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I think it’s a good time to invest in a Mac Pro. While working from home I’m asking myself the benefit of a laptop when a desktop could give me so much more per

I think it’s a good time to invest in a Mac Pro. While working from home I’m asking myself the benefit of a laptop when a desktop could give me so much more performance.

jeff_vader 6y ago
I just did that when the whole lockdown happened - built a myself a AMD 3970x workstation. It's so good I do not want to go back to work laptop in the office.
- ed25519FUUU 6y ago
  How are the thermals? I'm concerned about it making my small office hot.
  - hajimemash 6y ago
    Thermals have a subtle but huge effect on my room temp. My three devices of Macbook Pro, LG Ultrafine 5K and BenQ LED desklight together seem to add an extra 5-10 degrees to my small enclosed room temp. under load.
    - ed25519FUUU 6y ago
      I notice that my macbook pro stays "warm" when plugged into my screen, even if it's closed. I think it might have something to do with powering the USB or displayport connected devices. I now unplug my computer when I'm done, which is kind of annoying.
  - jeff_vader 6y ago
    Well.. It does have [TDP][1] of 280 watts. So if you ran it at full capacity all the time - it'd be roughly equivalent to 300 watts heater. But at that time you'd probably be more worried about the fan noise (which really depends on how you build it). Most of the time my machine is at very light load. Case exhaust is slightly warmer than ambient, but that's not a good metric. Unfortunately I do not have a power meter. I'd say heat is not a concern, but noise can be. It takes some time to figure out good fan curves to balance cpu temp vs noise. There may be some companies who do pre-built and well configured machines, but I haven't researched that at all. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power
coder543 6y ago
The other person who replied to you probably paid half or a third of what you would pay for an equivalent Mac Pro. The profit margins on the Mac Pro are just incredible. (Yes, I'm sure that equivalent professional workstation brands also have huge profit margins... no, that doesn't make me want to pay those lofty prices more.) The only real value the Mac Pro provides is that it's the most powerful computer you're allowed to run macOS on legitimately. If you can do your work from Windows (with WSL) or Linux, you can save upwards of tens of thousands of dollars by building your own workstation, and that workstation can be significantly more powerful than any current Mac Pro at the same time. For video professionals who rely on FCPX or similar macOS-only software, they don't really have a choice, and they get the opportunity to essentially pay $10k to $20k just for a license of macOS, which is fun.
- systemvoltage 6y ago
  I have a hackintosh (i7-8700k) and it feels about 2x faster than the top spec $4000 macbook pro latest 2019 model (subjective opinion ofcourse). It is such a huge difference, especially when using PyCharm and Adobe apps. It is pricey but if it is something you want to buy for 5 years, it is about $100/month cost. Some people might want to buy it.
- jeff_vader 6y ago
  "The other person who replied" here. While it definitely costs a lot less - you also need to factor in the time you spend on selecting components, building and tweaking thermals. It's almost a small side hobby for a month or two.

I think it’s a good time to invest in a Mac Pro. While working from home I’m asking myself the benefit of a laptop when a desktop could give me so much more performance.

jeff_vader 6y ago

I just did that when the whole lockdown happened - built a myself a AMD 3970x workstation. It's so good I do not want to go back to work laptop in the office.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago
How are the thermals? I'm concerned about it making my small office hot.
- hajimemash 6y ago
  Thermals have a subtle but huge effect on my room temp. My three devices of Macbook Pro, LG Ultrafine 5K and BenQ LED desklight together seem to add an extra 5-10 degrees to my small enclosed room temp. under load.
  - ed25519FUUU 6y ago
    I notice that my macbook pro stays "warm" when plugged into my screen, even if it's closed. I think it might have something to do with powering the USB or displayport connected devices. I now unplug my computer when I'm done, which is kind of annoying.
- jeff_vader 6y ago
  Well.. It does have [TDP][1] of 280 watts. So if you ran it at full capacity all the time - it'd be roughly equivalent to 300 watts heater. But at that time you'd probably be more worried about the fan noise (which really depends on how you build it). Most of the time my machine is at very light load. Case exhaust is slightly warmer than ambient, but that's not a good metric. Unfortunately I do not have a power meter. I'd say heat is not a concern, but noise can be. It takes some time to figure out good fan curves to balance cpu temp vs noise. There may be some companies who do pre-built and well configured machines, but I haven't researched that at all. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power

coder543 6y ago

The other person who replied to you probably paid half or a third of what you would pay for an equivalent Mac Pro. The profit margins on the Mac Pro are just incredible. (Yes, I'm sure that equivalent professional workstation brands also have huge profit margins... no, that doesn't make me want to pay those lofty prices more.) The only real value the Mac Pro provides is that it's the most powerful computer you're allowed to run macOS on legitimately. If you can do your work from Windows (with WSL) or Linux, you can save upwards of tens of thousands of dollars by building your own workstation, and that workstation can be significantly more powerful than any current Mac Pro at the same time. For video professionals who rely on FCPX or similar macOS-only software, they don't really have a choice, and they get the opportunity to essentially pay $10k to $20k just for a license of macOS, which is fun.

systemvoltage 6y ago
I have a hackintosh (i7-8700k) and it feels about 2x faster than the top spec $4000 macbook pro latest 2019 model (subjective opinion ofcourse). It is such a huge difference, especially when using PyCharm and Adobe apps. It is pricey but if it is something you want to buy for 5 years, it is about $100/month cost. Some people might want to buy it.
jeff_vader 6y ago
"The other person who replied" here. While it definitely costs a lot less - you also need to factor in the time you spend on selecting components, building and tweaking thermals. It's almost a small side hobby for a month or two.