2013 Mac Pro VS 2019 iMac 5k for live?

[Meta]

Hi everybody,

A friend has a late 2013 Mac Pro for sale (Mac Pro (Late 2013) Processor: 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 - 1TB SSD -Memory: 64 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 -Graphics: AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB). I'm currently using a late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro for live so this would be quite bit more muscle power.

However for the same price I could get a new 2019 iMac 27" 5k - the 3.1 GHz model.

I'm wondering which would have more muscle power for a higher track count / more plugins etc?

Thank you for any and all positive and helpful input!

[jlgrimes]

Hi everybody,

A friend has a late 2019 Mac Pro for sale (Mac Pro (Late 2013) Processor: 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 - 1TB SSD -Memory: 64 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 -Graphics: AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB). I'm currently using a late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro for live so this would be quite bit more muscle power.

However for the same price I could get a new 2019 iMac 27" 5k - the 3.1 GHz model.

I'm wondering which would have more muscle power for a higher track count / more plugins etc?

Thank you for any and all positive and helpful input!

I would probably look at CPU benchmark website.



Single core performance and multicore performance would probably give you a good idea of what performance increase/decrease to expect.


Multicore performance probably would give you the best indication of high track count performance with alot of plugins with light to moderate CPU use.

Single core/performance probably the best indication for low latency performance, or how well system performs on CPU intensive plugins.



Also SSD specs, Ram plays alot in basic track count, but I would imagine anything over 32 gigs of ram to be overkill for audio.

[jestermgee]

Curious as to the costs of your choices.

[Meta]

Hi everybody,

A friend has a late 2019 Mac Pro for sale (Mac Pro (Late 2013) Processor: 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 - 1TB SSD -Memory: 64 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 -Graphics: AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB). I'm currently using a late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro for live so this would be quite bit more muscle power.

However for the same price I could get a new 2019 iMac 27" 5k - the 3.1 GHz model.

I'm wondering which would have more muscle power for a higher track count / more plugins etc?

Thank you for any and all positive and helpful input!

I would probably look at CPU benchmark website.



Single core performance and multicore performance would probably give you a good idea of what performance increase/decrease to expect.


Multicore performance probably would give you the best indication of high track count performance with alot of plugins with light to moderate CPU use.

Single core/performance probably the best indication for low latency performance, or how well system performs on CPU intensive plugins.



Also SSD specs, Ram plays alot in basic track count, but I would imagine anything over 32 gigs of ram to be overkill for audio.

Solid advice , thank you very much! I wound up going with the 2019 27" iMac 5k - I read in a few comparisons that even the prior generation iMac 5ks were faster than the first gen trash can Mac pros, I then called Apple and talked with a tech who confirmed this. I also bought 64 gigs of ram via OWC. The hybrid hard drive is a concern as I'm used to a SSD in my old MacBook pro but time will tell.

Again, thank you

[Meta]

Curious as to the costs of your choices.

The used Late 2013 Mac Pro was $1,900 without a keyboard or monitor. The iMac 5k was $2,299.00 with 64 gigs of ram from OWC costing about $300.

[TLW]

A 2016ish iMac i7 could out-run the old trash-can Mac Pro. Apple really kept the old Pro in their line-up long after it should have been retired.

I’d be interested in how you find the new i5 copes. Finding useful comparisons between the speed of the modern Intel cpus and those from a “higher range” but 5 or 6 years old isn’t easy.