New Mac Pro

[Don Kellogg]

Does anyone have any thoughts about or experience with the new Mac Pro computer? My current Mac Pro is getting a bit long in the tooth and I am thinking of replacing it. I'm wondering if my current Firewire drives and Nikon Firewire scanner would be compatible with it, also my HP Z3200 printer. My friend had great sorrow getting the HP printer drivers to work with an older Mac Pro. I usually work with a medium format digital back (39 megapixel) equipped Hassy. I know the Mac Pro is super powerful and avant garde but do I need it? Maybe overkill? Might it be better to get a maxed out iMac? Thanks. Don Kellogg

[Jim collum]

I use one at work (it really is a work of art). Biggest problem for you is that it only has USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 2 ports.. no Firewire at all. (as far as the z3200 goes.. i have one, and mine works with Maverick with no problems.

[Daniel Stone]

TBH,
after talking with a friends who are more "in the know" about computer tech than I, they stated that unless you're doing hardcore video editing, the last gen mac pro's were even waaaay overkill on most of the specs. Thing is, it seems that most working pro's/dedicated amateurs who also want these are now snapping them up, even as a back-up to keep in the closet.

The iMac's are pretty, but expandable, not easy(if impossible post-factory?). Anyhow, the previous generation Mac Pro's also allow for INTERNAL expansion to a much greater(and IMO, elegant looking) amount than the "trash can" new MP.

Not to mention that you're running TB2 ports on it, and you'll need to buy a fw adapter(~$30 IIRC) for each device you want to hook up via Thunderbolt.

just my 2¢

-Dan

[Jim collum]

i'm using the new iMac at home, and had the prior gen Mac Pro. Although the iMac isn't expandable, it runs rings around a fully spec'ed mac pro (not the new one) for Photoshop work.

I'd probably agree on the new Pro being a little overkill for just Photoshop work (but it is *very* pretty.. :) )

[Lenny Eiger]

My opinion is that buying a computer is not buying a piece of hardware. It's buying a hedge against obsolescence. That is, how long will it take before the computer will feel sluggish to you, like its time to update?

For me its about three years, and that's about now... It's time to get a new Mac pro. I'm waiting another couple of months.. but I like the idea of the hard drives going very fast. Both the internal SSD and the Thunderbolt.

It's true that few apps can take advantage of all those cores. However, they will in time. Not all of them, but Adobe usually comes along eventually. You can add a ton of RAM in there... and a great video card. The low end model should suffice for most folks... I was originally not sure about it but having reviewed the specs and the reviews, I'm surprised at how good it is.

Lenny

[Jim collum]

It was also surprising that a number of the 'take-it-apart' sites tried to spec a similar PC, and found they couldn't do it for much less than the Mac.

http://bgr.com/2013/12/26/mac-pro-windows-diy-cost/

(disclaimer: I'm a software engineer working on iOS and Mac OS X at Apple ...)


My opinion is that buying a computer is not buying a piece of hardware. It's buying a hedge against obsolescence. That is, how long will it take before the computer will feel sluggish to you, like its time to update?

For me its about three years, and that's about now... It's time to get a new Mac pro. I'm waiting another couple of months.. but I like the idea of the hard drives going very fast. Both the internal SSD and the Thunderbolt.

It's true that few apps can take advantage of all those cores. However, they will in time. Not all of them, but Adobe usually comes along eventually. You can add a ton of RAM in there... and a great video card. The low end model should suffice for most folks... I was originally not sure about it but having reviewed the specs and the reviews, I'm surprised at how good it is.

Lenny

[Jac@stafford.net]

I'd probably agree on the new Pro being a little overkill for just Photoshop work (but it is *very* pretty.. :) )

Being one that has used a Mac since 1985, I thought I'd never read of one, "being a little overkill for just Photoshop". :) Now that I am retired, I've fallen behind in Photoshop's updates, but has not Adobe moved a number of Photoshop features to the GPU, and if it has, do they use the new Pro's GPUs?

[bob carnie]

I am in agreement, my Mac Pro is showing some signs that I am not liking, it is time for a new one, and refurb the old one and use it elsewhere in the lab.

I have gotten four trouble free years out of this unit and I love it.

Like many I have the new Imac at home for my wife and I to use and I really like it as well.


My opinion is that buying a computer is not buying a piece of hardware. It's buying a hedge against obsolescence. That is, how long will it take before the computer will feel sluggish to you, like its time to update?

For me its about three years, and that's about now... It's time to get a new Mac pro. I'm waiting another couple of months.. but I like the idea of the hard drives going very fast. Both the internal SSD and the Thunderbolt.

It's true that few apps can take advantage of all those cores. However, they will in time. Not all of them, but Adobe usually comes along eventually. You can add a ton of RAM in there... and a great video card. The low end model should suffice for most folks... I was originally not sure about it but having reviewed the specs and the reviews, I'm surprised at how good it is.

Lenny

[Preston]

Jac, here's an article from the folks at Puget Systems regarding CS6 GPU Acceleration.

Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration (http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration-161/)

--P

[Jac@stafford.net]

Thank you for that, Preston.
--
Jac

[SKimber]

I will be getting two of the base model, will report back here... cant wait to use them :)

[SKimber]

Samsung PCIE SSD http://www.thunderbolt4mac.com/Apple/New-Mac-Pro/index.asp?C=1
cant wait for the superfast OS boot drive!!!!

