Which Mac Pro to buy?

Hello,
I'm a software developer (Java, EE6). For me, fast build times are critical. With the 12 core being announced, I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of how much bang for the buck I'd get using a 12 core vs. 8 core. SSD vs. magnetic media.
Thanks.

There is directly pertinent info on Apple's own Mac Pro page (http://www.apple.com/macpro/). The gist of it seems to be the 12-core would process about 1.3 times faster than a comparable 8-core, and the SSD do I/O about twice as fast as the HDD. Don't forget there are other differences, too ... e.g. the cost of RAM may differ between core configurations and the SSD has no moving mechanical parts. Of course the cost/benefit factor would also depend on your individual budget circumstances and how long you expect to use it.

Similar Messages

Which Mac Pro to buy for Studio 3

Guys, I'm in the process of upgrading my trusted Power Mac G5 Quad to a Mac Pro.
I will also upgrade to FCS 3.
My question is, which Mac Pro to buy? Quad 2.93 OR Octo 2.26?
Will FCS 3 along with Snow Leopard utilise ALL the Octo's processors? Or am I better off saving the money and sticking with a Quad?

If your income depends on this work, then buy the biggest, baddest, most RAM-filled Mac Pro you can.
At least get the octo 2.66. Put 12GB RAM in it, if you can, but put a minimum of 6GB in there. The concept is that as a professional editor, editing for clients, you must be as time efficient as you can afford to be.
Compressor will use that RAM to compress your stuff a lot faster. Also, Motion can make use of as much RAM as you throw in there. Final Cut Pro itself, not yet.

Which Mac Pro to buy for Music Production

Hi All
Hope you can help.
Currently I have a macbook pro ( 2.66Ghz + 4GB ).
Im planning to buy a mac pro for music production, which is better
4 Core 2.66Ghz Nehalem CPU + 3x2GB or
8 Core 2.26 Ghz Nehalem CPU + 6x2GB
Im heavy on VST/AU's, use a fair bit of audio samples and also will be using a load of ROMpler style sampler instruments.
Im also looking to future proof the system but if the 8 core system is unnecssary for using logic studio id rather get the 4 core option as its easier on my budget.
Im also planning to run 3 x 1tb HDD's ( 1 x OS / 1 x Samples / 1 x Music )
Hope you can advise as itching to buy one with my commission money
Cheers
Andrew

JG99 wrote:
I've heard from a few Logic users and read on other forums that there is currently little difference in performance between the 8-core and 4-core Mac Pro's when running Logic 8. This may change in the future...?
Really? The benchmarks seem to indicate that the 8 x 2.26 is 30-40 % more powerful than the 4 x 2.66, a significant difference...
Personally, I'd get a quad core and spend the difference on ram (from crucial.com) as this will make more of a difference when running power hungry plug-ins.
JG
But the 4 core has a max RAM of 8 GB where the 8 core maxes to 32 GB. Might be worth considering.

Which Mac Pro to buy for Logic?

Hi, I am a Logic Pro user, I use lots of tracks with automation, lots of virtual instruments and other plugins.
I've finally settled on getting a Mac Pro, since I want to use a UAD card, as well as for expandability. So now... Which one? For a given budget, do I want to:
1) max RAM
vs
2) max clock speed
vs
3) max number of cores/procs
Eventually I'll get lots of RAM, so #2 and #3 are my main questions, which will get me the the biggest bang for my buck specifically for use with Logic Pro?
Thanks!
Message was edited by: smeet

Things to consider:
At the moment, the single processor Mac Pros arent that great in terms of value. 4 memory slots is just kind of crappy for a machine that costs so much.
That being said, logic wont support more than 8 cores, meaning nothing above the quad core is going to be worth your money for strict use with logic. We have no idea when logic will support more cores.
Now is not the greatest time to be buying a Mac Pro for various reasons. What kind of budget are you on? Your best bet might be a refurbished 2009 quad core or a 2008 octocore.

Which Mac Pro to buy for Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro X?

Hi, I'm considering to buy a Mac Pro for my personal studio. I have 2 choices in my mind: 1st one is the "Quad-core (one 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon) with 6GB RAM", and the 2nd one is "12-core (Two 2.4GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon) with 12GB RAM". I'll be mainly using Logic Pro 9 and hardcore video editing in Final Cut Pro X. I know the fact that having higher GHz than more cores may benefit you at some point, and only those software applications that are well-written for using multiple cores will be able to utilize the power of 12-core. So, I need to know that are Logic and FCPX are such apps? Are they able to utilize the power of 12-cores or a Quad-core with more GHz will be better? I'm looking for fast operation and smoother workflow, and I'll also be using this computer for a very long time (so, its a major investment!).
So, the ultimate verdict is to whether to go for more clockspeed or more cores? Money is not the problem here, and I will add more RAMs, SSD according to the need later after couple of months, but considering nothing else I need you to compare between these two machines! If the 12-core machine is even 1% faster I'll go for it, but I don't want to end up spending more money on the machine with will have less power and utility.
Regards.

