Refurbished Mac Pro and Intel Core Dual??

Quick question...
I got a refurbished MBP G4... can I upgrade to the Intel Core Dual? How would I do that and would it be spendy? I really want it!

Glad you weren't offended.
Sometimes it's hard to sort out "kids" that are looking for the latest and greatest that don't fit their needs and just want mommy and daddy to buy them a 2K laptop because their friends have it.
Still keeping things constant, if I were you I would hold onto that Powerbook G4 as long as physically possible. If you do truly want to upgrade to the Intel Processors I would wait at the minimum for the release of Leopard in 2007 so that you don't waste money down the road in upgrades. This will also guarantee that you have the best computer for the time.
You may want to read a very beneficial post about the new Core 2 Duos here, something regarding the 64bit technology which may really only be 40bit, so you may even want to hold off even more.
The bottom line is that the Powerbook G4 is still a great machine, and can still be rendered very useful until a newer OS and newer release of the MacBook Pro line is out.
As I said before, there is no "upgrade" program. It would be financially stupid for a company to do that. It's not like cars that lose only a % of value when they're bought - computers basically retain no value once purchased. For instance, check eBay - there aren't many computers in "like new" condition for over $500 because the industry moves so fast that you may be able to get "brand new" with many upgrades for $600.
I think you need to really list your needs down on paper - and see which fits. A top of the line Mac Book may suit your needs and will still come in at a lower price then a bare bones Mac Book Pro (or about the same price)
The nice thing about the Intel processors is that you can install windows if you need it. Some people that need it all the time could even slip in a nice big HD and run equal partitions.
I personally try to stay as far away from windows as possible, but still have 1 or 2 programs that haven't moved to have mac support. For this I still use a desktop PC.
Last - Keep in mind that the Macromedia stuff won't run well on Intels yet, so another reason to wait if you will use their Dreamweaver programs.
Good Luck, and sorry for the blunt post earlier...

Similar Messages

MacBook Pro and Intel Core 2 Duo?

Hey there everyone,
It is great that Apple is announcing the Intel Core 2 Duo, but when would it be available in the MacBook or MacBook Pro?
I am starting school in January and would like some time to use my new MB or MB Pro, but don't want to make a decision to buy and have the next gen processor avail next week...
The special with the free iPod Nano or reduced price iPod ends September 16th. Why are people waiting until next Tuesday, September 12 to make any purchases...I hope no bombshell will be dropped on everyone.
I was totally prepared to get my MacBook or MacBook Pro tomorrow, but VERY hesitant now.
Any advice? Am I making a big deal out of this? Will I EVEN notice a difference between the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo?
The main reason I am not buying a MB Pro is the heat issue and yet the Core 2 Duo is predicted to be cooler...
Help!!!

Wow great advice so far!
I was never into forums and discussion boards, but since I was buying a Mac again (the first was an LC II...for those who remember) I thought I would check the discussion board...yikes! Great one way, but information overload on the other.
TRUE there will never be a better Mac and to buy for what you need at the moment. Heat being a huge issue why I haven't purchased a MB Pro, it now seems as if the Core 2 Duo will not run much cooler which is a HUGE purchase deciding factor for me. The MacBook seems to run cooler for sure.
If I get the Core Duo MacBook/Pro with Tiger, can I upgrade to Leopard when it comes out in spring? Will they be compatible as I am not sure what 64 bit processors really do?
I can definately wait until next Tuesday to make my purchase, but I will only have until the end of next week to get the education special with the iPod at a huge discount...of course Apple is clearing stock for new iPods surely. The 30 gig video iPod ends up costing 115.00 CAD...can't beat the price that's the thing.
Since heat is such an issue for me with the MB Pro this means I will be leaning towards the white MB and it SEEMS unlikely they will be upgraded as they only came out in May/June.
All I want is to say I am on top of the computer game at the current moment (if possible) even if it only lasts 5-6 months. I am upgrading from an old Windows ME system, Pentium III, 128 Mb RAM, 733 Mhz processor...about 6 years old. My how much has changed since those times.
I am really not trying to make this decision difficult on myself...really!
You all are great for providing some great advice!

