Cost of building a Hackintosh vs. buying a new MP

[PunkNugget]

Yes absolutely. That's exactly the system I want to build myself. I would love as many details as you can provide so I can build one myself. Thanks!

+1!

I'm game for this. I'm lookin to build my first hackintosh and was just looking into this kind of system.

Thanks for the replies. Here's what I have set up right now:

- Xeon 3930K CPU
- A Mobo that's OC'able (so you can UC it). Still doing some research on that, but I think ASRock will be the choice.
- 32GB or 64GB of 2133MHz RAM (nothing less) @ 1.65V (not 1.5V)
- 1000W PSU (nothing less)

Now there might be a few out there that might say, you don't need 2133MHz RAM, or 1000PSU, but to ensure full UC'ing (and even OC'ing) abilities, then the setup you wanted to find out about is what I'm going to be putting together. Tutor and I already discussed this. If you want specifics as to the "why's," then if Tutor sees this, maybe he can contribute more of those details, when he has the time. Most everything that you're going to want to know is located here:

Tutor's Way

Again, please read the entire thread to get the full understanding as to why UC'ing will be a far better choice and why you're going to need the kind of RAM and PSU that I'm going to go with. It's the "More is Less & Less is More" theory kicked into action. "More is Less" - when it comes to the equipment, and "Less is More" - when it comes to setting up the BIOS... After reading the link above I think you'll better understand the "why's" to be able to have the ability to push this kind of system to a GB of 30,000+ (or very close to it, as milage may vary)...

PS - On the RAM end of things, I just spoke with my rep (as I'm a reseller for Mushkin) and they are going to be bringing in the new DRAM that should be hitting next week to bin for the specs. They don’t know exactly how well they will yield until they receive and build them, but so far they haven't let me down. Plus all their RAM even though you may have to purchase separate kits, they ALL match and they're more reasonably priced. Plus, they're made here in the U.S. and I have had not ONE failure along with the other great reviews that I've read online so far, and that's a good thing. I'll be waiting for the results in the next week or two...
_____________________________________________________________________
THE HACKINBEAST = EVGA SR-2/2xX5690's/Sapphire 4890 2GB GPU/48GB Mushkin 2000MHz RAM/LEPA G1600 PSU/Silverstone TJ11 Case / Geekbench Score: 36,583 / Cinebench 11.5: OpenGL: 50.63 fps, CPU: 22.55

 

[PunkNugget]

I think your point of view is so good and you explain it very well.

Thanks lara...
_____________________________________________________________________
THE HACKINBEAST = EVGA SR-2/2xX5690's/Sapphire 4890 2GB GPU/48GB Mushkin 2000MHz RAM/LEPA G1600 PSU/Silverstone TJ11 Case / Geekbench Score: 36,583 / Cinebench 11.5: OpenGL: 50.63 fps, CPU: 22.55

 

[phpmaven]

Thanks for the replies. Here's what I have set up right now:

- Xeon 3930K CPU
- A Mobo that's OC'able (so you can UC it). Still doing some research on that, but I think ASRock will be the choice.
- 32GB or 64GB of 2133MHz RAM (nothing less) @ 1.65V (not 1.5V)
- 1000W PSU (nothing less)

Now there might be a few out there that might say, you don't need 2133MHz RAM, or 1000PSU, but to ensure full UC'ing (and even OC'ing) abilities, then the setup you wanted to find out about is what I'm going to be putting together. Tutor and I already discussed this. If you want specifics as to the "why's," then if Tutor sees this, maybe he can contribute more of those details, when he has the time. Most everything that you're going to want to know is located here:

Tutor's Way

Again, please read the entire thread to get the full understanding as to why UC'ing will be a far better choice and why you're going to need the kind of RAM and PSU that I'm going to go with. It's the "More is Less & Less is More" theory kicked into action. "More is Less" - when it comes to the equipment, and "Less is More" - when it comes to setting up the BIOS... After reading the link above I think you'll better understand the "why's" to be able to have the ability to push this kind of system to a GB of 30,000+ (or very close to it, as milage may vary)...

