I am a photographer and only really need to work a few hours a week ( I charge a LOT ) and at the moment I use an iMac 5k and my trusty retina 15 inch MacBook Pro from 2012! Just bought a new 16 MBP to replace the 15 inches and ordered a Nano XDR screen to loose the iMac 5k. Now I am SO tempted to buy the Mac Pro just because its so damn sexy and quick BUT just don't know if I need it! I spend most of my time online, playing games, etc... I always need 2 machines for peace of mind as a backup so a laptop plus a desktop seems good idea. I do however want the best possible photoshop and Lightroom performance for when I do work. I am sure the new 16 MBP will be amazing and twice as quick as my iMac 5k but the 7.1 is SOOOO tempting! So what do you use yours for? Any photographers/artists out there using them?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MP 7,1 What do YOU do on your Mac Pro?
- Thread starter Philllllip
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I am data analyst mostly analyzing genomic data. I run data analysis scientific software almost daily. Create figures to summarize data using R, Python or Javascript. My use case does not require MacOS.
However, after using Mac mini, iMac late 2013, and iMac Pro for last 10 years, I decided to get my first Mac Pro. It is an expensive purchase for me but I hope it can withstand constant high CPU usage (spanning days). My need does not require a powerful GPU (I would love to run CUDA on MacOS).
Overall, I love the user experience of Mac OS and wanted something that has upgradable RAM, GPU and storage without the fear of breaking something.
However, after using Mac mini, iMac late 2013, and iMac Pro for last 10 years, I decided to get my first Mac Pro. It is an expensive purchase for me but I hope it can withstand constant high CPU usage (spanning days). My need does not require a powerful GPU (I would love to run CUDA on MacOS).
Overall, I love the user experience of Mac OS and wanted something that has upgradable RAM, GPU and storage without the fear of breaking something.
read and write to this and other forums +g*
but I haven't got a 7.1 : -(
and on my 5.1 mainly videoedit with resolve
but I haven't got a 7.1 : -(
and on my 5.1 mainly videoedit with resolve
Photographer here. Mac Pro 7.1 is just not the right machine for me. If I did video, probably. But for PS, LR, C1, and a host of plugins, it just doesn't make sense. I mean, sure, put 384 GB of RAM in a box with a decent GPU and a 16 core CPU, and it will do a decent job at anything we do. But with current photo software, it won't be particularly fast. Much may change, but it's historically a bad idea to buy any hardware or software that doesn't do precisely what you want it to do right out of the box.
If you're running purely Photoshop or Lightroom and not much else at the same time, a Mac Pro 7,1 is not going to be much if any improvement for you. Both apps are pretty terrible at using any more than 5-6 cores and have minimal GPU use. I have both the 16" MBP and a new MP 7,1, and I can tell you that right now Lightroom is pretty much identical in speed on both. That's both an indictment of Adobe and how lousy their software is in terms of optimization, and a testament to how much of a powerhouse the 16" MBP is. The few areas the Mac Pro is faster is when doing things like bulk imports and exports of large number of files. At those tasks its fast enough to be a noticeable improvement.
In my case I use a number of other applications simultaneously and I do regular bulk imports and exports of large number of files, so the overall value of the Mac Pro is worth it to me--but if I only did LR or PS, I wouldn't recommend it at all. You will just end up with a ton of unused horsepower.
As for my use case, I am using Lightroom all day long, and most days I will import and export several hundred Sony A7R IV raw files, which are generally pretty big files. I also do a lot of image stacking in HeliconFocus and it now supports the AVX-512 extensions so it's blindingly fast on the Mac Pro. Because I often have three or four applications open at the same time while doing the image stacking, I can also chew through RAM--I've been averaging around 100-120GB at any point in time. For those reasons, the Mac Pro is worth it for me, but Lightroom and PS alone? No.
FYI, the ProDisplay XDR is just gorgeous and works like a champ on the 16" MBP. You'll love it.
Last edited:
Thanks so much for the info
I am probably going to be upgrading to something like the Sony A7r4 soon and I also shoot several hundred photos at a time so I would be very interested to see how the 16 MBP connected to the XDR handles it. I currently use a couple of Canon 1DX's as they focus super quick which is ideal for my portrait business ( dogs and kids move quickly! ) but I would kind alike some more resolution to play with. Have you wiped your nano screen yet with the cloth? Are the reports of how delicate it is over rated?
Video Editing, Motion Graphics, 3D, Presentation Design and Photo stuff. Also content for live shows; 3:1 screens, massive LED walls, etc etc.
The new Mac Pro is really going to help once I get some DIY upgrades going. I decided on the base GPU because I want to wait to see how the WX5700 (Navi) is going to fair against the Vega IIs.
Monitor is a Dell UltraWide (3840x1600) 38"
Also keeping on eye out on whether Millumin is going to be able to leverage the AfterBurner card, that could be a huge game changer for live shows and media server applications.
