At what point does the CPU in a 2009 MP become the bottle neck to the GFX card?

[juliancs]

Take a look at my signature. I have a 1080 for Windows gaming but I'm about to return my 1070 and swap it for an RX 580 for macOS as soon as they're in stock on Amazon. (Yes, even with the supposed performance hit.)

NVIDIA web drivers are a pain to use and not that reliable in my experience. Definitely worth getting an RX 580 over a 1060 without a shadow of a doubt.

If this were a PC and not a Mac, then yes, sure, get the 1060. But if that were the case you wouldn't be here on MacRumors

Still get an RX 580 even if I am getting the GPU to bootcamp game? From what uninformed reading I've done it seems the cards will be held back by the processor anyway...

 

[Squuiid]

Still get an RX 580 even if I am getting the GPU to bootcamp game? From what uninformed reading I've done it seems the cards will be held back by the processor anyway...

Are you using the Mac Pro exclusively for Windows or will you also use macOS?

Note, there is not much of a performance difference between a 1060 and an RX 580.

While the CPU and PCIe bus of a Mac Pro will not allow the full potential of a GTX 1080 for example it still destroys a GTX 1060 or RX 580 when used at 1600p resolution. It all depends on the use case.
If you are gaming at 1080p an RX 580 will be perfect.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Some games will get a 20% hit, some games will get a 5% hit. Everything will be playable at 2K anyway. At least for two more years. After that even 1080 will start to look slow. Nobody will have a cMP by then anyway. They will be on eBay for 200 dollars and bought for scrap metal.

 

[juliancs]

Are you using the Mac Pro exclusively for Windows or will you also use macOS?

Note, there is not much of a performance difference between a 1060 and an RX 580.

While the CPU and PCIe bus will not allow the full potential of a GTX 1080 for example it still destroys a GTX 1060 or RX 580 when used at 1600p resolution. It all depends on the use case.
If you are gaming at 1080p an RX 580 will be perfect.

Thanks again. I'm grinding myself (and you poor guys) through all this to try and stick to OSX. I've got a Macbook Pro and 7 mac hard drives. I do lots of work in Logic Pro still and much prefer the OS for everything else. I'm just trying to get myself a decent bootcamp set up while I'm at it because the gamer in me will never fully die.

I'll be gaming on a 1080p monitor so it sounds like the 580 is the best and easiest bet. I don't think I've ever played games at ultra ultra settings and it seems this card can do most games at 50fps, which is fine for me. If I get a 6 to 8 pin cable for the card, do I need to worry about 'underpowering' other slots in the computer? Do I have to flash the card, or do I just have to be on Sierra (the 5,1 works on Sierra AFAIK).

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Some games will get a 20% hit, some games will get a 5% hit. Everything will be playable at 2K anyway. At least for two more years. After that even 1080 will start to look slow. Nobody will have a cMP by then anyway. They will be on eBay for 200 dollars and bought for scrap metal.

Ah ok, I'm going max 1440p if I ever upgrade a monitor but will be on 1080p for a long time. Thank you thank you!

 

[Squuiid]

If I get a 6 to 8 pin cable for the card, do I need to worry about 'underpowering' other slots in the computer? Do I have to flash the card, or do I just have to be on Sierra (the 5,1 works on Sierra AFAIK).

This is the cable you need:
16AWG Dual Mini 6pin to 8Pin PCI-e For Mac Pro Vide…
You don't need to flash the card, it's plug and play as long as you have macOS Sierra 10.12.6 or are using the High Sierra Beta.

 

[flehman]

One other point you should consider is that upgrading CPUs on a dual-CPU 4,1 is a trickier process due to the CPUs being de-lidded. The 5,1 does not have this issue. If you are specifically looking at a 4,1 the single-CPU models are easier b/c the CPU is NOT de-lidded and upgrading is more straightforward. This another area where OP needs to do some serious reading/research in the relevant threads in this forum and elsewhere and consider his technical acumen as far as upgrading before making a purchasing decision.

 

[juliancs]

This is the cable you need:
16AWG Dual Mini 6pin to 8Pin PCI-e For Mac Pro Vide…
You don't need to flash the card, it's plug and play as long as you have macOS Sierra 10.12.6 or are using the High Sierra Beta.

Thank you so much again. I'm sure I'll ask you some questions down the line. I've found a 2010 hexcore 3.46ghz with 48GB Ram and a 512SSD for 1000 euros, so it looks like I will save almost a grand in total. Thank you so much for the idea to do it myself!
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One other point you should consider is that upgrading CPUs on a dual-CPU 4,1 is a trickier process due to the CPUs being de-lidded. The 5,1 does not have this issue. If you are specifically looking at a 4,1 the single-CPU models are easier b/c the CPU is NOT de-lidded and upgrading is more straightforward. This another area where OP needs to do some serious reading/research in the relevant threads in this forum and elsewhere and consider his technical acumen as far as upgrading before making a purchasing decision.

Yea, I'm now looking at 2010 models to avoid this. Seems they have a few steps up on the 4.1s in terms of update possibilities.

 

[Squuiid]

I've found a 2010 hexcore 3.46ghz with 48GB Ram and a 512SSD for 1000 euros, so it looks like I will save almost a grand in total. Thank you so much for the idea to do it myself!

Now that sounds like a MUCH better deal!

 

[Michael Scrip]

I mean no ill will here...

But I feel bad for you Mac Pro people.

You're scouring Ebay looking for 7 year old computers that you will attempt to upgrade with some modern parts.

Man.... I really hope Apple delivers the Mac Pro of your dreams next year

 

[juliancs]

I mean no ill will here...

But I feel bad for you Mac Pro people.

You're scouring Ebay looking for 7 year old computers that you will attempt to upgrade with some modern parts.

Man.... I really hope Apple delivers the Mac Pro of your dreams next year

I won't be able to afford it anyway, prices for new Mac stuff is just astronomical. This is me spending a bit of cash to have a desktop (plugging my laptop into everything 2/3 times a day is just annoying) that should do everything I want for the next couple of years. Seems decent to me!

 

[tomscott1988]

I bought mine 2010 6 core 3.46 48gb 512gb PCIx SSD 5770 4tb 3 years ago for £1000.

For that money the new iMac will be a better tool. I'm really struggling with mine as a professional photographer. I do have the 6 core as the 12 doesn't make any difference to me as its mainly single core performance.

I love my Mac Pro but they are getting on nearly 10 years old and its not too far away where official support will cease and you get that fantastic 5k display.

 

[DPUser]

I run Digital Performer all day almost ever day and, like Logic and most DAWs, it makes full use of as many cores as you can throw at it. Audio apps love multi core... Please keep this in mind when providing advice folks!

4k monitors are inexpensive and provide amazing DAW real estate. I'm running a 4k 40" driven from an AMD RX460 (plug n' play, no drivers required under Sierra) in my studio and it is fantastic. Display cost under $300. I much prefer to keep my CPU and GPU in a machine room, not on my (very quiet) studio desktop.