6 core 3.33 1st choice
8 core 2.93 or higher

I am going to college this fall and can't decide which MacBook pro to buy!

I am going to college this fall and can't decide which MacBook pro to buy the 13in or the 15in. Mainly to type, browse the web, watch videos, and maybe some light gaming. I am worried that the 15in might be too big to carry around all the time. And worried about the 13in being too small and hurting my eyes over time. Once I do get one, I am most likely going to use it for the full 4 years. Please Help !

The 13" will do the trick for what you describe as your needs, Be sure to consider how you will backup your data -- need an external drive?
Also be sure to check with your college or division of study to see what they recommend. If they are hostile to Macs, you may be on your own for finding support. But in most major cities, that will not be too hard.

Which Mac Pro? More cores=slower speeds? And most of us know the speed matters or FPU for music and I don't understand the faster is for the least amount of procs. And while I get the whole rendering thing and why it makes sense.

Which Mac Pro? More cores=slower speeds? And most of us know the speed matters or FPU for music and I don't understand the faster is for the least amount of procs. And while I get the whole rendering thing and why it makes sense.
The above is what the bar says. It's been a while and wondered, maybe Apple changed the format for forums. Then got this nice big blank canvas to air my concerns. Went to school for Computer Science, BSEE, even worked at Analog Devices in Newton Massachusetts, where they make something for apple.
The bottom line is fast CPU = more FPU = more headroom and still can't figure out why the more cores= the slower it gets unless it's to get us in to a 6 core then come out with faster cores down the road or a newer Mac that uses the GPU. Also. Few. I'm the guy who said a few years ago Mac has an FCP that looks like iMovie on Steroids. Having said that I called the campus one day to ask them something and while I used to work for Apple, I think she thought I still did as she asked me, "HOW ARE THE 32 CORES/1DYE COMING ALONG? Not wanting to embarrass her I said fine, fine and then hung up. Makes the most sense as I never quite got the 2,6,12 cores when for years everything from memory to CPU's have been, in sets of 2 to the 2nd power. 2,4,8,16,32,64,120,256,512, 1024, 2048,4196,8192, 72,768. Wow. W-O-W and will be using whatever I get with Apollo Quad.
Peace to all and hope someone can point us in THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THANK YOU

Thanks for your reply via email/msg. He wrote:
If you are interested in the actual design data for the Xeon processor, go to the Intel site and the actual CPU part numbers are:
Xeon 4 core - E5.1620v2
Xeon 6 core - E5.1650v2
Xeon 8 core - E5.1680v2
Xeon 12 core - E5.2697v2
I read that the CPU is easy to swap out but am sure something goes wrong at a certain point - even if solderedon they make material to absorb the solder, making your work area VERY clean.
My Question now is this, get an 8 core, then replace with 2 3.7 QUAD CHIPS, what would happen?
I also noticed that the 8 core Mac Pro is 3.0 when in fact they do have a 3.4 8 core chip, so 2 =16? Or if correct, wouldn't you be able to replace a QUAD CHIP WITH THAT? I;M SURE THEY ARE UO TO SOMETHING AS 1) WE HAVE SEEN NO AUDIO FPU OR PERHAPS I SHOULD CHECK OUT PC MAKERS WINDOWS machines for Sisoft Sandra "B-E-N-C-H-M-A-R-K-S" -
SOMETHINGS UP AND AM SURE WE'LL ALL BE PLEASED, AS the mac pro was announced Last year, barely made the December mark, then pushed to January, then February and now April.
Would rather wait and have it done correct than released to early only to have it benchmarked in audio and found to be slower in a few areas- - - the logical part of my brain is wondering what else I would have to swap out as I am sure it would run, and fine for a while, then, poof....
PEACE===AM SURE APPLE WILL BLOW US AWAY - they have to figure out how to increase the power for 150 watts or make the GPU work which in regard to FPU, I thought was NVIDIA?

Which Mac Pro Will Do It?

