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I am trying to better understand the various MacPro Models

Peter.Howard

Peter.Howard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 28, 2010
105
0
Australia.
Hi !

I am trying to better understand the various MacPro Models, can you help me please?

I am looking at these links:

(Maybe a better spec link exists?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro
http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_Pro

  1. I think I'm fairly well down patted on what a MacPro 1.1 is, however just to confirm this model does not have the 64-bit EFI?
  2. It seems to me it might be difficult to tell with the various 3Ghz models for sale on ebay if or when the video card has been changed, or they don't give the full specs?
  3. The speed of the memory does increase over each model, another indicator?
  4. Does there exist perhaps and easier to read list of specs for each model in the MacPro range?
  5. How upgradeable are MacPros, you would have to change the entire motherboard / logic board from say a MacPro 1.1 to the current model? Does Apple offer these upgrade paths, as they used to with older computers back in the day?
I am sorry for so many questions, I am looking at buying a second hand MacPro in the next couple of months to move away from Windows PCs and come back to MacWorld.

Maybe a lot of this is already answered elsewhere, if someone can point me to a link or something to go and read that would be appreciated, thanks.
 
1. Yes, Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 have 32-bit EFI

2. Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 (2006-2007) use 667MHz DDR2 while Mac Pro 3,1 (2008) uses 800MHz DDR2.

3. See the above.

4. EveryMac is pretty good

5. The internal design changed in 2009 so I don't know how well 2010's logic board would work with 2006 MP's design but theoretically it should work. However, it may be cheaper and at least a lot easier to buy a 2010 MP straightaway.

I doubt Apple offers something like that. Maybe a reseller does
 
Hellhammer said:
5. The internal design changed in 2009 so I don't know how well 2010's logic board would work with 2006 MP's design but theoretically it should work.
Click to expand...


Swapping the logic board is not possible. The whole internal design, except the ODD bay and PSU has changed.
 
philipma1957 said:
is this too much money?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/608729-REG/Apple_MB871LL_A_Mac_Pro_Desktop_Computer.html

I would not considered buying older or less then this. a very good deal . same one from apple is at this link

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB871LL/A?mco=MTEzMzA3MDk bh photo is a very good deal. has 64 bit
Click to expand...

I should have mentioned I live in Australia, does anyone have good sources for used Mac Pros here, other than ebay?

spinnerlys said:
You can use MacTracker or www.everymac.com to have a more centralised overview of Mac Pro models.
Click to expand...

Thanks that looks really good.

Hellhammer said:
I doubt Apple offers something like that. Maybe a reseller does
Click to expand...

Cheers, thanks, I knew back 15 years ago + they had various upgrade options for different models, have been out of the Macintosh scene since then really.

Transporteur said:
Swapping the logic board is not possible. The whole internal design, except the ODD bay and PSU has changed.
Click to expand...

thanks for clearing that up.
 
Hey Peter.

I'm a newbie here too, but have learnt SOOOO much in a few weeks.

I'm in Tassie too. Just bought a 1.1 (dual 3.0GHZ model) from New Wave Systems in Melb. http://www.newwavesystems.com.au/nws/used_towers_mini.html Seems they don't have any at the mo', but keep an eye on it. Try these guys too. http://www.applebits.net/catalog/index.php

Keep in mind that a new Mac in Aus costs about 30% more than US prices, even though our dollar is comparable. That means used machines are more as well.

Keep in mind that a used model has a shorter resale-able lifespan than a new one. It might end up costing you about the same each year (in de-valuation) to buy a new one as to buy used. It's just a matter of your up-front budget.

I paid $1990 for my MP 1.1 with 1TB HDD, 4GB RAM. It was about the same price as buying off EBay, but with a three month warranty.

My advice would be to spend every night on this forum for two weeks before buying anything. I kind of wish I'd waited and researched more, but I've made a huge step up from my old PowerMac G4.

