The new Mac Pro of 2013, information and speculation thread

[Thinkcat]

Hello

Seems like the CPU choices for the new Mac Pro are clear now. There are four that I know of.
Xeon E5-1620 v2, 4 cores / 8 threads, 10MB L3 cache, 130W TDP, 3.7GHz, max. turbo 3.9GHz, $294
Xeon E5-1650 v2, 6 cores / 12 threads, 12MB L3 cache, 130W TDP, 3.5GHz, max. turbo 3.9GHz, $583
Xeon E5-1680 v2, 8 cores / 16 threads, 25MB L3 cache, 130W TDP, 3.0GHz, max. turbo 3.9GHz, $1723
Xeon E5-2697 v2, 12 cores / 24 threads, 30MB L3 cache, 130W TDP, 2.7GHz, max. turbo 3.5GHz, $2614

Three of the above are Ivy Bridge EP uniprocessor, whereas the last one is a dual processor chip. Of which there will be only one in the new Mac Pro. All are for LGA2011 socket.

Does anyone know anything yet about the chipset / platform?

 

[Thinkcat]

There are 11 uniprocessor SuperMicro boards with LGA2011 that support these CPUs.

Baseline is a C602 chipset with Intel i350 dual gigabit Ethernet.
Ending with -F has IPMI 2.0 and KVM. Ending with -3F has IPMI 2.0, KVM and C606 chipset.

X9SRA has a Realtek ALC889 audio and Intel 82579LM and Intel 82574L dual gigabit Ethernet.
X9SRi, X9SRi-F, X9SRi-3F
X9SRE, X9SRE-F, X9SRE-3F have PCI-X slots
X9SRH-7F, X9SRH-7TF have C602J "long life" chipsets and LSI 2308 SAS/SATA controllers. The latter also has Intel X540 dual 10Gbps Ethernet

It is as if X9SRi is some kind of baseline model. X9SRA is the only one with audio.

 

[Thinkcat]

Here was an earlier start on the same subject that died away some months ago.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mac-pro/101153-sorting-out-real-hardware-specs-new-2013-mac-pro-3.html

It mentions Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI, which sounds delicious and not prohibitively expensive.

 

[trs96]

Will the Gigabyte X79S-UP5 board be replaced with a new Ivy Bridge E compatible version ?

If so, is that the best choice when looking for a CustoMac with Mac Pro like capabilities ?

 

[trs96]

Lately, many community members have been asking about how to do a "Mac Pro like" build for
a lot less money than a 6 core Mac Pro will cost this December. So I thought I'd take a closer look
and spec one out with the parts that are available as of today, November 2nd, 2013. Remember that
this is all speculative as their isn't any support for IvyBridge EP in Mavericks 10.9. The best approach
in my opinion is to wait at least 1-2 months before making any hardware purchases for a new Mac
Pro Socket 2011 build. There will be a recommended Socket 2011 build in the Buyer's Guide after the
2013 Mac Pro is available for purchase.

For those that just can't wait that long, here's some early adopter info:
We know that the 3.5 GHz, 6 core $3,999 Mac Pro will have the Intel Xeon
E5-1650 V2 as listed on the Apple website.


The only place I found this for sale on the web was at Acemicro.com for $612 Dollars. It's a no show
on either Newegg or Amazon. They will likely sell it for under $600 US.



Next is the motherboard. We also know that this will require a socket 2011 motherboard to house
the Xeon chip. The Asus X79 Deluxe would work with this CPU but I looked for a server board instead
specifically with the C602 chipset to be compatible with the new Mac Pros. I discovered a very interesting possibility that is a dual CPU board for $290. You can use these with a single E5-1650 v2 and have the option to later upgrade to a dual CPU build if you ever need that. Problem is that you'd need to buy two of the E5-2600 v2 series Xeons to use dual cpus . (The E5-1600 series Xeon chips do not work in a dual CPU configuration only the E5-2600's will.)

