New/Old Mac computer advice

[Chyles]

Hi,

I'm currently running PT 12.7.1 (no HD system) and Mac OS 10.11.6. on a late 2012 Macbook Pro (i7, 2.6GHz with 16 GB Ram). I also use an internal SSD hard drive.

Everything is running smoothly. However I'm always frightened someday my macbook pro might just stop working.
I do Audio Postpro for a living. Most places I work at have an up to date HDX system but I need a computer at home (for smaller jobs) that will always be able to perform.

I'd like to have a machine that is always setup at home. A Laptop is always nice to have as a mobile unit but I'd like a standalone computer that never leaves the room.
I don't want to upgrade to PT 2018 or MAC OS Mojave yet. As everything presently runs good, I see no reason for changing a winning team ;-))

Buying the same laptop used on Ebay runs momentarily between 800-1000 euros. Crazy how little it's depreciated over 7 years.

I'm wondering if maybe a used Mac Pro 2009/2010 would at all compare to my laptop.

I'd be very thankful for any advice on which exact version of an older Mac Pro you'd recommend and why. There are tons of them on Ebay and I just can't even guess which one would be comparable performance wise with my Macbook Pro.

Thanks in advance

Chad

[the.engineer]

I have a 5,1 Mac Pro (mid 2010) which is running fabulously. As you say there are many on eBay and as you'll realise, the prices haven't dropped massively.

You mention Euros so I can only assume you're on the continent therefore give https://create.pro a visit. They're based here in the UK but ship to Europe and the deal in refurbished Mac Pro 5,1s and will happily spec you a 12-core machine, a nice graphics card, loads of RAM and an NVMe SSD blade boot drive that will blow your MacBook Pro out of the water.

At least then it's future proofed (to a point I may add, who knows what's coming after Mojave and the possibility of ARM processors!!)

I plan on keeping mine for many more years.

[justinhill]

I was going to buy a used 5,1 but I wanted Thunderbolt so I just bought a 6,1 12-Core with 64GB RAM for GBP 2,000 which should arrive in a few days time. Seemed like a reasonable price and a reasonable amount of future-proofing.

I can't wait to not see -9173 errors when I try to mix 96k sessions with Ozone 8 any more...

I also splurged on a Presonus Quantum 4848 to go with it.