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RyanFlynn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 24, 2006
511
466
Los Angeles
Hey friends,

I sucked it up and spent the $6000 for the MPX module and its not performing anywhere near what I expected. The video from Max Tech shows a Geekbench 5 score of 170,692, when I test, I'm only getting 115583

My system is a 28 core Mac Pro with 384gb ram and 8tb HD if that makes a difference

Any ideas?

Ryan

Screen Shot 2021-08-24 at 3.40.08 PM.png
 

strangerthanlight

macrumors member
Mar 17, 2021
68
37
I just returned mine, not much of an improvement vs w6800x duo TBH. I got 155k in geekbench 5.4.1 which is also a lot lower. Max was using 5.3 may be there is difference. I also have a Nvidia card in slot 3, maybe there is some interference. No idea.
 

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
your numbers for geekbench is really off, it should be 170k+

Also…Just don’t compare it to 2 w5700x like I did in real world tests - you may be even less happy With the $4k difference As those perform very well for the price, and two of them will even beat a single w6900x in many cases.

i think the only people who will get a big bump in real world use are likely the 580x. Vega ii duo are close too, to the w6800x duo.

in 3D work it’s much better though, but not as much video.
 
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strangerthanlight

macrumors member
Mar 17, 2021
68
37
your numbers for geekbench is really off, it should be 170k+

Also…Just don’t compare it to 2 w5700x like I did in real world tests - you may be even less happy With the $4k difference As those perform very well for the price, and two of them will even beat a single w6900x in many cases.

i think the only people who will get a big bump in real world use are likely the 580x. Vega ii duo are close too, to the w6800x duo.

in 3D work it’s much better though, but not as much video.

My returned W6900X is also not 170k, no idea why. After comparing with the W6800X duo (I ordered both) the W6900X is a very bad deal.
 
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12vLego

macrumors newbie
May 7, 2020
16
13
I am happy with my W6900x. Geekbench (metal) of 162172. Naturally, way too expensive for what you get (still no HEVC 10bit advantages*), but the card serves my fcpx workflow OK, replacing two extremely power-hungry Radeon Vega II duo modules (they stay on standby for heavy multicam work in fcpx; besides, in one 4K project export test I found that the W6900x and a VII2 worked fine together).

*I am awaiting the new Mac Mini, which can serve as a workflow-enhancer to to finally provide a desired 10bitHEVC decoding during import of my Canon files (should be rather simple via a Thunderbolt-bridge connection).

And if you have some spare time... the W6900x gives a pleasant gaming experience (much better than a W6800x duo that I returned since it was not compatible with my Vegas)

see:

https://youtu.be/JtC8oGYBtEY

 

strangerthanlight

macrumors member
Mar 17, 2021
68
37
I am happy with my W6900x. Geekbench (metal) of 162172. Naturally, way too expensive for what you get (still no HEVC 10bit advantages*), but the card serves my fcpx workflow OK, replacing two extremely power-hungry Radeon Vega II duo modules (they stay on standby for heavy multicam work in fcpx; besides, in one 4K project export test I found that the W6900x and a VII2 worked fine together).

*I am awaiting the new Mac Mini, which can serve as a workflow-enhancer to to finally provide a desired 10bitHEVC decoding during import of my Canon files (should be rather simple via a Thunderbolt-bridge connection).

And if you have some spare time... the W6900x gives a pleasant gaming experience (much better than a W6800x duo that I returned since it was not compatible with my Vegas)

see:

https://youtu.be/JtC8oGYBtEY


I would also suggest Nvidia A6000 at $500 cheaper. The Nvidia card looks better and better performance vs the w6900x
 

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
Am I understanding all these results correctly? Basically the pc non-Mac versions of these cards cost 1/4 the price and work as well or better than the apple versions?
 

ondioline

macrumors 6502
May 5, 2020
297
299
They’re simply different cards being compared. These are the workstation versions. You can buy a Pro W6800 for a PC, and it will indeed be more expensive and perform worse than a 6800XT. It isn’t unique to the MPX versions.
 

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
They’re simply different cards being compared. These are the workstation versions. You can buy a Pro W6800 for a PC, and it will indeed be more expensive and perform worse than a 6800XT. It isn’t unique to the MPX versions.

Thank you. So for most people, just get the PC version and save a lot of money. My only concern with the PC version will be fan noise and if they are quiet enough.
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,323
3,003
^^^^Most third party cards have a dual bios switch. That switch has two positions. One is for performance and allows the fans to speed up. The other is supposed to be a quiet mode.

Note - The Reference cards do not have the switch.

Lou
 

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
^^^^Most third party cards have a dual bios switch. That switch has two positions. One is for performance and allows the fans to speed up. The other is supposed to be a quiet mode.

Note - The Reference cards do not have the switch.

Lou
Interesting. Thank you. Do you know if the bios for quiet mode still works on the 7,1 correctly?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,323
3,003
^^^^I have a Gigabyte card with the switch and have it set on performance. When I place my ear at the grill I can hear faint fan noise. The sound is constant from bottom to top of the grill. Don't know if it's the mac fans or the GPU fans. From a foot away I hear nothing.

Lou
 
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ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
^^^^I have a Gigabyte card with the switch and have it set on performance. When I place my ear at the grill I can hear faint fan noise. The sound is constant from bottom to top of the grill. Don't know if it's the mac fans or the GPU fans. From a foot away I hear nothing.

Lou

Thanks, is there any particular reason you chose the gigabyte card over other cards. I forget, the gigabyte card doesnt have a USBc connector if I recall?

This one?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,323
3,003
^^^^I have owned Gigabyte and Aorus cards in the past, and appreciate their engineering. I would have chosen the Aorus, but they are too big for the NcMP. But, with the current GPU situation, choosing and then finding any card is really hard. Mine came up on Amazon, at a decent price for these times, and I jumped on it. The listing didn't last long.

As far as the cable, I'm using this:


Lou
 
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mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
3,344
2,975
Australia
As fas a the cable, I'm using this:


Lou

Don't suppose you know what happens if you use that cable to plug a displayport GPU into a USB-C display, that offers power on the USB-C port?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,323
3,003
^^^^Actually I do - Nothing, the USB-C outputs are dead. But, if you want to power them, this cable does that:


I have one that I used to use and it did the job, but, for me, I like the simpler arrangement of the bidirectional cable.

Lou
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
3,344
2,975
Australia
^^^^Actually I do - Nothing, the USB-C outputs are dead. But, if you want to power them, this cable does that:

Lou
Ahh, so it only carries the display signal from the usb-c connection. Makes sense. I was more concerned about burning out my GPU if it was sending power down the line from the display.

I've been wondering if this is a solution to the problem of a display disconnecting from the system when the panel sleeps, because that's apparently part of the displayport spec - if its usb-c port would exhibit the same behaviour.
 
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