Need buyer's advice for purchase of older Mac Pro

[sonofsnak]

My early 2009 2.66 GHz Quad-Core, 12 GB RAM (w/NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB) Mac Pro has been a tried-and-true workhorse, but El Capitan and the new 2017 Adobe Creative Suite are killing my speed.
Concerned about Apple's lack of attention to the expensive "Trash Can", and hate the idea of not have all those multiple drive bays.
Thinking of getting a 2010 8 Core to replace it.

Any advice?

 

[Mac Gus]

You could update your current computer to a 5,1 6-core and get a better graphics card and more RAM, also make sure you have a SSD boot disk. Unless you need 8-12 cores, you might just build off your current platform.

 

[kschendel]

Drop an SSD in there. Even putting one right into an existing drive bay and running it SATA II makes a big difference. I suspect that will make as much or more difference than the CPU swap, and will likely be cheaper. If you decide to upgrade or swap models later, you can just move the SSD over.

 

[sonofsnak]

Thanks all!

Have had an SSD Boot drive in for a couple years. Best money ever spent, but that isn't helping now. Have heard that the early 2009s wont support Sierra. Want something that I'll get another couple years out of. Would buying CPU, graphics card and more memory actually be cheaper (and better) than buying a used machine from a seller like MacSales or NewEgg?

 

[AidenShaw]

Any advice?

Z-series.

You're a member of a demographic that Apple does not care about.

Cut the cord, and move from abandoned obsolete systems to current hardware, and decide between Windows, Linux or Hackintosh.

Take a few steps back, and look at the posts in this forum. The number of "my cMP died" threads are increasing. The newest cMPs are six-year old hardware. I've eWasted all of my six year old systems.

Don't put up with old crap. Period. It's just hardware, not a piece of art. When it reaches "a certain age", send it to trash.

My group recently moved to a new building. Since it was an opportunity to refresh - I put down the rule that "no fluorescent LCD monitors will be moved". All of the old monitors were eWasted, and Dell 4K monitors were purchased in their place. Needless to say, the people with new retina displays like me.

 

[Mac Gus]

Thanks all!

Have had an SSD Boot drive in for a couple years. Best money ever spent, but that isn't helping now. Have heard that the early 2009s wont support Sierra. Want something that I'll get another couple years out of. Would buying CPU, graphics card and more memory actually be cheaper (and better) than buying a used machine from a seller like MacSales or NewEgg?

You can easily make your 4,1 a 5,1 by changing the firmware. There are a number of threads explaining this. That also then allows for the processor upgrade to 6 core.

 

[AidenShaw]

You can easily make your 4,1 a 5,1 by changing the firmware. There are a number of threads explaining this. That also then allows for the processor upgrade to 6 core.

And you'd still have a six year old system.

Invest your money and effort on a new system. Three and 1/2 years ago when the MP6,1 was introduced it was interesting to compare the tube to an updated cheese grater.

Now, the cheese graters are ancient systems without modern ports, current specs or features. Come on folks, get a grip - they're dying. Save your money and get new systems (and, at 3 1/2 years, the MP6,1 does not meet the bar).

 

[DPUser]

And you'd still have a six year old system.

Invest your money and effort on a new system. Three and 1/2 years ago when the MP6,1 was introduced it was interesting to compare the tube to an updated cheese grater.

Now, the cheese graters are ancient systems without modern ports, current specs or features. Come on folks, get a grip - they're dying. Save your money and get new systems (and, at 3 1/2 years, the MP6,1 does not meet the bar).

We're all dying one day at a time, but investing a half hour and a little over $100 to almost double the speed of the not yet deceased might make sense to the op. Just sayin'. Op, do check out the 4,1 > 5,1 flash + X5680 or W3690 update. Easy to do and great bang for the buck, even if if only waiting to see what Apple does on the coming months.

 

[bernuli]

Where specifically are you seeing the slowdown?

 

[ixxx69]

Z-series.

It's really not cool to just camp out in this forum and tell everyone who uses and/or wants a Mac to get something else instead. Just not cool.

 

[steveOooo]

I've done around 2 clean installs and 1 'install a fresh osx' since el Crapitan on my 2010 5,1 - general slowness etc so try a clean install

I have made my 2010 from the base quad core model (a £1200 refurb from apple in 2011) into a beautiful 6 core 3.9Ghz, amd r9 380, 4tb raid, 16gb ram beast oh and I added 4 USB 3 ports - I find backups etc fine and fast with this. Is usb 3 faster than thunderbolt? Yes. Have I done a speed comparison and not been able to sleep at night? No. Do I care? No.

'Its old, throw it away' well if everything is working fine, why throw it away?

 

[h9826790]

I've done around 2 clean installs and 1 'install a fresh osx' since el Crapitan on my 2010 5,1 - general slowness etc so try a clean install

I have made my 2010 from the base quad core model (a £1200 refurb from apple in 2011) into a beautiful 6 core 3.9Ghz, amd r9 380, 4tb raid, 16gb ram beast oh and I added 4 USB 3 ports - I find backups etc fine and fast with this. Is usb 3 faster than thunderbolt? Yes. Have I done a speed comparison and not been able to sleep at night? No. Do I care? No.

'Its old, throw it away' well if everything is working fine, why throw it away?

3.9GHz???

 

[DPUser]

3.9GHz???

That would be a typo, one imagines. His sig indicates a W3690.

 

[steveOooo]

That would be a typo, one imagines. His sig indicates a W3690.

Yup correct

It's the e version or version that can be paired with another cpu to make a 12 core (if u could find a double tray that is)

 

[Draeconis]

Come on folks, get a grip - they're dying. Save your money and get new systems

Mine works just fine, not really sure what your point is here.

Most of the stuff I've upgraded my machine with can be transferred to a new system if I need to, but I currently don't. I like making the most of the hardware I have; as and when this machine is broken beyond economical repair, then I'll think about getting a new one. But from the way Apple are heading, that's less and less likely to be a Mac

 

[sonofsnak]

Where specifically are you seeing the slowdown?

It was first after going from Yosemite to El Capitan - overall slow, folder opening lag, etc., but Adobe apps were relatively okay. The 2017 versions slowed things down even more.
[doublepost=1479402310][/doublepost]

We're all dying one day at a time, but investing a half hour and a little over $100 to almost double the speed of the not yet deceased might make sense to the op. Just sayin'. Op, do check out the 4,1 > 5,1 flash + X5680 or W3690 update. Easy to do and great bang for the buck, even if if only waiting to see what Apple does on the coming months.

This looks like a good plan of attack
[doublepost=1479402627][/doublepost]

And you'd still have a six year old system.

Invest your money and effort on a new system. Three and 1/2 years ago when the MP6,1 was introduced it was interesting to compare the tube to an updated cheese grater.

Now, the cheese graters are ancient systems without modern ports, current specs or features. Come on folks, get a grip - they're dying. Save your money and get new systems (and, at 3 1/2 years, the MP6,1 does not meet the bar).

All well and good, but the seemingly lack of Apple support is troubling. What if they are phasing out the Mac Pro? Plus the fact that I'd be shelling out a boatload of money, then have to invest in extra peripherals to handle the extra drives and DVD drive I need. Current unit has a nice 750GB SSD boot drive.

 

[ssgbryan]

It's really not cool to just camp out in this forum and tell everyone who uses and/or wants a Mac to get something else instead. Just not cool.

OTOH, it isn't like Apple is trying to provide more powerful hardware, now is it.

 

[sonofsnak]

How about recommendations for upgrading the video card? I'll be doing the 4,1 to 5,1 update, then adding the W3690 processor. Not a gamer but a graphics professional.
TIA