Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Anyone else sell Mac Pro for a MBP?

A

AppleDroid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 10, 2011
631
84
Illinois
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

I currently run a 2009 quad Mac Pro and a 09 15in MBP but I am starting to do a lot more travel gigs and seriously considering selling both to fund a 15 or 17in MBP.

Has anyone else done something similar and any guesses on selling prices?
 
Not a chance. I have the luxury of having one of each and use them for different purposes. I can't imagine being without the MP.
 
I just did about 6 weeks ago. Sold my 8-core 2006 mac pro with 8GB RAM and Radeon 4870. Got the baseline 15" MBP and added an SSD. It's way faster than the Mac Pro.
 
tamvly said:
Not a chance. I have the luxury of having one of each and use them for different purposes. I can't imagine being without the MP.
Click to expand...
I shared this feeling when I was doing more video editing but it really isn't my core business. I mainly stay in the print/web for my work and I certainly don't need a MP for that. I just worry if I wait too long my Quad 2009 won't be worth much. :(

bozz2006 said:
I just did about 6 weeks ago. Sold my 8-core 2006 mac pro with 8GB RAM and Radeon 4870. Got the baseline 15" MBP and added an SSD. It's way faster than the Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

I was leaning towards the 17in only because it would be my mobile workstation (I don't always have the luxery of a 2nd monitor around on-site) but it's just so huge. If I went the 15in route it probably be the mid 15in with an SSD.

Thanks for the input, always appreciated.
 
Did a little more digging and I don't think selling both would even cover the cost of a new MBP.

2009 15in refurb 2.66 / 9600 256MB / 4GB ram is going for about $600-800.
2009 Quad MP / 2.67Ghz / Gt120 / 8GB ram aftermarket most for about $1100.

Sigh. Well it was a thought but if I do this I shouldn't expect enough to cover the cost I presume.
 
I did! Sold my 2008 MP, 3.0ghz x 8, 16gigs RAM, 8800GT....and my 23" ACD. Picked up the new 17" MBP AND a new iMac 21.5"....and I'm happy as can be! Final Cut seems to work damn near just as fast on both...for exporting and transcoding, it seems a wash at this point.

Very nice to have the portability of the MBP, and the power to boot. Love these new SB machines. And I've not ruled out the possibility of purchasing a future 2011 SB MacPro. I'm infatuated with the ThunderBolt technology...as an audio and video editor, I'm really excited to see what comes down the pipe as this and next year progress.

Jer
 
AppleDroid said:
Did a little more digging and I don't think selling both would even cover the cost of a new MBP.

2009 15in refurb 2.66 / 9600 256MB / 4GB ram is going for about $600-800.
2009 Quad MP / 2.67Ghz / Gt120 / 8GB ram aftermarket most for about $1100.

Sigh. Well it was a thought but if I do this I shouldn't expect enough to cover the cost I presume.
Click to expand...

Check out eBay for prices on new MBPs. I got my new high-end 15" 2011 MacBook Pro for only $1815 shipped from an eBay auction.
 
I sold my 2008 Mac Pro a few weeks ago (8gb RAM, lots of storage, ATI 5870) for $2100 via Craigslist, and bought a 15" MBP (top of the line except no SSD). Very happy with it.
 
bozz2006 said:
I just did about 6 weeks ago. Sold my 8-core 2006 mac pro with 8GB RAM and Radeon 4870. Got the baseline 15" MBP and added an SSD. It's way faster than the Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Clearly, five year old technology will pale in comparison with the current state of the art. This is about three generations according to Moore's law, so we should expect about a ten fold increase in raw CPU power over that time frame.

I note that most of the folks trading up seems to be in the 2008 and older category. Still, the convenience of taking your system with you is compelling for lots of folks and will probably accelerate.

Interestingly, I note that I have started taking my iPad with me instead of the MBP. Way more convenient for many applications. Same effect.
 
Yeah I think my used market value is really low on my 2009 MP because it's the Quad which is bested by the i7 versions of the 2011 MBP.

I figured the 17in MBP with thunderbolt would be more than enough considering it's just as fast as my current Mac Pro and the thunderbolt port could add an external array if I ever get more into motion design.

I normally don't think about selling gear this soon (I've only had the 15in MBP for 1.5 years) but it's so much slower than my current tower or the 2011 models it's value has really dropped fast.
 
tamvly said:
Interestingly, I note that I have started taking my iPad with me instead of the MBP. Way more convenient for many applications. Same effect.
Click to expand...

I use my EVO as my 'couch machine' since it's screen is large enough to read most things comfortably. Tweetdeck for facebook/twitter, Meebq for chat and it does a decent job at web browsing plus multiple email accounts.

I still would love an iPad though. ;)
 
Unlikely to sell my 8-core, but depending on the disk systems that come out for Thunderbolt and some of the audio interfaces that become available, I will not be refreshing the desktop unit again.

Thunderbolt is the great equalizers; high-bandwidth PCIe.

What am I going to do with all that space under my desk, though?
 
