Rick Lang
Forum Replies Created
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[Marcus Moore] “Of all the benchmarks so far, the one’s on Apple’s own MacPro performance page are the most seemingly relevant to me. Especially because they appear to have been done using the upcoming software (with whatever improvements that will bring)”
Good point about using the next release software: maybe Barefeats could even have access to that under NDA for purposes of the test results only!
Marcus, I think the benchmark results on Apple’s Mac Pro pages are all using a fully maxed out 12-core D700 configuration. So that is of limited use, for those who are going that route (which I likely cannot afford). I was meaning benchmarks of different core and GPU configurations.
Of course I could be wrong because I haven’t checked Apple’s pages for a while.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Marcus Moore] “Depending on how well parallelized FCPX and Motion are, the 8-core with the higher clock speed might be the better bet.”
One benefit to the E5-1680v2 3 GHz 8-core configuration is that it comes with 25MB of L3 cache compared to less than half that for the E5-1650v2 3.5 GHz 6-core configuration.
I’m hoping some site will do a decent benchmark of the various options using real-world video applications. Although getting the equipment to benchmark would be very costly; Apple should loan at least a few different configurations to Barefeats or other similar site with the proviso that Apple’s Pro Apps are included in the published results.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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We talked about this several days ago on the COW in the thread regarding IP over Thunderbolt.
I think the article you quoted may have added some confusion. The article talks about the TB Bridge as anEthernet network, but he did not select Ethernet as his TB Bridge option, He enabled Thunderbolt2 in the sample screenshot so I think he was running IP over Thunderbolt, not Ethernet. Ethernet is an option he could have selected.
Or have I got this all wrong and the article is clear with the only confusion being in my head.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Marcus Moore] “I do a lot of drive swapping as well, and this will by my solution. A Thunderbolt to Thunderbot, USB2, USB3, and Firewire800 hub that can sit on my desk seems like the best solution.
“Belkin: https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055/
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Frank Gothmann] “You’d get that with any decent 8x HBA as long as it’s sitting in an 8x slot. Even with only 8 6G drives an an Areca card in an 8x slot you’re getting beyond 1100 in Raid 6 mode.”
On another forum, someone as an aside without explanation emphatically p[osted, “Don’t buy a 6-bay array.” I had thought the Pegasus R6 might be a good match for the Mac Pro, but after your comment and that other post’s warning, I think this may be the rationale: a 6-bay array just can’t match the > 1 GB/s transfer speeds of a larger RAID array using 7200 rpm hard disks.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Lance, to be kind, the $6,000 level may be where many professionals end up not counting all the necessary accessories some may need like monitors and external storage etc. Certainly the entry-level machine is half that but few may buy it depending upon their individual requirements of course.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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[Christian Schumacher] “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. “
After my Power Mac died, I went to the completely maxed out late iMac 2009 when the redesign seemed significant at the time and there was no shortage of hyperbole on Apple’s webpages. I thought I had made a purchase good for five years but I was suspicious that the GPU would be lacking. Well, surprise, within a few months the early 2010 iMac was out with a much better GPU and I did feel somewhat burned that there was no option to upgrade for the 2009 ‘early adopters’. Then of course the 2010 iMac owners got a taste of the same medicine when the 2011 iMacs included Thunderbolt if memory serves me correctly. So I agree if you know what you need, a tricked out iMac can serve you well these days. Maybe the 2014 iMac will be another leap forward from the 2009 iMac and set a new bar for what can be done for years to come.
But that is part of my thinking in returning to the potentially upgradable Mac Pro in which conceivably most of the components may prove to be “user accessible.” I don’t think the CPU and motherboard will be replaceable though so you have a good point to get something like the 8-core option that will more likely retain its value for at least three years. Sure we would all love the D700 GPU option as future-proofing, but I need to wait on prices and relevant benchmarks (using video, please Barefeats!) as the D500 may suffice. I agree best to max it out if you can though so we’ll see what happens in a few months.
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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[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] “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