I was wondering if it is possible to remove the 2nd chip of the 8 core machine, but keep the heat sink. Then, sell the chip for $700+ bucks on e-bay. You would more than make up the $500 extra you spent to get the 8-core system, and you could still buy the chip again later, when prices have dropped or your need for 8 cores has increased. Would the 8 core processor minus the 2nd chip work ok? Would you need to change settings in EFI or anything like that to make it work? Thanks.
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Can I sell 2nd chip of 8-core now and buy back later?
- Thread starter lindyhopfan
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I'd say hold on before you go removing processors from your expensive machine just to save a few measly hundreds.
I'm not sure about intel, but the G5 dual processors came in matched pairs. Does anyone know the situation on intel chips?
Retain the value in your machine by keeping it intact. You will retain the best value by selling the whole machine when you're done with it in 3-5 years.
I'm not sure about intel, but the G5 dual processors came in matched pairs. Does anyone know the situation on intel chips?
Retain the value in your machine by keeping it intact. You will retain the best value by selling the whole machine when you're done with it in 3-5 years.
xfiftyfour
macrumors 68030
G5 processors were only "matched" in as much as they were the same speed. If they were swapped in any way thermal calibration had to be run.
Mac Pro require matched speeds as well but do not require thermal calibration. Unless shown to be otherwise the firmware and system will run with either one or two processors. Single processor MUST be in the CPU_A socket.
Mac Pro require matched speeds as well but do not require thermal calibration. Unless shown to be otherwise the firmware and system will run with either one or two processors. Single processor MUST be in the CPU_A socket.
measly hundreds
Actually, it will save me quite a bit. It is not just a matter of selling the second processor for more than I paid for the upgrade. I cannot afford to buy an 8-core Mac Pro and keep all eight cores now. My wife would kill me. However, if I buy a quad-core mac pronow, then when I want 8-cores, I will need to buy an expensive heat sink as well as a processor, assuming it is even possible. And I know that I will want 8-cores later. Also, I am not planning on reselling my computer in 3-5 years. I will be keeping it for the long-term. When I buy another desktop computer 15 years or so from now, I am planning to have my kid inherit this one.
Actually, it will save me quite a bit. It is not just a matter of selling the second processor for more than I paid for the upgrade. I cannot afford to buy an 8-core Mac Pro and keep all eight cores now. My wife would kill me. However, if I buy a quad-core mac pronow, then when I want 8-cores, I will need to buy an expensive heat sink as well as a processor, assuming it is even possible. And I know that I will want 8-cores later. Also, I am not planning on reselling my computer in 3-5 years. I will be keeping it for the long-term. When I buy another desktop computer 15 years or so from now, I am planning to have my kid inherit this one.
This is a ridiculous plan. Here is the high-end Mac of 15 years ago. If my father tried to push it on me now, I wouldn't want it. It's basically useless. Same will be true of your Mac Pro, whether it has 4 cores or 8, in 15 years. In fact, it will probably be pretty useless in less than ten years.
Attachments
Umm, in 15 years it will be ancient, lol. Much like someone using a mac classic now. I actually feel sorry for your kid, lol.
desenso
macrumors 6502a
This is the *perfect* reply to the previous post. I laughed on the inside when I read what he wrote. I burst out laughing when I read this. Brilliant...
has anyone removed a single dual core from one of the old (last month) quad-core mac pros? If that works, then removing one from the 8-core would work as well.
If you do the math, you should be able to sell one of these new chips for a decent profit...enough for a couple hard drives or a couple big RAM chips...
they will get cheaper over the coming months/years and you can then buy one and drop it in and get a nice boost in multi-thread performance as apps and the OS start to take more advantage of them. Right now unless you're rendering or doing heavy video work, 4 cores is plenty...probably 2 is plenty!
If you do the math, you should be able to sell one of these new chips for a decent profit...enough for a couple hard drives or a couple big RAM chips...
they will get cheaper over the coming months/years and you can then buy one and drop it in and get a nice boost in multi-thread performance as apps and the OS start to take more advantage of them. Right now unless you're rendering or doing heavy video work, 4 cores is plenty...probably 2 is plenty!
perhaps, but...
I can't be the only person who tends to use a computer until it is literally falling apart. I know I'm not the first person to give an old computer away to a family member. It won't be useless -- it will still do what it does now, basically, which is a lot. I don't think it is the same situation as comparing today's 15 year old computers to today's computers. Sure, it won't do the stuff that the computers of the future will do, but I doubt my kid will care. He or she hasn't even been born yet, and won't be old enough in 15 years to be lusting after new computer tech yet -- just new toys.
