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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

iMac Pro Build

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Curran McKee

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I'm currently specing out a new iMac Pro to replace my trashcan, and I'm curious to hear other people's experiences with it. I've considered moving to a PC but I'm in an entirely mac office and our IT department is trying to keep it that way for the time being.

Right now I'm looking at the following setup:

10 Core
64gb ram
Vega64
1TB

Primarily I'm working with Scarlet-W and Monstro footage, and using Premiere, AE, and Resolve. I'm ok with using using proxies on the 8K footage, but would love to edit with just the .r3ds for the 5K. Is this something that's feasible with this setup?

Given Premiere's issues with utilizing lots of cores, it seems like the 10 core with higher clock speed may be preferable to the 14?

Thanks!
 
why not use a PC? what are the problems ? do you have to be part of a domain?
With the same money can have a PC that better manage the RED Monstro movies, maybe with 2 GPU RTX 2080. And above all updatable in the future.
 
This is my "Imac" it´s more than twice as good and cost less than half.

MOB: ASUS x299 deluxe with thunderbolt.
RAM: 8x16Gb ram https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC4-30400-Desktop-CMK128GX4M8X3800C19/dp/B07487LMRP
CPU: Der8auer i9 18 core 4,7Ghz Overclocker king: https://www.caseking.de/en/search?sSearch=der8auer
CPU Water cooling: https://www.dustinhome.se/product/5...MI3uiv9J3u3wIVE6qaCh3OTAmzEAQYASABEgKiYPD_BwE
SSD: 970 1TB samsung M2.
GPU: 1080ti. You can add two more but one is more than plenty for real time 8k.
PS: Corsair 1600i
Case: https://www.inet.se/produkt/6912302...MIws7_5KDu3wIV2eWaCh38tAOQEAQYAyABEgIDGvD_BwE
Extra fast network: 10GBe ASUS XG-C100C PC

Use it with the Philips 4k large graphic display which cost like 500USD and is way better than the Imac screens, lager less reflecting.

Then also very possible to fit things like BM Decklink ultra extreme 4k inside the box and other things. Possible to go down to 64Gb ram with little or almost no drawbacks, not often 128Gb will be in use. The overclocked CPU runs way cooler on full trottle than what the Imac does.

The above runs OSX more stable than any real mac that I tested and with the rewritten bios it´s also very possible to have linux or windows or both boot drives on the side if for some reason OSX is not enough.

Only thing that does not work:
Hot swap TB3 devices.
Network over TB3 connection.
Sound out of the 1080ti HDMI. ( easy enough to run with USB speakers or similar)
 
I'm working in an agency environment that's entirely Mac based, so IT is concerned about supporting a lone PC alongside ~60 Macs across different departments. Personally, I'm more open to switching to a PC, but it's a decision that's not entirely in my hands unfortunately.
 
Hi Björn, thanks for the response. I always enjoy reading your posts in other threads.

The cost itself is less of an issue than any potential headaches that may arise from going PC, when I'm working so heavily with other Mac users. One of the biggest concerns is just hours for our IT department. I have to admit that after specing out my dream PC, I got a little envious of what can be achieved for much less money.

Is this the Phillips display you're referencing? https://www.amazon.com/Philips-BDM4350UC-43-Inch-IPS-LED-Monitor/dp/B01E18XRY2
 
Curran McKee said:
I'm working in an agency environment that's entirely Mac based, so IT is concerned about supporting a lone PC alongside ~60 Macs across different departments. Personally, I'm more open to switching to a PC, but it's a decision that's not entirely in my hands unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Hackintoch goes both ways. But yes the hack above actually runs better on OSX for most programs I use then on linux or Win.
 
Original Mac's are better for employment, PC's are way to fast.
 
Björn Benckert said:
This is my "Imac" it´s more than twice as good and cost less than half.

MOB: ASUS x299 deluxe with thunderbolt.
RAM: 8x16Gb ram https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC4-30400-Desktop-CMK128GX4M8X3800C19/dp/B07487LMRP
CPU: Der8auer i9 18 core 4,7Ghz Overclocker king: https://www.caseking.de/en/search?sSearch=der8auer
CPU Water cooling: https://www.dustinhome.se/product/5...MI3uiv9J3u3wIVE6qaCh3OTAmzEAQYASABEgKiYPD_BwE
SSD: 970 1TB samsung M2.
GPU: 1080ti. You can add two more but one is more than plenty for real time 8k.
PS: Corsair 1600i
Case: https://www.inet.se/produkt/6912302...MIws7_5KDu3wIV2eWaCh38tAOQEAQYAyABEgIDGvD_BwE
Extra fast network: 10GBe ASUS XG-C100C PC

Use it with the Philips 4k large graphic display which cost like 500USD and is way better than the Imac screens, lager less reflecting.

Then also very possible to fit things like BM Decklink ultra extreme 4k inside the box and other things. Possible to go down to 64Gb ram with little or almost no drawbacks, not often 128Gb will be in use. The overclocked CPU runs way cooler on full trottle than what the Imac does.

The above runs OSX more stable than any real mac that I tested and with the rewritten bios it´s also very possible to have linux or windows or both boot drives on the side if for some reason OSX is not enough.

Only thing that does not work:
Hot swap TB3 devices.
Network over TB3 connection.
Sound out of the 1080ti HDMI. ( easy enough to run with USB speakers or similar)
Click to expand...

I’m running essentially the same system, but a 10-core instead of 18. Best computer I’ve owned and completely stable with zero issues. Cost probably 1/3 of what the most expensive iMac Pro costs, but I get about 25% better performance and it’s upgradeable.
 
