Mac Pro 6.1 or Mac Pro 5.1 - Which one?

[Maatsi]

Hi!

I'm looking for a new mac. Mainly gonna use it for Logic Pro X, and some gaming in bootcamp on the side.

I have to choose between these two:

Mac Pro 6,1 (Wants 1800 USD for it)
Quad Core 3.7GHZ
16GB Ram
250GB SSD
2 x AMD FirePro 0300 2GB

Mac Pro 5,1 (Wants 1300 USD for it)
12 Core 2.66GHZ
12 GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB
500GB SSD
3x 250GB HDD

 

[pat500000]

5,1 would be great

 

[tpivette89]

Both are too expensive for the specs offered, in my opinion.

 

[Maatsi]

Both are too expensive for the specs offered, in my opinion.

True. Sadly they cost a bit more in my country compared to the US. These were the cheapest I could find of second hand mac pros where I live.

 

[tpivette89]

True. Sadly they cost a bit more in my country compared to the US. These were the cheapest I could find of second hand mac pros where I live.

Ah, sorry. Didn't look at your profile first to see where you are from.

Just for comparison, in the US, there is a dual CPU 4,1 for sale on my local craigslist for $399. Been up for a few weeks, so price is likely negotiable. Easily turned into a 5,1 and can upgrade to dual X5680s for around $80 off Ebay.

Also, there was a 6,1 with the exact same specs as what you listed above for $1000. That one sold quickly, however.

 

[Maatsi]

Ah, sorry. Didn't look at your profile first to see where you are from.

Just for comparison, in the US, there is a dual CPU 4,1 for sale on my local craigslist for $399. Been up for a few weeks, so price is likely negotiable. Easily turned into a 5,1 and can upgrade to dual X5680s for around $80 off Ebay.

Also, there was a 6,1 with the exact same specs as what you listed above for $1000. That one sold quickly, however.

Well, that is some really good prices compared to here in Norway haha.

 

[Flocarino]

5.1 all the way

 

[fastlanephil]

On the average you’re going have more track count headroom in Logic with the 5,1, especially if you upgrade the CPUs. So I think it depends on how large your Logic projects are and if you’re mostly doing audio recording and using some effect plugins or working with samples that will probably put a much larger load on the CPU. The 2018 Mac Mini beats out a fast 12-core 5,1 Mac Pro in Geekbench but the Mac Pro beats it handily in Logic benchmark track count tests. At least the scores I’ve seen.

 

[thornslack]

5,1 hands down.

Also the 6,1 sucks for gaming and getting the drivers working for the graphics cards is a headache for mediocre performance.

The 5770 isn’t great but the benefit of the 5,1s physical pcie slots means you can drop any graphics card you want in there for upgraded performance.

 

[mcnallym]

If it's a genuine 5,1 then CPU upgrades aren't difficult as standard CPU's on Dual System. 4,1 used de-lidded CPU's so a bit more tricky.

However an upgrade to dual x5680/5690's with an RX580 should do well.

Personally would be more inclined to look at what Apple do with iMac before jumping on a 5,1 now. I have a 5,1 and looking at upgrading ( single CPU and video encoding slowing ). So seeing what the iMac does in 2019 or possibly a Z390 Designare with i9 9900K CPU hackintosh.