MP 1,1-5,1 Choosing between two different 5,1 models. Which should I get?

[thetommyboy2k]

Hey everyone,

Been reading a lot on here. I wanted to get a 5,1 Mac Pro. It would be extreme overkill for my needs now, but am thinking about having a YouTube channel, so I could do more on it later. I've found two different 5,1's and I wanted opinions on which I should get and why.

#1 is a few states north of me. It's a mid-2012 pretty well maxed out, save for storage. It's 12 core 3.46 and has 128 GB of RAM on it. Radeon 580 GPU. Runs High Sierra. Only has a 500 GB SSD. Would end up adding more storage most likely. It comes with a Formac 20" clear monitor. He doesn't want to ship it and even meeting him halfway would be a five hour trip one way.

#2 was found more recently. It's only nearly a two hour drive from me. It's a mid-2010 12 core 3.06. Has 64 GB of RAM. Runs Catalina. He's done a lot of upgrades to it. Has an M.2 NVME Samsung 970 EVO SSD and adapter. Has a Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8 GB GPU. He said he would include a GT120 video card also. Also will include a monitor.

Question I have is this... which one is the better buy? #1 is cosmetically in near mint shape with no scratches. It's also $300 more than #2. #2 has some scratches on it, but no dents or dings. While #1 is more maxed out in certain ways, there's not a ton in the way of storage. #2 has been upgraded on the storage and GPU front while not being the fastest of the two out of the gate.

I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on which one and why. Thanks in advance!

 

[yakult121]

Get both. One will die soon after and you've got to have spare.
My mac pros are dying one after another. One day its a logic board problem, another day is a PSU problem. Never ends.

 

[retlif]

I know you may not want to hear this but I'm sorry, the answer to your question is the Mac mini M1.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

You should probably get both. If you want all new, get the base model Mac Pro. But you might want to wait a little while, Apple might be releasing a new Mac Pro pretty soon.

 

[thetommyboy2k]

Get both. One will die soon after and you've got to have spare.
My mac pros are dying one after another. One day its a logic board problem, another day is a PSU problem. Never ends.

Not an option. I wish it were. No matter which one I choose, I'll be making a couple of payments to get it. Don't have that kind of money to cough up all at once. If I could do it, I would get both.

 

[thetommyboy2k]

I know you may not want to hear this but I'm sorry, the answer to your question is the Mac mini M1.

Not an option money-wise and even if it were, no way would I want another Mac mini. Had a not so good experience with one of the first Intel Mac Mini's. It was so bad, I wouldn't touch any of Apple's stuff for the longest time. I have always been a fan of an expandable desktop. I appreciate the suggestion, but no.

 

[thetommyboy2k]

You should probably get both. If you want all new, get the base model Mac Pro. But you might want to wait a little while, Apple might be releasing a new Mac Pro pretty soon.

If I could afford to get both, I would, but it's not an option. Whichever I choose, I'll have to make a couple of payments since I don't have enough money to buy it outright. I had Covid earlier this year and was in the hospital for it. Came close to dying, but thankfully I didn't. Lost my job at the time and was out of work for two months. Finally got a new job working at a Covid testing site. I use an iPad to get info from people so the swabbers will have the info on hand. In a way I've come full circle. I wish so bad I could get both, but it's not feasible. It's either one or the other.

As far as the new Mac Pro, there's no way under the shining sun I could even get the base model. Perhaps in a few years... maybe.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

If I could afford to get both, I would, but it's not an option. Whichever I choose, I'll have to make a couple of payments since I don't have enough money to buy it outright. I had Covid earlier this year and was in the hospital for it. Came close to dying, but thankfully I didn't. Lost my job at the time and was out of work for two months. Finally got a new job working at a Covid testing site. I use an iPad to get info from people so the swabbers will have the info on hand. In a way I've come full circle. I wish so bad I could get both, but it's not feasible. It's either one or the other.

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m glad you lived, and I’m wishing you the best 2022. Maybe try getting a MacBook. Could that be interesting to you?

