nMP Quad-Core with D700s

[puke]

Hello,

Iäm on the verge of getting EITHER:

nMP Quad-Core with D700s, 16GB of Ram and 256GB SSD + TBD or 34" LG.

or

iMac with retina display, upgraded CPU, upgraded GPU, 512GB SSD, 16GB Ram

Now, i'm worried that the GPU of the latter wont be able to run the iMac properly. I will do some gaming (WoW and D3) aswell as photo editing and light video editing. I'm wondering: Will I even need 4K/5K-displays? I know the nMP can't drive 5K displays, but seriously, when is the point where you NEED 5K? I really can't (without your help) see that I'll actually need 4k/5k in the near future of 3-4 years. Will I? Won't the current TBD suffice? Or even the 34UM95?

Thanks,

 

[poematik13]

The dual d700's will run circles around the iMac's single m295x....It's also mostly upgradeable (the iMac is not except for the RAM) and isn't limited to a thermal bottleneck where it slows down once it gets too hot.

You dont really need 4k+ unless youre heavily in photography/filmmaking/visual media and your clients require that res. In the future of course, everything will be that res. But right now most of the media online that you consume is 1080.

For your usage pattern (light editing of stills and video and moderate gaming), the iMac is more than enough.

Either way, the TB2 ports in both machines can be used with a mini display port 1.2 cable to display 3840x2160 at 60hz. Make sure your screen supports that...the 28" Samsung 4k can.

 

[puke]

Thanks poe,

Tho, will the iMac with retina display be ABLE to do this? I'm thinking mostly of the gaming here... Will it be able to drive that ammount of pixels in a gaming environment without stuttering/overheating/LAG?

NOTE: I do have 10% student discout...

//

 

[VirtualRain]

The dual d700's will run circles around the iMac's single m295x....It's also mostly upgradeable (the iMac is not except for the RAM) and isn't limited to a thermal bottleneck where it slows down once it gets too hot.

You dont really need 4k+ unless youre heavily in photography/filmmaking/visual media and your clients require that res. In the future of course, everything will be that res. But right now most of the media online that you consume is 1080.

For your usage pattern (light editing of stills and video and moderate gaming), the iMac is more than enough.

Either way, the TB2 ports in both machines can be used with a mini display port 1.2 cable to display 3840x2160 at 60hz. Make sure your screen supports that...the 28" Samsung 4k can.

The M295X in the iMac is effectively the exact same GPU as the D700. And although the nMP has two of them, in OS X one is dedicated for compute and the other for pixel pushing. Since you're seldom doing both at the same time, the two GPUs in the nMP are largely undetutilized.

The iMac is probably the better choice unless you already have invested in a nice display, but even then, how nice can it be compared to that drool worthy display in the iMac. And of course no body needs 5K or 4K, but the beauty of the iMac display is you can run it in retina mode and have everything stunningly sharp at a rather conventional effective 1440p resolution.

 

[puke]

The M295X in the iMac is effectively the exact same GPU as the D700. And although the nMP has two of them, in OS X one is dedicated for compute and the other for pixel pushing. Since you're seldom doing both at the same time, the two GPUs in the nMP are largely undetutilized.

The iMac is probably the better choice unless you already have invested in a nice display, but even then, how nice can it be compared to that drool worthy display in the iMac. And of course no body needs 5K or 4K, but the beauty of the iMac display is you can run it in retina mode and have everything stunningly sharp at a rather conventional effective 1440p resolution.

How is it the "same card"? D700s do have 6GB each of memory?

Also: Tho, will the iMac with retina display be ABLE to do this? I'm thinking mostly of the gaming here... Will it be able to drive that ammount of pixels in a gaming environment without stuttering/overheating/LAG?

Note: I CAN also install bootcamp/w8 for only the gaming on the nMP and then get them Crossfired. 12GB of GDDR5-memory for wow is ridiculous. Too much, but still. The GPU in the iMac needs to be able to do gaming aswell as driving the 5k display...?

 

[mikeboss]

How is it the "same card"? D700s do have 6GB each of memory?

