12 Core Mac Pro for Aerospace Engineering Student

[colonelradec]

If you can afford it, and want it, then just buy it and be happy. What somebody else thinks you need or don't, isn't really that relevent, unless what you're really doing is fishing for rationalization to blow all that cash

Back in my day we used little clay tablets and we liked it!

Seriously, it's unlikely that you *need* it, and future-proofing is a nice theory that has nothing to do with reality. But if you can afford it (or even more important: if somebody else is buying it for you), then get one. Then 4 years later, get another one, and so on. Nothing lasts forever, nothing is future-proof, and you'll probably find something to use it for other than an expensive doorstop.

My parents are going to buy for me...And my parents can afford it...

 

[brentsg]

My parents are going to buy for me...And my parents can afford it...

It is still a wasteful decision. It is completely unnecessary for the first 2-3 years, and even after that it's silly. Even if your campus provides individual workstations in a lab, you can ssh in and run whatever you need overnight. You don't even need to go there.

Why did you post the question if you didn't want to hear what people with experience had to say? With computing power like this, it's always best to wait until you actually need it. Even if that day does come, you might be able to source twice the CPU power by then.

 

[nanofrog]

It is still a wasteful decision. It is completely unnecessary for the first 2-3 years, and even after that it's silly. Even if your campus provides individual workstations in a lab, you can ssh in and run whatever you need overnight. You don't even need to go there.

Why did you post the question if you didn't want to hear what people with experience had to say? With computing power like this, it's always best to wait until you actually need it. Even if that day does come, you might be able to source twice the CPU power by then.

This makes a lot of sense, so please don't discount this information OP.

Another way you can look at it, is the money your parents can save now can be added to your continued financial needs during college (think pizza and beer once of legal age whatnot).

 

[Amethyst]

Life is too short. So do everything that you want.

For me the thing that i want is 2012 mac pro. Not because i need it. But i only want it.

Signs a Phd candidate for computer engineering.

 

[Gonk42]

Most of the replies here have been common sense, but I suspect that perhaps there are other factors. Parents are willing to buy a new computer now and pay for what ever is "needed". They might be less enthusiastic a couple of years down the road - like government budgets, if you don't use them you might lose them!

As a computer science PhD student I got myself a dual processor (8 core) workstation (a Dell not a Mac Pro as it was much cheaper) which I'm still using. I was a mature student and needed to work from home much of the time. It was/is very useful for big jobs I needed to do occasionally but most of the time it is over kill (I still like having it though).

I'm now a research associate and have a Mac Pro (single proc 4 core) provided for me. I had a budget for it and went for a big display rather than spend it on dual processors, I run big jobs over night or over the weekend or on my workstation at home.

 

[RLesko]

Seems very overkill.

EDIT:

Let me add that it doesn't seem like you're even listening to anyone who posts here. You throw out that you're gonna be studying "Aerospace Engineering" and expect that you will be met with posters here supporting the decision to buy a computer you won't even be able to push to 25% of its power. It is extremely evident that even if down the line you needed a computer for heavy lifting or whatever (not until at least 3rd year) you could never use 12-16 cores. Most apps only use one, you'd be lucky for them to use two. You're not starting an Aerospace Engineering firm for the Air Force here, you're just going to school.

 

[Ant.honey]

You're bound to be a little disappointed. I'm typing this from a 12 core and unless the software you're running can truly access all 12 cores it'll likely be slower than say a 6-core. I'm working out of someone's studio currently. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have this machine and if I did, I'd have maxed out the ram and SSD'd it, which they didn't. My late 2011 2.5ghz quad core MBP with SSD and 16 gigs of ram is considerably faster.

 

[lixuelai]

Buy a 27" iMac and maybe a 27" ATD to go with it. Guarantee you will enjoy it a lot more than a 12 core Mac Pro and will leave you with $$$$ to upgrade down the road. When I first entered college I was the same and thought I needed the most amazing desktop ever but in the end it was way overkill. Screen real estate however is something you will notice and is worthwhile to invest in.

 

[szolr]

A 12 core Mac seems a tad overkill to me. But you haven't specified exact software you'll be using so I can't speak against your decision with any degree of conviction.