 

[thetommyboy2k]

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m glad you lived, and I’m wishing you the best 2022. Maybe try getting a MacBook. Could that be interesting to you?

Thank you. It's been a roller coaster year. It's just me and my dogs at home. We started 2021 with me and five furbabes. Lost the eldest two this year. One in May and the other, a Jack Russell that was 16, on the 7th of this month. She was the hardest of the two to lose because aside from me, she was the only one who knew my Mom and Dad. Dad passed in '12 and I took care of Mom at home pretty much on my own save for home health care nurses until she passed in '16.

Although I've used laptops in the past, I'm a die hard desktop dude. Nothing really against laptops, but I prefer a desktop and I'm not mobile enough to need a laptop.

 

[thetommyboy2k]

Just so everyone will understand why I can't get both. #1 is $1200 (Maxed out RAM - 128 GB and 500 GB SSD, 12 core 3.46). #2 is $900 (64 GB RAM, 1 TB M.2 NVME Samsung 970 EVO SSD, 12 core 3.06).

Can't get them both although I wish I could.

 

[YoitsTmac]

Just so everyone will understand why I can't get both. #1 is $1200 (Maxed out RAM - 128 GB and 500 GB SSD, 12 core 3.46). #2 is $900 (64 GB RAM, 1 TB M.2 NVME Samsung 970 EVO SSD, 12 core 3.06).

Can't get them both although I wish I could.

I have a M1 mini at work and I do video work. I have a 9900k and Vega 64 Hackintosh at home. My work M1 is about 70-80% as fast when it comes to video export. My hackintosh could be better optimized but it’s basically fully utilized. I was so enthralled by the performance that I bought an M1 MBA with 16GB for $1,000. It has never felt slow. Last night I re-encoded a 1080p film (90 mins) in 10 minutes. For $1,200, I’d get a 16GB Max Mini and a Samsung T5 SSD for storage. If you want to save you can buy a used one on eBay or on the subreddit /r/appleswap. I have been doing video work for about 7 years and the M1 is the best value editing rig out there. I personally thing you should’nt do the Max Pro, an M1 for video editing will obliterate. Just my two cents as someone who’s done video for a while.

 

[thetommyboy2k]

I have a M1 mini at work and I do video work. I have a 9900k and Vega 64 Hackintosh at home. My work M1 is about 70-80% as fast when it comes to video export. My hackintosh could be better optimized but it’s basically fully utilized. I was so enthralled by the performance that I bought an M1 MBA with 16GB for $1,000. It has never felt slow. Last night I re-encoded a 1080p film (90 mins) in 10 minutes. For $1,200, I’d get a 16GB Max Mini and a Samsung T5 SSD for storage. If you want to save you can buy a used one on eBay or on the subreddit /r/appleswap. I have been doing video work for about 7 years and the M1 is the best value editing rig out there. I personally thing you should’nt do the Max Pro, an M1 for video editing will obliterate. Just my two cents as someone who’s done video for a while.

YoitsTmac, I really appreciate your suggestion, but as I've said before, I won't consider a Mac mini. I want expandability and plus I had an experience with one of the first Intel Mac minis that was bad to the point I left the Apple world for many years because of it. I know a lot has changed since then, but while I'm a fan of desktops, I want a tower with expandability. The Mac mini is out for me. The way the new Mac Pro prices are, there's no way I could afford one now. I figured the 5,1 Mac Pro would be a good compromise. Add to that, as it is, it will be a ton of overkill for what I use a computer for now, which is general browsing. I may opt to have my own YouTube channel at some point, but nothing so intensive I would use all the power of a 5,1. I really appreciate your suggestion though.

 

[Freeangel1]

#1 is your best option. 12 core 3.46 is the max you can get in a 5.1 mac

It would cost you more than $300 to make option #2 like Option 1. Quite a bit more.


Keep in mind that machine eats a-lot of electricity.

