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The Mac Pro is intended for use as a workstation, as opposed to a typical desktop computer. Workstations are used for tasks with high computational intensity, s

The Mac Pro is intended for use as a workstation, as opposed to a typical desktop computer. Workstations are used for tasks with high computational intensity, such as video editing and rendering, 3D modeling, graphics development, etc. I expect machines like this would see use at Pixar, Sony, Weta, and so on. For example, if you watch the announcement keynote from WWDC (I think it was), they show its ability to live-render multiple 4K video streams simultaneously — where a high-end desktop would struggle with live-rendering even a single video stream of a lesser quality.

alfalfasprout 7y ago
or running a single instance of IntelliJ...
- thdrdt 7y ago
  ...which is great because IDEs from Jetbrains know everything about your code. That's indeed why you buy a workstation.
ykl 7y ago
Except Pixar, Sony, Weta, etc. are all Linux houses. MacOS has very little to no presence in the top-tier CG studios for actual CG work (we have a lot of MacBooks around for Keynote and video calls and whatnot though).
- asperous 7y ago
  Is that new since 2014? https://www.businessinsider.com/pixar-uses-apples-mac-pro-to-make-films-2014-1 https://www.businessinsider.com/pixar-uses-apples-mac-pro-to...
  - thdrdt 7y ago
    The lanscape can change a lot in 6 years time. And Apple just lagged begind. For example, Nvidia came with super fast GPUs but it was almost impossible to upgrade your Mac Pro with them. So a lot of companies jumped to Windows. Also the software changed a lot. Nowadays Houdini is very big and 3DsMax and Maya are being replaced with Blender.
    - auggierose 7y ago
      Exactly. And in 6 more years they will be back with Apple.
      - thdrdt 7y ago
        Could be. But I think the lack of Nvidia support won't help Apple at the moment. But I think they have something with their 'cheap' reference monitor.
- DonaldPShimoda 7y ago
  Oh! I didn't realize that. Sorry, maybe my original comment wasn't clear, but I just meant that it's people in roles like those who would be using workstations such as the Mac Pro. I didn't mean to say that I had knowledge that those specific people actually used it. Apologies for any lack of clarity on my part there.
- lliamander 7y ago
  That's actually really fascinating. Is there anywhere one can find out the hardware/software specs used at such places?

alfalfasprout 7y ago

or running a single instance of IntelliJ...

thdrdt 7y ago
...which is great because IDEs from Jetbrains know everything about your code. That's indeed why you buy a workstation.

ykl 7y ago

Except Pixar, Sony, Weta, etc. are all Linux houses. MacOS has very little to no presence in the top-tier CG studios for actual CG work (we have a lot of MacBooks around for Keynote and video calls and whatnot though).

asperous 7y ago
Is that new since 2014? https://www.businessinsider.com/pixar-uses-apples-mac-pro-to-make-films-2014-1 https://www.businessinsider.com/pixar-uses-apples-mac-pro-to...
- thdrdt 7y ago
  The lanscape can change a lot in 6 years time. And Apple just lagged begind. For example, Nvidia came with super fast GPUs but it was almost impossible to upgrade your Mac Pro with them. So a lot of companies jumped to Windows. Also the software changed a lot. Nowadays Houdini is very big and 3DsMax and Maya are being replaced with Blender.
  - auggierose 7y ago
    Exactly. And in 6 more years they will be back with Apple.
    - thdrdt 7y ago
      Could be. But I think the lack of Nvidia support won't help Apple at the moment. But I think they have something with their 'cheap' reference monitor.
DonaldPShimoda 7y ago
Oh! I didn't realize that. Sorry, maybe my original comment wasn't clear, but I just meant that it's people in roles like those who would be using workstations such as the Mac Pro. I didn't mean to say that I had knowledge that those specific people actually used it. Apologies for any lack of clarity on my part there.
lliamander 7y ago
That's actually really fascinating. Is there anywhere one can find out the hardware/software specs used at such places?