# 4 x Mac Pro 2008 (with VSL) Versus latest Mac Pro



## JOCO (Apr 9, 2018)

Hi all,
I'm working with Mac Pro's for almost 10 years now.
I feel like it's time for a new machine. Thinking about the latest model 3,5-GHz 6-core Intel Xeon E5 or 3,7 GHz quad core intel xeon E5
I have 4 Mac Pro's early 2008.
1 x 3,0-Ghz 2xQuad + 3 x 2,8-Ghz 2xQuad working together over Vienna Ensemble Pro.
So my question is: Would the latest Mac Pro be faster, much faster, not faster, etc. than my current setup. And how much. Would there be more working space cpu wise, etc. etc. Pro and cons?
Just to give me an idea about this, 'cause I'm a little in the dark here.
Anyone any ideas about this?


Thanks.


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## FriFlo (Apr 9, 2018)

In terms of sample playback? Certainly not! It is almost not possible to beat 2 machines with one, but on the other hand: you electricity bill must be horrible with four older Mac pros running ...


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## BGvanRens (Apr 9, 2018)

The current and most recent Mac Pro is dating back to december 2013..I would consider waiting if you must stick with a Mac Pro. I don't think it will replace your entire rig. Sure the 2013 models are probably way faster and more efficient. But it's already 5 year old tech. Hardware wise there are better options like the iMac Pro maxed out. Although I wonder if that machine is suitable for heavy load in a real time environment like music. The CPU might run very hot and has to throttle. Which will result in a slower system. ( I don't have experience on iMac's, maybe someone else can verify?) The word goes there will be a new Mac Pro in 2019.


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## sinkd (Apr 9, 2018)

Build the PC and keep running the cheese graters as slaves with maxed out RAM and SSD sample drives.
YOU. BE. JAMMIN. JOCO.


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## JOCO (Apr 14, 2018)

sinkd said:


> Build the PC and keep running the cheese graters as slaves with maxed out RAM and SSD sample drives.
> YOU. BE. JAMMIN. JOCO.


I had so much trouble with Pc back in the days. Maybe I should check it out again. Thanks


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## Simon Ravn (Apr 14, 2018)

FriFlo said:


> In terms of sample playback? Certainly not! It is almost not possible to beat 2 machines with one, but on the other hand: you electricity bill must be horrible with four older Mac pros running ...



Yeah - around 200 watts a piece probably. But on the bright side, he could save a little on the heating bill


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## gsilbers (Apr 14, 2018)

its an odd time for mac pros. apple mentioned they will delay until 2019 the new models. at the same time it was announce that apple will be making its own chips instead of using intel. Those two news items where not related but iam thinking this is why the new macpros have been taking so long to revamp. the new imac was just a upgraded version of the same model but revamping the mac pro as apple mentioned, making more modular and usefull for pro users then doing it on a new chip would make more sense. 


btw- you can probaby upgrade the cpu of you current macs. 
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing-Upgrading+Mac+Pro+Processors+(Early+2008)/17562
sadlt the 2008 models are a bit more dificult to upgrade. 
the 2009 models its just a tray swap. 

you can also get a 2009 model with upgrade cpu to 2012 model 3.46ghz. those would be about 20 to 30 % faster than what you have. those 2012 upgrade models run about $1k with 64 to 128gb ram. so its not as huge of a price copmared to the new mac pros. but youo would have to check out the benchmarks and research a bit to decide. or wait until 2019. 

as for pc. i hates windows but its grown on me. and its ok. i feel mac os has been on a downhill slope and windows 10 has become similar. they both copy each other at the end of the day. so if u use cubase then go for it.


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## JOCO (Apr 14, 2018)

Simon Ravn said:


> Yeah - around 200 watts a piece probably. But on the bright side, he could save a little on the heating bill


haha; this is a good one. You're right. Never had to turn the heater on in winter time


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## JOCO (Apr 14, 2018)

gsilbers said:


> its an odd time for mac pros. apple mentioned they will delay until 2019 the new models. at the same time it was announce that apple will be making its own chips instead of using intel. Those two news items where not related but iam thinking this is why the new macpros have been taking so long to revamp. the new imac was just a upgraded version of the same model but revamping the mac pro as apple mentioned, making more modular and usefull for pro users then doing it on a new chip would make more sense.
> 
> 
> btw- you can probaby upgrade the cpu of you current macs.
> ...


