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Still worth it to buy a 5,1 over 6,1?

December 2015 Buy: Get an upgraded 5,1 or base 6,1 Mac Pro?

  • Total voters
    69
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AreYouAMac said:
Zombie,

Does the card recognize the displays as 6 individual monitors or one big single one?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by that. But it's much like any multiple monitor setup. You can arrange them into a big desktop via the display arrangement tab. But yea, they are 6 discrete 30" cinema displays (with an additional 4 65" 1080p vertically oriented screens) that I can address individually, at full resolution, and rearrange as I'd like. But I happened to arranged them in a way that makes them act like one giant desktop space.

[doublepost=1453009518][/doublepost]
rawweb said:
That is beyond cool! Good work!
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
AreYouAMac said:
I take it, both of you are not programmers.

1. You save so much time in viewing the web browser, the html, the css and the javascript codes all at the same time without swapping windows.

2. You can view comps and compare how they look in real browsers.

3. I can view the same page in Chrome, Safari and Firefox all with them scrolling at the same time.

4. New ways to develop websites auto refreshes the web pages, so it is nice to see real time updates.

5. Multiple monitors is easier to make windows full screen without taking up two screens. I can run 6 apps, all of which full screen on their own window.

I already have all 6 monitors up.

It's not about having fewer big monitors. It's about the convenience of having multiple apps available at the same time separate from one another.

It's not an obsession - it's a necessity to build things as fast as you can.

What's the point of having a garage when you can park your car in the living room?
Click to expand...
I do program & I do use multiple monitors especially when editing video. I have a 30" 2560x1600 flanked by a couple of 24" 1920x1200s. Personally I would prefer more pixels per screen. However as you already have the monitors then the question of choosing other screens is moot.
 
I was in a similar situation. I wasn't sure if to go with a 6.1 or a 5.1. I ended buying a stock Mid-2012 with CPU/HD upgrade on eBay. I paid $2400 with free shipping. I got the following 12-Core 3.33GHz, 16GB Memory, 5770 video card and 250GB SSD. I've had the computer for 2 weeks with no issues. I have two 27" NEC PA272W-BK displays with it.

The computer is being used for design and development. My main apps are Photoshop, Illustrator, Xcode and Atom. I do some light video editing with Premiere Pro.

I will be upgrading with the following;

- 96GB of Memory
- Tempo PCIe 3.0 SSD Card with 512GB SSD (boot-drive)
- Tempo SSD Pro Plus with 2 samsung 850 pro 1tb (RAID CONFIG for storage and scratch drive)
- NVIDIA Quadro K5000 video card

My total investment would be about $5200. The 6.1 6-Core with Dual GPU from is $4000 + tax Plus upgrades
 
<!DOCTYPE> said:
I was in a similar situation. I wasn't sure if to go with a 6.1 or a 5.1. I ended buying a stock Mid-2012 with CPU/HD upgrade on eBay. I paid $2400 with free shipping. I got the following 12-Core 3.33GHz, 16GB Memory, 5770 video card and 250GB SSD. I've had the computer for 2 weeks with no issues. I have two 27" NEC PA272W-BK displays with it.

The computer is being used for design and development. My main apps are Photoshop, Illustrator, Xcode and Atom. I do some light video editing with Premiere Pro.

I will be upgrading with the following;

- 96GB of Memory
- Tempo PCIe 3.0 SSD Card with 512GB SSD (boot-drive)
- Tempo SSD Pro Plus with 2 samsung 850 pro 1tb (RAID CONFIG for storage and scratch drive)
- NVIDIA Quadro K5000 video card

My total investment would be about $5200. The 6.1 6-Core with Dual GPU from is $4000 + tax Plus upgrades
Click to expand...

If you can hold back on the SSD for 4-6 months it might be worth while. Samsung just dumped a 16TB 2.5" form factor drive on the industry. It's costly right now. But that higher capacity work is going to work down to many other form factors, and SSDs are about to go through a lot of changes in the near term.

More likely, you might just get something to tide you over on the SSD front, knowing some bigger changes are coming this year...
 
AreYouAMac said:
Also the CPU (if it's safe or not) can be upgraded and also the GPU. So if there are 2nd hand D700 hundred chips on eBay or what not, I believe they can be swapped in. Though both upgrading the CPU and GPU is still too early to tell since this is still v1 of the the nMP.
Click to expand...

You cannot update the GPU on the nMP. There are no 2nd hand D700/D500/D300 available anywhere. They are a custom GPU specifically built for the MacPro. They are not for sale to the public.

You can update the CPU on a 6,1...and it's supposedly quite easy.

If you want more customization and options, get the 5,1.

If you want the 6,1, buy refurb from Apple to save some money.
 
ZombiePhysicist said:
If you can hold back on the SSD for 4-6 months it might be worth while. Samsung just dumped a 16TB 2.5" form factor drive on the industry. It's costly right now. But that higher capacity work is going to work down to many other form factors, and SSDs are about to go through a lot of changes in the near term.

More likely, you might just get something to tide you over on the SSD front, knowing some bigger changes are coming this year...
Click to expand...

I can probably hold 4 months on the SSD. I will upgrade my memory next month. Thanks for the info!
 
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