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blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
You could barely custom build one with the same parts for $2500.

Apples part selection is very poor particularly the base machine. They picked expensive parts with crappy performance. You could easily build something that performs as good or better for 2500. The Radeon 580x is atrocious for a 6000 dollar machine. Heck you could buy a prebuilt workstation from a competitor for that money.
 

vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
You could barely custom build one with the same parts for $2500.

The motherboard is around $1500 for a similar PC equivalent, and the CPU is around $1300 too. So just on those two parts you're already at $2800ish. :D
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Apples part selection is very poor particularly the base machine. They picked expensive parts with crappy performance. You could easily build something that performs as good or better for 2500. The Radeon 580x is atrocious for a 6000 dollar machine. Heck you could buy a prebuilt workstation from a competitor for that money.

Similar Tier PC Motherboard:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813145153
$2068

Similar CPU:
https://www.newegg.com/p/050-01CX-00007?Description=xeon w&cm_re=xeon_w-_-050-01CX-00007-_-Product
$1200

Ram x4:
https://www.newegg.com/p/0RN-004P-0...dr4&cm_re=8gb_ddr4-_-9SIA7S6A1Y0848-_-Product
$200

Similar Tier PSU:
https://www.newegg.com/corsair-hxi-...1200_watt_power_supply-_-17-139-129-_-Product
$379

Similar SSD:
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-250gb/p/N82E16820147689
$100

GPU:
About $400

CASE....
No equivalent case

Grand total: $4200
Difference of: $1800 (subtract however much that crazy case costs from this total)
 
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thisisnotmyname

macrumors 68020
Oct 22, 2014
2,439
5,251
known but velocity indeterminate
Apples part selection is very poor particularly the base machine. They picked expensive parts with crappy performance. You could easily build something that performs as good or better for 2500. The Radeon 580x is atrocious for a 6000 dollar machine. Heck you could buy a prebuilt workstation from a competitor for that money.

Great, enjoy your new home brew machine.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
The motherboard is around $1500 for a similar PC equivalent, and the CPU is around $1300 too. So just on those two parts you're already at $2800ish. :D

1500? Try more like 350. Even if you spent double its way less than 1500.

https://www.newegg.com/asrock-rack-epc621d8a-intel-xeon-scalable-processors/p/N82E16813140009

Even a dual socket board (something the mac pro doesn't even support) with 2 tb ram support is only $528.
https://www.newegg.com/supermicro-m...-supported-cpu-tdp-support-2/p/1B4-005W-00155
 
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vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
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blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
You’re missing some PCI slots there... ?

And? unless you really need them they are just a waste of money. Not to mention you are still limited by the number of PCI-E lanes the cpu supports so add too many cards and you will limit the bandwidth anyway.

The 528 board has 4 16x slots, plus an additional 2 8x slots. It also has 2 more NVME 4x slots. So 8 PCI-E devices. More than enough for a professional workflow.

https://www.newegg.com/supermicro-m...-supported-cpu-tdp-support-2/p/1B4-005W-00155

Actually just checked, the mac pro only supports up to 8 pci-e devices as well, and one of them is taken up by the Apple IO card that can't be relocated so its really 7. So it actually supports less PCI-E devices than the $528 motherboard.

Mac pro PCI-E Specs:
  • Slot 1: up to x16 lanes (double-wide)
  • Slot 2: up to x8 lanes (double-wide)
  • Slot 3: up to x16 lanes (double-wide)
  • Slot 4: up to x16 lanes (double-wide)
  • Slot 5: up to x16 lanes (single-wide)
  • Slot 6: up to x8 lanes (single-wide)
  • Slot 7: up to x8 lanes (single-wide)
  • Slot 8: up to x4 lanes (half-length) - permanently occupied by IO board - Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack
 
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DoofenshmirtzEI

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
862
713
The pricing on these is highway robbery. The base model should start at like 2500 not 6000 for what it comes with. Its using outdated gpus and an 8 core with a modest clock speed. Even more ridiculous is the 256gb base storage on a 6000 dollar machine. And the ridiculous prices they are charging to upgrade them.
The base machine is low spec because people don't want to pay for components they don't need in a base machine. For instance, my beef with the 6,1 was that extra GPU that was entirely useless to me, but which I was expected to pay for anyway. The professional market is segmented these days, with very different needs for cpu/gpu/memory/storage. If all you need is the base machine, you're not the intended market. You don't need that huge power supply, or the slots that can run lots of gpu's or ssd's , or the ability to scale to 1.5 TB of memory. Those are the equivalent of the extra GPU that I didn't need.
 

goMac

macrumors 604
Apr 15, 2004
7,663
1,694
Apples part selection is very poor particularly the base machine. They picked expensive parts with crappy performance. You could easily build something that performs as good or better for 2500. The Radeon 580x is atrocious for a 6000 dollar machine. Heck you could buy a prebuilt workstation from a competitor for that money.