Also: Tho, will the iMac with retina display be ABLE to do this? I'm thinking mostly of the gaming here... Will it be able to drive that ammount of pixels in a gaming environment without stuttering/overheating/LAG?

I expect games to be running at half the resolution (2560x1440) which shouldn't be a problem for this GPU.

 

[edry.hilario]

I expect games to be running at half the resolution (2560x1440) which shouldn't be a problem for this GPU.

still how are the same as the d700 they are 6gb cards? I'm battling this myself but I want to do heavy video editing on it. what do you recommend.

 

[puke]

still how are the same as the d700 they are 6gb cards? I'm battling this myself but I want to do heavy video editing on it. what do you recommend.

With heavy video editing I can't see any other way then the Mac Pro, tho, i'm also asking for advice. It's looking more and more like I'm going with a Quad-Core, 256GB, D700-Mac Pro with a Thunderbolt Display...

 

[VirtualRain]

How is it the "same card"? D700s do have 6GB each of memory?

Also: Tho, will the iMac with retina display be ABLE to do this? I'm thinking mostly of the gaming here... Will it be able to drive that ammount of pixels in a gaming environment without stuttering/overheating/LAG?

Note: I CAN also install bootcamp/w8 for only the gaming on the nMP and then get them Crossfired. 12GB of GDDR5-memory for wow is ridiculous. Too much, but still. The GPU in the iMac needs to be able to do gaming aswell as driving the 5k display...?

I said it's the same GPU, not the same card. You're right the D700 has 6GB of VRAM vs 4GB in the iMac.

And you're absolutely right that if Windows gaming is your thing, then the nMP is likely much better than the iMac although you could probably fund a cheap gaming PC with the money you save buying the iMac.

still how are the same as the d700 they are 6gb cards? I'm battling this myself but I want to do heavy video editing on it. what do you recommend.

What's the difference in performance between 6GB and 4GB of VRAM? Likely nothing. The Mac Pro GPUs come with 2, 3 or 6GB of VRAM and from what I understand, many people have been opting for the D300s with 2GB of VRAM and haven't been suffering at all.

However, there's no doubt that the one app that seems to benefit nicely from the Mac Pro's dual GPUs is FCP X. If you use that app a lot and edit with a lot of effects or filters, then the nMP is for you.

 

[richneerd]

Hello,

Iäm on the verge of getting EITHER:

nMP Quad-Core with D700s, 16GB of Ram and 256GB SSD + TBD or 34" LG.

or

iMac with retina display, upgraded CPU, upgraded GPU, 512GB SSD, 16GB Ram

Now, i'm worried that the GPU of the latter wont be able to run the iMac properly. I will do some gaming (WoW and D3) aswell as photo editing and light video editing. I'm wondering: Will I even need 4K/5K-displays? I know the nMP can't drive 5K displays, but seriously, when is the point where you NEED 5K? I really can't (without your help) see that I'll actually need 4k/5k in the near future of 3-4 years. Will I? Won't the current TBD suffice? Or even the 34UM95?

Thanks,

I advise you should get the nMP, D700 with the LG 34UM95 4k display. I did it, everything is smooth as butter when playing D3 and Starcraft II. There are a lot of youtube videos, google them and check them out.

Not to mention you can upgrade the quad core later down the road when the 6, and 8 cores become cheaper over time. The 2009-2012 Mac Pros, you can get 6 core CPU's for less than $200 now!

 

[666sheep]

I said it's the same GPU

It isn't. Mobile version in iMac will be comparable to D700 performance-wise, but it isn't the same chip.

 

[VirtualRain]

It isn't. Mobile version in iMac will be comparable to D700 performance-wise, but it isn't the same chip.

You're right, it may even be better. (Similar stream processors but Tonga core vs Tahiti).

 

[handsome pete]

still how are the same as the d700 they are 6gb cards? I'm battling this myself but I want to do heavy video editing on it. what do you recommend.

Define heavy editing.

 

[deconstruct60]

You're right, it may even be better. (Similar stream processors but Tonga core vs Tahiti).

