Best pre 2013 Mac Pro for value

[retta283]

Which pre-2013 Mac Pro do you think is the best for specs, while also being a good value?

 

[pl1984]

Mac Pro 4,1. It has all the capability of the 5,1 Mac Pro without the premium price.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^BUT - If you ever want to change the CPUs on a dual CPU model, it's much much tougher on a cMP 4,1 than a 5,1. The single processor model is fine however. Both models can, and should, be firmware updated to a 5,1.

Lou

 

[pl1984]

^^^^BUT - If you ever want to change the CPUs on a dual CPU model, it's much much tougher on a cMP 4,1 than a 5,1. The single processor model is fine however. Both models can, and should, be firmware updated to a 5,1.

While true upgrading was not part of the question asked by the OP. Therefore this had no bearing on my recommendation regarding what the OP asked.

 

[flyingmanatee]

Buy a dual CPU 4.1 or 5.1, as tracking down dual CPU trays often cost nearly as much as the computer itself. I wouldn't pay much attention to the CPUs in the current box, as you can pick up X5680s for $35-40, meaning you can bump up any 4.1+ to dual six core 3.33 Ghz for $70-80, half the cost of X5680s. I wouldn't bother with the 3.1s as the upgrade path is narrow.

As previously mentioned, the 4.1s require additional work, delidding the CPUs.

 

[aslowdodge]

I like the 4.1 , but it seems like prices have gone up as maybe people know their potential?
If you are going dual and want to upgrade processors and are afraid of delidding, then the cost of a 5.1 is probably an increase equal to paying someone to delid your upgrades.

 

[Apple Master]

Go with a 5,1 dual but it’s goin to cost you about $600.

Then throw in a 1TB SSD for start up, 64GB of ram, and a Sapphire Radeon RX 580, and then some 12 core CPUs. The additionals will cost you about $700 but then you stilll have a decent Mac for a much cheaper price than a crapola trashcan 6,1.