Alex Gerulaitis
Forum Replies Created
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[Eric Bowman] “you must have been confused with the current Mac Pro model, and not the upcoming Mac Pro regarding memory.”
I wasn’t. I could probably find a cached version of the spec showing the 32GB limit but it’s late, I am lazy, and a beer sounds more enticing than googling around.
Intel based Mac Pros have a 32GB limit on most models (8GB per memory socket) – per CPU, so the 32GB limit doesn’t apply to them either. The upcoming one is the exception supporting 16GB per memory socket.
[Eric Bowman] “The AMD GPUs will be fine as well, as they are supported in Maya, C4D and even Element 3D”
Likely slower than NVidia counterparts where GPU acceleration in Adobe apps is concerned. (This is an After Effects forum, isn’t it?) Also: you can use AMD cards in Dells and HPs if that’s your cup of tea.
[Eric Bowman] “You said 7619 but I don’t see that”
Somebody else did, not me.
[Eric Bowman] “Now, I know it’s not a perfect comparison.”
Let’s first figure out what we are discussing. OP wasn’t asking about prices, he was asking how would the upcoming Mac Pro compare to a tricked out T7610. That’s not a comparison on value but on performance.
If you’re interested in prices or value (performance per $), an HP Z420 or Dell T3600 are a far better match specs-wise: single CPU, support for multiple GPUs. Those will likely be much more competitive with the new Mac Pro on prices. They won’t be as shiny and cylindrical of course but they will have a 3-year on-site warranty included, and you wouldn’t have to talk to a Genius to get it fixed.
Hope this helps.
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[Robert Ober] “If it is a 6G backplane, shouldn’t it be faster when using RAID 0 ?”
Not if eSATA is 3G – which it is according to p.6 of the manual. Theoretically it could be faster than 300MB/s over USB 3.0, yet very few USB 3.0 implementations (UAS mostly) achieve that.
— Alex Gerulaitis | Systems Engineer | DV411 – Los Angeles, CA
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[Eric Bowman] “you have your specs wrong”
I didn’t when I looked at them last.
Future is what it is: not here yet. Z820 with 24 phys cores (48 virtual) is available now, ETA 11/23/13 if you order today. Up to 512GB memory, three high-power GPUs. The Mac Pro is just nowhere close.
Single CPU, and very, very limited choice of GPUs will likely be a limitation for people looking for ultimate performance.
Lack of enterprise backbone is another.
Lack of killer apps (what FCP7, Color and Motion used to be) is creeping up on Apple, too. Far as I am concerned, Apple desktops are doomed – not because they are bad (they’re excellent), but because it can’t be a profitable business for Apple.
— Alex Gerulaitis | Systems Engineer | DV411 – Los Angeles, CA
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[Wendell Davis] “Peter on a MacPro for the most part nearly maxed out… Just want the fastest card that works in a Mac for Premiere Pro – Photoshop…etc.”
Agree with Peter – GTX-680 is the class leader for Premiere Pro CS6 in Mac land.
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Bob, can optical cables be used with existing TB ports w/o transceivers?
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[Greg Leuenberger] “You do know that link is for a 4TB box with no HBA?”
My bad! Creeped into a 16TB search, I goofed. That said: a 12-bay SAS JBOD – $800 (no drives, no HBA), 6x 2TB WD SE Enterprise class drives – $930 ($155 ea.). LSI SAS HBA – $350. That’s $2,080 for the same capacity, expandable to 12 drives. 8-bay SAS JBOD towers start at below $400. Need RAID? About $400 more.
Alternately, Areca 4036 is $200 more, with 24Gbs pipeline (vs. 12Gbs on the other one). You probably know what SAS expansion means, and what it brings to the table in terms for storage applications.
Finally, here is to hoping you don’t plan to have 3-5 editors all connecting to a 6-bay Pegasus box as their main shared storage. Once we start looking at 8-, 12- and 16-bay boxes, feel free to prove TB is still cheaper.
We were talking about shared storage, weren’t we? You still think SAS is more expensive?
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[Greg Leuenberger] “I know exactly what TB is and it’s working just wonderfully – my *clients* are Adobe and Avid and Cisco”
That self-professed knowledge and high profile clients change everything! /Furrowing brows/ What took you so long to mention that you know what Thunderbolt is?
Don’t know what explains your missing the link in my post, to a $1.4K 16TB SAS box, and why you choose to ignore various other points.
Good luck with your quest to advance your knowledge. 🙂
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[Greg Leuenberger] “That’s $1,600 (plus a slot) with 0 drives…build it yourself”
I don’t understand where you’re getting these numbers. A 16TB SAS box starts at $1.4K – yes, plus a slot. SAS RAID controllers start at $600, HBAs – less than that.
And no, you don’t have to “build it yourself” outside of popping an HBA or a RAID controller into the tower.
And if the attraction of TB for shared storage is the ability to plug a monitor into the back of it… I digress.
TB isn’t some magic bullet – its hardware and connectivity costs money. Perhaps in some configurations it’s a little less than SAS – but nothing extravagant. It’s also a consumer tech not fit or designed for shared storage applications.
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[Greg Leuenberger] “SAS storage is also more expensive than TB storage.”
How so, Greg? The few TB storage choices (Promise, CineRAID, etc.) – are roughly in the same ballpark with similar SAS solutions. Once you add drives, the difference is negligible if any. Once you look at expandability, features, speed – SAS wins by a large margin. TB wins only by not having to install an HBA or a RAID controller, i.e. when working in the field and/or on laptops, needing something that’s portable between multiple systems, etc.
An 8-bay JBOD SAS tower can be had for under $600 (sans HBA or controller), a decent LSI-based 8-bay SAS expander – for under $1K.
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Adobe Hardware forum has a lot of threads on DIY configs. Workstation-class OTS Dell or HP could work if you’re willing to (hire someone to) configure it properly with the right GPU and storage – which usually isn’t available OTS from them unless you go for the more expensive and not necessarily adequate components.
See if these help:
– HP Z820 – configurations notes
– How to build / buy a video editing PC (June 2012)HTH.