Mac Pro 3.1, 4.1 or Mac Mini

[stevenew]

Hi,

I am going to upgrade from my lowly 2009 2.66 Core 2 Duo iMac, but as finances are very restricted I am limited to buying a used machine (here in the UK) so I have narrowed my choices to either a 3.1 Mac Pro or if I am lucky a 4.1 Mac Pro or a i7 Mac Mini. Having looked at all the specs on EveryMac (benchmarks etc) I can see no reason to get a Mac Mini other than more recent, USB 3, smaller, quieter. Where as even a 3.1 Mac Pro will give me more expansion, more RAM and in the case of a 8 core more CPU power

Whatever I get, I am going to put in at least a SSD boot drive and take the ram to 16GB, USB 3 card for the Pro, maybe a SATA 3 card.

So my questions to you knowledgeable guys are:

1) For DP is a 8 core 2008 3.1 Mac Pro better than a 4 core 2009 4.1?

2) Any reason why a Mac Mini would be better for DP?

Any other comments on my choices are welcome but remember I am in the UK and used prices & choice are more limited than in the US.

Thanks

Steve

[HCMarkus]

Discussion here: http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =9&t=56128

[stevenew]

Thanks for that, a good read, if only UK used Mac Pro prices were like they are in the US!

Steve

[stevenew]

Hi,

Having read all the benchmarks & specs on EveryMac I am still unsure whether a Mac Pro 4.1 4 core or 3.1 8core would be best for DP. Although a 4.1 has hyper threading, faster bus & ram, in would seem in some benchmarks a 3.1 8 core scores higher.

I am currently deciding between a 3.1 8 core 3.2ghz or a 4.1 4 core 2.66.

If anyone has any thoughts it would be appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I have a used 3,1 3.2gHz 8 core and DP as well as all other programs work amazingly well.

[HCMarkus]

Either way will probably be a huge improvement for you.

I tend to recommend the 4,1 route, due to cheaper RAM and easy upgradability to 5,1 by an EFI flash (really... free from Netkas.org) and a nice CPU upgrade path, not to mention support for new versions of Mac OS less likely to be dropped in the near future. This is not to say I anticipate Apple dropping support for 3,1 MPs, just that 5,1's have just been discontinued, and if Apple dropped support sooner rather than later, it would have a hot mess on its hands.

Note that with either a 3,1 or 4,1 you may need to upgrade your GPU if you do sound for picture. Minimum for DP8 seems to be ATI5770. Lots of options under ML and Mavericks though... you can use any number of current "PC" GPUs now and drivers are built in OSX.

USB3 will set you back only $20 for a PCIe card. Make sure you get the right one though. I think the Orico(sp?) ones are good, if I recall correctly. Like most things Mac, check Macrumors Mac Pro forum to gather data before you buy.

Definitely get yourself a boot SSD if you can swing it. A machine that starts up in seconds is so sweet.

Whatever you decide, enjoy!

[stevenew]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, really appreciated. I had noticed that RAM for the 3.1 is almost twice the price. Good point about the GPU, I hadn't thought of that. I already have SSD waiting for whatever machine I get.

A few months ago I did start looking for a used Mac Pro on eBay, used resellers etc, but had to shelf the idea for financial reasons, but when I started looking again a couple of weeks ago it would seem the prices have actually gone up maybe 20%, rather than down, with the release of the new Mac Pro.

Anyway hope to secure something this weekend.

Thanks again

Steve

[frankf]

I put an Apple Branded 5770 in my 3,1 earlier this year. The 2 display ports worked fine, but my Cinema Display on the DVI port was "pixelating" like crazy. I returned it and am back to stock card. I do run video (QT h.264 whenever possible) off a unique HD via FW800 or even USB which keeps bandwidth issues at bay.

[James Steele]

I put an Apple Branded 5770 in my 3,1 earlier this year. The 2 display ports worked fine, but my Cinema Display on the DVI port was "pixelating" like crazy. I returned it and am back to stock card. I do run video (QT h.264 whenever possible) off a unique HD via FW800 or even USB which keeps bandwidth issues at bay.

I'm having the same issue with my 30" Dell monitor on the DVI port of this card in my MacPro 4,1. I get around it by invoking the monitor sleep command then waking the monitor. I find after doing this several times, eventually it "sticks" and holds steady for hours. The card was a gift and is now out of warranty. I'm running a 24" monitor of one of the display ports with an adapter. I'm wondering if I can use an adaptor and run the 30" off the other display port instead of DVI and not have the problem? Not sure it would still be "dual link" and support the full resolution of the 30" monitor?

[frankf]

I give you credit for sticking with it, James, and finding a work around. Both the display ports worked on my 2 monitors with adapters and I could have used those without the DVI port, but I also didn't want to lose the dual link DVI. I didn't have the patience and I paid for the card and got a bit miffed when it didn't work as expected, so back it went.



Frank Ferrucci

[James Steele]

I give you credit for sticking with it, James, and finding a work around. Both the display ports worked on my 2 monitors with adapters and I could have used those without the DVI port, but I also didn't want to lose the dual link DVI. I didn't have the patience and I paid for the card and got a bit miffed when it didn't work as expected, so back it went.

I sort of had no choice in the matter. It was a gift from a friend and when he first gave it to me (he had ordered a better card), I installed it in my MacPro 1,1. I had the pixelation/sparkles problem (in fact, I just had it now as I was typing this and then did my usual "Cntrl+Shift+Eject then move mouse" dance) and assumed it was because of incompatibilities I'd read about with the MacPro 1,1. It wasn't until I upgraded to a 4,1 and the card did the same thing that I realize it was a problem with the card. I called my friend to see if he could return it, and by then it was past the warranty/return period. So I'm sort of stuck with this card for now, and that's how I live with the situation. The good news is that eventually, as I said, the card settles in and goes several hours without the problem. I've learned to deal with it.

[HCMarkus]

My 5770 is driving two 24" Dells via display port and a single 19" analog display via an adaptor connected to the DVI port. All is well unless I start up the computer before turning on the monitors, in which case I get occasional flickers on the Dells.

As I recall, there was quite a bit of discussion on Apple Forums back in the day about how to run multiple monitors successfully. It might be worth a hard look. A quick search turned up these, not exactly on point, but there may be some things worth exploring:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4062737
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/37 ... 5&tstart=0

[James Steele]

My 5770 is driving two 24" Dells via display port and a single 19" analog display via an adaptor connected to the DVI port. All is well unless I start up the computer before turning on the monitors, in which case I get occasional flickers on the Dells.

As I recall, there was quite a bit of discussion on Apple Forums back in the day about how to run multiple monitors successfully. It might be worth a hard look. A quick search turned up these, not exactly on point, but there may be some things worth exploring:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4062737
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/37 ... 5&tstart=0

Right, but will a single display port support a 30" monitor at full resolution?

[HCMarkus]

Here's the spec from the standard 5770:

Integrated dual-link DVI output with HDCP11
Max resolution: 2560x1600
Integrated DisplayPort output
Max resolution: 2560x1600
HDMI® (With 3D, Deep Color and x.v.Color™)
Max resolution: 1920x1200
Integrated VGA output
Max resolution: 2048x1536

SO... I think your answer, James, is "yes."

[frankf]

Hmm. The Apple branded one has 2 display ports and 1 Dual link DVI. NO HDMI. MAybe yours is newer model?

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC742 ... o-mid-2010