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New Mac Pro v Old

englishman

englishman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 6, 2006
730
10
Considering buying a new base Mac Pro next month - to replace my slow Mini

OR

buying a used 3.33 6 core old model with SSD

- the 6 core is way cheaper in the UK but would there be a massive difference in everyday apps and games?

Any advice appreciated
 
We pondered this a lot, but in the end decided that as nice as the new design is, it just doesn't lend itself to user upgrades.

So...We bought MP 5.1 Hex from scrumpymacs. Warrantied, and although it came with a 5770 G.board, we can slide it open and put in a new one at any time.

Looking closely at what we know as yet about the new one, you are going to have a tough time getting in and adding drives, RAM etc etc.

We are always changing SSD / HDD configs, so the old design just makes more sense.

I like the new design, and the top spec will carry a lot of punch...Just need to know I can easily get in and swap stuff around.
 
I run a 2009 8-core mac pro and it runs great still. I regularly will run photoshop, premiere, indesign, mail, pages, and my file sharing services, along with safari all at the same time with no slow down. If you plan on gaming you'll want one of the newer ones because the graphics card setup is WAY faster.
 
englishman said:
Considering buying a new base Mac Pro next month - to replace my slow Mini

OR

buying a used 3.33 6 core old model with SSD

- the 6 core is way cheaper in the UK but would there be a massive difference in everyday apps and games?

Any advice appreciated
Click to expand...

In my opinion I would go for the tower Mac Pro 3.33ghz 6 core. I needed the internal storage and have the option to add a second video card later if needed. For the new 2013 black cylinder Mac Pro, it's a first generation architecture and design so we are not sure if there are bugs. Pricing and costs comes are also a major factor. The new 2013 MPro comes with 2 video cards as others commented, are suitable for users who need 2 videocards for a 4-6 monitor setup. If you will just utilized one GPU you would be paying for the extra unused GPU. But if you are using multiple monitors, then the new Mac Pro may be perfect for you. The 256 SSD storage is too small so most likely you would upgrade to a larger storage at a higher cost. Plus the costs external storage as backups.

If you're considering the New Mac Pro, after its released, probably wait for a few months to first get feedbacks from other users. Another note is the power supply of the new Mac Pro is 450watts, it's CPU is 130 watts plus 2 fast GPUs power consumption estimated at 200 watts each. Though may be a typo error on Apple's website so best we wait and see when it is released and maybe the PSU is just fine.
 
Last edited:
englishman said:
buying a used 3.33 6 core old model with SSD

- the 6 core is way cheaper in the UK but would there be a massive difference in everyday apps and games?
Click to expand...

If you can get a good deal on a Mac Pro with a 3.33GHz processor then buy it straight away.

The new Mac Pro is expensive. Wait until they are at least $1,000 cheaper refurbished.
 
Used ones aren't as cheap as I thought - with academic discount there's just a few hundred pounds in it.

May as well get a new one.
 
Mac pro

I was in that situation a while back waiting to see what the new mac pro would be like. I decided to purchase a 2010 mac pro and I have not regretted the purchase decision. Now I am considering ssd to increase speed. When I looked at the additional cost of external pci expansion and drive expansion, I figured the cost would be well over $5000 to $6000.
 
In the UK new (with discount or rururbs) is 2k - old ones go for about 1.5k
 
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