Refurbished Mac Pro?

Hi, I've been seriously considering a refurbished Mac Pro and was just after a general opinion from others who have bought one as to their experience, were you happy with the condition of the unit etc?

I would like to start by saying thank you to "The hatter" for the suggestion the other day to look at the Refurbished Mac's, which I did and I am told that I should have my new refurbished Mac Pro, in about a weeks time. I saved a bundle of money, ( which I will now put towards some ram [Techworks] and a external backup[OWC]) it also comes with Tiger loaded and the Leopard CD.
If I may ask a somewhat off topic question, it appears that a number of you are suggesting that one should stay with Tiger for the time being, and let "Leo get its spots fixed".
Pardon my ignorance here but can I load Leo on a separate new hard drive, (is this a good way of doing the upgrade, in any case that way I still have Tiger on its own drive, in case anything goes wrong with Leo) just to see how things work on my system at this time.
I have checked and found that my printers don't have the drivers yet for Leo, plus some of the utilities that I am going to use haven't been upgraded for Leo either.

Problem with mac pro 2x2.93 GHZ Dual Core and Mini Display Port

Finally I see the button to create new post!
I would like to explain a problem I have with my mac pro 2x2.93 GHZ Dual Core Intel Xeon processors and the ATI Radeon HD 4870.
I have two 30 "Apple. After buying the new Mac Pro is one of the two monitors, only with the monitor all black, small horizontal lines.
This happens only to the monitor connected to the mini display port... So if you reverse it monitors the problem always moves on the board connected to the Mini Display Port.
Apple has already changed my video card and the adapter but the problem is still there.
Someone can tell me if it is the ATI Radeon HD 4870 that has problems to have two monitors 30 "? Or it could be that the mini display port that is hard to read the two monitors and when the background is black (RGB-255-255-255) makes these lines?
Through the Apple store I then bought a new card (EVGA GeForce GTX 285 "). Unfortunately, after three weeks of waiting is not yet arrived. Proof that I want to do before returning to telephone assistance is whether on a card that has two dual-link DVI ports normal all goes well.
Sorry for the repetition of messages, but my English is very bad. This is the first time I connect to this site support
Mario
Message was edited by: marioart

In any case, this system does not support two 30".
I honestly don't think the 4870 with that adapter can support two 30". Just using the adapter itself would not give me the normal resolutions on my 30, where as the DVI port did. Luckily for me the adapter worked fine on my 20".
Truly I don't know why Apple would sell a card and not say just what displays it can power.
So I worked around my problem fine but I chose to get the 285 also. My question to you though is, did Apple make you pay for it? Was it part of a deal with them because the Radeon didn't work? You might want to talk to them about that. That is one expensive card.

ALSO Just purchased a refurbished Mac Pro Quad 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon!

Hi All, I'm new to this forum but having a severe case of Extreme Buyer's Remorse / Best Bang For The Buck Syndrome...Yesterday I also purchased a Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 3.0GHz, 2GB, ATI 1900 from the Apple Store for $2299. Seemingly, the difference between the one I bought and Barry is that mine came with a second Superdrive. For the same price, I thought why not?
So, here's the nature of my anxiety: I'm not totally conversant in Mac Pro-speak and am having a hard time understanding exactly what I purchased, when it was originally manufactured, etc.. The receipt I was provided indicated I bought a machine with 2 dual-core processors along with a model number that apparently does not exist in any universe other than the Apple Store, FB052LLA.
I've made a number of phone calls today to the Apple Store and they said without the serial number (which I won't have until I receive the unit) they cannot tell me exactly what the base unit was before the config was made. I very much want to know:
-Is this a 5100 series Quad Core or 5300 Series Eight Core or something else?
-When was it likely originally released?
-Most importantly, was the $2299 money well spent when MacMall is now offering a Quad-Core 2.8Ghz, 2GB, ATI 2600 for $2214?
My anxiety level rose just typing all this out, so thanks in advance!!
Larry