PS - On the RAM end of things, I just spoke with my rep (as I'm a reseller for Mushkin) and they are going to be bringing in the new DRAM that should be hitting next week to bin for the specs. They don’t know exactly how well they will yield until they receive and build them, but so far they haven't let me down. Plus all their RAM even though you may have to purchase separate kits, they ALL match and they're more reasonably priced. Plus, they're made here in the U.S. and I have had not ONE failure along with the other great reviews that I've read online so far, and that's a good thing. I'll be waiting for the results in the next week or two...
_____________________________________________________________________
THE HACKINBEAST = EVGA SR-2/2xX5690's/Sapphire 4890 2GB GPU/48GB Mushkin 2000MHz RAM/LEPA G1600 PSU/Silverstone TJ11 Case / Geekbench Score: 36,583 / Cinebench 11.5: OpenGL: 50.63 fps, CPU: 22.55

Thanks Punknugget! This is great. I think from what I've read from Tutor, the bottom line is that since you will be over-clocking the system and pushing everything faster that you will actually be pushing the other components on the MOBO like RAM faster than they were intended to be run. Makes sense to me.

Please keep us updated.

 

[PunkNugget]

Thanks Punknugget! This is great. I think from what I've read from Tutor, the bottom line is that since you will be over-clocking the system and pushing everything faster that you will actually be pushing the other components on the MOBO like RAM faster than they were intended to be run. Makes sense to me.

Please keep us updated.

True that, but with Underclocking (UC'ing) the opposite (to a point) is true as well. Remember your system will run far cooler and more efficient when it's doing idle things, like browsing the web, working on a Word doc, etc.. It won't be stressed 24/7 (i.e.; having your BIOS settings at an OC level all the time), but when you setup your UC in your BIOS, it will actually kick in even more power ONLY when needed, than OC'ing could never do and that's part of the other reason why you need more power when it comes to your RAM and PSU. Again, it will ONLY be put to use when it's needed, and when it's used you're going to need that extra power. Then, it's back to being idle most of the time, which will in turn give your CPU and other parts a much longer life. I hope I'm making sense with what I just described...

 

[PunkNugget]

Well, it's been a while and...

I had book marked this page and totally forgot that I did and went on here today only to realize that I'm still amazed at the reliability and quality of building your own PC and being able to run Mac OS X on it without any issues (so far). Ever since my first post here (Sept 12, 2012), I've been crankin' away with the same machine and even added improvements to it since and I'm so glad that I took the advice of Tutor to build this SCREAMING BEAST !!! What is still funny to me that even an old mobo (like the EVGA SR-2 that was initially released back in Sept 2009), almost 4.5 years ago, it's still the best overall performing mobo (along with the X5680's or X5690's) on the market when compared to the "Trash Can" Pro; I mean, New Mac Pro. Sure the Trash Can Pro is one quarter the space as my machine, BUT mine is a QUARTER of the PRICE and near 50%+ FASTER!!! So I say (for all you nay sayers out there) or those considering on building one of these awesome machines, take a second look at what you could have at a QUARTER of the cost. Hope this information helps. Later…

 

[Tutor]

Thanks Punknugget! This is great. I think from what I've read from Tutor, the bottom line is that since you will be over-clocking the system and pushing everything faster that you will actually be pushing the other components on the MOBO like RAM faster than they were intended to be run. Makes sense to me.

Please keep us updated.

That's correct as to ram, regardless of the motherboard/CPU. As to the more recent CPUs and motherboards, that "everything faster" is more true than I like. Here's how it works in particular, down to the decimal point:

Nehalem (5500s) and Westmere (5600s) CPUs use a base clock increment of 133 MHz. Sandy and Ivy Bridge use a base of 100 MHz. Most Nehalem and Westmere CPUs (i7s and Xeons) and Sandy and Ivy Bridge K series chips can be safely overclocked by from 25 - 33% ( unless you're using a true H20 cooled system like Punknugget builds magnificently - I defer to his H20 build expertise. ) and can be easily and precisely underclocked by about 35% on an EVGA SR-X/2 motherboard. Sandy and Ivy Bridge Xeons and non-k i7 can be overclocked by, at most, 1.0755%. Underclocking Sandy CPUs on the SR-X doesn't benefit you much, if any, because of the 1.0755 cap. With Sandy and Ivy Bridge Xeons and non-k i7s so many other things were tied to the base clock, like USB and SATA, than even the 1.0755% is just a pipe dream. Mice, HDs and SSDs, e.g., hate being overclocked. Since EVGA discontinued the SR-X before the introduction of Ivy Bridge Xeons, even a minor over/underclock of those CPUs is a non-issue, unless EVGA releases an Ivy Bridge bios to accommodate those CPUs. But the Supermicro DAX series*/ that runs Sandy and Ivy Bridge CPUs gets closer to 1.0755% than any other motherboard - and who would have ever have thought that company would be the leader in anything having to do with overclocking. Don't get me wrong, I favor Supermicros (and Tyans and Gigabytes) for self builds - the first 4 benches in my signature are from one of my Supermicros and the last is from one of my Tyan GPU Servers that holds eight double wide GTX Titans.

