MP All Models Buy cheap 7,1 or Studio

[SDAVE]

If you need all the PCIe slots, wait for the M3 MAX version of the Mac Pro.

I honestly don't think the 7,1 is a good deal at all, unless you invested into it years ago. It's one of my favorite machines I've ever owned, but even my maxed out M1 Max MBP feels faster most of the time (see my 7,1 specs in my signature). I am a desktop + laptop guy and will always have both, so when the time is right I will definitely switch over from the 7,1 to whatever Apple has to offer at the time that fits my needs. For now, I got the 7,1 at a great deal 2-3 years ago and it's working great for me and the 6900XT is still a beast and I can play some vidya games in Win11 (rare occasion). Otherwise I am mostly in macOS doing actual work that pays the bills.

 

[basslik]

If you need all the PCIe slots, wait for the M3 MAX version of the Mac Pro.

I honestly don't think the 7,1 is a good deal at all, unless you invested into it years ago. It's one of my favorite machines I've ever owned, but even my maxed out M1 Max MBP feels faster most of the time (see my 7,1 specs in my signature). I am a desktop + laptop guy and will always have both, so when the time is right I will definitely switch over from the 7,1 to whatever Apple has to offer at the time that fits my needs. For now, I got the 7,1 at a great deal 2-3 years ago and it's working great for me and the 6900XT is still a beast and I can play some vidya games in Win11 (rare occasion). Otherwise I am mostly in macOS doing actual work that pays the bills.

Yup, that is key, is to pay the bills. As long as it gets the work done that's all you need.

People will be shocked on gearpage how many hit producer / recording engineers are still tracking hit records on the 5,1. even still using PTHD10. Simply a rock solid combo.

They have money to buy the latest and greatest, but there is something about (ROCK SOLID) when it come to bread & butter.

I'm looking forward to snagging a M3 next year though. Won't be tracking with it, but mixing. My 5,1 will do the solid 24bit, 48kz at 18 tracks at once with an amazing 32buffer latency.

 

[MrScratchHook]

Get a 7,1 if you need pcie slots. A mac pro 14.8 will cost you to remortgage your house for the money. if you like the enclosed box that needs a technician fix then studio is the way...i tell you i have 2 mac pro's 5,1, RX 580, dual 3.46, 160ram with uad2 pcie and a couple of 2tb nvme and i couldn't be happier. i run mojave/monterey/sonoma...no hiccups

 

[basslik]

Bingo😆

My buddy, double platinum grammy nominee. Nominated for a Jamie Foxx mix.

He's still rolling on a 3,1 PCI slot.

MrScratchHook. I got to install Sonoma I my other mac Pro. ​

 

[BeatCrazy]

At some price point, when does the 7,1 just become an interesting curio for the price? It's so amazing from an industrial design, and will still have functionality for years to come. Even if it's only a secondary machine, or something for a non-heavy user/family member, at what price is it interesting to have due to unique/differentiated industrial design.

Certainly at $500, anyone reading this thread wouldn't resist, right? $1,000 USD?

 

[avro707]

You won’t find a 7,1 at $500.

It’s still a great machine, throw some modern 4090s in it (or other latest GPUs) and run Windows 11 Pro for workstations on it. Upgrade the ram to 512GB as well, get a Sonnet card with some fast NVME storage and you have a very fast machine.

I find W11 Pro for Workstations more reliable than MacOS Sonoma as well.

 

[impulse462]

If you need a) other GPUs b) as said earlier, loading giant datasets into system memory c) expandable fast storage get 7,1. if not mac studio is better option at this point imo

 

[SDAVE]

You won’t find a 7,1 at $500.

It’s still a great machine, throw some modern 4090s in it (or other latest GPUs) and run Windows 11 Pro for workstations on it. Upgrade the ram to 512GB as well, get a Sonnet card with some fast NVME storage and you have a very fast machine.

I find W11 Pro for Workstations more reliable than MacOS Sonoma as well.

You can build a better machine for whatever you're going to pay for a used 7,1 if your end game is Windows.

