After seven months of working with the new Apple Mac Pro, Axel shares some thoughts about his new workstation.
KEY FEATURES: – 3,5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5
– 16GB Ram 1867 MHz DDR3
– 512 GB SSD
– Price: $3,899.00
1. Briefly describe the product. What does it do?
Well, everyone needs a computer. My old MacPro was a first gen MacPro dual 2,6Ghz intel computer, which after 7 years definitely did pay out pretty well. By now, it was getting a bit slow and unstable due to motherboard issues.
I decided to buy the smallest MacPro model because I don’t need higher graphic card performance. I simply upgraded the internal SSD to 512GB for my system and apps only, RAM to 16GB and the CPU to 6 core 3,5GHz.
2. To what extent has the new Apple Mac Pro improved your way of working?
Of course a modern, up to date model is way faster than an older computer. So right now, working natively, I don’t get any CPU overloads and I don’t get limited in my creativity because the computer has so much power.
3. What are the pros?
The quality is definitely outstanding. There is a bunch of connections which is sufficient for my needs. As all of you know, we can’t come around a USB hub for all those copy protection dongles, but that is nothing new or unexpected. All those adapters for displays from thunderbolt or HDMI to DVI are a bit unhandy. But once installed I forgot pretty quickly about it.
I was thinking of getting a silent rack for my old computer. No need for that any more – the MacPro is so silent, my Genelec speaker have more noise floor than what the computer’s fan produces under heavy load. So that is definitely one of the most positively surprising features – it lets me record stuff in the same room where the computer is running without causing any unpleasing noise. That is speeding up my workflow a lot and it also helps me to identify low noise in recordings, even without using headphones.
4. What are the cons?
Delivering a Pro computer without mouse and keyboard is a bit odd. I think the reason is that the packaging would be much bigger just because of a keyboard, so the computer would become more expensive simply because of logistics. If that’s the reason, I can live with it. But keep in mind that there is need for a new keyboard and mouse – or the use of old ones. And of course you also need a bunch of external drives because there is no longer the possibility to install any hard discs internally. I can live with that, too – for some others it might be a downer. But when using Thunderbolt 2, the connection is super stable and fast.
One issue that I think is definitely a construction mistake is that the power knob is on the back of the computer. So you will have to reach around the computer, try finding the power knob while inevitably leaving greasy fingerprints on the nice finish… That’s one thing that disturbs me every morning when I start the computer. In my opinion it just absolutely makes no sense to place the button there. I hope the following generations of the Mac Pro will have the power knob at the front or at least at the side of the computer.
5. What is the Killer-Feature? What do you like in particular?
The killer feature is definitely the close to non-existing noise floor this beast produces – or rather does not produce. SSDs don’t produce any mechanical reading noise at all and the fans seem to work as intended or even better.
6. Compared with similar products from other manufacturers. What is better / worse?
It is an eye-catcher but other than that: fire and forget 🙂
7. The new Apple Mac Pro is best suited for whom / which area of application?
It is definitely a Pro computer, not only due to power and reliability, but also in terms of pricing. So I think it’s the perfect tool for everyone needing high performance computers and also making a living with that. For all others, I’d say a less expensive solution will suffice.
8. How is the price / performance ratio?
As far as I’m concerned: definitely pretty good. The other possibility would be to go down the “silent rack” path which would be another 600,- € at least.
9. Your conclusion to the sound designers / BOOM blog readers out there?
The new MacPro is definitely suiting my workflow. It helps me to work more relaxed, without thinking of the technical or software side at all. I think everyone should evaluate individually if this computer suits his workflow, with its external drives, adapters, housing, etc.
I placed the computer on a little table next to my desk. The reason for this is that the inlet of the air circulation is on the bottom of the device and I am afraid it might suck all the dirt and dust from the floor into the computer if placed on the ground. For acoustical reasons, I can’t put it onto the desk – which however might be an alternative for other users because the MacPro is really very small.
10. How many points do you give the product (0-10) ?
10/10 – definitely the most satisfying computer purchase I did so far. This may be because my former computer was so old, I don’t know. 😉 But it’s a really cool machine.
Apple Mac Pro Website: http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/
