how long retain your MAC PRO before selling it?

[umbilical]

I have my mac pro since 4 months ago, I love it, and I expect have for 5 years before sell, my friends make jokes of me beacuse when I see a new model coming I sell my mac pro and buy the new one, hehe but! this time I promise keep for 5 years, wharever new model coming :)

[Lord Zedd]

I cycle my computers about every 3-5 years.

[kahine]

This Mac Pro will probably be the first desktop I keep more than a year -

I work as a systems engineer and have lots of clients who buy my personal machines for themselves as they know I keep them in mint condition and will come help set it up for them and so on , plus my pc rigs are ultra high end built with nothing but high end parts and still at a fraction they could get from Alienware / Falcon so on

So I can sell them every 6-8 months for pretty much what I paid for them , sometimes even a few bucks more , so it made sense for me to rotate them out all the time

I could likely sell the Mac Pro for decent each year but plan on keeping about 2 years then doing it -

[olliebraves20]

I cycle my computers about every 3-5 years.

I agree... just about every 3-5 years is when I change mine out.....

[jessica.]

When I bought my PowerBook I said that at that price point I would keep it through college. I bought it just as I transferred from a 2-year to a 4-year college, but due to switching majors I had 3 years to go. I finished in 14 months after all and still kept the PB. I got through grad school with it and said I'd buy a desktop machine after grad school. Thus brining me to the MP, this turned out to be a gift.

I intend to keep my MP 3 years before I look to upgrade/update.

I have found that when I had windows machines I would build them myself and upgrade at least the CPU and mobo once every 9-18 months depending upon what was out. I did a fair amount of gaming and worked extensively in photoshop so that could explain some of it. I also think my propensity to upgrade was the availability and price of the products. However, with my PB and I assume now with my MP, things just seem to run better longer. My PB is still kicking the asses I need it to kick and my only reason for uttering the words "I want a MB" is that I need something portable that runs windows for the next 10 months. Otherwise, I wouldn't care if I had another laptop again that did anything substantial because my PB is running very well.

Sorry to derail into speaking about laptops, but it was part of the context. ;)

I think your friends need to mind their own business about your purchases. It's your deal not theirs. Let them laugh. My MP was purchased 4/30/08, I don't regret it one bit.

[Kosh66]

I typically change desktops every 2.5 - 3 years. I typically change laptops every 4-5 years.

[THX1139]

I don't understand how people can recycle their computers and not lose money. Sure, there is eBay, but in my experience it's hit or miss on resale for computers like the Mac Pro. I bought my 2.66 and about 6 months later took a look to see what it was worth (see what people were paying for them on ebay). Even though I had upped my ram and added 3 more drives, I could see that I'd lose around $800 maybe more selling on eBay. Then to buy a new replacement machine, it would have easily been $1000 out of my pocket for trade in. I decided then that my computer was worth more over the long term as a backup machine or renderbox than to lose money reselling it.

Then there is also the issue of getting ripped off on eBay or the hassle of shipping it....

I have read about people dumping their computers on eBay and actually making MORE than the initial investment... but I don't know how they do it, unless they are lying.

I figure my 2007 2.66 is worth $800, maybe $1000 on the open market. That's with 4 drives and 6gb of ram. It's worth more than that to me because of what I can still do with it, so it doesn't make sense to sell it and take that big of hit. The replacement machine wouldn't do that much more, but it sure would cost a lot more to buy it.

[Kosh66]

Even though I had upped my ram and added 3 more drives

Adding things to it doesn't typically up the price much... yeah it should, but it doesn't. Your best to pull some of the extras and sell them separately.

[cxc]

Whenever a MAJOR cpu architectural change comes about allowing for roughly 100% more raw computing power.

[THX1139]

Adding things to it doesn't typically up the price much... yeah it should, but it doesn't. Your best to pull some of the extras and sell them separately.