It's a 5 year old device at this point. Any modern AMD/Intel CPU (even non workstation level) will annihilate it especially single core performance. And you get faster memory and faster PCIe slots.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

You can build a better machine for whatever you're going to pay for a used 7,1 if your end game is Windows.

It's a 5 year old device at this point. Any modern AMD/Intel CPU (even non workstation level) will annihilate it especially single core performance. And you get faster memory and faster PCIe slots.

Agreed. It's the flexibility to boot to macOS on the occasions you need that.

What is sad is we often debate how many more revisions of the OS apple will support. There is a chance they won't update the 7,1 beyond Sonoma, or I think at most, one more update. But the sad thing is I don't even care. They've left the platform in such disarray that I just dont care anymore.

Right now im desperately trying to find a workable bootable 30tb SSD that will work on the 7,1 and maybe the M3 Mac Pro but nothing works. If I dont find something that works, it may be the final nudge to abandon ship. It's pathetic that you can't get such basic stuff to work on the Mac. They've gimped it into a glorified iPhone more and more with each revision, and that is NOT a good thing.

 

[Regulus67]

At some price point, when does the 7,1 just become an interesting curio for the price?

I assume that will be depending very much on the person considering it. And at what level upgraded parts.

A base model would be pretty useless if one needs better graphic cards, as they are hard to find for MacOS.
And the Xeon 28-core is also extremely rare, when sold separately.
It is easier to find a Mac Pro with the specs already upgraded to your needs/wish

 

[impulse462]

Agreed. It's the flexibility to boot to macOS on the occasions you need that.

What is sad is we often debate how many more revisions of the OS apple will support. There is a chance they won't update the 7,1 beyond Sonoma, or I think at most, one more update. But the sad thing is I don't even care. They've left the platform in such disarray that I just dont care anymore.

Right now im desperately trying to find a workable bootable 30tb SSD that will work on the 7,1 and maybe the M3 Mac Pro but nothing works. If I dont find something that works, it may be the final nudge to abandon ship. It's pathetic that you can't get such basic stuff to work on the Mac. They've gimped it into a glorified iPhone more and more with each revision, and that is NOT a good thing.

Yeah its fun to argue about it but then it just wears down on you when you realize you need to do something real and you just use the computer you need.

At this point my 7,1 is just a linux box and linux support has gotten better on the hardware (since most of it is off the shelf) so that way mine will keep up for a while. i won't look to upgrade any parts though, if i ever need a new workstation ill probably build my own at this point unless apple has some really compelling hardware for ML research which tbh could be possible but still tbd atm

 

[BeatCrazy]

I assume that will be depending very much on the person considering it. And at what level upgraded parts.

A base model would be pretty useless if one needs better graphic cards, as they are hard to find for MacOS.
And the Xeon 28-core is also extremely rare, when sold separately.
It is easier to find a Mac Pro with the specs already upgraded to your needs/wish

Feels like there's a glut of inexpensive GPUs on the second-hand market that will work with a 7,1. You're welcome to correct me. But the GPU has got to be the least of your worries.

 

[Regulus67]

Feels like there's a glut of inexpensive GPUs on the second-hand market that will work with a 7,1. You're welcome to correct me. But the GPU has got to be the least of your worries.

Most cards do not fit, because of the cooler size.
The Mac Pro 2019 can only accomendate GPUs that are no longer than 305mm or 12 inches in length.

Compare that to the list of the RX 6800 XT cards. The list is in the last part of the page

 

[flowrider]

^^^^But some do👍🏻 The Gigabyte Model shown in the link you provided fits, I have it in my NcMP 7,1. The reference cards all fit. And yes, some don't fit, like the Gigabyte Aorus.

A bigger problem, IMO is that Apple is no longer writing drivers for later GPUs👎🏼

Lou

 

[BeatCrazy]

Most cards do not fit, because of the cooler size.
The Mac Pro 2019 can only accomendate GPUs that are no longer than 305mm or 12 inches in length.

Compare that to the list of the RX 6800 XT cards

Understood. But we're still talking about a dozen(!) different model AMD cards that could work, none of which are particularly expensive or difficult to source.

 

[SDAVE]

Agreed. It's the flexibility to boot to macOS on the occasions you need that.

