MP 7,1 Current MacPro still a viable option IMHO

[MarkC426]

I have just read a review of a 3D/video PC workstation, listed for approx £4000.
While reading I thought how does this compare to the 2019MP, in regards to upgrades etc.

WELL.....the more I read, the less impressive it was.......?

Specs: AMD Ryzen9 16core, RTX3080Ti, 64gb Ram, 1TB Nvme.

Sounds like a nice spec, BUT the upgrade options are pitiful.
It says ram upgradeable to a 'WHOPPING' 128gb (the articles words).....I had to chuckle.
There are no Thunderbolt ports.
It only has an 850w PSU (my 11 year old cMP has a larger PSU).
If you wanted to add another gpu, you need to upgrade the PSU
edit: (this is mentioned also in the review......which is a bizarre thing to say).

So in summary, I now feel the 2019MP is actually good value for money.

If the AS MP has none or limited upgadeability, I will probably grab a Xeon model.

 

[avro707]

I have just read a review of a 3D/video PC workstation, listed for approx £4000.
While reading I thought how does this compare to the 2019MP, in regards to upgrades etc.

WELL.....the more I read, the less impressive it was.......?

Specs: AMD Ryzen9 16core, RTX3080Ti, 64gb Ram, 1TB Nvme.

Sounds like a nice spec, BUT the upgrade options are pitiful.
It says ram upgradeable to a 'WHOPPING' 128gb (the articles words).....I had to chuckle.
There are no Thunderbolt ports.
It only has an 850w PSU (my 11 year old cMP has a larger PSU).
If you wanted to add another gpu, you need to upgrade the PSU
edit: (this is mentioned also in the review......which is a bizarre thing to say).

So in summary, I now feel the 2019MP is actually good value for money.

If the AS MP has none or limited upgadeability, I will probably grab a Xeon model.

A whopping 128GB. My old 2010 MP5,1 has 128GB ram and a bigger PSU and thunderbolt ports.

The 2019 MP looks like a very good option and it looks to be easy to upgrade. I'm thinking of going that direction myself so I don't need to rely on opencore. My 5,1 dual 3.46ghz is very fast still and runs 12.2 Monterey no issues, but it is getting old.

 

[PowerMike G5]

A whopping 128GB. My old 2010 MP5,1 has 128GB ram and a bigger PSU and thunderbolt ports.

The 2019 MP looks like a very good option and it looks to be easy to upgrade. I'm thinking of going that direction myself so I don't need to rely on opencore. My 5,1 dual 3.46ghz is very fast still and runs 12.2 Monterey no issues, but it is getting old.

Yeah, I loved my 5,1 dual 3.46ghz, but the 7,1 is just on a whole different level. Totally worth the upgrade if you need to utilize the combination of speed and expandability.

 

[avro707]

One other thing when you look at the PCs, their construction is not at the same level as our Macs. Some of the high spec PCs inside look like the ones I used to build many years ago with some Antec case and whatever parts I purchased off the shelf at the computer shop.

 

[macguru9999]

As an all purpose desktop computer with massive internal storage for movies, projects , photos etc.. an upgraded 5,1 mac pro running mojave, catalina or big sur is a great thing. I just set up an M1pro laptop for a client this morning and nothing I was doing with the machine gave me any huge pangs of envy... You would need to use demanding video or image processsing with OPTIMISED SOFTWARE to gain the benefit from the new processor.

 

[MarkC426]

An additional plus, is the latest news on the main site.

Macs With Intel Processors Still Coming Amid Transition to Apple Silicon

While Apple is rapidly transitioning its Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon, it's worth highlighting as 2021 wraps up that...

www.macrumors.com

 

[MarkC426]

Yeah, I loved my 5,1 dual 3.46ghz, but the 7,1 is just on a whole different level. Totally worth the upgrade if you need to utilize the combination of speed and expandability.

Yep I totally agree.

I know when I upgraded from my G5 10 years ago, I was blown away by the difference.
Only reason I upgraded was some software dropped PPC support, so was happily chugging away, totally ignorant to how slow the G5 had become (as I didn't know any different).

You do get used to your system and think it's super quick, until you try something newer, and only then realise how dated it has become.

 

[PowerMike G5]

Yep I totally agree.

I know when I upgraded from my G5 10 years ago, I was blown away by the difference.
Only reason I upgraded was some software dropped PPC support, so was happily chugging away, totally ignorant to how slow the G5 had become (as I didn't know any different).

You do get used to your system and think it's super quick, until you try something newer, and only then realise how dated it has become.

Yeah definitely. I upgraded the heck out of my 5,1 and kept it current till the end of 2019. It was quick, thanks to it's expandability.

But now moving on to the 7,1, its upgraded everywhere. Much faster CPU, GPU, the 8 PCIe slots! The whole reason the 5,1 has the life that it does is due to the upgradeability. The 7,1 doubles that ability with much more current tech.

I know some folks find it expensive, but if you have use for that expansiveness, its totally worth it. My machine has already generated its cost back several times over with the income it has generated, which I'm thankful for. If you know you're going to work on it, don't hesitate to get one and put it to work!

