MP 7,1 Prospective Mac Pro 7,1 owner looking for advice

[SecuritySteve]

So after looking into Apple Silicon, and the uncertainty of Windows virtualization on AS macs in the future, my boss and I agree that we should upgrade my workstation to the Mac Pro 7,1 in the near future. Given that Apple has an incredibly poor record for updating the Mac Pro, and there is a processor transition in the near future, it is entirely possible this is the last intel Mac Pro. Obviously this is speculation and we could definitely be wrong - but we'd rather buy now and know what we're getting than wait.

My usage is RAM hungry, on my iMac Pro (which I will be reselling to offset the purchase cost) I use ~110 GB of RAM during peak VM usage. Buying Apple RAM is an expensive choice, and I'd like to know what the best third party RAM for the Mac Pro 7,1 is.

I'm also going to use a Sapphire Radeon 5700 XT SE that I already have in an eGPU internally. I'm not really sure what to do with the stock 580X that it comes with (wish I could remove it to dock the price...). Does anyone know of any problems with this card and the Mac Pro 7,1? I have been using it as an eGPU with no problems on my current macs.

 

[IA64]

Plenty of topics out there....

Best RAM configuration for the 2019 Mac Pro

Hey all, I am ordering my Mac Pro right now. Rather than pay Apple prices for RAM I am looking at OWC instead. They have a mind boggling array of choices in all different sizes of ram modules and chips. Is more RAM per chip best? Is more RAM sticks with smaller amounts of RAM per chip better...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[OkiRun]

So after looking into Apple Silicon, and the uncertainty of Windows virtualization on AS macs in the future, my boss and I agree that we should upgrade my workstation to the Mac Pro 7,1 in the near future. Given that Apple has an incredibly poor record for updating the Mac Pro, and there is a processor transition in the near future, it is entirely possible this is the last intel Mac Pro. Obviously this is speculation and we could definitely be wrong - but we'd rather buy now and know what we're getting than wait.

My usage is RAM hungry, on my iMac Pro (which I will be reselling to offset the purchase cost) I use ~110 GB of RAM during peak VM usage. Buying Apple RAM is an expensive choice, and I'd like to know what the best third party RAM for the Mac Pro 7,1 is.

I'm also going to use a Sapphire Radeon 5700 XT SE that I already have in an eGPU internally. I'm not really sure what to do with the stock 580X that it comes with (wish I could remove it to dock the price...). Does anyone know of any problems with this card and the Mac Pro 7,1? I have been using it as an eGPU with no problems on my current macs.

Can you tell us more about your workflow?

 

[goMac]

I'm also going to use a Sapphire Radeon 5700 XT SE that I already have in an eGPU internally. I'm not really sure what to do with the stock 580X that it comes with (wish I could remove it to dock the price...). Does anyone know of any problems with this card and the Mac Pro 7,1? I have been using it as an eGPU with no problems on my current macs.

It doesn't sound like it's an issue for you, but this card will not provide video signal to any of the onboard Thunderbolt ports. There have been some reports of fan issues, but I'm not sure if those have been resolved. You'll need the power kit, and it's going to be louder than the W5700X.

It's not completely necessary, and I'm sure others here will disagree... But the W5700X does seem like a lot less fuss if you can pay the extra for it. But if you plan on switching the GPU often I could see just going with the 5700 XT.

 

[SecuritySteve]

Can you tell us more about your workflow?

I run a few very resource intensive VMs (images that one of the companies I work for produces that I penetration test) that are RAM and CPU hungry. I also do software development for an aerospace company that is very CPU intensive to run. However I don't think there will be any practical benefit in going over 16-18 cores for the duration that I typically run test cases for. The GPU is entirely a recreational feature for me, as I do play some AAA games.

It doesn't sound like it's an issue for you, but this card will not provide video signal to any of the onboard Thunderbolt ports. There have been some reports of fan issues, but I'm not sure if those have been resolved. You'll need the power kit, and it's going to be louder than the W5700X.

