Fastest cheese grater Mac Pro?

[sparkie7]

Is it the 2012 Mac Pro 12-core 3.06 GHz with Xeon X5675

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...twelve-core-3.06-mid-2012-westmere-specs.html

However on ebay I see there are 2012 12-core machines with 3.46 GHz with X5690. Are these the same as the above Xeon's (with turbo boost to achieve 3.46 GHz) or are they different/higher spec processors?

I'm seriously thinking of getting one instead of the newer darth vader trash can's... is this a good idea/option?

 

[Synchro3]

No, not the same X5690/W3690 have turbo boost 3.73 GHz.

And yes, it's a good idea to max out the 2012 Mac Pro.

Xeon W3690/X5690, an SSD and a good Maxwell card, and you have a solid machine.

 

[rueyloon]

Is it the 2012 Mac Pro 12-core 3.06 GHz with Xeon X5675

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...twelve-core-3.06-mid-2012-westmere-specs.html

However on ebay I see there are 2012 12-core machines with 3.46 GHz with X5690. Are these the same as the above Xeon's (with turbo boost to achieve 3.46 GHz) or are they different/higher spec processors?

I'm seriously thinking of getting one instead of the newer darth vader trash can's... is this a good idea/option?

Nope, not the same.
For less than the money you need to spend on the Mac Pro 2013, you can upgrade it to almost the same processing power. They will probably go obsolete the same time as well since the 2013 cannot be upgraded much.

I have the 2013 and always felt I should have just upgraded my 2011
[doublepost=1482164264][/doublepost]BTW, you can also check out the X5680 it is a 3.33ghz, usually go for 60%-75% the price of the X5690.

I'm not sure if 12 (24 if you count virtual cores) X 0.13ghz is going to make much difference

 

[sparkie7]

No, not the same X5690/W3690 have turbo boost 3.73 GHz.

And yes, it's a good idea to max out the 2012 Mac Pro.

Xeon W3690/X5690, an SSD and a good Maxwell card, and you have a solid machine.

Do you have a link to this Xeon W3690/X5690 version? As it's not even listed on Everymac website..

Whats the difference, was this Xeon W3690/X5690 version a server version, or a special CTO/BTO?
[doublepost=1482164606][/doublepost]

Nope, not the same.

How much should one pay? Is ipowerresale a good place to get these from, are they reputable?

And I keep seeing 2010 or 2012 models, what's the difference and how can you tell them apart, anyway to tell?

 

[mikeka]

How much should one pay? Is ipowerresale a good place to get these from, are they reputable?

And I keep seeing 2010 or 2012 models, what's the difference and how can you tell them apart, anyway to tell?

This is an interesting read re mid-2010 vs 2012 models: http://tinyurl.com/j79sjqr
Not a lot of difference. A bit of a speed bump. To me it's possible the 2012 will not be obsoleted as quickly by Apple
as the 2010?.

Three years ago I bought a mid-2012 12-core 3.33ghz Pro form ipowerresale. I'm quite happy with the purchase and I'd use them again. They had an eBay presence and, at the time, were a bit flexible on listed price. The machine is great. Hasn't broken a sweat yet with the work I do (audio). I'm sure I'll get another 3-4 years at least out of the machine.
Love it!

 

[nigelbb]

Do you have a link to this Xeon W3690/X5690 version? As it's not even listed on Everymac website..

Whats the difference, was this Xeon W3690/X5690 version a server version, or a special CTO/BTO?
[doublepost=1482164606][/doublepost]/QUOTE]
There never was an Apple model shipped with a Xeon W3690/X5690 but many people have done the upgrade themselves. The fastest Apple single processor shipped used the 3.33GHz W3680 the fastest dual CPU system was the 3.06GHz model that you linked to using X5675 CPUs. The improvement in performance from 3.46GHz over the 3.06/3.33GHz systems is hardly worth the cost & hassle but if you upgrade lower speed models (especially the 4,1 dual quads core 2.26GHz model) then the performance boost is considerable.

 

[ActionableMango]

To me it's possible the 2012 will not be obsoleted as quickly by Apple as the 2010?

