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Mac Pro 1,1 is it worth $225?

R

renosausage

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 22, 2012
158
0
Mac Pro Desktop - Model MA356LL/A MacPro1,1
Dual 5150 2.66GHz Xeon CPU
250GB, 7200RPM Hard Drive
6GB RAM
1Gbps Ethernet
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT GPU
Clean Install of OS X 10.6

Is this worth $225?

I wanna buy it to replace my rMBP.

The rMBP is just too much power for me.

I only need to type documents and surf the web.

I already have a display, keyboard, and mouse

Is it worth it? What will this machine be able to do?
 
I guess it will browse the web and let you create documents just fine, If that's really all you need to do.

It won't run Mountain Lion or Mavericks. That might make you ineligible for some current and future software.

That's a very good price if it's in good condition. You could sell it on eBay for more than that.

If you keep your rMPB, it could end up lasting you 6+ more years. I doubt you're going to want this Mac Pro in a few years if it's still working.

----------

If someone told me that they had $250 to spend on something to browse the web and type documents, then I would get them a Chromebook. Not sure how you decided a 7 year old pro machine was for you.
 
There are easy ways to get it to run mavericks, just do a google search.
 
renosausage said:
Mac Pro Desktop - Model MA356LL/A MacPro1,1
Dual 5150 2.66GHz Xeon CPU
250GB, 7200RPM Hard Drive
6GB RAM
1Gbps Ethernet
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT GPU
Clean Install of OS X 10.6

Is this worth $225?

I wanna buy it to replace my rMBP.

The rMBP is just too much power for me.

I only need to type documents and surf the web.

I already have a display, keyboard, and mouse

Is it worth it? What will this machine be able to do?
Click to expand...


Dont. It can be a power hog and will cost you more in utility bills over a year. Its not worth it for an outdated system.
 
If you are dead set on selling your rMBP then consider a Mac mini, more money but it will serve you we'll into the future, buying older computers is ok but as a primary machine it can be risky. A 2006 Mac Pro, all it's good years are behind it.

My two cents
 
I disagree. I just got a 2012MP but my 2006 is still pretty badass and runs like a champ. For $225 it's a no brainer. Put 10.6.8 on it and you'll be set for a while.
 
Go for it. Absolutely.

Trial the Pro for a couple of weeks - under Snow Leopard, Lion or even Mountain Lion (search Hackerwayne's MLPostFactor). If it does what you need - keep it & sell the rMBP. If not, then keep the rMBP.

And even if you go with the latter - you'll easily make a profit on resale value on the Pro. No brainer.
 
I still use my Mac Pro 1,1 as my primary iOS and Mac OS development machine despite owning an rMBP (which I mainly use outside my office).

That said I've upgraded:

Processors to 2x4 core X5355s (total 8 cores).
Firmware to 2,1
Graphics card to flashed PC 5770
RAM to 16 Gig
Main OS HD to SSD

and installed Mountain Lion on it, using a fairly simple process. Will soon be installing Mavericks too.

It's a fun hobbyist machine these days if you like doing your own upgrades. None of the above cost that much any more (except perhaps the RAM) and there are numerous simple step-by-step guides around on the 'net.

I think they're fabulous machines, and still perfectly capable of running any software you care to name.

Here are the scores for an upgraded 1,1 with 5355s in Geekbench:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/search?utf8=✓&q=MacBook+Pro+13+inch+2013

Which puts it about 10% below the speed of a the entry 2012 15" MacBook Pro Quad Core. So, any suggestion it's not fast enough to do stuff is just ignorance. I use mine every day, and it's still a great machine.
 
Sell rMBP while value is still there. The 1,1 for $225 could be a good deal. Make sure all works on it. It will run Lion if you want newer itunes and app store features. Ram is not that expensive if you looks for it on ebay. If you can go a bit more money the MacMini may make more sense to buy. They are around $500 as refurb's and who knows what the new ones will run.
 
Good deal. Today I've installed and GTX 570 10.8.5 on 1,1. Added 2x 5355, EFI and SMC flash to that and it runs like a champ. Mavericks will be next, just waiting for 10.9.2 ;)
 
UPDATE!

Well I went and looked at the Mac Pro 1,1 and for some odd reason it only had one of the two CPUs installed. I asked why this would be and the guy had no idea.

So I skipped that deal and found a 2010 Mac Mini for $280

It has Intel 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 gigs Ram
320 gb HDD at 5400rpm

I ordred an 8gig RAM upgrade and 120gb Samsung SSD

With shipping I have $499 invested in this 2010 Mac Mini

I really struggled in deciding to just buy one off Amazon for 549, a 2012 model. It would have 2.3 dual core i5, 500gb 5400rpm, and 4gigs of ram.

But in the end I felt like this deal would be better for me, I really don't use a lot of space so I like the SSD speed.

I am happy with t so far cause I can watch DVDs and it looks great on my 32" LED Samsung
 
renosausage said:
UPDATE!

Well I went and looked at the Mac Pro 1,1 and for some odd reason it only had one of the two CPUs installed. I asked why this would be and the guy had no idea.

So I skipped that deal and found a 2010 Mac Mini for $280

It has Intel 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 gigs Ram
320 gb HDD at 5400rpm

I ordred an 8gig RAM upgrade and 120gb Samsung SSD

With shipping I have $499 invested in this 2010 Mac Mini

I really struggled in deciding to just buy one off Amazon for 549, a 2012 model. It would have 2.3 dual core i5, 500gb 5400rpm, and 4gigs of ram.

But in the end I felt like this deal would be better for me, I really don't use a lot of space so I like the SSD speed.

I am happy with t so far cause I can watch DVDs and it looks great on my 32" LED Samsung
Click to expand...

Congrats on your 2010 Mac Mini. That's adequate for your needs and can be a good media server for movies and music. Enjoy!
 
I sold my 1,1 in January on Amazon last year for $850. Shipped it to their warehouse, and they shipped and sold it to someone via Amazon Prime. That said, the new Mac Pro has been announced now ... and I had the specs pretty much maxed out on mine. (video card, memory)
 
My 1,1 Pro is still running like a dream and never feels slow. I even played the beta of Battlefield 4 under Windows 7 on it at a reasonable resolution and quality setting.

For that price I'd snap it up, superb machines.
 
Assuming it's intact & working, at that price I'd buy two. If only to scavenge the RAM for my Aluminum Little Engine that Could...

'Bout to start the song & dance to get Mavericks running on mine this afternoon. Kind of reminds me what I miss from running Linux. No. Wait... "Miss" isn't the word... "Loath" That's closer...
 
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