New Mac Pro: Simultaneous Real-Time 4K Effect Rendering, +900MB/s Read/Write

[Woodcrest64]

My only concern for those that buy the new Mac Pro with Mavericks and using external storage is the random ejects of USB, Firewire and Thunderbolt drives. I'm betting for those who use these Mac Pros are going to be writing and reading large files to and from external drives.

I have had issues with my Retina Macbook Pro ejecting my USB 3 drives as well as other people here. Seems like this phenomenon started happening after Snow Leopard.

Now some people obviously have had bad cables or drives. However there are many people that had tried different drives, cables and macs that have seen this problem to no end. That's what I'm going to pick up a Drobo NAS soon. I just find external drives to unreliable under OSX.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5508278?start=60&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2151621?start=450&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4250547?start=15&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3119273?start=30&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2516325?start=15&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23541074#23541074

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1415287/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1506565/

 

[flat five]

Ya.. you probably need a pretty nice GPU (7970) that does well with opneCL.. and an SSD giving you 900 MB/s.

right.. i was more saying if you're a fcp user with a 5,1..
you'd see much better performance enhancements via upgrading to nFC as opposed to nMP.

..or, do both. idc

 

[tkatz]

refer to the post above yours.

Which part? The part about not supporting crossfire/sli (which is pointless for video editing), or the part where its suggested to use nVidia's proprietary CUDA over OpenCL?

Like I said, 4k red raw files with 18 filters applied and no hardware decoder… not sure how some people are missing how crazy that is.

----------

http://store.apple.com/us/product/H...kless-4bay-thunderbolt-2-raid-system?fnode=5f

Not cheap but hey, we're talking about peripherals for Apple products. Nothing comes cheap.

You wouldn't want to just throw any disks into that. It's a hardware raid (I believe anyway, got the 8tb one, pretty impressed so far with it just on my rMBP), and unless the disks are set up with a low timeout on a bad sector (ie 'enterprise drives'), bad things can happen. Also wouldn't want to mix different kinds of hdd's/ssd's in it.

 

[hpe]

Someone finally gets it. The AMD cards are just ridiculous hardware choices, and the fact they can't be changed/not included is daft.
OSX doesn't even support crossfire/SLI, maybe it'll be added one day but still, the cards could work much better together.

Its a lovely machine, but nvidia would be a far better option for Apple just to go ahead and update all their pro apps to take full advantage of CUDA.

No, for gaming nVidia might be better. If you buy the high end cards (Quadro and Tesla, NOT GeForce) for Cuda, they are better for GPGPU work. AMD enthusiast cards (NOT FirePro) are much better at GPGPU than GeForce because nVidia crippled the double precision handling in GeForce not to cannibalise the sales of the pricier cards.

Apple is one of the stronger pushers for OpenCL. Right now Cuda is better but only because of better tooling and first mover advantage. Apple is making their own CPU's now (A7) and in the little longer perspective I think they want to make use of OpenCL in that segment as well. They don't get that benefit if they leave their fortune in nVidia's hands. What Apple really need to step up now is the OpenCL tooling in Xcode. OpenCL has the potential to kick Cuda's butt, even though it doesn't yet but that is due to lack of tooling as stated.

Also, remember that Intel is getting better and better at graphics (sure they are way behind, but their progress the last year is stronger than the other two players). OpenCL speeds up computations if you have an Iris or Iris Pro in your system. If no discrete GPU from nVidia, Cuda does diddly squat. Oh, also FPGA systems are getting OpenCL support, look at what Altera are doing. Seriously, it is like saying DirectX is better than Open GL. Sure it is... on Windows...

 

[jlasoon]

So cnet has a review up and under "the bad" they say:


This makes no sense to me. That's like dinging an HP workstation because it doesn't appeal to a Chromebook buyer. Plus it's not like Apple doesn't offer computers for home consumers (iMac, MacBook Air/Pro, Mac Mini come to mind). Why are some tech sites treating the nMP as if it's something that should be suitable (and thus cheaper) for the average Joe who owns an iPhone or iPad? To me this is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and come up with something negative.

Listen, the product is intended for 0.000000000000001% of computer users. Just like the current government monthly stimulus QE program is intended for the bankers on Wall Street. This is not a product for the average Apple user. They might sell a few, but other than that don't expect this to be a revolutionary product.

The average personal debt in Europe is hovering around 100%. It's 115% in the United States and 160% in Canada. No one has any money left. Everyone is broke. Like I said this is a product intended for the very few. The average Joe has to worry about dinner, not some modern minimalistic computer design.

There's a reason the computer is being assembled in the United States.

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

It seems faster than the benchmarks lead us to believe.