I found this useful while researching. http://www.apple-history.com/

This is good for figuring performance/dollar. http://www.primatelabs.ca/geekbench/mac-benchmarks/

PM me if you'd like to chat. Happy to talk on the phone.
 
Hi troutweed

Good to see another tassie member here :)

Thanks for the links, I hadn't see ether of them, even though I've been Googling for Australian used Mac sellers, thanks.

I had found these guys:

http://www.recompute.com.au/


Yes it does seem that a reasonable spec'ed MP 1.1 is about $1800-$2000

I am hoping over the next month or so to get something around the $2500 mark,

they have seemed to held their value well, as a brand new MP starts around $3499.


This is probably the sort of system I'm aiming for when funds allow:

http://www.applebits.net//catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_85&products_id=471&osCsid=64hc1vq33u9vd7h15oaf3hkuq3
 
Yeah, wanted to get that one, but had total budget of $3000, so got my machine plus extra 1TB HDD (set up in RAID 0 with original drive) plus 2TB HDD for TimeMachine, plus extra 8GB RAM. I'm not spending all day every day working on it, so speed isn't all-important to me.

That 2.8 Octo would be 50% faster than mine. I'm finding the limiting factor is old software (CS2). Need to upgrade that next. :(
 
A lot of people seem to suggest not getting Mac Pro 1,1's and I'm not saying the don't have problems they do, 32bit efi is up there but I bought one on ebay for £750 which is about $1200 and I started upgrading, my original specs were:

Mac Pro 2006 2.66 Ghz Dual 5150's
2GB RAM DDR2 - 667mhz
250GB HDD
Nvidia 7300GT
Superdrive

Now my specs are:

MikePro
2 x Quad Xeon X5355's @3.2ghz - 1.313v FSB@1600mhz
12GB DDR2 FB-DIMM Kingston @ 800Mhz
Sapphire 5870 1GB + XFX 5970 2GB Crossfirex 850/1200
SATA III 6GB/s + USB 3.0 Asus U3S6
Bluetooth 2.1 + Airport 802.11n
2 x 64GB OCZ Vertex 2E SSD's RAID 0 - Mac OS X 10.6.4
60GB Crucial C300 6GB/s - Windows 7 Pro x64
1.5TB WD Green
1.0TB WD Green
Liteon Blu-Ray R/W x12
Apple 1000w PSU
5.25" 450 PSU

So yeah they may not be perfect but with some upgrades, they can turn out pretty nicely.

The total cost of my computer, including the original £750 is £2300 or about $3,700 and I've had good fun building, so my advice is go cheap and add what you want.
 
neckarb said:
SATA III 6GB/s + USB 3.0 Asus U3S6
Bluetooth 2.1 + Airport 802.11n
I've had good fun building, so my advice is go cheap and add what you want.
Click to expand...

They were both done with PCI add-on cards, yes?

hey sure,
I can see the merit in that, as well you have the option of adding to it piece by piece, bit by bit if or when you can afford to,

I have been tempted by the 27" Imac, looks really nice, but you can't really upgrade them as much as a seperate box computer, that is the great thing about PC's, addons, upgrades etc..etc..which is why I like the MacPro.
 
Peter.Howard said:
They were both done with PCI add-on cards, yes?

hey sure,
I can see the merit in that, as well you have the option of adding to it piece by piece, bit by bit if or when you can afford to,

I have been tempted by the 27" Imac, looks really nice, but you can't really upgrade them as much as a seperate box computer, that is the great thing about PC's, addons, upgrades etc..etc..which is why I like the MacPro.
Click to expand...

The 6GB/s Sata III card with USB 3.0 was a PCIe card, but Usb 3.0 is currently only supported in windows, my Airport card was an Apple mini PCIe card that goes into a tiny slot on the motherboard, I bought a little bluetooth USB adapter for £2... :)

The other thing is with a Mac Pro starting at 3,500 now and I only spent $200 extra, my Mac Pro will definately outpace a basic mac pro in games and such which is what I use it for so it's good value.
 
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