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Buying a 6,1 can't decide what model

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circuitt

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 3, 2016
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Buying a 6,1 refurb, I mainly use it for Audio, and dabble in video.
I was thinking the d300 at first but after reading some posts, It seems there could be long term issue with the d300.
Is this true ?
I'm swapping in an 8 core imminently.
These are my choices. Figured the d500 would be a safer choice. And 512 min. For flash storage.
 
If you are going to stick with a D300 and add in your own Processor, then buy it at B&H. They are selling the 4-core/D300 model for $1999.
 
Is there a big difference between the d300 and d500 ? I'm running two 4k monitors but usually run in 1080 during Audio and flip to 4k when dealing with images and stuff
 
I have 3 macpros at my work, but they all have d700s, so I have no idea on the performance of the d300/d500. Unfortunately, they are all old technology and kind of suck when you compare to cards on the market today.
Since High Sierra will support eGPU natively, I was thinking of doing the same as you (proc/mem upgrade), plus adding an eGPU setup. I just can't find much on the web with people testing eGPU on the 6,1 machines, only laptops.
 
Ahh I see I didn't think about external GPU options. wondering if eGPU's would work with thunderbolt 2 vs 3.
either way my main concern was the reliability of the internal GPU's. d500 I figured would have less issues.
anyways shoot, gotta pull the trigger soon.
 
MrPoopiePants said:
I have 3 macpros at my work, but they all have d700s, so I have no idea on the performance of the d300/d500. Unfortunately, they are all old technology and kind of suck when you compare to cards on the market today.
Since High Sierra will support eGPU natively, I was thinking of doing the same as you (proc/mem upgrade), plus adding an eGPU setup. I just can't find much on the web with people testing eGPU on the 6,1 machines, only laptops.
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When working in FCPX, you'll find nMP with d700s to be quite capable still. 6,1 is a small market but TB3 - TB2 adapter works for eGPU.

circuitt said:
Ahh I see I didn't think about external GPU options. wondering if eGPU's would work with thunderbolt 2 vs 3.
either way my main concern was the reliability of the internal GPU's. d500 I figured would have less issues.
anyways shoot, gotta pull the trigger soon.
Click to expand...
d700s gives you + 7TFLOPS to whatever eGPU you decide to run. That's a decent boost of performance for today.
 
d700 might be overkill for me, I'm very light on video editing , 100% audio. just looking for stability, no overheating etc..
 
circuitt said:
Is there a big difference between the d300 and d500 ? I'm running two 4k monitors but usually run in 1080 during Audio and flip to 4k when dealing with images and stuff
Click to expand...
You keep mention issues with the D300, and the D500 being more reliable, but not sure where you're getting that? Any GPU is prone to failure - I haven't seen anything to suggest the D300 is any less reliable than any other GPU? (and no, generally speaking this forum is not a "source" - it's a joke as far as any kind of objective discussion on the nMP)

I have the D300 (purchased early 2014) and have been sporting two 4K displays for a couple years now, and it's a great setup. A friend has the exact same setup and also no problems.

The D300 is not great if you're a gamer, 3D modeling, or anything that's GPU intensive. But I dabble in FCPX, and it works absolutely fine for light video editing.

Since you've repeatedly indicated that you do audio, the D300 is perfect for that. The nMP makes for a fantastic audio workstation IMO. The CPU will just chug along, super quiet, lots of connectivity.

Good luck!
 
Yeah, just from reading posts and what not about the GPu recall and the d500/700 being covered and not the 300, but I'm sure it's not as big as people claim. Just being a little over cautious maybe.






ixxx69 said:
You keep mention issues with the D300, and the D500 being more reliable, but not sure where you're getting that? Any GPU is prone to failure - I haven't seen anything to suggest the D300 is any less reliable than any other GPU? (and no, generally speaking this forum is not a "source" - it's a joke as far as any kind of objective discussion on the nMP)

I have the D300 (purchased early 2014) and have been sporting two 4K displays for a couple years now, and it's a great setup. A friend has the exact same setup and also no problems.

The D300 is not great if you're a gamer, 3D modeling, or anything that's GPU intensive. But I dabble in FCPX, and it works absolutely fine for light video editing.

Since you've repeatedly indicated that you do audio, the D300 is perfect for that. The nMP makes for a fantastic audio workstation IMO. The CPU will just chug along, super quiet, lots of connectivity.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
circuitt said:
Yeah, just from reading posts and what not about the GPu recall and the d500/700 being covered and not the 300, but I'm sure it's not as big as people claim. Just being a little over cautious maybe.
Click to expand...
Right, the D500 & D700 were covered because they were having some issues. The D300 wasn't covered because it wasn't having those issues. ;)
 
I hate to be "that guy" but these are pretty old tech. You're much better off getting a current high spec iMac for the same price.
 
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ixxx69 said:
Very much agree. If you can get over the built-in glossy screen (I can't), the 5K iMac makes for an awesome DAW.
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yeah I've kicked that around a bit as well, but I can't deal with fan noise at all. Plus the newer i7 isn't faster than a 3.3 8 core that I plan to drop in. The extra instruction set (quick sync) does nothing for me. I'm more concerned with multi core performance. Video rendering is last on my list. I have two identical 4k monitors, having two different ones isn't so nice. I already own an OWC Thunderbay and thunderbolt dock, monitors use mini display ports that's plug in play vs having to get a bunch of USB3 Dongles.
 
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circuitt said:
yeah I've kicked that around a bit as well, but I can't deal with fan noise at all. Plus the newer i7 isn't faster than a 3.3 8 core that I plan to drop in. The extra instruction set (quick sync) does nothing for me. I'm more concerned with multi core performance. Video rendering is last on my list. I have two identical 4k monitors, having two different ones isn't so nice. I already own an OWC Thunderbay and thunderbolt dock, monitors use mini display ports that's plug in play vs having to get a bunch of USB3 Dongles.
Click to expand...
The nMP is getting long in the tooth, but if you view it as just a tool to get work done, for your usage, you should be in great shape for several more years.
 
good machine for audio, maybe wait till the iMac pro ships, nMP prices will drop significantly since a lot of businesses will swap to iMac pro
 
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