 

[avro707]

Yeah definitely. I upgraded the heck out of my 5,1 and kept it current till the end of 2019. It was quick, thanks to it's expandability.

But now moving on to the 7,1, its upgraded everywhere. Much faster CPU, GPU, the 8 PCIe slots! The whole reason the 5,1 has the life that it does is due to the upgradeability. The 7,1 doubles that ability with much more current tech.

I know some folks find it expensive, but if you have use for that expansiveness, its totally worth it. My machine has already generated its cost back several times over with the income it has generated, which I'm thankful for. If you know you're going to work on it, don't hesitate to get one and put it to work!

The PCIe is the limiting factor for my 5,1 - the RX580 video card is a bulky thing and because I also have a Sonnet card for NVME, I cannot very well put the video card in the #1 slot without the risk of it cooking (sonnet will block the airflow). Then I lose the #3 slot and #4 is the thunderbolt card.

Otherwise aside from that and some cooling short-falls of the dual CPU 5,1 (the northbridge needs another cooling fan or an expanded heatsink), the 5,1 is well designed. Mine I got brand new in 2010 as a 3.2ghz quad-core, Radeon 5870, 1TB, 8gb ram. Now it's a dual 3.46 with fast NVME storage, a decent GPU and the latest beta macOS. It's December 2021 now, that's 11 years old machine. Excellent.

But definitely a new one is needed. I'll probably just go a basic model and then upgrade it bit by bit to a high specification machine.

 

[DrEGPU]

Not sure if that Ryzen is comparable. It maxes out at 16 cores and I forget what the RAM limit is. Something more along the lines of the Mac Pro is the Threadripper Pro series. Lots of PCIe lanes, max cores can go up to 128 cores, 8x memory channels, max 2TB ram, many pcie slots, etc.

I built my own PC that is more comparable to the 2019 Mac Pro, but after all is said and done, the prices weren’t so lopsided anymore. Yes, my PC is cheaper, and if you factored in a reasonable assembly cost, the prices becomes even more comparable. The PC’s prices fluctuate (wildly, sometimes) so take it with a grain of salt, but “comparable” Mac Pro PC version was nearly $11k, although we could subtract the raid ssd setup, since it could transfer to a real Mac Pro.

My approximate costs:

CPU: Threadripper Pro 16 core - $1000
Motherboard: gigabyte - $800
RAM: 256GB ECC Kingston - $1300
TB3 card: gigabyte TR - $60
SSD: Samsung pro 970 1TB - $200
GPU’s: 2x RTX 3090 - $3300
NV link bridge: $100
PCIE RAID: highpoint 7505- $1000
More SSD’s: 4x Samsung 980 2TB - $1300
Case: Corsair 7000X - $180
Watercooling stuff: rads, fans, blocks - $1400
PSU: 1600w EVGA - $400

 

[MarkC426]

Not sure if that Ryzen is comparable. It maxes out at 16 cores and I forget what the RAM limit is. Something more along the lines of the Mac Pro is the Threadripper Pro series. Lots of PCIe lanes, max cores can go up to 128 cores, 8x memory channels, max 2TB ram, many pcie slots, etc.

It was not a comparison to the PC per-say.
I read the review, and thought for the price (£4000) I thought it would have better upgrade options, similar to the MacPro.
People will always say you can build a PC cheaper, but I don't want a PC.

 

[Dt990]

Yeah, I loved my 5,1 dual 3.46ghz, but the 7,1 is just on a whole different level. Totally worth the upgrade if you need to utilize the combination of speed and expandability.

For real, I went from a 12-Core cMP with a Radeon VII + 2 TB Samsung 970 to a pretty low spec'ed 8-Core Mac Pro 2019, (pulled the SSD from the cMP) and it reminded me of the same feeling my M1 Air had. If I'm being realistic, I do not "need" it but it was an unexpected opportunity that a VII would sell for $2400 alone.

The Mac Pro 2019 is overpriced but I sold the few GPUs I had laying around with along with two 5,1s which almost entirely funded my Mac Pro 2019 and haven't looked back. It's a shame that Apple made an aspirational machine instead of a more practical everyman computer. The classic Mac Pro is still the pinnacle for me personal of Apple form vs function, and utility vs cost but the 7,1 is a much nicer machine.

About the only things I can dig it on is the case not being accessible without having to remove all the cables, not including internal drive mounts, using a non-standard SATA power tap or a single 5.25 drive on the off chance you want to have a Blu-Ray drive for backups or media access (the last being not terribly important). It's just a nicer design, easier to access.

 

[ADGrant]

So in summary, I now feel the 2019MP is actually good value for money.

If the AS MP has none or limited upgadeability, I will probably grab a Xeon model.

An AS MP is very likely to have more limited upgradability compared to the current Intel MP. RAM is unlikely to be upgradeable to the same degree and I would be surprised if AMD GPU cards could be used.

Hopefully they would retain the SSD upgradability and perhaps a swappable SoC.