2013 Mac Pro GPU upgrade

[fuchsdh]

I agree with the overall sentiment, but I wouldn't exactly note their lackluster presence (or complete lack there of) in the retail stores. The old Mac Pro tower got the same treatment.

A couple of weeks ago I met up with a friend who I used to work with and he was telling me he had recently bought the nMP. He just wanted the base model, so figured he'd just head down to the store. As they brought it out from the back, a group of employees hovered around them as they did the transaction as if it was something special, with one of them eventually saying, "no one's ever bought one of these here." Of course I'd expect 99% of nMP sale to happen online, but I found that kind of funny.

I hadn't been in an Apple store in a few years, so I popped into one the other week while my SO was at an appointment and I was amazed at how open and empty it felt. Without the people (this was a random Thursday evening) and with all of Apple's devices pretty small and thin these days, it was hard to actually find the desktop Macs.

I can still remember visiting that store when it first opened, and how full of the software shelves, registers, and physical objects it was. It's certainly interesting to see how things have changed in basically a decade.

(Also, with few people in the store, it felt strangely alien, because I was suddenly cognizant of how many Apple store employees there were, idling around quizzing each other on Apple Watch stuff, or making sure everything was connected and secure, or wiping down every smudged screen. It kind of reminded me of people talking about the ghost cities in China.)

 

[handsome pete]

So they could easily have given it a .1ghz overclock boost for marketing effect.

A 3-5% speed bump on existing architecture for marketing? What's the point in that? Might as well wait for the new chips and toss in the new trackpad and such at that point.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

A 3-5% speed bump on existing architecture for marketing? What's the point in that? Might as well wait for the new chips and toss in the new trackpad and such at that point.

To bring in the other options like the trackpad and keyboard. Also, the bump was .2ghz on an originally .9ghz piece, so there is room for more than a little .1ghz bump on the overclocking. So they could bump it up .2 or .3ghz easily, which is in line with other minor speed bumps they've made in the past.

That said, fair minded folks can say that it's better to wait for the new chipset before they give the 15" a face lift, and if it's a matter of waiting just a month or two, I agree. If it's a matter of waitng 9 months, then I'd say a quicky update would have made sense here. But again, fair minded folks could easily disagree on that point.

 

[vsighi]

U just love posts where people say that they do not like concept around nMP, its flexibility and so on....and they bought itd....why ?

I bought it and I do not like it.....so research more next time.

What specs you have on the 2013 nMP !?
Why you did not like it !? I am getting disappointed about the fact that Apple is not giving us option to upgrade...everything is so control by Apple like North Korea

 

[flowrider]

^^^^You're comparing Apple to North Korea??????

Lou

 

[bax2003]

What specs you have on the 2013 nMP !?
Why you did not like it !? I am getting disappointed about the fact that Apple is not giving us option to upgrade...everything is so control by Apple like North Korea

A bought Base config, later on I am going to upgrade RAM, CPU and PCIe flash. I am fine with Dual FirePro D300. I have external 2TB LaCie Thunderbolt drive and 3TB NAS.

I am just curious how can somebody (not you specifically) buy something and later on discover some technical solution that he does not like and it is somehow Apples fault.

 

[Gwendolini]

Um, yea, they are overclocking them: https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/13/1-2-ghz-retina-macbook-geekbench/


http://www.unlockpwd.com/macbook-12...eably-faster-than-the-basic-model-benchmarks/


So they could easily have given it a .1ghz overclock boost for marketing effect.

So eat some crow, and next time when some says we can agree to disagree, have the most remedial manners without being a crude windbag that has to hear yourself blab the last word.

Ah, I see. They do use the Core M in the Retina MBP now. Good to know, or as it seems, your computational knowledge about what CPUs are used in what models gets you to believe, that Intel or Apple could overclock the i7s in the 15" Retina MBP.

I guess with that kind of knowledge you wouldn't see the difference anyway and could be happy with just the base model of the 2004 iBooks.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Ah, I see. They do use the Core M in the Retina MBP now. Good to know, or as it seems, your computational knowledge about what CPUs are used in what models gets you to believe, that Intel or Apple could overclock the i7s in the 15" Retina MBP.

I guess with that kind of knowledge you wouldn't see the difference anyway and could be happy with just the base model of the 2004 iBooks.

Right, because no other CPU in the history of CPUs was overclockable before the M. Your knowledge is impressive.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/overclocking-intel-processors.html

So here is a page by intel talking about overclocking and listing the i7. Amazing!

Keep squirming buddy. I'm enjoying the show.

 

[Gwendolini]

Right, because no other CPU in the history of CPUs was overclockable before the M. Your knowledge is impressive.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/overclocking-intel-processors.html

So here is a page by intel talking about overclocking and listing the i7. Amazing!

