Some assistance selecting a new Mac Pro, please!

I have been a long-time Mac user, since 1991 anyway. I have always had good Macs - but never had a need to get the professional macs.
Today, I think I'm ready for a Mac Pro. I'm tired of constantly having to buy things to make my Macbook Pro 2.4GHz Penryn fit my lifestyle. i.e. having FW ports on the wrong side of the machine, and the smaller display, and having to use a slow external HDD for Time Machine. I'm also ready to be able to upgrade and expand my Mac without buying a new one every year... and a new 23" HD screen would be nice as well.
I do a lot of web development, and want a machine that stays on 24hrs a day. I will use it for Aperture, CS3, testing sites across platforms (OS X, XP, Vista, Linux), DVD creation, streaming movies and media to my Apple TV, recording off-air TV with a tuner. I also convert ALOT of video from clients in to Flash Video Format, which can be time consuming on a Macbook Pro as well as heating the sucker up to no end!
I don't : play video games (except the occasional Sim City-type game), or a Halo break for 5 mins - but I WOULD if we had better Mac games!
Also don't do any 3D rendering, professional photography, etc...
So, to the question :
Is a single 2.8GHz a huge downgrade from a dual 2.8GHz Xeon? Will I see a lot faster video conversion times with the dual? For the apps I use (mainly CS3 suite doing print work, web work, etc...), will there be much of a difference between the two machines for what I'm doing?
Appreciate the info... thanks in advance for the replies!

Today's Penryn already can dynamically increase frequency and voltage on one core when the other is idle, to improve single threaded performance. and Intel is still making improvements to Xeon Penryn.
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/15467
Compressor 3 is one app that has been tweaked for multi-core.
That is somewhat the exception (see below)
http://www.google.com/search?q=applecompressor3
QuickTime? not much.
“Nehalem, then, is all about replacing the plumbing with very wide pipes and beefing up the pump in order to take full advantage of all this new capacity; this way, the execution engine can get much closer to reaching its full potential.”
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/what-you-need-to-know-about-nehalem.a rs
the single biggest change and performance gain (made in the core) is simultaneous multi-threading which could improve server workloads anywhere in the range of 10-40%. http://realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT040208182719
Nehalem is about 33.5% faster clock-for-clock than the Core 2 Quad Q9450 on average... the integrated triple-channel DDR3 memory controller does wonders, nearly doubling memory bandwidth http://techreport.com/discussions.x/14874
Larrabee high-performance parallel processing and graphics power architecture will allow it to accelerate anything from high-definition video and audio processing
will be compatible with DirectX and OpenGL application programming interfaces. Intel will be pushing for different rendering paradigms like ray tracing, the company won't have to wait on developers to make its silicon useful to gamers—Larrabee should be able to run existing games. Larrabee's design could also make it well-suited to the hybrid rasterization/ray tracing
... you may be disappointed to find that this system's eight fast CPU cores can't always outrun the top single-socket quad-core systems.
The reality is that only certain types of applications will fully harness the power of a system this exotic—and we are, by and large, using the best examples of widely multi-threaded software we could find in their respective categories. Programs that don't scale well beyond four threads are the norm, not the exception. That's both a developer support problem and a computer science one; extracting performance from multiple CPU cores can be difficult.

