Is this a good deal?

[Nade]

There is a Apple Mac Pro with 23" Cinema HD display for sale near me. It was purchased in January 2008 and was used in a professional environment.

Specs:
Dual 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
8GB RAM (4X2GB)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
One 500GB 7200 rpm SATA
16x SuperDrive
Wireless Mighty Mouse

$2000

Do you guys think this is a good deal? And, since it was bought in Jan. 2008, is it an 07 or 08 model?

I was planning on buying the upcoming MP, but would that be a better value for me, the base model only?

Is applecare extendable? Right now it has until February 2011.

 

[kellen]

Its an 08 model. Refurb they are 2400, so getting it for 2000 plus an ACD with applecare and the extras is a great deal in my opinion.

Apple care isn't extendable beyond 3 years, so 2011 is the extent.

You could buy this now and sell it for the same probably when the new MP is released.

 

[bozz2006]

great deal

 

[Nade]

Ok well this is asking for a speculation but: Do you guys think this will be a better computer than the base model of the upcoming one.

 

[Nade]

Also, I forgot to mention.
I can get just the computer w/o the monitor for $1700.

 

[bozz2006]

it will be better than what $2000 will get you in the new machine

 

[polotska]

Definitely a good deal.

 

[kellen]

If you need the monitor, get the monitor. If not, don't. 300 for the monitor is a good deal.

As compared to the 2010 mac pro, there is no idea on anything, including price. Add in that there is no release date, although soon, I would pick up the 2008 and consider a 2010 if the 08 doesn't work out.

What do you use it for?

 

[Nostromo]

Does this AppleCare also cover the display? (In this case, display and computer need to have been bought at the same time).

As you have Applecare with it, there is not much of a risk. Looks like a good deal.

But: what do you do with the computer? Will it be good enough one, two years from now?

 

[Maui]

Ok well this is asking for a speculation but: Do you guys think this will be a better computer than the base model of the upcoming one.

Almost certainly not. But it also is at least a grand cheaper than the upcoming base model, actually more, since you'd need to buy the 24" ACD new ($900), or a 23" used, plus AppleCare, etc.

Always a bit of risk buying used, but this seems like a good deal.

 

[Nadav35]

2008 mac pro - still a powerful and viable alternative

For those who are jumping up from a 2006-2007 to a 2008 or 09 mac pro, based on what I have read and researched the higher end 3.0 and 3.2 2008 mac pros offer a really good advantage.

The 8-core 2.8, while being the lowest of the 2008 family is slowly fading out though its architecture is mainly the same as the 3.0 and 3.2. Many have suggested on here that if one uses SSD drives in a RAID then you will have a nice fast system in terms of storage. When asked if it would be worth it to go from a 2008 to a 2009 the answer for 90 percent has been mainly no real gain except for a few minutes in rendering. But, for those who bought the 2008 mac pro for everyday tasks like I do + bootcamp, it makes a very fast and fine machine.

Just the very notion that the 2008's have EFI64 means there certainly exists the upgrade path for "future" video card options, one of which I can't wait: The Radeon 5870 and the other family of 5800 video cards. Will Apple market the 5870 for the 2010? This is anyone's guess, but at least those with 08 mac pros will be able to continue to upgrade to faster and more powerful GPUS due to EFI64 that is until EFI128 comes out.

As Nano pointed out in many posts awhile back, the Mac Pro's days are possibly going to be numbered as Apple is shifting away from the pro market , mac pro, and xserve and replacing all that with the electronics such as: Ipod, Ipad, Iphone 3gs, and other future mobile devices.

Apple is going to thrive where they will make the most money, and sad to say it isn't the mac pro, but rather the above mentioned devices.

But in reality, by the time the EFI128 standard comes out I am sure the Mac Pro and Xserve will most likly fade away into history and be replaced by its possible successor: The Imac. Again, this is all pure speculation, but the way things are going - Intel is running out of options for XEONS and the Gulftown family appears to be the LAST of the XEONS. The only way the Mac Pro might have a future is if it moved to consumer based core ix series processors and used desktop non-ecc memory.

Really who needs server grade memory these days unless one is using a machine as a server and not a workstation.

 

[nanofrog]

...Intel is running out of options for XEONS and the Gulftown family appears to be the LAST of the XEONS. The only way the Mac Pro might have a future is if it moved to consumer based core ix series processors and used desktop non-ecc memory.

Intel is designing the Xeon for the enterprise market, to which it's intended. They want more cores, and Intel's designing future processors with that goal in mind.

This will put them out of financial reach for workstation use. But the Gulftowns aren't going to be the last. 2013 is realisticly the last year the MP would be possible with Xeon parts. They could continue it by moving to enthusiast desktop parts, but I don't expect that to happen, given they've become a consumer device company and the existence of the iMac combined with faster external interfaces (LightPeak).

 

[mac88]

From the posted specs this seems like a great deal. If you really want it you should buy and not look back. They are a great machine and if you do buy it, enjoy your purchase!

 

[alphaod]

Great deal. I'd jump on it as long as there is no abuse. If it's like a failed motherboard or something, I'd get it anyways since that would be covered by AppleCare.

 

[Max(IT)]

For those who are jumping up from a 2006-2007 to a 2008 or 09 mac pro, based on what I have read and researched the higher end 3.0 and 3.2 2008 mac pros offer a really good advantage.

The 8-core 2.8, while being the lowest of the 2008 family is slowly fading out though its architecture is mainly the same as the 3.0 and 3.2. Many have suggested on here that if one uses SSD drives in a RAID then you will have a nice fast system in terms of storage. When asked if it would be worth it to go from a 2008 to a 2009 the answer for 90 percent has been mainly no real gain except for a few minutes in rendering. But, for those who bought the 2008 mac pro for everyday tasks like I do + bootcamp, it makes a very fast and fine machine.

Just the very notion that the 2008's have EFI64 means there certainly exists the upgrade path for "future" video card options, one of which I can't wait: The Radeon 5870 and the other family of 5800 video cards. Will Apple market the 5870 for the 2010? This is anyone's guess, but at least those with 08 mac pros will be able to continue to upgrade to faster and more powerful GPUS due to EFI64 that is until EFI128 comes out.

As Nano pointed out in many posts awhile back, the Mac Pro's days are possibly going to be numbered as Apple is shifting away from the pro market , mac pro, and xserve and replacing all that with the electronics such as: Ipod, Ipad, Iphone 3gs, and other future mobile devices.

Apple is going to thrive where they will make the most money, and sad to say it isn't the mac pro, but rather the above mentioned devices.

But in reality, by the time the EFI128 standard comes out I am sure the Mac Pro and Xserve will most likly fade away into history and be replaced by its possible successor: The Imac. Again, this is all pure speculation, but the way things are going - Intel is running out of options for XEONS and the Gulftown family appears to be the LAST of the XEONS. The only way the Mac Pro might have a future is if it moved to consumer based core ix series processors and used desktop non-ecc memory.

Really who needs server grade memory these days unless one is using a machine as a server and not a workstation.

And why do you think there will be something like "EFI128" in the next future ?