 

[Lynxpoint]

This is one amazing piece of hardware, especially for those that can make use of the power.

Watching that vid takes me back to another time video processing blew my mind - when I saw a DEC Alpha (remember those) based machine playback video on the six sides of a cube while the cube spun randomly without any freezes or dropped frames.

 

[chirpie]

Speed isn't everything, and lets be real here. HD TVs are still filling out the market place, less than .01% has a tv that can display 4k.

Think outside your regular TV. Many devices have a larger resolution than 1080p. (Every 27inch iMac for one.) I for one would like having the higher resolution higher bitrate options available today, even if they're not full 4K yet. (1,440p is a nice inbetween option for a lot of monitors when watching from the web.) I'm glad companies like Netflix is delivering House of Cards in 4k next year. I think it makes sense to have content before the device. No one buys a video game system with only 5 games to buy. ;-)

It might feel like it's a long ways off, but for someone buying a computer that's supposed to last a few years, it'll be just about right.

 

[MacSumo]

can't you get similarly good performance for less the price by building your own system?

 

[chirpie]

can't you get similarly good performance for less the price by building your own system?

Oh how I wish.

http://www.futurelooks.com/new-apple-mac-pro-can-build-better-cheaper-pc-diy-style/3/

 

[lolkthxbai]

I can't get the video to play. It says playback error. I'm on iOS on iPhone 5. Can anyone confirm playback on iOS?

 

[watakoola]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/H...kless-4bay-thunderbolt-2-raid-system?fnode=5f

Not cheap but hey, we're talking about peripherals for Apple products. Nothing comes cheap.

Thank you, Constable Odo.
That's a more reasonable pricing! I suppose all existing Mac Pro users in my situation need to get used to the new paradigm of spending a ton of $$$ just to use their existing bits'n'pieces in the new trash can.

If I'd known Apple would completely pull the previous model from sale I would have purchased one quite happily to replace my 2.1 Mac Pro. The 'old' model would be more than acceptable to last me for 4-5 years.

 

[jayducharme]

I'm very impressed by the results so far. One thing that surprised me, though, is that Apple didn't include a security slot. They even have one for the Mini; it seems like a $3000 unit should have that simple security feature.

 

[Sitti]

I was in market for new workstation last year and wanted to buy Mac Pro, but back then it was still the old outdated one. I went with HP Z820. Seeing this new Mac Pro makes me feel glad that I didn't wait for it.

 

[Phrygian]

I'm very impressed by the results so far. One thing that surprised me, though, is that Apple didn't include a security slot. They even have one for the Mini; it seems like a $3000 unit should have that simple security feature.

you mean a lock? Pretty sure the bolt cutters would be worth the purchase.

 

[Renzatic]

Oh how I wish.

http://www.futurelooks.com/new-apple-mac-pro-can-build-better-cheaper-pc-diy-style/3/

They do bring up the one fly in the otherwise sexy smooth ointment that is the Mac Pro

The other downside is longevity and upgradeability. Unlike the previous generation Mac Pro, the new Mac Pro will not have the ability to upgrade with off the shelf components. The GPUs are for sure proprietary, and based on what we’ve seen on the CPU side from the previous generation, it not only may be soldered on, but it might have the thermal cap removed, preventing a retail upgrade, even if it isn’t soldered. Folks that have been keeping their Mac Pros alive with readily available, industry standard, upgrades may not be able to keep this new Mac Pro around as long. Especially in situations where time is money and you really do need the latest GPUs and CPUs, which seem to get faster/better even more quickly these days. Buying an entirely new machine every couple years seems like the option with the new Mac Pro.

This is the one biggest issue most people have with the machine. There's no denying it's well built, sleek, and stylish. And now we know it could potentially save you $2000 than a DIY PC equivalent.

But the up front savings might be mooted later when you go to upgrade. The workstation market is always slapping new CPUs and GPUs in their machines to extend the shelf life on their investment without having to break the bank every 3-4 years. There are people using older Mac Pros now who can still do their jobs fairly quickly because they've upgraded individual parts to keep up with the jonses.

This won't be the case with the new Mac Pro. When it comes time to upgrade to the latest and greatest in about 3 years, you'll have no other choice but to dump another $10,000 for an entirely new machine, rather than spend an extra $2000 on a new CPU/GPU combo.

Whether this becomes a huge issue or not remains to be seen. But for an entirely industry built around flexibility and upgradeability, having a static, unalterable machine does seem kind of a weird fit.

 

[tkatz]

I was in market for new workstation last year and wanted to buy Mac Pro, but back then it was still the old outdated one. I went with HP Z820. Seeing this new Mac Pro makes me feel glad that I didn't wait for it.

