Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Pro Gaming
- Thread starter MagicThief83
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
i don't think anyone is getting this for gaming, some might game on it a little but there not buying it for that reason.
No, but if the video card's performance is lackluster (as many professional cards are) it might be an active reason not to buy it.
People that will buy these machines are people that,
do final cut pro work for studios
do 3d work in maya and blender
run massive thunderbolt raid servers
etc.
some of them will also game from time to time, but that is not the reason you would need a computer like this as a $700 gaming pc would work just fine
do final cut pro work for studios
do 3d work in maya and blender
run massive thunderbolt raid servers
etc.
some of them will also game from time to time, but that is not the reason you would need a computer like this as a $700 gaming pc would work just fine
It depends on the price, doesn't it???
As far as I can tell, the highest spec Mac Pro will have 2 W9000 Fire Pro cards, which seem to be the HD7990 with a different name. Which basically means Quad-fire in a Mac, running any modern game, and future games for years to come, at maximum graphics, high resolution, and high frame rates. But that will likely be 2 grand just for the graphics cards, plus any mark-up for getting the "FirePro" label, plus CPU cost, expensive PCI SSD and ECC RAM, etc, etc, etc.
But the more interesting question is if, and how much, Apple offer and charge for say 2 HD7950's, and a reasonable quad-core CPU. But what is certain, is that such a machine will be significantly more expensive than a similar home-built gaming rig.
As far as I can tell, the highest spec Mac Pro will have 2 W9000 Fire Pro cards, which seem to be the HD7990 with a different name. Which basically means Quad-fire in a Mac, running any modern game, and future games for years to come, at maximum graphics, high resolution, and high frame rates. But that will likely be 2 grand just for the graphics cards, plus any mark-up for getting the "FirePro" label, plus CPU cost, expensive PCI SSD and ECC RAM, etc, etc, etc.
But the more interesting question is if, and how much, Apple offer and charge for say 2 HD7950's, and a reasonable quad-core CPU. But what is certain, is that such a machine will be significantly more expensive than a similar home-built gaming rig.
I would probably buy the new pro if they offered a non Firepro GPU option. I have no need for professional GPU's but do want a Mac desktop with non mobile graphics.
Dual 7950's would be awesome. Yes buying a Mac for gaming is very expensive, PC's can be built for much cheaper with better performance, but then you are stuck with a PC. As someone who has built all my PC's for the last 12 years, I do like the idea of a Mac Pro, 4-6 core Xeon and dual non pro GPU's.
Sign me up.
Dual 7950's would be awesome. Yes buying a Mac for gaming is very expensive, PC's can be built for much cheaper with better performance, but then you are stuck with a PC. As someone who has built all my PC's for the last 12 years, I do like the idea of a Mac Pro, 4-6 core Xeon and dual non pro GPU's.
Sign me up.
If Apple puts consumer/game GPUs in the Mac Pro, then I'm definitely getting one, because I love the form factor. What do you guys think are the chances we'll see options for standard/game GPUs?
I have a 2010 Mac Pro with a 7970 and dual 30's for gaming. I am an unapologetic mac whore who loves blowing money on high end macs. I never do pro work but I just love Macs and I love gaming, so there you have it. So yes, some people will buy this for gaming. Unless...
The only way this wont be true for me is if all they offer are those workstation video cards (which I highly doubt). If it can't take at least a 7950 I would no longer be interested, but that info has not yet been released. We shall see.
The only way this wont be true for me is if all they offer are those workstation video cards (which I highly doubt). If it can't take at least a 7950 I would no longer be interested, but that info has not yet been released. We shall see.
I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on a hackintosh I have specced up. This has stopped me.
I think I'll wait for pricing and see if they have a "Prosumer" model. I have no need for the workstation CPU and GPU's. But I really like the look and idea of this thing. It would be perfect for me as I want to get a thunderbolt raid aswell. I do not want another iMac, as much as I love it, I need a better GPU.
My purpose for power is mainly gaming. My current 2010 iMac is perfect for everything else I do on it.
I think I'll wait for pricing and see if they have a "Prosumer" model. I have no need for the workstation CPU and GPU's. But I really like the look and idea of this thing. It would be perfect for me as I want to get a thunderbolt raid aswell. I do not want another iMac, as much as I love it, I need a better GPU.
My purpose for power is mainly gaming. My current 2010 iMac is perfect for everything else I do on it.
Lol, I love Macs as well. That's part of what's deterring me from building a stand-alone Windows gaming rig. Despite the form, the new Mac Pro is sure to be a powerhouse. I hate it when people make it seem like getting a Mac Pro for gaming is such a bad idea. These machine sure do have targeted demographics, but what matters is it's your money buying it, therefore how you utilize it is your prerogative.
The FirePro S10000 (the most likely candidate given Apple's presentation) goes for $3,100 on Newegg. No way that can be the base video card, at that price. It'll depend on if the lower GPU option is a low-end FirePro (my prediction) or a Radeon.
In any case, I have a separate gaming PC. I can't imagine it any other way; price/performance-wise, it can't be beat. (It also hangs up a lot if I leave it running and isn't as pretty, but that's what my Mac is for
)
The FirePro S10000 (the most likely candidate given Apple's presentation) goes for $3,100 on Newegg. No way that can be the base video card, at that price. It'll depend on if the lower GPU option is a low-end FirePro (my prediction) or a Radeon.
In any case, I have a separate gaming PC. I can't imagine it any other way; price/performance-wise, it can't be beat. (It also hangs up a lot if I leave it running and isn't as pretty, but that's what my Mac is for
You are right, probably not the base card; however Apple will be purchasing thousands of the chips to put on proprietary cards they would have designed themselves, there will be some savings over the newegg price
The FirePro S10000 (the most likely candidate given Apple's presentation) goes for $3,100 on Newegg. No way that can be the base video card, at that price. It'll depend on if the lower GPU option is a low-end FirePro (my prediction) or a Radeon.