Apple Mac Pro Quad Xeon 3GHz Workstation, model no. MA052LL/A, with two SuperDrives and ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB video for $2,299 (was $3,349). This is your model with the "MA" in the Model No. replaced with an "FB". Presumable the FB = Refurbished.
I believe this model was released August 2006 and contained Intel Xeon 5100 series ("Woodcrest") processors. It was discontinued Jan 2008.
The Machine ID should be MacPro1,1
Ref http://www.apple-history.com/
"Announced at WWDC in August 2006, the Mac Pro completed Apple's transition to Intel processors, replacing the PowerMac G5 (Late 2005) as Apple's professional desktop Mac. The Mac Pro was based on two 64-bit, dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 "Woodcrest" processors, which included a 128-bit Vector Engine. The Mac Pro's case resembled its PowerMac predecessor's--with the exception of a second optical drive bay--but the interior of the case was completely redesigned. The Xeon processors required less heat-dissapation than G5 processors, allowing a smaller cooling system. The Mac Pro had four easily accessible hard drive bays (for a BTO maximum of 2 TB of storage) and easy access to its 8 RAM slots, which allowed for a Maximum of 16 GB of RAM.
With the Mac Pro, Apple decided to do something different in terms of configuration. Since the majority of Apple's professional customers tended to heavily-customize their Macs at purchase time, Apple offered a single, heavily customizable Mac Pro model. In effect, this shifted the decision-making for what configurations to sell to the resellers, leaving Apple with a streamlined manufacturing process. The single model sold for $2,499, and included two 2.66 GHz, dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 processors, 1 GB of RAM, a 250 MB hard disk, a SuperDrive, and an Nvidia GeForce 7300GT graphics card with 256MB of VRAM. BTO options included 2.0 and 3.0 GHz processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, up to 2 TB of storage, a second SuperDrive, a variety of graphics cards, and Airport Express and Bluetooth support."
Your MacPro has 4 cores (2 per processor) and not the Mac Pro (8 core) you mentioned.

Which Mac Pro? More cores=slower speeds? And most of us know the speed matters or FPU for music and I don't understand the faster is for the least amount of procs. And while I get the whole rendering thing and why it makes sense.

Which Mac Pro? More cores=slower speeds? And most of us know the speed matters or FPU for music and I don't understand the faster is for the least amount of procs. And while I get the whole rendering thing and why it makes sense.
The above is what the bar says. It's been a while and wondered, maybe Apple changed the format for forums. Then got this nice big blank canvas to air my concerns. Went to school for Computer Science, BSEE, even worked at Analog Devices in Newton Massachusetts, where they make something for apple.
The bottom line is fast CPU = more FPU = more headroom and still can't figure out why the more cores= the slower it gets unless it's to get us in to a 6 core then come out with faster cores down the road or a newer Mac that uses the GPU. Also. Few. I'm the guy who said a few years ago Mac has an FCP that looks like iMovie on Steroids. Having said that I called the campus one day to ask them something and while I used to work for Apple, I think she thought I still did as she asked me, "HOW ARE THE 32 CORES/1DYE COMING ALONG? Not wanting to embarrass her I said fine, fine and then hung up. Makes the most sense as I never quite got the 2,6,12 cores when for years everything from memory to CPU's have been, in sets of 2 to the 2nd power. 2,4,8,16,32,64,120,256,512, 1024, 2048,4196,8192, 72,768. Wow. W-O-W and will be using whatever I get with Apollo Quad.
Peace to all and hope someone can point us in THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THANK YOU