Yeah, but it would make it more attractive for a person to buy. Most people buy machines looking for a bargain and it's pretty competitive to get their attentin. What attracts people are incentives like Apple Care, additional ram, hard drives and software (with licenses). If someone can get all that without having to pay much more, then it's easier to sell the machine. Though you're correct, you would take a loss.

I might try posting mine stripped down to see if I can get any feelers. I wonder what the value would be? 1200? 1500?

[SDLSteve]

Based on the fact that I had 2 G3's, one G4, and one G5, I probably switch out every 3-4 years. I switched out the G5 from Oct. 2004 this past spring for the Mac Pro.

[wheezy]

I figure my 2007 2.66 is worth $800, maybe $1000 on the open market. That's with 4 drives and 6gb of ram. It's worth more than that to me because of what I can still do with it, so it doesn't make sense to sell it and take that big of hit. The replacement machine wouldn't do that much more, but it sure would cost a lot more to buy it.

A refurb 2.66 on Apple.com is still going at $1999, you're MP should still pull pretty close to that, I wouldn't settle for less than $2000 honestly with the upgrades. After you factor in sales tax you're still offering the buyer quite a deal. Don't cheapshot yourself and go for $1200. If you want to lowball the sale that much let me know when you put it up and I'll buy it from you

[Umbongo]

I don't understand how people can recycle their computers and not lose money. Sure, there is eBay, but in my experience it's hit or miss on resale for computers like the Mac Pro. I bought my 2.66 and about 6 months later took a look to see what it was worth (see what people were paying for them on ebay). Even though I had upped my ram and added 3 more drives, I could see that I'd lose around $800 maybe more selling on eBay. Then to buy a new replacement machine, it would have easily been $1000 out of my pocket for trade in. I decided then that my computer was worth more over the long term as a backup machine or renderbox than to lose money reselling it.

Only a small percentage trade up their system. With the amount Mac Pros go for recycling could give you better performance than you'd get from the processor upgrade choices over say 5 years. I mean the dual core 3GHz option was $800, if youd invested that recycling instead after 3 years you could have an 8 core system with faster cores and your loss would have been ~1 year processing 12% slower. Really it depends how you want to approach it. If you need performance then recycling can work in your favour economically. I think people also do it just to have the latest and greatest. There are other reasons too.

I have read about people dumping their computers on eBay and actually making MORE than the initial investment... but I don't know how they do it, unless they are lying.

They make a big issue out of how much Apple charge for the upgrades the system they are selling has. Alot also include a slew of high end professional software and try to make it seem like the buyer isn't just getting pirated software.

I figure my 2007 2.66 is worth $800, maybe $1000 on the open market. That's with 4 drives and 6gb of ram. It's worth more than that to me because of what I can still do with it, so it doesn't make sense to sell it and take that big of hit. The replacement machine wouldn't do that much more, but it sure would cost a lot more to buy it.

You can get alot more than $800. I wouldn't be suprised to see you get in excess of $2,000 on eBay. Depends how big the drives are and how well you write the description though. As wheezy says, the cheapest you can get a Mac Pro from Apple(without discounts) is for $2,000 + sales tax. And as you say it is still more than enough for you, it's also more than enough for alot of potential buyers and demand is quite good for them.

[CWallace]

I will keep mine at least three years, and likely as long as I can keep it running for a reasonable cost.

[FF_productions]

For how much I've invested in it...I'll never get rid of it. Originally, my thought process was 3 years from original purchase date, but I seriously doubt it.

1 year has gone by, and I have no reason to believe the Mac Pro will be slow for me in 2 years.

So, bottom line, I will keep this thing forever.

[kabunaru]

For how much I've invested in it...I'll never get rid of it. Originally, my thought process was 3 years from original purchase date, but I seriously doubt it.

1 year has gone by, and I have no reason to believe the Mac Pro will be slow for me in 2 years.

So, bottom line, I will keep this thing forever.

