Jumping Ship
Apple November 7th, 2007
To sum it up in one simple sentence, I’ve sold my Mac Pro and am making the move to a much more mobile setup.
A few weeks back I was approached by a company which I can’t reveal just yet about a sponsorship deal for a MacBook Pro. As I’ve been on-the-go and traveling a lot recently, I’ve developed the need for an Apple portable machine once again.
I was all set to purchase the MacBook Pro as an addition to my main office setup comprising of the Mac Pro, when I stumbled across an auction for a Power Mac Quad on TradeMe - a New Zealand specific eBay like site.
The Power Mac Quad had just sold for an obscene amount of money in my eyes, over $4,500 USD. I was absolutely stunned at the willingness people has to pay top dollar for a machine running on the PPC architecture.
Right then and there, I made an impulse decision for a bit of fun to list my Mac Pro for sale with a reserve price $500 higher than it would cost for me to build the whole setup again. The auction outreached its reserve of $5,800 NZD reaching $7,300 NZD ($5,600 USD) in the last few minutes of bidding.
Effectively, I was paid over $1,500 USD to use a state of the art Mac Pro for 5 months. Not a bad deal in my eyes.
The plan was to replace it with a brand new Mac Pro when Apple started to include the new Intel Penryn 45nm processors in the machine, but I’ve decided to take another path..
Intel To Intel
I’ve ordered a MacBook Pro which is expected to arrive tomorrow morning. The extra RAM (4GB) from OWC will be here later next week.
MacBook Pro 15.4″. 2.4Ghz. 4GB RAM. 160GB 5400RPM HDD.
I would have liked to purchase with the new 2.6Ghz Core 2 Duo processor and the 250GB 5400RPM HDD, though it would have delayed proceedings by 2-3 weeks.
I think I will find myself constantly swapping out this MacBook Pro for newer models as Intel in partnership with Apple make the move toward Quad Core notebooks in late 2008.
My setup will now comprise of the MacBook Pro, a 30″ Apple Cinema Display, and additionally, a large chunk of money has been placed into long term savings. Can anyone recommend a good 1TB external HDD, I’m in the market for one now.
For some strange reason I’m overwhelmed with a sense of freedom, something I haven’t experienced in a very, very long time.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Hi Glenn,
I just bought the My Book Studio edition. You can get it in 350, 500, 750 and 1TB I think, so you may like to check that out.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Wow Glenn! I would have never guessed you’d do that, but it seems like that was quite the good deal. I hope you enjoy your Mac Book Pro! :)
November 7th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Sheesh Glenn! That’s crazy! Seems mad that people would pay that when they can get a brand new one for less!
Hope you enjoy the MBP!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:41 am
You’re nuts. Seriously. That was the most unexpected thing I’ve heard in quite a while.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Wow, you making money off used computers, nice, The Mac Pro is portable? haha.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Wow - big jump there!
Though they are not the prettiest, the Buffalo DriveStation Quattro is an awesome drive, fill it with x4 500GB drives and have 1TB in RAID0 for data redundancy or put in x4 250GB. Other than that, the WD MyBook Studios are pretty damn awesome drives!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Cheers - I’ll take a look into them. Firewire 800 would be nice.
Nuts indeed. I wouldn’t have done it if I was going to lose money, couldn’t actually believe I made so much off it though.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:49 am
I use the 1Tb Lacie drive which is raid 0 and seems pretty good - not big and bulky like some of them are. It has firewire 800 and 400 as well as USB2. Here’s the Amazon link http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desktop-Interface-Firewire-7200rpm-Poulton/dp/B000E3J48M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/203-6041101-6787136?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194378467&sr=8-4
November 7th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Lacie is the best in my opinion. FireWire 800, even comes with an 800 cable! goes ut to 2TB now i think. I’d like to know how much of a difference the memory makes. I have the same laptop as what you’re getting, just less memory.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Sweet deal, Glenn! You’ll no doubt miss that 9GB beast at some point. But I have a feeling the portability of the MacBook Pro will ease your worries.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I did tweet asking you after I saw a post made by you on Macrumors :)
I think that you’ve made a great decision on going portable, as you’ve kept the 30″ display then nothing on the screen real-estate.
As for Hard Drives I really like the LaCie QUADRA Drives with the FW Interface so you can make use of the FW 800 port and save a USB port. Here is a link - http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10931
November 7th, 2007 at 8:58 am
I thin kit’s the storage space I’ll miss the most, but as the MacBook Pro line develops over the next year, I expect to see some large changes. Hopefully by the time the next one is released and I update, we’ll have a 300GB drive in there.
The current video card is actually better than the one in my Mac Pro, should be welcome for Aperture.
