MP 1,1-5,1 Economics of a dedicated Topaz Labs computer Mini vs Pro

[InuNacho]

Hey guys got a bit of an interesting project here. I want to use the TopazLabs software to upscale and clean up alot of older early-2000s digital photos. If all goes to plan, maybe move onto the massive family library.

I have a 2018 i7 Mini with eGPU and RX580 running Mojave. The 580 was a good GPU and still holds strong for what I do but I was thinking of how to upgrade my system to run Topaz Labs software better. What GPU is the best that runs under Mojave?

On the other hand I do have an old Mac Pro 4,1 base quad CPU with 12GB of ram and the very dated 4870. Is it possible to have it solely run Windows and therefore have access to a headless Tesla cards and just let it run all day?

Which sounds like a better option?

My budget is around $300.

Thanks!

 

[tsialex]

Hey guys got a bit of an interesting project here. I want to use the TopazLabs software to upscale and clean up alot of older early-2000s digital photos. If all goes to plan, maybe move onto the massive family library.

I have a 2018 i7 Mini with eGPU and RX580 running Mojave. The 580 was a good GPU and still holds strong for what I do but I was thinking of how to upgrade my system to run Topaz Labs software better. What GPU is the best that runs under Mojave?

AMD Radeon VII, but it's a over $1K GPU.

On the other hand I do have an old Mac Pro 4,1 base quad CPU with 12GB of ram and the very dated 4870. Is it possible to have it solely run Windows and therefore have access to a headless Tesla cards and just let it run all day?

Sure, just buy a model that fits the power capabilities of the Mac Pro backplane.

Which sounds like a better option?

My budget is around $300.

Thanks!

With the current beyond crazy GPU prices, I doubt that you can get any modern GPU with your budget, even an used 4GB RX 570 is around this price from a reputable eBay seller.

Maybe you can get a headless Tesla with your budget, since it's not a GPU that have a high demand on the used market and sometimes datacenters/render farms doing upgrades sell lot's of them.

 

[InuNacho]

Yea, I was thinking of getting a better Mojave card and selling the 580 to make up for cost.
Guess the Tesla and 4,1 is a better deal.

So how would I go about installing strictly Windows on this machine?
I plan to find a cheap bus powered card for the display that probably isnt MacOS compatible.
Can I just install bootcamp and take the MacOS drive out and be good without issue from there?

 

[tsialex]

Yea, I was thinking of getting a better Mojave card and selling the 580 to make up for cost.
Guess the Tesla and 4,1 is a better deal.

So how would I go about installing strictly Windows on this machine?

Basically, you need to do all firmware upgrades up to 144.0.0.0.0, then you can install Windows.

I plan to find a cheap bus powered card for the display that probably isnt MacOS compatible.

Big no. Get a GPU that works with macOS, like NVIDIA GT 630 - you will need one with METAL support for the 144.0.0.0.0 firmware upgrade.

4.1>5.1 W3520 to X5690 Upgrade Help!

Cheapest NVIDIA GT710 I could find today on eBay USA is $35 with free shipping within USA, no affiliation, I've found it cheaper some weeks ago. https://www.ebay.com/itm/384677182805?hash=item59908bfd55:g:5joAAOSwixph4DiE It's the weakest and cheapest METAL supported GPU, but works good if you...

forums.macrumors.com

Can I just install bootcamp and take the MacOS drive out and be good without issue from there?

Depend on the GPU you gonna get, if the GPU have CSM/BIOS/BootCamp support or only UEFI.

 

[InuNacho]

Basically, you need to do all firmware upgrades up to 144.0.0.0.0, then you can install Windows.



Big no. Get a GPU that works with macOS, like NVIDIA GT 630 - you will need one with METAL support for the 144.0.0.0.0 firmware upgrade.

4.1>5.1 W3520 to X5690 Upgrade Help!

Cheapest NVIDIA GT710 I could find today on eBay USA is $35 with free shipping within USA, no affiliation, I've found it cheaper some weeks ago. https://www.ebay.com/itm/384677182805?hash=item59908bfd55:g:5joAAOSwixph4DiE It's the weakest and cheapest METAL supported GPU, but works good if you...

forums.macrumors.com

Depend on the GPU you gonna get, if the GPU have CSM/BIOS/BootCamp support or only UEFI.

Great thanks for all the info!