Hi,
I'll be looking to purchase a well maintained use or refurbished Mac Pro. My goal is to get one with 6gb of ram and add my 2 1gb stick to make 8gb of ram total.
My concern is running a stable Pro Tools LE system (with several other apps open)... so video and graphics bells and whistles are not priority here.
Any recommendations that would be a cost effective solution for me (which Mac Pro and reliable retailers)?
Thanks!

Just showed up first time today after a very long hiatus, the single cpu 4-core 2.8 from 2008, for $2K.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro
Not bad for someone that wants a full tower but doesn't need 8-core or want to spend more.

Which Mac Should I buy??

Hi there,
I am currently debating which mac to buy :/ I currently have a macbook pro retina 2013 and I love itttttt
This are the mac
1- MacPro Refourbished 2012 for 2145.00
2- iMac (new) 27" i7, Fusion Drive and 2GB Nvidia 680MX
The reason why I am not sure which one to get is because I am afraid that in a future I wont be able to upgrade the iMac but at the same time the MacPro 2012 is pretty old, it doesnt even has USB 3.0.
If I get the MacPro I will end up spending more money because I gonna need a display which cost 1000
So guys what do you think?????
Oh also the other reason I am thinking on getting the MacPro is because with the MBPR if I use bootcamp OMG it really get HOTTTTT and I know that at least the mac pro has better cooling compare to the iMac...
Any Adviseee plssss

if you need it now... imac otherwise sit on fence for now.

Which mac pro configuration - how many can be effectively used

Hi all
Well, this question has been asked many times before - and I've read the macperformanceguide.com articles - but I can't find any info relating to 2010 Mac Pros or my typical usage. So any advice/links greatly appreciated.
I'll be investing in a Mac Pro soon and really need some solid advice on whether the Quad Core 2.8 Ghz (12Gb ram), Quad Core 3.2Ghz (12 Gb ram) or 8 core 2.4 Ghz (6Gb ram, upgrading later) will be best for my needs.
Typical usage for web design on my Macbook Pro is currently the following running/open at the same time: Wacom tablet driver, time machine, billings, mamp, 2/3 browsers for testing, vmware fusion running windows xp, emails, dreamweaver, smultron/textwrangler, fireworks, photoshop, fontexplorer pro, terminal and gitx, Skype - they all end up open while I'm messing about with files, talking to sub contractors, etc. Any I may well end up with Numbers, Pages, etc open as well. My Macbook Pro (4Gb ram) is ageing and just can't handle everything quickly.
I'm looking for the best system for now and 3 years down the line. I know a lot of software still doesn't make use of multiple cores so the quad cores would seem to be initially a better bet with their faster clock speeds. But I don't know if OS X will automatically allocate threads from different software to different cores - in which case 8 cores would help with the amount of software I'm using at the same time.
Thinking about 3 years from now the 8 core allows me to add more memory but - will the extra investment in the 8 core now provide a real benefit in 2-3 years or will the extra ram potential advantage be negated by heavier, hungrier software requiring faster speeds from other parts of the system.
Which ever system I get, I'll be adding extra hard drives over time, maybe upgrading the graphics card if that becomes necessary. It really comes down to the number of cpus, those extra cores and the extra ram possibilities.
Thanks in advance for any help!

Taking Applications that are inherently single-threaded and running them on multiple processors is a Classic unsolved problem in Computer Science. This means that Applications will only speed up when they are Hand-coded to run speedily on multiple processors. Although the latest version of Photoshop is Finally seeing this treatment, many more mundane Applications will never be done this way.
As long as it remains so (which is likely to be permanently) MegaHertz (processor speed) matters, and once you have a handful of processors MegaHertz matters a lot more than number of processors.
Your list of prospective Mac Pros does not include the Mac you should be considering first, the 6-core 3.33 GHz Westmere, available as a build-to-order option of the four-core mac Pros. It gives you the fastest clock speed of any, and its Hyper-Threading give you 12 effective processing units.
The premium price of an eight-core or 12-core is so large that you could buy another complete Mac Pro for the same price, and use them separately or as a compute-farm.
If you are handy, larger DIMMs (8GB each) are available from reputable third party memory suppliers, and they stand by their correct operation in your Mac with one caveat: They do not play nice with other sizes mixed in. So if you are contemplating large memory size, choose 8GB DIMMs from the start.
Three DIMMs is optimum, but studies are showing that the penalty for running with two DIMMs or four DIMMs is under 5 percent in real-world Applications. So starting with two 8GB DIMMS seems like a good way to go.
With this kind of large compute power, the remaining bottleneck quickly becomes Disk I/O. You should set aside a Boot Drive: a small, very fast Drive that holds only System. Library. Applications, and hidden Unix files including Paging. Users files should be moved to another drive to reduce competition for the Boot Drive. A small VelociRaptor works well for this. A small SSD is even faster.

