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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 :)

New Mac Pro

Alain M said:
Mark I got my Mac Pro last nite. 8 core 32 gb ram and d700 dual. Redcine x plays back my scarlet footage silky smooth at 3k. At 4k it plays almost silky smooth. If I wait a few seconds it does. If not it sort of starts stopping as bar loads. I am happy with the results!
Click to expand...

Half res playback I can live with....
I'm more talking about scrubbing through the time line. Is it Jerky ? Or as smooth as prores.
 
How tricky is it to swap CPU's in the new Mac Pro?

I'm wonderring if opting for the 4 core with D700's and then buying a replacement CPU is the way to go? Seems the sweet spot lies with the 10 core E5 but it comes down to whether it's straight forward to swap these out? Also I'm sure doing this would invalidate Apple's warranty?

Scott
 
You lose your warranty but may be able to swap back to the 4 core if you're sending back to apple. I'd say if there's concern of how to swap the CPU then I'd seek an "official" installer like OWC or purchase the cores you need from the get go. To some this is no different than any other mobo CPU install - a socketed Xeon with a thin layer of thermal paste. Nice part is there's no CPU fan to worry about aligning or matching up to the bolt provision. I'll take pictures and share when I get the 1690's in. If I even go that route. I have a bare bones demo nMP that I'm considering throwing together some ES chips into and seeing how well they work under stress loads.
 
Yes it absolutely voids your warranty.

Either buy buy the cores you need from the get go, or wait. But right now in tests I haven't seen a sweet spot. It depends on what apps you use and the tasks for what you're doing. Especially considering most apps at this point aren't even taking advantage of the power there. So it's a bit cart before horse.
 
Thanks guys, it certainly looks quite straight forward to swap our CPUs - found this on CNET

I was going for the 8 core BUT, opting for the 4 core and replacing this with a 10 core looks like a way to deliver max bang for the buck :w00t:

Jason, I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Best wishes

Scott
 
Scott Brown said:
How tricky is it to swap CPU's in the new Mac Pro?
Click to expand...
Discussed extensively by MacSales in this video on their website:

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macpro_2013_proc_h/

I'm wonderring if opting for the 4 core with D700's and then buying a replacement CPU is the way to go? Seems the sweet spot lies with the 10 core E5 but it comes down to whether it's straight forward to swap these out? Also I'm sure doing this would invalidate Apple's warranty?
Click to expand...
I'd say it's a very involved swap, mainly because you have to disassemble about 3/4 of the computer to get to the CPU, plus you have to use thermal paste and go through a lot of rigamarole. Having said that, if the 12-core CPU goes down to $1500-$1000 in six months, then it'll be worth it.

The GPU's appear to be soldered in place, but the RAM is an easy replacement, and the SSD is replaceable provided you can find a third-party company making the modules (which aren't out at the present time).
 
Unfortunately Intel rarely drops pricing on Xeon chips much. When they do drop it's normally only due to a new Top Tier chip out with a few hundred more MHz. Don't expect the 12 Core's to drop much at all.
 

Doesn't look too complicated.

I also ordered what I consider at the time was possibly an underspec`d nMP. We were always thinking we would buy a 2nd nMP and put our first nMP to work in a less demanding role. Of course if you don't have a need for a 2nd nMP then upgrading is the best option.

Also long term its good to know almost all of its main components are upgradeable. GFX cards aside.
 
Eric Bowen said:
Unfortunately Intel rarely drops pricing on Xeon chips much. When they do drop it's normally only due to a new Top Tier chip out with a few hundred more MHz. Don't expect the 12 Core's to drop much at all.
Click to expand...

The prices on the last two generations of Xeon chips are still the same today as they day they were released or at least they're within about $75 of that price due to minor fluctuations of various factors. So you're not saving money by waiting to upgrade the CPU. Just sayin' Desktop CPUs often drop in price once they reach EOL and the last of them run off the production line. However, those prices only tend to go down if vendors have a surplus. That doesn't happen so often these days and Intel tends to shift from making one CPU right into the new model pretty cleanly. Prices on used CPUs has dropped, however. When the next Xeon iteration comes out in the next 12 to 18 months, picking up a used 10 or 12 core CPU at a 60% discount or better shouldn't be too difficult.

If 12-cores is what you want or need, then just buy it from Apple. The 6 core is actually a good option for many as it gives a decent base GHz speed and provides two more cores than the iMac along with the dual GPUs. 8-core is the step in between and fits some of us rather well. For those who try to "do it all" with one workstation, there really isn't a sweet spot or a correct answer as to which CPU is best. That's something that each person will have to try and determine for themselves and make the choice based on the software they use most or what they will do most with the system. As for buying the 8-core through Apple, it's probably best to do it that way. If you buy the quad-core, then the equivalent 8-core CPU as an aftermarket upgrade, you're only going to save $300 or so and you'll shoot your warranty in the head. IMO, the only two CPU options that make sense as an aftermarket upgrade are the 3GHz 10-core or the 3.3GHz 8-core. Both are the same price as the 12-core 2.7GHz top tier Xeon as these are the top tier of the 8 and 10 core chips. You just trade cores for GHz.