If they were clocked the same but there are likely substantive differences in base clock and operational clock (performance under computational duress). They have different thermal envelopes to get inside of ( the M290X TDP is 100 so M295X is likely higher but not as high as what is allotted the D700 ) Will be in similar ballparks but the D700 doesn't have to be loaded down with a 5K screen.

The Retina iMac as a gaming system is highly dubious. The D700 freed of that boat anchor is going to give it more "maneuverability". If there was a need for 5K then it is not as much of an impediment. But if the question is "I have no idea what 5K is useful for", that isn't indicative of a core requirement/need.

 

[puke]

I advise you should get the nMP, D700 with the LG 34UM95 4k display. I did it, everything is smooth as butter when playing D3 and Starcraft II. There are a lot of youtube videos, google them and check them out.

Not to mention you can upgrade the quad core later down the road when the 6, and 8 cores become cheaper over time. The 2009-2012 Mac Pros, you can get 6 core CPU's for less than $200 now!

I thought about that too. What do you do with it besides Starcraft and d3? Tried wow? Editing? I'd love to see more. Can I have a few pictures? Ram?

Thanks man, you're very helpful.

 

[edry.hilario]

Define heavy editing.

heavy editing meaning dealing with 4k footage, large comps in AE and good amount of nodes in Davinci Resolve, etc..

Photo editing: dealing with panoramic stitched up raw 20.1 megapixel images with of 4 or more pictures in photoshop.

 

[CodeJingle]

And although the nMP has two of them, in OS X one is dedicated for compute and the other for pixel pushing.

For new Mac Pro both GPUs can be used for both graphics and compute. Though in OS X they aren't used together to drive the same display like SLI or CrossFire, each GPU can drive a separate display and still be used in OpenCL.

Also Apple guarantees 30 bit color depth support on the Mac Pro, not the iMac. The video standard for 4k video is a minimum of 30 bit color depth. Another reason to choose Mac Pro.

 

[VirtualRain]

For new Mac Pro both GPUs can be used for both graphics and compute. Though in OS X they aren't used together to drive the same display like SLI or CrossFire, each GPU can drive a separate display and still be used in OpenCL.

This is true, but the only app I'm aware of that makes use of this is FCP X. It seems most apps are either OpenGL (graphics) or OpenCL (compute) which means most of the time, one GPU is doing very little.

Also Apple guarantees 30 bit color depth support on the Mac Pro, not the iMac. The video standard for 4k video is a minimum of 30 bit color depth. Another reason to choose Mac Pro.

I'm not sure what this is... I didn't think OS X supported 10-bit per channel colour. Or are you talking about something else?

Regardless, the iMac ships with a pretty killer GPU. At 3.5 TFlops and 4GB of VRAM, it's a very capable GPU - possibly more usable GPU power than you get in either the base Quad or Hex nMP.

 

[CodeJingle]

This is true, but the only app I'm aware of that makes use of this is FCP X. It seems most apps are either OpenGL (graphics) or OpenCL (compute) which means most of the time, one GPU is doing very little.

I'm not sure what this is... I didn't think OS X supported 10-bit per channel colour. Or are you talking about something else?

I'm an OpenCL developer, so I make sure both GPUs are being used. I have the top config so 7 teraflops and 12 GB VRAM, and sure I have to use it all to take advantage of it, but believe me I do.

I switch the display to billion color mode and the OS seems to notice. The 4k standard is 30 bit color minimum so it would be rather disappointing if the OS only supports 24 bit color. When I use SwitchResX to switch my color mode from millions to billions the OS responds, and only certain apps run under billion color mode, I would only expect that to happen if the OS supported color modes greater than 24 like 30 (30 bit color depth equals 10 bits per channel)

 

[aliajwalker]

Hello,

Iäm on the verge of getting EITHER:

nMP Quad-Core with D700s, 16GB of Ram and 256GB SSD + TBD or 34" LG.

or

iMac with retina display, upgraded CPU, upgraded GPU, 512GB SSD, 16GB Ram

Now, i'm worried that the GPU of the latter wont be able to run the iMac properly. I will do some gaming (WoW and D3) aswell as photo editing and light video editing. I'm wondering: Will I even need 4K/5K-displays? I know the nMP can't drive 5K displays, but seriously, when is the point where you NEED 5K? I really can't (without your help) see that I'll actually need 4k/5k in the near future of 3-4 years. Will I? Won't the current TBD suffice? Or even the 34UM95?