University student, can't decide on which Macbook Pro to buy?

Hi everyone, I'm starting Television Production at University and they use Avid Media Composer 6.5 for all their editing. I looked at the system requirements for a Mac, and I know for a fact my macbook pro atm would never be able to cope with it. It's from early 2006, it has an outdated graphics card/processor and not near enough RAM or the right OS X to run it smoothly. And since I'll be at University for another 3 years, I've considered getting a new Mac because I'll need one eventually. I get a £1000 overdraft from my bank, question is, which Macbook Pro do I go for? I'd prefer to have one with 6/8GB RAM (recommended to run Avid), and i5/i7. Is there much difference in the specs between 13" and 15"? Does RAM/processor really matter when it comes to editing software? All in all I'm looking for a Macbook that'll last me for a long while and won't become outdated anytime soon, for under £1000.

For video editing I recommend 15". You will be happy you have the extra screen real estate. I also recommend buying with minimum installed ram then upgrade with 3rd party ram to 16GB. If you opt for the retina display order it with 16GB ram.

Which mac pro?

Hey everyone,
I'm considering updating to a Mac Pro and wondered what model would be best suited to my needs. I'm running Logic Pro and using EZDrummer for recording demos. However, I'll be replacing the EZDrummer stuff with real drums so ultimately I'd be mixing around 32 tracks of audio and the usual fx plug ins needed for a final mix. I'm a guitarist and don't use many soft synths so the processor will mainly be dealing with fx plug ins.
Any suggestions as to whether I should go for the fastest quad core (2.93) or the slowest 8 core (2.26) as they're both at the limit of my budget and pretty much the same price. I'm in Australia and as a result we pay a lot more which is why I'm shooting at the low end and trying to maximize my costs.
Thanks again to everyone for your time and help!
Cheers,
Brett.

In fact all the current MacPros are more than enough for your needs. Buying a MacPro is a better idea than even the best iMac because of the possibility to expand with PCI - Express cards, for instance. I've got that 2.66 MacPro from the latest group and it stabile yet powerful. 32 tracks of audio even with tons of AU processors is nothing for that machine. If your budget is enough for a 2.26 MacPro then I would suggest you buying the 4x2.66 and a UAD2-duo which will give you some hi-end plugins. Now when you buy a UAD-2 duo or quad you get 2 additional very good plugins free. the 1176LN (one of those free ones) is in my opinion essential on drums. And the current MacPros work WITHOUT any issues with UAD-2s. No, I don't work for Universal audio
Oh, and one more thing: if the new Mac comes with Leopard then stay with it for a moment because so many people have issues with the Snow Leopard and Logic, not to mention some current AUs don't support the SL yet. Of course you will get SL for free (or for a shipping cost as I did)with a current Mac.
Message was edited by: samplaire
Message was edited by: samplaire

Which Mac Pro config for PShop (and others)

Which processor config is best for Pshop multitaskers? Looking to choose a (new) Mac Pro. I am primarily a photo retoucher & photographer (in that order) But I also push my system doing 3D renderings, and often streaming Pandora while I work. Another forum offered suggestions to get the Quad core -and choose the 3.33Ghz 6 core "Westmere" (+ $1200) --as opposed to my first choice, which was the 8 Core w/two 2.4 Ghz "Westmere" processors. My goal is to keep the total cost under $4K -including additional RAM + ATI Radeon HD 5870. I chose the 8 core unit for the added RAM capability, and I thought that 8 cores would help when running multiple apps. But other posters had opined that since most apps -including Pshop (CS5) DON'T take advantage of multiprocessing the faster single processor w/6 cores would take the lead. I am a pro retoucher, and am often working multiple VERY large layered files. I do NOT do animation or video. I am also thinking of waiting for the next Mac Pro update -which past history suggests a possible late spring (2011) rollout. ( I wouldn't want a laptop as I work exclusively at my own studio, and want as much horsepower + longevity as I can afford)
Opinions appreciated -esp. real world tests using CURRENT Mac Pros. Thanks!

Yes, for best memory bandwidth performance, use 8 DIMMs, and it doesn't matter much what your mix and match is (other than certified of course for Mac Pro).
http://www.barefeats.com/harper3.html
No need to every discard the Apple memory until you get the urge to go to more than 8GB. Buying a full set of same and same time insures that they are less likely to deviate or have enough difference to cause trouble (even Crucial batches vary a bit).
I prefer TechWorks as a cut above, quality is good as it gets, comparable to Micron.
http://eshop.macsales.com/search/MatchedSets:+800Mhz+MacPro
The older Mac Pro was more trouble to get an ideal setup.

