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MP 6,1 Another should I replace my 5,1 thread

PaulhanRipple

PaulhanRipple

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2013
21
0
Paulhan, Occitanie, France
I have a 5,1 (2.8 quad core, 24 gb RAM, GTX 680 2 gb graphics, just over 2 terrabytes [several hundred ripped CDs in iTunes] used on the main disc and 800 gigabytes of RAW photos on another) which I bought used and then upgraded the RAM and discs. I use it for office stuff and so on plus as a music server to feed my hifi via Roon and to process images in Photoshop and, lately, mostly Lightroom.
Not being able to run Catalina, except via a kludge, has caused me to think about my options. And if the reason for that is because of Intel vulnerabilities then I'm a little concerned that this device is at the core of our household's affairs.
In a past life I ran departments supporting thousands of Windows 95 pcs, unix servers and the like. But I haven't looked at Windows since I retired. Tbh I haven't kept up with Mac developments either since I bought the 5,1. We're an apple household - iPhones, iPads, watch, and Macbook pro - and it all just works, mostly. So I'm not really looking to leave the apple world.
So, given all that, it seems that my choices boil down to:
1] stick with what I've got for a while (and maybe fudge a way to Catalina)
2] buy a used 6,1 and external SATA box
3] buy a Mac Mini (which one?) and external storage

What would you do?
 
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Stick with #1 and wait for a sale on a 6-12 month old #3 longer-term. Would likely save power costs with this method over time as well. Doesn't sound like you even need to be on Catalina for awhile.
 
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Mojave will have two more years of Security Updates, so you have until around October 2021 to buy a new Mac, so, no rush and you can take your time to find a good deal until the end of Mojave support.
 
Upgrading to Catalina isn’t a necessity either.
So far it appears to be riddled with problems, by the numerous updates so far.
 
This storage requirement sounds like a work load ideally suited to a NAS. That would free you up use any other kind of mac for general interaction.
 
drac said:
This storage requirement sounds like a work load ideally suited to a NAS. That would free you up use any other kind of mac for general interaction.
Click to expand...
Except for the sad fact that bandwidth and latencies on a NAS are usually far worse than on a DAS.

One of my servers with lots of IO needs has 192 Gbps direct storage links. A 1 GbE NAS is pathetic compared to that.... Even a 10 GbE NAS would be only 5% of the bandwidth of the DAS.

But yes, streaming one iTunes music file would be good for a NAS.
 
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AidenShaw said:
Except for the sad fact that bandwidth and latencies on a NAS are usually far worse than on a DAS.

One of my servers with lots of IO needs has 192 Gbps direct storage links. A 1 GbE NAS is pathetic compared to that.... Even a 10 GbE NAS would be only 5% of the bandwidth of the DAS.

But yes, streaming one iTunes music file would be good for a NAS.
Click to expand...

I don’t really get the impression with music files and 800gb of RAW photos that a NAS would be much of a limiting factor. Photos could be moved across before editing assuming the work flow isn’t local first then storage. Advantage is it would sit in the background as a low power always available source for music and storage for photos, that is accessible from all devices. That has a degree of resilience against drive failure.
 
AidenShaw said:
Except for the sad fact that bandwidth and latencies on a NAS are usually far worse than on a DAS.

One of my servers with lots of IO needs has 192 Gbps direct storage links. A 1 GbE NAS is pathetic compared to that.... Even a 10 GbE NAS would be only 5% of the bandwidth of the DAS.

But yes, streaming one iTunes music file would be good for a NAS.
Click to expand...

192 Gbps is pathetic for moving yottabytes of data though. Your DAS just isn't enough.


They clearly stated they have an iTunes library and do some image editing, did you just need an opportunity to flex?
 
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Given the tasks you've outlined the 5,1 seems more than adequate. I wouldn't worry about Catalina support until such time as you need Catalina (or a later version) and then reevaluate your situation.

The vulnerabilities in Intel chips is essentially a non-issue for you. IMO the risk is minimal for most everyone who isn't providing virtual hosting services where they share the same hardware (i.e. AWS or Azure types of services).

Power consumption may be a consideration if the system is left on 24/7 but even then it's likely the cost of acquiring a Mini would exceed any power cost savings by switching to the Mini. If you're interested in saving on power consumption do so for other reasons (heat, noise, being green, etc.).
 
tsialex said:
Mojave will have two more years of Security Updates, so you have until around October 2021 to buy a new Mac, so, no rush and you can take your time to find a good deal until the end of Mojave support.
Click to expand...
True, I am considering updating my 2010 MP 12 core. I really want a new computer and was hoping Apple would have an event in October announcing the MBP or iMacPro.
I figure out for around $1k I can update my GPU, RAM, storage and processor. That will keep me going for another two years as you have said and allow me to get Mojave and then Catalina.
 
What other major workarounds aside from a metal graphics card?
[automerge]1571348143[/automerge]
gugy said:
I figure out for around $1k I can update my GPU, RAM, storage and processor. That will keep me going for another two years as you have said and allow me to get Mojave and then Catalina.
Click to expand...

$1k seems like a lot. I’m upgrading the 5,1 that I recently acquired and I’m looking at nowhere near $1k in upgrades. Then again, we all have different uses in mind.
 
MarkC426 said:
So you CAN install Catalina with the above boot-arg....?
Click to expand...
A Mojave ready MP5,1 with an upgraded AirPort Extreme, if you use Wi-Fi, just need -no_compat_check to run Catalina.

To install it you have to:

  • use a Catalina supported Mac to install it
  • use a direct hardware VM, with VMware Fusion or Parallels, to install it
  • use a hacked install like dosdude1 to install it directly.
There is a thread dedicated to the first two options:

What you need to do to make Catalina work with MacPro5,1

This is the thread for the dosdude1 option:

macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs


P.S.: no one should be installing Catalina now, a lot of things are broken and it's buggier as hell, no need to rush to it.
 
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Ah so nothing has changed then, thanks.
From your earlier post I assumed just the boot-arg was required..... 🤪
 
CaliforniaDreamin said:
What other major workarounds aside from a metal graphics card?
[automerge]1571348143[/automerge]


$1k seems like a lot. I’m upgrading the 5,1 that I recently acquired and I’m looking at nowhere near $1k in upgrades. Then again, we all have different uses in mind.
Click to expand...
Not really. I’m considering 64gb RAM, RX580 GPU, 3.33 processors and two 2tb ssd drives.
 
gugy said:
Not really. I’m considering 64gb RAM, RX580 GPU, 3.33 processors and two 2tb ssd drives.
Click to expand...

That would be a great setup! I'm still not seeing how that would cost $1k, but I could be wrong. Do you mind itemizing costs across the products you're considering? I'm doing a similar build, maybe not to that extent, and seeing what you are looking at might help me. There are a ton of products on the market and it's overwhelming at times to be looking at the right things.
 
RAM around $200
SSD 2 drives $400
gpu $200
processors $150
couple ssd trays on OWC $35
you can find it all on Amazon or if you research hard you might be able to save a bit more.
 
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