GPU for new Mac Pro predictions?

[electricdreams]

what you guys thing we will be seeing on the new machines

 

[iSayuSay]

what you guys thing we will be seeing on the new machines

I think it's gonna be Radeon HD 6970 1GB DDR5

Seeing Macbook Pro hi-end GPU = iMac basic GPU. That should be the same between iMac and MacPro

Of course I understand hi-end iMac use 6970M .. and MacPro would using desktop GPU. But using lower numbering would make MacPro GPU seems worse. Although it's not

 

[tums]

6870 and 6970 both in 1gb DDR5 flavors.

 

[CaoCao]

6870 and 6970 both in 1gb DDR5 flavors.

GDDR5, but yeah, this.

 

[ugru]

AMD RADEON HD6970 cards come with 2GB of VRAM....

Even iMac, with his mobility GPU, has the option for 2GB of VRAM.

I do not see why MacPro should have a 1GB GPU.

Its benefits for today's software are still uncertain, but since it is possible why not....

 

[Yumunum]

One thing's for certain... It'll be better than my iPhone's.

 

[derbothaus]

More memory does not equal more speed. My 1GB 5870 is way faster than the 6970M with 2GB VRAM. The processors in the desktop 5770 and 5870 are more capable than the mobility 6970 you get in the new iMac. The 6970M is closer to the desktop 5750. Sorry for their confusingly stupid numbering sequences.

 

[Wild-Bill]

Whatever it will be it will be obsolete, or close to it, when Apple releases the new Mac Pro. History is always doomed to repeat itself.

 

[goMac]

6970 and 6870.

2 gigs of VRAM.

 

[alust2013]

I'd say the 6000 series variants of the current models, maybe a 6970 option, but that's a power hungry, hot beast. Probably 2GB as well, given the iMac option.

 

[derbothaus]

I want Nvidia again as it appears the world has embraced CUDA. Also would be better for all the FCP users jumping ship to Premier. No Nvidia, no mercury engine. I vote for GTX570 stock with a GTX580 option. Also these cards sold separately for prior machine upgrades (I know, probably not)

 

[seek3r]

Whatever it will be it will be obsolete, or close to it, when Apple releases the new Mac Pro. History is always doomed to repeat itself.

The 5770/5870 were top-of-the-line when the current MP came out, the new GPUs dropped very soon after though and Apple hasn't offered any of them

 

[CaptainChunk]

I want Nvidia again as it appears the world has embraced CUDA. Also would be better for all the FCP users jumping ship to Premier. No Nvidia, no mercury engine. I vote for GTX570 stock with a GTX580 option. Also these cards sold separately for prior machine upgrades (I know, probably not)

I know what you mean. The ugly truth though is that people jumping ship from FCP to Premiere workstations probably have little reason to stay on the Mac, seeing that the whole Adobe suite is cross-platform. Unless of course, running Windows goes against their general principles.

I want to see more official NVIDIA cards on the Mac, too. Outside of Adobe, a fair number of post people (including myself) are interested in DaVinci Resolve systems now and having ONE official CUDA GPU choice that you can actually buy today (the Quadro 4000, which is only a so-so performer) is beyond disappointing. If NVIDIA wants to keep CUDA exclusive to their cards, they need to stop ignoring the Mac users.

 

[Cindori]

6870 and 6970 has already appeared in drivers, so they are prob coming. 6870 basically has full support already.

 

[ActionableMango]

Nvidia seems unlikely for MP as the next-gen systems coming out now are discrete AMD. Even the integrated stuff has moved from Nvidia to Intel.

For better or for worse, I don't think Nvidia is in the cards for this next go-round. Maybe next time, maybe not.

Whatever your personal thoughts are about CUDA, don't forget that Apple had to do a hell of a lot of recalls due to Nvidia, and Nvidia outright lied about what was affected. Maybe Apple got burned and decided to kick Nvidia to the curb for a while.

So my personal prediction is 6970 and 6870. (Even PC 6870s can be made to work right now, so that one's a no-brainer.)

 

[strausd]

How much faster can we expect the 6970 to be compared to the 6870? And is the 6970 a dual 6870 GPU?

 

[derbothaus]

How much faster can we expect the 6970 to be compared to the 6870? And is the 6970 a dual 6870 GPU?

6970 is single proc. 6990 is the dual card.

3dMark 11 Enthusiast settings (640x480, 8xMSAA, 16xAA):
5870: 27.68FPS
6870: 24.10FPS
6970: 32.29FPS
GTX580: 36.08FPS
6990: 63.30FPS


Aliens vs. Predator (1680x1050, 1xMSAA, 8xAF)
5870: 68.20FPS
6870: 58.20FPS
6970: 74.50FPS
GTX580: 82.20FPS
6990: 139.10FPS


Toms Hardware numbers. No Vantage scores for DX10.