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Which mac pro?
- Thread starter Alaska_guy
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Don't ask to see mine…
Here is the wifes geekbench...
I feel real bad now... She never complains so I figured her PC isn't that bad. Was I ever wrong.
Using chrome alone takes up 98% of her CPU and she is using 89% memory...
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/7749886
She used this laptop all through out her college years and its just been chugging along since. It's true what they say, when you do something for a living the last thing you want to do is do that same thing at home. My uncle is an electrician and he hasn't updated a single thing electrically in his home since 1980 when he bought it. Haha.
Wifes laptop was super long in the tooth and this Mac Pro should last her a LONG time considering the POS she has been using for so long.
I feel real bad now... She never complains so I figured her PC isn't that bad. Was I ever wrong.
Using chrome alone takes up 98% of her CPU and she is using 89% memory...
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/7749886
She used this laptop all through out her college years and its just been chugging along since. It's true what they say, when you do something for a living the last thing you want to do is do that same thing at home. My uncle is an electrician and he hasn't updated a single thing electrically in his home since 1980 when he bought it. Haha.
Wifes laptop was super long in the tooth and this Mac Pro should last her a LONG time considering the POS she has been using for so long.
Very correct to suggest the 4,1 over the 3,1.Don't ask to see mine…
I'm waiting on the mMP to see if Apple blows it with only 0-2 PCIe slots. Not making a pit stop to the 4,1 or 5,1 on the way to the mMP!
Very correct to suggest the 4,1 over the 3,1.
I'm waiting the new new Mac Pro anxiously, so I can buy a very depreciated trash can. =) If I could find one at less than half list price…
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Spec wise, it's very similar to 2006/2007 MacBooks - same slow DDR2-667, same chipset/CPU. Your wife will love to keep more than one or two tabs open on Chrome.
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Super respectable score! I assume since I purchased a single proc MP that I can't just add another processor? IE: The motherboard is either a single socket motherboard or it's a dual socket motherboard? At work all our servers are dual socket boards, but you can decide to only populate a single side if you wanted to be cheap.
Just trying to understand the potential or not of the upgrade path.
This might help..
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xkq8k/mac-pro-upgrade-community
may be worth having a quick look at macmins maybe even a refurbished model.
"She mainly facebooks, surfs the web, plays itunes music, checks email etc."
says macmin to me, + it's small quiet and costs around 400-500
a macpro 3.1 runs something like a Penryn cpu 'Core 2 Quad' i think the non xeon name is(pre i7)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn_(microprocessor)
so there older slower and wont run the new version of osx (think 10.11 is the last one it will run?)
or make a tiny hackintosh, maybe even a Ryzen 2200G less than £400 id gess to set up a system, no GPU needed grab some cheep ram and cheapest mobo reported as suported + some 120GB SSD
https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/f...yzen-2200g-with-vega-graphics-hackintoshable/
"She mainly facebooks, surfs the web, plays itunes music, checks email etc."
says macmin to me, + it's small quiet and costs around 400-500
a macpro 3.1 runs something like a Penryn cpu 'Core 2 Quad' i think the non xeon name is(pre i7)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn_(microprocessor)
so there older slower and wont run the new version of osx (think 10.11 is the last one it will run?)
or make a tiny hackintosh, maybe even a Ryzen 2200G
less than £400 id gess to set up a system, no GPU needed grab some cheep ram and cheapest mobo reported as suported + some 120GB SSDhttps://www.insanelymac.com/forum/f...yzen-2200g-with-vega-graphics-hackintoshable/
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A Mac Pro 3,1 would still be a very decent computer for the stated use but really not worth buying unless it was super cheap. I bought mine new in 2008 & have upgraded with SSD & GTX680 & 56GB RAM so it is still very usable. I have certainly got my money's worth out of it but I wouldn't consider buying one today nor would I en evconsider a 4,1 or 5,1 unless super super cheap.may be worth having a quick look at macmins maybe even a refurbished model.