Similar Messages

New Mac Pro performance versus a Dual 1.8 ghz G5

I just wanted to give some feedback of my new Mac Pro experience and hopefully get some feedback about it.
I recently updated to from a 1.8 dual core G5 to a 3.0 dual quad core Intel machine. In "core" processing (burning from disk and encoding) is sustainably faster (from 30 mins to 10 mins when encoding). The biggest disappointment is just the day to day operation. It isn't faster. I wanted to see Photoshop, iTunes and other programs to just jump up when I launch them (they just take as long to load maybe a little faster) and other just basic mac processes to work really quickly but the speed of the interface is the same as it is on my powermac. It still is paging my hard drive and isn't loading all my data when I do searches (I probably need to leave it running over night to get the hard drive completely paged). I have had this weird fan issue that makes the fans ALOT louder than my powermac (have read many posts here about that issue). Also have been having weird midi issues where my fire wire speakers don't work when I put the computer to sleep and wake it and I have plug my headphones in multiple times before they will be recognized by the computer.
My intial feeling is that the operating system hasn't been fully built up around the mac pro as it is for the powermac. I feel that the powermac was more "integrated" with the Os.
I also have heard that the new version of the OS is supposed to make better use the core processers. Therefore making tasks like hard drive searches and program launching faster. My fear is that part of using the core processors is on software like Adobe to write code to use them.
I have been on the phone with Apple about the speaker issue. I think I'm just going to bring my speakers into a Apple Store and repeat my issue. I also want to see if my headphone port is messed up (because it takes the headphones but seems "loose").
Thanks for listening to my concerns.

Migration Assistant, we began to see a year ago, was causing most systems to run like molasses and sluggish. So that is #1. There is no way to really see the potential at all with 1GB of RAM and 2GB gets it at least off the starvation diet.
8GB (4 x 2? 8 x 1?) if you use large files (750MB and above) AND you then use the "enable VM Buffer plug-in" from Adobe.
If you were use to using a 750GB drive, that would also help explain why. if you hate launching... don't - just leave them up.... or boot off a RAID.
but be sure to set PS scratch to another drive than boot drive if possible.
When you stop seeing swap files and pageouts, then you know that you are a step further. Tiger or Leopard can still use available memory for cache or for virtual scratch space to some extent that also can improve performance... once running.
You'll want to reformat the 750GB drive to native GUID/GPL partition map from the PPC/APL it has.
I don't even keep /users on boot drive (its there, just in case a program thinks it needs to be there) but ~/ home is on 2nd drive or RAID, just to insure that the boot drive can do its thing and not get slowed down by also having to serve for other tasks and programs.
The new Seagate 7200.11 750/1000GB drive has better multi-user functionality, though the Hitachi seems to be faster overall, except... not all Hitachi models work well on Mac Pro (or didn't as I don't keep up). Which is why I have been using strictly WD Raptor and Caviar (RE/RE2 and SE16) for the last year, they seem to be okay (and some el cheapo MaxLine Pro based on price).
Today, 2 x 1GB costs a mere $139, while a year ago it would have set someone back $700-800.

New Mac Pro for photography (raw edition).

Hi,
I want to buy the new Mac Pro in december for use as my main works station. I work mainly with Photoshop CS6 and Capture one, editing/retouching big amounts of RAW and TIFF files from Nikon and Hasselblad.
Im thinking in buy the 6 cores version with 16Gb or 32Gb if I get the money, (I think the 16Gb is the basic configuration for the six core and looks really good). Like this is a big investment for me, I was wondering if this will be the right configuration for my work. I am a photographer and an advanced retoucher. But I'm not sure if the 6 cores are really necessary for what I do (serious photo edition, fashion and publicity.). Maybe the 4 cores with 32Gb (or more) of Ram is just enough or... Maybe, its the 8 cores the right option.
This machine should last at least five years.
Any advice is welcome.
By the way, anyone knows how to solve the Eizo Colornavigator 6 compatibility with the OS X Mavericks issue?.
Thanks a lot!.
Cristóbal.

Hi FatMac and The hatter,
Thanks for yours suggestions, it's been very helpful!.
i'm using a MacBook Pro (6.2) 2.8GHz i7 8Gb Ram (not upgradable) and 500Gb SSD connected to an Eizo monitor. It does his job but lately having heavy overheating and slow down its performance in a notorius way. Its a good machine but is not made for serious editing.
Before that, I was using an imac 27 quad core 16Gb ram that I sold for get some money for the new Mac Pro.
This should be a notorious improvement for me.
Based on what you saying I think with the 6 cores at 32 Gb ram I will be ok. Im thinking on upgrade the Ram in the future. Probably the 8 cores will be too expensive for my budget and don't make a significant improvement for my work compared to the 6 cores.
Thank you very much for your advice and links!!.
Best,
C.