I’ve ordered 4GB right off the bat, so it should be very snappy :-)
November 7th, 2007 at 9:00 am
I use my MacBook Pro as a main machine, just like you. I’d get a Firewire 800 drive if I were you, you’ll want to keep your USBs and Firewire 400 ports free…
November 7th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Didn’t think that was coming, congrats on the new MacBook Pro I have thinking about buying one too so it will be interesting to see how you get on with yours!
As for hard drives you should take a look at the Fantom Gforce!
November 7th, 2007 at 9:07 am
I’m a bit confused here. Who would pay more for a used machine than what it would cost new?
November 7th, 2007 at 9:13 am
The right 1TB HDD is having four 320GB drives in RAID 5. Otherwise you’re screwed when the single 1TB monster fails ;)
November 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I’m working with the same setup — MacBook Pro plus 30″ ACD. Unfortunately my MacBook Pro is one year old and can’t handle more than 2GB of RAM.
But I’m with Indraneel — You’re nuts :D I didn’t expect anything like that and thought you were joking when I read your tweet… ;-)
November 7th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Maybe the best option would be two 750GB drives. One for media storage, the other to back that media drive up with.
I knew there’d be at least one who thought I was joking with the tweet ;-)
November 7th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Very unexpected, Glenn, haha, but I think you made a great choice. You’ve got a nice chunk of chain hanging around if you need it and an amazing setup to work with now that you can take on the road with you anytime you need. I’m thinking of upgrading to the 2.4GHz MacBook Pro so I’ll be very curious to hear your opinion.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Glenn, You should take a look at this from OWC (MacSales). I can see from your posts you like that “Mac Look” and they have a nice drive that looks just like a mini mac pro. They have the 1TB model for $349 right now. Check it out: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ME8SRS10TB32/
November 7th, 2007 at 9:25 am
@Glenn: Very nice deal though! You’ll enjoy having your data with you while on-the-go without losing the advantages of the big screen on your desk.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I never saw that coming in a million years, but thats exactly what im doing, and I’ve got an external iSight sitting on top of the cinema display. Its a great idea, because you’re getting the pro featurs of the mac pro, but the portability of a macbook.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Congrats on the sweet deal, but I must say you switch computers WAY too often. It’s unhealthy, you know.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Congrats on your continuing crazyness Glenn :) As for external drives, I second the recommendation for one of the WD MyBook drives. Make sure you get one with FW800.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Switch to often? I had an iMac and a MacBook, moved to a Mac Pro, then to this MacBook Pro. Look at Leo Laporte for an example of too much ;-)
November 7th, 2007 at 9:33 am
“two 750GB drives” - I’m sorry to disturb the party of freelancing creative people here…but when you work for company that has a few servers, there’s a drive or two failing every month. Sure, we have a crapload of storage and it’s important that in case of failure, everything still works as it did before hdd went on fire.
We run a couple of IBM drive bays, with fourteen 73GB SCSI Ultra320 drives. Some are RAID 5 (storage) and some are RAID 10 (databases) . Only 12 or 10 being used at time, and when one or or even four fail, we get email that we need new ones :)
Huge overhead maybe, but no downtime at all. Even a RAID 5 with 3×500GB would work better for you.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I dont think you can switch TOO much. Macs are great things to own. Congrats Glenn!
November 7th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Interesting… what external would you suggest?
November 7th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Dude that is awesome, i am getting a black mac book for my christmas this year!
Your well lucky getting all this.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Great post Glenn it funny that I just bought a MacBook Pro the same model and it arrived TODAY!! and might have it in my hand tomorrow. On the question of a Hard Drive I would suggest the LaCie 1TB Quadra I have the 500GB and its great not only to they look good but have a FW 400 and two FW 800 a USB 2.0 and an eSATA port.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Don’t you feel kind of bad for totally ripping off the person who bought it from you? Seems like you’re totally taking advantage of someone’s lack of knowledge to profit yourself.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Welcome to the club mate! :P MacBook Pros are Apple’s best computers, seriously. In terms of flexibility they just can’t be beat, and for 80% of tasks you won’t miss the other two cores.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:19 am
The same machine bought from Apple retails for $9800 NZD. The reason it’s so expensive is the RAM which I bought from a 3rd party vendor. Compared to purchasing brand new from Apple, money was saved on the purchase.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Man, you’re nuts. I could never give up my Mac Pro…. OKay, maybe I could if i made a nice chunk of change :P
Good luck with the new setup.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all, actually. I know you’re really into photography and such, and that might be the only minor draw back… if any at all, right? I mean, I know you’re probably going to be able to do about just as much as you did on Mac Pro on your new MBP. Portability is amazing, end of story. I’m so glad I decided to purchase a MacBook for school and not a full-on desktop. I take my MacBook everywhere, and it runs just as well as I need it too. I’d love to update my computer as much as possible as new features and specs are released, but I just won’t have the money to for a while. Anyway, congrats, Glenn! Can’t wait for the unpacking pictures!