[Mike Lewis]

I recently replaced my 2007-era Mac Pro with an iMac. The new computer is a 16GB model coupled with an external LaCie Thunderbolt drive. The iBench benchmark says the iMac is three times as fast as my old Mac Pro, and it certainly seems adequate for Photoshop work. I'm happy with it. Just FYI.

[paulr]

The new one is really a specialist workstation designed for HD video and 3D visualization and CGI. While it would be a great photoshop machine, it would be a terrible value. Thousands of dollars of its price are sunk in the dual professional video cards, which have no impact on 99% of the kinds of image processing done by photographers. It can be ordered with many more cores than an imac, but Photoshop makes poor use of more than 6 cores. Many of Photoshop's functions aren't threaded at all, and so only use a single core. These functions will actually run a bit faster on a top of the line imac.

The real killer for me is that there's no internal storage expansion. This means an external thunderbolt raid enclosure, or something similar, becomes mandatory. So add $1000 to $3000 to the price of the system. This isn't a big deal for video guys who have always worked like this. But for a lot of photographers, the 4 internal drive bays in the old mac pro hit a sweet spot (5 or 6 internal drives are possible, if you're willing to monkey around a bit.)

At any rate, I'm as disappointed as the video pros are probably thrilled. It's just not for me.

The imac does perform well, but I don't like it as a photo workstation. I don't want to pay a premium for a built-in monitor that's inferior to my graphics monitor. I don't want to be forced to use external storage for everything. I don't want a machine that's hard to open up and work on. When I outgrow my 2008 mac pro, I'll probably replace it with a 2011 one.

[paulr]

Jac, here's an article from the folks at Puget Systems regarding CS6 GPU Acceleration.

Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration (http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration-161/)

--P

"This method was based off of HardwareHeaven.com's popular Photoshop Benchmark V3 benchmark, but adapted to specifically target GPU accelerated effects."

I suggest looking closely at those specific effects, to see if they have any relevance at all to the way you work. I keep GPU accerleration turned on, because it smooths the on-screen rendering of certain uses of the brush tool. Other than that, I'd never even notice it.

[ROL]

i'm using the new iMac at home...

We talking about the iMac late 2012 here, or something newer?

[DennisD]

(disclaimer: I'm a software engineer working on iOS and Mac OS X at Apple ...)

Wouldn't Apple give their software engineers the latest and greatest !
Let's see what Jim says !

[Jim collum]

Wouldn't Apple give their software engineers the latest and greatest !
Let's see what Jim says !

i'm using the one just released at home (the one on the right http://www.apple.com/imac/specs/ )

It is a fun company to work for!

[Jim collum]

some interesting comparison numbers here.. the iMac doesn't do all that bad in comparison...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2082568/lab-tested-new-mac-pro-is-the-speedster-weve-been-waiting-for-finally.html?page=2

[Jac@stafford.net]

some interesting comparison numbers here.. the iMac doesn't do all that bad in comparison...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2082568/lab-tested-new-mac-pro-is-the-speedster-weve-been-waiting-for-finally.html?page=2

I am impressed by the iMac. Another opinion from the same site: http://www.macworld.com/article/2082578/opinion-the-new-mac-pro-makes-the-imac-the-power-users-desktop.html?%23tk.out_mod?=obinsite

[bob carnie]

I have purchased an Eversmart supreme scanner and I am finding the file size generated is double or triple than that of my other scanners.

I bought the original Mac pro to be able to open multiple files, and move fast between them for editing , matching purposes.

I am now finding with these new larger files and the same workflow ( which I like) the Mac I own is sluggish
Will this new machine speed up working with multiple files?

Personally I think the old one is just tired. and any upgrade will solve my problem.

For example I will open 5 - 500 mb files in PS at a time and move between them.

[ROL]

I am impressed by the iMac. Another opinion from the same site: http://www.macworld.com/article/2082578/opinion-the-new-mac-pro-makes-the-imac-the-power-users-desktop.html?%23tk.out_mod?=obinsite

While that link certainly exceeded my geek quotient, it does make me feel pretty good about my decision last year to upgrade from my old, left behind, PPC G5 to the late-2012 27" iMac. I justified putting the upgrades into the 1.1 TB Fusion Drive, 2 GB graphics card, and user upgradeable (27" model only) 32GB of RAM rather than the i7 processor, mainly for the purpose of running FCPx. I have nothing but anecdotal performance evidence to offer – I still see spinning color wheels with some performance hungry apps, need more USB ports than Apple provides, and am still seeking reasonably priced thunderbolt peripherals. Geek Out!

[Adamphotoman]

I upgraded to a smaller 11 inch MacBook Air. I usually buy Macs just as the new generation arrives. Also refurbished.

Reason is that I fly around the country. I want tethered portability. Lightweight.

For home use I use a Belkin Express port dock. http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055/

It gives me extra usb 3.o ports, wired ethernet, and firewire. So I can hook up a bigger screen, and fast networking.

The flash based drive give quick start up and access to CS6.

Not too pricy. Yes 3 years is about the user lifespan.