Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Leaving Apple, but How?

jasonmvp said:
That's my opinion. Folks here are telling you that you have "good hardware". Your Xeons are not good for Premiere, After Effects, etc. They're acceptable. Comparing them to a single fast Core i7 of today is almost a waste of time. Specially when you overclock it.
Click to expand...
It may be unscientific, but can you tell me what sort of performance difference you see from going from the 5,1 to an i7 Windows box (especially so if you ran Windows on the 5,1)?

I've been considering the same thing for some time now, but my single W3680 5,1 has been pretty solid for me and I'm not sure how much I'll gain by going to a new i7 (or Xeon--I could do either). I've looked at benchmarks, but they seem all over the place and most don't go into video editing--they're synthetics or games (and I have games covered with a Titan X).
 
benjobe2513 said:
As it becomes more apparent that Apple won't be updating the Mac Pro this year I have begun considering my options, one of which being the switch to a PC platform. But how hard is this transition?

Perhaps I'm posting this in the wrong forum. Has anyone here managed this transition before? Perhaps someone can point me in the direction of those who have?

I know that I will have to purchase new licenses for most of my software. That's going to be a headache. Are there other speed bumps to this switch that I'm not aware of?

Some background:

I'm a video editor. I switched from FCP7 to Adobe when FCPX came on the scene (half-baked in my opinion, although now I understand that it's improved with updates). At first my 2010 Mac Pro 6-core was very capable of meeting my needs. But about a year ago I started shooting 4K footage and my system couldn't keep up. So I upgraded all the internals of my system. Here's my current config:

2x 6-core 3.46GHz
48GB RAM
2x Nvidia GTX 980 in Cubix Xpander
512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD-SATA (OSX)
512GB Samsung XP941 SSD-PCIE (scratch)
2x 1TB Samsung 840 Pro SSD as RAID 0 in a Sonnet Tempo Pro PCIE (media)

Even with this very fast system (Geekbench Multi-Core Score: 32000) I'm getting poor playback in my PP timeline when several filters are applied to a clip. Renders and exports also take a long time.

I believe what's holding me back is my dated motherboard, old CPUs, and slow RAM. It's my hope that switching to a more modern PC system will eliminate these bottlenecks.
Click to expand...


If you have the money have a look at a HP Z workstation. You don't have to max it out, build one to a reasonable spec and add as you need to. Or you could get a second hand one easy enough - they normally have quite good specs.

As for moving your data, if you are running Adobe apps then they are cross platform so you shouldn't have an issue migrating.
 
jasonmvp said:
That's my opinion. Folks here are telling you that you have "good hardware". Your Xeons are not good for Premiere, After Effects, etc. They're acceptable. Comparing them to a single fast Core i7 of today is almost a waste of time. Specially when you overclock it.
Click to expand...

really depends on what you're trying to benchmark and what you're doing with it. value for money? pure performance? power usage? single core performance, there is no comparison, i7s left xeons long ago. but multi-core is a different story. a dual xeon hex-core X5690 will still obliterate a 4790 for pure throughput.


https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?utf8=✓&q=4790
https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?utf8=✓&q=X5690
 
jasonmvp said:
A 4790 is a cute little processor. I'm fond of 5960Xs, actually.

Here's my 5,1's results after the 3.46GHz chip update:
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/308867

And here's my new gaming/editing rig's results. Just ran them:
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/2940379
Click to expand...


5960X is basically an E5
i guess i somewhat missed your original point, if you're gonna say "i7" on a mac forum you're gonna assume most people are talking the i7s found in macs, which are all of the 11xx family and not performance comparable to xeons.

i guess ive had too many arguments with the "the imac is more powerful than the mac pro" people.
 
Synchro3 said:
I have the impression it's slower.

Windows 7 or Windows 8? AFAIK Windows 7 with IDE drivers works only on internal SATA 2 ports of the cMac Pro. Mine is running on port 1. If you have AHCI you can use SATA 3 PCI-E cards for the Windows SSD drive.
Click to expand...

Windows 8.1, tested with CrystalDiskMark.

I haven't tested if I can boot Windows from my Sonnet Tempo Pro yet. I am waiting for Windows 10.
 
@Synchro3

SM951 256GB benched in Bootcamp AND OS X. Windows in the lead on read and write speed.

image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: benjobe2513
kwikdeth said:
5960X is basically an E5
i guess i somewhat missed your original point, if you're gonna say "i7" on a mac forum you're gonna assume most people are talking the i7s found in macs, which are all of the 11xx family and not performance comparable to xeons.
Click to expand...

Which was my point. Xeons are fantastic... server processors. They're great if you require ECC RAM for whatever reason. From an all-out performance perspective, they're sub-optimal. And they can't be pushed, either. That example is clocked up to 4.4GHz; I appear to have received one of the lower end 5960s as I can't push it any higher without causing Windows to crash. But oh darn: all I get is 4.4GHz out of a 16 virtual-core CPU. Whatever will I do?

Oh yeah, crush things in Premiere Pro, that's what I'll do. And that's what the OP is asking about specifically: the idea of moving from a Mac to a PC given his use of Adobe's editing software. Said software, for the time being, runs quite a bit better (and by "better" I mean: quicker and more stably) on Windows than it does OS X.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ixxx69
shaunp said:
If you have the money have a look at a HP Z workstation. You don't have to max it out, build one to a reasonable spec and add as you need to. Or you could get a second hand one easy enough - they normally have quite good specs.

