MP 6,1 D500 to D700 upgrade worth $225?

[Oldmopars]

I am looking at doing a fun build for my Daughter and Son-in-Law. They are huge Star Wars fans. In the recent years I have made the Mandalorian and B- Katan Helmets.
I thought if would be fun to take a 2013 Mac Pro and 3D print some parts to make it look like R2D2. They could use it as a regular computer, media server or whatever. They have 2 very young kids and so "Gaming" is really not happening. They are both teachers and so it may get used for school related stuff.
I would not even think about this, but I am seeing 2013 Mac Pros all day long on Ebay for less than $150 and the top spec E5-2697 V2 also for less than $30. However most are D300 and a lot of D500, but no D700s.
I have found D700 GPUs for $225, but that really drives up the cost. Are they really that much better than the D500? For this use case, would the D500 be fine or would they need the D700? Unlick my 5,1 or PC's, there are not many options for these.
Should I just buy the D500 version and forget the D700?

 

[PaulD-UK]

I heard that D700s were more prone to overheating and failure, so rarer because there are fewer around…

The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (Late 2013) Upgrade Guide

A guide with every conceivable Mac Pro 2013 upgrade, from SSD hacks, CPU upgrades, to eGPUs.

blog.greggant.com

 

[Bigwaff]

Should I just buy the D500 version and forget the D700?

I would. D300 also fine. MP6,1 natively support max macOS 12 Monterey.

 

[frou]

BTW, that 12-core CPU is worse than the 8-core for "normal" computer usage, because it has lesser single-thread performance.

 

[Oldmopars]

BTW, that 12-core CPU is worse than the 8-core for "normal" computer usage, because it has lesser single-thread performance.

OK, so for day to day use, what would the best CPU be?

 

[Oldmopars]

I found one that seems like a decent option. 2xD500, 500GB SSD, 16GB RAM, E5-1650 V2 6 Core. $100 free shipping.
As I said, it will not be a workhorse, just daily tasks, Internet, Excel, Word(Mac equivalent), maybe some music writing related software or other Teacher related stuff.
I can always upgrade it to the E5-2687W V2 for 8 Cores. I can also add an external NVMe enclosure built into R2D2s body for more storage in the future if needed. If I get an Aluminum with cooling fins, I can just incorporate it into the design of the body.
What do you think?

 

[TzunamiOSX]

My 6,1 with 12-Core CPU, D500, 2 TB SSD and 64 GB RAM is a solid retro system. Under Window 11 I can run rise of the Tomb Raider, World of tanks smooth enough. Cyberpunk is running not well with 29 FPS with low settings on 720p (looks like Cyberpunk does not support dual GPUs and the 3 GB are also a problem. Under macOS, you can boost your performance a little by using an eGPU. I have a 5700 XT in a Thunderbolt-Case.

In other Words, you can do nearly anything with a 6,1 excepted modern gaming. Video or Picture editing is not a Problem. You can also use some KI tools, but they're very very slow with the internal GPUs but bearable with an external GPU. If you only want to write a text and added some pictures to it, you can use a 25 years old mac, too.

Photoshop, Word and Excel works very well on my G3 Beige Mini Tower.

 

[Oldmopars]

My 6,1 with 12-Core CPU, D500, 2 TB SSD and 64 GB RAM is a solid retro system. Under Window 11 I can run rise of the Tomb Raider, World of tanks smooth enough. Cyberpunk is running not well with 29 FPS with low settings on 720p (looks like Cyberpunk does not support dual GPUs and the 3 GB are also a problem. Under macOS, you can boost your performance a little by using an eGPU. I have a 5700 XT in a Thunderbolt-Case.

In other Words, you can do nearly anything with a 6,1 excepted modern gaming. Video or Picture editing is not a Problem. You can also use some KI tools, but they're very very slow with the internal GPUs but bearable with an external GPU. If you only want to write a text and added some pictures to it, you can use a 25 years old mac, too.

Photoshop, Word and Excel works very well on my G3 Beige Mini Tower.

Thanks. Like I said, no modern games, maybe some retro stuff. They will use it mostly as a work related tool.
The main reason for choosing the 2013 Mac Pro is purely due to its size/shape and current price. I am wanting to do this as a Christmas gift. The size and shape make it perfect for an R2D2 shell.
I know I could buy a NUC or other Mini computer and print a shell, but it would just be missing the cool factor.
If the Mac Pro dies, or they need a more powerful computer in the future, I can always print an adapter to fit inside that would mount whatever mini computer they get. Even a new M4 or M5, M6 if they make them would fit in the space.
The heft and quality of the Mac Pro make the end results a better fit in my mind.