Thanks for your reply via email/msg. He wrote:
If you are interested in the actual design data for the Xeon processor, go to the Intel site and the actual CPU part numbers are:
Xeon 4 core - E5.1620v2
Xeon 6 core - E5.1650v2
Xeon 8 core - E5.1680v2
Xeon 12 core - E5.2697v2
I read that the CPU is easy to swap out but am sure something goes wrong at a certain point - even if solderedon they make material to absorb the solder, making your work area VERY clean.
My Question now is this, get an 8 core, then replace with 2 3.7 QUAD CHIPS, what would happen?
I also noticed that the 8 core Mac Pro is 3.0 when in fact they do have a 3.4 8 core chip, so 2 =16? Or if correct, wouldn't you be able to replace a QUAD CHIP WITH THAT? I;M SURE THEY ARE UO TO SOMETHING AS 1) WE HAVE SEEN NO AUDIO FPU OR PERHAPS I SHOULD CHECK OUT PC MAKERS WINDOWS machines for Sisoft Sandra "B-E-N-C-H-M-A-R-K-S" -
SOMETHINGS UP AND AM SURE WE'LL ALL BE PLEASED, AS the mac pro was announced Last year, barely made the December mark, then pushed to January, then February and now April.
Would rather wait and have it done correct than released to early only to have it benchmarked in audio and found to be slower in a few areas- - - the logical part of my brain is wondering what else I would have to swap out as I am sure it would run, and fine for a while, then, poof....
PEACE===AM SURE APPLE WILL BLOW US AWAY - they have to figure out how to increase the power for 150 watts or make the GPU work which in regard to FPU, I thought was NVIDIA?

Would I notice a difference between a dual 3.2 MAC PRO and a dual 3.0 Mac P

Would I notice a difference between a dual 3.2 MAC PRO and a dual 3.0 Mac Pro. Looking to add another MAC PRO to my studio just wondering if there would be a noticeable difference between my dual 3.0 quad core and the 3.2 dual quad core??
Thanks
John

Using mostly FCP and Illustrator CS 3. Really do not need anymore performance for what I am doing but I need to add another station and wonder if the 3.2 would be a better performer. My current system is a 3.0 dual with quad cores. If the 3.2 would be a better performer then I would install the new system in my main suite.
Thanks
John

FCP 5 on Mac Pro 2.66 GHz Dual-Core - project won't open

I feel SICK. I bought this Mac Pro and a new monitor, transferred all my data from my iMac and tried to open my FCP 5 project and what opened was a "new" project screen... yet there was a tab with my project's name on it as if it should have been there. Can I run my fcp 5 on this new Mac Pro?

I was afraid of that. However, in the the last 15 minutes, I opened another project and that opened, seemed to play correctly, so I'm confused. Is 5.0 not for Intel because of speed? Or actual editing capabilities? (Just need an education on that). So when I get FCP 2, once I've opened the program, can it read FPC 5.0 projects? And will I be able to convert the 5.0 projects into the FCP 2?
Good to know about the gigs. We ordered 4 the other day, so we should have 5 total since 1 came with the computer. Thanks for your guidance.

I have moved from a G5 Powermac to an Intel Mac Pro and am porting over Items from a Backup HDD. How can I access and use drawings and documents created on the PC computer on the Intel computer ?

I have moved from a G5 Powermac to an Intel Mac Pro and selectively porting over items from a backup hard drive.
How can I access and use documents and drawings created on the PC based computer ?

