Used/Refurbished Macs-Where To Buy?

[tremo]

So did you buy locally or have it shipped MLC? Did yours come with a warranty? Trying to find a 3.33 6 core, but seeing prices that vary from $1500-4000. Not sure where to look for a trusted purchase.

I just bought one of those machines (3.33 hex) from ebay seller "ipowerresale". Seller has 99.5% positive feedback. I paid $2199, and considering that my Mac Pro came with 16GB RAM, an ATI 5870 card and a WD 1TB Black HD installed (and is in "near-mint" physical condition), I was OK with the price.

[edit] Oh, and the warranty is for 90 days.

[Nibiru]

Great. Exactly what I wanna hear. Thanks guys.

[HCMarkus]

Watch out for vendors selling 2009 (4,1) Macs that have been flashed to 5,1 and upgraded with a hex CPU and new GPU as "2010" or "2012" hex. Not that the performance will be any less than a real 2010 or 2012, but because the price should reflect the actual age of the components.

You can confirm the actual age of a Mac from its serial number. Google "mac pro serial number decoder".

I have a 2009 4,1 that looks in every way like a 5,1 hex, but did the upgrade myself. Unfortunately, the hex CPUs (3680 and 3690) have recently been discontinued by Intel, and the inventory of new parts has dried up. Used CPUs are still available. Just saw 3670 (3.2 hex) for $319 a few days ago on EBay.

[tremo]

Watch out for vendors selling 2009 (4,1) Macs that have been flashed to 5,1 and upgraded with a hex CPU and new GPU as "2010" or "2012" hex. Not that the performance will be any less than a real 2010 or 2012, but because the price should reflect the actual age of the components.

You can confirm the actual age of a Mac from its serial number. Google "mac pro serial number decoder".

Thanks for that tip -- luckily, the one I just bought comes up as a valid Mid-2010 5,1 Mac Pro (whew!).

EveryMac.com has an identifier that uses just the last 3 or 4 characters of your s/n:

http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

... that returns a range of models; you can zero in on your own going by CPU speed.


This other site gives more specific identificationn based on your entire s/n:

http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php

... in my case, it says mine was the 74th Mac Pro built in the 21st week (May) of 2011.