Upgrade from MacPro 2013 to Mac Pro 2019 is it worth it?

[MARVINBASS]

I haven't been on this site for a long time so forgive me. I've been thinking of buying a used MacPro 2019. The prices are pretty reasonable now. I have a MacPro 2013 with a 1 slot Avid Expansion Chassis for the HDX card. It would be nice to have the PCI slots again like the CheeseGraters. Question do you think it's worth the change over and is there a performance boost?? I know it's still a Intel chip.

Cheers

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by MARVINBASS

I haven't been on this site for a long time so forgive me. I've been thinking of buying a used MacPro 2019. The prices are pretty reasonable now. I have a MacPro 2013 with a 1 slot Avid Expansion Chassis for the HDX card. It would be nice to have the PCI slots again like the CheeseGraters. Question do you think it's worth the change over and is there a performance boost?? I know it's still a Intel chip.

Cheers

I still have a 2019 Mac Pro 16 core, 256GB RAM.
My main machine is an M1 Ultra Studio which absolutely destroys the Mac Pro.

Look at the prices of a Mac Pro vs a used Mac Studio M1 Ultra in your area.
I would tend to think you get more bang for the buck with an M1 Ultra.

If all you need is a decently fast computer though, sure the 2019 Mac Pro is still in use in loads of studios and is now a much more reasonable buy that it was.

Also the M3 MBP is approx 25% faster than the M1 Ultra.
So there is that too.

I would imagine the M3 Ultra Studios will be coming some time this year.
They will be insanely fast.

[pm mastering studio]

I upgraded from MacPro 2013 to MacPro M2 ultra.
IT'S VERRY FAST !

that's it. I even bough a Mac Studio M2 ultra for home !

[its2loud]

Originally Posted by MARVINBASS

I haven't been on this site for a long time so forgive me. I've been thinking of buying a used MacPro 2019. The prices are pretty reasonable now. I have a MacPro 2013 with a 1 slot Avid Expansion Chassis for the HDX card. It would be nice to have the PCI slots again like the CheeseGraters. Question do you think it's worth the change over and is there a performance boost?? I know it's still a Intel chip.

Cheers

Like other have said and IMHO, it would be a complete waste of money to invest in an Intel Mac at this point. You're not investing in the future if you do. I have an M2 Studio Max and is leaves any Mac Pro I've used in the dust. Pro tools will only be getting more efficient on the Mac Silicon machines.

[LDS]

It depends on the specs of the specific 2019 model, but they are generally a pretty substantial step up in performance. Similar to the 2013, they also have the added benefit of user upgradeable memory and CPU. I probably wouldn't be reaching for a W-3275M at the current prices, but they are only going to get cheaper with time.

Obviously there are caveats with Intel machines and their longevity in terms of OS updates and software support, but plenty of high end facilities will be riding them into the wind for quite a few years to come. The fanciest room I get to work in is still running Pro Tools 2020.something, and nobody bats an eyelid at it.

[SDDP]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a 2012 12core with an upgraded CPU to 3.46Ghz/96g ram with a RX580 8gb ram that I used for 10 years, needed way faster speeds and CPU for bigger mixes and for rendering/freezing/committing tracks etc. and I knew there would be a new MacPro Desktop that was still modular (it was only rumors at the time) and figured after 10 years of advancement in technology, the new 2019 16core would have been light years ahead. ESPECIALLY with the mind blowing 10K price tag. I read and inquired about getting it and was told by a handful TO WAIT. But at the time for some projects that needed faster turn around times. I went ahead and bought the 2019 16 core with 96g ram.


It was NOT what I thought it would be. Of course, it is faster and more powerful in its own right especially with 9 PCIE slots (which I had to fill up a LOT, since it doesn't all the inputs and outputs that the 2012 had, so had to get a card for more TB, USB 3 for all of my peripherals). It does run quieter as well. But for the Money, it was an EPIC fail and disappointment and not the performance I was hoping for compared to 10 year old technology. Very hard to open, since if you have to check anything or add a card, ram, or clean, you have to unplug EVERY cable, unlike the 2012 that you can take the side panel off and do almost 90% of anything needed. I should have been patient and waited another year or 2 and could have gotten the Apple M2 Ultra with 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, 32‑core Neural Engine 128GB unified memory for the same price but 1 billion times faster and kept it for a good 10 years or so.

[A1]

Originally Posted by MARVINBASS

Question do you think it's worth the change over and is there a performance boost?? I know it's still a Intel chip.
Cheers

Not worthy unless you buy a "fully loaded" used unit for a few hundred dollars and don't intend on upgrading your Mac/Avid system anytime soon.

[Electronic1982]

Originally Posted by MARVINBASS

I've been thinking of buying a used MacPro 2019. The prices are pretty reasonable now. I have a MacPro 2013 with a 1 slot Avid Expansion Chassis for the HDX card.
Cheers

I would not do it for a couple of slots,
I have a MacPro 2012 5,1 (14 Years old) MAXED OUT running Catalina, and I'm planning to upgrade the latest macOS Ventura or Monterey, you have to use unofficial channels to do it due to the fact Apple artificially "park" their computers at certain macOS versions in order to get people to buy "another computer". Which is sad.

Stick with your system, upgrade macOS via unofficial channels.

Power is Power.
Are you running out of power? No? Then why buy another computer?

[basslik]

Indeed the 5,1's are workhorses.


Yeah with Opencore it can see 8x64 gigs of ram. (512), and will use.



But like other said 14years later compared the 2019 Mac pro's, one would think night and day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfUDMI0pF5k

[mrscratchhook]

Originally Posted by MARVINBASS

I haven't been on this site for a long time so forgive me. I've been thinking of buying a used MacPro 2019. The prices are pretty reasonable now. I have a MacPro 2013 with a 1 slot Avid Expansion Chassis for the HDX card. It would be nice to have the PCI slots again like the CheeseGraters. Question do you think it's worth the change over and is there a performance boost?? I know it's still a Intel chip.

Cheers

Heres the reality of it, you have external cards that you need to deal with, if you can get a 2019 for cheap and im talking in the 2k/2500 range then i would do it but just know that in about 2 years apple will no longer allow you to upgrade the macos. If its like at least a 12 core with 256 ram and you can afford to spend it then do so, i mean the alternative is to buy a 3k(possibly more) mac studio that you cant fix on your own, that you cant upgrade and still need to buy an enclosure for the pcie card. At the end of the day the ultimate decision comes down to if the amount of money you make off the work you do, can justify any one of these purchases. Im still on a 2012 mac pro dual 3.46 128 ram, RX 580 graphic card, running two nvme ssd on a pcie and a uad2 pcie. I do small projects usually 30 tracks or less and very little virtual instruments and it really gets the job done without having to be a monitary slave to apple. The parts are cheap now if anything breaks and im using mojave/monterey and sonoma(unnofficially). DO you want a sealed unit that you have to take to apple store to get fixed, or a unit you can fix your self? thats the bottom line. Good luck with your decision.