Who is still using a 3.1 classic mac pro (and likes it)

[rdsii64]

I know this question gets way over asked and I am now guilty as charged. Anyway, I updated to El Capitain recently and I have had ZERO issues!! So now I'm asking the forever over asked question, - who is still using a 3.1 mac pro and likes it.

Mine runs as well as its supposed to. I have refrained from going the SSD route in favor of putting that money aside for a new(er) computer. I figure I'll keep saving until the 3.1 isn't supported anymore, then buy as new as I can afford. For the time being its hang'n in there like a champ.

 

[nigelbb]

I am still very happy with my Dual 2.8GHz purchased almost seven years ago. I have done several upgrades that have improved performance considerably. I have added dual 1TB SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration on an Apricorn Velocity Duo, a GTX570, & a USB3 card. I have been using an HP 30" monitor for many years.

If you do nothing else then I would recommend an SSD especially as prices have recently dropped considerably.

 

[JoSch]

Runs like a charm. I'm still glad, I bought that machine this year.

 

[Twimfy]

Bought one 3 months ago as I was fed up of using a MBP in clamshell mode (too many cables, plus the fan running that much was making me uncomfortable). Bumped the RAM up to 14GB (more on the way), moved the SSD onto an Apricorn Velocity and then stuck a GTX 650 in it. Couldn't be happier. Fantastic machine which will last me until the day the latest OS X releases no longer work for it.

 

[OS6-OSX]

Why do you think they call it Monument Valley!

 

[drasl]

I purchased a 3,1 a couple of months ago when the GPU on my 2009 iMac finally died.

I got the cMP 3,1 for not much more than I would have paid for a new GPU (or reballing) of the iMac GPU.

The 3,1 is pretty quiet, plenty powerful for all the things I do day to day, and I can even play a few games on it pretty well.

I am pretty impatient and really hate long startup times or spinning beach balls, and I have none of those problems with the 3,1.

Running El Capitan very stable after I disconnected the optical drive (it was giving some console errors and causing occasional finder issues).

Currently running El Capitan on an SSD in the optical bay, using 2x 2TB HDDs for various things one 2TB HDD (1GB partition for bootcamp, and 1TB for virtual machines), and one 4TB HDD for backup.

Even if the SSD in the optical bay is running SATA2 it makes a world of difference, it might just be 1,5x-2x faster in file copying, but in the random disk activity like opening apps or just general usage it feels 10x faster than the HDD I used for the first couple of days.

I would recommend an SSD for OSX on SATA 2 any day over a regular HDD, you will feel a great difference in day to day usage no question.
(and you can always re-use a regular SSD in most old computers later on, so even if your mac dies, the SSD is not lost).

I even tried a Mac Mini 2012 for a while after my iMac failed and the text always looked blurred or bad on my displays, but looks great on the cMP

Only cons I can think of are the lack of bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0, and this thing is pretty heavy

 

[mryingster]

Love my Mac Pro 3,1. I bought a quad core 2.8 brand new in 2008. Over the years, I've been able to incrementally upgrade it.

• Replace 20" screen with 23" ACD
• Add second processor (Now 8-core 2.8)
  
• Upgrade to 14 GB RAM
• Replace 23" ACD with 30" ACD
  
• Add SSD
• Add BluRay player
• PCI card for SATA3 speeds on my SSD
• Upgrade from 8800GT to Radeon 5870 (Flashed)

You just can't do those incremental updates with anything else. It's a great machine, and I would only update if I could get a good deal on an equivalent or better 2012 Pro.

To contrast, Every iMac anyone in my family has owned (including myself) has suffered from over heating issue which caused graphic problems, or premature HDD failure. The Mac Pro is the only way to go.

As far as El Capitan, it runs great so far.

 

[InsertCatchyNic]

My 3,1 is still going strong more than 7.5 years after I bought it. It is a little long in the tooth and I could see a tremendous speed benefit by going to a SSD, but so far I am not going to make that upgrade.

The 6600GT has been replaced a few times over the years and in it sits a flashed 680 (probably the fastest video card that i can get for it and still see any sort of significant speed increase).

I put a usb 3.0 card in it last year and that has helped with the Time Machine backups.

I am holding out on upgrading to El Capitain, because I don't want to take a huge hit in performance. So wondering what sort of performance degredation did folks on this board see if they upgraded their 3.1 machine.

 

[mryingster]

I put a usb 3.0 card in it last year and that has helped with the Time Machine backups.

Which USB card did you purchase? I've been interested in that upgrade, but it looked like there were sleep issues with all the cards I could find. Did you experience any wake/sleep issues?

 

[InsertCatchyNic]

Which USB card did you purchase? I've been interested in that upgrade, but it looked like there were sleep issues with all the cards I could find. Did you experience any wake/sleep issues?

I have sleep issues with my USB card. So I just get in the habit of ejecting my time machine drive when i put the computer to sleep. It is a huge PITA though.

 

[mryingster]

I have sleep issues with my USB card. So I just get in the habit of ejecting my time machine drive when i put the computer to sleep. It is a huge PITA though.

That's too bad. That's the only upgrade I've been considering recently, apart from a wifi/bluetooth upgrade for continuity. I'll hold off though as I sleep my computer a lot to save energy...

 

[InsertCatchyNic]

That's too bad. That's the only upgrade I've been considering recently, apart from a wifi/bluetooth upgrade for continuity. I'll hold off though as I sleep my computer a lot to save energy...

I think every single USB addin card, both 3.0 and 2.0, out there won't properly eject a drive before you put a computer to sleep. I looked when I bought mine and couldn't find one.