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I do in fact work in the film industry, and I do in fact know what I am talking about. The base model Mac Pro is simply terrible value. For a 3D workstation, we need many cores and multiple high end GPUs. To get that in a Mac Pro, you have to basically tripple or quadruple the the price of the base model Mac Pro.

We can get systems that are *faster* for our tasks (see 32 core Threadripper and dual RTX-enables GPUs) than a maxed out Mac Pro for a good bit less than the Mac Pro base model.
Why don't you list the EXACT system you use? CPU, MB, RAM, storage, GPU and so on...
 
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I configured a PC on PC Specialist

Any next day on-site support? How are the acoustics? Does it have Energy Star/EPEAT certification?

two 11gb RTX 2080s,

Not comparable, you have to spec the Quadros. Main thing is Nvidia locks out some features on the gaming cards, like limiting video encoding, GPUDirect RDMA, and compute modes which allow for kernel runtimes > 5 seconds, and unified memory addressing. And technically, it's illegal to use a Geforce in a datacenter.

The RTX 2080 has cooling issues with adjacent slots if they're the standard twin fan design, the Quadros all use rear exit blowers, which are necessary for high-density low-noise systems. The Quadro RTX 4000 (2070 equivalent) is also single-slot, allowing for higher density.

We have servers with Xeons that are basically 8 netbook cores because the problems they run offload nearly completely to the GPU. No point in wasting money and power.

When you deal with real professional computing, you tune your systems to the problems. We're not amateurs that show off blinking LEDs in a window case and synthetic benchmark numbers.
 
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You can only configure two GPUs?

What if you need eight for GPU compute applications?

Defect circled in red? Looks like a piece of rubber seal.
 

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LOL!!!! Post your benchmarks to back up that statement. OMG that is false and misleading. You do not work in film, not possible.

Sure. Attached here is the Threadripper vs the top of the line Xeon. The Xeon is vastly more expensive and is slower.

Same for the GPUs. For rendering, the RTX cores can be used to perform raytracing much faster. The BTO GPUs for the Mac Pro don’t have hardware raytracing.
 

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The Mac Pro arrives in an absolutely massive box weighing over 85 pounds, so getting it out of the packaging is no simple task.

Is this a typo? Item weighs ~40lbs, unless they’re shipping in a Pelican case I cannot imagine the box and packing materials are 45lbs+.
 
Yeah, CUDA is a current thing. It got that way after YEARS of trial and error and still not perfect. But, perfect enough to build an industry around it. Apple's Metal API has a very long way to go before it's going to be adopted and supported in actual workflows. Apple doesn't have enough skin in the game to be a force of change in 3D anyway... We've moved on and that's sad but true.
 
Sure. Attached here is the Threadripper vs the top of the line Xeon. The Xeon is vastly more expensive and is slower.

Same for the GPUs. For rendering, the RTX cores can be used to perform raytracing much faster. The BTO GPUs for the Mac Pro don’t have hardware raytracing.
Hmmm.

Nothing like comparing the just released Threadripper to a 2 year old Xeon. The Xeon in the Mac Pro has a significantly higher max clock (4.4GHz vs 3.7GHz), has 28 cores (vs 24) and has literally double the cache (66MB vs 33MB). Not sure why you're claiming the one used in your chart is "the top of the line Xeon".
 
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Yeah, CUDA is a current thing. It got that way after YEARS of trial and error and still not perfect. But, perfect enough to build an industry around it. Apple's Metal API has a very long way to go before it's going to be adopted and supported in actual workflows. Apple doesn't have enough skin in the game to be a force of change in 3D anyway... We've moved on and that's sad but true.

And a problem is that Metal won't be available in the datacenter or on cloud providers like Amazon, so nobody will invest in it for the real heavy lifting. CUDA lets you prototype on your desktop and send the same code to the cluster.
 
Any next day on-site support? How are the acoustics? Does it have Energy Star/EPEAT certification?

Nice try moving the goal posts. And even then it doesn’t work for you. The Mac Pro doesn’t have next day on-sight support either

Not comparable, you have to spec the Quadros.
No I don’t. I get almost zero benefit from a Quadro. We had them in the past and they were no better for our tasks than standard GeForce cards. we don’t run a data enter, we make 3d vis and animations.