"She mainly facebooks, surfs the web, plays itunes music, checks email etc."
says macmin to me, + it's small quiet and costs around 400-500
a macpro 3.1 runs something like a Penryn cpu 'Core 2 Quad' i think the non xeon name is(pre i7)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn_(microprocessor)
so there older slower and wont run the new version of osx (think 10.11 is the last one it will run?)
or make a tiny hackintosh, maybe even a Ryzen 2200G
https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/f...yzen-2200g-with-vega-graphics-hackintoshable/
An ultra low budget Hackintosh is a viable option. I keep singing the praises of the HP Prodesk 400 G1 I recently bought for £75 off eBay. It's an i3-4130 with 8GB RAM & a 320GB HDD. With the addition of Bluetooth & audio USB dongles it runs High Sierra OOTB with everything working & is fast smooth & feels exactly like a real Mac. I upgraded to MacOS 10.13.3 straight off the App Store. I have subsequently added a 512GB SSD. Buying a complete ex-corporate PC saves you having to do a PC build & is cheaper than buying the comments separately. The Prodesk 400 can be upgraded to 16GB RAM & the fastest CPU you can install is an i7-4790.
I looked on ebay and I could get one for around $200 shipped if free shipping with an i3 4360, single core score on that processor is 4000, multi is around 8k. For her uses, it would be a better processor and cheaper. However, after building a few hackintosh based PC's somethings sometimes don't work or you need to fox them after updates etc. Since this is for the wife I really want something stable first and then fast second. I already own hackintosh as my main computer and it works great for me, but some apps don' work and there are other little issues from time to time. For me this isn't a big deal because I know how to fix them. I don't really feel like fixing the wife' computer if I don't have to. Plus the pride of ownership that comes with the cheese grater boxes is nice. I have always wanted to own one because in my opinion that was apples peak of producing quality desktop products. I think a lot of us here would agree we wish apple would go back to a well machined pc case with high end expandable options in a desktop in a new generation of their mac pro.
I realize this is a Mac Pro thread but I feel she would be better served with a late model, 2011 and later, Mac Mini. I see no benefit to purchasing a Mac Pro based on the needs provided in your initial post. It would be just as fast, consume less power, take up less space, and would be less expensive to ship (plus significantly reduced risk of being damaged in shipping due to poor packaging).
Exactly correct.
Only caveat is graphics - a MP allows them to be updated, a Mini does not.
That said, if you want a MP, just get the cheapest 4,1 single processor you can find.
Thanks for the advice. I agree, she doesn't need much for what she does and a mini would have been fine. However I have always wanted a mac pro. Plus it would allow me to use her mac at any time if I needed for the heavier tasks i do. My thought is I can upgrade it down the road if needed for other uses like vmware and she wouldn't even know it was running them in the background.
well dont forget when you cost it up to check ram/cpu/gpu/SSD costs when you look at a used macpro, the price can start to jump once you start adding on parts.
if you can dont get anything older than a 4.1, the 3.1 relay are showing there age now.
iv got a 5.1 and a 3.1 and the 3.1 is noticeably slower, i mostly use the 3.1 to watch you tube and play music.
the 3.1 cant play any 60fps youtube videos 720p or 1080p but with adblocker and firefox it seems to cope well for light use but the fan will rev up fairly often which can be annoying when im just doing light things.
if you can dont get anything older than a 4.1, the 3.1 relay are showing there age now.
iv got a 5.1 and a 3.1 and the 3.1 is noticeably slower, i mostly use the 3.1 to watch you tube and play music.
the 3.1 cant play any 60fps youtube videos 720p or 1080p but with adblocker and firefox it seems to cope well for light use but the fan will rev up fairly often which can be annoying when im just doing light things.