Which Mac Pro configuration for DTP

I am looking for information on which configuration would be best for a DTP design studio. I'm looking for 3 machines for 3 people. 2 desktop publishers (ads/packaging) and a web-designer (flash, html)
I'm thinking of buying as soon as Adobe comes with Intel based CS3 next year. Until then, I can find out which configuration would suite us all.
Any people who can give me advice?
Or is there an application out there to test your average CPU / RAM usage through out the day to see what we are using at this moment ???
We now have 2 dual 2GHz G5's with 2GB of RAM, and I'm on a 2x 2.5GHz G5 with 3GB's of RAM.
Thanks for your advise in advance.

Yes, I'd upgrade the RAM before the video card. I'd also take the photoshop benchmarks with a grain of salt, namely because they are comparing Photoshop running under Rosette on the Mac Pro, to Photoshop running natively under the G5's. While the slightly lower performance could be an issue to some I doubt is has real world impact. In addition, since your waiting on CS3 which will be native, any performance problems should be removed, as CS3 should be a native application.
Finally I want to say desktop RAID arrays have their place, but I haven't seen how it fits in here. The folks are accessing and saving files to a server in their work environment. It is not clear if you are opening the files over the network, or checking them out to the workstations first. If you are opening over the network, then the talk about RAID is pretty much makes little sense. If you are copying to the workstation first, then a RAID for data could be slightly helpful, but since the image sizes seems as if they can be manipulated in memory, it is not clear how much of a benefit a data RAID would produce. Yes opening and saving a file may be faster, but there will be no increase in actual image manipulation.
It seems to me the place to spend money here is on RAM, then graphics card, if you are using an application that can take advantage of the processing power on a graphics card, such as Aperture, and many 3D rendering programs. If there is no gain to be made in graphics card performance, then I would spend money on 16 MB cache hard drives, one for the OS and applications and one for data, size can be determined by your needs. It is only after everything else is looked at would I consider any type of RAID here meant for performance reasons. However, as for your file server... I would think a good RAID 0+1 or 1+0 RAID would be beneficial to your file serving performance, along with a good gigabit network system.
Anyway... My Mac Pro just showed up at the door... Off to have some fun!
Tom N.

Which Macbook Pro to buy as a college student?

There are 3 different Macbook Pro's out there that I can buy with the rebate / reduced price / free iPod Touch. The problem is I don't know which one to buy. Many people said that the difference between a 2.4 and 2.5 core 2 duo cpu is only 5%. Then there is a bit of difference from 256mb to 512mb of the 8600m graphics card.
Basically I will outline what I will be needing from a laptop so you guys can help me make the right decision. But for now before I say what the outline is, you bought your Macbook Pro; did you choose the right one? If you didn't and you could go back in time, which one would you have bought?
Anyways, obviously the laptop is for college work. So Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop and such. But of course there will be some gaming here and there. I am a Blizzard fanatic and I only play Blizzard games. From diablo 2, starcraft and now Warcraft 3 is pretty much all I play. I am not even going to try WoW as it could probably ruin my college carreer.
But the game I'm really anticipating is Starcraft 2. Which Macbook Pro would be able to handle that game in your opinion?
But I hope these information is good enough so you guys will know which one I should buy. But if you guys have any other questions on what I will be using the MBP for then let me know so I can help you help me pick the right decision.
Thanks!

If you're going to use your new laptop for college use/gaming/general use, my recommendation is going for the $1799 MacBook Pro 2.4GHz. I recommend this one over the others for a few reasons. As mentioned previously, the 0.1GHz in processor speed in essentially unnoticeable. With regard to RAM, its always best to have your system maxed out in order to achieve its full capacity. However, I do recommend going through www.otherworldcomputing.com or a 3rd party RAM merchant to purchase your additional RAM. You can get it for a drastically reduced price there, and then have an AASP install it for you. Bear in mind that installing RAM yourself could void your warranty. My point about the RAM is, the 2GB standard in the $1799 MBP version is sufficient. Also, the graphics card. 256MB should be sufficient to support your gaming, and unless you plan on getting a large display, it shouldn't be necessary to double the VRAM. So, based on the information you provided, the lower-end model should be plenty enough for your needs. Hope this helps.

Which Mac Pro to buy?

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