That's fine. Different machines for different people. You can build one much more optimized for what you want.

Very different than saying it's a $2500 machine.
 
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Macs4u

Suspended
Apr 19, 2008
387
352
Stoke on Trent
OK, enjoy your custom Ryzen build.

I don’t have a Ryzen build but only a fool would deny that they are much more powerful than a 6k entry level Mac Pro.
[automerge]1576178408[/automerge]
Thats not the point. If you want to make a fair comparison, you need to match everything spec for spec as closely as possible

No you don’t. It’s impossible for a Mac Pro to have for example a Lian Ali case. It’s impossible for a pc to have a Mac Pro case. The pure fact is that for waaaaay less than 6k you can get a PC that destroys the entry level Mac Pro.
 

thisisnotmyname

macrumors 68020
Oct 22, 2014
2,439
5,251
known but velocity indeterminate
I don’t have a Ryzen build but only a fool would deny that they are much more powerful than a 6k entry level Mac Pro.

It's not your job to be the savior of fools. If you want to go build a Ryzen box you are free to do so and I wish you well. Trying to convince others they are fools for finding a Mac Pro provides ROI on their workflow is a fools errand.
 
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Macs4u

Suspended
Apr 19, 2008
387
352
Stoke on Trent
It's not your job to be the savior of fools. If you want to go build a Ryzen box you are free to do so and I wish you well. Trying to convince others they are fools for finding a Mac Pro provides ROI on their workflow is a fools errand.

I’m nobody’s saviour. People free to spend how they choose. Facts are facts though. 6k for an 8 core cpu, 256gb storage and a cheap Amd 580 is ridiculous.
 

vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
No you don’t. It’s impossible for a Mac Pro to have for example a Lian Ali case. It’s impossible for a pc to have a Mac Pro case. The pure fact is that for waaaaay less than 6k you can get a PC that destroys the entry level Mac Pro.

I have a $4k PC that's my primary workstation, and it benches about the same as my base model iMac Pro.
But.... let's say things go crazy and I need to run quad GPUs in this PC a month from now, and also need 128GB of total video memory for 3D work. Can't do it. So if I want to do that, the $4k PC is now an extra $4K down the tubes, because I'd need a totally new system to do it.

I agree it's pretty silly to buy the base model Mac Pro with no intention to upgrade any of the components later, as you definitely have other options that make more sense (like the iMac Pro, if you want to stay Apple). But it offers capabilities on the high (very) end that you can't build yourself for cheap.
 

MisterAndrew

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 15, 2015
2,895
2,390
Portland, Ore.
It's off-topic to make posts about opinions on whether the prices are a good deal or if you can build a PC for cheaper, etc. The purpose of this thread is to list Mac Pro configurations, options, and accessories by Apple or by 3rd parties that are made specifically for the Mac Pro. Please stay on-topic.
 

AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,677
The Peninsula
Thats not the point. If you want to make a fair comparison, you need to match everything spec for spec as closely as possible
Horse hockey. The fair comparison is to match systems that meet your requirements. If a system exceeds your requirements - that's money wasted.

Bumping the price by adding things that you don't need is voodoo economics.
 
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vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
Horse hockey. The fair comparison is to match systems that meet your requirements. If a system exceeds your requirements - that's money wasted.

Bumping the price by adding things that you don't need is voodoo economics.

Huh? The discussion is over whether or not the Mac Pro is overpriced based on its components. To figure that out, you need to look for PC components that match the MacPro components as closely as possible and figure out the price difference.

If youre shopping for a car and need a Honda Civic, you’re not going to price compare with a Ferrari.
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man lamborghini aventadors are so expensive, and they only go 217mph top speed. you can build a nascar for 1/4th the price, and they match that speed. Dumb lamborghini idiots

well it looks like we both decided to use the car analogy at the exact same time ?
 

vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
That's exactly my point. If a Civic meets your needs - you don't add options to make it a Ferrari.

That's not at all what we were talking about. That's a whole other discussion entirely! (and it also seems a little strange, because that analogy basically says don't ever upgrade any PC you've ever bought, and just be happy with whatever base model you've purchased for whatever purpose you originally purchased it for) o_O
 
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vinegarshots

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2018
983
1,350
It's off-topic to make posts about opinions on whether the prices are a good deal or if you can build a PC for cheaper, etc. The purpose of this thread is to list Mac Pro configurations, options, and accessories by Apple or by 3rd parties that are made specifically for the Mac Pro. Please stay on-topic.

missed this earlier... yes sir, I digress ?
 
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