November 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am
At first, when I saw your tweet linking to this blog post, I thought someone hacked your Twitter account ;-)
I still can’t believe it. Wow… :)
November 7th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Hey Glenn,
If you plan to keep your external hard drive on your desktop all the time, I suggest you to get 2 x 500GB or 4 x 250GB instead of 1 x 1TB. Why ? Because if your 1TB unit crashes, you lose all your data. So I think it’s a better idea to get several HDs.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I find it ironic that we are both selling our towers off during the same week. I have a G5 Dual 2.0ghz, 2gb, 250gb, 750gb that I simply don’t use. I know that sounds insane to some, but at the same time, I’d like to see it go to better hands. Now I’m not making nearly the cash you are but then again I’m selling it to one of my college friends.
Good to see you’ve found the MBP to be the route to go. I’ve found it to be a great machine.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Waddayaknow?! I just sold my Mac Pro too.
Nahh, just kidding. Enjoy the new MBP!
November 7th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Ooooooo… Now if only I could find a sponsor for this church planter/graphic designer/19-year Mac User in south Arkansas!! Mention my name in the right places, please! ;)
November 7th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Oh my, all those endless Skype conversations! All a waste :P I had told you to do this setup the whole time!
November 7th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Hmm smart, where did u get the ram from, did u order the 4gb for the mbp from the same people?
November 7th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I’ve been a mobile user since the TI PowerBooks and have followed this strategy over the last 6 years. Every time there is an update, I order a new top of the line and sell the old one. Resale values are so good that often I will (as you did in this case) get paid for using the machine. The added benefit to this strategy is that with every fresh machine you get a new fresh year of AppleCare so you never have to buy it. (and of course you’re always using the latest & greatest).
Good choice. Next you’ll see yourself going for true minimalism and ditching the external display :)
November 7th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Whoa that is just about the same setup as me. Except I have the 17 inch MacBook Pro with the High Res screen and a 7200 RPM 160GB Hard Drive. I use it with the 30 inch Apple Cinema Display as well.
Enjoy it!
Tom
November 7th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Well done Glenn, I think you have definitely made a smart move. I consider the MacPro a rich / successful mans super computer or a workstation for a designer. The MBP and 30inch display is the ultimate computing setup in my eyes. As a student my budget doesn’t stretch to a 30 but the MBP I have is amazing, good luck with it.
As for the 1TB of external HD, go for a Drobo - put 4×500gb drives in there - that is my solution for my storage needs. It backs itself up and is full automated. It being USB 2 is just as fast as firewire but I can have it, my time machine hard drive and other portable external hard drives and other devices in my 7 port Belkin hub, that way I just plug in my power, one usb cable and speaker cable and I am set. These three ports are all in a row so it is a clean solution.
You will probably want an iCurve or something to support the laptop, for me it makes the computer noticeably faster due to the add air circulation.
Hope this helps, let me know
November 7th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Quite a surprise to be honest. Oh well, you’ll love your MacBook Pro. I actually have one in the mail myself. Apple says on or by the 7th. Yay me!
November 7th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
And couldn’t you redo it over and over and make bunches of money? Wow. Seriously. =D
November 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Wow dude! We have the same computer now. Never expected you to do this. Also, did you get a glossy of matte screen?
November 7th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
well that was unexpected! I considered doing the same thing w/ a 17″ model, but i need the power of the MP to run Final Cut Studio effectively.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
So what was this sponsor ship your involved in?
Or have i missed something
November 7th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Tom, I have the 17″ High Res and I am considering the 30″ Cinema with it, how do you like then together?
November 7th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
As stated above, the sponsor paid for my MacBook Pro.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Did you get the matte or glossy version?
November 7th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
This all sounds great, but there is no real need to change the machine every now and then, even if you can afford it. The difference would hardly be noticeable. Plus it adds no real value to the apps you are using now.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Hi Glenn, Man you are lucky. I never thought that you would sell your MacPro, since you just upgraded it :) And the deal you made is excellent, you dont get these kinda buyers in Dubai :( But anyway, congratulations enjoy your MacBookPro :) Take care.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
nice renovation blog! haha.
hmm, I always preferred going mobile compared to a desktop. rather work sitting at a coffeehouse with a java than at home! although I must admit, your MacPro setup was really droolworthy.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
I have the Matte version.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
the drives built by LaCie are the best in my opinion. Also in other photographer’s opinions.