I can't be the only person who tends to use a computer until it is literally falling apart. I know I'm not the first person to give an old computer away to a family member. It won't be useless -- it will still do what it does now, basically, which is a lot. I don't think it is the same situation as comparing today's 15 year old computers to today's computers. Sure, it won't do the stuff that the computers of the future will do, but I doubt my kid will care. He or she hasn't even been born yet, and won't be old enough in 15 years to be lusting after new computer tech yet -- just new toys.
desenso
macrumors 6502a
But wouldn't you be better off buying a Mac Mini (or the equivalent) 4-5 times over the next 15 years instead? At least then you'd be on somewhat current technology and be able to take advantage of the latest software and peripherals.
Sure you're not the first person to run a computer into the ground. But fifteen years is a long, long time.
Why is it not the same? The same argument could've been made then, but look how far the industry has come.
15 years ago, we had CD-ROMs. Now days, you NEED a DVD-ROM to install software and most importantly, the OS.
Who knows what will come in 15 years from now. That thing might be rendered useless by any number of things.
Plus, your kid will hate you if all their friends have powerful pocket-sized computers and he still has a tower with a huge ass monitor.
But...good luck!
Who knows what will come in 15 years from now. That thing might be rendered useless by any number of things.
Plus, your kid will hate you if all their friends have powerful pocket-sized computers and he still has a tower with a huge ass monitor.
But...good luck!
Eidorian
macrumors Penryn
I still believe the best option for computing is a low to midrange ($500-1,000) computer every couple of years for most users.
I've had to talk a lot of people down from $2,500-5,000 computers that would last them "years." They always come back to me thankful that they didn't put that much money into one machine.
If your work is so time dependent then you'll more then likely make the money back in time saved to purchase a new high end machine much more often.
Running a computer into the ground works but you can do that with any computer. Case in point Power Mac G4 (2002-2004) that I'm still putting back out onto someone's desk.
I've had to talk a lot of people down from $2,500-5,000 computers that would last them "years." They always come back to me thankful that they didn't put that much money into one machine.
If your work is so time dependent then you'll more then likely make the money back in time saved to purchase a new high end machine much more often.
Running a computer into the ground works but you can do that with any computer. Case in point Power Mac G4 (2002-2004) that I'm still putting back out onto someone's desk.
I submit to you that he was exaggerating about the 15 years.
The point still stands, however, that people on these forums are constantly talking about how a Mac is a great deal because you can still use it in 5-6 years and a PC is hopelessly outdated by then.
There are plenty of people on these forums still using stinkin clam-shell ibooks! every day.
There are plenty of schools with graphics labs full of G3 and G4 towers that are running just fine day in and day out. Especially with the pro machines, people get a lot of years out of them because they have upgrade slots for RAM and graphics and processors and hard drives. It may sound unlikely to you all, but in 5-6 years, 32 GB of RAM will still be perfectly respectable. It will probably be more than most people have, in fact, and DDR2 will be super-cheap.
SATA will be around for at least 10 years. PCI-E is only a couple of years old, and PCI lasted over a decade. It is a good time to buy a long-lasting machine, but only if you get one that has the potential for real upgrades.
A Mac Pro fits the bill, (as long as Apple continues to offer new graphics cards, of course)
The processing speed will undoubtedly go up a lot in the next 5 years, but it will mainly affect things like video processing and rendering of 3D stuff for production work.
In 5-6 years, you'll be able to put a couple dozen terabytes of SSD hard drives into a Mac Pro and a mid-grade then-current graphics card into this thing, probably along with some faster processors that are compatible with this chipset, for a couple/few hundred bucks.
Newer chips will draw less power, not more, so the case for the Mac Pro will be able to provide plenty of juice. It's already pulling as much as 75% of a wall socket as it is!
If you plug a mac pro into the same outlet as a hair dryer or waffle iron while you have Aperture open, you'll pop a breaker!
Right now on ebay, the 2.83ghz E5440A quad core chips are running over $800.
as in eight hundred dollars. Or more. As in enough for 2 x 4GB RAM for a new Mac Pro, or 6 x 2GB.
Having 14GB of RAM instead of 2GB would probably benefit you more than having 8 processing cores @ 2.83ghz instead of 4.
Of course you could be reasonable and get 4 x 2GB chips and throw in a huge hard drive.
If someone could verify that this works, I'd be seriously tempted to do it, too.
The point still stands, however, that people on these forums are constantly talking about how a Mac is a great deal because you can still use it in 5-6 years and a PC is hopelessly outdated by then.
