MP 7,1 Is it worth buying a MacPro7.1?

[Krisz]

Hello
Since MacPro 5.1 does not support AVX, I thought about replacing it with 7.1
Apple will completely end support for Intel machines next year, I would like to ask for help from knowledgeable people
There will be third-party developments even though the system will no longer be supported ?
By this I mean the browser, VLC, etc., the complete cessation of application development for Intel-based Macs will occur?
I don't care about the demise of the Safari browser because I don't use it anymore due to its unstable operation.
But other browsers like Vivaldi will still be available?
Sorry if I'm confusing you, but it's not easy with Google Translate...
The point is, if I buy a 7.1 system now, how long will I be able to use it?
I definitely need a machine that can run Windows as well as MacOS
and the last such Mac is 7.1 if I remember correctly
The 7.1 MacPro can accept PC video cards without editing the firmware (RX 6xxx).
And the SSD is just as problematic as the 5.1 MacPro?
SSD no longer has the compatibility issues like 5.1?

Sorry for the bad wording.
Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[tsialex]

Hello
Since MacPro 5.1 does not support AVX, I thought about replacing it with 7.1
Apple will completely end support for Intel machines next year, I would like to ask for help from knowledgeable people
There will be third-party developments even though the system will no longer be supported ?
By this I mean the browser, VLC, etc., the complete cessation of application development for Intel-based Macs will occur?

macOS versions are supported by the year of release and two additional years.

Said that, only recently browsers started to remove Catalina support (Brave/Chrome does not support Catalina anymore). So, you got a lot of unofficial support by developers.

I don't care about the demise of the Safari browser because I don't use it anymore due to its unstable operation.
But other browsers like Vivaldi will still be available?
Sorry if I'm confusing you, but it's not easy with Google Translate...
The point is, if I buy a 7.1 system now, how long will I be able to use it?

At least 3 years from September 2025.

I definitely need a machine that can run Windows as well as MacOS
and the last such Mac is 7.1 if I remember correctly

Yes.

The 7.1 MacPro can accept PC video cards without editing the firmware (RX 6xxx).

Yes.

And the SSD is just as problematic as the 5.1 MacPro?
SSD no longer has the compatibility issues like 5.1?

Sorry for the bad wording.
Thank you in advance for any help.

Usually the same compatibilities SSD wise with some exceptions. What usually doesn't work with a MacPro5,1 most frequently also doesn't work with a MacPro7,1.

 

[Krisz]

macOS versions are supported by the year of release and two additional years.

Said that, only recently browsers started to remove Catalina support (Brave/Chrome does not support Catalina anymore). So, you got a lot of unofficial support by developers.



At least 3 years from September 2025.



Yes.



Yes.



Usually the same compatibilities SSD wise with some exceptions. What usually doesn't work with a MacPro5,1 most frequently also doesn't work with a MacPro7,1.

Thanks for the help

Then I guess I wouldn't be able to use the Samsung 870 SSD with the MacPro 7.1 either
Even now, 7.1 is expensive and then I would have to buy a PCI-E M2 NVME adapter, which is also not cheap.
I still have to think about buying this MacPro 7.1

 

[tsialex]

Thanks for the help

Then I guess I wouldn't be able to use the Samsung 870 SSD with the MacPro 7.1 either

Some people have the 870EVO connected via a PCIe card and seems to works fine when installed this way. Since 2019 Mac Pro only have two native SATA ports and requires a cage to install any 3,5/2,5 drives, most people usually prefer to install big HDDs instead.

Even now, 7.1 is expensive and then I would have to buy a PCI-E M2 NVME adapter, which is also not cheap.
I still have to think about buying this MacPro 7.1

There are single PCIe M.2 adapters from $10…

Same restrictions for cards that have multiple blades, PCIe switch required. Intel PCIe Lane Partition not supported.

 

[Regulus67]

Then I guess I wouldn't be able to use the Samsung 870 SSD with the MacPro 7.1 either

I have a 1TB installed in my Mac Pro, connected to the SATA port (Promise Pegasus J2i). Together with the original Toshiba 8TB HD.

 

[Krisz]

Thank you for the answers.
I wouldn't want to use old HDDs because they are too slow.
If I decide to buy the MacPro7.1, I would prefer to use 2 SSDs, one for MacOS and one for Windows.
I thought that if MacOS becomes unusable, I will switch to Linux
Linux will be supported for a very long time, but I want to use MacOS as long as possible.
Could you please send me some links to Pcie cards that are compatible with MacPro 7.1?
SSD and NVME are also possible

Thank you in advance.

 

[MacHeritage]

Both OWC: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/lineup#pcie
and Sonnet Tech: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/computer-cards/cards.html
make PCI cards that are compatible with the 7,1.
There is also Trans International that carries some PCI cards and makes other add-ons for the Mac Pro 2019+: https://www.transintl.com

That is a start.

 

[Krisz]

Both OWC: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/lineup#pcie
and Sonnet Tech: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/computer-cards/cards.html
make PCI cards that are compatible with the 7,1.
There is also Trans International that carries some PCI cards and makes other add-ons for the Mac Pro 2019+: https://www.transintl.com

That is a start.

Thanks

This may be a really stupid question, but isn't there an emulator that will be able to run applications written for ARM processors on Intel machines?

 

[CanPhantom]

Thanks

This may be a really stupid question, but isn't there an emulator that will be able to run applications written for ARM processors on Intel machines?

You mean like a backwards Rosetta? Sounds unlikely.

 

[Krisz]

You mean like a backwards Rosetta? Sounds unlikely.

It wouldn't be bad
But then Linux will remain

 

[avkills]

The only use case I could see as a positive for buying a 7.1 is that you want to be able to boot Windows. Although I am guessing in a couple years we will be able to do the same thing on the ARM Macs.

Tons of PCI bandwidth and slots I guess is also a plus.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

It all sounds like far too much trouble to me. IMO it makes much more sense to use Mac Studios plus Windows PCs until Apple releases its next Mac Pro. Leave the old Mac Pros for those folks who have legacy workflows already running on them.

 

[mattspace]

The only use case I could see as a positive for buying a 7.1 is that you want to be able to boot Windows. Although I am guessing in a couple years we will be able to do the same thing on the ARM Macs.

Virtualising Intel versions of macOS - that seems / seemed to be a blind spot for all the hypervisors on Apple Silicon.