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What to check when buying a used mac pro

aramosc

aramosc

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 4, 2011
225
0
San Diego, CA
Hi everybody! I'm in the market for a used mac pro fron craigslist and I was wondering if there are any aspects to check to make sure the machine is in top shape? also do you guys think it's imposible to get a quad core system 2008 or newer without many upgrades for around $1200-$1400? I don't need the 8 cores or crazy RAM i mostly need the ability to instal a graphics card for multiple cinema displays.
 
I have been doing some researching and the $12-1400 price range gets you a 1,1 or 1,2 Mac Pro, anything newer and the price jumps $500 or more. When buying used, I would want to see it powered up and running and make sure video works, hard drives, reports the proper amount of RAM and watch it boot a few times, other then that I think that would be it. Multiple displays has more to do with the video card, however Mac Pro 1,1's are PCI 1.0 so to get the best out of newer video cards and drive multiple large displays you'd want to look for a 1,2 or 1,3 Mac Pro with PCI 2.0 I would think.
 
I just found a Mac Pro 2 Dual Core 3GHz & 23 ACD and I think I can get it for around $1400 bucks it has an upgraded GPU to a ATI Radeon HD 4870, 6GB RAM and 750 GB HDD is it a solid deal?
 
Sounds ok, is it a Mac Pro 2,1? How much RAM and does it come with 2 CPU's?

AM
 
If it has everything you want at the price you want then it sounds like a good deal, although perhaps you could do with a cheaper monitor and thus get the Mac Pro itself cheaper?
 
ashman70 said:
If it has everything you want at the price you want then it sounds like a good deal, although perhaps you could do with a cheaper monitor and thus get the Mac Pro itself cheaper?
Click to expand...

I was actually going to sell the ACD on eBay they are going for around 200- 250 for one in pristine condition.
 
I bought a MP 3,1 octocore off Craigslist about a month ago for $1900. Included a 24" LED Cinema Display, so figure ~$1600 for the machine.

14GB RAM, with spinning platter HDs of various sizes from 1-2TB.

The mistake that I made was powering it up in the seller's server room where there was a lot of ambient noise. I didn't notice that the fans were spinning all at full speed until I got it home. Long story short, Apple replaced the logic board and the HD cable.

Lesson learned: run the machine _in a quiet environment_ before you buy. :)
 
Exactly, I did the same thing when I picked mine up, made sure it powered up, booted into OSX, then at least you know its working properly.
 
Thanks for all the advise! I just picked up a Mac Pro at an awesome deal! its a 3,1 2.8ghz 8 core with 3x 1 TB HDD, 1x 320GB HDD, 1X 250GB HDD and 10 GB RAM for $950!:eek::D. now i just need to update the GPU and I am golden!
 
Are you sure it's nit hot?




aramosc said:
Thanks for all the advise! I just picked up a Mac Pro at an awesome deal! its a 3,1 2.8ghz 8 core with 3x 1 TB HDD, 1x 320GB HDD, 1X 250GB HDD and 10 GB RAM for $950!:eek::D. now i just need to update the GPU and I am golden!
Click to expand...
 
I did.. the guy was going filing for bankruptcy and just needed to get rid of it so he posted it super cheap just to sell it quickly it was first come first serve and well i was the first one there..:D
 
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