8-Core Mac Pro Trashcan or 8-Core PC Build?

Grug

Grug

Veteran
Hi Guys,

Facing a bit of a computing dilemma at the moment, and hoping I can pick your brains.

I'm currently on a late 2012 27" iMac (3.4Ghz i7 Quad-Core, 32GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM, 2GB GTX680MX Graphics), for editing in FCPX and grading in Davinci Resolve 12. On the whole, I've found the system very capable, and a definite step up from my old 2007 Mac Pro 1,1. However, lately I've been doing more and more grading work in Resolve, and have been running into some real bottlenecks when working with 4k Sony Raw and 5k & 6K Redcode Raw. Basically I get GPU memory running out constantly and crashing Resolve. I've kind of reached my breaking point with this, so want to upgrade, and although I suspect a maxed out 5k iMac with 4GB of GPU memory would probably solve the crashing issues, I think making such a minor upgrade to my overall system for such a hefty price, would probably piss me off too much. So I'm looking into getting a desktop workstation instead.

Now for the simple reason that I use FCPX for my editing, (and the fact that I don't miss dealing with anti-virus anti-spam software) I'm tempted to stay with Mac. However, I don't know how compelling the current Mac Pros are compared to a totally up-to-date PC build. And since I'd only really need the PC for Davinci, the idea of building a beast and simply leaving it disconnected from the internet, has a fair bit of appeal. I'm I've been out of the PC game for 8 years now though, so I'm pretty out of touch with it.

I've been doing some research, and it looks like (for systems that I can realistically afford) both options seem to come out pretty similar:

Mac Pro Build:
8-Core Xeon E5 3.0Ghz
64GB DDR3 RAM
1TB PCI-E Flash Storage
2x AMD Firepro D700 6GB of RAM

PC Build:
8-Core i7-5960X Haswell-E 3.0Ghz
64GB DDR4
2TB SSD
2x Nvidia Geforce GTX 980TI 6GB
Thunderbolt Card (for my Thunderbolt Raid)

Both of these options will run me around $7000 AUD, which (surprisingly) eliminates cost from the comparison, but is pretty bloody pricey either way. But if these systems are enough to deal with 6k Redcode, and 4k Sony Raw smoothly in Resolve 12, then I suspect either option will provide a system that will last me happily for a long long time.

Can anyone comment on what sort of performance differences I’ll see between these two different options? Is either notably better than the other (i.e. will the Xeon’s perform better than the i7 given the identical clock speeds? Will the 980TIs destroy the D700s? Or the DDR4 beat out the DDR3 significantly?).

I’d really appreciate people’s thoughts.

Also, what sort of difference would moving to 12-cores or 14-cores make for working in Resolve? Would it speed up playback? Or speed up rendering times significantly over 8-cores with higher clock speeds?

Cheers,

Mark
 
Having multiple Nvidia cards in your trading PC will simply make Resolve scream.

This is the biggest limitation of the nMP, imo.

I have 2 Titan X's in my custom PC rig and the performance in Resolve is pretty amazing.
 
I built a custom PC instead of buying a new trash-can MacPro as well. I love the thing. It's upgradeable, expandable, and I know I can change out the parts if need be.

One important note, if you're going to use thunderbolt, you must get a mobo that has a thunderbolt header and a card that works on that mobo. I used an ASUS mobo and ASUS thudnerbolt card.
 
I can't comment on the speed comparisons, but if your main focus is on Resolve then I think being able to swap out video cards every couple of years is a big thing in favor of the PC. Also, the current MPs came out in 2013 so you are already buying tech that is at least 2yrs old. Maybe Apple will announce an upgraded MP this year, maybe they won't. There's no longer an upgrade pattern for the Mac Pros. Also, and I'm not sure if it's fixed under El Cap or not, but a number of resolve users with current MPs were having show stopping playback/rendering issues. If they booted into Windows the problems disappeared so it certainly looked like a Mac OS/Apple driver issue.

I don't know if Blackmagic publishes a recommend parts lists for PCs running Resolve but that would be my only real concern w/regards to going the PC route.


-Andrew
 
Yeah, your main problem is the GPU. This is one reason I have hung on
to my 2009 Mac Pro for so long. Just this year, I upgraded the CPU
(from a quad Core 2.66ghz to a six core 3.46ghz) and my GPU from
a GT120 (512MB) to a Nvidia GTX 980Ti (6GB). It runs Resolve
like it's nothing. At a Resolve 12 forum in LA earlier this year,
DaVinci reps were asked about the best way to run Resolve on
a Mac. They responded that you get by far the best performance,
was with one of the Mac Pro towers (5.1) and a good new GPU
(presumably with lots of CUDA cores.....my 980Ti has
2816 CUDA cores). For an even better GPU, you can get the
Titan X which has 12GB of VRAM and 3072 CUDA cores. Apparently,
this is how much the GPU matters.....so much that a much older
computer, with a good GPU is better than a newer computer
with a not so good GPU.