Whether you're overclocking (speed enhancing 24/7) or underclocking (speed enhancing only when needed) you'll be speed enhancing the memory by the same ratio whether regardless of the chip generation. So, if when speed enhancement is occurring (whether 24/7 method or only when needed method), this is what occurs, using Nehalems and Westmeres for example:

Since your base is 133 MHz, if you want a 30% speed enhancement, then you have to increase the base clock to 172 (133 x 1.3). That 1.3x factor gets applied to memory speed also. Keep in mind that memory will not overclock nearly as much as the CPU. If, e.g., your 1600 MHz memory at base is also using that 133 figure, when the system tries to boot (if you're using pure overclocking) it will fail because the memory is being push to run at 2,080 MHz (1.3x 1,600 = 2,080) continuously. If you're unclocking, the same thing, i.e., crashing, will occur when the system tries to Turbo Boost (that can also occur during booting - depending on the bios). So the alternatives are (1) to down clock memory, preferably in bios so that when that 1.3x gets applied it does not take the memory over its rated limit, or (and this is what I prefer) (2) to get memory that is, at least 1.3x-1.4s times faster than the standard for your motherboard. The same rule applies to K-series i7 Sandy and Ivy Bridges, except that you can also run them faster by simply increasing the Turbo Boost multiplier which does not increase the memory speed. That's not an option with Nehalem and Westmere CPUs, unless you emulate it by underclocking.

*/ See, e.g., Supermicro SuperWorkstation SYS-7047AX-72RF Dual LGA2011 1280W 4U Rackmount/Tower Server Barebone System (Black) - http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=SY-74772RF ; also see post #774 here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18031927&dave#post18031927 .

 

[wildmac]

I had book marked this page and totally forgot that I did and went on here today only to realize that I'm still amazed at the reliability and quality of building your own PC and being able to run Mac OS X on it without any issues (so far). Ever since my first post here (Sept 12, 2012), I've been crankin' away with the same machine and even added improvements to it since and I'm so glad that I took the advice of Tutor to build this SCREAMING BEAST !!! What is still funny to me that even an old mobo (like the EVGA SR-2 that was initially released back in Sept 2009), almost 4.5 years ago, it's still the best overall performing mobo (along with the X5680's or X5690's) on the market when compared to the "Trash Can" Pro; I mean, New Mac Pro. Sure the Trash Can Pro is one quarter the space as my machine, BUT mine is a QUARTER of the PRICE and near 50%+ FASTER!!! So I say (for all you nay sayers out there) or those considering on building one of these awesome machines, take a second look at what you could have at a QUARTER of the cost. Hope this information helps. Later…

Quarter of the cost? I'm calling major BS until you prove it. AND 50% faster? Bring it. Let's see ALL your benchmarks.

 

[Tutor]

Quarter of the cost? I'm calling major BS until you prove it. AND 50% faster? Bring it. Let's see ALL your benchmarks.

I don't know what anyone else paid, but I still rank that 2009 wonder high on the multi-os list. My first EVGA SR-2 was built in 2010 for under $5,400 w/caveats:
1) $1200 - 48Gigs ram [CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory with Air Fan Model CMT12GX3M3A2000C9] +
2) $2800 - dual 5680s and coolers
3) $450 - $250 f/2x1T WD HD + $200 - 120Gig Corsair SSD
4) $300 - 1200 W Corsair PSU
5) $600 - EVGA Motherboard
Caveats - $500 - ATI 4890 purchased the year before for a Gigabyte Hackie that had three of them. Used old custom case that previously contained my wickedly fast Macintosh IIfx which I purchased used in 1993.

The second one was built in 2011 for about the same total costs because I stuck to the same budget. I then bought used CPUs. Ram and storage prices had fallen a little. I used another one of my ATI 4890s purchased in 2009. I used an Antec 1200 case that Mr. Dremel Tool helped me modify. Overall, it was just a tad bit slower. Both are underclocked - note CPU speeds in benchmarks. I call them WolfPacks.

WolfPack1 - 2010 build
Overclocked
Geekbench 2 = 37,837 ( http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/334835 )
This peak, with some heat and a little instability, spurred me to discover underclocking and turbo biasing.