The new Mac Pro is really going to help once I get some DIY upgrades going. I decided on the base GPU because I want to wait to see how the WX5700 (Navi) is going to fair against the Vega IIs.
Monitor is a Dell UltraWide (3840x1600) 38"
Also keeping on eye out on whether Millumin is going to be able to leverage the AfterBurner card, that could be a huge game changer for live shows and media server applications.
Last edited:
At the moment I'm using my MacPro for photography and video editing with FCPX. I use to edit 4K video from Sony, DJI drones and Osmo Pocket. At the moment I'm not interested in RAW video as much of my content is going to vimeo, youtube or TV in 1080p format.
I was thinking at the new MacPro with a 12core and the base GPU for speeding up FCPX. Maybe with a future GPU upgrade in mind.
The main reason about the upgrade is that at time of writing I can get around 2500 euros from my trashcan and alleviate the expense for the new one.
I was thinking at the new MacPro with a 12core and the base GPU for speeding up FCPX. Maybe with a future GPU upgrade in mind.
The main reason about the upgrade is that at time of writing I can get around 2500 euros from my trashcan and alleviate the expense for the new one.
Last edited:
Photography using Capture One, LR and PS and 4K video in FCPX.
I probably don't need the full capabilities of the New Mac Pro but I do appreciate its the only Mac that has any form of longevity with regards upgrading component after initial purchase and that to me makes it worth the money. Always had Mac towers G3, G4, G5 and Mac Pro but when the Trash Can was released I bought an iMac which was great for a few years, been very reliable and great value but has zero upgrade path when it started to show its age other than buying another one. I've been frustratingly waiting for the Mac Pro as a replacement.
I probably don't need the full capabilities of the New Mac Pro but I do appreciate its the only Mac that has any form of longevity with regards upgrading component after initial purchase and that to me makes it worth the money. Always had Mac towers G3, G4, G5 and Mac Pro but when the Trash Can was released I bought an iMac which was great for a few years, been very reliable and great value but has zero upgrade path when it started to show its age other than buying another one. I've been frustratingly waiting for the Mac Pro as a replacement.
Yes what I am thinking is once the CPU/Socket is obsolete in like 4-5 years, just grab a cheap 24 core CPU and put it in yourself and use it as a render machine or something.
All I know is right now I am cranking out a 4k Lightwave render and browsing at the same time and nothing seems to feel "stressed".
All I know is right now I am cranking out a 4k Lightwave render and browsing at the same time and nothing seems to feel "stressed".
Also can I just ask, compared to the MBP 16 is the Mac Pro noticeably speedier at things like general browsing and finder. Used an iMac Pro in Apple store and it was super quick when scrolling around on the dock for instance.
I would say they are pretty similar; my Mac Pro feels maybe just a *tiny* bit snappier. It's more noticeable when I have a ton of different things open; once I get over the 64GB of RAM my MBP has on hand it is less snappy switching around between apps, etc. But overall, unless you are using apps that consume all of your RAM, you won't necessarily notice any difference.
[automerge]1578489266[/automerge]
Thanks so much for the info
I had a bad cold the first week I got it and in a coughing fit I got a bit of uhh, stuff on it. So I did clean it once. Didn't seem to be an issue at all. I never touch my screens and rarely get them messy so I typically only clean my screens once a year or so--I'm not worried.
MP7,1 16-core here... Use as follows
- Film and video editing.
- Fluid Dynamics (Multi-threaded CFD code requires as much RAM as possible and likes as many cores possible).
- Importing massive amounts of camera data, translating it and storing on central server so other less powerful Macs can access/use the translated data.
I play video games on Windows, then boot back to MacOS when I need to pay bills, send emails, code, manage music, etc.
Really hoping Metal gets enough instructions that I can game through Wine with DXVK and MoltenVK, or that eventually MacOS gets PCI-E passthrough for it's hypervisor.framework so I can virtualize Windows when needed.
Really hoping Metal gets enough instructions that I can game through Wine with DXVK and MoltenVK, or that eventually MacOS gets PCI-E passthrough for it's hypervisor.framework so I can virtualize Windows when needed.
Steinberg Nuendo & DaVinci Resolve Studio mostly. Also working with a Dell T7910 workstation in parallel; will be interesting to see how they compare /complement - I 'suspect' that the Dell may be preferable for the film work but may well be different in practice. I also happen to prefer 'Win10 for Workstations' over Mac OS 'Catalina', the former providing greater user control & general stability, but again, will see ...
I still have a well running MBP 15" and a good old 5,1. Doing Webdesign & Programming (Wappler, Photoshop, etc.) and the MacPro will be too much for this kind of work but I'd like to have a quiet Mac that can be upgraded and runs my new LG 38". And I am not that big fan of the iMacs. As my 5,1 has been running for 10 years, I'll most probably replace it soon with a MacPro. So it's a future investment.