Clarisworks, you need Appleworks, which will only work with Mac OS X10.6.8 or earlier. See this tip if you must go newer. Mac Pros with newer hardware configuration than July 20, 2011 can't use Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier without this tip and then it would be Mac OS X Server. I'm not sure if the new black Mac Pro supports that configuration or not.
iPhoto, there is an iPhoto for all versions of Mac OS X.
iTunes, there is an iTunes for all versions of Mac OS X. Note with iTunes versions 11 and later, which are needed for syncing with iOS 7 or or later, you will lose coverflow, if you liked that feature. Sadly you can't run an older version of iTunes from within Mac OS X 10.9 or later.
Sketchup: http://help.sketchup.com/en/article/60107 shows the versions that will work with intermediate Mac OS X versions, and this shows the latest version: http://help.sketchup.com/en/article/36208 be sure to click on the operating system you choose to use.
GIF - Viewing GIFs Apple's Preview can do that. Editing them, I like http://www.lemkesoft.com/ Graphicconverter.
DMG is able to be opened by all versions of Mac OS X. This are just "disk images" which store programs on a virtual disk that will open when double clicked. Frequently you'll find the installer of the said program inside. To find out if the program itself is compatible with 10.7 through 10.9, see http://www.roaringapps.com/
Otherwise see the resources on:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2455
If you end up deciding to stick with Snow Leopard.

I have a MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo and Snow Leopard 10.6.8. Want to upgrade to Lion to take advantage of icloud. Is there anything I can do without getting a new MacPro?

I have a MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo and Snow Leopard 10.6.8. Would like to upgrade to Lion but it requires a minimum of Intel Core 2 Duo. Can I get what I need or do I have to buy new MacBok Pro?

I also have a core duo MBP with Snow Leopard and it runs perfectly. There are very few things it cannot do as compared to the faster, newer MBPs, but that is attributable to the CPU, not the OS. There are some who view Lion as downgrade rather than as an improvement. If there are important applications that reqire a fast CPU or Lion features that you find essential, by all means get a new MBP.
I have an aphorism: Obsolescence is more often a perception rather than a reality. Besides the silver keys look much classier than the black ones.
Ciao.

My Mac Pro tower quad core crashed and is showing a NO sign (the circle with a slash through it). How do I safely get it to come back up ? Model A1186

My Mac Pro tower quad core crashed and is showing a NO sign (the circle with a slash through it). How do I safely get it to come back up ? Model A1186

General purpose Mac troubleshooting guide:
Isolating issues in Mac OS X
Creating a temporary user to isolate user-specific problems:
Isolating an issue by using another user account
Identifying resource hogs and other tips:
Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used
Starting the computer in "safe mode":
Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
To identify potential hardware problems:
Apple Hardware Test
General Mac maintenance:
Tips to keep your Mac in top form
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367
Where are your bootable backups and clones stored?
What do you have to boot from to restore or attempt to recovery files that are not backed up?
It won't be a PowerMac. People tend to think they look alike? or mean the same thing.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/specs/mac-pro-quad-2.66-specs.html
Try zap PRAM and SMC Reset. If you have ATI 5770 which many have upgraded to you won't be able to use older DVD or systems than 10.6.5

I've got macbook pro w/OSXv10.6.8 and intel core 2 duo...how do i know if i have leopard or snow leopard? i'm interested in the new lion

I've got macbook pro w/OSXv10.6.8 and intel core 2 duo...how do i know if i have leopard or snow leopard? i'm interested in the new lion

tiger was 10.4
leopard was 10.5
snow leopard was 10.6
and LION 10.7!!! LOL
so you have 10.6 which is snow leopard
you should be ready to update assuming you meet the other requirements.

What graphics card or cards Mac Pro and Dual 30 inch ACD's?

I am hoping that you can all help with a few questions regarding running two 30 inch displays in a new Mac Pro and using Final Cut Pro, Motion, and After Effects.
My issue is which card(s) to order... Two NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB or the ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB.
Can FCP work off of two different Graphics Cards? I would hook one display to each NVIDIA card via the Dual Link DVI port.
Or with the ATI, I would hook one monitor to the Dual Link DVI and one to the Mini Display Port with the adapter.
The ATI is obviously a more powerful card individually; but, two NVIDIA cards would allow for each monitor its own "lane," which seems like it would be an advantage.
Any advice would be great. I am primarily an FCP user and probably hit After Effects for 25% of my work.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Neither Motion or Color support dual graphics cards.
FCP used to have issues but they have been addressed in v7 (reportedly).
The 4870 is the better card by far but don't know if it will support 2 30" monitors. In any case, you are spreading the VRAM over a lot of pixels. You'd probably have better response driving 2 24" monitors.
x
fwiw - I don't see the benefit of gigantic monitors. They take up an enormous amount of desktop space, draw a small city's worth of power and don't offer that many more pixels.
x