I sold my 8 core Mac Pro about a year and a half ago after I bought a 13" mbp. I found that I was using the mbp more than the Mac Pro. I've since bought a 2011 15" mbp and a 27" Cinema Display. I loved the Mac Pro, but I also wanted more portability and all my data in one place. The new mbps are powerful enough to use with the 27" display if I need more screen and I have the flexibility of using my computer wherever I want.:)
 
AppleDroid said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

I currently run a 2009 quad Mac Pro and a 09 15in MBP but I am starting to do a lot more travel gigs and seriously considering selling both to fund a 15 or 17in MBP.

Has anyone else done something similar and any guesses on selling prices?
Click to expand...

Nope. For rendering purposes, the Mac Pro will run much faster. Cooler, too. (I'll do design work on the MBP and transfer it to the MP for the final render.)
 
I had a 2008 8 core Mac Pro that I sold to get a 13" MBP. About 6 months later, I sold the 13" to get a 15" that I am typing on now. I also sold the 23" ACD that went with the MP.

I had only bought the Mac Pro just for the experience of owning it but it was purely overkill for me. Even a MBP is overkill for me since I just use it for internet and syncing my iPhone/iPod and watching TV shows in itunes.

I sold the Mac Pro to a used Mac store here for $1600. Yes, I know I got taken but I didn't care and just wanted to get rid of it. It was stock even though I had it for a year.
 
I actually really wish that I could but there are 2 things stopping me:

Screen real estate and fan noise.

Sometimes my audio projects get pretty big and processor intensive (got some serious bloat going on there at times) but my '08 can handle it all without breaking a sweat. The '11 MBP can handle it too, but gets pretty hot.

If I could connect two external monitors and stick the MBP in a cabinet or something to dampen noise that would work, but there aren't really any good options out there at the moment.

(I've seen the box that lets you connect 2 external monitors, but they have to be the same resolution, which won't work for me)
 
eemzah said:
I sold my 2009 Mac Pro Quad for a 13" MBP base model. Now waiting for Thunderbolt devices to arrive.
Click to expand...

Whoa that's a drastic maneuver there! I can see going to an i7 15" but a 13 is crazy ;)

rockinrocker said:
I actually really wish that I could but there are 2 things stopping me:

Screen real estate and fan noise.

Sometimes my audio projects get pretty big and processor intensive (got some serious bloat going on there at times) but my '08 can handle it all without breaking a sweat. The '11 MBP can handle it too, but gets pretty hot.

If I could connect two external monitors and stick the MBP in a cabinet or something to dampen noise that would work, but there aren't really any good options out there at the moment.

(I've seen the box that lets you connect 2 external monitors, but they have to be the same resolution, which won't work for me)
Click to expand...

That is something I'd have to consider as well since I do the occasional After Effects short title animation and video editing. If I were to render all day (especially 64bit apps that use up to 100% CPU) I may be afraid to leave that duty to a laptop running at 90c + fans at full-blast!
 
It really depends on what you do, It can be a pain to have 2 separate computers, and the Mac Pro has a way longer lifespan than any MacBook because it's upgradeable.
You can get a Mac Pro for 5+ Years or a 17" MBP every 3-4 Years to stay on track with speed and features (If you're a professional)

Also, doing hard work on laptops is a pain (IMO) they get really hot and noisy because they're close to you...
 
Alvi said:
It really depends on what you do, It can be a pain to have 2 separate computers, and the Mac Pro has a way longer lifespan than any MacBook because it's upgradeable.
You can get a Mac Pro for 5+ Years or a 17" MBP every 3-4 Years to stay on track with speed and features (If you're a professional)

Also, doing hard work on laptops is a pain (IMO) they get really hot and noisy because they're close to you...
Click to expand...

Valid points (as others have made as well.) For now I'm waiting to see how much on-site freelance is coming my way before I make a solid decision. If I land a full-time gig I'll probably sell my older MBP and wait for the next MBA refresh as my travel device.
 
AppleDroid said:
Did a little more digging and I don't think selling both would even cover the cost of a new MBP.

2009 15in refurb 2.66 / 9600 256MB / 4GB ram is going for about $600-800.
2009 Quad MP / 2.67Ghz / Gt120 / 8GB ram aftermarket most for about $1100.

Sigh. Well it was a thought but if I do this I shouldn't expect enough to cover the cost I presume.
Click to expand...

Hmm, have you checked ebay for what machines are selling for? It's been a couple months, but I debated upon selling my 2006 Mac Pro. Similar machines to what I have were going for around $1100 at the time.
 
superfula said:
Hmm, have you checked ebay for what machines are selling for? It's been a couple months, but I debated upon selling my 2006 Mac Pro. Similar machines to what I have were going for around $1100 at the time.
Click to expand...

I sold my 2006 Mac Pro for $1800 on ebay. It had some nice upgrades done to it, but I put it up for sale without really expecting to actually sell it. So I put a high reserve on it and a crazy $1800 buy it now price. Yeah.... It sold on buy it now in about 9 hours. I guess I should've put it a little higher! :D
 
bozz2006 said:
I sold my 2006 Mac Pro for $1800 on ebay. It had some nice upgrades done to it, but I put it up for sale without really expecting to actually sell it. So I put a high reserve on it and a crazy $1800 buy it now price. Yeah.... It sold on buy it now in about 9 hours. I guess I should've put it a little higher! :D
Click to expand...

you have under valued your mac pro !!!!!!!

ebay it. you will get 2 k or more
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back