HT1727 i bought some ringtones on my iPhone, later on i sync my iphone to my old computer now i have a new mac pro desktop and i only have 2 ringtones on my phone but not the rest of them how can i get them back without having to pay for them again?

i bought some ringtones on my iPhone, later on i sync my iphone to my old computer now i have a new mac pro desktop and i only have 2 ringtones on my phone but not the rest of them how can i get them back without having to pay for them again?

If you bought them on your iPad then you will need to connect your iPad to your computer's iTunes and do File > Devices > Transfer Purchases to copy them over to the Tones part of your computer's iTunes library and you can then sync them to your iPhone - ringtones are a one-time only download, so you won't be able to redownload them directly on your phone.

I bought a new Mac Pro from an Apple store, it was sold as factory sealed, but it's reconditioned - it has some strangers entire photo,library from 2003 to 2011 in the trash bin.

. I bought a new Mac Pro from an Apple store 2 days ok, it was sold as factory sealed, but it's reconditioned - it has some strangers entire photo,library from 2003 to 2011 in the trash bin.
I was bought a Mac book pro as a birthday gift from the Apple Store in Leicester, after completing the initial set up procedure, I noticed that the trash bin was full of some one's entire photo collection from 2003 to 2011.
This is entirely unacceptable for Apple: How long have Apple been fobbing of consumers who believe they were genuinely purchasing a 'new' Mac book?
How is it that I have someones entire photo collection on my 'branch new Mac Book Pro' - these photos included wedding photo's, birthday celebrations, family celebrations and children. Its a serious breach of data protection, it's an invasion of some poor persons privacy and private photo collection. What concerns me the most, is what could have happened if those photo's had fallen into the wrong hands. We managed to trace, locate and contact the person who the photo's belong to within 10 mins using information taken from their wedding album.
Understandably these people are also very distressed that their personal photos are on my brand new Mac Book pro.
I would like details of who to contact in regards this incident.

Katdee22 wrote:
. I bought a new Mac Pro from an Apple store 2 days ok, it was sold as factory sealed, but it's reconditioned - it has some strangers entire photo,library from 2003 to 2011 in the trash bin.
Return to Place of Purchase.
Katdee22 wrote:
I would like details of who to contact in regards this incident.
Contact AppleCare.
Apple Contact USA > http://www.apple.com/contact/

Migration Assistant: Problems transferring data from PC (XP SP3) to new Mac Pro 2012 - can not get Migration Assistant to work as PC will not display verfify passcode

Migration Assistant: Problems transferring data from PC (XP SP3) to new Mac Pro 2012 - can not get Migration Assistant to work as PC will not display verfify passcode
Hello, I am having problems migrating data from my old PC running XP (SP3) to my new Mac Pro 2012 using the Migration Assistant.
- I downloaded and installed the Windows Migration Assistant from Apple
- My Mac recognized PC and displays passcode
- The sasscode does not show / display on my PC
- My Mac is then stuck in "authenticating" loop and the PC is stuck "waiting for Mac to connect."
- Both computers are connected on same network (have connected PC on WIFI and using ethernet to Reuter)
I have looked on support site and only response I saw says to reinstall Windows Migration Assistant (which I have done)
Any ideas? If cant get this to workare there instructions for manually bring across relevant data eg itunes music and apps, photos, picasa data etc?

Why not turn off the Windows firewall and uninstall any other firewall software you have installed?
If you are using a Norton product uninstall it and discard it. To fully unistall most Norton products you have to go to the Norton website and download a soecial program to completely get rid of it. The normal uninstall feature built into the program will not remove all of it.

New Mac Pro 6.1 slow for some tasks, any ideas?