Thanks,

I would get the 5k iMac- what a display! Great for what you want. I have the New Mac Pro and to be honest- it's super fast only the top spec one is faster than my old 12 core so to be honest I wish I waited. You'll get an amazing display and a great system so I would go iMac and stick 32GB in it.

 

[aliajwalker]

For new Mac Pro both GPUs can be used for both graphics and compute. Though in OS X they aren't used together to drive the same display like SLI or CrossFire, each GPU can drive a separate display and still be used in OpenCL.

Also Apple guarantees 30 bit color depth support on the Mac Pro, not the iMac. The video standard for 4k video is a minimum of 30 bit color depth. Another reason to choose Mac Pro.

Not yet. I have a new Mac Pro and a NEC Spectraview 301 and it's not outputting 10 bit. That is an OS X issue, which I am hoping Yosemite sorts out. The vast majority of 4k content, RAW included doesn't record 10bit either just has the ability too as its going to a codec that can. You'll get it on medium format (Phase Hassey etc) stills and ArriRAW etc that actually uses the bit depth otherwise its a waste of time.

 

[drewid20]

heavy editing meaning dealing with 4k footage, large comps in AE and good amount of nodes in Davinci Resolve, etc..

Photo editing: dealing with panoramic stitched up raw 20.1 megapixel images with of 4 or more pictures in photoshop.

AE does not handle multiprocessing efficiently. The quad core 4ghz i7 in an iMac will run faster than any of the Mac Pro's in most instances. The advantage will go to the Mac Pro on 3D ray traced objects and the ability to have 64gigs of RAM over 32 in the iMac.

 

[poematik13]

I'm an OpenCL developer, so I make sure both GPUs are being used. I have the top config so 7 teraflops and 12 GB VRAM, and sure I have to use it all to take advantage of it, but believe me I do.

I switch the display to billion color mode and the OS seems to notice. The 4k standard is 30 bit color minimum so it would be rather disappointing if the OS only supports 24 bit color. When I use SwitchResX to switch my color mode from millions to billions the OS responds, and only certain apps run under billion color mode, I would only expect that to happen if the OS supported color modes greater than 24 like 30 (30 bit color depth equals 10 bits per channel)

Huh? OS X does not output 10bit color yet. You'll need an external AV interface (i.e something from blackmagic or AJA to output 10 bit to a compatible screen)

 

[puke]

I would get the 5k iMac- what a display! Great for what you want. I have the New Mac Pro and to be honest- it's super fast only the top spec one is faster than my old 12 core so to be honest I wish I waited. You'll get an amazing display and a great system so I would go iMac and stick 32GB in it.

I'm still not convinced that the GPU in the iMac with Retina Display will be able to carry that amazing screen whilst gaming wow/d3.

Edit: Pretty sure it can't. it can barely drive the screen. Check out the Review I posted in the iMac-forums. I'll most likely be getting the nMP-alternative I posted above.

 

[joema2]

With heavy video editing I can't see any other way then the Mac Pro...

The upcoming Will Smith movie "Focus" was edited almost entirely on MacBooks and iMacs using FCP X. The assistant editor Mike Matzdorff discusses this in this video interview (around 19:20): http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/new...ind-editing-a-major-hollywood-feature-on-fcpx

A 4Ghz i7 retina iMac with M295X is considerably more powerful -- from both CPU and GPU standpoints -- than the computers Matzdorff's team used to edit Focus, a $100 million movie.

Matzdorff said the high-end iMac he used had good performance on FCP X 10.1.2, and at one point he was editing four full versions of the movie in his library. However he also said given the choice he'd rather have the highest-end available hardware. Apple makes Mac Pros and people buy them for a reason.

Very early Geekbench numbers show the 4Ghz retina iMac is significantly faster than a six-core new Mac Pro on single-threaded tasks, and only 12.8% slower on multi-threaded tasks:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/1015317?baseline=1015443