However I would ask if you'd consider an iMac with every possible upgrade thrown in? Again, I don't know the file sizes you'll be dealing with etc, but I guess you'd appreciate the Thunderbolt ports? You could get a Pegasus RAID system to plug in too.

 

[goMac]

What? Seriously?

If his parents are going to buy it for him, by all means.... Go for it.

Yes, he will have an insane amount of power. But at least he's going into a field where he can use all 12 cores, so he's not just burning cash.

Is it necessary? No, I'm sure there are campus machines. But it seems like a very nice luxury to have. And when it comes to education, any leg up over the rest of the class is a good thing.

 

[colonelradec]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

 

[goMac]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

That's a close one...

I'd almost go for the 8 core + 2 27" displays. You're sacrificing some horsepower, but dual displays are luxurious. I run two 23"s, so maybe the extra screen space would be overkill? Maybe someone else could chime in on that.

 

[Redneck1089]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

Go the 12 core route. Enjoy it!

 

[szolr]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

You need 2 displays now? Well, that's more justifiable than a 12 core computer. I'd go for that.

 

[Major Reeves]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

I say 6 core 3.33ghz, 12 gb ram, radeon hd 5870 and the 2 tb hdd option.
Them order from some other place 3x450gb WD Velociraptor and raid0 them, they'll be running your OS and apps, the included 2 tb hdd will be used for scratch.
As a display, get the HP ZR30W.

Well that is what'd do if I were you.

Keep in mind that the programs you'll be using will most likely only use a max of 4 threads out of 12 on the 6 core machine.

 

[lixuelai]

I would run 2x30 or even 3x if I had the desk space. Easily go for the 2x27 if that is the choice and you have to spend the money now. Displays are the best investment in a new computer system as it does not get outdated as fast as the components. I think both machines are overkill still and a high end iMac with its newer cpu architecture would not be a noticeable drop in performance and may well allow you to upgrade in half the time you are planning to now however.

 

[toxic]

What? Seriously?

If his parents are going to buy it for him, by all means.... Go for it.

Yes, he will have an insane amount of power. But at least he's going into a field where he can use all 12 cores, so he's not just burning cash.

Is it necessary? No, I'm sure there are campus machines. But it seems like a very nice luxury to have. And when it comes to education, any leg up over the rest of the class is a good thing.

what will he be doing that will use 12 cores? MATLAB? no. CAD? no. FEA? not in undergrad. he won't be using COMSOL or something until 3rd year, and it certainly won't be for anything demanding..

having rich parents is not an excuse to be irresponsible. and let's not forget the engineering attrition rate, and there's no guarantee he'll even go to grad school or go to an engineering grad program.

a quad will be more than enough. a hex i suppose is at least somewhat justifiable, at least more so than an octa. spend the difference on a good display and a laptop. depending on his school, he may have to purchase his own software too, if he doesn't want to be tied down to a computer lab.

 

[Neodym]

My father says , "12 Core Mac Pro or 8 Core Mac Pro + 2 27" Display"
Which one should I prefer ?

The one with the displays. I am running a 3-monitor setup and really enjoy the screen real estate!

 

[goMac]

what will he be doing that will use 12 cores? MATLAB?

Yes.

CAD?

Yes.

FEA?

Not sure what that is, so I'll withhold comment.

Most of the work he is doing, especially in fluid dynamics, is extremely multicore friendly.

Yes, he could get lab time. Yes, he could get by on an iMac. But a 12 core Mac Pro would be better and he can definitely make use of the extra hardware in his field.

I don't get why some people are so mad in this thread. Fluid dynamics is almost a perfect field for a 12 core machine. It's not like he's painting web gifs in Photoshop here.

 

[toxic]

Not sure what that is, so I'll withhold comment.

Most of the work he is doing, especially in fluid dynamics, is extremely multicore friendly.

Yes, he could get lab time. Yes, he could get by on an iMac. But a 12 core Mac Pro would be better and he can definitely make use of the extra hardware in his field.

I don't get why some people are so mad in this thread. Fluid dynamics is almost a perfect field for a 12 core machine. It's not like he's painting web gifs in Photoshop here.

he's not doing fluid dynamics, he's doing undergrad. fluid dynamics is a specialization you can choose in grad school.

everything he'll do in undergrad in MATLAB will be largely single-threaded. CAD is not multi-threaded, at least not for anything important.