May new Mac Pro 6.1 (6 core, 64 GB RAM, D700's) is running very slow for 2 specific tasks.
OS X 10.9.3 PS CC 14.2.1
Open Canon 5D3 Camera Raw files takes 30 seconds.
Smart Sharpen 5D3 file takes 75 seconds.
That is WAY slower than my 6 year old Mac Pro 3.1!
Everything else runs quickly and efficiently on the 6.1, but it almost freezes during these 2 tasks. Not good! As a photographer who processes hundreds of 5D3 RAW files at a time this is a big problem for me.
I found this article explaing issues with the graphics;
http://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2014/20140308_1-Photoshop-sharpening-speed.html
However my performance is way worse than reported here.
I hope to find a solution...

Thanks for your input Noel.
I have unchecked Use Graphics Processor and the time for opening a RAW file remains around 30 seconds and to smart sharpen is now 100 seconds (up from 75).
In the activity monitor, I get between 500 and 600% use of the processors when opening RAW and 800% during sharpening.
A few seconds after clicking open in ACR, I get a dialogue box with the blue bar almost complete for a fraction of a second, then it disappears and another box appears (half the hight of the first one) and starts with only a small part completed, then takes it 30 seconds to finish. It's like it tried to open in a normal way and failed, then another very slow backup process took over.
In the top righ corner of the Smart Sharpen dialogue box, I tried selecting "Use Legacy", then it sharpens in about 3 seconds!
Also of note, when opening a RAW file or smart sharpening, the computer becomes very slow and unresponsive, even to get mail or surf the internet. Even streaming radio in iTunes cuts in and out or cuts out completely. As if the entire system is overwhelmed. Despite having 2 or 3 cores unused and at least 40 GB of unused RAM.
Not what I was expecting from a very expensive upgrade in the hopes of cutting down the amount of computer time per image file!

New Mac Pro 2013: some premature doubts...

Hi all!
The New Mac Pro seems really cool, but I have some doubts:
1) will it have just One processor? In terms computation speed, present Mac Pro is not the best on the market: doubling it, will Of course ne interesting, but not "incredible";
2) adopting just One proc will limit the number Of cores to the maximum amount Of a single E5 (8?): that's not that much;
3) just 4 RAM slots? So the Max RAM would be 64 GB...
If this is the hardware, it will not be suited for massively-parrallel computation...
I think (and hope) Apple will provide a 2-core Mac Pro like nowadays!!!
What do You think??
Best
H

One cpu with up to 12 cores, not two.
For now 64GB. Every time Apple rolls out a new Pro they under spec RAM (and don't change the support pages).
OWC and others are working on testing but the format docs do say that 10.9 will now support a full 128GB ($$$ for 4x32GB DIMMs)
E5's that support the higher clocked DIMMs may not be available except in labs and engineering.
10.9 does support 4x16GB (the 5,1 do not / did not, only 3x16) and that seems to be a firmware thing right now - you need to change the cpu daughter card (not happening likely) or the DIMM's firmware (maybe) or patch in the kernel (very possible and why 10.8 support for 96GB came and went).
So yes if you want 4-way / 24-48 core cpu and 256GB RAM you need to look elsewhere.
But a single cpu w/ 12 cores is more effecient, less latency, no need QuickPath or peeking or snooping or predictive memory addresses, 24MB L3 cache, and shuffling from one bank to another, from cpu A to cpu B (about 30% hit or 2nd cpu was only in some cases adding 70% to the task at hand).
Could dual AMD be using a CrossFire-X? that would make sense, yes?

Do I need to deactivate my Creative Suite 6 before I pickup my new mac pro? or will the migration assistant do all of that?

I am picking up my new mac pro tomorrow and wasn't sure if I needed to "deactivate" my Adobe products before I change over to my new Mac, or does the "migration assistant" do all the work? thanks for any help.

