Report on the 2019 Mac Pro

[Eric Santiago]

[Erik Lindahl] “In general if I had to choose I’d go 12-Core Vega II.”

I got approved for a 16-Core and Vega II.
Now for future, which display card to add so, I can bump that Vega II up to GPU?
Generally using Dell 4Ks on this workstation at work.
Nothing fancy.

[Erik Lindahl]

The Vega II’s are miles better than the 580’s. The latter are roughly 2016 tech.

[Michael Jones]

Would adding a 2nd (used) MPX R580X be a worth while option? Assuming, people who upgrade later to a Pro Vega or W5700X may be selling the R580X off?

[Drew Lahat]

So… can we saw off the bottom of the top cover? ????

Any reason why on earth they designed it this way, with that little bar making the entire difference between having to disconnect everything to troubleshoot hardware, and not having to?

Absolutely great point about the futility of having a top cover when the most common scenario is placing the computer under a desk… Sonnet or OWC could fabricate a replacement cover with detachable side doors. ☺ The easier, realistic solution is to properly cable-manage, ensuring you’ve got 3 feet of slack tied and coiled neatly behind the machine so you can slide it out easily. (Oh and add $4 furniture glider or felt pads to those feet if you don’t have carpet. Or buy those $400 wheels.)

Finally, does the rackmount version allow removing the cover without disconnecting everything? And how does it handle what would be accessing the bottom of the computer, when laid horizontally?

[Drew Lahat]

“In addition there are only 2 i/o ports (both Thblt 3) built into the system”

You can use those as USB ports, no? For example with this $8 cable:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Type-C-Micro-B-Gen2-Cable/dp/B01GGKYIHS

[Herb Sevush]

[Drew Lahat] “You can use those as USB ports, no? For example with this $8 cable:”

After spending 10K you’d think they could include more than 2 ports, whatever the format. I ended up sticking a $30 multiport into one of the top 2 ports, giving me 3 USB and some media card ports. Of course now I have this ridiculous dongle sitting on top of my gorgeously designed computer case. I guess that’s another reason for putting it under the desk, where it’s impossible to take the case off.

Apple design, nothing can beat it.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin\’ attached to nothin\’
\”Deciding the spine is the process of editing\” F. Bieberkopf

[Dxtech]

Almost bought the 16 core over the weekend, but… and this is more of a Catalina concern, I still use QuickTime Pro 7.6.6 on my 5,1 and 6,1 Mac Pro and if I can’t open DnX and ProRes on a 11k machine it seems pointless. What solutions are there to open, view and Convert files with as easy as QT Pro is?

[Neil Goodman]

a little confused – why wouldnt quicktime work? Im on a new 13inch macbook pro with catalina watching prores and dnxhd/hr quicktimes all day long.

[Dxtech]

Anytime I try and watch a DnX using QuickTime Play ( 10.4) it always tells me it has to convert the file… and then the bar doesn’t move. QT Pro 7 I can open it up right away. So if there’s something in the Adobe CC I can use to open files in Catalina no matter what machine and do simple edits and tweaks to levels I’ll good to go.

[Steve Zavo]

OP,
What adapter card did you use to add your PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD drive please?
Are there others you approve?
Thanks,
Steve z
And YES, cut that bottom bar off !!!