 

[Major Reeves]

Maybe some benchmarks'll help you decide...
The machine in question is my 2x quad 2.93ghz, 12gb ram and radeon hd5870.
One is from Matlab R2011b and the other is from Mathematica 8.0.4

Still I must say again, for what you're going to do, the 6 core model is more than enough. Beyond that, you'll be hit by the "law of diminishing returns".

 

[goMac]

everything he'll do in undergrad in MATLAB will be largely single-threaded. CAD is not multi-threaded, at least not for anything important.

Erm. I can think of a lot in undergrad MATLAB that would be multithreaded. As someone else noted, you'd probably need multithreaded extensions installed. But still, I can't imagine much that would be complicated enough that it should be done in MATLAB, but simple enough that it couldn't be multithreaded.

 

[dukebound85]

Yes.

No. Matlab is not multicore friendly and it takes quite a bit of set up to get parallel processing going. This is ASSUMING he even has a license for this software.

Regardless, the work you do as an undergrad does not require much from Matlab. Hell even my grad work doesn't in terms of cpu horsepower. It is more limited by ram if anything.

Yes.

In undergrad you do not need a 12 core machine for cad work. Note even close. Once again, ASSUMING he even has the licesne for any CAD programs on his personal machine.

Not sure what that is, so I'll withhold comment.

If you don't know what FEA is, then you aren't familiar at all in the field. FEA is Finite Element Analysis. These programs include Abaqus/ProMechanica, etc. They are expensive and not OSX programs. Once again, we have to assume he has a license for these programs.

Most of the work he is doing, especially in fluid dynamics, is extremely multicore friendly.

And not for OSX. And once again, we have to assume he has the license for these programs. And no, you do not need a 12 core machine for this.

Yes, he could get lab time. Yes, he could get by on an iMac. But a 12 core Mac Pro would be better and he can definitely make use of the extra hardware in his field.

No, labs are essential as all of these programs are expensive and there is no way a student will have a personal license for these programs. Also alot of these are either Windows or Unix based apps. The labs are there for students having access to the programs. Also, the college will have supercomputers that the student can ssh into.

I don't get why some people are so mad in this thread. Fluid dynamics is almost a perfect field for a 12 core machine. It's not like he's painting web gifs in Photoshop here.

No one is mad. Just trying to disprove any notion that this is a need.

Since you are ignoring the costs of these programs, the OS they require, and the nature of his undergrad work, your advice is not sound.

Sorry but there is no justification for needing a 12 core machine for basic work. This is purely a want, which is fine. However, trying to paint it as a need is beyond ridiculous!

 

[colonelradec]

AE 383 Announcements

Matlab tutorials will continue in two groups as follows:
Group 1: Monday 15:40 - 17:30
Group 2: Thursday 14:40 - 16:30
It is important to keep the number of students in each group approximately the same, so if you would like to attend the tutorials please contact Dr. A. Türker Kutay at kutay@metu.edu.tr with your preferred group and after confirmation please attend the tutorial in that group. There will be no tutorial on October 20. Tutorials in two groups will start on October 24.

Here is one of our lessons...Of course we have supercomputers in our uni...But just like i sad I want to do all of my staf in my home...

 

[dukebound85]

AE 383 Announcements

Matlab tutorials will continue in two groups as follows:
Group 1: Monday 15:40 - 17:30
Group 2: Thursday 14:40 - 16:30
It is important to keep the number of students in each group approximately the same, so if you would like to attend the tutorials please contact Dr. A. Türker Kutay at kutay@metu.edu.tr with your preferred group and after confirmation please attend the tutorial in that group. There will be no tutorial on October 20. Tutorials in two groups will start on October 24.

Here is one of our lessons...Of course we have supercomputers in our uni...But just like i sad I want to do all of my staf in my home...

Just so you know, I can ssh -X into my schools computers from my macbook and get the full GUI interface of Matlab and run everything off a 24 core 64gig ram machine. It is possible to do it from home and not spend a small fortune on a beastly macpro...

But it's up to you clearly lol

Do you have any experience with Matlab OP?