3 ms·

I have the same feelings about my infrequently used but trusted 2009 Mac Pro. After upgrading RAM, GPU and spending SSD disks it was performing "well-enough" af

I have the same feelings about my infrequently used but trusted 2009 Mac Pro. After upgrading RAM, GPU and spending SSD disks it was performing "well-enough" after all these years. It's sad that I have to replace it not because of performance issues but being stuck with an old OS now.

Finnucane 10y ago
Is this so terrible? Presumably El Capitan will get security updates and your machine will continue to work for some time to come.
- Lio 10y ago
  It's kind of a pain though as there's no current equivalent machine if you've got an older Mac Pro with decent graphics card in it For desktops it's either the aging and not user upgradable Mac Pro or the aging (but less so) iMac.
  - pbarnes_1 10y ago
    Do not, under any circumstances, buy the 'new' MP. Literally the worst thing I've ever spent 6k on. DO NOT DO IT. Buy the iMac 5k 3 times instead.
    - easychris 10y ago
      Care to explain? I really planned to buy a Pro instead of an iMac because of upgradeability. Why don't you recommend it?
      - Lio 10y ago
        Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think any of the parts in the current Mac Pro are internally upgradable. OWC might have an upgrade option for the SSD though. Otherwise you've got to put everything through the external thunderbolt 2 ports. They're fine for storage and there's been some progress on using them for home made gpu expansion boxes but really you'd be better off waiting for Apple to offer something with thunderbolt 3 or internal pci card slots.
      - pbarnes_1 10y ago
        Well, I don't know what the next nMP looks like, but presumably it will have the same form factor, so... none of it is upgradeable (apart from RAM, but... RAM is basically infinite these days)? I've had a lot of issues with it, specifically: 1. Does not send display signal over mDP consistently. I have 2x 30" Apple Cinema displays connected to it. Sometimes it boots up without displaying anything on them. I have to restart it several times, unplug-and-replug both mDP and USB (the Cinema Display needs USB plugged in to work), clear NVRAM, etc until I finally see the login prompt. It's not my machine because my partner has the same exact machine with the same configuration and it happens to her. This is with the D700's so... who knows. 2. USB power is hit and miss. Sometimes it won't power up my Apple keyboard (no key input registered, caps lock light won't turn on, etc). Sometimes it won't power up anything on a specific port/bus until reboot. Again, not machine specific. 3. The SSD (Model: APPLE SSD SM0512F) is slow. I paid $$$ for the 512Gb SSD (the 1Tb was some ridiculous $ at the time, and I thought the better allocation of $ was to the GPU -- I regret this decision now because I'm SOL and can't expand my internal storage. I have a SSD-on-USB3 connected now for my VMs and what not). Sometimes I launch Finder and have to wait like 4-5 seconds before it shows me my home directory. There's really not much in there. A lot of other FS operations take longer than expected. It's a longer list than this, but I really feel this thing is a lemon. Maybe they'll address all these issues in the next rev, but my 2008 MP was on its last legs and I needed something to drive two monitors. The iMac 5k is basically an awesome screen with a free computer attached. You can throw it out (or donate it, or whatever) and buy a new one every 2 years with the money you'd spend on the nMP every 5-6 years. It might not be the most powerful computer in the world, but it's good enough for like 95% of use cases.
oneplane 10y ago
There are patches to install Sierra on 2009 Mac Pro's.

Finnucane 10y ago

Is this so terrible? Presumably El Capitan will get security updates and your machine will continue to work for some time to come.

Lio 10y ago
It's kind of a pain though as there's no current equivalent machine if you've got an older Mac Pro with decent graphics card in it For desktops it's either the aging and not user upgradable Mac Pro or the aging (but less so) iMac.
- pbarnes_1 10y ago
  Do not, under any circumstances, buy the 'new' MP. Literally the worst thing I've ever spent 6k on. DO NOT DO IT. Buy the iMac 5k 3 times instead.
  - easychris 10y ago
    Care to explain? I really planned to buy a Pro instead of an iMac because of upgradeability. Why don't you recommend it?
    - Lio 10y ago
      Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think any of the parts in the current Mac Pro are internally upgradable. OWC might have an upgrade option for the SSD though. Otherwise you've got to put everything through the external thunderbolt 2 ports. They're fine for storage and there's been some progress on using them for home made gpu expansion boxes but really you'd be better off waiting for Apple to offer something with thunderbolt 3 or internal pci card slots.
    - pbarnes_1 10y ago
      Well, I don't know what the next nMP looks like, but presumably it will have the same form factor, so... none of it is upgradeable (apart from RAM, but... RAM is basically infinite these days)? I've had a lot of issues with it, specifically: 1. Does not send display signal over mDP consistently. I have 2x 30" Apple Cinema displays connected to it. Sometimes it boots up without displaying anything on them. I have to restart it several times, unplug-and-replug both mDP and USB (the Cinema Display needs USB plugged in to work), clear NVRAM, etc until I finally see the login prompt. It's not my machine because my partner has the same exact machine with the same configuration and it happens to her. This is with the D700's so... who knows. 2. USB power is hit and miss. Sometimes it won't power up my Apple keyboard (no key input registered, caps lock light won't turn on, etc). Sometimes it won't power up anything on a specific port/bus until reboot. Again, not machine specific. 3. The SSD (Model: APPLE SSD SM0512F) is slow. I paid $$$ for the 512Gb SSD (the 1Tb was some ridiculous $ at the time, and I thought the better allocation of $ was to the GPU -- I regret this decision now because I'm SOL and can't expand my internal storage. I have a SSD-on-USB3 connected now for my VMs and what not). Sometimes I launch Finder and have to wait like 4-5 seconds before it shows me my home directory. There's really not much in there. A lot of other FS operations take longer than expected. It's a longer list than this, but I really feel this thing is a lemon. Maybe they'll address all these issues in the next rev, but my 2008 MP was on its last legs and I needed something to drive two monitors. The iMac 5k is basically an awesome screen with a free computer attached. You can throw it out (or donate it, or whatever) and buy a new one every 2 years with the money you'd spend on the nMP every 5-6 years. It might not be the most powerful computer in the world, but it's good enough for like 95% of use cases.

oneplane 10y ago

There are patches to install Sierra on 2009 Mac Pro's.