Buy gen 1 Mac Pro 2.66 or new quad 2.66?

[ironbrain3]

Hi,

First post and thanks in advance for your help.

I have a chance to a Mac Pro from the original owner with a gen 1 mac pro 2.66, 8 gigs ram, blue tooth, and 1900 vid card . still has over 280 days left on the extended apple care.... price $1500

Or should i just get the new base model Mac Pro?
The new one would strain my budget, but it is with in reach.... 🙂

Cheers!

 

[2002cbr600f4i]

Hi,

First post and thanks in advance for your help.

I have a chance to a Mac Pro from the original owner with a gen 1 mac pro 2.66, 8 gigs ram, blue tooth, and 1900 vid card . still has over 280 days left on the extended apple care.... price $1500

Or should i just get the new base model Mac Pro?
The new one would strain my budget, but it is with in reach.... 🙂

Cheers!

Um, you're comparing apples to oranges... 2 new generations CPU in the 2009 which will blow the doors off that gen 1. Clock speed is the same but the CPU architecture is very different.

I'd say if you can swing the 2009, go for it. If you can't, then get the older one, with the plan to upgrade some of the components over time.

There ARE some limitations with the older model though in terms of graphics cards and such, so be aware and think about what you want to do with the machine before pulling the trigger.

 

[JPamplin]

I managed to grab a 2006 4-core Pro for $1000 and upgrade it (wasn't too hard) - I agree that the latest one has some great features, but it just depends how much you need in video speed, extra storage or RAM - if you really need to upgrade it, the 2006 model might suit your needs until you budget restrictions loosen a bit.

JP

 

[ironbrain3]

Thanks for the advice.
I have a G4 tower dual 1.25 (dual boot) machine now.
It works fine, but I have that itch to upgrade.
Now .... just how much $ do I spend to scratch that itch! 😱

Cheers

 

[kellen]

What are your uses? 1500 for a great computer under warranty isn't too bad, especially with the extras.

You would be looking at another 1000 for the base quad, without all the ram and HD. Same amount of apple care though basically.

Only thing is the 2006 can be upgraded to an octo with newer chips, while the newer quad has only one chip available.

 

[wpc33]

If I were you I'd scoop that deal on the '06, and prepare to be amazed at the upgrade leap; You're running a machine only a small fraction of its speed.
I'm on a faster machine than you, and am not quite a speed junkie. Whenever I use an '06 MP, or even a MacBook(!) I am in awe. Save your bling for future upgrades, if you must.

BTW, the best-for-bucks GPU for the MP right now is the ATI 4870. Apple doesn't advertise this, but is fully compatible with the '06 MP's. Lots of folks here have used issued versions, as well as flashed PC editions to success. You would have nothing to worry about with the '06.

Oh yes, let's not forget that the '06 has 8 RAM slots, instead of 4, much cheaper RAM, and two ODD SATA ports for expandability.

If you've been digging your G4 this long, there's no likely way you need the faster CPU of the '09 so badly, to negate the cons, and the cool Grand.

Whatever you pick, enjoy it!

 

[jjahshik32]

I'd buy the new Nehalem Quad.

 

[nanofrog]

Personally, I'd skip the '06 and '09, and look for a refurbished or used '08 model. There's several reasons for this. First, it's equiped with quad core CPU's (the quads can be upgraded to octads, but getting an octad from the beginning would make much more sense). Second, it's performance can keep up or even beat '09's (clock dependent, and highest clock speeds are best for this). And lastly, they're a much easier pill to swallow cost wise. You can get an Octad refurb for similar money as a new '09 Quad.

Beyond that, it's hard to say though, as I've no idea what you want to use it for.

 

[gugucom]

The first gen would also be quite respectable if you find Clovertown 5355 or 5365 chips at decent used prices for it. I got a pair of 3,0 GHz 5365 quads for 410$ on ebay. With 8 cores at 3,0 GHz now it is not so easy to blow the doors off my baby. 😀

 

[nanofrog]

The first gen would also be quite respectable if you find Clovertown 5355 or 5365 chips at decent used prices for it. I got a pair of 3,0 GHz 5365 quads for 410$ on ebay. With 8 cores at 3,0 GHz now it is not so easy to blow the doors off my baby. 😀

Yeah, but it may not be that easy to find them at a great price (going off some of the other posts, you know the thread). 😉

So the '08 might be a better idea, and it happens to have a little quicker FSB and FB-DIMM. 😀 Still easy to implement an internal RAID, and I see a WINNER. 😛