[Andre Van berlo]

“I hope I don’t have buyers remorse but that $2,000 for the 8-core bump is looking like $500 more than I thought and it may not be the best value for me. Unless it’s essential for 4K in DaVinci Resolve.”

I feel the same way. I was going for the 8 core if it was reasonably priced but $2000 (probably €2000 here) on top of that premium of $3999,- is just too much. I still can’t believe the D700’s come at a +$600 only.

Apple has clearly made the CPU the defining factor. You will only be buying 8 or 12 cores if you really really need them… …or you just have way too much money to spend 🙂 In my case, I guess I’m not pro enough 😀

[Andre Van berlo]

I also thought the upgrade would have been a lot more expensive. D700’s, no less than 2 of them for a mere upgrade price of $600 is just bizar.

It’s already hard to wait for the release but with these rumouring prices it becomes agony 🙂

[Andre Van berlo]

In that case I don’t have a choice anymore: I just have to get those d700’s!

Also the extra 16GB of ram for $300 isn’t too bad. Starting to look a lot like christmas! 🙂

[Andre Van berlo]

if you take the six core model as base config I expect the D700’s will come with a $1250 pricetag. Considering the retail price (they’re essentially w9000’s) of about $6000 for a pair that’s pretty cheap.

That’s the strange thing about these rumoured prices, a 12 core xeon retails at about $2900, but to upgrade from a 6 core to a 12 core is $3000? That dog sure don’t hunt… And those $6000 GPU’s would come at a price of only 600 extra??

it’s always guessing but i’m guessing to go from 6 to 8 cores you pay $1000, and to go from 6 to 12 $2250 extra, perhaps a bit less. It is still strange when you compare that to the d700’s but Tim Cook was very outspoken about the deal they’ve got on those GPU’s.

ah well…. it’s already tuesday here 😉

[Andre Van berlo]

only $600 to go from D500’s to D700’s?, if that’s true I’d get the 700’s in a heartbeat but I expect those 700’s come with a much much heftier price tag.

ah well, we’ll see soon enough i guess 😀

[Andre Van berlo]

I understand that the D700’s are going to kick ass on that machine, but what’s the difference with the D500’s. For someone who renders a project on a D500 and it takes 3hrs, the D700 would be best but if rendering with the D500 takes 10min, is it worth it to pay the extra $2-2.5k?

But I guess we’ll know once the first people make their Bruce-X tests 🙂 with their MP’s

[Andre Van berlo]

This is an interesting comparison:

A $9700 PC with comparable options except for… The GPU, only 1 (NVIDIA quaddro 3GB –> seems comparable to 1 D500) which retails at $799.00 at Newegg.com. Sure that build has 4TB storage and a few optical drives and expansion possibilities but when you compare the most important hardware, the mac pro is way ahead for a lower price…

check the link here: https://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadaventumii.asp?id=869446&workstation=1

[Andre Van berlo]

I think if you buy the exact same components like same 12 core CPU and 2xd700GPU you’re already at $8500. I think it would be quite hard to get a matching setup for the same price.
The 4 and 6 core machines are a different story as there are hackintosh builds that got impressive stats and match geekbench results. (although there is more to a computer than those benchmark tests)

I once wanted to do a hackintosh but what most people forget is those things take time to build. Most people spend weeks to months checking parts, configs, etc. Those hours also cost money as you could have been working during that time. When you count the hours it takes setting up a hackintosh that matches the maxed out mac pro I think you’re well past $9500 in hours and parts. Of course there are probably people who can prove they did it for less, the question is: can we? I know i can’t…

My point of view is that the new mac pro a pretty good deal. (at least I hope so 🙂

[Andre Van berlo]

But for whom would each GPU set be? Doesn’t the GPU option kinda depend on your workload?

I’m doing 1080p HD video and not going to be doing any 4K in the coming 2-3years. I can imagine peope like Larry Jordan having need for a D700 set but you’d think the D500’s are quite capable too. Even if they’re only midrange you’re going to be paying a hefty price to go from D500 to D700. When you need it that’s the way to go but if not it’s a waste of power.

Could anyone give an indication to which GPU would suit which type of workload?

[Andre Van berlo]

From what I’ve read it is all about which software you use and if it can use all those cores. I don’t need 6 cores for the kind of editing that I do but I do need 6-8 cores for the kind of live streaming that I’m going to do in 2014.

I think most people here know exactly what they’re needs are because most have been doing their work already for a long time. I’m just a guitar teacher who got into editing because these days you’ve got to be active online as well(lot of fun though!!). In the past I’ve bought 2 iMacs, and each time I bought one it turned out to be under spec’d. Why? Because with the first one, 6 months later I started using it in my home studio for audio recording, then I bought a new iMac a couple of frustrating years later and guess what? 6 months later I started editing video on a daily basis and soon that iMac was underspecced as well…

I’m quite keen on getting it right this time, especially considering the prices 🙂