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If you use it at “native” 2x yes. A 24” 4K looks better at 2304x1296 IMO, and a mini will drive one display like this fine, provided you have enough memory.

To me having non-iCloud data on an external drive is actually a bonus because should you need to take it in for repairs it’s just unplug, get a spare/loaner and you’re off and running again.

There’s plenty of choices to suit any aesthetic/price/performance issues. For home users the owc mini stack is probably a good choice.

I'll probably change to 2x 5K + my current 27". So I do need some more GPU-power. Would be great if there were some TB3 cards on the market that are compatible with the 5,1 ...
 
BTW: Does anybody know what happens to the top ports and the power button when you lift the case?
1572961577402.png

They seem to be very fragile.
 
my latest thinking about getting new Mac Pro is —
is it stupid to buy a computer mainly for use with After Effects and Cinema4D which doesn't have a RTX card in it?

I've been reading about Adobe speeding up some of their apps with RTX...

And Cinema4D + Redshift render supports RTX acceleration. (they are currently working on a Mac metal version)


After effects & Cinema4D + Redshift will work on the new Mac Pro, but am I being stupid to buy a system that will be slower than a PC?

I build a PC to test it out and I very much hate working in it. Driver updates breaking software, not as nice UI, and most of my clients use Macs so projects they send me are more compatible if I stay on Mac.


Its a tricky very expensive decision. Anyone else in the same boat?
 
my latest thinking about getting new Mac Pro is —
is it stupid to buy a computer mainly for use with After Effects and Cinema4D which doesn't have a RTX card in it?
...
Anyone else in the same boat?

Yep, I'm in that boat. I spend the bulk of my time in After Effects and Premiere, and the prevailing thought seems to be that a Windows machine is better suited. But... I flat-out refuse to use Windows (which I had been using up until about 4 months ago, so it's not like I'm basing that declaration on an outdated experience). Right now, I'm actually using a Hackintosh I built with an i9-9900K, which is working fine at present, but I'm not a fan of worrying that some random, seemingly innocuous update will cause problems. Meanwhile, I use a 43" 4K monitor (my personal perfect balance of screen real estate and overall size), so even the iMac Pro is a nonstarter for me.

Given those constraints, I feel like this new Mac Pro is literally my only option... which is vaguely frustrating, since there are clearly much better options for my purposes if performance per dollar were my sole consideration. But if I want to run macOS on an Apple-sanctioned computer that doesn't have a built-in display (and I do)... I guess it's this new Mac Pro, whenever it comes out, even if I end up paying through the nose for a machine that may ultimately be less performant than a Windows-based alternative. Apparently that's a compromise I'm willing to make.
 
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Octane X supports Metal. Redshift is working on a Metal version. Until an official build is released, there is no way to actually compare Redshift CUDA on PC vs. Redshift Metal on macOS for nearly identical projects. I'm sure there will be videos doing that released within first 4-6 weeks of MP7,1 release.

From Maxon themselves:

Maxon performance gains were cited as having “… seen 20% faster GPU render performance in Cinema 4D than on a Windows workstation maxed out with three of the latest Nvidia Quadro cards.”
 
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Ref your previous image - are those ports and switch visible on the side, which look like a slider and possibly 2 display ports accessible or are they just for internal use?
 
Ref your previous image - are those ports and switch visible on the side, which look like a slider and possibly 2 display ports accessible or are they just for internal use?

It’s two SATA and a USB that are internal only.
 
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The top of the case does get removed by the unlocking handle. The panel covering the top and all four sides gets removed. Almost like a sleeve over a box with a big unlocking handle to hold it. The AR demo was pretty clear with this, but it's having issues loading right now. AR demo basically looked like port extensions on the top of the case, but not sure if that is really the case.

It is possible the power button and actual ports themselves remain connected to the case with basically holes cut for them on the sleeve/cover. Personally hate the location of the power button, but that's a gripe for another time.
 
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Maxon performance gains were cited as having “… seen 20% faster GPU render performance in Cinema 4D than on a Windows workstation maxed out with three of the latest Nvidia Quadro cards.”
Yeah but thats the problem isn't it... 4 x Vega II GPUs is 20% faster than 3 x Quadro. So 4 quadros would be quicker no?

but yeah if using AMD makes octane not crash then thats amazing (octane is notoriously crashy). not sure it would though, since building software is hard, and they haven't been working on metal version as long as CUDA.

Duno what I'm trying to convince myself otherwise though, I really want this Mac Pro! just trying to be level headed about it.
 
Systems configured with 2+ (three or more) GPUs have traditionally performed "poorly" compared to what they should do on paper. There were diminishing returns on those configurations. Most stopped at 2 GPUs for cost/benefit ratio.

