Apple Mac Pro 4.1 in 2018 - Still Worth It?

More and more people ask the question, is an old Mac Pro 4.1 still worth it in 2018? Discover why in this 6 part tutorial series!
Part 0 - Introduction ➜ https://youtu.be/lJF-rffIyq0
Part 1 - Bluetooth ➜ https://youtu.be/d9xPvreK8tg
Part 2 - High Sierra ➜ https://youtu.be/ecWEhbtvXHk
Part 3 - SATAIII SSD ➜ https://youtu.be/2gqkGPidI84
Part 4 - Radeon RX560 ➜ https://youtu.be/UoV4I-FlYdw
Part 5 - Memory ➜ https://youtu.be/1XYNqfnu4UA
Part 6 - CPU ➜ https://youtu.be/8cVhURcpi64
Part 7 - macOS Mojave ➜ https://youtu.be/uKAJCuWtp4Y
Part 8 - Radeon RX580 ➜ https://youtu.be/Dv73HrnsNkw
Part 9 - NVMe SSD ➜ https://youtu.be/A8hPC_DDq6Q
Part 10 - Fan Replacement ➜ https://youtu.be/fBiIJami8v0
NEW *Part 11 - USB 3.0 Upgrade ➜ https://youtu.be/fCkrZlB465E
NEW *Part 12 - NVMe Raid Card ➜ https://youtu.be/fo7lVMfXq1c

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Parts used to upgrade my Mac Pro.

Tools-
Hey key on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/wuTi
Thermal paste on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/bLl0EYf
ArctiClean on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/ZECebDg

USED-
MacPro 4.1 ➜ https://ebay.to/2k3MNKK
Xeon X5675 CPU 3.06GHz ➜ https://ebay.to/2m07Ka9
Xeon X5690 CPU 3.46GHz ➜ https://ebay.to/2kfaTlT
RAM 24GB 1333Mhz ➜ https://ebay.to/2O9iorr
RAM 48GB 1333Mhz ➜ https://ebay.to/2ly5cQh

NEW-
Bluetooth antenna on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/ajdXyMo
Bluetooth cable on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/VJIA71
SATA III card on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/Dn7i
Samsung SSD on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/ePsJ
Graphics card on Amazon ➜ http://geni.us/oDXp
Graphics power cable on Amazon ➜ https://geni.us/gBZvb
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The old Mac Pro 4.1 and 5.1 recently seem to have experienced a resurgence in popularity. But why? Does it still make economic sense to invest in such old machines? After all the 4.1 Mac Pro hit the market in early 2009, so these computers are almost 10 years old!

Discover in this step by step tutorial series, how I bought a cheap Mac Pro on eBay and upgraded it to be ready for 2018 and beyond.

It is surprising to many people how well these old computers perform after a few upgrades.

Personally, I noticed that buying used parts such as memory and CPU can deliver an amazing value for the price.

Remember that these machines used to cost thousands of dollars, e.g. $3500, and today you can pick them up for as low as $350, or 10% of the original price.

In my case, I did pay a little extra, $450, and bought from a company that buys, inspects, and then resells macs.
For the premium price, I got the guarantee that the system would be ok, and that I can return it if I find any flaws.

Now fast forward to part 6, where I do the CPU upgrade, the Intel Xeon stock CPU had a recommended sales price of about $300, according to the Intel website.

However, the upgraded one, which I also bought used on eBay, for $60, had a recommended price of over $1400!!!

Same goes for the memory, just look at how much you have to pay if you want to spec out and mac, new on the apple website, and you will know what I mean.

Instead, I just picked up old used server memory, 24GB did only cost me about $80, and last time I checked upgrading a 27” iMac for example with 32GB costs about $600.

Of course, it is not an exact comparison, since modern macs use DDR4 instead of DDR3 memory, but I doubt this makes such a big difference.

In any case, I encourage you to use the navigation above to jump to the tutorial parts that interest you!

My opinion is that the 2009 to 2012 mac pro is still good, providing you are willing to put in a little work and upgrade some of the hardware.