Another Mac Question (wanna buy)

[Lasse Lammert]

yup...
I'm not sure anymore if I want to/can spend 3800€ on a new mac....
so I'm actually considering something used...
let's say I wanna spend 2800-2900€ on a mac (new or used)
what would you do?
HELP!!!

(EDIT: I'm NOT interested in Hackintosh etc)

 

[TheDriller]

Used Intel MacPro,
upgrade the ram yourself and put in some hard drives to taste.

get whatever MacPro fits your budget and convenience, any of them will be an order of magnitude more powerful than your old PPC Mac anyway.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I'm eyeballing this one atm:

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B003YYV87S/...de=asn&creative=22494&creativeASIN=B003YYV87S

or perhaps even this one:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Apple-Mac-Pro-2-...04722066?pt=Apple_Systeme&hash=item3368fcad92

good value for money?
how are these? (I'm not up to date at all tbh)

I wouldn't mind a faster one either, but if I'm getting too close to the price of a new one I'd feel weird for not just getting the state of the art model.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

yeah, I'm leaning heavily towards the MC560D/A, what do the experts think?

 

[Vendo]

/German

Wenn du ihn wirklich schnell brauchst: Denke damit machst du nicht all zu viel falsch. Leistungstechnisch dürfte er dir allemal reichen, da du ja eh Pro Tools HD benutzen willst. Ev. würde ich mich nach einem Modell mit weniger Arbeitsspeicher umsehen, da du von dem gesparten Geld meistens sogar mehr Ram kaufen kannst.

Wenn du ihn nicht sooooo schnell brauchst: warte bis die neuen da sind, vllt. lässt sich dann ein gutes Schnäppchen machen, was bei MacPros gar nicht mal soooo unselten ist und wie gesagt: auch das Vorgängermodell dürfte dir lockerst reichen.

MfG

/German

 

[Lasse Lammert]

ich brauche ihn innerhalb von 4 Tagen

 

[Djunn]

Get the latest Mac Pro with desired CPU and basic configuration, then add RAM / HDDs yourself. This is 2400 Euro (for the cheapest base model) + whatever you add. It will be 1/2 cheaper than Apple upgrades. It won't be more expensive than 500 Euro for additional RAM and HDDs, so you will end up with a 2900 ish Euro in the end with a brand new Mac with full warranty etc...

 

[Vendo]

Oh, ok.... dann würde ich sagen: solange du kein schlechtes Gewissen dabei bekommst: kauf ihn. Wie gesagt: leistungstechnisch wird er dir wohl allemal reichen.

MfG

 

[Vendo]

http://www.maconline.de/Apple-PowerMac-G4/G5-Mac-Pro/Gebraucht-Geprueft-Mac-Pro-2.8GHz-8-Core.html <<< da sparst du noch ein wenig, kannst dann noch auch auf 1 TB aufrüsten und sparst immernoch ein wenig.....

 

[Fbarre]

I would buy this here from the apple store de:

Ein 2,8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon &#8220;Nehalem&#8221; Prozessor
6 GB (3 x 2 GB)
1 TB 3 GBit/Sek. Serial-ATA mit 7200 U/Min.
1 TB 3 GBit/Sek. Serial-ATA mit 7200 U/Min.
1 TB 3 GBit/Sek. Serial-ATA mit 7200 U/Min.
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB
Two 18x SuperDrives

3.014,01 &#8364;

Depending on how many harddrives you need you could take one less and go for more ram if you need to. I have to say I'm not a fan of buying anything used.

Edit: Just saw the used ones you posted. If you don't need more than 3gb ram and only 1 harddrive you can get it for 2.489,00 &#8364;.

 

[JeffTD]

Why just going with 4 cores and not an 8 core? The 8 core Xeon will last you for many, many years, while I can see hitting processor limitations on the quad quite easily, especially since it's older Intel architecture.

 

[egan.]

I'd still wait until the new generation is released b/c you could potentially get a new old gen at a closeout price.

 

[Vendo]

Would he really need the 8-core? He will be using PT HD..... just a question, because i cant really imagine, why the quadcore would´nt have enough power for several years.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Hmm... A brand new 8-core MacPro in the German Apple Store is around 2750&#8364; without VAT, so isn't that pretty much precisely in your budget?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I'd still wait until the new generation is released b/c you could potentially get a new old gen at a closeout price.

That's not an option, it'd mean I can't work for 4 weeks (or whenever the new one will come out).
why you ask? cause the PT HD PCI to PCIe crossgrade offer has expired, I managed to still get it, but I had to order NOW...so I'll have the PCIe cards and without a new mac with PCIe slots I can't use them.
so I HAVE to buy a new mac NOW.

I just decided to go with the MC560D/A 2.8GHz quad plus the 27" cinema display.
I know, it's not the fastest, but I assume with the 4-core 2.8 I'll be fine for another 5 years (fingers crossed)...
Apple releases new macs every year, so there'll always be a "newer and better model" around the corner I guess (at least that's what I keep telling myself).

and tbh I just don't have the money for the 8-Core atm..of course I'd like to have it, but it's 1200&#8364; more expensive than the Quad....
=3000&#8364; in total

hurts a lot, but there's not much I can do atm....with the PT HD PCIe compatibility issue I'm pretty much stuck with this.
PLEASE tell me it was an alright decision, c'mo now, it hurts enough as it is

Hmm... A brand new 8-core MacPro in the German Apple Store is around 2750&#8364; without VAT, so isn't that pretty much precisely in your budget?

I'd still have to pay the VAT...I'll be able to claim it back of course, but I'd still have to pay it now...don't have that money tbh

I know, the 8-core is better than the 4-core, but 1000&#8364; is 1000&#8364;...and that's quite a bit of money for me, especially atm.
So I won't have the fastest model out there, but I still think the 4-core will have plenty of processing power for the next years, right?
after all it's fucking 2100&#8364;, it can't suck, lol

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I'd still have to pay the VAT...I'll be able to claim it back of course, but I'd still have to pay it now...don't have that money tbh

Yeah, that's understandable. It's a bit of a catch 22, since you're basically getting the stuff VAT-free but you still have to pay the full price :/

But I wouldn't worry if I were you, the quad cores should be more than fine. My i5 iMac has zero trouble handling large mixing sessions, and it still smokes about 80-90% of the Macs in the studios I've worked out of

 

[Lasse Lammert]

But I wouldn't worry if I were you, the quad cores should be more than fine.

thanks, that's what I wanted to hear

looking forward to working on the 27" also.

my B-Workstation will then consist of 20" cinema display with a PowerPC 2.5Dual and PT LE

 

[Vendo]

As i said: it is an alright decision. Enough power, you need it now..... for your work. WORK. So it´s alright. You´d still work with your g5, if it hadn´t crashed.....so working with a way newer Pro cant really make you sad. OFC it is a lot of money.....but again: you need it to work with. No work, no money. Money goooooood.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

 

[John_C]

If you were working successfully on a g5 then the quad core will be absolutely plenty.

Just go for it and concentrate on pumping out great sounding mixes like you always do!