How to replace my old dear Mac Pro 3.1?

[antonioc]

Hello
I'm still working well on my old Mac Pro 3.1 (2x2,8 Ghz Quad core - 18 Gb Ram, GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2 gb, I have a 27" Dell 7 years old too) but I know, I must replace it to work on Mojave (using Adobe CS6, no Catalina). I'm a graphic designer (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, sometime video editing...).
So, how to replace it? The new mac pro is too expensive for me. I'm considering the 27" 5k iMac, though I hate its glossy monitor. The question is: is the middle i5 3.1 GHz configuration good for me? Or should I think of the 3.7 Ghz model or even the i9?
I think to upgrade the Ram by myself (the Apple cost is offensive).
I know, the iMac will never have a long life like the Mac Pro, to which I have changed hard disk, video card, USB card... but I don't see any alternatives as desktop.
Thanks

 

[Fishrrman]

Why not a 2018 Mini with an i7?
If the internal graphics aren't powerful enough for you, get an eGPU...

 

[antonioc]

Why not a 2018 Mini with an i7?
If the internal graphics aren't powerful enough for you, get an eGPU...

Thanks for reply.
The Ram replacement is not so simple in Mac Mini, so Mac Mini + Apple Ram + eGpu...
Or not?

 

[Sage-Brush]

The Mac Mini is a good choice. You do have to do several steps to upgrade the RAM. You could watch any of the videos on this and get through it. The catch here is the new Mini may come with Catalina installed. I am not sure you can put Mojave on the 2018 Mac Mini if it comes pre-installed with Catalina.

Myself, I purchased a 27-inch 2017 iMac 3.5GHz intel core i5, Radeon Pro 575 4GB, 24GB RAM. I bought it on closeout from B&H Photo. It came loaded with Mojave. Mojave is the last Mac OS that can run both 32 and 64-bit programs. I did this to be able to continue using my old 32-bit Adobe CS6 products while I learn the new Affinity series of software. The 5K screen is amazingly great. I would not worry about the glare. The quality of the screen is well worth it. And, the glare does not even concern me anymore. Upgrading the RAM is very easy on the 27 inch iMac. You can bump it up to 64GB if you choose.

As far as long life span, the iMac computer should last 3-5 years or longer. Now if you plan on getting the newest Adobe software via subscription, then get the 2019 27-inch iMac.

 

[Fishrrman]

Sage wrote:
"I am not sure you can put Mojave on the 2018 Mac Mini if it comes pre-installed with Catalina."

I don't see why not.
It WILL require a total reformat and reinstall, however.
And the t2 features must be disabled beforehand, as well.

 

[antonioc]

Myself, I purchased a 27-inch 2017 iMac 3.5GHz intel core i5, Radeon Pro 575 4GB, 24GB RAM. I bought it on closeout from B&H Photo. It came loaded with Mojave. Mojave is the last Mac OS that can run both 32 and 64-bit programs. I did this to be able to continue using my old 32-bit Adobe CS6 products while I learn the new Affinity series of software.

It seems my same situation. Does CS6 work fine with Mojave? no issues? I think to buy the 2019 model than downgrade it to Mojave. Does this affect warranty?

 

[hobowankenobi]

Warranty is for hardware, not software. No issues there.

As for longevity with iMacs, I see them all the time that are 5-7 years old, rarely an issue. Have some at work that are close to 10 years old. The only thing to really worry about is spinning HDs, so if you can get one with only solid state...no more worry. Pair that with easily upgradable external or NAS storage.

Before jumping to Adobe CC, you should check out Affinity options. I hear good things. Eventually, we all will have to move beyond 10.14, for security and browser support. Moving to Affinity might be the best way to not have to scrounge around for older OS support.

 

[Rob1n]

I can confirm CS6 works fine on mojave.

I advise you to look at something called mojave patcher from dosdude1.
It's a patcher tool that gives you mojave on unsupported macs.
I am currently running a mac pro 2008 that has been patched to mojave by this patcher.
It will help you get a few more years out of your old mac pro, the hardware is fine and adobe creative suite cs6 runs without any problems on my system.

Here is the link to the patcher:
http://dosdude1.com/mojave/

Before running the patcher you have to verify if you have a metal graphics card, just look it up on google.
If your graphics card isn't metal supported you will have to select the "Legacy video card patch" in the patcher.

If you have any further questions you can reply to this post.

(edit)
Here is a video on youtube from dosdude himself showing how to use the patcher, it is really simple to use and works very well.

 

[antonioc]

Before running the patcher you have to verify if you have a metal graphics card, just look it up on google.
If your graphics card isn't metal supported you will have to select the "Legacy video card patch" in the patcher.

Is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2047 MB a metal graphic card?

 

[Rob1n]

Is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2047 MB a metal graphic card?

It says here that it should work.
https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/336170-mojave-budget-video-cards/

You should backup your data before updating and just try it out, if it doesnt work you can apply the legacy video card patch later.
Or maybe try installing it on another hard drive before installing it on your main hard drive.

I am running a gt 640 2gb card and it works fine without the legacy video card patch.