This really seems to be really improving on the macOS side with focus on Metal and the trickle benefits from optimizing for eGPU. The Windows machines I've been on with multiple GPUs are in Frankenstein rigs that are closer to servers than individual workstations.

You're also talking about 4 x NVIDIA Quadro GPUs like it's no big deal. That's adding $5K+ to the system for each, if spec'ing RTX 8000 models. $20K+ in four GPUs.

Let's see what Apple's prices are. Personally expecting BTO pricing around $2K-$3K per Vega II Pro Duo.
 
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BTW: Does anybody know what happens to the top ports and the power button when you lift the case?
View attachment 875068
They seem to be very fragile.


The animation on the Mac Pro's marketing page overview is illustrative of how the case comes off. On the design page when on an iPhone or iPad there are AR views that are bit more illuminating. ( https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/design/ ( See the inside of Mac Pro in AR )

The "top" of the Mac Pro consists of two plates. One comes off and the other is the top "plate" holding the space frame together ( that doesn't come off). The ports and the button are actually in the latter ( the space frame's plate). What your picture shows explicitly is a facade with holes to to the ports and a cover for the button. I'm not sure how the holes can be "fragile". They are simply holes cut thru metal. They are about as fragile as the metal composing the this whole top "plate". The area around the hole is thinned out so the actual ports aren't too far down, but still high grade aluminum. The button cover may or may not be plastic. That may need replacing over time if gets tons of presses with dirty fingers over time. But that is just the cover, not the mechanism.

The light "window" is yet another hole to a small LED panel below (mounted to the space frame plate). Not going to be fragile at all.

The handle both unlocks the Mac Pro and turns it off ( if still on). [ so the handle off and the button off are connected on the top space frame plate. Also probably not prudent to operate the Mac Pro with cover off as turning off/on isn't fully assembled at that point. So more 'fragile' with the shroud case cover off, but not the cover itself. ]
 
Ref your previous image - are those ports and switch visible on the side, which look like a slider and possibly 2 display ports accessible or are they just for internal use?

Those ports in the photo with the cover off? That is with the cover off. They are not viisble with cover on. So they are pragmatically internal only.

Those are:
USB 3.0 socket ( good for a iLock license fob, crypto key , or USB Thumb drive )

Two SATA ports and SATA power. ( above those SATA ports and along the top space frame plate, the aluminum rounded rectangle plate with two screws is the mount point for the J2i and probably other later solutions for SATA drives . https://www.promise.com/us/Promotion/PegasusStorage . Unscrew that rounded plate , mount the J2i and put just the screws back into the J2i. So dangle the SATA drive(s) near the SATA port(s). )

The lock icon slider I'm not sure. Security and simply to remove the cover plate for those ports (and something underneath).
 
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Usually they release very soon after getting FCC approval, right?

That presumes things are going to the plan put together last year. The FCC application has a picture of a label saying assembled in China. Now they are being assembled in the USA. That is a pretty good indication that the plan is not the same one as last year.

For high volume Apple products there is often a much longer lead them because need to ramp up production volume to build an inventory. Mac Pro has no where near the volume but if you substantially reset the production logistics then you still will have a longer ramp to to even several orders of magnitude smaller volumes.

Apple's comment in late September that they were gong to start production probably means they are behind the schedule they had when they submitted the FCC paperwork.
 
Has anyone noticed this on the FCPX Summit front page?


... with some surprises from the Apple product team.
That would be on Thursday.


demo machines that users could touch this time ( as opposed to no touch WWDC demos ) ?

P.S. if look at the program the Apple visit is on Friday.
"...
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

APPLE CAMPUS, APPLE PARK VISITOR'S CENTER
Apple Day! ... '
 
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demo machines that users could touch this time ( as opposed to no touch WWDC demos ) ?

I'm going to be optimistic and say orders go up as well. There's a lot of public noise about release, I'm hearing some private noise about release, and Apple is running out of time in November. Next week is a holiday week which they seem less inclined to release on, and then we quickly run up to Thanksgiving. And the chatter doesn't imply a December release. So I think we're right in a release window that isn't very long.
[automerge]1572977259[/automerge]
P.S. if look at the program the Apple visit is on Friday.
"...
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

APPLE CAMPUS, APPLE PARK VISITOR'S CENTER
Apple Day! ... '

Hmmm maybe could point to next week? It would be a bit odd of Apple to release on a Friday.

Not beneath Apple to open orders on Thursday and pull back a bit of the surprise either. Given that FCPX users is a major portion of the Mac Pro install base, they might use a demo to push a few orders.

There's also an Apple panel discussion on Saturday. Less relevant to actual Mac Pro release, but I would love to hear what they have to say about the Mac Pro process.
 
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