Looking at a used Mac Pro and need help

[CME]

Right now a Mac mini or hackintosh are probably the most cost conscious options. The new quad-core mini will blow the doors off a g5 quad. And if you need even more power or expand ability a hackintosh is a very viable options. I have a i7-930 based hack that does more than I need and I have less than $1000 in. But if I was buying today the $799 mini with a proc upgrade, SSD, maxed ram and second internal drive would be what I would do. Should be a killer machine and a lot less than any of the aforementioned Mac pros.

[Dism]

Originally Posted by Carl Fuehrer

Dism, now you got me thinking. I am trying to save money by combining my studio setup with my home computer that I do photography stuff on. If I could still have the power to run Photoshop and Lightroom (obviously not at the same time as Pro Tools) I guess a new Mac Mini could work. When you mention you built a machine, are you referring to a Windows machine or Mac machine?

I'm referring to an OSX machine: http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=324531

Cost me $1300 and is at least on par with the latest Mac Pro 6-core just in terms of processing power. It will beat any Mac Pro in I/O, disk speed, and future compatibility, however.

[Carl Fuehrer]

I have looked at the refurbished but most of the systems with more of what I am looking for are above my $2000 total cap. I did find an 8-core Nehalem CPU, but by the time I've saved for it, it would be gone. I've used OWC a lot for parts and upgrades, great service from them!!!

[NHH]

Hey, Carl -
as a few people have mentioned, the MacPro's are more ... Mac Olds now.
Their price compared with newer machines just doesn't stack up.

Appreciate the need for expansion and using hard cards which won't fit inside iMacs and MacMini's, but ... mmm.

I bought a MacPro a while ago and it was about a million pounds ... didn't even come with a wi-fi card - I also use Photoshop and it hardly blew me away. A colleague just bought an iMac and it's quicker. Jeez. And £1,000 less.

I'd have a hard think. Everything's caught up to the Pro's, unless you go for an octa-core or beyond. That said, you could buy 2 quad-core iMacs for less.

[tclash]

Hey Carl- I recently (two months ago) bought a used 2009 Quad 2.66GHz Nehalem machine. I'm running HDN and my original 2006 MP was not handing heavy 88.2+ sessions very well. I've been very happy with this machine. Bought for $1400 including shipping but they have since come down a couple of hundred bucks at the place I got it. I was looking at the Apple refurbs but couldn't justify the $500+ extra for a 5% speed increase (for a 2010 2.8Ghz). Not sure of the DUC policy for linking merchants, so if you are interested let me know and I'll send you the link via your site.