Underclocked and turbo biasing
Geekbench 2 = 40,100 ( http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/500630 )

Cinebench 11.5 = 24.7

Blender Render Benchmark 3.38 to 3.73 ( http://www.eofw.org/bench/ )

WolfPack2 - 2011 build
Underclocked and turbo biasing
Geekbench 2 = 40,051 ( http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/500492 )

Cinebench 11.5 = 24.6

I cannot retrieve either my Xbench scores ( http://www.xbench.com ) or the URL for cbscores for Cinebench 11.5.

I'm sure that I could build it today using all new parts for even less because the prices of CPUs, ram, HDs, SSDs, video cards and cases have all fallen - e.g., the same storage would be at least $150 less, the CPUs new would be over $1k less, the 1200 W PSU is $40 less, the memory is over $500 less and the motherboard is $200 less - all told over $1,890 less. So I could build a duplicate of either WolfPack1 or WolfPack2 for about $4K (the price of a 6-core nMP) and it would be over 75% faster than that 6-core.

PS - I'm in the process removing my 5680s from those WolfPacks to place them in my 8 GPU Tyan Servers. I'll be putting a pair of ($170 each) 5650s in those two WolfPacks and expect to tweak them to yield Geekbench 3 multicore scores in excess of 33k. That's a total current build cost equivalent for each of them of about $3.1K at today's prices.
$400 EVGA SR-2 (7 PCIe 2.0 slots) (from EVGA, Amazon, Tiger Direct, NewEgg or CDW; they're becoming harder to find; try back ordering) +
$260 1200 W Corsair PSU (from NewEgg) +
$300 f/2x1T WD HD + 120Gig Corsair SSD (from NewEgg) +
$340 2x5650 (from eoptionsonline) +
$700 48G CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT ram (from NewEgg) +
$170-200 LIAN LI PC-A75 or A76 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case +
$730 GTX 780 Ti SC ACX (from EVGA) +
$190 2xH80 Corsair Coolers (from NewEgg) =
$3,090 to $3,120 f/a computer that achieves a Geekbench 3 score that is about 73% greater than the 4-core nMP, for about the same price and has three more empty double wide PCIe slots and lots more space for internal storage. I'll post my progress here or in my thread.

 

[wildmac]

PS - I'm in the process removing my 5680s from those WolfPacks to place them in my 8 GPU Tyan Servers. I'll be putting a pair of ($170 each) 5650s in those two WolfPacks and expect to tweak them to yield Geekbench 3 multicore scores in excess of 33k. That's a total current build cost equivalent for each of them of about $3.1K at today's prices.
$400 EVGA SR-2 (7 PCIe 2.0 slots) (from EVGA, Amazon, Tiger Direct, NewEgg or CDW; they're becoming harder to find; try back ordering) +
$260 1200 W Corsair PSU (from NewEgg) +
$300 f/2x1T WD HD + 120Gig Corsair SSD (from NewEgg) +
$340 2x5650 (from eoptionsonline) +
$700 48G CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT ram (from NewEgg) +
$170-200 LIAN LI PC-A75 or A76 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case +
$730 GTX 780 Ti SC ACX (from EVGA) +
$190 2xH80 Corsair Coolers (from NewEgg) =
$3,090 to $3,120 f/a computer that achieves a Geekbench 3 score that is about 73% greater than the 4-core nMP, for about the same price and has three more empty double wide PCIe slots and lots more space for internal storage. I'll post my progress here or in my thread.

Oh, I have no doubt that someone with the skill and time could build a rig with that performance for a relative savings over Apple systems.

But the 25% of the price with 50% increase in speed is still total BS.

 

[milo]

But the 25% of the price with 50% increase in speed is still total BS.

That would be a machine that's 50% faster than the six core for $875. Sure hackintosh is cheaper but not that much cheaper.

 

[PunkNugget]

Quarter of the cost? I'm calling major BS until you prove it. AND 50% faster? Bring it. Let's see ALL your benchmarks.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I've been busy. So you want to see the "BS?" go here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=serial box 04-2014&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

and go here:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287857-new-macmod-2013-build-lemon-lime-twist/

Now the first link (The HACKINBEAST) was actually 1/3 the price (so I stand corrected on this machine, when it comes to the price). But it was 56% faster (at the time) than the fast MacPro out there (according to GeekBench). Thanks to Tutor for his help.

But the second link (Lemon Lime Twist), I spent $2,300 and with just one CPU I was able to garner the fastest recorded GeekBench speed on a 3930K CPU using Mac OS X. I was actually shocked that to this date no one has beaten it, but not totally surprised either, because of the help that I received from RampageDev. Getting the same top performing MacPro (at the time last year) would have cost $9850.00. So to me spending that kind of money for the same performance isn't worth it.

