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New Mac Pro
Hi there,
I work as a video editor and have always found the creative side of things much easier to grasp than the tech side! I’m due for a computer upgrade at the office. I’ve got a Mac Pro from a few years ago…pretty good machine (2.66 GHz, 8 cores, 10GB). Just slowing down and getting out of date.
Our IT guy says he’s a bit concerned about transitioning to the new Mac Pro. His main concern is compatibility with my AJA Kona LHe card.
Is there any reason to be concerned here? Any other issues to think about with the new Mac Pro? Seems like a pretty sweet machine!
Thanks!
(Just read below another thread that said it won’t support FCP7 which is what I primarily use. That’s a bummer!)
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5 Replies
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He’s rightly concerned because there’s no PCIe slots on the new Mac Pro. You’ll have to add a thunderbolt expansion chassis to house your internal cards. You’ll can look at Sonnet Technologies or Magma…just Google for “thunderbolt expansion chassis.” Depending on how many cards you need to house you’re looking at anywhere from $1K-$4K extra beyond the price of the Mac Pro itself.
There’s also no internal hard drive bays, so you’ll have to have some external RAID enclosure hooked up over USB3 or more likely, Thunderbolt – https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/
You’re IT guy is rightly concerned. Additionally, this box will be running on OS X 10.9 which may or may not run FCP Legacy. All that said, it looks to be a pretty powerful little computer and may suit some applications really well, while leaving others behind. You need to do you’re homework on it to determine if it will address your needs.
Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost -
I think, that “Darth Vader’s Ashtray” is totally unfriendly to pros, since it’s an iMac like all in one box thing with no expansion options. If I’d be you (that’s what I am doing right now), get a HacMac, way cheaper and more powerful than the fastest current MacPro and you can expand it much easier in the future.
Greetings,
Sascha Engel
TIME BANDITZ Productions
http://www.youtube.com/taikang -
It’s not necessary to get a PCI sled just to support an LHE card. Depending on the functionality you’re taking from it you could easily get the same thing from one of the newer AJA Thunderbolt devices such as an Io XT. https://www.aja.com/en/products/io-xt/#overview
Rather then go the Hackintosh route you’d simply sell the LHE, select the appropriate Thunderbolt equivalent, avoid the PCI sled entirely and achieve a much faster workflow with the way faster RAM, CPU and GPU of the new Mac Pro. Or keep it and the older Mac Pro as a backup system/assistant/render workstation.
I suspect your IT guy would agree that supporting an off the shelf Apple configuration is going to be more straightforward than a customized PC rig hacked to run OS X but your mileage may vary.
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[James Cude] “I suspect your IT guy would agree that supporting an off the shelf Apple configuration is going to be more straightforward than a customized PC rig hacked to run OS X but your mileage may vary.”
+1 to this! Maintaining a hackintosh is more time/labor intensive than a traditional Mac or Windows system.
Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost -
Well, you obviously do not know the Mac prices in Israel.
Hackintosh with tons of IT assistance is still cheaper.
Besides, the new Hackintoshs became way more solid and reliable.Greetings
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