Possible, but I doubt it. The 2010 and 2012 are both the same model (5,1) and use the same hardware.

 

[sparkie7]

BTW, you can also check out the X5680 it is a 3.33ghz, usually go for 60%-75% the price of the X5690.

That's the single 6-core version right? Isn't the 12 core significantly more powerful?
[doublepost=1482183137][/doublepost]

This is an interesting read re mid-2010 vs 2012 models: http://tinyurl.com/j79sjqr
Not a lot of difference. A bit of a speed bump. To me it's possible the 2012 will not be obsoleted as quickly by Apple
as the 2010?.

Three years ago I bought a mid-2012 12-core 3.33ghz Pro form ipowerresale. I'm quite happy with the purchase and I'd use them again. They had an eBay presence and, at the time, were a bit flexible on listed price. The machine is great. Hasn't broken a sweat yet with the work I do (audio). I'm sure I'll get another 3-4 years at least out of the machine.
Love it!

Thanks the link says:

Even better, the "Mid-2010" and "Mid-2012" Mac Pro lines can be uniquely identified externally by the 2314-2 and 2629 EMC Number, respectively. The EMC number is located on the back of the system in small type and this is the easiest identifier to use. As always, EveryMac.com has carefully hand documented these identifiers for future reference.

-- so we're many original Apple 3.06 12-cores actually made and sold by Apple?

-- your 3.33 12-core, how do you check its a 2012 machine?
[doublepost=1482183462][/doublepost]

There never was an Apple model shipped with a Xeon W3690/X5690 but many people have done the upgrade themselves. The fastest Apple single processor shipped used the 3.33GHz W3680 the fastest dual CPU system was the 3.06GHz model that you linked to using X5675 CPUs. The improvement in performance from 3.46GHz over the 3.06/3.33GHz systems is hardly worth the cost & hassle

Thanks for clarifying. So are originally manufactured 12-core 3.06 Mac pros more sought after (by Apple purists/collectors) than a custom build 12-core 3.46 by others? And how does one tell if their 12 core 3.06 is even original and not a third party build as well?
[doublepost=1482183588][/doublepost]

Possible, but I doubt it. The 2010 and 2012 are both the same model (5,1) and use the same hardware.

There could be some validity with Apple using cut off production years as "vintage". But again how does some one tell a 2010 vs 2012 model?

 

[ActionableMango]

There could be some validity with Apple using cut off production years as "vintage". But again how does some one tell a 2010 vs 2012 model?

The EMC number I suppose.

But I don't see how Apple's vintage/obsolete policy would matter. Since the 2010 and 2012 use the same parts, they cannot stop making 2010 parts and continue to make 2012 parts at the same time. They are the same parts.

If you are worried about OS support, I suppose it's possible that the OS could poll the hardware for a serial or EMC number and then blacklist the 2010 5,1 and not the 2012 5,1. But as far as I know they've never done that--MacOS compatibility seems to be linked to specific hardware features.

 

[Synchro3]

Do you have a link to this Xeon W3690/X5690 version? As it's not even listed on Everymac website..

Whats the difference, was this Xeon W3690/X5690 version a server version, or a special CTO/BTO?

How much should one pay? Is ipowerresale a good place to get these from, are they reputable?

http://ark.intel.com/de/products/52...r-W3690-12M-Cache-3_46-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI
http://ark.intel.com/de/products/52...r-X5690-12M-Cache-3_46-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI

The Xeon W3690 and the Xeon X5690 were never installed in a official Mac Pro, so you don't find them on Everymac. Nethertheless they are the fastest CPU's of the Westmere series.

You can find them on eBay.

 

[sparkie7]

The EMC number I suppose.

If you are worried about OS support, I suppose it's possible that the OS could poll the hardware for a serial or EMC number and then blacklist the 2010 5,1 and not the 2012 5,1. But as far as I know they've never done that--MacOS compatibility seems to be linked to specific hardware features.

