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BARE FEATS LAB - real world Mac speed tests

2019 Mac Pro 12-Core stuffed with FOUR GPUs - Will it work? Will it scream?

December 30th 2019 by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist

How fast can you render "multi-GPU aware" apps when you cram FOUR GPUs into your 2019 Mac Pro?


GRAPH LEGEND

Vega II Duo + VII 'Duo' = AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo GPUs (32GB of HBM2 memory each) and two AMD Radeon VII GPUs (16GB of HBM2 memory each)
Vega II Duo + VII = AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo GPUs (32GB of HBM2 memory each) and one AMD Radeon VII GPU (16GB of HBM2 memory)
VII 'Duo' = two AMD Radeon VII GPUs (16GB of HBM2 memory each)
Vega II Duo = AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo GPUs (32GB of HBM2 memory each)
VII = AMD Radeon VII GPU (16GB of HBM2 memory)
Vega II = AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPU (32GB of HBM2 memory)

TEST MULE: 2019 Mac Pro 12-core 3.30GHz W-3235 CPU, 96GB of 2933 MHz DDR4 ECC memory, 1TB PCIe-based flash boot drive

DaVinci Resolve 16.1.2 - Looping Playback with 3X Noise Reduction
Using Candle 1080p project with Metal GPU Processing Mode. (HIGHER Frames per Second = FASTER)

DaVinci Resolve Noise Reduction with Four Fast GPUs

DaVinci Resolve 16.1.2 - Looping Playback with 6X Noise Reduction
Using Candle 1080p project with Metal GPU Processing Mode. (HIGHER Frames per Second = FASTER)

DaVinci Resolve Noise Reduction with Four Fast GPUs

DaVinci Resolve 16.1.2 - Looping Playback with 64x Blur
Using Candle 1080p project with Metal GPU Processing Mode. (HIGHER Frames per Second = FASTER)

DaVinci Resolve Blur with Four Fast GPUs

Blender 2.79 - Render of BMW Scene
Use GPU(s) only in OpenCL Processing Mode. (LOWER Time in Seconds = FASTER)

Blender GPU Render with Four GPUs

LuxMark 3.1 - Render of LuxBall Scene
Use GPU(s) only in OpenCL Processing Mode. (HIGHER KSamples per Second = FASTER)

LuxMark LuxBAll Render with Four GPUs

 

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

The 2019 Mac Pro 12-Core with its eight PCIe 3.0 slot (four being 16 lane) has the space and power for up to four high-end GPUs. What an opportunity to see what four fast AMD GPUs can do in concert.

We ordered our 2019 Mac Pro with the optional Pro Vega II Duo. And since we had two Radeon VIIs which are 'cousins' to the Vega II, we installed them in the two open x16 slots. Using the 6+2 pin power cables from the Belkin cable kit sold on the Apple Store, we feed the two VIIs power from the backplane connectors.

Because DaVinci Resolve, Blender, and LuxMark give you total control over which GPUs are active, we were able to run the tests using one, two, three, and then four of the GPUs. (NOTE: DaVinci Resolve can playback faster than 60 FPS but it requires the presence of a DeckLink.)

Is there a downside? Only if you put the Mac Pro to sleep. The fans go crazy on the Radeon VIIs. Not sure why they were not 'taught' how to sleep. That same behavior occurs when we had them in eGPU boxes. For now we just keep the Mac Pro awake or shut it down when we are not using it.

Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to email me, Follow me on Twitter @barefeats.

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OTHER GOOD SOURCES
Trans International sells memory and storage for Macs.

Other World Computing sells memory, eGPUs, storage, and used Macs.

B&H Photo Video sells Apple products, GPUs, eGPUs, displays, storage, etc.

MacVidCards modifies GPUs to provide Apple Startup and Boot screens.

Funding of 2019 Mac Pro test unit for BareFeats Mad Scientist on his 75th Birthday

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copyright 2019 Rob Art Morgan
"BARE facts on Macintosh speed FEATS"
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