Keep squirming buddy. I'm enjoying the show.

You mean those i5 and i7 K CPUs for desktops should indicate, that the quad core i7 CPUs used in the MacBook Pro are unlocked and overclockable too?

Well done on deduction on your part. Really.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

You mean those i5 and i7 K CPUs for desktops should indicate, that the quad core i7 CPUs used in the MacBook Pro are unlocked and overclockable too?

Well done on deduction on your part. Really.

Right, because it's a COMPLETELY different think and no one has ever overclocked a laptop or an i7 laptop.

Dance little man, dance.

 

[Gwendolini]

Right, because it's a COMPLETELY different think and no one has ever overclocked a laptop or an i7 laptop.

Dance little man, dance.

You mean, because Intel shipped those i7s to MSI which were overclockable, Apple can do the same?
How much gain would that have gotten the consumer?

 

[ActionableMango]

You two are wasting your time.

 

[MacVidCards]

And I may be filing a Union Grievance.

I have a contractual guarantee of being involved in ALL nMP GPU arguments.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

You mean, because Intel shipped those i7s to MSI which were overclockable, Apple can do the same?
How much gain would that have gotten the consumer?

Yes, because Apple has way more buying power than MSI that they could get at least that if not better options. As for how much better, I don't know. Some amount. In the past they've had minor .2ghz bumps, so that clearly is easily doable. For the mobile processor they overclocked a .9ghz part to 1.1 which is over 20% bump. So, let's say something more modest around 10% of say a .25ghz upgrade. In line with other bumps.

Like I said earlier, with the other upgrades, would be a tidy update. Now is it worth waiting for the new chipset, reasonable people could agree to disagree (despite your flare for the belligerent) on it. My sense is if they had to hold the update for 9 months, yes, the quick bump would be worthwhile.

But latest rumors seem to suggest they may have updates in a month or so (so maybe 2-3 months after the last announcement), then yea, then it's worth holding back to get the more substantial chipset upgrade. I agree with that.

As always, YMMV.

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You two are wasting your time.

We may be wasting your time, but such exercises can be educational.

Shouldn't be a shocker. It's an internet forum. People might disagree. They may have at it a bit during their disagreement. I think it's somewhat the point of forums to have some rabbit holes. To some extent. As always, YMMV.

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and i may be filing a union grievance.

I have a contractual guarantee of being involved in all nmp gpu arguments.

 

[gdesignz]

I've been curous about upgrading my Mac Pro 2013 AMD card, from the D500 to the D700.I was wondering if card A & B really need to be used together, or can I have two B or A cards of the same size an it'll work?Any information would be great..thx

 

[h9826790]

I've been curous about upgrading my Mac Pro 2013 AMD card, from the D500 to the D700.I was wondering if card A & B really need to be used together, or can I have two B or A cards of the same size an it'll work?Any information would be great..thx

I don't own this Mac, but from what I've read here, A B cards are NOT interchangeable. But you can only upgrade one of the card, not necessary do it in pair.

You may try to search, I am pretty sure one of the nMP user upgrade one of the card, and run as D300 + D700.

 

[gdesignz]

I don't own this Mac, but from what I've read here, A B cards are NOT interchangeable. But you can only upgrade one of the card, not necessary do it in pair.

You may try to search, I am pretty sure one of the nMP user upgrade one of the card, and run as D300 + D700.

I recently spoek to an AMD tech person, they told me that the cards are exactly the same and apple just named them A & B.Getting it from the people that have created the cards, I'll be forced to take there word.The only thing I am worried about a little bit, is that apple might of modified the locking mechanism of the cards..

 

[h9826790]

I recently spoek to an AMD tech person, they told me that the cards are exactly the same and apple just named them A & B.Getting it from the people that have created the cards, I'll be forced to take there word.The only thing I am worried about a little bit, is that apple might of modified the locking mechanism of the cards..

In terms of spec, they may be identical, but in the picture, they doesn't looks the same. May be you should open up your nMP and have a look. It looks like the card cannot fit into the other slot. Also, it seems one of the card need to handle the SSD, the other doesn't.

 

[gdesignz]

In terms of spec, they may be identical, but in the picture, they doesn't looks the same. May be you should open up your nMP and have a look. It looks like the card cannot fit into the other slot. Also, it seems one of the card need to handle the SSD, the other doesn't.View attachment 747129

That’s exactly what I should of done, instead of trustibf the AMD people..what do they know right..lol..they only created the card..lol..You’re right, the way the cards attached is different and some other things as well.
I was actually able to get dual D700’s A&B cards for half the cost of one..so that was very cool..

Thx for your input..