Single GTX 680 beats dual D700 in Valley benchmark

[rk25123]

http://www.macworld.com/article/208...ter-weve-been-waiting-for-finally.html?page=2

I tried the Unigine Valley benchmark at 1920x1080 (since the article doesn't specify, I set everything to maximum) to see how my humble GTX 680 Mac Edition with just 2GB of VRAM would hold up against the new Mac Pro's dual D700s equipped with 6GB of VRAM each. Surprisingly enough, it scored slightly better (32.30 vs 31.70)! Now, I suppose that the Valley benchmark can't take complete advantage of the power of the dual D700s and that the D700s are designed for another type of graphic work, but I'm still quite surprised by the result, I expected the nMP to smoke the competition in about every scenario.

 

[linuxcooldude]

http://www.macworld.com/article/208...ter-weve-been-waiting-for-finally.html?page=2

I tried the Unigine Valley benchmark at 1920x1080 (since the article doesn't specify, I set everything to maximum) to see how my humble GTX 680 Mac Edition with just 2GB of VRAM would hold up against the new Mac Pro's dual D700s equipped with 6GB of VRAM each. Surprisingly enough, it scored slightly better (32.30 vs 31.70)! Now, I suppose that the Valley benchmark can't take complete advantage of the power of the dual D700s and that the D700s are designed for another type of graphic work, but I'm still quite surprised by the result, I expected the nMP to smoke the competition in about every scenario.

The unigene benchmark is used for gaming cards. So you are testing how well workstation graphics work in gaming. Workstation graphic cards are designed to work best at workstation tasks which use different computations.

 

[antonis]

How can you tell if both D700 were used ? As far as I know, only specific professional applications can take advantage of both GPUs for the time being.

 

[Pressure]

So a single FirePro D700 pretty much equals a Geforce GTX 680 in that test, so what?

But they are not run on the same machine, so this is an oranges-to-apples comparison either way.

Run some OpenCL tests. They aren't in the same ballpark.

 

[librarian]

most benchmark results are probably single gpu, doubt there are any multi gpu applications around for OSX cept for some production software.
It surely smokes any model of 680 with MARI as seen on Pixar demo, with 2 characters loaded at same time, each with several 8k multi layered textures applied.
On top of that they were able to load and scroll the animations in real time, and have the background scene loaded as well.


If those macworld benchmarks are accurate it means one d700 is fast enough for max detail in most games under Windows, and if you can Crossfire them performance should be close to other top gaming solutions.

 

[goMac]

This is single vs. single. OS X does not support Crossfire.

 

[ha1o2surfer]

I def love nvidia but when it comes to OpenCL performance AMD will perform better. In fact, my stupid Intel HD 4000 beats my GT 650m by 12 compute units. Nvidia has a long way to go when it comes to OpenCL so I am assuming this is why Apple went with AMD.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

http://www.macworld.com/article/208...ter-weve-been-waiting-for-finally.html?page=2

I tried the Unigine Valley benchmark at 1920x1080 (since the article doesn't specify, I set everything to maximum) to see how my humble GTX 680 Mac Edition with just 2GB of VRAM would hold up against the new Mac Pro's dual D700s equipped with 6GB of VRAM each. Surprisingly enough, it scored slightly better (32.30 vs 31.70)! Now, I suppose that the Valley benchmark can't take complete advantage of the power of the dual D700s and that the D700s are designed for another type of graphic work, but I'm still quite surprised by the result, I expected the nMP to smoke the competition in about every scenario.

Only a single D700 was used, and at 1080p 2GB is far more than enough. it's not saturated.

I think it shows the D700 in good light. AMD drivers are usually worse at OpenGL than NVIDIA, and they always take a good while before they're at their best.

In OpenCL though the GTX680 is extremely slow.

 

[rk25123]

Well, of course! I was simply noting that gaming-wise the D700 is not that powerful.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

Well, of course! I was simply noting that gaming-wise the D700 is not that powerful.

To the contrary, it shows it in very good light. The D700 is based off of the 7970 Core, and that competes against the GTX680/770.

