Trash can?

[Phil O]

Recent flooding at my studio has resulted in some equipment loss. My business insurance policy will pay me actual cash value for ruined equipment, then reimburse me for the difference AFTER (and if) I purchace new equivalent equipment.

So, here's my dilemma. I was planning on waiting for the new Mac Pros to come out before upgrading from my 2008 3,1. But now I must act within 180 days if I want replacement cost from my inurance company. I can take actual cash value and buy something used, or I can order an equivalent (whatever that is) trash can and get reimbused. The danger being that the reimbursement might not be 100% seeing how there is no direct replacement for the 3,1.

Thoughts?

Philippe

[MIDI Life Crisis]

When the graphics card died on my 3,1 cheese grater, I bought a 2013 trash can and love it. Mike H will tell you to buy a refurb or suggest an iMac. I tend not to buy refurbs as you "never know" - plus I like having Applecare (maybe that's available on a refurb). If you have FireWire stuff, you'll need to buy some kind of convertors. I use Apple's inline FW to TB convertor and it works fine.

If you go the tcan route, get as big an internal drive as you can. I have a 1TB internal SSD and had to offload my iPhoto and iTunes libraries. They literally consumed 75% of the drive. They're on external spinners now.

The tcan itself has been great. That's what I would buy, but I would buy t new from Apple of a respected dealer.

[frankf]

I bought a tc refurb with AppleCare, 1tb ssd, midrange vídeo card as replacement for my 3,1. I have external SSDs for samples which I salvaged from the 3,1 using docks. It’s been a great system with DP and Sierra.


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[HCMarkus]

Pretty sure that "Replacement Cost" means an equivalent NEW computer. As such, you would maximize your recovery by purchasing an "equivalent" computer new. You could then sell the unopened new computer, probably a baseline 6,1 (closest thing to 3,1 available new at present), immediately and buy the most appropriate used Mac to replace your studio machine. It is almost certain that nothing in your insurance contact prohibits you from selling the newly purchased property.

It would probably be considered unethical, possibly a breach of contract, to buy new, then return that Mac to the seller after you submitted the receipt to your insurer. But I am certain this ploy has been undertaken by many over the years.

If you have been using a 3,1 with success, you would probably be extremely pleased with a 5,1. I just assembled a 12 core 3.33 5,1 for $650 not including storage. Found a 5,1 Octo 16GB RAM on Craigslist for $500. Two CPUs @ $75. Smokin'! OTOH, you would also be very happy with a base 6,1. And the CPUs in 6,1s are user upgradeable too!

PS: Check with he insurer in advance to confirm there is no lesser "equivalent" Mac Pro available new. That will remove any doubts about reimbursement. You can also argue you need new external storage enclosures, as the trashcan doesn't house drives like your 3,1 did.

[mikehalloran]

I dealt with this issue a few ... damn, it was before my stroke so it was 9 years ago now when my home was burglarized. It took awhile while I pointed the insurance adjuster in the right direction of what was the correct replacement computer and instruments. Then a check was cut and I spent the money as I wanted.

[mikehalloran]

When the graphics card died on my 3,1 cheese grater, I bought a 2013 trash can and love it. Mike H will tell you to buy a refurb or suggest an iMac.

Why would I do that? Insurance adjusters are often easily confused. If you had a Mac Pro, then a Mac Pro is what they will want to replace it with.

I tend not to buy refurbs as you "never know" - plus I like having Applecare (maybe that's available on a refurb). If you have FireWire stuff, you'll need to buy some kind of convertors. I use Apple's inline FW to TB convertor and it works fine.

If you go the tcan route, get as big an internal drive as you can. I have a 1TB internal SSD and had to offload my iPhoto and iTunes libraries. They literally consumed 75% of the drive. They're on external spinners now.

The tcan itself has been great. That's what I would buy, but I would buy t new from Apple of a respected dealer.

Again, don’t confuse the adjuster. While I like the Refurb Store—think of it as a second layer of quality control—adjusters will want to replace new with new. And, yes, AppleCare can be added to anything you buy from there.

The only downside to the Refurb Store is that Build to Order is unavailable. What they have is what you can buy and that’s it.