Going for a MBP instead of a Pro is a good step I think. Mac Pro is only really useful for a studio. IMO of course.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Here’s my first published words from the new MacBook Pro. This is a beautiful laptop. I’m typing this comment aided by the backlit keyboard in the pitch black dark. Impressive.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:56 am
I bought some Coolfeet which have been pretty good, except I would prefer something higher for the desk.
http://www.bluelounge.com/coolfeet.php
November 8th, 2007 at 7:07 am
Welcome to the wonderful world of a portable Mac. I recently picked up the same model to replace my 1.42Ghz PPC Mac Mini and it’s a night/day comparison for use. I’m no longer bound to the den, I’m able to run software much faster, and the screen is just brilliant. I dropped in 4GB of memory and have been enjoying it ever since. The only downside is the box does get hot, warranting a lapdesk when I’m not in the den.
Enjoy your new box.
Ben
November 8th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Hey Glenn,
Congrats on the purchase and sale. I think you made the right move, for you. Most people seem to forget that a computer is only as useful as what you do with it. For someone who travels a lot, being bound to a desk at home is kinda stupid. Have fun with your new setup.
Jay
November 8th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Very nice Glenn wolsey i must say.
I have two myself.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:48 am
“I was absolutely stunned at the willingness people has to pay top dollar for a machine running on the PPC architecture.”
I think you mean “people have to pay…” ;)
November 8th, 2007 at 11:09 am
No more 9gb ram for you… hehe. I think you will love the MBP though, I recently picked up the 15″ 2.4 and have loved every second of it. I’m a little disappointed to learn they are coming out with the 2.6 w/ the additional hard drive space, but I guess thats what the external is for :)
November 8th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Hey EDIT-XTREEM,
They work Great together!! Just make sure you have the desk space. That 30 inch screen is definitely huge!!
Take Care,
Tom
November 8th, 2007 at 11:50 am
By far one of the most useful things I’ve ever seen on a laptop.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Hey Glenn,
Well done with the sponsorship and the decision. Every iPod i’ve sold, a year after use, has generated a profit…so there are some suckers out there…
Cheers,
Sam.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
So if you have the laptop why do you need the 30″ display? It seems like a waste of space
November 8th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Nathan, the 30″ display will be connected to the MacBook Pro at full resolution - increasing productivity due to over twice the number of pixels of the laptops inbuilt display. When on the road, Glenn will have the fastest and best Mac portable computer.
Win win :)
November 9th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Hi Glenn,
I will recomend you to buy a LapTop Stand for your new Mac Book Pro.. I am not a Mac user.. But it think This stand will suit your Mac Desk Setup
http://www.balmuda.net/products/c/floater/index.html
November 9th, 2007 at 2:57 am
Where’d you order the RAM from? I just received my MacBook Pro as well and am considering an after-market upgrade.
November 9th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
For extra desktop real estate when sitting at my desk.
OWC MacSales. Cost me $160 for the full 4GB.
November 9th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
The screen definitely tops that list though.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
So when are we getting a review?
November 9th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Monday morning. I need a little more time to test the machine.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Okay. So you’re up $1500, big deal. You made a glaringly massive mistake! Apple’s Intel lineup of notebooks are literally disposable. I can speak from first hand experience. As long as you have Apple Care you’re sweet as pie, but it’s going to be a rough ride if you travel often - these things don’t take abuse well, at all!
http://www.markcichy.com/blog/?p=3
November 11th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Let Glenn find out in his own time Mark.
Maybe Glenn will be a bit more careful with his belongings?
November 11th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I find your dialogue suggestively amusing. Did you actually read my post or simply comment based on the posted text? If you haven’t read the post, I look forward to your educated response. If you have read the post, maybe you need to read it again?
The irony of the situation is that each of the three 17″ MacBook Pro’s Apple has generously replaced were each stored within a neoprene sleeve, within neoprene velcro strips attached to (and also within) and water tight pack.
Clearly, care is not the issue. ;)
M
November 11th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Here are some details on the scale of our operation:
30x Mac Book’s
15x 17″ Mac Book Pro’s
10x Mac Pro’s
—————————-
55x Mac’s (Intel)
We are constantly replacing them (currently about 3-6 per month) - more so the Mac Book Pro’s. That’s life, we buy Apple Care for every machine, our reseller restores the data and replaces them the same day, couldn’t ask for a better deal.
My point(s): 1. prepare yourself for some headaches, 2. the Intel machines don’t last as long as their Power PC counter parts. I don’t know why, they just don’t.
I find it simply impossible to refute the numbers.
M
November 11th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Thats quite interesting Cich… so what you are trying to say is don’t buy a mac?
November 11th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
u’ll half to post some pictures of ur new setup
November 12th, 2007 at 9:04 am
From personal experience with four Intel Macs, I haven’t yet had any problems. Time will tell.
November 18th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Cich: there are some cases in which users have had extremely bad experiences with certain Apple products. Personally, my 15″ MacBook Pro is holding up pretty well against being carried pretty much everywhere, bumped into things etc. - maybe the 17″-ers are less solid?
November 30th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I can speak from experience that the 17″s are very solid. They have a bit more heft to them, as well.