This shows it sits just where it's supposed to be, and depending on drivers it can only improve for OpenGL performance.

 

[mrsavage1]

Well, of course! I was simply noting that gaming-wise the D700 is not that powerful.

actually you have proved it is powerful

 

[Cindori]

To the contrary, it shows it in very good light. The D700 is based off of the 7970 Core, and that competes against the GTX680/770.

which is previous generation hardware, slower than the Steam Box GPU.
Will it play games? Sure but by mid 2014, when most people will finally have their hands on the nMP, it will almost be 2 generations old hardware.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

which is previous generation hardware, slower than the Steam Box GPU.
Will it play games? Sure but by mid 2014, when most people will finally have their hands on the nMP, it will almost be 2 generations old hardware.

Yet the Titan is horrible at OpenCL computational work, while being better at gaming.

Steam Box/gaming PC focuses on gaming, Mac Pro is a workstation focussing on work.

Both excel at what they're designed for, while being alright at the other part.
I don't see the issue here.

 

[smiddlehurst]

which is previous generation hardware, slower than the Steam Box GPU.
Will it play games? Sure but by mid 2014, when most people will finally have their hands on the nMP, it will almost be 2 generations old hardware.

Anyone buying a Mac Pro purely (or even primarily) as a gaming rig hasn't done their homework. If that's what they're after and they want to stay with OS X then go with a fully loaded iMac, it'll be either the same or faster. If OS X isn't an issue then a Windows box with high end *gaming* kit is the best option by a mile, not even close.

The clue is in the name - Mac Pro. Everything about this machine is tailored to applications that can take advantage of serious parallel processing and ideally tap into the dual GPU's as well. That's a category that most definitely doesn't include games.

 

[Coyote2006]

This is single vs. single. OS X does not support Crossfire.

I personally think that is a really no-go to buy a computer with 2 grafic cards which do not coorperate.

I mean, where is the problem for Apple to write the needed Software? They earn billion of dollars but won't afford some gc programming?!

It's very disappointing...

 

[N19h7m4r3]

I personally think that is a really no-go to buy a computer with 2 grafic cards which do not coorperate.

I mean, where is the problem for Apple to write the needed Software? They earn billion of dollars but won't afford some gc programming?!

It's very disappointing...

Blame AMD, their Xfire drivers have always been dodgy and have to be written for specific games.

Professional work doesn't need XFIRE, and will just use any and all GPU's available.

The devs for the benchmark Also need to support XFIRE and multiple GPU's, but it's always down to AMD/NVIDIA drivers. It's how it's always been on the Windows side, and it'll be the same for OSX.

Remember these are Workstation cards, and for Pro apps both GPU's will be used regardless of Xfire.

 

[slughead]

Blame AMD, their Xfire drivers have always been dodgy and have to be written for specific games.

Professional work doesn't need XFIRE, and will just use any and all GPU's available.

The devs for the benchmark Also need to support XFIRE and multiple GPU's, but it's always down to AMD/NVIDIA drivers. It's how it's always been on the Windows side, and it'll be the same for OSX.

Remember these are Workstation cards, and for Pro apps both GPU's will be used regardless of Xfire.

I Agree with all that. I don't think the D700 are capable of crossfire even in Windows though. I think the Tahiti cores require an Xfire bridge and I don't think the nMP has one.

 

[wildmac]

Anyone buying a Mac Pro purely (or even primarily) as a gaming rig hasn't done their homework. If that's what they're after and they want to stay with OS X then go with a fully loaded iMac, it'll be either the same or faster. If OS X isn't an issue then a Windows box with high end *gaming* kit is the best option by a mile, not even close.

The clue is in the name - Mac Pro. Everything about this machine is tailored to applications that can take advantage of serious parallel processing and ideally tap into the dual GPU's as well. That's a category that most definitely doesn't include games.

Yep, anyone who wants a Mac solely as a gaming rig should be building a hackintosh with i7 and a GTX780.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

I Agree with all that. I don't think the D700 are capable of crossfire even in Windows though. I think the Tahiti cores require an Xfire bridge and I don't think the nMP has one.

