Used MP 6.1, too good deal?

[Maetn]

Hello. I´ve been lurking around these forums for quite a while, only reading so far, so this is my first post. I do music production and songwriting for a living, and my trusty early 2011 MBP 15" has been serving me pretty well up until about a year or two back. It isn´t as stable as it used to be, and I´ve been forced to freeze/commit/bounce more than I´d like in my workflow, which I guess could be a combination of using newer and more CPU intensive instruments/plugins and the computer just getting... old.

Anyways, I do most of my work now a days from my studio at the label I´m signed to, so I don´t really need a portable solution anymore. There´s a guy selling a 6.1 MP, 6 core, 16 GB RAM, D500s and 256 GB of storage for 2100 USD which seems almost too good to be true.

I´m going to go and check it out next week, and assuming it´s legit and not stolen or anything, is there anything special I should check and be aware of regarding the condition of the machine? It´s from 2014 according to the seller.

 

[shaunp]

It seems like a reasonable price. I only got £2300 for a 6 core, D700's 64GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. I found the Mac Pro the be very quiet and reliable and the performance was okay. If you plan on adding loads of storage, etc you'll find that it's not the neatest of solutions though as it's almost too small for a desktop - everything ends up sprawled all over your desk.

If you don't need the portability however it's worth a look - it's quieter than the iMac when pushed.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Forgive the obvious question please! Have you upgraded your Mac with an SSD & 16GB RAM (1333MHz SODIMM, 2x8GB)? It should give it a new lease of life if you haven't.

With regards to the Mac Pro, that is a good price. Best to hold 'Alt' on startup to ensure there's no firmware password set. Also ask for the original proof of purchase if they have it and check the serial number with Apple to ensure it's not stolen.

 

[Maetn]

It seems like a reasonable price. I only got £2300 for a 6 core, D700's 64GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. I found the Mac Pro the be very quiet and reliable and the performance was okay. If you plan on adding loads of storage, etc you'll find that it's not the neatest of solutions though as it's almost too small for a desktop - everything ends up sprawled all over your desk.

If you don't need the portability however it's worth a look - it's quieter than the iMac when pushed.

Thanks for the reply! I´m already using external drives for all of my work, I keep nothing but the software I need on the system itself, so that solution doesn´t really bother me.
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Forgive the obvious question please! Have you upgraded your Mac with an SSD & 16GB RAM (1333MHz SODIMM, 2x8GB)? It should give it a new lease of life if you haven't.

With regards to the Mac Pro, that is a good price. Best to hold 'Alt' on startup to ensure there's no firmware password set. Also ask for the original proof of purchase if they have it and check the serial number with Apple to ensure it's not stolen.

Thanks for the reply. I got it with the Apple 120 GB SSD upgrade at the time of purchase, and I´ve upgraded to 16 GB RAM aftermarket with the specs you wrote as well. Although neither of those is what´s been causing much trouble, mainly CPU issues.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Thanks for the reply. I got it with the Apple 120 GB SSD upgrade at the time of purchase, and I´ve upgraded to 16 GB RAM aftermarket with the specs you wrote as well. Although neither of those is what´s been causing much trouble, mainly CPU issues.

Ah yes, I can imagine; even the CPU jump between the quad 2011 models and quad 2012 15" are night and day. I think you'll be very satisfied with the spec of the Mac Pro you're looking at, though even a quad 2012 Mac Mini with an SSD/16GB 1600MHz RAM would be a noticable step up; even more so when you add the dGPU in the 2012 15" MBP (both unibody & retina).

I'd obviously suggest the Mac Pro for the purposes of longevity/more power, though just some gentle reassurance that you're not completely out of luck if you're on a budget!

 

[Maetn]

Ah yes, I can imagine; even the CPU jump between the quad 2011 models and quad 2012 15" are night and day. I think you'll be very satisfied with the spec of the Mac Pro you're looking at, though even a quad 2012 Mac Mini with an SSD/16GB 1600MHz RAM would be a noticable step up; even more so when you add the dGPU in the 2012 15" MBP (both unibody & retina).

I'd obviously suggest the Mac Pro for the purposes of longevity/more power, though just some gentle reassurance that you're not completely out of luck if you're on a budget!

2100 USD is well within what I´m prepared to pay. All of my colleagues and friend are on rMBPs, iMacs or 5.1 MPs, so I basically I don´t know anyone with a 6.1 MP, hence I came here for advice