Hypothetical Superbuild

[Otter]

Hey y'all.

 

I am inches away from getting a macpro. However, given that I'm migrating from Final Cut to Premiere and Avid, I think I'd feel comfortable returning to a windows environment if the price justifies a significant boost - particularly when it comes to kicking out high res processor intensive renders.

 

To that end, here are the specs to beat, and the benefits which are important for my boutique shop:

 

Low profile/footprint.

Quiet, but tolerates a warmer environment.

3.5GHz 6-core with 12MB of L3 cache

64GB (4 x 16GB) of 1866MHz DDR3 ECC

1TB PCIe-based flash storage (across multiple drives is fine)

Dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

Wifi

Usb 3.0 and thunderbolt inputs.

XLR inputs, midi, etc.

 

The macpro is also ridiculously portable, so I'd like to explore those options as well.

 

The price to beat is 6700 CAD. Who's up to rig this with me?

 

 

Edit - for an extra 3k,

2.7GHz 12-core with 30MB of L3 cache

 

...which is enticing.

[Stinky12]

I did a configuration on Newegg once, with the parts as close as possible to the macpro in terms of specs. Between the two, the price difference isn't that far apart.

One thing that is not possible yet is the physical size of it.

MacPro size

http://www.macworld.com/article/2082507/12-things-that-show-how-small-the-mac-pro-really-is.html

 

Here is a hypothetical build.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2650 V2 2.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($1414.91 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Gene Micro ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($314.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($366.48 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($566.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($114.95 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($102.05 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 1200W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($289.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($75.50 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($170.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $3521.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-06 09:10 EDT-0400)

The graphic card are not on the list cause that site does not have it. Also it's no where to be found, looks like it's made especially for the MacPro, but according to this site:

http://architosh.com/2013/10/the-mac-pro-so-whats-a-d300-d500-and-d700-anyway-we-have-answers/

They say the D700 is equivalent to a W9000.

 

AMD FirePro W9000

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195116

 

Pre-GPU: $3,521.17

With 2x AMD FirePro W9000: $11,325.13 ($3,901.98 each)

US Price w/2x GPUs: $9,705.14 ($3,400.98 for each gpu)

 

 

Non hypothecial build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($629.00 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Gene Micro ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($314.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($366.48 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($301.45 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($114.95 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($102.05 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($131.25 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($75.50 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($170.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $2310.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-06 09:37 EDT-0400)

w/1x W9000: $6,212.97

Edited April 6, 2014 by Stinky12

[epoxi]

As much as I love to do some Apple-bashing, I have only heard good things about the Mac Pro, it seems like they have actually focused on competing on a hardware level instead of just marketing. The only real disadvantage of the MacPro is it upgrade-ability, but I can't imagine most upgrades would have to be so cutting edge they would probably justify upgrading all the components (essentially starting from a new computer) anyway. I suppose adding huge amounts of storage could also get annoying when you have to use Apple's proprietary thunderbolt interface, instead of just having all the drives in one computer case.

 

If a PC comparison had to be made, I guess the real question is "how much can you live without?" since the advantage of the PC is you can specify it in such a custom way. Depending on the calibre of rendering you are employing you may be able to save a lot of money by not being on the cutting edge of graphics processing and upgrading more frequently instead. I suppose it's more of a business decision, it depends entirely on how much more revenue this will generate for you and how much productivity it will add, then hitting the sweet-spot where you get the most return on your time and money.

Edited April 6, 2014 by epoxi

[Otter]

Wow Stinky, that's awesome. Thanks. Those GPUs are are beasts! I love that second build, too... lots to think about. Seriously, thank you.

 

 

Realistically, the best hardware upgrade I ever did was my fully pimped macbook retina. For 5K, including the extended applecare, it increased my productivity at least threefold over the 2010 macbook I had been using.

I'm now looking at having to render quite a bit of 3D stuff and 12 cores is effectively a built-in render farm...

 

Yet I do find myself in the grey area where my rMBP, despite being two years old in June, can handle pretty much anything I throw at it without balking, save for lengthy renders.

 

Maybe there's another option? Setting up a machine that solely crunches numbers for rendering. Does anyone have any knowledge about that? I have the space to rackmount any machine parts I need; could probably even build a server closet if I need to keep things extra cool/quiet.