Base model is $4400 and comes with a quad core cpu, 16gb ram, 7200 rpm hdd, and a single 3gb quadro card… and people are complaining about the lower end mac pro's?

I know I know.. the HP is upgradable. And I see you can get a dual 12c for $10k, with 16gb ram, 240gb ssd and no video card. I understand the upgradability part, but the price… how is that better?

Edit: Sorry I see the base model is $2400, with 4gb ram ….

 

[flat five]

I can't get the video to play. It says playback error. I'm on iOS on iPhone 5. Can anyone confirm playback on iOS?

works here
4s os6

 

[clibinarius]

Apple has clearly abandoned the professional market!

/s

I really think they could've done better. I would prefer this to be a mid-range product for various reasons.

Most of the applications here have been doable on Windows since 2011...so Apple has caught up with 2012/13. Yawn.

I believe a tower makes more sense for pros. That's why the cube died the first time, isn't it?

 

[Mark Booth]

I ran Blackmagic's Speed Test on the 1TB SSD in my new 27" iMac (also PCI based, but a slower bus):

Read: 712.2MB/s
Write: 695.5MB/s

I can live with that!

Mark

 

[iSee]

Woah.

Half my brain is trying to convince the other half (the rational half) that I need one of these! But dang it, it just doesn't make sense. A bleeping iMac will do everything thing I need (and rarely take significantly longer than this beast would). A new Mac Pro would probably actually hurt my productivity because I'd waste time every day polishing it and running benchmarks so I could marvel at the results.

 

[Mechanic]

My main complaint is that you can't swap out the "cards" to upgrade. It seems that they will probably keep the design the same, and just upgrade the internals. If you could just swap GPU's, or swap the CPU/motherboard without having to replace the whole system it would be a lot nicer.

Your complaints are mute. The xeon on the daughter card in the new mac pro has to have a FCLGA2011 socket. Intel does not make a Xeon with a solder on array. They are all socketed. Which means the processor is upgradeable and removable. The AMD W9000 GPU's (A.K.A. D700's) are on daughter cards as well. Apple has always sold an upgrade path for the GPU's in all mac pros themselves because they are an OEM partner with AMD and Nvidia. (that means they can make there own cards).
Here is a link to the 12 core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2697 v2 in the mac pro from Intels ark page for what I posted above. http://ark.intel.com/products/75283/

Also here is a link to the picture of the FCLGA2011 Socket
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Socket_2011_IMGP3918.jpg

 

[Renzatic]

Woah.

Half my brain is trying to convince the other half (the rational half) that I need one of these! But dang it, it just doesn't make sense. A bleeping iMac will do everything thing I need (and rarely take significantly longer than this beast would). A new Mac Pro would probably actually hurt my productivity because I'd waste time every day polishing it and running benchmarks so I could marvel at the results.

Think of it like this. It's really fast, and you won't be using half of what it offers. But if you get one, you won't have to upgrade for YEEEAARRRSS.

And unlike an iMac, if your screen goes bad, you don't have to buy another $2000+ computer. Just another $300 - $500 monitor.

 

[Riverrun]

I have to laugh at the jeering hyenas and the gibbering orcs on this thread. The begrudgery is all in vain. This is a matchless piece of engineering and the hatred on display here cannot take away from that. There isn't another company on the planet that can so effectively combine form and function and come up with such an exquisite and powerful creation; we all know it. Let the haters hiss and jeer, the quality of this machine speaks for itself.

 

[chirpie]

They do bring up the one fly in the otherwise sexy smooth ointment that is the Mac Pro



This is the one biggest issue most people have with the machine. There's no denying it's well built, sleek, and stylish. And now we know it could potentially save you $2000 than a DIY PC equivalent.

But the up front savings might be mooted later when you go to upgrade. The workstation market is always slapping new CPUs and GPUs in their machines to extend the shelf life on their investment without having to break the bank every 3-4 years. There are people using older Mac Pros now who can still do their jobs fairly quickly because they've upgraded individual parts to keep up with the jonses.

This won't be the case with the new Mac Pro. When it comes time to upgrade to the latest and greatest in about 3 years, you'll have no other choice but to dump another $10,000 for an entirely new machine, rather than spend an extra $2000 on a new CPU/GPU combo.

Whether this becomes a huge issue or not remains to be seen. But for an entirely industry built around flexibility and upgradeability, having a static, unalterable machine does seem kind of a weird fit.

I still say wait and see on this. Others are darn sure these concerns are wrong (see a few posts above this one) but I'll feel better when someone has actually tested it and it works. I dunno, I'm cautious that way. ;-)