My 3,1 (dual, quad core 2.8GHz, 6GB RAM, 8800GT, 320GB HD) has no problem playing 720p @ 60 fps. It also doesn't have any problem playing 1080p @ 60 fps however my display cannot natively display that resolution. System was very responsive when playing back the video and Activity Monitor showed very little CPU use.
odd when i do it the video is super choppy look at you tubes 'stats for nerds' the drooped frames are massive for me on a 3.1 8c 2.8ghz ssd + gtx660
1080p 60fps youtube will stop and start skip lots of frames and 720p 60fps is not fun, 1080p 30fps is smooth for me
vlc will play 1080p blueray np tho
"System was very responsive" is a taken as it's a 4/8 core and the video will not scale across the cpu's
1080p 60fps youtube will stop and start skip lots of frames and 720p 60fps is not fun, 1080p 30fps is smooth for me
vlc will play 1080p blueray np tho
"System was very responsive" is a taken as it's a 4/8 core and the video will not scale across the cpu's
Anyone have any good sources on memory kits? I came across these two... One is local, the other is on the bay. 16GB should be plenty RAM for the wife. However, Ideally I would prefer three 8gb chips for a total of 24GB on the single processor. Just trying not to break the bank on this older machine.
https://anchorage.craigslist.org/sop/d/16-gb-memory-ram-macbook-pro/6536737825.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/8GB-2X4GB-...902560?hash=item284962c8e0:g:oh0AAOxycmBS3s8m
https://anchorage.craigslist.org/sop/d/16-gb-memory-ram-macbook-pro/6536737825.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/8GB-2X4GB-...902560?hash=item284962c8e0:g:oh0AAOxycmBS3s8m
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I've purchased A-Tech memory and haven't had any issues with it. If you buy make sure it really is Mac Pro RAM and not MacBook Pro RAM (the URL has MacBook Pro in it but the description says Mac Pro so you're probably OK but better to check beforehand).
Did you end up buying a 4,1 or 5,1?
What graphics card do you have?
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What graphics card do you have? There is a vast difference between the ATI 2600 that the 3,1 likely shipped with & more modern & powerful GPUs.
I like datamemorysystems.com myself. If nothing else, it will give you the correct specs. Make sure you get ECC ram, and unregistered/unbuffered is OK. (I think you can install registered RAM but it has to be all one or the other, I believe.) You can install DDR3-1333 memory and get a small speed bump if you've updated the firmware and CPU. (With stock firmware and/or CPU, 1333 Mhz memory still works, but will run at the lower speed.)
I decided to give this a try on my Mac Pro 1,1 (2 x 2.66GHz Dual Core, 4GB DDR2 RAM, GeForce 7300 GT, 120GB HD, OS X Lion, Firefox 48.0.2):
Video:
Code:
https://youtu.be/VAF4rfu-ETAI am unable to play this at 1080p with Safari but it does play smoothly at 720p (not 60fps though). I am unable to obtain a dropped frame count in Safari.
Other option - a 2012 13” MacBook Pro. With SSD and 16GB memory it should do fine, and is portable. Plus it still has a DVD drive. Going rate seems to be $400-500 now.
When doing email and Facebook the computer will be idling 99% of the time anyway. Plus the old Pro systems suck up a lot of electricity.
When doing email and Facebook the computer will be idling 99% of the time anyway. Plus the old Pro systems suck up a lot of electricity.
Yeah, a 2012 15" macbook pro 2.6ghz with 16gb ram and 500gb SSD came available locally for $450. If i didnt already purchase the mac pro 4,1 I would have bought that.
I installed the update per the instructions for flash from 4,1 to 5,1. Said everything went fine. I shutdown then held the button in until it flashed and then heard the long beep. Let go of the power button, the cMP booted into the OS but its still showing 4,1.
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B07
SMC Version (system): 1.39f5
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f5
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 4870
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x9440
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-B7710F-176
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318
Displays:
[doublepost=1522985338][/doublepost]I disabled SIP and was able to update it. High Sierra here I come.
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B07
SMC Version (system): 1.39f5
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f5
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 4870
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x9440
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-B7710F-176
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318
Displays:
[doublepost=1522985338][/doublepost]I disabled SIP and was able to update it. High Sierra here I come.
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Ok, thanks again for the advice. I am now on High Sierra.
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/7827736
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/7827736
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