AMD's reason for the Bridge was due to PCIe 1 and 2.0 not having enough bandwidth. That was their reason when asked why Hawaii suddenly doesn't need it. Apparently Tahiti now with PCIe 3.0 don't need a bridge either, although it depends on the both the motherboard and card itself.

It'll be interesting to see what Apple and AMD do though. Driver wise Xfire is hit and miss for applications and games, never mind them playing catch up on OpenGL compared to NVIDIA.

So far there hasn't been a proper detailed tear down and review of the Mac Pro parts. Most likely due to short supply.

There's also that recent launch day Firmware update for them as well, so I wonder else is coming as the MP's become more available.

 

[theSeb]

So a single FirePro D700 pretty much equals a Geforce GTX 680 in that test, so what?

That is actually pretty good news.

 

[Diversion]

I don't see where the benches show that the D700s are up against a 680. It shows a late 2013 iMac.. I'm assuming a 780M equippped one. And it looks like to me a the 780M is getting its butt whooped in Heaven, and is even in Valley.

When you guys say 680 (without the M for Mobile) you're referring to a desktop card. In either case, the late 2012 iMac has the 680MX.

Edit: Nevermind, I was looking at the article comparison, the OP's got a 680MX i'm assuming not a 680?

 

[N19h7m4r3]

I don't see where the benches show that the D700s are up against a 680. It shows a late 2013 iMac.. I'm assuming a 780M equippped one. And it looks like to me a the 780M is getting its butt whooped in Heaven, and is even in Valley.

When you guys say 680 (without the M for Mobile) you're referring to a desktop card. In either case, the late 2012 iMac has the 680MX.

Edit: Nevermind, I was looking at the article comparison, the OP's got a 680MX i'm assuming not a 680?

Nope OP has the Desktop Mac GTX 680. Not a mobile card, which is about 0.6 FPS faster than a single AMD D700.

 

[handheldgames]

With the custom configuration apple created, there is no need for a crossfire bridge. Until the details leak out, how the two cards work together is still an unknown, perhaps just for OpenCL acceleration. Luckily there has been an EFI update for the nMP and the talent over at Netkas is already digging into the EFI firmware for the nMP and multiple sets of two AMD cards.

AMD's reason for the Bridge was due to PCIe 1 and 2.0 not having enough bandwidth. That was their reason when asked why Hawaii suddenly doesn't need it. Apparently Tahiti now with PCIe 3.0 don't need a bridge either, although it depends on the both the motherboard and card itself.

It'll be interesting to see what Apple and AMD do though. Driver wise Xfire is hit and miss for applications and games, never mind them playing catch up on OpenGL compared to NVIDIA.

So far there hasn't been a proper detailed tear down and review of the Mac Pro parts. Most likely due to short supply.

There's also that recent launch day Firmware update for them as well, so I wonder else is coming as the MP's become more available.

 

[vladi]

I def love nvidia but when it comes to OpenCL performance AMD will perform better. In fact, my stupid Intel HD 4000 beats my GT 650m by 12 compute units. Nvidia has a long way to go when it comes to OpenCL so I am assuming this is why Apple went with AMD.

Apple is one of the creators of OpenCL so why would they want to promote CUDA? That's why there is AMD in all Macs

 

[Tutor]

Apple is one of the creators of OpenCL so why would they want to promote CUDA? That's why there is AMD in all Macs

, except that there are Nvidia GPUs in the top three of the four iMacs and top end MBP. The other iMac and MBPs come with Intel graphics. I wouldn't assume an OCL vs. CUDA motivation where $$$$$ are at play. Cost could more likely be, at least, a partial motivator for some of Apple's decisions. Doesn't Apple's placing Nvidia GPUs in the top end of its iMac/MBP systems that have sold and probably will continue to out sale the Mac Pro, support my view that money is at play, not OCL vs. CUDA. However, just in case you're right I've got plenty of open double wide PCIe slots for R280Xs and R290Xs if OCL really takes off. But before I become a believer in the notion that Apple is truly serious about OCL, Apple has to walk the walk even in times of storm and not just to sell it's new cylinder.