[mikehalloran]

Recent flooding at my studio has resulted in some equipment loss. My business insurance policy will pay me actual cash value for ruined equipment, then reimburse me for the difference AFTER (and if) I purchace new equivalent equipment.

So, here's my dilemma. I was planning on waiting for the new Mac Pros to come out before upgrading from my 2008 3,1. But now I must act within 180 days if I want replacement cost from my inurance company. I can take actual cash value and buy something used, or I can order an equivalent (whatever that is) trash can and get reimbused. The danger being that the reimbursement might not be 100% seeing how there is no direct replacement for the 3,1.

Philippe

Actual cash value may be depreciated—practically nothing. You pretty much have to buy new. The timing sucks, of course, but it usually does for such things.

Since you can’t buy a new 3.1, you will have to put together a system (on paper, at least) that has the functionality of your old one and that includes all of your storage (except now they’re all SSDs) and monitors. The $$$$ you spent on monitors when the 3.1 was new will buy 5K now. Make sure the adjuster signs off on the system before you buy—you don’t want any surprises in that regard.

When it happened to me, my G5 wasn’t stolen but my eMac was (who remembers those?) and the adjuster told me the 2009 24” iMac was the correct replacement. Yes’m, whatever you say.

In my case, the check was cut and I was able to hold off a year and find my 2010 27” in the Refurb Store for the same price. This option doesn’t appear to be available to you. Do the best you can.

As interesting as the souped up 5.1 sounds, unless you can find a vendor who sells them that way and can get the company to sign off on the purchase, that option is probably not open to you. You may just have to soldier on with a 6.1 system.

[Phil O]

Thanks for the advice guys. To complicate matters, the woman assigned to my case is on vacation next week, so I have to wait until she's back to ask questions, but you've given me a better idea of what questions to ask. Thanks.
The monitors (computer and audio) are fine. The equipment affected: Mac Pro, Appogee Rosetta 800, Tektronix oscilloscope, AT 4050 microphone. The Mac Pro also had a UAD card in it. The Mac Pro was completely submerged, but the Apogee might be recoverable. For now I'm just considering them all damaged beyond repair and those are the items I put on the claim. Most of the other gear was well above the water line. The damage to the structure (walls, insulation, carpets, etc.) will somehow be split between homeowners and business - I think. Don't know yet.
As far as the Apogee is concerned, I'm thinking a Lynx Aurora (n) is about the equivalent, but I don't know if the adjuster will see it that way. We'll see.

Phil

[bayswater]

When most of my equipment was stolen some time ago, the adjuster had some trouble working out what the equivalent replacements might be. The problem was solved by having a local distributor of studio equipment provide a list of current equivalents, including the computers and peripherals. That gave the adjustor comfort and an easy "out". It gave me a K2000 to replace a Casio FZ-1.

[HCMarkus]

When most of my equipment was stolen some time ago, the adjuster had some trouble working out what the equivalent replacements might be. The problem was solved by having a local distributor of studio equipment provide a list of current equivalents, including the computers and peripherals. That gave the adjustor comfort and an easy "out". It gave me a K2000 to replace a Casio FZ-1.

Great point bays. To paraphrase Jerry Maguire, “Help you help me.”

[mikehalloran]

Reminds me of the time someone broke into the AV cabinet to steal the keyboard and other equipment. The pastor and I had a hard time convincing the keyboard player to get that nice Korg he wanted and not replace the old one he disliked with a unit of similar quality. The insurance co. simply said replace the stuff and submit the bill.

Sometimes it just works out, ya know?

[bayswater]

Sometimes it just works out, ya know?

It sure does. I didn't mention that I got a Mac to replace my Atari.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

You had me at Atari. Lol

[HCMarkus]

For fun, checked eBay... CPUs for the 6,1 MacPro are readily available.

Fastest 12 core: about $500

Fastest 10 Core: under $300. 8 cores are running about the same.

Everything you need to know about CPU compatibility is here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ma ... t.1954766/

Anyone with a quad trashcan running up against performance limits might just want to look into an upgrade.

Just sayin'

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Yeah, used Macs are a pretty great deal right now. I paid $2k for my 8 core about 6 years ago and thought it was a great deal. $5k for the trash can and felt screwed. Used is definitely a way to go if it's your own money.