Mid 2010 Mac Pro vs Late 2013 Mac Pro

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Level 1

5 points

Mid 2010 Mac Pro vs Late 2013 Mac Pro

Hi folks,

I am currently running an late 2009 8-core MacPro and an late 2013 quad-core iMac. I mainly use After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Cinema 4D for TV and internet motion graphics. While 3D (espescially with v-ray) is getting more relevant in my daily work I would like to upgrade my Mac Pro to a faster system.

The Cinema 4D community can measure the render speed of a system with a tool called Cinebench. Today I compared the specs of these two:

12-core Mid 2010 2,93 GHz MacPro with two X5670 processors and the new

12-core Late 2013 2,7 GHz MacPro with E5-2697v2 processor.

The 2010 one has a cinebench score of 1400 and the 2013 MacPro has 1600. So they seem to be very close.

Are there any reasons to spend 2-3000 Euros more for the new Mac Pro when Thunderbolt is not that important and the speed of an GeForce GTX 680 is enough compared to the FirePro cards????

Thanks for your input....

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Mar 22, 2014 8:59 AM

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Answer 1

Studio K

Level 2

359 points

Mar 22, 2014 9:46 AM in response to indigoblue69

indigoblue69 wrote:

Hi folks,

I am currently running an late 2009 8-core MacPro

I can't say which system would be optimal for your work. But, should you decide that the 2010/2012 mac pro with x5670 Cpus is enough, then you would have the option of simply adding those 2 CPUs to your 2009 Mac Pro. No need to buy another machine.

All that's needed is a firmware flash (simple and free) and the 2 X5670 CPUs. And your 2009 is essentially a 2010 mac pro.

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Answer 2

indigoblue69 Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 22, 2014 9:59 AM in response to indigoblue69

Hi Studio K,

thanks for that, it is quite interesting. I have heard about the possibility to upgrade CPUs on MacPros, but I did not know that is possible to change an 8-core machine to a 12-core machine??? Do I have to swap the mainboard too? Or are the sockets the same for the old Nethalem Xenon and the newer Wesmare one???

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Answer 3

Mar 22, 2014 10:17 AM in response to indigoblue69

User Tip: Creating a lean, fast Boot Drive

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Answer 4

indigoblue69 Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 22, 2014 10:28 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for this tipp, but I am quite sure that a fast boot drive will not speed up render times...😀

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Answer 5

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 22, 2014 10:32 AM in response to indigoblue69

you can upgrade firmware to 5,1, use a pair of 5690 or 5680 cpus. You aren't stuck with 5670 2.93's and if you are going to go for, may as well aim higher

A pity that so many went with slower processors like 2.26 8-core, or 2.4.

with effort you can support a pair of AMD 7xxx's that FCP-X 10.1+ will like, or stay with the GTX 680.

The Late 2013, the current nMP Black Cylinder would of course cost the "arm and leg" for 12-core which not many apps appreciate, then the cost of D700 AMDs, and the cost of both 1TB SSD plus Thunderbolt2 - you do need to support your external storage arrays.

I'd even say wait for 2nd generation of the 6,1 and for better support and drivers and more apps to be optimized.

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Answer 6

Studio K

Level 2

359 points

Mar 22, 2014 10:54 AM in response to indigoblue69

indigoblue69 wrote:

Do I have to swap the mainboard too? Or are the sockets the same for the old Nethalem Xenon and the newer Wesmare one???

You DO NOT have to swap the logic board. The 2009 and 2010 Mac Pros use the same hardware (main board included).

The 2010 simply has a modified boot rom firmware that accomodates the Westmere 6-core CPUs and faster ram.

The only thing preventing you from using those Westmeres in your 2009 is firmware. Not hardware.

It should be mentioned that swapping CPUs in a 2009 dual-socket Mac Pro is trickier than the single. Apple used CPUs without the lids (Integrated heat spreaders). Your replacement CPUs will have the lids creating a differenc in height when attaching the heat sinks.

You'll need new thermal padding and you will need to be very careful when tightening the bolts. Many use washers to prevent over-tightening, though some suggest it is not necessary.

There are guides online for this procedure. A bit more of a sweat than the single-socket version where CPU is a simple drop-in replacement.

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Answer 7

Mar 22, 2014 11:17 AM in response to indigoblue69

You are quite right that as long as your Mac is completely CPU-bound, a fast Boot drive will not speed up render times.

Many Mac Pros are I/O bound. Contention for the Boot drive, the Source Drive, or the Destination drive while rendering can slow down your Mac.

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Answer 8

indigoblue69 Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 22, 2014 11:20 AM in response to indigoblue69

Okay, that is totally new for me.

I just looked up the prices for the X5690. It is around 1.500 Euro here in Germany.

So for the price of approx. Euro 3.000,- I could more than double my render speed.

Coming from an 2.26 E5520 going to an 3,4 X5690. That sounds really good!!!!

I will have to read instructions carefully befor I decide to go that way, because I have build up successfully several Windows machines from scratch in the past, but never swapped a CPU.

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Answer 9

Studio K

Level 2

359 points

Mar 22, 2014 11:37 AM in response to indigoblue69

indigoblue69 wrote:

I will have to read instructions carefully befor I decide to go that way, because I have build up successfully several Windows machines from scratch in the past, but never swapped a CPU.

HERE is one tutorial on the CPU swap.

http://pindelski.org/Photography/2013/07/08/mac-pro-2009-part-tbd/

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Answer 10

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 22, 2014 11:57 AM in response to Studio K

Also an excellent motherload thread on Macrumors Mac Oro on cou uograde for 4,1 with everything needed to know. on tablet so cooy and oaste isn't working but it is a long thorough thread!

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