Can I connect two MacPros to increase processing power?

I've got two MacPros now (a 1,1 and a 3,1) and am wondering if I can combine them so that I get more processing power for rendering video/motion graphics. The 3,1 has a 1Gb ATI Radeon HD 4870 GPU (PC version I flashed and works flawlessly) and the 1,1 has the old 3,1's GPU ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 Mb. I've also got a Radion 521MB MP upgrade card (not certain about the exact model as it's not installed and doesn't say on the card, though it does work in both machines).


If I can combine them, how much would it help and how would I do it (ethernet cable?)?

Thanks

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3), 3,1 2.8 GHz 1Gb Radeon HD 4870

Posted on Mar 11, 2012 1:11 AM

Reply
6 replies

Aug 20, 2016 1:07 PM in response to Lars Hansen

It's not possible to native we connect the Macs. However, some video editing software like Final Cut Pro have a feature called cluster rendering where you can install a simple child script on the other machines and it will utilize their processing power through the network to render your video. I think there might some applications that do it for bigger web design projects as well.

Oct 18, 2016 8:54 AM in response to Lars Hansen

I'm four years too late replying to this post, but even at the time this question was asked, it had actually been answered six years previous to when it was posted.


In short; the reply that was initially provided is completely wrong, and it's very much possible. Granted, it's more or less beneficial depending on what you want to do. There are a number of articles online you can find just by googling.


Like every automated task /job /project - it takes time and effort to set up. The steps necessary may seem daunting, but again, I think it depends on what you want to do and how important it may be to you. Once set up and completed, though, I think it could be worth it. Here is an article that specifically addresses your question:


From the article: "Apple surprised almost everyone with the introduction of Nodes and distributed processing with Logic v7."

http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/networking-macs-using-nodes-logic

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Can I connect two MacPros to increase processing power?

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