Cannot Complete Installation of Vista with Mac Pro and Boot Camp

I only have one hard drive with my Mac Pro, and I partitioned the drive into two sections with boot camp and restarted with my Vista 64 bit Ultimate CD.
I have tried formatting the partition with Vista and it still gives me the dreaded error message of "windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria". I've tried deleting the partition during installation, and making a new partition with Vista, reformatting, then restarting the computer. Same message.
I don't know what to do. I've tried like mad searching for topics like this one here, but every one of them deals with installing vista on a second dedicated hard drive on the Mac Pro. I only have one. How do I get this to work?
Please help if you can. I would REALLY appreciate it. I'll be watching the thread. Thank you!!

Loyalty4Life wrote:
Thank you for your reply! I'll be here all night.
I have the 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors. I tried installing Vista ultimate with my 32 bit software, but I still get the same message (I own both legally, btw).
Thanks for your help.
Several things to do:
Run OS-X Disk utility and repair the disk if necessary, and file permissions.
Be sure your HD has the GUID partition scheme and if it has SMART that it's OK
Zap the PRAM
Be sure you are logged in as administrator when creating the BC partition and starting the installation of Windows from Leopard
When I installed Vista Ultimate 64-bit, I was using BootCamp beta, 1.2 or 1.3. I created the partition with BootCamp Assistant.app as you did. It's a 60GB partition that I formatted with NTFS with BC.
After starting the install in Tiger, I then simply inserted the Vista 64-bit DVD and that was it.
It just installed.
Ditto with XP-Pro on my other MBP. Zero problems with BC. It was also done with a beta, BC1.0.
I have never installed Windows using Leopard. When I updated to Leopard from Tiger nothing changed, but there seem to be more problems with Leopard and BC2.0 than there were with Tiger and the beta versions.
There are no requirements about legality until after the OS is installed, so that's a moot point.
There are some install DVDs that are in ISO format and they won't work, but it seems that yours is working but not finding a suitable volume.
You might try reformatting the BC partition with BootCamp assistant as FAt32 and seeing if that works, but you are limited to 32GB if you do that, but it would be a good test. Vista should then format it into NTFS.
Be sure that your Leopard OS is fully backed up because stuff happens when you keep fooling around with partitions.
Also look through this forum for similar problems.

Mac Pro and Panasonic DV

Have just got a Mac Pro (and am also new to Macs). I have a two year old Panasonic NV-GS15 digital video camera attached via firewire, I can't pick up the camera at all...in i-movie, Final Cut Pro (5.1) or even see it when looking under the firewire port. Have been on Panasonic website and the driver information I found was related to PC/Windows. Have emailed Panasonic but they aren't replying.
Any suggestions/answers/wishes of luck?
Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2 x 2.66 Dual Core Intel Xeon, 2GB 667 MHz

I have same problem with Mac Pro and Panasonic PV-GS120. I went to Apple store and tried Mac Pros over there and they all had the problem. PowerBooks (G4 and Intel) as well as iMacs can all see the camcoder fine and iMovie imports clips without problems. System Profiler does not show any FireWire devices once the camcoder is attached Mac Pro and /var/log/system.log reports that FireWire has been reset multiple times in the last minute. I've filled in the form to escalate issue to Apple but I have no idea when the issues is going to be addressed.
Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Refurbished Mac Pro and Intel Core Dual??

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