Pretty minimal cost compared to what you are talking though.
My six core 3.46Ghz CPU cost me $238 (less than 5 minutes
to install) and my 980Ti GPU cost me about $800 and this
included having it 'flashed' by Mac Video Cards. You can
get the old 2009-2012 Mac Pros on eBay for $500. The 2009
Mac Pro (like I have) is the same as the newer ones with one
exception. You must run a firmware 'flash' to make it into a
Mac Pro 5.1 (2010 and newer). That is the only difference, the
2009 Mac Pros had different firmware. It's super easy and just
involves downloading the firmware and double clicking on it.
You can even revert to the original firmware later (although i
dont know why you would). There is even a Facebook group
out there that helps people who are upgrading their classic
Mac Pros. Definitely a thought if you are Mac based.

As for your original question, I suspect the PC with the
dual 980Ti's will smoke the Mac Pro with its GPU's.
Resolve can use Open GL/CL but seems to prefer lots
of CUDA cores in my experience. I think that 980 Ti
(which is what I have) is the 2nd best card for running Resolve,
topped only by the Titan X.
 
Last edited:
David W. Jones said:
You might hold off for a little bit, as the new iMacs with Skylake processors are going to be released.
Click to expand...

Actually they got released yesterday, quite possibly in the middle of me researching my options. If I pansy out on getting a hefty workstation, a maxed out 5k iMac looks like a decent option.
 
I must confess I've got fed up with Apple switching between Nvidia and AMD and favouring its architecture to one or the other. So I put Windows on my Mac Pro Desktop 2009, I flashed to the 2010 model, the upgraded the CPU and memory for a fraction of the Apple price, dropped in a GTX980, along with some PCI SSDs, now it's flying and when it's out of date I'll now move to a PC.

The trash can Mac didn't interest me at all.
 
I'd go for the windows computer. These days, viruses aren't much of an issue unless you're checking out porn or pirating software. Plus, Windows 8 and above includes excellent spyware and virus protection built in.
 
One think I keep looking into is replacing the processors in an old 2010 to 2012 tower... of course my tower is six months to sooner than even doing a 2009...

A friend emailed me today about a 2010 tower I can pick up for 400 bucks... the spend about 2k on the 12 core processor replacing the old ones... so I'm wondering for $3.5k I could get a 4k monitor from Dell.. same as what's in the imacs...

The only thing is thunderbolt..
 
GaryinCalifornia said:
One think I keep looking into is replacing the processors in an old 2010 to 2012 tower... of course my tower is six months to sooner than even doing a 2009...

A friend emailed me today about a 2010 tower I can pick up for 400 bucks... the spend about 2k on the 12 core processor replacing the old ones... so I'm wondering for $3.5k I could get a 4k monitor from Dell.. same as what's in the imacs...

The only thing is thunderbolt..
Click to expand...

Where you getting those prices from? I have a 2009 Mac Pro (single processor).
Flashed the firmware and installed a hex core Xeon 3.46Ghz.....
it cost $238. So buying two of them would have been $470ish. I bought mine
from Server Supply, they seem to have good prices. So I think you should
be able to get a better price than $2000 on the 12 core upgrade.

You are are correct that you will never be able to get Thunderbolt on these....
but you CAN get USB 3 which is pretty fast. The big thing, is these older
Mac Pros can actually use GPU tech from today.....and the new Mac Pros have
GPU tech from 2011-12 bolted into them.
 
the 2k price was from OWC and that includes them installing them...

I like to see how Pro Max hooks up their harddrives internally and they claim its a lot faster than thunderbolt...
 
GaryinCalifornia said:
the 2k price was from OWC and that includes them installing them...

I like to see how Pro Max hooks up their harddrives internally and they claim its a lot faster than thunderbolt...
Click to expand...
Ha, I'd do it for half that price 😉. If you'd like to see how 'hard' it is to
install a new CPU in a 2009 Mac Pro you can check out my blog. Some
pics and video....took me about 5 minutes. Here is the post.
http://www.alaskacameradude.blogspot.com/2015/07/macgyver-pro-upgrade.html

As for the hard drives, I'd bet they are using something like this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&tag=httpwwwbodhiv-20&linkId=AI7CHL7IV7M4YW3M
 
Bugger, the pimped out Old Mac Pro sounds like a good idea, but my raids are Thunderbolt, so I need a machine that can connect with them
 
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