Configure Your 2019 Apple Mac Pro Model 7,1 (Concept)

Intel currently produces two types of Xeon processor - the W series and the Scalable series. The W series can be used only in single processor configuration. Apple currently uses these for the iMac Pro. The Scalable series (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) can be used in single or dual processor configuration. If the Mac Pro will have one processor slot, the W series will likely be used. If the Mac Pro will have two processor slots, the Scalable series will be used. Given the direction Apple has been going (making everything more compact), I assume the Mac Pro 7,1 will have a single Xeon W series processor since they already use it in the iMac Pro. It will be easier for them since they already have the processor sockets and sourcing from Intel. In the unlikely chance the Mac Pro will have a dual processor option using the Scalable processors, the Mac Pro will be a monster - the chassis will be large, supporting up to 56 processor cores, three GPU, and 3TB memory...and it will come with a hefty (and scary) pricetag. If it will be the single processor with the W series processor, the configurations will be comparable to the HP Z4 G4 Workstation. If it will be dual processor with the Scalable processors, the configurations will be comparable to the HP Z8 G4 Workstation. We use the HP Z Workstations as references because they are popular Windows and Linux based workstations. See configuration tools for the Z4 and Z8; our sister company.

Currently, Intel produces the Xeon Skylake-EP processors. In early 2019, Intel plans to announce the next generation Cascade Lake-X processors. We assume the processor sockets will be the same, but small performance enhancements to the processors. Apple will likely use these next generation of Xeon processors.

The Cascade Lake-X processors will each have 6 memory channels, thus the Mac Pro will have either 6 or 12 memory slots. We assume the Mac Pro will come with 6 memory slots, one per memory channel. It's best to occupy as many memory channels as possible for optimal performance. Rather than selecting 2 or 4 modules, we recommend selecting 3 or 6 modules. The processors support 2666MHz ECC memory. We install only matching sets of Hynix, Micron, or Samsung memory, the most reputable manufacturers which Apple uses as well. DDR4 2666MHz goes up to 128GB per module, so the maximum supported per processor will be 768GB (6x 128GB).

M.2 NVMe solid-state drives using the PCIe 3.0 controller are the latest and fastest technology. These are currently used in the latest Macbook Pro's and iMac Pro. They perform at about 2500MB/s while a SATA3 solid-state drive performs at 500MB/s. We assume the Mac Pro will have two proprietary Apple NVMe slots identical to the iMac Pro. The iMac Pro comes with two NVMe slots onboard with two drives in RAID 0 configuration by default. The RAID 0 offers increased drive speed, but if one of the two drives go bad, all the data is lost. Another option is to have two inpendent drives, which we prefer. The primary drive to be utilized for the operating system and applications. The secondary drive as a working drive for editing purposes - footage, projects, or sessions. Having a dedicated drive for editing provides optimal performance. When the Mac Pro is released, we will be offering two drives in RAID 0 configuration like the iMac Pro or the two drives partitioned separately.

The M.2 NVMe drives currently in the market are the Samsung 970 Pro, but Apple contracts Samsung to make the identical drive in a proprietary shape so consumers do not upgrade on their own. The drives in the Macbook Pro and iMac Pro are the proprietary Apple form of the Samsung SM961, which is the OEM model of the Samsung 960 Pro.

Select an optional second NVMe drive. The drive must be the same as the other NVMe if it will be in RAID configuration. If the drive will be independent, we recommended it to be utilized as an editing drive.

RAID only supported if same drive is selected on both slot 1 and 2.

We recommend hard drives solely for drive storage. If you require lots of TB of backup or storage, the hard drives are more cost effective. If you want to eliminate spinning drives, the solid-state drives can be used as fast storage drives. Upon request, two identical drives can be in RAID for performance or redundancy. See the 'Partitions' section below.

Select an optional second drive. If you plan to frequently pull data from the drive, we recommend a solid-state drive. If it will be utilized more for storage, a hard drive is a better option.

RAID only supported if same drive is selected in bay slot 1 and 2.

We assume the Mac Pro will support one, but ideally two PCIe 3.0 x16 full-length double-width graphics cards. If you are using Final Cut Pro, we recommend sticking with the ATI Radeon Pro series graphics cards. If you are primary working on Adobe applications, we recommend a single NVIDIA GTX or RTX graphics card since they take advantage of CUDA cores. If you edit on Divinci Resolve, we recommend dual NVIDIA graphics cards since it scales well with multiple cards. For audio production, the default graphics card (supporting four displays) is fine. Our NVIDIA graphics cards function exactly like a genuine Apple graphics card showing the boot and option screens. If an NVIDIA graphics card is selected, we preinstall the NVIDIA driver which is required for the card to perform properly.

Choose an optional second graphics card if your editing application takes advantage of multiple graphics cards. Note that some applications may take advantage of a second graphics card, but you may only notice a minimal performance gain with the second card, thus it may not be cost effective. Please research forums regarding your application or ask us to see if it will be beneficial to add a second graphics card.

The Mac Pro comes standard with 10x Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C ports and 2x 10GBe Ethernet ports.

The Mac Pro comes standard with 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking and Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology.

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