Here's what creatives think of the new Mac Pro

Apple's new Mac Pro is the most powerful computer of all time. His performances are aimed at creative professionals such as visual artists, musicians and filmmakers who need a lot of processing power. Creative people have been asking for a new professional-grade computer from Apple since the disappointment of the 2013 Mac Pro Uncontrollable Recycle Bin, and Apple has finally delivered this week with something very expensive and very powerful. But is the new Mac Pro really what professionals are looking for?

From the modular design that offers flexibility for upgrades to the Afterburner dedicated video editing card that supposedly eliminates the need for proxy workflows, everything about the machine is extreme, including its starting price of $ 5,999. This alone puts it out of reach of most creators, even before they have started to configure it with more power, which could raise the price of tens of thousands of dollars. In this respect, artists believe that the Mac Pro might be more sensible as an investment for companies and studios, rather than for individuals.

For visual effects and 3D artists, the fact that it does not support Nvidia graphics cards is a major problem. Patrick Longstreth, a VFX supervisor on shows like Adam ruins everything and Pen15, indicates that the new Mac Pro is an upgrade from the old trash model, but that is still not enough to convince him to switch from one PC to another. "I need the best solution for heavy 3D rendering and high resolution video processing. As a result, the lack of support for this new Mac for Nvidia graphics cards is a big disappointment. I can always get better results for half the price with a custom built PC, "he says.

Apple has not sold computers with Nvidia cards for years and has completely abandoned the support of these in the latest version of macOS. Instead, Apple has favored AMD's Radeon cards, which are generally known to be cheaper and less powerful than Nvidia's GeForce series. The capabilities of the pros are limited and the lack of support for Nvidia drivers has left 3D rendering software developers in the dark, as GPU-accelerated renderings often only work with Nvidia's CUDA technology.

On the WWDC stage, Apple unveiled a list of developers determined to support the Mac Pro and its graphics API, Metal, including many companies involved in 3D rendering applications like Octane and Redshift. These applications, previously built around the use of Nvidia cards for GPU rendering, will be rewritten to work with AMD. The edgeGrayson Blackmon, leading animated graphics editor, remains skeptical. "The first versions of software are usually buggy or not optimized," he says. "What would you rather buy if you have to work reliably on a project? A machine that promises great things, but essentially runs the v1.0 software, or something that is cheaper, more powerful, and that is tested with a ton of support? "

Instead, the Mac Pro may seem more logical for studios that can afford to provide optimized machines to meet specific needs, and that's where the reception has been warmer. Brad Watts, filmmaker and co-founder of Redd Pen Media, a production company, says the Mac Pro has finally given serious professionals who want to stay in the Mac ecosystem a real alternative to personal computers. "From my experience, the software is much more optimized and efficient than Windows," he says.

With its current configuration of two 2013 Mac Pros, Watts finds that machines can handle most sequences, including RAW at 4.6K resolution, but struggle with reading as resolutions increase. This makes the extra power of the new Mac Pro attractive. "Even the starter package will be out of reach for many, but I think studios and serious professionals will use it more specifically with the new technology such as Afterburner for 8K playback," Watts says. "The addition of the PCI slot and its possibility of evolution are also considerable."

Medium-sized animation studios or post-production houses could also use the considerable power of the new Mac Pro. For example, this could be a valuable time saver for agencies that need to present a quick preview to their customers. "I could imagine buying one or two for the specifications to work very quickly, but I would only rent machines if they realize the project and budget that cost," The edgeThe art director of William Joel tells me. "It's not uncommon to rent rendering machines for big projects instead of buying. In this way, you are built to scale. "

VFX director Stu Maschwitz thinks that Apple has come up with a much more sophisticated product than most people wanted. We do not recommend buying Mac Pro since 2015 and says that the only significantly a Mac Pro could be useful if the system could use Nvidia cards. Maschwitz thinks that the Mac Pro audience is not really a creator who needs extreme performance, but amateurs who are looking for a computer they can open and customize.

The Mac Pro will be on sale this fall. The price for higher configurations has not been announced yet, but potentially very high end prices and lack of support for Nvidia cards could mean that professionals continue to find reasons to upgrade to PCs.