Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is the Mac Pro WAY overpriced?
- Thread starter Hookflash
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
My 8-core 2006 MacPro mod will keep me for another few Intel releases NP. After that though I'll be looking around. If Apple maintains their dumb-as-a-doorknob price scheduling then that next machine will indeed be a Hackintosh. I'm waiting for both higher clock and more cores! I want 8-core chips at around 4.0 GHz or so and RAM + PCI + SATA to match. Looks like it should be here in about 18 months or so - I might however, have to settle to 3.6 or 3.8 GHz. 
Right now there's such a tiny difference between what I have and what Apple is offering it's hard to upgrade at any price. It's like Intel has been on a camping trip for the past 3 years or something. In Q4 2006 I thought for sure we would be seeing 8 and 12 core processors already by now. As it is we have overpriced 6-cores and rumors of 8-core processors "in a month or two".
Right now there's such a tiny difference between what I have and what Apple is offering it's hard to upgrade at any price. It's like Intel has been on a camping trip for the past 3 years or something. In Q4 2006 I thought for sure we would be seeing 8 and 12 core processors already by now. As it is we have overpriced 6-cores and rumors of 8-core processors "in a month or two".
ahh thats reasonable enough reasons for me. i love OSX dont get me wrong, but their "premiums" are a bit ridiculous!
i havent ventured into the RAID thing of hack's (too poor), but i didnt think it was fully supported - hope you dont want that!
the main thing when searching - motherboard + GPU. get that combination right and you are set
i agree though, the intel roadmap doesnt look too uhhh...powerful. mighty expensive though i guess with AMD sort of falling away they are gaining more and more power and getting c*ckier.
i havent ventured into the RAID thing of hack's (too poor), but i didnt think it was fully supported - hope you dont want that!
the main thing when searching - motherboard + GPU. get that combination right and you are set
i agree though, the intel roadmap doesnt look too uhhh...powerful. mighty expensive though
i guess with AMD sort of falling away they are gaining more and more power and getting c*ckier.
For sure! Must have RAID! But I guess a RAID card will work if Hackintosh doesn't do software RAID.
Disk I/O is just too slow without RAID. Even for surfing the web or very light work there's just too much difference not to have it. Even SSD... I would want to RAID 2 or 3 of them. But I won't be doing SSD anytime soon I guess. Not till 1TB is around the $300 mark.
Disk I/O is just too slow without RAID. Even for surfing the web or very light work there's just too much difference not to have it. Even SSD... I would want to RAID 2 or 3 of them. But I won't be doing SSD anytime soon I guess. Not till 1TB is around the $300 mark.
For sure! Must have RAID! But I guess a RAID card will work if Hackintosh doesn't do software RAID.
Disk I/O is just too slow without RAID. Even for surfing the web or very light work there's just too much difference not to have it. Even SSD... I would want to RAID 2 or 3 of them. But I won't be doing SSD anytime soon I guess. Not till 1TB is around the $300 mark.
i recall reading a post somewhere and somebody succeeded with a software RAID, a quick google search was successful and positive! here and here both prove that a software RAID is easy to set up and will work.
SSD = nono at this point in time, you taught me that
Overpriced? Not at all, IMO. I have an original quad Mac Pro (1,1) and I was looking at upgrading the CPUs when AppleCare was up and just the CPUs would cost in the area of $600 USD and up, from everywhere I've looked.
IMO, if just the CPUs would cost that much, the $2k and change I paid for it is pretty decent.
IMO, if just the CPUs would cost that much, the $2k and change I paid for it is pretty decent.
I think that there is general agreement that it is the '09 models that are overpriced. The earlier versions were a very good price - for the '08 it was cheaper than building one yourself from the same parts and certainly cheaper than Dell. It all changed with the '09 models which are much more than a DIY job and more than Dell (especially the four core where the difference is very large).
I don't know about you but every month I like to take my space shuttle to the nearest star in the process of going super-nova and watch the light show. Of course I can't witness something so spectacular without bringing my Mac Pro along for the ride and twittering about it.
I had considered a Hackintosh as well, but passed because I really did not want to deal with having to fiddle with it reassuringly to keep it updated. Is it still a two-step dance for major software upgrades on OSX for the Hack's? That's the reason I sucked up the Apple price premium.
About a $500 dollar difference for the Quad core. I think the Quad Mac Pro is about $300 over idealistic price. It should be 2299 IMO.
I've had several of my Apple customers looking to replace an older Mac desktop with a new tower. They already have monitors, don't want unexpandable iMacs and are mostly photographers because I have sold them DSLRs. They are power users and need fast computers at a good price. The least expensive Apple tower is the quad core with 3GB memory for $2,499.
They have all opted for a Gateway, HP or Dell quad with 8GB memory that goes for $799-$899.
Agreed. Who cares that apple makes a workstation that is so awesome. They do not make any computer for power users that do not require a work station. An Imac is a joke and the new MBP's show that apple is catering to the masses. You know what, it is working for them, They are making a ton of money and they couldn't care less about the mid range user. They know their mac cult will always follow them and they love the new switchers. This is the new apple and I have accepted it. I just built my first hackintosh using the EFIX boot system. I love it!!! I have the fastest mac you can buy other than the almighty workstation form apple. In the end it cost $1,500 bucks but I dual boot into leopard and windows 7 and have the best of both worlds on one computer.
Yes! We all have our own perceptions about subjective things like quality, value, etc. I have a saying "A persons perception is their reality". That's why I usually don't enter the debate on topics like this. But I do enjoy reading it!
Me too that would be a solid system. Quite honestly it probably would have been doable had AMD remained competitive and held Intel's pricing at bay. Intel can charge what they want for the high end because the Opteron is no longer stomping the bejeebus out of the Xeon.
Yep, sooner or later Apple will have to lower the price. Economy is getting crappier with more unemployment every month and I'm pretty sure sales took a big hit at Apple as well.
Also its been about 6 months since the release of the Nehalem Mac Pros and by Nov. it would have been 10 months since its release and I'm sure Apple will lower the prices on the Mac Pros as they were extremely overpriced to begin with.
I doubt you'll see big shifts in the Mac Pro's price... The target audience is the one who doesn't quip on the price...everyone else mostly buys laptops - which is why the mac mini and imac are basically laptops - reuse of lines to keep costs down.
You can get one for $2640 if you buy it under the developer program. If you are or know a higher-ed student you can sign up for the student program for $99 giving you a 20% discount. Some companies also have developer programs and offer their remaining discounted system purchase allotments to employees. Failing that, keep an eye on the refurb store.
I don't think they will. They probably priced the current Mac Pro's based on their forecast projections for the year and required profit margins and I suspect little has changed.