MP All Models 5,1 vs 6,1 in 2022?

[theMarble]

Hi guys, I'm going to buy myself a cMP soon to replace my ageing and very-much dying 2015 MBP.

Question is whether I should go (Dual CPU) 4,1 / 5,1 or a 6,1. This will be for doing work in FCPX, After Effects and C4D. This is my pro/cons list of each and want some input on what I should go for. Another factor is that I use an Apple TB Display so I need Thunderbolt to use it. (No M1 is not an option for me)

5,1 - Pros:
- Easy and cost-effective upgrades with full PCIe slots
- 4 SATA bays
- No eGPU required
- Proper tower and better cooling
- Reliability and 24/7 uptime
- Cheaper to buy

5,1 - Cons:
- OS Upgrades are becoming harder by the day + Apple ditching Intel
- Older generation hardware (2010-11 CPU's, 1333MHz RAM, PCIe 2.0)
- Thunderbolt requires a Titan Ridge, which flashed are expensive (I don't want to flash one myself as I don't have the gear)
- Current GPU market is terrible and 5770's and other low-end GPU's like the GT 120 will be too slow

6,1 - Pros:
- Newer Ivy Bridge CPU's and faster RAM
- Faster GPU's by default (FirePro D500)
- PCIe SSD by standard
- OS updates will go on longer
- Native Thunderbolt!
- Size

6,1 - Cons:
- Thermal issues
- Possible GPU failure with D700 and D500??
- Harder CPU upgrades
- Most upgrades have to external (GPU, Storage)
- Price

I plan to keep whichever one for 4-5 years but will not be going to 6K-8K work so lifespan should be good.

 

[GlynH]

Well if you need Thunderbolt your decision is already made for you!

Unless of course you need reliable thermal management that is!

Not an easy choice unless you can prioritise one gotcha over another so looking at your own lists above I would say neither!

It seems to be learning towards the 6,1 but for more info see this thread Should I buy a Mac Pro 2013 if you haven’t already.

-=Glyn=-

 

[ozzinc12]

I’ve been going thru this same situation wondering should I go with a Newer Mac Pro M1 or Mac Mini M1 16gb, but after 2 months of deep research I decided to go with the Mac Pro 6.1 late 2013 12 core 64gb with a and FirePro D700 gpu, they actually did some test from Yellow Technology and the Mac Pro 6.1 did a decent job and it only had a 3.7 ghz 4 core processor 12gb of ram

and I have watched at least 50 videos and also called up Apples Creative designs Dept and there was no surprise when it came to doing multiple loads of heavy files the 6.1 Cylinder did a real good when upgrading it correctly with the proper hardware

 

[hwojtek]

6,1 - Cons:
- Thermal issues
- Possible GPU failure with D700 and D500??
- Harder CPU upgrades
- Most upgrades have to external (GPU, Storage)
- Price

You forgot to add to 6,1 cons:
- Apple ditching Intel
- mediocre GPUs available (off the shelf RX570 is 5.095 gflops and costs peanuts, a D700 is 3.482 gflops)

 

[amstel78]

Another thing to consider is the cost of second-hand Macs today. A fully loaded cMP5,1 in excellent condition can still fetch north of $1500 USD or higher on the used market. That said, the cMP5,1 can run Mojave natively, as well as Big Sur and newer via OpenCore. I have the latest release of Big Sur running on my Mac Pro without issue. The cMP6,1 while somewhat faster due to processors and memory architecture, are absolute crap in terms of expansion.

Since you'll be using the computer for NLE work, neither the 5,1 or 6,1 are shining examples when compared to modern architecture. You'll be hamstrung by throughput bottlenecks with either machine (video higher than 1080p) unless you're using an NVME drive for video storage. Even then, there's so much the PCI bus can handle on these old computers that h.265 4k editing is an exercise in frustration. With h.264, you might as well go make a sandwich, followed by an oven-roasted turkey. The same goes for the 6,1, albeit not as bad.

Upgrading video cards to take full advantage of acceleration algorithms in modern NLE applications can be helpful, but the 5,1 can't handle the power requirements of many modern or semi-modern GPUs without modifying the power supply (pixlas mod).

My suggestion? Unless you're a die-hard Mac person, your money is better spent elsewhere. Perhaps an M1 Mac or even a modern PC would be better. If you have money to burn, then the newest 7,1 Mac Pros would be ideal, but I know you don't have that kind of cash. If you did, you wouldn't be asking these questions. (No insult intended... I can't afford a 7,1 either).

Before you dismiss what I'm saying, look at the cMP5,1 specs in my signature. I used to do a lot of 4k editing on that machine before I threw in the towel and moved over to a Windows workstation.

 

[hwojtek]

An M1 Macbook Pro with any external HDMI display would be machine of choice for NLE.