If you wanted to start right away with two of the high end 2600 series chips that is also an option with this board. A build like that would be incredibly powerful. (How about a 24 core 48 thread dual Xeon build with 128 GB of Ram!) Not many could afford a monster build like that. The Asrock board model is: EP2C602 SSI EEB and is available from Newegg. I'm not sure how friendly the Asrock bios would be with a CustoMac. Anyone willing to try it The downsides of this server board are a lack of USB 3.0 and no onboard audio. There are workarounds for those problems that are fairly simple solutions. The Asus X79 Deluxe has the advantage of USB 3.0, onboard audio and 2 esata outputs onboard. Whatever board you may choose you'll likely need to flash the bios to the latest version for it to work with the Intel Xeon chips. Check the motherboard manufacturer's website for details.

So those are the most important "major" choices for a build that approaches what a 3.5GHz 6 core Mac Pro can do. I didn't find the D500 FirePro cards anywhere but you can buy two of the AMD R9-280x for a build like this. Some TMx86 members are already using these in their CustoMac builds.

Here's the rest of the 6 Core Mac Pro's specs from Apple.com


Below (in screenshots from NewEgg) You can see all the rest of the choices that I matched as closely as possible to what the 6 core Mac Pro will offer. The Ram of course is not ECC like in the Mac Pro, another way you can save some cash on this build.





Fractal Design makes the Define XL, an E-ATX version of the Define R4. The PSU has plenty of power for multiple HDDs and the two graphics cards. The SSD is 256 GB 840 Pro from Samsung, an excellent performer. Ram is 16GB 1866 MHz LP from Corsair, similar specs to the Mac Pro's ram. You also have
the option to go with quad channel Corsair ram. 4x4gb sticks of 1600 MHz quad channel would save you about $30 and should perform just as well as the 1866 MHz ram.



So the total would come in at just over $2,225 US. Significantly lower than the 6 core Mac Pro.
Another bonus is that you get all the internal storage space you'll need without having to buy
expensive Thunderbolt enclosures for drives.

Would it perform the same as the new 6 Core Mac Pro? I have no idea as the Mac Pro isn't out yet and no one has built one of these with Mavericks installed yet. This is the best I could come up with in answer to the now common question " How do I build something like the new Mac Pro for a lot less money." Feel free to share your ideas about what hardware you would choose for the build. If you do start building one of these it would be great if you detail your build in the user builds section so that everyone can learn more about building a Socket 2011 CustoMac Pro !

Note: This isn't a build you would choose for a high end gaming computer. Xeon builds are for servers
and work stations, they cannot be overclocked and wouldn't perform as well as some of the more
expensive 4 and 6 core I7 cpus would with gaming software.

TRS96

 

[geminii]

Hey trs96,

Great info! Thanks for doing all this research. Looks like we are in for some exciting next few months as people figure out how to build some comparable CustoMacs.

I would be curious to know how big of a jump the new MacPro would be from a 4770K system?

 

[geminii]

So, I have two potential builds in mind and still undecided on which way to go. I am curious how noticeable of a difference both of these will be for me considering my current system build.

Option 1:
If I go with this months Mac Pro specs: i7-4770k, GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H, GTX 760 (keep my current RAM of 16GB). It seems that support is a bit more accessible and getting Mavericks running might be easier.

Option 2:
Or go with the i7-4930K, Asus x79 Deluxe, Radeon r9-280x, add an additional 16Gb Ram. Until new Mac Pro comes out in Dec this build might be a bit more challenging to get working right.

Can anyone weigh in on how noticeable a difference the performance will be with these two builds? The price difference is considerable from option 1 to 2.

 

[trs96]

So, I have two potential builds in mind and still undecided on which way to go. I am curious how noticeable of a difference both of these will be for me considering my current system build.

Option 1:
If I go with this months Mac Pro specs: i7-4770k, GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H, GTX 760 (keep my current RAM of 16GB). It seems that support is a bit more accessible and getting Mavericks running might be easier.

Option 2:
Or go with the i7-4930K, Asus x79 Deluxe, Radeon r9-280x, add an additional 16Gb Ram. Until new Mac Pro comes out in Dec this build might be a bit more challenging to get working right.