Nope. Migration does not work with any Adobe software. Don't even try it, it will cause a lot of huge problems.
Deactivate your software on the old computer. Install it from the original installer on the new one, don't forget to install all upgrades which are available in the meantime.

Alt key switching documents instead of Creating Clipping Mask - New Mac Pro 2014 - Please help

I just got a new Mac Pro, and when I use the alt/option key as a shortcut in the layers palette (to create clipping masks and duplicate layers) instead it switches to other documents that I have open. It's only after this happened that I realized how often I use the option key in my work flow and it's frustrating.
Please help,
Thanks,
Lonno

Just solved it. It had to do with my secondary monitor, which is where my layers palette was. I used this link:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5476222?tstart=0
and turned off all the mission control settings I don't use. Apparently it was switching monitors whenever I used the alt key.
-Lonno

Migration Assistant and permissions issues with new Mac Pro

Hi There,
I've not had any significant issues with Migration Assistant in the past but I can't create a reliable system with my new Mac Pro.
After using Migration Assistant during the initial setup, my user account wasn't even transferred. I tried restarting but in the end, I followed these instructions to reset and run the assitant again: http://stationinthemetro.com/2013/11/10/make-mavericks-re-run-the-setup-assistan t
I've just finished running it for a second time, and while the user account is now on my new system, there are so many permissions issues that the system is unusable (I can't even run Safari). Creative cloud, 1Password, safari, Dropbox are all apps that give me Disk i/o or permissions errors.
If I look in the user folder, many directories within it have a red minus icon. I've tried fixing permissions using Disk Utility but something is not right.
In the past, the new system just boots like the old one but this time round, it asked me to create an account after Migration Assistant had finished - is this normal? I used the same username and password as before but I'm not sure Migration Assistantis working properly.
Does anyone know a full-proof way of fixing and transferring my account without having to spend hours downloading OSX for a full erase and install?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Ben

Thanks for the reply,
I didn't understand exactly what to put into AppleScript sorry (never used it before) - so I just ran the following from the Terminal:
$ echo $UID
$ sudo chown -R 503 ~
And restarted - everything works now - thanks heaps.
What had happened and is this something I did or did Migration Assistant just get confused?
I have 3 new Mc Pros to setup on Monday so just want to ensure those are hassle free.
Cheers
Ben

Advise please - Ordering new Mac Pro

My boss told me to order one of the new Mac Pros today. I went to the Apple store and placed a tentative order but before I send it on for payment I'm looking for a little advice from all you experts who have helped me so graciously in the past. I'll list the pre-confirgured order below. Let me know what you think. I'm looking to find out if I'm on the right track for the work I do (so I don't look stupid to the company honchos) and if the hardware is adequate. I'll buy an additional 8G of RAM (probably OWC) and transfer my current three TB hard drives from my [old] 3.0Ghz Dual Core Mac Pro over to the 3.2Ghz Quad-Core (giving me 4TB HD space altogether with a 2TB LaCie external for backup].
Primarily I do film editing using Final Cut Pro, video capturing, rendering and conversions to various media formats. I also burn a lot of sample work and pre-production DVDs. I do a lot of other stuff too but that's the lighter stuff. Here's my pre-order, hence the two SuperDrives (as well as a third LaCie USB optical drive):
Airport Extreme card
Two 16X SuperDrives
Two 3.2Ghz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
2GB (2X1GB) of RAM
1TB 7200 RPM Serial ATA
Accessory kit
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT w/512MB (Two dual-link DVI).
Wireless mighty mouse and keyboard.
I have two 30" Apple HD displays to connect.
Comes in at a little under $5,000. We will pass my current Mac Pro on to the "new" guy.
Thanks!
Lisa

Looks good; lucky you. So there is a good reason to have a boss...
You are wise to purchase the extra RAM from OWC rather than from Apple.
Sounds like it will be a great machine; in a couple of years, though, you will probably be passing it on to the "new guy".