Plus I'm the main moderator for InsanelyMac.com's "MacMod of the Month!" and I've seen some amazing PC/Mac OS X builds that are really inspiring and AFFORDABLE and blow the socks of any new TrashCan Pro. Even after over 5 years of the SR-2 mobo coming on the scene, it's still one of the best and most reliable mobos for Mac OS X. Now you don't have to juice up your system to make them look nice, it's just something that I take personal pride in doing as I like to bling out (what I consider) my "hot rods." You can do the same thing. It's up to you...

Again, I wouldn't have been able to get there without Tutor's and RampageDev's help. I learned a LOT from these guys. Well worth it too, as I still have one of the fastest recorded MacPros out there. Actually I have three working machines and they work great. Here's an updated pic of the Hackinbeast (I now deem THE ULTRABEAST). I installed these GPUs over 18 months ago. They are:

2 x 580 3GB GTX Hydro & 1 x Tesla C2070 6GB GPU

They are all water blocked and running nice and cool and each GPU is dedicated to 3 x 30" (2560 x 1600) LED monitors (that are working side, by side, by side). Talk about ULTRA WIDE SCREEN. And people are talking about 4000K monitors? I'm sure they're a bit sharper, but I like what I have and am very grateful.

 

[MH01]

Oh, I have no doubt that someone with the skill and time could build a rig with that performance for a relative savings over Apple systems.

But the 25% of the price with 50% increase in speed is still total BS.

I can see this turning onto a debate around the 25%.

Let's say they are not a 1/4 but say 1/3 - 1/2 the price and 50% faster! surely that justifies the effort of a hackintosh, for the people that want he performance.

 

[energy23]

I was thinking of building a Hackintosh... it would have been significantly better in terms of power than what I currently got (Mac Pro 2008 w/ 16gb RAM for $550), but it'd also have been much more expensive. The parts I wanted we're as follows:

Case:
Fractal R4
$109

Power Supply:
SeaSonic SS-520FL2 520W
$139

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H
$159

CPU:
Intel 4770 3.4ghz Core i7
$309

CPU Fan/Heat Sink:
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
$92

Ram:
Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB)
$110

Video Card:
ASUS Geforece GTX 660
$200

Hard Drive:
Samsung 240GB
$199

Wifi Card:
TP-LINK TL-WDN4800

Total Cost:
$1357 +tax

Essentially with this build you get a motherboard with USB 3.0, full Hackintosh compatibility, a CPU that's as fast as the nMP processor (lower tier of course), a GPU that is WAY better than the nMP for gaming as well as having CUDA cores, a silent sound dampened case, a fanless power supply (completely silent) and a large heat sink that is almost as good as the top of the line liquid cooling option from Corsair but with less noise.

Essentially, you're getting a superior machine to the baseline new Mac Pro for half the price with all replaceable parts should anything go wrong as well, and most importantly; an actual upgrade path. Those proprietary GPUs in the new Mac Pros are garbage.

I was very close to building the machine I just specced out... however I opted out for a 2008 Mac Pro 3,1 for only $550, fully loaded however with an Nvidia GT 120... got myself a GTX 660 in it now though and runs really well. Performance is about 20% worse than the Intel 4770 i7, but I'm paid significantly less and can spare myself the headache with figuring out how to keep the computer up to date with the hackintosh route.

 

[flat five]

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I've been busy. So you want to see the "BS?" go here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=serial box 04-2014&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

and go here:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287857-new-macmod-2013-build-lemon-lime-twist/

lol.. i don't get it.. hackintosh = pirated software?
or did you post the wrong link?

 

[PunkNugget]

lol.. i don't get it.. hackintosh = pirated software?
or did you post the wrong link?

Just checking to see if you're paying attention...

 

[PunkNugget]

I was thinking of building a Hackintosh... it would have been significantly better in terms of power than what I currently got, but it'd also have been much more expensive.

