How much should someone expect to pay for a 2006 Mac Pro roughly?

[lokiju]

I'm wondering what the going rate on a 2006 Mac Pro with 8GB RAM, two Intel Xeon Dual Core processors running at 2.6ghz typically goes for now days?

Even though it's older, specs wise it still looks pretty powerful.

Thanks.

 

[Hellhammer]

Seem to go for 1200-1500$ on eBay, depending on the specification (e.g. RAM, HD, GPU)

 

[ActionableMango]

For months now I've been considering a used Mac Pro, but they hold their prices so well it doesn't make much sense to me. At the high end of that range, $1500 for a 2006 Mac Pro is crazy. You can get a new 2009 Mac Pro for about $1900. The extra $400 gets you a new Mac instead of a used one, a warranty, a better keyboard, a better case, much better graphics, almost twice as high a Geekbench score, bigger HD, faster memory, faster CPU, newer socket, Hypertransport instead of a FSB, twice the cache, 64-bit EFI instead of 32, a better upgrade path for video cards, 2.1 bluetooth... did I miss anything? That's a phenomenal advantage for only $400 more.

Granted, the 2009 Mac Pro will only come with 3GB of RAM vs the 8 you specified.

Also granted, if you get a used one at the low end of the range, $1200, and you budget simply won't allow for a $1900 new Mac Pro, then yes, you have to get whatever you can get within the limited budget.

My personal budget was around $1500 but I've decided to save a little more and sell some stuff on Ebay to make up the difference. Hoping to pick up a new 2009 next month before they dry up.

 

[circularforward]

For months now I've been considering a used Mac Pro, but they hold their prices so well it doesn't make much sense to me. At the high end of that range, $1500 for a 2006 Mac Pro is crazy. You can get a new 2009 Mac Pro for about $1900. The extra $400 gets you a new Mac instead of a used one, a warranty, a better keyboard, a better case, much better graphics, almost twice as high a Geekbench score, bigger HD, faster memory, faster CPU, newer socket, Hypertransport instead of a FSB, twice the cache, 64-bit EFI instead of 32, a better upgrade path for video cards, 2.1 bluetooth... did I miss anything? That's a phenomenal advantage for only $400 more.

I have not been following the resale values of Mac Pros, but that is crazy. You are right that I would gladly pay $400 more for the advantages you list. But as you point out, if one must have a Mac Pro within a specified budget, then the used is the only way to go so I suppose there must be many in that situation.