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What are my options ..... [Mac Pro Alternatives]

I ask again....
Why is everybody fighting about the MiniPro?
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1617680/
It isn't even out yet.
I find it hard to judge a product when I don't have the specs and price.
I have the luxury of waiting to hear users report about how the MiniPro is working in their systems.
Maybe it will be a great new solution for some users.
Maybe it will suck for some users.
I've been a big box MP user for many years, so I'm tilted toward that direction.
I'm open to new paradigms, so, if I can make the miniPro work as well or better, I could go there too.
 
TheHerdForever said:
(1) can Thunderbolt PCIe cards be used in this machine with some wonderful results and
Click to expand...

Thunderbolt PCIe cards do not currently exist and will likely never exist for most motherboards out there now.

If Intel does allow release of a TB PCIe card, the motherboard its plugged into will have to be "Intel approved" and have some special features that the Mac Pro will almost certainly not have.

I would say it is extremely unlikely Mac Pros will see a compatible thunderbolt PCIe card.

I have no idea if there's a compatible hackintosh mobo with Thunderbolt on it, but if so I'd go that route if you really want TB.

----------
Mactrunk said:
I find it hard to judge a product when I don't have the specs and price.
Click to expand...

A lot of us know enough already :)
Besides, this thread is more about optimizing non-nMP hardware to make it last.
 
deconstruct60 said:
I think the Macstadium folks actually jumped into one of those. In short, they are adding enclosure and custom blower infrastructure to make it work. The upside is that they are going to get much higher system density.
Click to expand...

Oh , I remember that. They seemed to jump in a thread to make some claims, but never came back when thrown some questions. I don't recall them providing any actual details.
 
handsome pete said:
I don't recall them providing any actual details.
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Well that is going to be pretty tough for them to do when there is no Mac Pro to actually fit into their jigs and test to see if this works. Also no pricing and no configuration power/thermal specs.

How much the Mac Pro leverages convection chimney effect is major input into what they will need to compensate for.

Most of the questions they are going to get, they don't have answers for.
 
Mactrunk said:
I ask again....
Why is everybody fighting about the MiniPro?
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1617680/
It isn't even out yet.
I find it hard to judge a product when I don't have the specs and price.
I have the luxury of waiting to hear users report about how the MiniPro is working in their systems.
Maybe it will be a great new solution for some users.
Maybe it will suck for some users.
I've been a big box MP user for many years, so I'm tilted toward that direction.
I'm open to new paradigms, so, if I can make the miniPro work as well or better, I could go there too.
Click to expand...

because there are a lot of things known, and they don't make the thing too appealing. 12core with 2.7 ghz? every higher clocked i7 will leave the thing in the dust. and not too many programs do (and will be able to) take advantage of the gpu. this will change, but not so fast.
hoping for a jetpack update with one insanely high clocked cpu with max 6 cores and a second one with a 12core to support with rendering and some space to stuff stuff inside. but hey, dreams are dreams.
 
Macsonic said:
Hi Frank. If I may be permitted to reply for Flowrider, he used the Xeon 5590 Nehalem on his 5.1 2010 Mac Pro. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1620885/ The thread was helpful and informative. Thanks.
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Thanks Macsonic for the info and link...and again....thanks flowrider. Think I'm going to give it a try. However, any idea where I can get a Xeon 5590 Nehalem....and shouldn't it be called Xeon 5690 Westmere?

Frank A.
 
Diy

Personally I felt that the new Mac Pro isn't for me :-

- the starting price is likely to be higher than I want to pay
- I don't want external storage, i'd rather have internal and a choice HDD's
- I'd also like to be able to choose my own GPU

My advice would be to decide what you want the machine for and how much it is worth to you. For example a few weeks ago I bought a new rMBP (top spec) as I couldn't wait for the update and my old MBP was broken. Almost £3000 for a laptop is worth it to me because I use it all day every day. However I don't use my desktop that much, but when I do it needs to be fast and have lots of resources (RAM & disk). For me a home built windows 8 machine with SSD for the OS and a load of 2TB HDD's running under storage spaces works best. It's not elegant, but it works very well and was at a price I could justify.

If i really needed a proper 'workstation' i.e. one with all the correct application certifications, etc then I would take a good look at the HP Z820, Lenovo D20 or Dell Precision T7600. I would be stuck with Windows or Linux, but your apps will or should dictate what platform you use.
 
flowrider said:
^^^^Yep, he got it right. The W5590s are running happily in my machine.

Lou
Click to expand...

Flow,

Why didn't you upgrade to Westmere X5690 (3.46GHz) CPUs in your 2010 5,1 MP? I know the wattage is higher (95w verses 130w), but can't that be controlled via an increase in fan speed, or different heat sink?

Frank A.
 
^^^^That's easy to answer - COST! If I had unlimited funds, sure I would have gone with the X5690s. Maybe in a couple years when the prices are more reasonable, I'll make that change. But, with the prices the way they are now, IMHO, the W5590s provided the best price/performance benefit. BTW, the TDP of the W5590s is the same as the X5690s - 130 watts.

And yes, I'm controlling temperature with smcFanControl. My temps seem to OK.