If you don't want high electric bills while rendering or have SOLAR then get an M1 Mac mini or wait for the M1 Max Mini

 

[YoitsTmac]

I understand the desire of upgradeability. It’s why I didn’t buy Mac’s and did hackintosh for 5 years. M1 has my attention as a video/photo person, so I wanted to share. Best of luck to you

 

[thetommyboy2k]

#1 is your best option. 12 core 3.46 is the max you can get in a 5.1 mac

It would cost you more than $300 to make option #2 like Option 1. Quite a bit more.


Keep in mind that machine eats a-lot of electricity.

If you don't want high electric bills while rendering or have SOLAR then get an M1 Mac mini or wait for the M1 Max Mini

Is the difference between the two as far as processor performance noticeable between the two options?

Again, thank you for the suggestion on the Mac mini, but again, I will not consider a Mac mini. It's come down to two choices for me, which I posted about.

 

[MarkC426]

Much like everyone else here says, your better with an M1 Mac.
The fact that money is short (and you can't afford to buy it in one go), an old 10 year old macpro is a money pit, especially when your buying used. It may stop working after a month.

The Apple Silicon Macs run rings around a lot of the older intel macs, and for your usage, they are perfect.

 

[rpmurray]

If the only options are between #1 and #2 then I'd go with #1. It will have a couple of less years on it so will last you a little bit longer as far as repairs and potentially failing parts. You'll probably need to get new storage in either case because you don't know how much mileage has been put on either SSD.

What's the full spec for the Radeon 580 in option #1?

 

[thetommyboy2k]

If the only options are between #1 and #2 then I'd go with #1. It will have a couple of less years on it so will last you a little bit longer as far as repairs and potentially failing parts. You'll probably need to get new storage in either case because you don't know how much mileage has been put on either SSD.

What's the full spec for the Radeon 580 in option #1?

I'm not sure of the full spec of the Radeon 580.

Besides a $300 difference, which would take another paycheck to be able to buy #1 vs. #2... the guy really doesn't want to ship it, which I can understand, but with us meeting halfway... it's a five hour trip one way from SC to TN for me to pick up #1, vs. an almost two hour trip from SC to NC to pick up #2. I've got an older car which could make the trip, but I'm not 100% sure on. Those are the only two major issues with picking #1 over #2.

 

[clevins]

Hey everyone,

Been reading a lot on here. I wanted to get a 5,1 Mac Pro. It would be extreme overkill for my needs now, but am thinking about having a YouTube channel, so I could do more on it later. I've found two different 5,1's and I wanted opinions on which I should get and why.

#1 is a few states north of me. It's a mid-2012 pretty well maxed out, save for storage. It's 12 core 3.46 and has 128 GB of RAM on it. Radeon 580 GPU. Runs High Sierra. Only has a 500 GB SSD. Would end up adding more storage most likely. It comes with a Formac 20" clear monitor. He doesn't want to ship it and even meeting him halfway would be a five hour trip one way.

#2 was found more recently. It's only nearly a two hour drive from me. It's a mid-2010 12 core 3.06. Has 64 GB of RAM. Runs Catalina. He's done a lot of upgrades to it. Has an M.2 NVME Samsung 970 EVO SSD and adapter. Has a Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 8 GB GPU. He said he would include a GT120 video card also. Also will include a monitor.

Question I have is this... which one is the better buy? #1 is cosmetically in near mint shape with no scratches. It's also $300 more than #2. #2 has some scratches on it, but no dents or dings. While #1 is more maxed out in certain ways, there's not a ton in the way of storage. #2 has been upgraded on the storage and GPU front while not being the fastest of the two out of the gate.

I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on which one and why. Thanks in advance!

Get neither. You can't upgrade the OS and even the M1 Mini or Air will be much faster.

Obviously if you want to tinker for the hell of it, do whatever. But if you want actual power to do things, buying decade old machines isn't the way to go.

I understand the desire of upgradeability. It’s why I didn’t buy Mac’s and did hackintosh for 5 years. M1 has my attention as a video/photo person, so I wanted to share. Best of luck to you

There's no argument here for upgradability. These are OLD machines and no amount of "but I can add a card" justifies that if raw capability is the goal. Again, if playing with obsolete tech scratches an itch, OP should go for it, but if getting the most capability/power for the money is the goal, neither machine is where you want to spend money in 2022.