Mike Halper said:
I’m running essentially the same system, but a 10-core instead of 18. Best computer I’ve owned and completely stable with zero issues. Cost probably 1/3 of what the most expensive iMac Pro costs, but I get about 25% better performance and it’s upgradeable.
Click to expand...

Replace the 2 1080ti's with VEGA FE's, or the upcomming VEGA 2 and you can run Apple software at even higher speeds with Mojave.
 
Misha Engel said:
Replace the 2 1080ti's with VEGA FE's, or the upcomming VEGA 2 and you can run Apple software at even higher speeds with Mojave.
Click to expand...

No real need for more than one 1080ti as thats plenty for full 8k realtime debsyering. and by the time we want to move to mojave I think the drives will be available.
 
Björn Benckert said:
No real need for more than one 1080ti as thats plenty for full 8k realtime debsyering. and by the time we want to move to mojave I think the drives will be available.
Click to expand...

With some effects and/or noise reduction, you'll need all the GPU power you can get your hands on, no matter what OS you use. For all the hackintosh owners with NVidia cards I really hope Apple will allow new drivers to work (what's in it for Apple?) in mojave. I personally think that it's more likely that apple will make .R3D decode available on Metal, than support Hackintosh with NVidia.
 
Misha Engel said:
Replace the 2 1080ti's with VEGA FE's, or the upcomming VEGA 2 and you can run Apple software at even higher speeds with Mojave.
Click to expand...

We’ve been through this before. I tested 1080TI vs Vega FE and the 1080TI was faster. I do plan on testing the Radeon 7 if it’s supported in MacOS though. For right now High Sierra is running very solid and I see no reason to upgrade the OS at the moment.
 
Mike Halper said:
We’ve been through this before. I tested 1080TI vs Vega FE and the 1080TI was faster. I do plan on testing the Radeon 7 if it’s supported in MacOS though. For right now High Sierra is running very solid and I see no reason to upgrade the OS at the moment.
Click to expand...

Yes the 1080ti runs faster out of memory than the VEGA FE.

Replace the 2 1080ti's with VEGA FE's, or the upcomming VEGA 2 and you can run Apple software at even higher speeds with Mojave.

With mojave the speed of the 1080ti is?
 
Mike Halper said:
But not faster than 1080TI in High Sierra. You’re assuming I want or need Mojave right now. That’s not the case. And I haven’t had any out of memory issues with my 1080TI.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you stay on High Sierra, when you switch to Mojave your system goes in "shutdown" and you can't earn money with your film work anymore, so the bank takes over your house and kicks you out etc... that is what shutdowns do to victims.
 
The iMac Pro is an awesome system. Overpriced for sure, but amazing. You still get the best 5K desktop monitor on the market with a pretty decent computer built into it. If the decision isn't entirely yours and it's a company/ IT department thing, you don't want to be the lone PC guy -- especially a hackintosh guy.

Curran McKee said:
10 Core
64gb ram
Vega64
1TB
Click to expand...

10-core is the sweet spot with these systems. I have 10 core systems here along with an 18 and a 14. The 14 core is actually the one on my desk in my home office. To put it right out there, I should have went 10 core for all of them. The 14 under-performs compared to the 10-core in most situations and only beats it under heavy multithreading when cores are loaded, yet can't compare to the 18-core in that situation. Like you mention, Premiere doesn't scale well after a certain point. Really, it falls off noticeably after 12 threads and can't seem to figure out how to use more than 16 threads anyway. Resolve does way better, but you'll find the GPU to become the bottleneck before the 10-core CPU.

The CPUs in the iMac Pro are about to be obsoleted and the GPU is now a generation behind, so don't over-spend as they're not upgradeable. So your config is great, but I would recommend 2TB onboard SSD if you can. 128GB RAM is also beneficial at times, more so with 14 or 18 cores, but you could find yourself in a tight spot with 64GB on 10 cores, depending on what your'e doing. At least the RAM is upgradeable -- it's a pain in the ass to do it though.

Primarily I'm working with Scarlet-W and Monstro footage, and using Premiere, AE, and Resolve. I'm ok with using using proxies on the 8K footage, but would love to edit with just the .r3ds for the 5K. Is this something that's feasible with this setup?
Click to expand...

5K cuts like butter on these systems. 8K R3Ds work just fine too provided you have enough fast storage to work from, but you'll be running at 1/4 res most of the time.
 
Misha Engel said:
I'm assuming you stay on High Sierra, when you switch to Mojave your system goes in "shutdown" and you can't earn money with your film work anymore, so the bank takes over your house and kicks you out etc... that is what shutdowns do to victims.
Click to expand...

You don’t know what you’re talking about. I can run Mojave fine aside from the 1080TI doesn’t get any acceleration. I even have Mojave installed on another drive right now for testing purposes, and everything works except graphics acceleration with the 1080TI. All I’d have to do is switch to an AMD GPU, but they are slower so that would be stupid.
 
Mike Halper said:
You don’t know what you’re talking about. I can run Mojave fine aside from the 1080TI doesn’t get any acceleration. I even have Mojave installed on another drive right now for testing purposes, and everything works except graphics acceleration with the 1080TI. All I’d have to do is switch to an AMD GPU, but they are slower so that would be stupid.
Click to expand...

The whole point of taking a 1080ti (or any other GPU) is acceleration.

And by the way, apple is going NAVI

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/amd-radeon-navi-gpu.264399/
 
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