It's not completely necessary, and I'm sure others here will disagree... But the W5700X does seem like a lot less fuss if you can pay the extra for it. But if you plan on switching the GPU often I could see just going with the 5700 XT.

Interesting! I didn't know there was a separate power kit that I would need to purchase. Does the machine not come with power pin cables by default? I know Apple made MPX modules to draw power from the extra lanes on the PCIe slot, but I figured they would still include power cables like most other OEMs just in case. I'm not worried about fan noise, and I wouldn't upgrade my GPU until the generation after "Big Navi" at the soonest (specs depending).

 

[goMac]

Interesting! I didn't know there was a separate power kit that I would need to purchase. Does the machine not come with power pin cables by default? I know Apple made MPX modules to draw power from the extra lanes on the PCIe slot, but I figured they would still include power cables like most other OEMs just in case. I'm not worried about fan noise, and I wouldn't upgrade my GPU until the generation after "Big Navi" at the soonest (specs depending).

Yep! Apple sells it here:

Belkin AUX Power Cable Kit for Mac Pro - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

 

[mikes79]

I haven't had any fan noise or sleep / wake from sleep issues while running this card in my 7,1. Everything seems to be working well.

SAPPHIRE 11293-03-40G Radeon NITRO+ RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 Dual HDMI / Dual DP OC (UEFI) PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card

The sapphire Nitro+ RX 5700 XT graphics card delivers a maximized 4K gaming experience for the PC Gamer packed with sapphire’s renowned high-end quality components, including our award–winning tri-x cooling solution black diamond chokes and shroud enhancements to strengthen the PCB. The Nitro + R...

www.amazon.com

 

[SecuritySteve]

I haven't had any fan noise or sleep / wake from sleep issues while running this card in my 7,1. Everything seems to be working well.

SAPPHIRE 11293-03-40G Radeon NITRO+ RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 Dual HDMI / Dual DP OC (UEFI) PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card

The sapphire Nitro+ RX 5700 XT graphics card delivers a maximized 4K gaming experience for the PC Gamer packed with sapphire’s renowned high-end quality components, including our award–winning tri-x cooling solution black diamond chokes and shroud enhancements to strengthen the PCB. The Nitro + R...

www.amazon.com

Very good to hear. I'm running the slightly OC'd SE version of this card, but this is exactly what I wanted to hear.

Yep! Apple sells it here:

You rock.

 

[OkiRun]

I run a few very resource intensive VMs (images that one of the companies I work for produces that I penetration test) that are RAM and CPU hungry. I also do software development for an aerospace company that is very CPU intensive to run. However I don't think there will be any practical benefit in going over 16-18 cores for the duration that I typically run test cases for. The GPU is entirely a recreational feature for me, as I do play some AAA games.

Then it sounds like you can get the minimal RAM and upgrade as you need - as it seems you will need lots of it and this will save a ton of money. I use NEMIX with no issues.
Looks like you can also go with the entry level GPU as you already have a replacement. If you want to have two GPUs, I would recommend the Radeon Pro Vega II that Apple offers along with the other one you are putting in.
The 16 core is what is used in my company and has been flawless. This level will let you push heavy projects the moment the computer arrives leaving two higher end (but slower) CPUs to choose from later.
Things to mull over ~

 

[triton100]

Then it sounds like you can get the minimal RAM and upgrade as you need - as it seems you will need lots of it and this will save a ton of money. I use NEMIX with no issues.
Looks like you can also go with the entry level GPU as you already have a replacement. If you want to have two GPUs, I would recommend the Radeon Pro Vega II that Apple offers along with the other one you are putting in.
The 16 core is what is used in my company and has been flawless. This level will let you push heavy projects the moment the computer arrives leaving two higher end (but slower) CPUs to choose from later.
Things to mull over ~

I thought you couldn’t mix different gpus in the 7,1 buy you say you can mix a w5700x module with a vega ii?