Thanks for the info. Yes, I have been looking up some thing like cpu upgrade. But for the 2008 models, it seems to be to pricy for just a little bit more power ( info found in forums ) An upgrade with a PCIe SSD CARD as system disk seems to be a good expansion too.


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## Simon Ravn (Apr 14, 2018)

gsilbers said:


> its an odd time for mac pros. apple mentioned they will delay until 2019 the new models. at the same time it was announce that apple will be making its own chips instead of using intel. Those two news items where not related but iam thinking this is why the new macpros have been taking so long to revamp.



No, it's because Apple - especially after Tim Cook took over - have completely down prioritized the Mac Pro - hell, all the Macs have had very little attention for the past 4 years. Apple did no development on the Mac Pro between early/mid 2013 and mid 2017. Then someone suddenly woke up around march 2017 and found out that it might be a good idea to keep the pro market alive afterall. Not sure why, they could just kill it off instead, but maybe they see some benefit to it, probably mainly because pro Apple users will also recommend family and friends to buy Apple products. For sure it's not the tiny fraction of money the pro products might bring in, Apple couldn't care less about that.

I don't think the new Mac Pro will have new Apple chips. It's way too soon for Apple to create ARM chips that have the power of Intel Xeon chips. Also, consider that much of the OS + all applications, all soundcard/video card drivers etc etc would have to be ported to that new platform. Not gonna happen in the foreseeable future.

No, the reason for the long delay in the new Mac Pro is that the management and Tim Cook neglected it and didn't see the point of putting resources into it for many years. But seeing all the creative people moving to Windows probably woke them up and made them change their mind.

Now, we never know in what shape the new Mac Pro will turn out. It could be just as big a mistake as the trashcan one and then they won't be able to hold on to the pro business any more. I know for myself that if they don't deliver a solution that makes sense (i.e. internal OFF THE SHELF storage, user upgradeable GPU+RAM that doesn't rely on Apple releasing an updated version whenever they feel like it), I will have to go to Windows as soon as my current cMP 12-core doesn't do the job anymore.


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## procreative (Apr 16, 2018)

Tim Cook aka the new John Scully, what we need is the new Steve Jobs R.I.P. to ride back into town, whats old Wozzy doing these days...

An aside, I used to do some design work for Apple Europe in the Gil Amelio days and when he got the boot when Steve came back, that was the end of my connections there as most of the Europe team got shuffled around... so I have mixed feelings on that.

All those red-eye trips to Paris on expenses (not as great as it sounds as it wasnt first class and they often asked me to turn up for a 9am meeting which with the hour difference to the UK and the check-in faff meant an early start (well early for me as I have always been a lazy bastard when it comes to getting up early).

But I digress...


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## tmhuud (Apr 16, 2018)

I've had cheese graters. 4 of them were pimped out. LOADS of Ssd's inside, As much RAM as they could take, Replaced the processors in each of them. The new Vader Helmet runs circles around them.


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## Vik (Apr 16, 2018)

The early 2008 Mac Pros can't run the current MacOS/Logic out-of-the-box, and who knows what happens with the 2009/2010 (and 2013) models when Apple releases it's next version of MacOs, which probably will contain some major changes due to the plan about being able to run iOs software on Macs and Mac software on iOs devices. Maybe the best thing you could do is to stick to what you have for another year, and buy the next gen Mac Pros in 2019?
https://www.techradar.com/news/mac-pro-2018-release-date-news-and-rumors


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## JOCO (Apr 21, 2018)

Vik said:


> The early 2008 Mac Pros can't run the current MacOS/Logic out-of-the-box, and who knows what happens with the 2009/2010 (and 2013) models when Apple releases it's next version of MacOs, which probably will contain some major changes due to the plan about being able to run iOs software on Macs and Mac software on iOs devices. Maybe the best thing you could do is to stick to what you have for another year, and buy the next gen Mac Pros in 2019?
> https://www.techradar.com/news/mac-pro-2018-release-date-news-and-rumors


Yes, this might be a good thing to consider. Also, all my Mac Pro's are 3.1 models and one day, en new OSX upgrade (which will be needed to run certain new plugins) won't work. That's why I'm holding back an investment for more RAM, PCIe SSD, Processor upgrade, etc. This 3.1 generation will come soon to an end for pro use. Thanks for the info btw.


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