What is sad is we often debate how many more revisions of the OS apple will support. There is a chance they won't update the 7,1 beyond Sonoma, or I think at most, one more update. But the sad thing is I don't even care. They've left the platform in such disarray that I just dont care anymore.

Right now im desperately trying to find a workable bootable 30tb SSD that will work on the 7,1 and maybe the M3 Mac Pro but nothing works. If I dont find something that works, it may be the final nudge to abandon ship. It's pathetic that you can't get such basic stuff to work on the Mac. They've gimped it into a glorified iPhone more and more with each revision, and that is NOT a good thing.

Idk I'm a Graphic Designer by trade, although I do mixed media stuff, I just cannot live without macOS. Been on this platform for 25+ years and I can't move away from it, I'd rather quit my career haha

We've been saying horrible things about Apple for years regarding how they treat their professionals, but right now is better than it was in 2013-2018. Trust me, those years were painful. I had to actually go the Hackintosh route and built out this decked out machine and spent a ton of money, but lost hundreds of hours "tweaking" and making it work with OpenCore or whatever the hell else was before that.

Once the 2019 came out, I quickly sold that off and bought it in 2021 (used, from a sound engineer, it was a great deal I got it for). Love this machine, I won't be sad that it won't be supported after Sonoma (I still think this years macOS will still be supported) I will just figure out what else I can do. I am not a Mac Studio kind of guy. I like full tower + laptop (Already have a maxed out M1 Max, love that thing). Just the 7,1 is in the air for me, regarding macOS support. I am mainly in the Adobe suite and a bunch of plugins for AfterEffects and Photoshop, so if Adobe stops supporting it as well, it's going to force me to go M series on the desktop side.

Honestly these are tools for me, I don't want to waste time "tweaking" hardware here and there or software. I'd rather spend time with my loved ones (when I have extra time)

So for me I am going to build an SFFPC soon with a 4090/5090 and throw it under my desk for late night gaming once in a blue moon and then get a M4 Mac Pro or something, idk. But that's a year or two out so we'll see.

 

[Darren.h]

M3 Max Studio 1 TB 64GB memory.

Pretty sure Sonoma will be the last macOS for Intel CPU's.

 

[Raphaël10]

The 7,1 Mac pro is a lot more upgradable than the M3 studio, and more powerful, i think, when you put it in maximum config... (you can change processors and ram yourself!)

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Idk I'm a Graphic Designer by trade, although I do mixed media stuff, I just cannot live without macOS. Been on this platform for 25+ years and I can't move away from it, I'd rather quit my career haha

We've been saying horrible things about Apple for years regarding how they treat their professionals, but right now is better than it was in 2013-2018. Trust me, those years were painful. I had to actually go the Hackintosh route and built out this decked out machine and spent a ton of money, but lost hundreds of hours "tweaking" and making it work with OpenCore or whatever the hell else was before that.

Once the 2019 came out, I quickly sold that off and bought it in 2021 (used, from a sound engineer, it was a great deal I got it for). Love this machine, I won't be sad that it won't be supported after Sonoma (I still think this years macOS will still be supported) I will just figure out what else I can do. I am not a Mac Studio kind of guy. I like full tower + laptop (Already have a maxed out M1 Max, love that thing). Just the 7,1 is in the air for me, regarding macOS support. I am mainly in the Adobe suite and a bunch of plugins for AfterEffects and Photoshop, so if Adobe stops supporting it as well, it's going to force me to go M series on the desktop side.

Honestly these are tools for me, I don't want to waste time "tweaking" hardware here and there or software. I'd rather spend time with my loved ones (when I have extra time)

So for me I am going to build an SFFPC soon with a 4090/5090 and throw it under my desk for late night gaming once in a blue moon and then get a M4 Mac Pro or something, idk. But that's a year or two out so we'll see.

Sorry, I don’t mean to demon or minimize how tough a move away could be. I loathe the thought of being forced out of Apple, and it seems to me for my use that is becoming more and more likely, and it is painful. The platform has been my “home” for multiple decades. It is highly personal and not pleasant (to say the least) being forced off.

