Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice on configuring a new Mac Pro 7,1 for my independent animation studio. I use Adobe AfterEffects for animation (lots of “2 and a half D” style motion graphics as well as compositing and film/video manipulation) and Adobe Photoshop for design.
I keep my computers for about 8-10 years (I’ve been in business since the mid-90s and I’ve only used Macs — I’m not interested in building a PC). I’ve got a large budget set aside for this new computer and accessories (I’m looking at upgrading my external storage solutions to Thunderbolt from eSATA as well as purchasing dual 4K monitors).
That said, I would also like to see if it’s possible to continue using some of the upgraded components I’ve purchased over the years in my current setup as well, especially the SSD storage that I’m currently using.
I’ll start by thanking everyone for reading this — I know there are a ton of expert users on this forum, and I really appreciate any advice I get. Also happy to answer as many questions as possible.
First off, I’ll describe my current setup:
Mac Pro 5, 1 (Mid 2010), running macOS Sierra v 10.12.6
Processor: 2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory: 64 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTx 980 TI 6144MB (Purchased from macvidcards)
Monitors:
LED Cinema Display (2560x1440)
Cinema HD Display (1920x1200)
Internal SSD storage:
2 TB Samsung SSD 850 PRO
2 TB Samsung SSD 850 PRO
1 TB Samsung SSD 840 EVO
1 TB Samsung SSD 840 EVO
960 GB OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD
960 GB OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD
External spinning drive storage:
24 TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual RAID USB 3.1/eSATA
10 TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro 7200 128MB with eSATA
10 TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro 7200 128MB with eSATA
(I connect these spinning drives to my 5,1 Mac Pro via a NewerTech MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 host adapter.)
My questions for the new Mac Pro 7,1 are:
1. Processor: Considering I’d like this computer to last for 8-10 years, I’m assuming I should choose the fastest processor — the 28-Core 2.5 GHz Intel Xeon W?
2. Memory: I’m considering just getting the ‘minimum’ memory when I build the computer from Apple and then upgrading with memory from OWC (I’m assuming the OWC memory will be cheaper without sacrificing quality).
That said, what ‘amount’ of memory should I consider? I’d love to be able to run AfterEffects and Photoshop simultaneously on this new machine.
3. Graphics: Which AMD Radion Pro Vega II option would be the best for AfterEffects? I’m also purchasing two new 4K monitors (I’m looking at the LG UltraFine 4K display, but if anyone has other recommendations, I’d love to hear them) and place them side-to-side in my new setup.
4. Storage: Considering I currently have almost 8 TBs of SSD storage internally inside my 5,1 Mac Pro, I’m obviously looking at solutions where I’ll be using external SSD storage of some kind.
A. One of my main questions is are there solutions where I can move the Samsung SSD drives and/or the OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD cards that are currently inside my 5,1 Mac Pro to external enclosure(s) and connect them via Thunderbolt to the new 7,1 Mac Pro?
Would moving these drives “erase” the data currently on the drives? What kind of speed loss would I be looking at compared to the internal SSD drive options from Apple? Would I just be, in the long run, better off buying something like an OWC Thunderblade for my external SSD needs?
B. If I purchased a new Thunderbolt enclosure for my spinning drives, would I be able to move my current spinning drives that are in my Mercury Elite Pro eSATA enclosures? Or would it just be better off to buy a new Thunderbolt drive enclosure + new drives (something like the OWC ThunderBay 4 RAID?)
Totally understand that I’ve asked a ton of questions here, and I thank you all again for any advice you have to offer!
Here's a few suggestions based on running Mac OS and Windows workstations over the years, numbers of different configs in mass university labs and studios etc (mostly pro audio and film production):
1. Processor: largest number of cores is not necessarily the best option for various workflows /apps etc. I suggest doing a little research on the particular processors involved & there are very good platform agnostic /pro sites that will provide such information, in this case on the various models of Intel Xeon-W CPUs. A a general rule of thumb however, multiply the core numbers by the CPU speed to get a better understanding of the processing power (there is also a third multiplier for specific use scenarios worth following up via research if you wish). Aside from this, there are also many good use cases which also indicate 'nothing less than 3.0 Ghz raw CPU speed'. Bottom line here, I'd suggest that the 16 core Xeon-W would be the sweet spot for multi-core usage, but also NB that for some apps single core performance is more useful
2. Memory. Mac workstations want and perform best with 3 x multipliers of Ram configurations, ie, in your existing Mac Pro that would have been 48GB (not 64). So for the MP 7.1, I'd suggest 48GB or 96GB (likely the latter for now). NB that the 'minimum memory' from Apple is different Ram class that what you need for the optional processor upgrades - one assumes that a BTO would make this happen automatically given compatibility issues here.
3. Graphics: displays, would suggest some of the excellent Benq Displays for colour calibration and pro delivery work etc. GPU, personally, I'd go with the Vega II Duo MPX.
4. Drives. IMO, this is the biggest drag for now (or at least unknown until we see some real world builds and updates from 3rd party vendors; see other '
Storage options' thread this forum). Yes there are no internal bays (extraordinary); only two internal proprietary drive slots and which only take yet more proprietary disks made by Apple (double extraordinary), ie no industry standard M.2s like say the Samsungs ... the OWC sleds (yes have run a few of these in the past), am doubtful Apple's T2 will allow these to be used as System boot (or at least in the first instance). I'm a fan of OWC's tech as well ...
Moving the Accelsiors externally would require a thunderbolt PCIe chassis (OWC make these); an OWC Thunderbay 6 would take care of 6 x 2.5" SSDs, plus has a spare slot under the hood for an M.2. Moving the drives will not erase them (I assume these already use a HFS+ or APFS file structure).
However, am dubious about running all this stuff over Thunderbolt (not that many ports here, plus the need for dual displays, perhaps audio and/or video IO etc), nor do we really know about lane limitations, switching etc just yet (see for example,
Apple's Expansion Slot Utility which returns to Catalina for the MP, clearly there will be give and take re. the config depending on exact hardware installed). I would want at least some of the drives located internally - the Accelsiors should do so, at least for storage (if not system) - drop OWC a line, they know their stuff in my experience.
Bottom line, 1) I would wait until this is in the wild and fully tested by those who are platform agnostic and not necessarily 'Apple fan boys' eg,
Linus Tech Tips (say Jan /Feb 2020?) and 2) this storage thing ...
OWC have new tech in the pipe-line for the 7,1MP: am waiting to see if they do (say) a bare bones MPX bay for 2.5" SSDs ... now that would be useful.