iMac Pro Customization Options - Thoughts?

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by propower

Any chance you can run istat (even the demo) and say what the CPU temp is for this kind of load? Thanks...

And how loud are cooling fans once it gets going under a sustained load?



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[jpellizzi]

Thanks, I think I’ll do a clean install of everything just to be safe and because I have the time. I do have a bootable carbon copy backup of my boot drive, so I may give that a shot first just to see how it works.

[appledude]

not sure But I loaded Intel Power Grid and stat menus. CPU freq matched but not sure about temps.
Power Grid numbers Power-111.5
Freq - 3.64
Temp 91 C
Util - 62.7


Istat:
Freq 3.64
CPU 63%
Peak load 23
Pressure 7
Temp 72 F

Warm hot air out vent but I hear no fans running. Hope this makes sense to you guys

[propower]

Intel looks more right in this case.
iStat has many temp sensor items and you have to select the one that is displayed up top. I always choose a core temp to get accurate hotspot. I believe if you do not choose you get a CPU Proximity sensor by default which will be much lower than the hot spot.

63% load and 91 degC is higher than what I was hoping for but nice to hear the Fan is not a bother. I saw on a Mac Rumor thread that 50% utilization on an 8 Core iMac Pro got 3.9HHz and 70degC. 100% Utilization was like yours in the low 90s.

[appledude]

That temp for Stat seems to be the CPU and the only one available.

[OwenMorris]

Hello forum people,
This thread is very interesting and informative: thank you!
I'm planning on completely changing and upgrading my (very old?) Pro Tools mix system in the next joule of months, and an iMac Pro, with new Pro Tools software and all new plug ins (some upgrades....some new), seems to be a potentially good option for me.
I would almost exclusively use my system for mixing only. I work on large, professional sessions....involving lots of tracks/groups/plug ins.
My wife would definitely like it if I could just basically use an iMac Pro (with a suitable, small interface....I've been considering the UA ii...)....
Is the 10 core version the best for big Pro Tools mixing sessions......or should I be looking at the 18 core?
Apologies for the vagueness and probable dumbness of my questions......

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by OwenMorris

Hello forum people,
This thread is very interesting and informative: thank you!
I'm planning on completely changing and upgrading my (very old?) Pro Tools mix system in the next joule of months, and an iMac Pro, with new Pro Tools software and all new plug ins (some upgrades....some new), seems to be a potentially good option for me.
I would almost exclusively use my system for mixing only. I work on large, professional sessions....involving lots of tracks/groups/plug ins.
My wife would definitely like it if I could just basically use an iMac Pro (with a suitable, small interface....I've been considering the UA ii...)....
Is the 10 core version the best for big Pro Tools mixing sessions......or should I be looking at the 18 core?
Apologies for the vagueness and probable dumbness of my questions......

Considering what you're looking at doing I'd say go for the 18 core model if it's within budget (depending on what the CFO - wife - says ) A UAD interface with it's dsp will help but the smaller desktop models are rather limited in dsp power as compared to one of the rack mount models. And that will only run UAD plugs so any native stuff will be solely dependent on your cpu.

[jpellizzi]

Anybody else hands on with it yet? Would love to hear about how snappy the GUI is - zooming/scrolling, meters etc.

Are the fans audible under sustained load?

Any random errors/hiccups? Video engine smooth?

Anyone running HD Native + Omni? There’s no SPDIF out from the headphone jack anymore, so you have to monitor Mac sounds analog now, right?


Mine just left Alaska and I’m refreshing UPS like mad.

[appledude]

Just a small update. Got my OWC TB3 Dock 13. Was able to hook my VGA monitor, My Firewire drive (Glyph 050) and interface (focusrite Liquid 56), My Euphonix MC Control and PT control (IPad) very easy. So I'm back in the groove. Has a USB 3.1 gen 1in front. Also in Space grey that matches the iMac Pro.

[jpellizzi]

Got my iMac Pro 8 core up and running yesterday, and I've been putting it through the paces all day today.

This thing is a beast in every way, but one thing is really bugging me.

I'm still noticing a bit of GUI lag/latency when zooming and scrolling. It's light years better than my 2015 iMac, but still just a bit sluggish.

Same deal as usual - turn on Low Resolution mode, lower your display resolution (scaled), or resize your Edit Window and the performance improves dramatically.

It's like there's something weird with the 2560x1440 iMac Retina resolution that Pro Tools just doesn't get along with. The machine isn't being taxed in the least, barely ever reaching 10-20% CPU/Memory usage in most of my larger sessions.

It has to be something with Metal and Pro Tools just not taking advantage of the GPU, or something with the Retina resolution. This doesn't happen on my 2016 Macbook Pro 13" with Touch Bar, which pales in comparison to the specs of this iMac, so I'm a bit disappointed.

Also doesn't happen on my studio Mac Pro cylinder with 1080p displays... but it has happened on every 27" iMac I've owned over the years.

If you Get Info on Pro Tools in Applications, and check 'Low Resolution', then restart PT - you'll see and feel the difference immediately. The reason I really don't want to run that way, is because it blurs a lot of the text on clips, in menu/dialogs and introduces a handful of other weird GUI things. Plus it just looks ugly. We shouldn't have to sacrifice anything when we drop $5k+ on a top of the line computer that Avid made a press release specifically announcing support for.

Anyone else with me on this, or am I just being nitpicky and crazy?

Edit:
Made 2 quick videos with screen capture, though it might be tough to tell without doing and feeling it for yourself.

Here's how it runs normally:
https://youtu.be/TMyJA8iUI6o

and here's in Low Resolution:
https://youtu.be/Nf_Q_sQk1b0