Help with a Mac Pro

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Almost forgot, a RAID was recommended to me to have a very large "D" drive instead of C, D, E, F smaller drives. I'd lose track of stuff that way, sure sounds convenient.

I'll have to go to an Apple store to research the advantages of a hardware RAID controller card. I do not know what the motherboard chip has on it. It's a MAC 5.1 2012 model 2.66.

I do like the suggestion to go for stability instead of speed. 12 core should be fast enough, 32 GB RAM.

I will be backing up on an external, when "I get round to it". Gotta be realistic, I know how that goes.
Thanks again,
Bill

[Henry Ambrose]

If it was mine, I'd pass on RAID and go for a couple of big fast drives and use one to run on and the other for back-up. Simple. Simple is good = less failure. Then maybe add an external for additional back-up that is easy to take from one machine to another.

[Preston]

Bill,

I am very curious where you found the info that the Quadro 4000 video must be paired with the 5770. I looked around and couldn't find anything.

The only way these two cards would need one another is if the are used in SLI. (Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a brand name for a multi- GPU solution developed by NVIDIA for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output).

SLI is really a video configuration for gaming or other high end video. And, as has been said, the Quadro is not going to buy you much unless you are doing 3D, video, or games.

Once you receive the computer you'll need to check with a qualified tech to if this is so.

RAID or not? I agree with Henry. Keep it simple. I have multiple drives on my PC (SSD and two 500GB HD's and a 1TB external). If you're careful about how you allocate your files to your four drives, you shouldn't have much trouble finding things.

If you're mainly interested in being able to easily find images, take a look at IDImager.com-Photo Supreme. It's a digital asset management program (DAM) for Mac and Windows. I have the Windows 64 bit version and find it be very robust and fast. Once you set it up, import your files, and assign labels/keywords, finding an image across many drives is a piece of cake.

Bottom line: A good DAM is a lot less hassle than dealing with a RAID array--I speak from experience.

--P

[resummerfield]

If it was mine, I'd pass on RAID and go for a couple of big fast drives and use one to run on and the other for back-up. Simple. Simple is good = less failure. Then maybe add an external for additional back-up that is easy to take from one machine to another.

That's exactly how I've configured my MacPro.

[David Lobato]

That's exactly how I've configured my MacPro.

This is good advice, and I would not recommend striping, it's normally for fast disk access in servers. Macs don't normally have letter designated drives, but you can name them what you want. Use Time Machine to setup the extra hard drives for backup and automate the backups at intervals you choose. With the number of extra drives you have you can mirror two backup drives for more security. I was daunted at first setting up Time Machine, but it went easy. If I can setup Time Machine anyone can.

[Brian K]

Bill, I have a Mac Pro 5.1, 32gig of RAM. I use it with an Eizo CG211 and for a time ran two Eizo monitors off of the one 5770 video card without any issues or loss of quality. And I often work with files as large as 5 gigs. If you want a better card then use the 5870. But the improvement will be slight. The other cards will not yield any better results for PS.

As for RAID, I only use a mirrored raid in an external drive, a G-Safe made by G-tech. The drives slide in and out easily and are stored in two different safes when I travel. This raid is just for backup, but I also have a drive in the computer as an extra backup and I use cloud back up as well. The remaining 3 drives in my Mac Pro are a Snow Leopard startup drive, for use with my IQ Smart, a Mountain Lion OS start up drive and a dedicated image storage drive. If there were any other ways to speed things up noticeably or improve quality I would not hesitate to spend the money but simply put there's no need.

If you are desperate to improve quality or accuracy my only recommendation would be to switch to the top of the line Eizo monitors.

[erie patsellis]

Regarding the Quadro 4000, if my experiences are any indication steer very clear. Buggy drivers version after version, frequent BSODs, and overall poor support. When it worked, it was nice, but stability is more important to me. After numerous google searches, I discovered that it's not just me, not just Windows installations, but the same issues crop up in OSX as well.

To sum up, save your sanity..

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks to everyone,
I have been out of town and just opened the Mac today, what a beast, it came as advertised, Quadro 4000 for Mac and a 5770.
The previous owner put a note in with it saying:
"The Quadro should not have any monitors connected to it because it serves as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for the operating system."

That shot down all my thoughts of what I thought I knew. I am back to knowing nothing. I read too much and DO NOT know what to believe.
For example:
Quadro HAS TO be used with another card, can not be used alone, not a stand alone card... read that a couple of places, God knows where?
If you connect 2 monitors up to just the 5770 then the 4000 sits in the case idle and does nothing, except generate noise and heat,
Hook up the 2 monitors to the 4000 using the DP and Dual Link DVI, 'NEC said that', but they were unfamiliar with the Quardo 4000,
Take out the 5770 and just use the 4000,
5870 is a better card with dual monitors that have a wide color gamut, 5770 will not cut it, specs seem to support that, (for what I know just reading specs.)
Most have said take out the 4000 and just use the 5770
4000 will not help with 2D images, BUT works great in CS6,

I went to Nvidia website and to the Apple website, worthless waste of time, absolutely no help found there. Called the Genius Hotline at Apple (twice) and they shuffle me back and forth because, it sounds like to me that they absolutely do not know ANYTHING about the Quadro card. Both times they referred me to a Forum so that other users will answer the question for me. So far the answer from the Forum is to sell both cards and buy another card that is super for gaming, I am not a gamer. Truthfully they never tried answering my simple question.
Nvidia website has nothing useful, it has a Forum that almost completely is for GeForce cards set up for PC's/Windows, they ignore Mac except for a couple Bootcamp applications. I found my question there in several places, no one has ever posted an answer! I search using Key Words and get nothing.