It would take something beyond Nehalem and the power of an multi-complex super-computer in a package of the Mac Pro case to make you upgrade? :D

[nanofrog]

It would take something beyond Nehalem and the power of an multi-complex super-computer in a package of the Mac Pro case to make you upgrade? :D
Perhaps Sandybridge would get him drooling. Er, I meant his attention. ;) :p

[Spikeanator6982]

Perhaps Sandybridge would get him drooling. Er, I meant his attention. ;) :p

Ya, sandybridge sounds like a good time to up from the 2008 MP, only time and money will tell though.

[wheezy]

I don't have a MP yet, but anticipate buying one in the next few weeks. I plan to get the 8-core base system and load it up on RAM... from there I expect it to run great for several years, at least 5 I would hope. That makes the cost of purchase $500/yr... it's a lot more up front, but cheaper compared to buying a new PC every 12-18 months (that won't catch up in power until several years down the road)

[kahine]

I can't imagine using a 5 year old computer personally , I'd say those expecting it to not even be slow for them in 5 years might be stretching it some

I run into clients at time that try this and don't realize the money they are losing by using a slow machine , that spending money on a new machine would save them money , unless your time is worth zero I guess

A five year old computer right now would have been a Mac Pro bought in 2003 - you'd be looking at a Power Mac G5/G4 anywhere from 1ghz to 1.6Ghz - single core - even worse on the notebook side - a mac mini with C2D today would crush them even

That would be a bit of a difference compared to todays - I'd imagine between now and 2013/2014 there will be a ridiculous difference also

Nothing wrong with keeping it as long as you want , but saying you can don't expect a computer you buy today to be slow for you in 5 years is just stretching it , in the business world anyway , using a 5 year old computer causes you to lose more money that what you are saving

[DoFoT9]

i dont cycle, rather get a new computer and find a use for the old one.

probably will have my MBP for another 2 years, that will make it 4 years old. i doubt ill have money to buy it then tho!! (poor uni student)

[TheReef]

^ Exact same here. I generally use my computer until it is too slow to to run the software to achieve the purposes I need. Right now my 4 year old G5 is running Leopard and my apps without problem at all. I can see myself using it for another 2 years, then assigning it as a secondary backup until it dies (could get another 4 years).

I generally like buying towers with plenty of ram slots, as I can upgrade them to get most life out of them.

[DoFoT9]

^ Exact same here. I generally use my computer until it is too slow to to run the software to achieve the purposes I need. Right now my 4 year old G5 is running Leopard and my apps without problem at all. I can see myself using it for another 2 years, then assigning it as a secondary backup until it dies (could get another 4 years).

I generally like buying towers with plenty of ram slots, as I can upgrade them to get most life out of them.

i sure hope your keen with using leopard for the next five years then :(

[TheReef]

Snow Leopard hasn't exactly been confirmed as intel-only just yet :p I'm still staying optimistic.

On that note, I'm still running Panther on my almost 10 year old Pismo.

[DoFoT9]

Snow Leopard hasn't exactly been confirmed as intel-only just yet :p I'm still staying optimistic.

On that note, I'm still running Panther on my almost 10 year old Pismo.

yes tahts a good point.

oh dont remind me of panther! my G3 imac died a few weeks ago, still mourning her. i dont want to get rid of her she was so good!!! i learnt how to use mac os 9 on that thing!!!!

[TheReef]

yes tahts a good point.

oh dont remind me of panther! my G3 imac died a few weeks ago, still mourning her. i dont want to get rid of her she was so good!!! i learnt how to use mac os 9 on that thing!!!!

People are practically giving them away at garage sales, you never know your luck :rolleyes:

[DoFoT9]

People are practically giving them away at garage sales, you never know your luck :rolleyes:

it wont be the same :p

ill have a look on ebay or the trading post and whatnot. :)

[belunos]

The cheapest I've found any Mac Pro, the one in my sig (sans 4gigs of memory) was $1750 at Powermax.com. That was very base in stats. Now granted, I didn't troll ebay, but most people are garbage, and if I'm spending over 1k on something I'd rather it have some kind warranty (powermax supplies 3 months).