The RTX 2080 TI’s are used for their hardware raytracing, which makes them amazing value. All the theoretical benefits of a Quadro are just that - theoretical, and certainly not good value.
 
Corporations are going to buy the high end versions and are not comparing to do it yourself models. They want guaranteed reliability with Apple support backing. $50k is a bargain compared to the high end Dell and HP workstations that run around $70k.
 
Hmmm.

Nothing like comparing the just released Threadripper to a 2 year old Xeon. The Xeon in the Mac Pro has a significantly higher max clock (4.4GHz vs 3.7GHz), has 28 cores (vs 24) and has literally double the cache (66MB vs 33MB). Not sure why you're claiming the one used in your chart is "the top of the line Xeon".

Pretty sure the top CPU option in the M.P. is the Intel Xeon Platinum 8180 2.5 GHz 28-Core Processor, no?

in rendering tests, the Threadripper has it beat, hands down. Sorry.
 
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Pretty sure the top CPU option in the M.P. is the Intel Xeon Platinum 8180 2.5 GHz 28-Core Processor, no?

in rendering tests, the Threadripper has it beat, hands down. Sorry.

Wrong. They're one generation newer, Cascade Lake, models x2xx. A major factor is faster RAM than the Skylake you cited, along with higher clock speeds and hardware mitigations for speculative execution vulnerabilities.

They're also Xeon W, not SP, but those are the same die.
 
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The iPhone is faster at many things than the base model Mac Pro.


The iphone does everything "smoothly", meaning the UI is speed limited...a scrolling screen can only move so far per screen refresh...so it meets the definition of "smooth" as determined by Apple. (And there are other slow downs in the UI to improve visuals...)

If this feature makes you happy, then great. But there are plenty of things that can be done faster on a way obsolete android...than on iOS. Therefore my way obsolete tablet is faster than a Mac Pro??

But admittedly, putting a mac pro in your pocket will take considerably longer than it takes to put an iphone in your pocket....so maybe you are partly right?
 
The iphone does everything "smoothly", meaning the UI is speed limited...a scrolling screen can only move so far per screen refresh...so it meets the definition of "smooth" as determined by Apple. (And there are other slow downs in the UI to improve visuals...)

If this feature makes you happy, then great. But there are plenty of things that can be done faster on a way obsolete android...than on iOS. Therefore my way obsolete tablet is faster than a Mac Pro??

But admittedly, putting a mac pro in your pocket will take considerably longer than it takes to put an iphone in your pocket....so maybe you are partly right?

No idea what your point is. I am talking about CPU performance.
 
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This thread is really off the rails at this point. Billrey, you haven't helped your point, which has merit, by taking a combative tone from the outset. It has been true for ages and ages, that if you want to build the absolute highest-spec machine possible, especially for 3D work, you are probably better off with a PC. The fact that you can use AMD or Intel processors, whichever is best at the moment, and the fact that you can use either AMD or NVIDIA GPUs, whichever is best at the moment, pretty much always has made it that a top-specced PC will beat a Mac, and sometimes do it at a price savings. None of this is new at all, and the new shiny Mac Pro doesn't change it. I mean JFC, 3ds Max isn't even available on OS X. Can we move on?

However, what also hasn't changed, is that for many pro media users, many of whom are still on Macs and will not leave Macs no matter what (and probably have plenty of good reasons for taking this stance), there is finally a new game in town, if you want a powerhouse machine. Yes, many of these people will be doing high-end photo and video work, motion gfx, audio, color, compositing, etc. etc. But the fact is, if someone's particular Mac-based workflow can benefit tremendously from having many cores, from having multiple GPUs, way more maximum (and faster) RAM, from having more interface/networking options, more internal storage, etc. etc., these new boxes are the HOTTTTT ****! That is also a fact.

I swear to god, you're on a forum for around 2 decades, and the same platform troll battles go on, and on, and on. They don't change. It's all so banal, but I guess that describes the state of the world in so many ways these days.
 
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The Threadripper is still faster than it. For a fraction of the cost.

With a name like "thread ripper"....that is totally "pro"...i mean, not at all targeted at gamers obsessed with benchmarks...

And that 5 million watt amp in your car stereo is totally a better product than some measely 300watt professional amp that weighs 4x and costs considerably more.
 
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