There are plenty of people on these forums still using stinkin clam-shell ibooks! every day.
There are plenty of schools with graphics labs full of G3 and G4 towers that are running just fine day in and day out. Especially with the pro machines, people get a lot of years out of them because they have upgrade slots for RAM and graphics and processors and hard drives. It may sound unlikely to you all, but in 5-6 years, 32 GB of RAM will still be perfectly respectable. It will probably be more than most people have, in fact, and DDR2 will be super-cheap.
SATA will be around for at least 10 years. PCI-E is only a couple of years old, and PCI lasted over a decade. It is a good time to buy a long-lasting machine, but only if you get one that has the potential for real upgrades.
A Mac Pro fits the bill, (as long as Apple continues to offer new graphics cards, of course)
The processing speed will undoubtedly go up a lot in the next 5 years, but it will mainly affect things like video processing and rendering of 3D stuff for production work.
In 5-6 years, you'll be able to put a couple dozen terabytes of SSD hard drives into a Mac Pro and a mid-grade then-current graphics card into this thing, probably along with some faster processors that are compatible with this chipset, for a couple/few hundred bucks.
Newer chips will draw less power, not more, so the case for the Mac Pro will be able to provide plenty of juice. It's already pulling as much as 75% of a wall socket as it is!
If you plug a mac pro into the same outlet as a hair dryer or waffle iron while you have Aperture open, you'll pop a breaker!
Right now on ebay, the 2.83ghz E5440A quad core chips are running over $800.
as in eight hundred dollars. Or more. As in enough for 2 x 4GB RAM for a new Mac Pro, or 6 x 2GB.
Having 14GB of RAM instead of 2GB would probably benefit you more than having 8 processing cores @ 2.83ghz instead of 4.
Of course you could be reasonable and get 4 x 2GB chips and throw in a huge hard drive.
If someone could verify that this works, I'd be seriously tempted to do it, too.
The Powerbook that I bought a little more than 2 years ago needs all available CPU and RAM to play movies in iTunes. In a couple of years, iTunes will become so much more complex that I won't be able to use it on the damn thing. Another example: my iPod has more storage space than the computer I had in 1997 had. My iPod was the cheapest 2nd Gen iPod Nano. 2GB of space.
And what about Internet? You think you're still going to find a modem with Ethernet, or a Wireless-N router in 15 years? Because I don't think you will.
I agree with the person who suggested buying a Mac Mini every three years. Even if you bought five Mac minis now, they'd be about as expensive as your Mac Pro, and I imagine they'll do everything that you'll need.
Ok, Thats the plan :
1. Can't afford a Porsche, let's buy it anyway!
2. Sell the engine
3. Install a Toyota Echo engine in the Porsche
4. When the guy who bought the Porsche's engine sell his car 15 years later,
5. buy it and reinstall the engine in a 15 years old car.
Then, enjoy it at full speed!
Sorry but It's look like a big joke to save money.😉
1. Can't afford a Porsche, let's buy it anyway!
2. Sell the engine
3. Install a Toyota Echo engine in the Porsche
4. When the guy who bought the Porsche's engine sell his car 15 years later,
5. buy it and reinstall the engine in a 15 years old car.
Then, enjoy it at full speed!
Sorry but It's look like a big joke to save money.😉
THX1139
macrumors 68000
I can't think of any computer that will be relevant when your unborn kid is old enough to use it. Think about it. If I remember right, it was 10 to 12 years ago that there was the king of all Mac desktop machines; it was called the Genesis MP by Daystar digital. The base configuration was around $15K. It was one of the first Mac clones to use multiple processors and it was a monster for it's time. If you had one of those machines today, it would make a great doorstop.
The OP is acting like he's buying a car that he hopes to become a classic someday.
Also, I like how people use the term "drop-in" when they are talking about changing processors. LOL!! You better check first to see how hard it is to change a processor in a MacPro. Not easy for the average person.
The OP is acting like he's buying a car that he hopes to become a classic someday.
Also, I like how people use the term "drop-in" when they are talking about changing processors. LOL!! You better check first to see how hard it is to change a processor in a MacPro. Not easy for the average person.
Pressure
macrumors 603
surflordca
macrumors 6502a
The software made 10 years from now won't even run on this computer. Your kids will love that.
This thread is hilarious. 😀
Seriously, OP, a computer is not a car. Nor is it a guitar, a violin, or other finely-made wooden instrument. It will not accumulate in value, it will not increase in usability, or become anything beyond a burden to your offspring. This is a Bad Idea.