Lou
 
flowrider said:
^^^^That's easy to answer - COST! If I had unlimited funds, sure I would have gone with the X5690s. Maybe in a couple years when the prices are more reasonable, I'll make that change. But, with the prices the way they are now, IMHO, the W5590s provided the best price/performance benefit. BTW, the TDP of the W5590s is the same as the X5690s - 130 watts.

And yes, I'm controlling temperature with smcFanControl. My temps seem to OK.

Lou
Click to expand...

Flow,

Thanks for the quick response! BTW, can your power supply handle the extra load? I'm about to receive my mid 2010 MP 5,1 any day now. Any advice on the GPU? I'm good on RAM.

Frank
 
^^^^Yep, it's running just fine. And, I'm not the only one running with these CPUs. My UPS is showing a total draw of between 310 to 360 Watts. And that Includes the monitor and a couple of low draw items. This is well below the rated power of Apples PS. My Temps are also good.

Lou
 
flowrider said:
^^^^Yep, it's running just fine. And, I'm not the only one running with these CPUs. My UPS is showing a total draw of between 310 to 360 Watts. And that Includes the monitor and a couple of low draw items. This is well below the rated power of Apples PS. My Temps are also good.

Lou
Click to expand...

Very good to know sir!! Hey Flow, I want to thank you for all of your help. You and a few others here were VERY helpful and I think I can take it from here. The only thing I have left to ask is the GPU you are using. What are you using and why if I may ask? The ATI 5770 1GB sounds okay, but I want a little more...at least a 2GB GPU perhaps. I'll be working with scoring music to video, high-end photo editing and maybe a game here or there. Any advice on this will be GREATLY appreciated!!

Frank A.
 
^^^^I was an ATI fanboy for years, for really no good reason. My current GPU is a Gigabyte 3 fan Windforce 3 overclocked Nvidia GTX570 that has been flashed with a Mac EFI by MacVidCards. He also replaces an eProm. I bought this card my self, and forwarded it to him for the modification. He turned it around in less than a week. I've had the card close to a year now. It started life in my old Mac Pro 3,1 and when I bought my 5,1 I transferred it over and put the ATI HD5770 (that came in the 5,1) in the 3,1 before I sold it.

For what I do, my GTX570 is doing just fine, I see no reason to upgrade it at this time.

Lou
 
TheHerdForever said:
Thanks Macsonic for the info and link...and again....thanks flowrider. Think I'm going to give it a try. However, any idea where I can get a Xeon 5590 Nehalem....and shouldn't it be called Xeon 5690 Westmere?

Frank A.
Click to expand...

Hi TheHerdForever Sorry for the late reply. The Xeon 5590 Nehalem 3.33ghz can be found at eBay as a used cpu. I think the price around $500-600 a pair. I think Flowrider made a good choice to use a 5590 series. I have both a 4.1 Nehalem and a 5.1 2010 Mac Pro and have used both models. I can say the 4.l's performance is just as good as the 5.1 2010 in terms of speed, stability. Both are quite similar in architecture. I know with the 5.1 machine you can use a faster ram at 1333mhz. Congrats on your new 2010 Mac Pro. :)
 
flowrider said:
My advice (much cuebouzn's), and what I actually did was buy a brand new 2010 base dual CPU Mac and upgrade from there. There are still some out there.

Here:

http://www.expercom.com/product_detail.html?p=703416

They can still be had for a reasonable price and other than the CPUs are identical to the 2012 5,1 Mac Pros. IMHO, there are a beautifully designed and engineered machine that is built like a tank and relatively easy to upgrade. My machine is only 5 weeks old and I have upgraded the RAM, CPUs, Graphics Card, and put in a PCIe SSD card with a Samsung SSD.

Lou
Click to expand...

Hot damn! I wish that site sold to ireland, but even if they did the customs tax and handling fees would add 50% on top of those prices.

I'm looking to sell my rMBP and get a refurbished 5,1 myself. I have a spare NVIDIA GTX 660, and 2TB HDD I can just add in and start working with.

Seems the only place I can find a decent refurb with some kind of warranty is from Scrumpymacs in the UK. They're not cheap at all compared to those US prices.
 
Macsonic said:
Hi TheHerdForever Sorry for the late reply. The Xeon 5590 Nehalem 3.33ghz can be found at eBay as a used cpu. I think the price around $500-600 a pair. I think Flowrider made a good choice to use a 5590 series. I have both a 4.1 Nehalem and a 5.1 2010 Mac Pro and have used both models. I can say the 4.l's performance is just as good as the 5.1 2010 in terms of speed, stability. Both are quite similar in architecture. I know with the 5.1 machine you can use a faster ram at 1333mhz. Congrats on your new 2010 Mac Pro. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Macsonic! Looking at RAM, RAID, CPU and GPU options at the moment. Man, what a beautiful machine though! For the record, the MP 5,1 is a BEAST!! :D

Frank
 
Macsonic said:
I think the price around $500-600 a pair. I think Flowrider made a good choice to use a 5590 series.
Click to expand...

Actually, I paid $425.00 for the pair. But, I sold my old (newer?) E5620 CPUs for $400.00. So upgrade cost was negligible. Thanks for confirming my choice. I think I did the right thing also:)

LOU
 
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