It is simple question, how to best connect 2 wide color gamet NEC monitors to a Mac Pro, 5.1 that has a Quadro 4000 and a 5770? I'm sure it will work (somewhat) connected several different ways. But which to get the best results from the monitors and printer?

Mac STILL sells both CARDS with the Mac Pro, but I can not find anything reliable on how to connect 2 NEC wide color gamet monitors.
I have been trying to answer that question for close to 3 weeks, and still can not hook it up with confidence that I have it connected in a way that will give me the best color calibration/reproduction. I am afraid that just because it is hooked up and looks pretty, IS IT RIGHT? Is it optimized for the correct color on the monitor and be calibrated with the 3880 printer. If I do not have confidence then I will not use it confidently, and that is not acceptable. I have forked out over $5,000 and do not want to settle for "MAYBE" it is connected correctly. I have also spent easily over 50 hours on the Internet and on the phone trying to get the answer.....result is I still know nothing, confidently.

Does anyone have a source that can answer this very basic and simple question? If not, I am probably going to scrap that damn card and pick up a 5870 and put this behind me.

Again thanks, to everyone, I have gotten more help here that anywhere else,
Bill

[ROL]

Bill, I think your best option is to post your specific question on the Apple Users Forum.

I'm not piling on your problems here, but AppleCare and Genius bars are really for people who buy from Apple (not, as it appears, second hand). It just so happens they can be very accommodating to users from other platforms because of the near universality and cross platform integration of their mobile products. My wife, who works on PC's, has experienced this many times at the Genius Bar. Try getting any support in the non Apple world for your PC's at their "genius bars".

That said, I have been somewhat at a loss understanding why you didn't just buy an off–the–shelf system. Apple sells discounted refurbished models with full warranty and additional AppleCare support. I recently replaced my 8 year old left-in-the-dust iMac with a new large screen iMac. The only thing I had to do was buy (much less expensive) additional third party memory, and AppleCare. I am running Aperture and Final Cut Pro X, without difficulty. Most people seem to run these most processor intensive programs quite well from their Mac Pro laptops. I am no longer running PS as my previous copy(7.0) requires a full update, and given Adobe's present offerings, I am doubling down on Apple software. Actually, I can still run PS 7 on my old iMac, inherited by my wife, by screen sharing on my new computer. I am able to use all my existing scanners, including a Polaroid SprintScan 120, and printers with the new machine. It's kind of hard to imagine why you need more processing power than that for photography, but to each his own.

I really do hope someone here can be of more help to you than the bucket of cold water I have just thrown on you.

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks to everyone,
I have been out of town and just opened the Mac today, what a beast, it came as advertised, Quadro 4000 for Mac and a 5770.
The previous owner put a note in with it saying:
"The Quadro should not have any monitors connected to it because it serves as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for the operating system."

That shot down all my thoughts of what I thought I knew. I am back to knowing nothing. I read too much and DO NOT know what to believe.
For example:
Quadro HAS TO be used with another card, can not be used alone, not a stand alone card... read that a couple of places, God knows where?
If you connect 2 monitors up to just the 5770 then the 4000 sits in the case idle and does nothing, except generate noise and heat,
Hook up the 2 monitors to the 4000 using the DP and Dual Link DVI, 'NEC said that', but they were unfamiliar with the Quardo 4000,
Take out the 5770 and just use the 4000,
5870 is a better card with dual monitors that have a wide color gamut, 5770 will not cut it, specs seem to support that, (for what I know just reading specs.)
Most have said take out the 4000 and just use the 5770
4000 will not help with 2D images, BUT works great in CS6,

I went to Nvidia website and to the Apple website, worthless waste of time, absolutely no help found there. Called the Genius Hotline at Apple (twice) and they shuffle me back and forth because, it sounds like to me that they absolutely do not know ANYTHING about the Quadro card. Both times they referred me to a Forum so that other users will answer the question for me. So far the answer from the Forum is to sell both cards and buy another card that is super for gaming, I am not a gamer. Truthfully they never tried answering my simple question.
Nvidia website has nothing useful, it has a Forum that almost completely is for GeForce cards set up for PC's/Windows, they ignore Mac except for a couple Bootcamp applications. I found my question there in several places, no one has ever posted an answer! I search using Key Words and get nothing.

It is simple question, how to best connect 2 wide color gamet NEC monitors to a Mac Pro, 5.1 that has a Quadro 4000 and a 5770? I'm sure it will work (somewhat) connected several different ways. But which to get the best results from the monitors and printer?

Mac STILL sells both CARDS with the Mac Pro, but I can not find anything reliable on how to connect 2 NEC wide color gamet monitors.
I have been trying to answer that question for close to 3 weeks, and still can not hook it up with confidence that I have it connected in a way that will give me the best color calibration/reproduction. I am afraid that just because it is hooked up and looks pretty, IS IT RIGHT? Is it optimized for the correct color on the monitor and be calibrated with the 3880 printer. If I do not have confidence then I will not use it confidently, and that is not acceptable. I have forked out over $5,000 and do not want to settle for "MAYBE" it is connected correctly. I have also spent easily over 50 hours on the Internet and on the phone trying to get the answer.....result is I still know nothing, confidently.

Does anyone have a source that can answer this very basic and simple question? If not, I am probably going to scrap that damn card and pick up a 5870 and put this behind me.

Again thanks, to everyone, I have gotten more help here that anywhere else,
Bill

I would think if the monitors calibrate you are in good shape. Have you calibrated the monitors? Its a pretty simple test that should tell you all you need to know. Perhaps you are over thinking this?