As for moving your data, if you are running Adobe apps then they are cross platform so you shouldn't have an issue migrating.
Click to expand...

I've seen those HP Z workstations and they look impressive although a little bit limited in terms of components. I've been looking at this PC builder website which offers more options.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/configure.php

I like all their options but they charge a premium for building it and supporting it. I know that I could get a similar system for less if I built it myself. I've tried googling DIY PC Building Tutorial but most of the recipes are for low-grade gaming systems. Anyone know of a PC Building Tutorial for a high-end video editing system?
 
jasonmvp said:
Which was my point. Xeons are fantastic... server processors. They're great if you require ECC RAM for whatever reason. From an all-out performance perspective, they're sub-optimal. And they can't be pushed, either. That example is clocked up to 4.4GHz; I appear to have received one of the lower end 5960s as I can't push it any higher without causing Windows to crash. But oh darn: all I get is 4.4GHz out of a 16 virtual-core CPU. Whatever will I do?

Oh yeah, crush things in Premiere Pro, that's what I'll do. And that's what the OP is asking about specifically: the idea of moving from a Mac to a PC given his use of Adobe's editing software. Said software, for the time being, runs quite a bit better (and by "better" I mean: quicker and more stably) on Windows than it does OS X.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you. I'm looking forward to crushing my render & export times in PP.
 
benjobe2513 said:
As it becomes more apparent that Apple won't be updating the Mac Pro this year I have begun considering my options, one of which being the switch to a PC platform. But how hard is this transition?

Perhaps I'm posting this in the wrong forum. Has anyone here managed this transition before? Perhaps someone can point me in the direction of those who have?

I know that I will have to purchase new licenses for most of my software. That's going to be a headache. Are there other speed bumps to this switch that I'm not aware of?

Some background:

I'm a video editor. I switched from FCP7 to Adobe when FCPX came on the scene (half-baked in my opinion, although now I understand that it's improved with updates). At first my 2010 Mac Pro 6-core was very capable of meeting my needs. But about a year ago I started shooting 4K footage and my system couldn't keep up. So I upgraded all the internals of my system. Here's my current config:

2x 6-core 3.46GHz
48GB RAM
2x Nvidia GTX 980 in Cubix Xpander
512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD-SATA (OSX)
512GB Samsung XP941 SSD-PCIE (scratch)
2x 1TB Samsung 840 Pro SSD as RAID 0 in a Sonnet Tempo Pro PCIE (media)

Even with this very fast system (Geekbench Multi-Core Score: 32000) I'm getting poor playback in my PP timeline when several filters are applied to a clip. Renders and exports also take a long time.

I believe what's holding me back is my dated motherboard, old CPUs, and slow RAM. It's my hope that switching to a more modern PC system will eliminate these bottlenecks.
Click to expand...

You're best option would an X99 PC motherboard along with a 5960x processor and DDR4 RAM. If you pick your parts right, you could even get OS X installed on it creating a Hackintosh. Check the TonyMacx86 forums. For Hackintosh reviews, click here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-hackintosh-thread.1900326/
 
It would be great to have such comparison (Xeon 12 core vs i7 octocore) with some quantum chemical software like Gaussian or Orca.They are so hard to come by :(
 
benjobe2513 said:
I've tried googling DIY PC Building Tutorial but most of the recipes are for low-grade gaming systems. Anyone know of a PC Building Tutorial for a high-end video editing system?
Click to expand...

You're not going to find many guides to specifically building a video editing workstation. Most builders are, more often than not, hobbyists when it comes to the video side of things, which is why you'll see a machine that is also designed for good gaming performance. Most "pro" editors (I use that term loosely) prefer the reliability and support that venders like HP, Apple, Dell, etc. provide.


But in the end, the process for all builds is the same. You're just likely using higher quality components. What kind of information are you looking for specifically regarding video editing systems?
 
handsome pete said:
You're not going to find many guides to specifically building a video editing workstation. Most builders are, more often than not, hobbyists when it comes to the video side of things, which is why you'll see a machine that is also designed for good gaming performance. Most "pro" editors (I use that term loosely) prefer the reliability and support that venders like HP, Apple, Dell, etc. provide.


But in the end, the process for all builds is the same. You're just likely using higher quality components. What kind of information are you looking for specifically regarding video editing systems?
Click to expand...
Have a look at EVGA forums? Use to be very good - and very helpful folks. At one time was tempted by the SR-2 board (dual Xeon based on Skulltrail II) even. And often with best of class hardware builds.
 
benjobe2513 said:
Anyone know of a PC Building Tutorial for a high-end video editing system?
Click to expand...

Sorry that I didn't see this earlier. If you venture over to the Adobe Premiere Pro forums and look for the guy named ECBowen, he can help you out. He runs a small company that builds custom rigs for video editors, and I'm sure he'll offer suggestions and guidelines based on your budget.
 
I have decided when my Apple no longer lets me install a new OS on my cMP I'm gonna move the components to an EVGA SR-2 mobo and clock the x5690 processors to 4.4ghz with liquid cooling. I will have real SLI support and built in SATA3+USB3 and 45000 geekbenches. Cost of this move will be less than a basic iMac.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back