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MP 1,1-5,1 Maxed out Mac Pro 5,1 still worth it in 2024 for Software Engineer?

THE_TERMINATOR9

THE_TERMINATOR9

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 14, 2024
2
0
Hi everyone,

I can currently get a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 with the following specs for €900,-

- 2x X5690, 3.46 GHz
- 128GB ECC RAM running on 1333MHz
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
- 1TB NVME SSD
- Wifi and Bluetooth 4.2 upgrade
- 3x USB 3.0 + 2x USB-C card

My main question is: Is it still worth getting this machine in 2024? I am a full-stack software engineer and will be using it as a daily driver if I get one. How does it compare the performance of a M chip? In theory the CPU score is close to the M1 but is this actually true?

UPDATE:

Okay so I have done some more research and it indeed seems the Mac Pro 5,1 is starting to reach its end for such usage. I thought the upgrades such as the RAM and GPU looked nice but the CPU is the worst bottleneck.

I also saw a GeekBench benchmark which gave this build just 600 for the single core test and 3853 for the multicore, if anyone was wondering.

The aesthetic will not be worth it compared to the performance haha. I can always buy an empty case for the looks.
 
Last edited:
rx7dude said:
Price seems high. If you want Intel go for a 7,1.

ipower has them staring at 1399 USD

ipowerresale.com

Mac Pro - Refurbished | iPowerResale

Shop iPowerResale's selection of refurbished Mac Pros and related products for sale online. Visit iPowerResale today!
ipowerresale.com ipowerresale.com
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response.

I live in the Netherlands so that website is not an option.

Aside for the price, is it even worth getting this in 2024 in general and will it work well for a software engineer?
 
THE_TERMINATOR9 said:
I live in the Netherlands so that website is not an option.
Click to expand...

Contact them directly, the world-wide shipping is done outside of the normal website form. I got my second 7,1 from them, fitted with a brand new W6800X Duo as well.

THE_TERMINATOR9 said:
I can currently get a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 with the following specs for €900,-
Click to expand...

Bit expensive for that very old machine.
 
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As was mentioned that seems a bit expensive for that setup but it depends on what your going to be doing. And ipower is a great company. That's where I got my 7,1 from.
 
The amount of RAM is nice, but everything else seems old and the OS will be very outdated unless you can find a way to forcibly install a newer version of MacOS or you switch to Windows or Linux (it's an Intel chip so switching to another OS is relatively easy).

Depending on what kind of software engineering you do, you'd realistically be better off with a current Mac Mini or a MacBook Air/Pro, though I'd wait for the M4 versions that (theoretically) will give better starting RAM.
 
Even the cheapest Apple Silicon Mac Mini is more capable than a fully upgraded MacPro5,1 CPU wise, buying a MacPro5,1 (or even a MacPro6,1) is only worth today if you need past software compatibility, this is the only reason to get one today and it excels at this use case.

Another thing, MacPro5,1 and MacPro6,1 Xeons do not support AVX2 instructions, a basic requirement for a lot of pro apps (and games) being released nowadays and a requirement for macOS Ventura forwards. While you can mostly bypass macOS requirement of AVX2 via OCLP and a careful hardware configuration (like a GPU that the drivers do not require AVX2), you can't do anything about apps that require it.
 
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What is the nature of your work? Is the development work you do for professional work? A hobby? Is the work for legacy (as mentioned by tsialex) development? If it's for current then will you be able to install the appropriate development tools to do current development work?
 
If funds are tight, have you considered looking at university/corporate surplus sales? Many places have 3-year hardware rotations (we used to, but budget cuts have pushed it closer to five) and the machines get sold to the public at rock-bottom prices.

That's how I picked up my 2009 Mac Pro for $150CDN back in 2015. My uni doesn't have anything great right now, just some 2017 21" iMacs with 16GB of ram for $300CDN and some Dell Optiplexes for $75.
 
THE_TERMINATOR9 said:
Hi everyone,

I can currently get a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 with the following specs for €900,-

- 2x X5690, 3.46 GHz
- 128GB ECC RAM running on 1333MHz
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
- 1TB NVME SSD
- Wifi and Bluetooth 4.2 upgrade
- 3x USB 3.0 + 2x USB-C card

My main question is: Is it still worth getting this machine in 2024? I am a full-stack software engineer and will be using it as a daily driver if I get one. How does it compare the performance of a M chip? In theory the CPU score is close to the M1 but is this actually true?

UPDATE:

Okay so I have done some more research and it indeed seems the Mac Pro 5,1 is starting to reach its end for such usage. I thought the upgrades such as the RAM and GPU looked nice but the CPU is the worst bottleneck.

I also saw a GeekBench benchmark which gave this build just 600 for the single core test and 3853 for the multicore, if anyone was wondering.

The aesthetic will not be worth it compared to the performance haha. I can always buy an empty case for the looks.
Click to expand...
That's a strange question you're asking. Usually newbies ask it.
No, you shouldn't. You have forgotten that some code performance tests are run on modern hardware when setting a technical task. And that's without taking into account the compatibility test. How will you simulate full, partial load on old hardware if it crashes under load?
Don't look at the GeekBench score at all. It is just parrots and has nothing to do with real performance. Better yet, forget about it altogether. Any tests in it can be falsified by editing the analysis algorithm. I can make an outdated intel pentium processor more powerful than an M3 chip in this test. So think about it.
 
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