When the new Mac Pro's with E5 Processor coming out? Please help

Hello People.
I am in desperate situation at the moment. I had a late 2008 Mac pro which i recently sold and bought the new 8core 2.4ghz Mac pro from best buy about a week ago. As soon as i bought it, i found out that Apple is coming out with a new Mac Pro loaded with the new xeon E5 processor. My question is that when Apple is coming out with the computer since the rumor said its coming out in the beginning of March. I paid $3400 for the new computer and i really want the one which has all the new stuff in it. I have about 2 weeks left to return the computer to Best Buy and at the moment don't know what do.
Does anyone has answer to my question?
Thanks

Seeing no one, not WSJ or ComputerWorld or CNBC, just speculation. For all we know it will be another mid-Summer too..
I do think the 2.4 8-core is a ''weak' system choice. More apps and more productive to go with a higher clocked 6-core or something.
I'd direct attention to www.macperformanceguide.com that argues, if you need it don't postpone for what might be.
http://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2012/20120319_1-MacProNowOrWait.html
Even if there was an annoucement it often takes time to sort out, ship, etc.

After Migration to new Mac Pro, intermittent slow downs, SROD's

I started with a my intel mac mini, Leopard OS was installed on an external Firewire drive, most applications were installed on another partition of that same drive. I bought a new mac pro 8 core, and an additional firewire external drive that I set up as my Time Machine drive on my old mac mini. I did a full backup of my old mac mini system and then attached the time machine drive and the other external hard drive to my new mac pro. I used the migration assistant to transfer files to my new mac pro. However, now there appears to be something occuring between my internal mac pro hard drive and the old external hard drive from my mac mini. When using some applications, Itunes, Logic Pro, Firefox, the ap will hang and appears to be trying to access files from the old external drive. I hope I'm being clear with what the issue is. I'm thinking duplicate files on this external drive and my internal drive are causing some problems? I need to know how to repair the issue, and preserve my data files?

bb240z wrote:
Thanks for your quick response. I know I've been somewhat confusing here. I'm running the latest Snow Leopard update on my mac pro now.
Then please update your profile, as it still shows the mini and Leopard.
And I'll ask a Host to move this to the Snow Leopard > Time Machine forum.
All the aps and data were migrated onto the internal HD in the mac pro, and the aps and files and directory structures, etc. are still also on the external drive that used to comprise the OS of my mac mini. I'm thinking that may be part of the issue, but I'm new to Mac and not certain of that or how to fix the issues.
Depending on how you did that, I'm not sure everything on those partitions got on to the new Mac's HD. Check that first, via the Finder.
Let's start with iTunes and/or iPhoto.
First see if you have the same stuff in both places. Use the Finder to see how large each is on the external HD, and compare that to the iTunes and iPhoto folders on your internal HD.
If they're not on your internal HD at all, use these instructions to move them:
Moving your iTunes Music folder
Moving your iPhoto library
If the versions on the external are newer than the ones on your internal, delete the ones on the internal and use those instructions to move from the external to the internal.
But don't delete the versions on the external just yet. Eject and disconnect it, and make sure everything's fine. It won't hurt to leave the data there for a while, especially as long as it's disconnected.
If the music or photos on your HD are the same, or newer, hold down the Option key while starting iTunes or iPhoto. That will give you a prompt where you can select which one you want to use.
Once you've selected the ones you want, eject and disconnect the external. Then use as many apps as you can, to see if everything works properly and all your data is found.
Without knowing what other apps you have, and how they work, I can't tell in advance whether any others will be looking for the external drive. If you get error messages, you'll have to deal with each app that seems lost.
I'd be inclined to keep the old external "on the shelf" for quite a while, just to be sure nothing got missed.
Have you started doing Time Machine backups of the new Mac yet? When you do, you'll get a prompt about whether to "re-use" the Mini's backups. See #B5 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum. You probably want to select "Re-use," especially if there's a considerable amount of space on your TM drive.

Some assistance selecting a new Mac Pro, please!

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