I don’t miss the insane power consumption either.
I had upgraded it a lot and was quite fond of it, but I don’t think I’ll ever need a pro Mac again.
I only retired my 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) last year. I haven’t priced his particular setup, but - shows that it’s feasible in terms of achieving something comparable… There’s a YouTuber who repairs Macs/iPhones etc - he has posted several videos of his 5,1 that he’s maxed out, and on paper it certainly competes with the much more modern machines. I’ve flip flopped on the idea over the past year… but more and more am leaning toward the 5,1, especially given my reticent feelings toward supporting Apple’s non-upgradeable machines. If I can pick one up cheap, then price wise, it’ll be better to go with the old… rather than the new. I’m wondering now if the transition to Apple’s M series chips is going to see a glut of 12 core Pro’s on the market. Last year, when pricing a 12-core machine, I was looking at around $2k.
As I see it, I have two paths, and both involve keeping my 23" ACDs: That said… for some time I’ve been considering my options for what comes next. It’s the base model Mac Pro 5,1, but it is still going strong touch wood and performs well enough for my tasks. I have a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1 Quad Core 2.8Ghz with stock GPU, 8GB RAM, a 512GB SSD in the lower optical bay, plus numerous spinners, running Sierra, with 2 x 23" ACDs. Logically, I know the answer… But logic and me - well - it’s complicated.