Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
#984984 - 30/04/12 09:37 AM
|
|
|
I've seen a coouple of people mention that now may not be a good time to buy second hand.
Any specific reason for this? Is it just because it has been a while since the last models
were issued and therefore it is expected that a new model may be forthcoming? I
have finally got some cash together for one and I'm looking for a good deal. Any reason
why I shouldn't buy one now? Bear in mind I currently run a Quad G5, so any Pro is a step
up, but I'm looking at a 2008/9 model as these seems to be reasonable value. I
want a tower so I can keep my UAD2 card, without having to go about getting some sort of
external box to run it. Plus I don't need laptop portability.
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale
|
Kwackman
Joined: 07/11/02
Posts: 1245
Loc: Belfast
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#984988 - 30/04/12 09:52 AM
|
|
|
|
There have been a few MacPros on Apple's refurb site recently.
--------------------
Cubase, guitars.
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#984990 - 30/04/12 10:12 AM
|
|
|
I'm happy with eBay. The last four Macs have come that way. The Apple re-furbished ones
are very expensive still. Scrumpy Macs look like they have what I want.
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale
|
Scope
Joined: 03/07/06
Posts: 2152
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985004 - 30/04/12 11:47 AM
|
|
|
|
One thing to be aware of is the graphics card.
If you want to run Final Cut X, you
will need avoid certain cards ( listed on Apple's website. )
Replacing a MP
graphics card is very costly !
|
johnny h
Joined: 24/07/06
Posts: 2270
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985007 - 30/04/12 11:56 AM
|
|
|
|
The rumours are that a new macbook pro is imminent. While you may not want or need a new
updated model, it will push down prices of second hand machines. So it could be wise to
wait a month if you can ...
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985009 - 30/04/12 12:16 PM
|
|
|
Thanks Johnny. A new MBP might affect the towers, but then it might not, especially if
there is no sign of new towers due to be released. Sometimes I wish Macs didn't hold their
price so well.
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale
|
hollowsun
Joined: 20/01/05
Posts: 4510
Loc: Cowbridge, South Wales
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985016 - 30/04/12 12:58 PM
|
|
|
I bought a whizzy used Mac Pro tower from eBay a few months back (like you, upgraded from
a G5). Best bit of money I've spent in ages! Mine's a 2009 model and was, in
its day, top of the range and it's terrific - goes like stink! The G5 was bloody good but
this thing's a monster! Johnny H might be right about a price drop if (IF)
there's something new coming out soon but A) the Mac Pro towers hold their price fairly
well and B) you can play the waiting game for ever! If you've found one you like and the
price is right for you, I'd get it, slam your G5's old drive(s) in it and be up and
running in minutes! Fantastic piece of kit IMO & FWIW, of course.
-------------------- Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985019 - 30/04/12 01:14 PM
|
|
|
Thanks HS. I'm just finishing off my album, so I don't want to go through a transition
until I'm finished (not that I anticipate any problems, but just to be safe), but I've
seen a couple at a price I can (just) afford, so I just need to make sure I can actually
get it and not go hungry this month!
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale
|
hollowsun
Joined: 20/01/05
Posts: 4510
Loc: Cowbridge, South Wales
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985022 - 30/04/12 01:31 PM
|
|
|
Fair enough.
-------------------- Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985197 - 01/05/12 01:09 PM
|
|
|
|
Wease
Joined: 17/07/03
Posts: 1986
Loc: Sunny Walsall
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985222 - 01/05/12 03:42 PM
|
|
|
wow - i didn't realise you could get such good deals for 2nd hand macs which
company did you go for richie? (just for reference sakes like - it might well be me buying
one soon!)
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/seaapes
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985225 - 01/05/12 04:12 PM
|
|
|
|
Gone To Lunch
member
Joined: 11/06/04
Posts: 858
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: hollowsun]
#985466 - 03/05/12 12:55 AM
|
|
|
Quote hollowsun:
...slam your
G5's old drive(s) in it and be up and running in minutes! Fantastic piece of kit
Can one do the same with RAM cards ?
I am looking to trade up to Mac Pro from G5 Quad also....
|
Richie Royale
Joined: 12/09/06
Posts: 3362
Loc: Bristol, England.
|
Re: Buying a second hand Mac Pro (tower)
[Re: Richie Royale]
#985539 - 03/05/12 10:40 AM
|
|
|
The Quad G5 supports 533 MHz PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/specs/powermac_g5_quad_2
.5.html
The Pro I am getting uses "800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM
(FB-DIMM) memory" and has a "256-bit wide memory architecture".
So I'm not
sure if that would prevent compatibility, but I would expect that if it did work, it
wouldn't be taking advantage of the higher speed available.
Mine will arrive
tomorrow! I'm getting a bit excited.
Here is a FAQ about Pros.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/faq/mac-pro-early-2008-how-t
o-install-ram-backwards-compatible-with-older-memory.html
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale
|
Previous
Topics
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
