Revamped 2006 Mac Pro 1.1

[dbuckle]

I've had this Mac Pro 1.1 tower since new in 2006 so it doesn't owe me anything but it was getting harder to upgrade software and such with the Snow Leopard OS. As a new one was going to cost Thousands of dollars I decided to see if I could do some cheaper upgrades. First I replace the dual CPUs from 4 core to 8 core cost me $35 for parts. I added 8 more gig of ram for $35. I had replaced my Radeon 3870 graphics card about 6 months ago the old one was acting up. Our daughter who was an IT tech gave me a 1.5 TB HD to fill one of the empty bays and I then found a guy on ebay selling HDs with El Capitan and Yosemite already installed just plug and play to fill the other for $54 so I now have 4 HDs installed. My old Mac runs El Capitan OS like a dream. Because I still have my old OS on a different HD I can run any old software programs there. I thought I would need to upgrade my Graphics card so ordered a Flashed Redeon 5770 1 gb card for $90 but really it runs ok the way it is.

 

[ijm5012]

Nice! After a lot of thought, I just purchased a pretty well spec'd 2015 15" rMBP. My wife and I already own a late 2013 13" rMBP, and it runs fine for LR and what not, but when I'm editing video, or using more intensive plug-ins, it was noticeable. The lack of dedicated graphics, as well as beign limited to 8GB of RAM is noticeable at times. When Apple announced the new MBP's last month, I started to think if that was really the path that I wanted to take with regards to the connectivity, or lack-there-of (no mag-safe charger, no SD slot, no HDMI, no Thunderbolt 2 / miniDP, no standard USB). Everything was USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt 3, which basically requires a dongle for everything. Apple is seriously pissing off their customers, first with the iPhone 7 and now the new MBP's.

So I purchased a certified refurb 2015 15" rMBP, with a 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM, dedicated graphics card (AMD Radeon M9 R370X). I just showed up yesterday, looks brand-new, and I'll go through the process of configuring it and loading all of my software on it over the coming month or so.

 

[ijm5012]

So long as it has dedicated graphics and upgradeable RAM, that's all that matters. That's the downside of the 13" MBP's, is that there's no dedicated graphics, and RAM is capped at 8GB (and it's soldered on).

I will say that the extra screen resolution from the 13" to the 15" is appreciated. The 13" will continue to serve as the "every day" computer which I'll bring with me when I travel. The 15" will be dedicated for home-use.

Hackintoshes are definitely more cost effective. The "downside" is that you have to maintain drivers on your own unlike an out-of-the box Mac. But you can certainly build a better spec'd one than what you can get from Apple.

 

[Sammyboy]

I've had this Mac Pro 1.1 tower since new in 2006 so it doesn't owe me anything but it was getting harder to upgrade software and such with the Snow Leopard OS. As a new one was going to cost Thousands of dollars I decided to see if I could do some cheaper upgrades. First I replace the dual CPUs from 4 core to 8 core cost me $35 for parts. I added 8 more gig of ram for $35. I had replaced my Radeon 3870 graphics card about 6 months ago the old one was acting up. Our daughter who was an IT tech gave me a 1.5 TB HD to fill one of the empty bays and I then found a guy on ebay selling HDs with El Capitan and Yosemite already installed just plug and play to fill the other for $54 so I now have 4 HDs installed. My old Mac runs El Capitan OS like a dream. Because I still have my old OS on a different HD I can run any old software programs there. I thought I would need to upgrade my Graphics card so ordered a Flashed Redeon 5770 1 gb card for $90 but really it runs ok the way it is.

...... did this tower have G-5 processors ? ......

 

[fredlong]

...... did this tower have G-5 processors ? ......

All the Mac Pros have had Intel Xeon processors.

Fred

 

[nancyr]

Case looks the same as G5, but the last of those were late 2005.

 

[dbuckle]

I had a G5 before I got the Mac Pro 1.1 and cases did look the same. It needed a new Motherboard so I took out the HDs then sold it on ebay for parts, I got $1000 for it and ordered this Mac Pro back in 2006.

Case looks the same as G5, but the last of those were late 2005.

 

[DaveEP]

Well done. Seems like a great deal.

Something to think about as you go forward is how much power it is consuming compared to more modern computers.

How many hours a day do you have it turned on? Stupid question right? I used to leave mine on 24/7 since (in the old days at least) things only tended to break when you turned them off / on again. But one day I plugged it in through a meter that showed me how much power it was consuming, and shortly after we also got a smart meter that showed real time electricity usage.

I then compared it to my other (more modern) computers and got quite a shock!

My MacPro 8 core was costing me around £262 a year to run, so since 2009 I will have spent (at todays prices) £1800+ on power, or about the same price as it cost to buy in the first place.

Compare that with my MacMini i5 16GB ram less than £40 per year (saving £220 per year) and I can see how after 3 years the MacMini was essentially free in power savings alone.

So, while it's great to keep old kit running (and I admire you for doing so), it's also nice to keep an eye on the bigger picture.

 

[dbuckle]

Good point about the power uses. Most people never consider how much power a computer uses. As my power is include in our rent it is not a concern for me. I did this as a short term solution. Some day down the line I'll be replacing it with an iMac or heaven forbid a PC.