I never really considered myself a collector of retro computers, but somehow, they seem to be accumulating around me. My childhood Apple IIgs and a Mac SE/30—nostalgic relics of past computing eras—sit behind me in every video. Offstage I have a bunch of other retro Macs and PCs that I’ll get around to showing you some day.
The other day, I came across a late 2013 Mac Pro for just $169 at OWC (compensated affiliate link) and couldn’t pass it up. Back when these machines first hit the market, they were priced at over $3,000, and I never found a good enough reason to justify owning one. But now, with the cost so low, I finally had my chance. The question was: what could I actually do with it in 2025? Surprisingly quite a bit. Take a look in my latest video !
The Mac Pro I picked up is the lowest-end model from its generation, featuring an Intel Xeon E5 processor, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of VRAM each, and 16GB of DDR3 memory. It did not come with the original packaging, just a simple brown box with bubble wrap—but cosmetically, the Mac barely looked used.
This design, often referred to as the “trash can” Mac Pro still looks pretty cool IMHO. It’s compact, upgradable, and eerily quiet, thanks to its innovative cooling system that pulls air through the bottom and exhausts it through the top.
One of the first things I did was install macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 (the most current version of macOS at the time of this writing) using the OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Apple officially stopped supporting this machine at macOS Monterey (version 12), but OpenCore extends its lifespan by enabling newer macOS versions to run. The installation was surprisingly straightforward, though I disabled automatic updates to avoid potential compatibility issues. Even a small point release can break OpenCore’s boot loader, so it’s best to wait until OpenCore updates to run the macOS updater.
1440p feels like the sweet spot for this machine, as performance at 4K 60Hz is a little sluggish but far better than expected for browsing, office tasks etc. Playing 1440p/60 videos on YouTube is seamless, but pushing it to 4K 60fps results in dropped frames and choppiness.
For productivity, Apple’s Keynote runs well at 4k60, handling animations and transitions without issue. Even Final Cut Pro, thanks to OpenCore, is functional—though rendering and previewing at 4K 60fps is sluggish compared to modern Apple Silicon machines. Editing at 1080p or 1440p is more practical, but it’s clear that this machine isn’t optimized for high-end video production anymore.
Running the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark, the Mac Pro scored 10.7—comparable to some budget mini PCs we look at today. However, its power consumption is significantly higher, sitting around 95 watts at idle and spiking much higher under load.
Windows 10 installation via Boot Camp is surprisingly still supported under Sequoia. I opted to boot from an external Thunderbolt SSD rather than partitioning the internal storage following instructions I posted way back in 2016.
Windows feels snappier than macOS. Basic web browsing and productivity tasks perform well, but modern gaming struggles. No Man’s Sky, running at 720p on the lowest settings, hovered between 25-30 fps—playable but not ideal. Updating the AMD drivers helped, but support for these GPUs ended in 2021, limiting future compatibility.
I also explored Linux, specifically Linux Mint LMDE 6, which was recommended for this hardware. It detected both GPUs, CPU, and network interfaces without issue. Performance was decent, though not as fluid as Windows. But, ChromeOS Flex was a no-go due to compatibility issues with the graphics hardware.
Macs running with the “Apple Silicon” M-series chips, like the M4 Mac Mini we looked at recently, outperform this Mac Pro in every metric while consuming a fraction of the power. But twelve years later this Mac is still able to run the most recent version of macOS reliablity, has great Windows support, and Linux compatibility. If you’re looking for a fun project or a retro computing experience, a late 2013 Mac Pro might be worth picking up if you find one cheap like I did.