Total Cost:
$1357 +tax

To me what you're getting for the money and the performance it's significantly far less than spending $5,000+ on a the new TrashCan Pro. Honestly that's pretty inexpensive. You're talking about a production machine that you can actually use. By the way if you want your install to go smoothly, make sure you run this build by RampageDev. Here's his site:

http://rampagedev.wordpress.com/premium-technical-support/system-building/

Just email him at the link provided with the specs you have in mind and he'll help you out from there. I was able to use his services and contributed some funds and I was up and running in about 90 min. To me he's completely worth it, instead of having to spend weeks or even months trying to figure it out on your own. Hope this helps. Later…

 

[energy23]

To me what you're getting for the money and the performance it's significantly far less than spending $5,000+ on a the new TrashCan Pro. Honestly that's pretty inexpensive. You're talking about a production machine that you can actually use. By the way if you want your install to go smoothly, make sure you run this build by RampageDev. Here's his site:

http://rampagedev.wordpress.com/premium-technical-support/system-building/

Just email him at the link provided with the specs you have in mind and he'll help you out from there. I was able to use his services and contributed some funds and I was up and running in about 90 min. To me he's completely worth it, instead of having to spend weeks or even months trying to figure it out on your own. Hope this helps. Later…

Sorry, when I said it would have been more expensive, it was in relation to the $550 I spent on the 2008 3,1 Mac Pro with 16gb RAM, 500gb HD and a 1TB HD. It was a steal. I've got a fully functioning Mac Pro with an Asus GeForce 660 GTX that rips through games.

 

[flat five]

Just checking to see if you're paying attention...

haha

 

[wildmac]

I can see this turning onto a debate around the 25%.

Let's say they are not a 1/4 but say 1/3 - 1/2 the price and 50% faster! surely that justifies the effort of a hackintosh, for the people that want he performance.

Oh give it a a rest.. You can't get a 50% increase in performance for 1/2 the price. Sure you can get clockspeed, but to pull one of my older analogies, you are comparing a rice rocket to a 3/4 ton pickup. Different capabilities.

And then you have to support it as well.

 

[energy23]

I can see this turning onto a debate around the 25%.

Let's say they are not a 1/4 but say 1/3 - 1/2 the price and 50% faster! surely that justifies the effort of a hackintosh, for the people that want he performance.

Won't happen unless you get seriously lucky with discounts. Check my specs list below, its the closest you'll get to a nMP with on-par performance however coming up at $1357 vs. $2,999. The big advantage with my build is that you'll have a long, LONG upgrade path with the custom build over the nMP as its mostly proprietary (as I've said before, those non-standard AMD GPU's are garbage and cannot be replace for anything else).

 

[milo]

Hard Drive:
Samsung 240GB
$199

If you really want to compare to nMP it should probably be a PCIe based SSD with comparable speeds.

 

[energy23]

If you really want to compare to nMP it should probably be a PCIe based SSD with comparable speeds.

Noted. It should also be said that for $100 more you could get a 500gb Samsung SSD. Yes, its slower, but SSD drives are already insanely fast, I'd rather have double the storage. But if you wanted to get comparable outright, a PCIe SSD drive at 256gb goes for roughly $420. It's still be slower than the 1tb speeds the nMP is capable of (just over 800mpbs).

 

[MH01]

Oh give it a a rest.. You can't get a 50% increase in performance for 1/2 the price. Sure you can get clockspeed, but to pull one of my older analogies, you are comparing a rice rocket to a 3/4 ton pickup. Different capabilities.

And then you have to support it as well.

Dumbest thing you can compare computers to is vehicles. yeah give it a rest.

Read the tread bro, guys above even gave you examples

 

[omenatarhuri]

Sure you can tinker something together and run an operating system on components that it doesn't officially support and hope you won't see kernel panics down the line especially when you update the OS or follow the 'long upgrade path' this method allows you.

However, even one such machine requires devotion (time, money) that for any production environment, especially in need of more machines, the solution is hopelessly unpractical. To me it seems that the new Mac Pro has a great price-performance value offering, especially in comparison to the workstations other vendors provide.

Cutting costs by doing the build and maintenance yourself and using consumer components like the Geforce range instead of Quadro and i7 instead of Xeon will drive savings, but then you will be comparing apples to oranges.

 

[energy23]

Cutting costs by doing the build and maintenance yourself and using consumer components like the Geforce range instead of Quadro and i7 instead of Xeon will drive savings, but then you will be comparing apples to oranges.

This is partially false. The Titan is a consumer component but you could hardly call it 'consumer performance'. As with the AMD D300/D500/D700 cards, these too are 'consumer components' as theyre nothing more than rebranded R series AMD cards with different drivers and a gigantic markup.

Saying its comparing apples to oranges is unfair. You build a computers and compare performance. Who cares what name the component is given. If one card renders a 3D environment at 45 FPS and another one at 40 FPS while not being 'branded' as consumer, why is that all of a sudden 'apples to oranges' ???