Tough Choice

[rawweb]

I have a tough choice at work...I was really hoping MacPro would be refreshed this year. I have a 6,1 that puked. All fine and dandy, Apple swapped me a base iMac Pro, no charge.

Anyway, I have a 9k budget that I have to spend this year, it's the cycle I'm in. The 6,1 was due to be replaced anyway as it was off warranty and depreciated. Looking now like my options are either 14c or 18c iMac Pro...or that's it. But I also have access to purchase a mint 2012 5,1 3.46 12c, 64GB ram, PCIe SSD, GTX 1080 etc build for just under $1,300 . It's coming from a reliable source. I just need to find a pair of good 4k 99% Adobe RGB or dci-p3 displays. I also have an intern station equipped with a 2010 5,1 8c that I could put some money into this year with what I'd save not buying a iMac Pro. At work, I never dreamed I'd have to pitch the boss a 6 year old computer, if they'd even bite. What would be a good sales pitch? With all the GPU thermal issues I experienced with the 6,1, I'm not super ready to have an iMac Pro fleet under my command.

Primary use is Adobe Pr and AE. Some light Resolve work on TV spots. My department is Mac based in a corporate world, so a PC is really out of the equation.

I have a need now as I've hired on another editor. Just would love to see what some folks would do with the options at hand.

 

[bsbeamer]

Nice problem to have?

My sell for client offices in the past has been these machines are upgradeable and many of the parts being purchased for upgrades are useable moving forward, such as SSDs & GPUs.

For $1300 I'd bite on that 5,1 3.46 12-core machine in an instant. Just upgraded CPU tray on a 5,1 to a similar spec at around the same price for just the dual CPU tray and RAM (128GB, not 64GB) from a single CPU.

Depending on your situation, I'd consider spending it on something like a Jellyfish shared storage system. Was considering, but decided to hold off until I know where the Mac Pro 7,1 is really heading. Hard to know if I'll be 100% on the Mac platform after 2019/2020.

 

[rawweb]

Nice problem to have?

My sell for client offices in the past has been these machines are upgradeable and many of the parts being purchased for upgrades are useable moving forward, such as SSDs & GPUs.

For $1300 I'd bite on that 5,1 3.46 12-core machine in an instant. Just upgraded CPU tray on a 5,1 to a similar spec at around the same price for just the dual CPU tray and RAM (128GB, not 64GB) from a single CPU.

Depending on your situation, I'd consider spending it on something like a Jellyfish shared storage system. Was considering, but decided to hold off until I know where the Mac Pro 7,1 is really heading. Hard to know if I'll be 100% on the Mac platform after 2019/2020.

Very good points. The added benefit I have with the extra budget if I grab the 5,1, I could also upgrade the 2010 we have to similar specs. I've also considered dropping 10 gig lan cards in both and creating a super fast file share and having everyone work/access off one shared unit. I've also got an old 8c 2,1 I brought in from home with an app called RenderGarden that helps me chew through complicated AE renders. Adding a 10 gig lan card to that would also be beneficial for that purpose.

Any recommendations on some dual 24" 4k screens? Really need the color accuracy.

 

[bsbeamer]

The part of the Jellyfish that was appealing was the multiple machine connectivity without the NEED for 10gig LAN cards everywhere. It's supposed to work well with old and new machines with multiple connectivity options. No clue how it works with RenderGarden, but I'm sure their support could get back to you. I'm AE/PPro based and it does work well with Adobe in general. Unfortunately, $9K is their entry point...

Are you looking for OUTPUT color accuracy? A 4K reference monitor would be best suggestion, but those are $10K+ each for good quality. Should drop in price later this year. Apparently some nice models out this summer that were previewed at NAB.

 

[rawweb]

The part of the Jellyfish that was appealing was the multiple machine connectivity without the NEED for 10gig LAN cards everywhere. It's supposed to work well with old and new machines with multiple connectivity options. No clue how it works with RenderGarden, but I'm sure their support could get back to you. I'm AE/PPro based and it does work well with Adobe in general. Unfortunately, $9K is their entry point...

Are you looking for OUTPUT color accuracy? A 4K reference monitor would be best suggestion, but those are $10K+ each for good quality. Should drop in price later this year. Apparently some nice models out this summer that were previewed at NAB.

Just looking for something with similar color accuracy as the LG Ultrafine 4k/5k, which is using a P3 panel. Same as iMac. I'm currently using it with my MacBook Pro and it's easy on the eyes. Would love a similar experience with the older Mac Pro.