So yea, I should think that, say, an 07 should still go for quite a bit

[wheezy]

One of the problems with Macs is... they just keep working. Yeah, a 5yr ago G4 Powermac isn't gonna fly around the moon anymore, but it still goes just fine.

Technology will increase, but at this point it seems more core increases and less on speed, and 8 cores should be pretty strong for a good time, especially when you factor in the ability to go to 32GB RAM. To me the main slowdown on the G4's is the RAM limitation as pro apps are so RAM hungry anymore. Granted it takes another small fortune to hit 32GBs, but 8 cores and 32GB maxes seem to be a pretty high ceiling. And won't Snow Leopard increase the Max RAM?

[kahine]

In my case it doesn't make sense though to keep a post 3 year old machine - I run virtual servers in Fusion now that couldnt even be done on a older Mac - and 5 years from now I expect major advances in design/architecture that make it worth it to me to not be using a 5 year old machine

To me - the less I have to wait to have something finish , or the faster jobs run = less time spent doing that task = more time to do something else -

I understand retiring your machine to do something else if you dont want to sell it , but as a main workstation that I work on constantly I can easily make a case that even spending 3k every two years pays for itself way more than holding on to something that slows me down

[DoFoT9]

. And won't Snow Leopard increase the Max RAM?

i think its more of a limitation of hardware, 64-bit OS's can address (i think) 512gb of RAM, so there is no issue there.

the availability of the sticks and pricing would be stopping the Mac Pro from having a higher maximum aswell, maybe it can support 64gb but there arent any 8gb sticks??

[FF_productions]

It would take something beyond Nehalem and the power of an multi-complex super-computer in a package of the Mac Pro case to make you upgrade? :D

Perhaps Sandybridge would get him drooling. Er, I meant his attention. ;) :p

Only one factor will make me upgrade...if my needs change and I need a faster machine.

For a machine that is expandable to 32 gigs of ram, it's pretty difficult to think about upgrading machines at the moment.

[nanofrog]

Only one factor will make me upgrade...if my needs change and I need a faster machine.
True, and usually the case, unless someone has loads of cash to throw away.
Doesn't stop most of us from drooling though. ;)

[Lesser Evets]

I have my mac pro since 4 months ago, I love it, and I expect have for 5 years before sell,...

I've done top line towers every 4 years, and this one I purchased last summer in June. I expect to keep it 5 years, as well.

And why not?

After one year it hasn't dated a bit. Jobs said they are diverting work from Macs to the iPhone for a while, and the design is excellent. As long as the OS doesn't run away from this machine it could last 4 more years easily.

As time goes on I will upgrade the drives to maximum available, and max the memory out, as well as updating video cards.

[jtbell]

Based on the fact that I had 2 G3's, one G4, and one G5, I probably switch out every 3-4 years.

Since 1987, I've had an SE, an SE/30, a PowerMac 6100, a G3, and a G4. That's an average of a bit more than four years per machine. The most recent two lasted for five years each.

I just bought a Mac Pro, but it's new so it doesn't figure into these calculations yet. I'll probably end up keeping it at least five years.

I wonder what Big New Thing will come along next to push up demands on processors? For me, going from the G3 to the G4 meant being able to edit video and burn my own DVDs, albeit slowly. The Mac Pro does video stuff significantly faster, and allows me to play back HD recordings from EyeTV at full resolution in real time.

What's next? Holographic 3D video?

[pprior]

Whenever a MAJOR cpu architectural change comes about allowing for roughly 100% more raw computing power.

+1

With windows machines, I was always buying or building a new machine about every 2 years. I've had my mac pro now for 1.5 years and other than upgrading memory (just bought some more, up to 11gb now) I'm not feeling the need to upgrade beyond the usual desire for a faster machine just because :)

[Dennis Bater]

I purchase a new Mac Pro almost every time new ones comes out. Exception, if it's the same processor and only slight speed bumps. I just can't help myself.