New MacPro

[rixonreed]

I'm seriously considering purchasing the new MacPro that's about to be released specifically to use with PixInsight and would like some feedback about which model to buy and how much memory to get. Would the Mac version of PixInsight use all cores? If I ran it on a virtual PC using Fusion or Parallels would it use all cores? Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks! Rick

[NGC7789]

If you are considering the new MacPro for PixInsight then I would assume $$$ is not the first consideration. PixInsight should use all cores. I'm guessing the more memory the better. I'd start at 32GB. Make sure sure the SSD is big enough for all working files and scratch.

But why would you consider running PI on a virtual PC on the MacPro? Just run in natively.

[Nocturnal]

32GB RAM is overkill unless you intend to work with enormous data sets. I have 12 GB on my (by now) old i7 desktop and never gets close to using it all.

By all means buy as big a machine as you like but understand that only processor speed (cores and clock), memory bandwidth and disk speed dictate how fast PI will process your images. Adding more memory than what you need will not speed things up. Well, with lots of core you could add a RAM disk and use that for temporary storage. I've done that. Pretty nifty trick.

Indeed, run native.

[rixonreed]

>>But why would you consider running PI on a virtual PC on the MacPro? Just run in natively.

Good question. I probably will. But, I use the SkyX to capture images and not all of the features work the same on the Mac as the do the PC. Plus FocusMax and some other software only work on the PC side. Since my capture computer may need to be by the scope with a wireless remote connection (I haven't yet been successful the Icron USB to Ethernet hub so that I can control the scope 100 feet away), it's more ideal for me to be able to work on files there with a wireless connection, than transferring files to a different computer inside.

[NGC7789]

I have 12 GB on my (by now) old i7 desktop and never gets close to using it all

This is good to know. I run on an even older Core Duo iMac with only 8GB ram. The MacPro might as well not exist since I don't have the $$$ for that. But I have been eying the Mac Mini but was holding back due to the 16GB limit.

[Nocturnal]

Of course 'it depends' applies. Use giant images (mosaics) and giant stacks and maybe you'll need 32GB or even more. I've worked on 6 panel mosaics of 3000x2000 images and never ran into memory issues. Not even close.

[rixonreed]

Certainly don't want to buy the more expensive model if the speed improvement is slight.

I wonder about how much ram to buy as I plan on doing mosaics, perhaps of  6 or more images. So your experience there is helpful. Also, whether or not 6 cores on the new Mac Pro would be much of a speed improvement over the base model with 4 cores? Does anyone have any comparison of 4 vs 6 cores?

[Nocturnal]

It's probably time to get a drink and become familiar with the search feature of this forum. You will probably find a considerable number of threads that address this question. The sticky thread at the top of this section 'biggest bang' should also make interesting reading.

PI is highly optimized for multi threaded operation. Some processes benefit more from extra cores than others. Extra cores are never wasted (unlike too much RAM) but it's a value proposition to determine if the extra expense is worth it.

[dgbarar]

Hi,

I am also considering a new MacPro.  My concern is backing up.  I do not want to use the cloud or Time Machine and would much prefer to back up to a NAS box or my existing Windows Home Server.  Any one having any success with my preferred way of backing up?  Has anyone heard of ChronoSync?

Cheers,

Don

[Juan Conejero]

If there's no strong reason to use a Mac, for quite a bit less than $4000 (the estimated cost of a baseline 6-core trash can Mac Pro) I'd recommend building a high-end PC machine. Some guidelines:

Intel Core i7-4960X Processor

Asus X79-Deluxe Motherboard

For reliable (IMO) performance/cost evaluation:
PassMark High-End CPU Benchmarks

I'd install at least 16 GB of low-latency DDR3 RAM. If you plan on making mosaics, go for 32 GB. We build our development workstations this way.

[rixonreed]

Hi Juan, Thanks for your thoughts re: PCs, but I'll be sticking with Macs. Will the 6 core machine perform at least 30% faster vs the 4 core machine with PixInsight when processing mosaics?

[NGC7789]

My concern is backing up.

For backups on any machine I recommend drive cloning. On my Mac I use Carbon Copy Cloner. Clones have the advantage of being rapidly back online (just clone back to a fresh drive) and in a pinch can be used directly if a replacement drive is not immediately available.

[pfile]

you can always take one of those PCs and convert it to a hackintosh… a fun project if you like to tinker with computers. it's actually pretty easy these days.

rob