So help me, buy a brand new cheap 2.8octo or discounted 2.26 octo

[MnkyPwz]

So I had bought a 2008 2.8 Octo about 10 days before the Nahalem release and wanting to have the oppurtunity to not miss out on my 14day return policy I sent it back, got Apple to wave the restock fee, but had to pay for return shipping, which I sent through FedEx so only cost me $45 (not bad) seeing that it was opened.

Now after seeing the benchmarks I'm kinda hesitant to pull the trigger on the 2.26 Octo due to its underperformace in relation to the previous 2.8 Octo.

Just to give you a understanding of what I use my system for, video editing/Authoring Adobe After Effects, and Cinema 4D & Maya 8 for animations

It wouldn't be that big of a choice exept I found a line on a 2008 2.8 Octo brand new in box for $1800 but thats exculding tax.

Or I could have one of the guys that I know get me a 2009 2.26 Octo for a good chunk off discount so about $2800 including tax

So which one should i get, the new tech or stay with the old and use the savings to buy more ram or use it to buy the ATI HD 4870

I need some help cuz its all starting to get fuzzy, since I've been looking at numbers for the past week or so.

 

[QCassidy352]

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benchmarks so far indicate that the old 2.8 is about equal to the new 2.26 in multithreaded tasks and actually faster at single-threaded. So with a $1k price difference I'd say the old one, for sure.

 

[MnkyPwz]

thats what i'm thinking, but it kinda sucks that they werent better.

 

[oban14]

I think it kinda sucks that they weren't priced better.

Look at this way - you could get a 2.8 with 32 gigs of ram. If they cost the same I'd go with the Nehalem, but as it stands now I'd go with the 2.8.

That discount does complicate things though.

 

[Justinm59]

I have the same dilemma, after calculating the cost of the 2.8 plus upgrades (ram, ATI HD 4870, new hard drive, extra dvd/ cd drive, and wireless) it would come out to about $200 cheaper then what I can get the new 2.26 Octo (with all the same stuff included) for. So I decided to go with the 2.26. Even with the benchmarks showing the old 2.8 being a bit better I think going with new technology was the way to go with the minimal price difference. What do you guys think? I haven't actually pulled the trigger just yet.

 

[kman79]

Been thinking the same thing, going for the older 2.8 I mean. Does anyone know the model number for the Previous 2.8 Mac Pro?

 

[MovieCutter]

See if you can pick up a cheap 2.8 Octo. I just got an Octo 2.8 Mac Pro, 8800GT, 1TB of drive space, 8GB RAM, airport, and a 23" ACD for $1900 on Craigslist to replace my iMac.

After looking at the info/benchmarkes available, for the price, the 2.8Ghz Octos are still extremely competitive

 

[Dale McFarlin]

Scouring for cheap 08 octos

It wouldn't be that big of a choice exept I found a line on a 2008 2.8 Octo brand new in box for $1800 but thats exculding tax.

Oh my, would you be willing to share that lead? B&H had a $2400 deal, but now they're out of stock.

See if you can pick up a cheap 2.8 Octo. I just got an Octo 2.8 Mac Pro, 8800GT, 1TB of drive space, 8GB RAM, airport, and a 23" ACD for $1900 on Craigslist to replace my iMac.

I've seen a bunch of similar 'to good to be true' deals on craigslist, but I haven't been able to bring myself to take them seriously. Any advice for others looking at mac pros on craigslist?

 

[jjahshik32]

See if you can pick up a cheap 2.8 Octo. I just got an Octo 2.8 Mac Pro, 8800GT, 1TB of drive space, 8GB RAM, airport, and a 23" ACD for $1900 on Craigslist to replace my iMac.

After looking at the info/benchmarkes available, for the price, the 2.8Ghz Octos are still extremely competitive

Thats an incredible deal. For some reason I dont buy it!! 23" ACD alone is $600.

So basically the guy sold a 2.8ghz 8 core mac pro wit 8gb and 1TB of space for $1300.. let alone he could easily sell it to someone else on craigslist or on eBay with taking the final value hit for $2200-$2400 for the mac pro alone.. Nope sorry dont buy it one bit!

UNLESS you traded him your imac with that deal, then I buy that.

 

[MovieCutter]

Thats an incredible deal. For some reason I dont buy it!! 23" ACD alone is $600.

So basically the guy sold a 2.8ghz 8 core mac pro wit 8gb and 1TB of space for $1300.. let alone he could easily sell it to someone else on craigslist or on eBay with taking the final value hit for $2200-$2400 for the mac pro alone.. Nope sorry dont buy it one bit!

UNLESS you traded him your imac with that deal, then I buy that.

$1900 cash, simple as that. Just a nice guy looking to unload a machine a client bought for him. That and just some good luck and maybe some good karma. I'm sitting in front of it and working on prepping it right now for an edit session this weekend.

I've seen a bunch of similar 'to good to be true' deals on craigslist, but I haven't been able to bring myself to take them seriously. Any advice for others looking at mac pros on craigslist?

They are out there, you just need to refresh Craigslist often and keep a good eye out, type fast, and have cash at the ready. Here's an example...this is something I'd pursue if I had the need for it:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/sys/1069539373.html