Considering a 2006 Mac Pro

Chuck Fadanoid · Nov 5, 2009, 03:27 AM

That sounds like a good price to me. They go for over 1000 Euros on the German eBay.

If you're coming from the PC world and are used to expanding your machine yourself, you'll likely prefer the Mac Pro over the iMac, which is effectively a laptop on a stick.

SimonMW · Nov 5, 2009, 05:00 AM

Quote:

which is effectively a laptop on a stick.

I think the operative phrase now would be "*was* a laptop on a stick".

Now with the new processors, especially the i7 quad they are no longer glorified laptops.

The Mac Pro seems like a good price, but it depends on which monitor comes with it. Don't forget that the Pro takes up a lot more space, and even a 2006 model is overkill for basic computer tasks.

For reference I often edit HD video on my 13" MacBook Pro, and that has waaaaaaaay less power than the Mac Pro that you mention (I also own the same model of Mac Pro. 1st gen Intel). Yet for most of the time it runs perfectly fine when I'm on the road.

So I'd go along with some of the others here and suggest getting something like the iMac from the refurb store, or even the new Mac Mini. The Mini comes in for a lot of flack, mainly from power user geeks who don't have much concept of the idea of a normal person just wanting to use a computer for tasks that don't involve heavy Photoshop work or posturing specs on a forum.

For what you need it to do you could get the Mini for the less than the Pro you are being offered. You just have to hook it up to your existing monitor and keyboard. The Mini will have more memory and have hardware accelerated H264 decoding for watching Quicktime movies, built in Blue Tooth, built in wireless etc.

BertyBoy · Nov 5, 2009, 05:04 AM

A good price, and why pay more for an iMac ?

If you can secure the original discs, keyboard and mouse with it, and maybe a flat screen monitor (if you need one), then definitely. I'd be jealous.

You may need to up the RAM, and the stock video card was already out-of-date when the machine was launched. But for kids stuff and surfing it'll be fine.

Do you get any other freebies with it ? Old software ? desktop speakers ?

Nov 5, 2009, 03:27 AM	#1
Chuck Fadanoid macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Munich, Germany	That sounds like a good price to me. They go for over 1000 Euros on the German eBay. If you're coming from the PC world and are used to expanding your machine yourself, you'll likely prefer the Mac Pro over the iMac, which is effectively a laptop on a stick. __________________ PowerMac G5 dual 2.7, OS X 10.4.11; iMac DV 400mhz

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Nov 5, 2009, 05:04 AM	#3
BertyBoy macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2009	A good price, and why pay more for an iMac ? If you can secure the original discs, keyboard and mouse with it, and maybe a flat screen monitor (if you need one), then definitely. I'd be jealous. You may need to up the RAM, and the stock video card was already out-of-date when the machine was launched. But for kids stuff and surfing it'll be fine. Do you get any other freebies with it ? Old software ? desktop speakers ?