I’m hoping against hope I won’t have to. But as I look around this forum, many many professionals that used to hang around here have left, and I have to realistically consider, similarly, doing so, despite not wanting to. It will be different for everyone, and some may find a way to make it work. I hope I’m one of them, but the realist in me is seeing the odds growing in that I may need to go elsewhere where pros are more welcome…I dearly hope that won’t be necessary.

 

[basslik]

Pro Audio recording here on Pro Tools. Many hit records are still being tracked on PT10HD, on a 5,1

They got it right back then.

 

[SDAVE]

Sorry, I don’t mean to demon or minimize how tough a move away could be. I loathe the thought of being forced out of Apple, and it seems to me for my use that is becoming more and more likely, and it is painful. The platform has been my “home” for multiple decades. It is highly personal and not pleasant (to say the least) being forced off.

I’m hoping against hope I won’t have to. But as I look around this forum, many many professionals that used to hang around here have left, and I have to realistically consider, similarly, doing so, despite not wanting to. It will be different for everyone, and some may find a way to make it work. I hope I’m one of them, but the realist in me is seeing the odds growing in that I may need to go elsewhere where pros are more welcome…I dearly hope that won’t be necessary.

Hopefully they do something in the next year or two with the Mac Pro that will entice you all over again. I know some of my friends have moved on from a Mac due to the lack of care from Apple, but I personally can't leave.

 

[H2SO4]

Idk I'm a Graphic Designer by trade, although I do mixed media stuff, I just cannot live without macOS. Been on this platform for 25+ years and I can't move away from it, I'd rather quit my career haha

We've been saying horrible things about Apple for years regarding how they treat their professionals, but right now is better than it was in 2013-2018. Trust me, those years were painful. I had to actually go the Hackintosh route and built out this decked out machine and spent a ton of money, but lost hundreds of hours "tweaking" and making it work with OpenCore or whatever the hell else was before that.

Once the 2019 came out, I quickly sold that off and bought it in 2021 (used, from a sound engineer, it was a great deal I got it for). Love this machine, I won't be sad that it won't be supported after Sonoma (I still think this years macOS will still be supported) I will just figure out what else I can do. I am not a Mac Studio kind of guy. I like full tower + laptop (Already have a maxed out M1 Max, love that thing). Just the 7,1 is in the air for me, regarding macOS support. I am mainly in the Adobe suite and a bunch of plugins for AfterEffects and Photoshop, so if Adobe stops supporting it as well, it's going to force me to go M series on the desktop side.

Honestly these are tools for me, I don't want to waste time "tweaking" hardware here and there or software. I'd rather spend time with my loved ones (when I have extra time)

So for me I am going to build an SFFPC soon with a 4090/5090 and throw it under my desk for late night gaming once in a blue moon and then get a M4 Mac Pro or something, idk. But that's a year or two out so we'll see.

Is there anything to do with your graphic design that Windows could not do?

 

[H2SO4]

Hopefully they do something in the next year or two with the Mac Pro that will entice you all over again. I know some of my friends have moved on from a Mac due to the lack of care from Apple, but I personally can't leave.

If the new Apple eco system meant that you could NOT use some of the hardware that you currently use, what would you do?
I have a MacBook Pro, (AS), and have to keep my MacBook Pro around, (Wintel), as the M2 will NOT talk to a lot of hardware in the industrial space.
Even big companies like Moxa take time to update drivers for their products.

 

[avro707]

Personally when the 7,1 is no longer viable I'm replacing it with a Lenovo workstation. Apple will be for the throwaway mobile devices like iPhone, the things that are cheap enough that you don't care if you need to replace them in a year or so.

All the software I use comes in windows versions so it's not a problem.

I might reconsider if an M series machine allowed windows to run natively and I could run a powerful discreet GPU (or two) for the things that work better with those. But this is already possible with PC workstations which don't have upgrade limits. Dual Xeons, four GPUs (if you need that many), massive amounts of storage and ram.

 

[MarkC426]

All the software I use comes in windows versions so it's not a problem.

On this note....this is why I jumped to the Mac side 20+ years ago, because all my software was Win/Mac.
So I thought let's give the Mac a go (as windows was irritating me), and have never looked back....