In any case, I have a separate gaming PC. I can't imagine it any other way; price/performance-wise, it can't be beat. (It also hangs up a lot if I leave it running and isn't as pretty, but that's what my Mac is for
Whatever card it is (I still think it's a W9000, not an S10000, but it doesn't really matter) it's still basically a rebranded enthusiast level consumer card, that probably cost around 1 grand. Yes, the Fire Pro version has a 200% mark-up, but we have no idea how much of that will flow through to Apple's asking price for the system. It could probably be anywhere between around $800 a card (because Apple buys in bulk) anywhere to over $2000 (because Apple advertises them as Fire Pros).
I have no doubt that this nuts card will not be the baseline, however the Mac Pro website does say dual cards standard. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple provides an option for two midrange cards for people who don't need the best GPU performance, but still want top-notch CPU power. I'm going to say they will start at dual HD 7650's, just as a wild guess
Who knows? Maybe Apple might just make the developer support for these Pro-level cards optional, but keep the cards the same, so changing between a W9000 and a HD7990 is purely a software update!
Yes, I don't blame you. I do some professional work but...
I bought my first Mac in 1991. I always bought the most powerful Mac. Come 2006, if I still wanted the biggest and best Mac, I had to buy Apple's workstation computer. The Mac Pro was a fine machine.
I am very sorry to see how things have changed. I'll now slide over to either a Hackintosh or a PC.
I too am an unapologetic Oxygen Whore, and to me Macintosh Life is as simple and necessary as BREATHING.
When I buy a computer (Mac), I want it to be able to do EVERYTHING and ANYTHING possible, I don't care about having 60 Rack Mounted Systems, but, if I buy a nice small, medium, or large system, I try to build the Taskmaster. Macs are the only computers that could and can ever do this, gaming included. Especially now days.
I mean it's weird, when you buy a big screwdriver/wrench tool box, you want almost all the tools possible in a nice small case. But with computers people don't see things that way. I used to know this really wealthy millionaire, and he would sit there and argue how PCs were better. And in my final closing argument, I was just like, Geez dude, you're a millionaireX100, why don't you just get BOTH? Two systems for about $3000 each? That was the last attempt to persuade him. People just have this disease of the mind or something about Macs.
Oh well...
Actually, tomshardware did ask (and answer) this question - though from the Windows perspective:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/workstation-graphics-card-gaming,3425.html
Basically one W9000 is actually slightly slower than a GTX680. So it depends a lot on how well Apple implements it's dual GPU optimizations. And I don't even want to think about micro stuttering problems on the Mac Pro with dual GPUs. Even in the windows drivers (which see much more optimization than the OS X drivers) dual GPU gaming has its issues.
Basically a W9000 should be equal to a HD7970 performance wise. The benefit of a dual GPU config depends a lot on the GPU driver optimizations.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/workstation-graphics-card-gaming,3425.html
Quote from the article:
"Case in point: The FirePro W9000 nearly manages to keep up with AMD's Radeon HD 7970."
"Case in point: The FirePro W9000 nearly manages to keep up with AMD's Radeon HD 7970."
Basically one W9000 is actually slightly slower than a GTX680. So it depends a lot on how well Apple implements it's dual GPU optimizations. And I don't even want to think about micro stuttering problems on the Mac Pro with dual GPUs. Even in the windows drivers (which see much more optimization than the OS X drivers) dual GPU gaming has its issues.
Basically a W9000 should be equal to a HD7970 performance wise. The benefit of a dual GPU config depends a lot on the GPU driver optimizations.
The problem with PC is that they are too much work.
I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, I work with web development and use the computer every day. But man has my gaming PC that I built brought me heaps of trouble!
Mac is just so much cleaner and easier. It makes it more of a joy to use the computer. And if you want to have non-mobile GPU's, the Mac Pro is the only way to go (or use external GPU via TB/TB2). So I understand the want for getting a Mac Pro with non-professional GPUs!
I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, I work with web development and use the computer every day. But man has my gaming PC that I built brought me heaps of trouble!
Mac is just so much cleaner and easier. It makes it more of a joy to use the computer. And if you want to have non-mobile GPU's, the Mac Pro is the only way to go (or use external GPU via TB/TB2). So I understand the want for getting a Mac Pro with non-professional GPUs!
And this is what sucks about 'workstation' video cards - they're exactly the same as their gaming counterparts, and generally a bit slower. Yet their price is 4 to 5x more!
Excellent article though, goes to show how the Mac Pro, even with its dedicated "workstation" GPUs, can still double as a viable gaming machine. The benchmarks with the W9000 and W7000 were interesting to say the least, and slightly perform under today's high-end gaming GPUs.
----------
External graphics via TB would be expensive no? Wouldn't also be taking a performance hit because of the limited bandwidth via TB versus PCI, unless TB 2 changes all that.
I think they will offer some kind of non "workstation" gpu configuration, maybe even a low end version with just one gpu. They put much R&D into this machine, so it makes sense to market it to a wider audience.
A critical point will be if we will be able to upgrade these gpus. I use my Mac Pro for work and gaming, replacing the 5870 with a GTX670 gave this machine many more years of 2560x1440 ultra settings pleasure.
A critical point will be if we will be able to upgrade these gpus. I use my Mac Pro for work and gaming, replacing the 5870 with a GTX670 gave this machine many more years of 2560x1440 ultra settings pleasure.