GPUs on the new Mac Pro are not soldered in, but once again there's nothing out there for replacing them with. Buy the D700s right from the get-go and you'll be alright. If you buy the D300's the only way to upgrade is to go through Apple Parts and you'll pay a lot and have to work with your local Apple store or Authorized dealer and the process is really a pain. They don't like doing it for the purpose of upgrades. You'd be better off to just sell the system and buy a new one with the GPUs you should've bought in the first place.
 
Love the looping CPU install music. Just makes you want to brew up a smoothie and pluck some dandelions to adorn the mac pro desk. Joking aside, really glad OWC is offering up all of this for the nMP.

I have to second Jeff's opinion on the whole Apple vs 3rd party install. If you know what CPU fits you best then just make that investment. Especially if you're looking at Apple financing which is 18mo zero interest. This machine is an investment for most of us here (I'd imagine) so plan financially and accordingly with your machine specs for your software needs. I knew I could save by starting with a bottom dollar 4 core (even D300's) and buying a D700 machine later and memory, CPU, etc and mixing/matching into one machine that does what I need for a specific application. Doesn't necessarily mean Apple doesn't have a good 6 or 8 core already on the market. I also didn't make the decision until I thoroughly read Jeff's and others opinions on how their machines were shaping up.

The other determining factor for me is that I needed workstations with TB (or TB2) now. Not in April when Apple is out of backorder.
 
Jeff, did you end up hooking up your friend's ASUS 32" successfully? I've just got my 12-core nMP and ASUS PQ321 yesterday and so far I can only get 4K 30hz running under SST. When I enable MST on the ASUS I get nothing. Waiting on some miniDP to DP cables that will hopefully be MST capable (at the moment I'm hooked up to the ASUS through a little miniDP adapter box that probably doesn't support MST). Also about to try running XCode to enable HiDPI support at 1920x1080 just to see how it feels.

Haven't had much luck yet googling for MST-ready cables so it seems like the best option so far is order a range of brands and hope one works?
 
Hey everyone, I need help badly (yes, maybe mentally as well, but right now it's tech related) ;)

I'm still trying to decide which route to go and I'm having a hard time deciding as I still need some budget for monitor and raid... I'll definitely get the D700 but I'm trying to find out if I can save some money on the processor front or with the RAM:

So 6 or 8 core it will be. Budgetary wise, I'd rather take the 6-core with 64GB, and if I get the 8-core I might need to take a step back and get 32GB only just to safe a few bucks... or would it be wise to close my eyes, hope for the best and just go all in with 8core and 64GB?

On power hungry software I'm mostly using FCP-X, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Redcine and PS
Right now on the motion front I'm using my Scarlet so it's 4K material and sometimes huge After Effects motion graphics setups (the last one I was pushing around was a 13600x7500 px plate). On the stills side I'm also working huge hi-res outdoor banners quite often.
I've got some money in my RED Bank account for the Epic upgrade so the future will hopefully be 5-6K and I want to be ready for that as well.

I want to make sure I'm topping a maxed out iMac - but I'm guessing I'll do that with either choice.

Can anyone help me a bit in the decision process?

Thanks a ton!!!
 
Thanks James! So your advise is: get it all but get cheaper RAM? :)
Is there any place to get cheap RAM in Europe at the moment? Or would I have to order that through OWC USA?

Is the 8-core definitely that much of an improvement that it's worth getting compared to the 6-core?

I'm not yet quite sure which apps really take advantage of the multiple cores.
 
Concerning the tricky decision about whether to get a 6 core or 8 core I received my 6 core machine a week ago and can report as follows. Configuration is 6 core, D700s and 32 gigs of ram.

It plays back Epic footage in redcine at full resolution. It easily handles half resolution. I am very happy.

I have always edited by creating proxies for an offllne and then doing an online at the end of the process at full resolution and I don't see myself abandoning this way of working with the new mac pro. Of course, with proxies, it is ridiculously smooth and fluid. The difference is that the machine can now certainly handle the final online stage - my old mac pro really used to struggle.
 
Doing the math the price savings doing your own memory isn't that big a savings.

My gut feeling is it depends on your workload, Patrick. If you're mostly video editing I'd say 6 core. If you're mostly AE/Nuke I think 8 might be the better bet. I'm primarily After Effects so the 8 core was more useful for multicore rendering needs.

That said the mistake I'm seeing is people buying 12 core machines for primarily video editing, and then them not seeing a real speed advantage over a 6 or 8 core setup. Again it comes down to the apps you need and the work you do.

My gut response is go with as much ram as you can afford, the fastest graphics cards you can afford, and the 6 core. Worst case you upgrade the CPUs down the road. But the GPU is fixed for now (that COULD change), so might as well max the other factors in your purchase.
 
Thank you very much, James, Rob and Isaac!

It might be because of me working both NLE and motion graphics pretty much equally that I'm having a hard time deciding. But also because I wasn't quite sure what the difference between the 6 and the 8 will be like in the real life scenario. But it seems that I might get along with the 6core but definitely grab all the RAM I can get :) even though I'll end up cursing the 6core when I'll be doing heavy AE lifting :)

With the 6core I can put the savings towards the RAID and monitor ... oh these first world troubles...

Thank you again everyone!
 
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