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Mac pro pricing
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[Christian Schumacher] “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say for extensive FCPX and Motion work, the best bang for the buck is a 8-core coupled with the D700s. “
Edit: found the description for the Intel e5 1680 v2 8-core chip and it does look good with more than twice the amount of L3 cache (25600 KB) compared to the 6-core chip.
Rick LangiMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Marcus Moore] “You may be right- I know Barefeats did some FCPX tests on different processors a while back. I’ll have to see what they results were.
Considering I’m currently working on a 2011 i7 iMac, anything is going to be a huge step up.
“We need to wait for new versions of the software since various functions have been tuned to the new machines and the custom GPUs. So don’t put too much stock in their previous benchmarks. By December most questions will have been answered.
Considering I’m upgrading from a late 2009 iMac, it’s going to be silly fast. Need to start throwing BMPC4K UHD raw files at it next year though and that will at least begin to justify the upgrade.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Christian Schumacher] “As far as pricing goes, entry models are fine. But I would urge anyone who’s interested in having the best bang for the buck, and for as log as three years, to avoid the entry video cards offering and both the 4 and 6 core processors.”
I’m hoping the 6-core D500 will handle uncompressed raw 4K, but you may have a good point. It makes me nervous when I see all the Apple Mac Pro Performance results were on a very high-end configuration. Apple is not above writing the web page promotional copy as if it applies to all machines, when the reality may be much of the performance requires the top model! I’m not rushing this purchase until I hear about real world results from people I trust, like this community.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Rick Lang] ” I’m not rushing this purchase until I hear about real world results from people I trust, like this community.”
Amen brother! One point I should address regarding the new mac pro is that a 4 or 6 core won’t deliver the same resale value after a couple of years. Imagine when there’s a new iMac out there with TB2 and PCIe SSDs? (maybe they’ll put a 6-core in there? hmm?) And that won’t be good for the ones holding a 4 core, or even a 6 core, I’ll tell you. This new iMac should be coming in a less than a year from now. More two coins I’ll put in the collective box.
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[Rick Lang] “Need to start throwing BMPC4K UHD raw files at it next year though and that will at least begin to justify the upgrade.”
Assuming BMD actually manage to get the 4K camera out the door!
Steve Connor
There’s nothing we can’t argue about on the FCPX COW Forum
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[Steve Connor] “Assuming BMD actually manage to get the 4K camera out the door!”
You know some people give their lives purpose waiting for The Rapture or The End of the World or for the Blue Jays to win the World Series. But there are a few thousand people, who are waiting for the BMPC4K with that sense of zealous anticipation. If you don’t have the ‘religion’ I can see it’s hard for the uninitiated to understand. Sure the camera was “on track” to deliver by the end of July 2013 and sure there have been some unspecified problems that may delay the camera until December or next January. But that isn’t enough to shake one’s faith when what you are awaiting will be the start of a new millennium in indie filmmaking. It’s the kind of event when you might consider resetting the start date of the Christian Calendar! or something like that… excuse me, my Kool-Aid is here and I’m thirsty!
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Christian Schumacher] “One point I should address regarding the new mac pro is that a 4 or 6 core won’t deliver the same resale value after a couple of years.”
Interesting point. I think one difference in an updated iMac will be the lack of dual GPUs that will remain the domain of the Mac Pro at least for a few years. Always hard to predict and now that I’ve stated that, Apple’s hardware designers are probably having a good laugh! I’ll consider 8-core and D500 but let’s see what the pricing is like. The 8-core and 12-core are 2-socket processors and the 4-core and 6-core are probably 1-socket. The 2-socket processors would stand a greater chance of being useful years longer.
One thing that nags at me is the HDMI 1.4 versus HDMI 2.0 that will surely be in the next update to the Mac Pro. I’m hoping that is a firmware upgrade for the next generation Mac Pros so they are not orphaned prematurely. Apple has sometimes not been kind to the “first of its kind” machines which are quickly replaced by the next iteration with a longer life. In any event I’d feel better if I was assured HDMI 2.0 will be a firmware upgrade on this new Mac Pro.
Edit: the 8-core processor is E5 1680 v2 so it may be 1-socket but Intel has not updated all its webpages to include this chip which appears to have been released in late September.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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A couple of camera manufactures have already said that their installed HDMI 4.1 ports can be firmware upgraded to HDMI 2.0. Hopefully Apple has been similarly forward thinking in.
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[Rick Lang] ” I think one difference in an updated iMac will be the lack of dual GPUs that will remain the domain of the Mac Pro at least for a few years.”
This should tip the balance towards the pro, depending on what’s in there. What if one is choosing the entry MacPro, say, by january next year, with the D300s and a 4 core for instance, and this “new iMac” is released within months from that, porting newer intel processors and the latest video card generation? How would that entry MacPro perform then? Yes, there’s going to be an i7 and a light weight video card in the iMac. But did I mentioned that iMacs are also going to have PCIe SSDs? Precisely the same ones the new MacPro has? So, provided you know what you’re doing – or if you acknowledge what you can do with them – those could be virtually identical in a real world scenario. A lot of money can be saved and, at the other hand, a lot of money could be invested in a more wise manner. The same could be said for existing gear, just remember to get machines that have an ongoing AppleCare or something to that effect, insurance or available cash for emergencies.
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This might be good? https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/25/graphics-cards-in-new-mac-pro-may-be-user-replaceable/
Steve Connor
There’s nothing we can’t argue about on the FCPX COW Forum
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