also this that caught my eye.

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program

Originally released May 2011
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics with 1GB memory

Built-in FaceTime HD camera

$1869

Honestly, I am so Mac illiterate I'm not sure which is better at face value aside from the fact that one comes with the monitor.
Click to expand...


I'm using the same Imac for heavy duty work, and it copes very well indeed. (See specs) I took the Ram up to 16GB myself, and opted for the 2GB VRAM option. My next logical upgrade will be a Pro next year, but remember that an Imac refresh is rumoured to be imminent so bear that in mind when considering the purchase.
 

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Last edited:
Jroweski said:
Hello out there,
I am finally upgrading my system to a new Mac Pro. I found an 8 core 2.8 (early 2008) for less than $2000 and was wondering if I should jump on it. This price includes 8 GB of RAM and a current video card. The reputable reseller states that it has been a solid industry standard and he will include a 23" Dell LED monitor. Since I am a student/Educator I can get Avid Media Composer 6.5 at a great price and I'd also like to look into FCPX. The last version of Final Cut I used was FCP5. I am not well versed in Mac Pros and want to make sure what I am getting is decent and will last me for a while.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

There are lots of options for second-hand mac pros, so no need to jump on it.

http://www.powermax.com/parts/code/PM_CU_MP?p=1&s=hp

My feeling is that there will be lots of bargains after whatever long-awaited upgrade is announced in the following year. You should be able to buy a slightly more recent model, with the cheaper ram etc.

I'm an Avid editor, and I agree that the new 27" iMacs are beautiful machines that you'd be happy to edit on right now, but I'm going to argue strongly to get a second-hand Mac Pro.

One, your upgrade path - you will have a longer practical useable lifespan than an iMac, given the much greater options to change video cards, ram, and internal storage, even the CPU.

Two, the available slots for third-party hardware. Matrox, etc are starting to do thunderbolt hardware but lots of this stuff https://www.videoguys.com/Category/Video+Hardware.aspx[/URL] will take advantage of the Mac Pro slots

Three, while a Mac Pro means you supply your own monitor, it also means that you can build your own high speed internal raid by just buying naked drives, and at the moment external thunderbolt raids are pricey in comparison. So your storage options should be much greater and potentially cheaper, and storage (and throughput) is an overlooked part of video workflows.

Fourth, you can do this sort of upgrade down the road, http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDPHW2R240/

Here is a point of view from a good resource for setting up your system..

http://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2012/20120319_1-MacProNowOrWait.html

http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToConfigureAMacPro.html
 
Down on the 2008 :)

I still like mine, still a powerful computer. Of course, I bought it new. I don't think I would spend $2000 on a 4 year old used computer.
 
I am on the same boat as you, I could buy the exact same machine as you do for less money but I will not do it, I rather wait for a 2009 quad machine to ocme available.

The main reason is the specific ram the 2008 machine needs, 800mhz ECC FB-DIMM. From what i read the ram is still really expensive, and runs hot. Getting your machine 32GB of ram(which is the max ram it can take) will cost you nearly 1k.
 
Get a 2009 Quad MP, it has lots of upgradability for lower price for RAM. You can prolong the life of the machine by getting six-core CPU in the future for it.

That Excelsior card will definitely bump your performance as well.
 
nagareru said:
I am on the same boat as you, I could buy the exact same machine as you do for less money but I will not do it, I rather wait for a 2009 quad machine to ocme available.

The main reason is the specific ram the 2008 machine needs, 800mhz ECC FB-DIMM. From what i read the ram is still really expensive, and runs hot. Getting your machine 32GB of ram(which is the max ram it can take) will cost you nearly 1k.
Click to expand...

That is completely inaccurate. i spent 110 dollars on a 12 gig package of ram for my earl 2008 MP. That said, why on earth anyone would spend over 1600 dollars on even a new work station is almost beyond me... Especially if the MP in question hasn't been upgraded. My MP 2008 is almost 5 years old. The idea of spending almost 2k on a 5 year old computer??? that's like spending 10k on a 95 ford aspire

It is far cheaper to build your own system with much better mother boards, processors and ram on the market.

If you want a reason to get a 2009 over a 2008, go with the fact that 2008 still used IDE on the optical drives... or that the case configuration was improved with later models making it far easier to access the processors...

Anyway... in 2008 the price point for a MP compared to a PC workstation was really competitive. Now its not even remotely worth it in regards to price per power...

I paid 2600 for my MP i think... in 2008... brand new. I would feel bad selling mine with 14gig of ram, a 256 ssd and 1 tera hdd, a new optical super drive, and a ati radeon 6870... for 2k...
 
kevink2 said:
Down on the 2008 :)

I still like mine, still a powerful computer. Of course, I bought it new. I don't think I would spend $2000 on a 4 year old used computer.
Click to expand...

I also own an early 08 Mac Pro. Still see no compelling option from Apple to upgrade.
Runs great. But, if you can get a 2010 for around the same price I'd do that.
 
Phrygian said:
That is completely inaccurate. i spent 110 dollars on a 12 gig package of ram for my earl 2008 MP. That said, why on earth anyone would spend over 1600 dollars on even a new work station is almost beyond me... Especially if the MP in question hasn't been upgraded. My MP 2008 is almost 5 years old. The idea of spending almost 2k on a 5 year old computer??? that's like spending 10k on a 95 ford aspire

It is far cheaper to build your own system with much better mother boards, processors and ram on the market.

If you want a reason to get a 2009 over a 2008, go with the fact that 2008 still used IDE on the optical drives... or that the case configuration was improved with later models making it far easier to access the processors...

Anyway... in 2008 the price point for a MP compared to a PC workstation was really competitive. Now its not even remotely worth it in regards to price per power...

I paid 2600 for my MP i think... in 2008... brand new. I would feel bad selling mine with 14gig of ram, a 256 ssd and 1 tera hdd, a new optical super drive, and a ati radeon 6870... for 2k...
Click to expand...


Its not completely inaccurate just because you managed to find a fantastic deal on RAM that normally costs three times what you paid. Here are the current prices from OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory#800-memory
 
Seriously, for that money you might as well get a refurb. I know lotsa folks will tell you that the value is not good anymore and they're true but at least you'll have the option to get 3 year warranty with the machine (AppleCare).

I am, myself interested in obtaining Mac Pro and have been reading the forums and threads for a while. I came to conclusion that there's no reason for me to buy anything older than 2009 model which I'll be probably getting.

I think some of the older pro's (not sure if 2008) have IDE connectors in optical bay, that feels ancient even for me (I rarely get bleeding edge stuff, usually buy used Apple computers).

Maybe if you were able to buy that machine for $700-$1000 that'd be different. It's difficult, in USA, used Mac Pro's are really cheap over there. In my country people have high expectations for even the first generation of MPs and tried to sell it to me for $1200 or more. I got offer on 8-core 2008 machine for $2300 which is almost the same as I can get for new 2010 model (ok the seller had cinema display to go along with it but still...). Sometimes I don't understand it, I once told to the guy that I'm not buying 1,1 MP for $1600 because I can't even run Mountain Lion on it, he didn't even know what I was talking about and went on to describing that the computer is super workstation that is still faster than modern workstations because it's a Mac. I had to hang up, that dude was hilarious.
 
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