 

[MarkC426]

Those are the only two major issues with picking #1 over #2.

And being able to test it, before driving away.
At least if you buy from ebay, you have a money-back guarantee.

 

[sfalatko]

If those are your only two options go for #2. Two hours is better than the other option and it's also a 2012 model. If you are handy upgrading the CPU will be very inexpensive - somewhere around $40 for a used chip - a pair for less than $100.

With OpenCore - OpenCore on the Mac Pro - you can upgrade to Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey. Read the 1st post. If it seems too much then check out OpenCore Legacy Patcher though if he is running Catalina he might have used OCLP but might have used the dosdude1 patcher. For video I would go with OpenCore and study the patching for AMD acceleration so you will get hardware encoding (OCLP probably does that as part of the install).

For either machine I would invest in a Boot Rom reconstruction from @tsialex. He can give you very detailed, easy to follow instructions and charges a very reasonable price. A ton of users here have used his service.

 

[casperes1996]

Just want to point out that there really is no expandability for these machines. It's got PCIe 2.0 and CPUs that would struggle to get the most out of modern GPUs even with PCIe 4.0. The CPU would top out at Westmere IIRC and that's old and very low IPC compared to modern CPUs. Even with 12 cores it's far from the performance and snappiness of modern chips.
Memory and storage can be upgraded in capacity, sure. But speed of both are greatly limited too. Couldn't get a super fast SSD to run at its expected performance again due to the PCIe spec. Memory is 1333MHz DDR IIRC and unless someone needs to work with data sets that absolutely need like 96GB of memory, high capacity of RAM really comes with no benefit. Once you reach "enough", adding more doesn't do much. Some I/O cards could be added as long as they don't need more than PCIe 2.0 bandwidth but that's about it.

And for storage, adding a Thunderbolt disk externally to a newer Mac like 24" iMac or Mac mini will run it as fast as an x8 link on the Mac Pro's PCIe slots, since Thunderbolt is basically PCIe 3.0x4

 

[clevins]

If those are your only two options go for #2. Two hours is better than the other option and it's also a 2012 model. If you are handy upgrading the CPU will be very inexpensive - somewhere around $40 for a used chip - a pair for less than $100.

With OpenCore - OpenCore on the Mac Pro - you can upgrade to Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey. Read the 1st post. If it seems too much then check out OpenCore Legacy Patcher though if he is running Catalina he might have used OCLP but might have used the dosdude1 patcher. For video I would go with OpenCore and study the patching for AMD acceleration so you will get hardware encoding (OCLP probably does that as part of the install).

For either machine I would invest in a Boot Rom reconstruction from @tsialex. He can give you very detailed, easy to follow instructions and charges a very reasonable price. A ton of users here have used his service.

And this is the other thing you will get into... various tweaks and mods to get things running/done. Reliance on that one guy in that one forum, etc.

If for some reason OP really needs something that can't be done with a current Mac (unlikely), I'd go the hackintosh route before I'd invest in dead end machines from a decade ago. At least then you can run on an i7 or whatever with modern hardware.

 

[Warrington]

No matter which one I choose, I'll be making a couple of payments to get it. Don't have that kind of money to cough up all at once.

Maybe you should start with the cheapest 4.1 eight-core you can find and upgrade it yourself. At least you will learn a few things in the process and you won't have to spend too much money.

An upgrade is really needed only when you know exactly why you need it. Otherwise is just money thrown away.

 

[Warrington]

Even with 12 cores it's far from the performance and snappiness of modern chips

Any chart available for "snappiness" ?

In real world, performance depends on software being explicitly written for a specific CPU. What software is written today for M1 chips?

unless someone needs to work with data sets that absolutely need like 96GB of memory, high capacity of RAM really comes with no benefit.

Not exactly. Each Nehalem / Westmere CPU has three memory channels and having 6 memory channels in a machine is a real benefit, if you use them properly (6 x 8GB for example).