When you're using a socket 2011 build for a business the main challenge is to apply updates without
causing downtime due to software incompatibility. That's where always having a Time Machine backup
and/or Clone of your system is crucial. Once you've got a stable build and everything works don't be in a hurry to update, wait till all the bugs get worked out. That's where this site is so valuable because
you can see how others are doing with new OS X updates on their systems.

anyone weigh in on how noticeable a difference the performance will be with these two builds? The price difference is considerable from option 1 to 2.

It will depend on a few different factors. 1. Are you processing large 4 and 5k video files on a daily
basis? 2. Will you be rendering videos for 8 to 10 hours or more per day ? 3. Are you just working with smaller 1080p video clips with few or no effects added? 4. Do you shoot your video with a DSLR camera?

If your answer is yes to the first two questions I'd go with a 6 core (or larger) CPU like the 4930K or one of the newer Xeon's that are offered for a 2013 Mac Pro. The extra 16GB of ram really comes in handy here as well. The newest version of FCPX is being modified to utilize more cores and threads (up to 12 cores ?) We'll only know once the newer FCPX is released along with the new Mac Pro. The new E5-1600 V2 Xeons have turbo boost up to 3.9GHz. With clock speed that high there's really no need for over-clocking as is commonly done with the 4770K to boost performance. I'd estimate that you would get a longer usable lifespan with a new Xeon as compared to a 4 core Haswell chip.

If you answer yes to the second two questions then go with option #1 and save some money for other equipment. I'd say the 4770K is the most commonly used cpu in builds for audio and video editing / production. Check in with those threads to get some feedback on what the 4770K can and can't do in a CustoMac video editing build. A core I7-4770k will be a major improvement in speed over your current
I7 that is 4 years old. The unanswered ? for me is: will everyone be using 4k video monitors in
three years and demand that ultra high res. video content? Take a look at the section of the Apple
website that goes over Mac Pro performance with various software programs.

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/performance/

Of course there is no substitute for direct experience. The only way to fully answer your question is to sit down in front of a recently built CustoMac and do the kind of work that you do on an average workday. The bottom line question is: Will spending more on better hardware make my business more productive and justify the extra investment?

 

[geminii]

It will depend on a few different factors. 1. Are you processing large 4 and 5k video files on a daily
basis? 2. Will you be rendering videos for 8 to 10 hours or more per day ? 3. Are you just working with smaller 1080p video clips with few or no effects added? 4. Do you shoot your video with a DSLR camera?

No, No, Yes and Yes. I currently only do 1080p video editing, some After Effects work, and Apple Motion stuff. I would honestly have to say that I fall into the later two answers so Option 1 (the 4770k) will probably suit me just fine at this point.

The newest version of FCPX is being modified to utilize more cores and threads (up to 12 cores ?) We'll only know once the newer FCPX is released along with the new Mac Pro.

I thought I read that FCPX was now going to take advantage of dual GPU for rendering, so wouldn't putting two video cards into a 4770K system address that?

If you answer yes to the second two questions then go with option #1 and save some money for other equipment. I'd say the 4770K is the most commonly used cpu in builds for audio and video editing / production. Check in with those threads to get some feedback on what the 4770K can and can't do in a CustoMac video editing build. A core I7-4770k will be a major improvement in speed over your current I7 that is 4 years old.

I have been on this i7-860 for four years and it has never given me any serious issues. Rendering speeds in FCP 7 and FCPx are not that great, but I guess I grew accustom to waiting. On the hobby side I do a lot of 3D artwork with DAZ and to my knowledge the rendering engine is heavy on the CPU, so I expect any new CPU I get will be an improvement for me on that end.

The bottom line question is: Will spending more on better hardware make my business more productive and justify the extra investment?

All great suggestions and questions you have brought up. I certainly am not one that needs to be on the cutting (and more expensive) edge of everything.

The unanswered ? for me is: will everyone be using 4k video monitors in
three years and demand that ultra high res. video content?

I also wonder how fast people will adopt 4K displays. I was very interested in the Black Magic 4K camera but if no one adopts 4k displays anytime soon, then it might be too soon to invest in those. Only time will tell.

 

[geminii]

Wouldn't you know it...the i7-4930K is on sale:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116939

But the X79 Deluxe is out of stock!