Ok, thanks
[doublepost=1482193699][/doublepost]

http://ark.intel.com/de/products/52...r-W3690-12M-Cache-3_46-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI
http://ark.intel.com/de/products/52...r-X5690-12M-Cache-3_46-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI

The Xeon W3690 and the Xeon X5690 were never installed in a official Mac Pro, so you don't find them on Everymac. Nethertheless they are the fastest CPU's of the Westmere series

What's the difference between the two? Most I see on eBay sport the X5690. Which one is better?

I guess from a Apple collectors view point a genuine 12-core 3.06 is more desirable. From a purely performance perspective the 12-core 3.46. But is there a performance difference that's noticeable?

 

[Synchro3]

What's the difference between the two? Most I see on eBay sport the X5690. Which one is better??

W3690 supports 56 GB RAM, x5690 64 GB RAM.no other differences.

-> W3690 CPU CANNOT BE USED in dual CPU computers.

 

[sparkie7]

W3690 supports 56 GB RAM, x5690 64 GB RAM. no other differences.

Ah ok, thanks. I thought these Mac Pros could support up to 128GB RAM ?

Where else apart from ipowerresale is worth looking for these, or are they the best there is?

Is it worth getting a wings px1 m.2 pcie card adapter to max out the SSD - any SSD recommendations?

Anything else I should add. Also is 64GB RAM enough, or is 128 overkill?

 

[h9826790]

Is it worth getting a wings px1 m.2 pcie card adapter to max out the SSD - any SSD recommendations?

Anything else I should add. Also is 64GB RAM enough, or is 128 overkill?

The big question is "For what?", otherwise, hard to tell if it's worth

 

[rueyloon]

Ah ok, thanks. I thought these Mac Pros could support up to 128GB RAM ?

Where else apart from ipowerresale is worth looking for these, or are they the best there is?

Is it worth getting a wings px1 m.2 pcie card adapter to max out the SSD - any SSD recommendations?

Anything else I should add. Also is 64GB RAM enough, or is 128 overkill?

SSD transfer speed is probably the most overhyped spec. It only comes into play when you are moving big files around, such as HDD migration etc...

I've done tests where the RAW/Data is on a SSD vs Mechanical HDD, and the final processing time taken is about the same. When processing RAW photo files or when rendering video files, the CPU is "ingesting" the files at a rather slow rate, most of the time is taken up by the CPU processing the data.

 

[orph]

a big thing you need to mention is what do you want to do on the mac pro?

work/game/hobby etc...
what apps will you be running ?

hate to say it but have you looked at mac mins for anything cpu dependent there worth looking at

 

[rawweb]

hate to say it but have you looked at mac mins for anything cpu dependent there worth looking at

Curious why you think a crummy dual core Mac Mini is good for "CPU dependent" tasks? They haven't sold quad core versions in quite some time.

 

[DPUser]

W3690 supports 56 GB RAM, x5690 64 GB RAM. no other differences.

W series CPUs CANNOT BE USED in dual CPU computers.

X series can. This is an important distinction!

 

[ActionableMango]

W series CPUs CANNOT BE USED in dual CPU computers.

X series can. This is an important distinction!

Well, not really. It's true in the specific comparison of those two CPUs that the W3690 is single proc only and the X5690 is dual proc capable.

However, there are definitely W series CPUs that can be used in dual CPU computers. For example the W5590 and W5580. In fact, dual CPUs can start with X, W, E, and L. So I don't think that's what X and W mean.

 

[DPUser]

Well, not really. It's true in the specific comparison of those two CPUs that the W3690 is single proc only and the X5690 is dual proc capable.

However, there are definitely W series CPUs that can be used in dual CPU computers. For example the W5590 and W5580. In fact, dual CPUs can start with X, W, E, and L. So I don't think that's what X and W mean.

OK, I stand corrected, but the point is still important in a discussion of W3680-90 and X5680-90 CPUs! I didn't want to see anyone led astray by the post I quoted.

 

[thats all folks]

3500/3600 series are single processor only. 5500/5600 series can be single or dual. with the reality of how little the 5600 series (specifically X5680 and X5690) chips can be had for now (used from eBay) it makes little sense, from a maximizing performance viewpoint, to get less than that.

with a pair of X5600 series CPUs, the Mac Pro can support up to 128GB RAM (8 x 16GB).