How will the new MacPro perform VS. new iMac with Adobe software?

[kat.hayes]

I have been waiting for the official MacPro release so I can make a decision between getting a new iMac vs. a MacPro. I am almost certainly going to get an iMac, though I just want to see what other think. I do work with Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere.

What types of functions will the new MacPro do significantly better than a new iMac? And, should it be a huge improvement in performance justifying the cost or not?

Thanks.

 

[TwoBytes]

How will the new MacPro perform VS. new iMac with Adobe software?

Really depends on
What iMac
What Mac Pro
What CPU upgrades
What your needs are

Generally though, unless you're rendering large video projects daily, I shouldn't imagine you'd notice the difference. Your wallet will.

 

[Scott Jenson]

I have the exact same question as the OP.
So a $3k upgraded imac compared to a $3k mac pro.
We do 1080p video today, 4k in about a year, and we need faster renders and workflow. (of course there's the 27inch display factor in there)

Any tips on how to make an informed decision would be awesome.
Thanks.

 

[theSeb]

It is 4.8X faster.....

 

[Scott Jenson]

If a new entry level mac pro is 4x faster than a new upgraded ($3k, extra ram, SSD) imac, then of course I'd buy the mac pro.
Any tips on how it's four times faster?
Thanks for the help.

 

[jasonvp]

What types of functions will the new MacPro do significantly better than a new iMac? And, should it be a huge improvement in performance justifying the cost or not?

Adobe's been putting a lot of effort into multi-GPU capable additions to their CC software. Premiere (and AME) certainly can make use of mulitple GPUs and scale linearly with them. I'm not sure about Photoshop, though it will use OpenCL for some tasks.

Whether all of this is worth the price is completely up to the guy purchasing it.

 

[robgendreau]

Take a look at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-ep-xeon-e5-2697-v2-benchmarks,3585-5.html

They were testing a rumored 12-core Xeon which I think is the chip that wound up in it. There are other variables, of course, but until someone gets their hands on the actual machine and publishes the results of tests it's something to look at.

Bottom line: at least with CS6, meh. And you'd have to check with Adobe to see what they're doing with the applications. At the cutting edge you need software that explicitly leverages some of the tech in this beast to get maximum efficiency from it.

 

[handsome pete]

If a new entry level mac pro is 4x faster than a new upgraded ($3k, extra ram, SSD) imac, then of course I'd buy the mac pro.
Any tips on how it's four times faster?
Thanks for the help.

I think he was referring to the Apple numbers they keep trotting out. Keep in mind they're using the fully maxed out version of the new Mac Pro versus the old 12-core.

Take a look at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-ep-xeon-e5-2697-v2-benchmarks,3585-5.html

They were testing a rumored 12-core Xeon which I think is the chip that wound up in it. There are other variables, of course, but until someone gets their hands on the actual machine and publishes the results of tests it's something to look at.

Bottom line: at least with CS6, meh. And you'd have to check with Adobe to see what they're doing with the applications. At the cutting edge you need software that explicitly leverages some of the tech in this beast to get maximum efficiency from it.

The problem with that testing is that I'm not sure anyone was really wondering about the CPU performance alone with these apps. It's mostly about the GPUs and other components in conjunction with the CPU. There was no mystery behind what the Xeons offer. It's just now if you want `12 cores, you're going to have to pay a premium. But you're right in that until someone gets their hands on an actual unit, we won't know what kind of performance to expect.