Actual testing on AMD Vega GPU destined for iMac Pro shows significant speed gains over Nv...
Hands on testing performed by a PC enthusiast site shows Vega 64 GPUs like those found in a build-to-order configuration of forthcoming iMac Pro beat the Nvidia Titan Xp card in actual workflows similar to those expected to be handled by the pro-level Mac -- and the Vega 56 should also slightly edge the Nvidia card.
Testing performed by PC World used identical Windows 10 Pro PCs, both with identical CPUs, 32GB of DDR4 RAM and Dell's 8K display and a 1080p display. One PC included the newly released Radeon Vega Frontier edition PCI-E card and the other sported the GeForce Titan Xp card released in April.
The workflow generated was a "simulated workflow in a design firm" according to the testers. Evaluation showed the Vega card outperform the Titan Xp by 50 percent in SolidWorks, and 28 percent in competing 3D rendering package Catia.
In Maxon's Cinebench OpenGL benchmark, the test showed the Vega Frontier edition beating out the Titan Xp by 14 percent.
Testing wasn't limited to OpenGL workflows alone. Given that augmented reality and virtual reality developers have used the Unreal Engine for visualizations, the 8K display was swapped out for a pair of 3440x1440 panels, with testing performed on the lower resolution displays.
PC World claimed to not be able to tell the difference between the Titan Xp and the Radeon Vega Frontier PCI-E card in Direct X gaming and similar applications.
Further testing outside of AMD's labs performed by the testers showed essentially the same results, if not a bit higher.
The tests aren't of entirely similar cards. The Radeon Vega Frontier is optimized for commercial workflows, and the Titan Xp is a consumer-level card. However, the pricing is the same at $1,200.
The iMac Pro won't have a PCI-E card slot. But, the Vega Frontier PCI-E card has identical hardware to the Vega Pro 64 chipset, but if the speeds are the same between the iMac and the lower priced air-cooled $1,200 PCI-E card isn't known.
The Vega Pro 56, in the "default" $4,999 iMac Pro configuration is roughly 75 percent of everything in the Pro 64 -- about the same level as how the Nvidia Titan Xp performed.
For Mac users relying on Photoshop, there will be notable gains -- as evidenced by the speed boost in the Titan Xp over the Nvidia 1080ti -- they just won't be as pronounced as the gains from the AMD offering for Final Cut users.
Testing performed by PC World used identical Windows 10 Pro PCs, both with identical CPUs, 32GB of DDR4 RAM and Dell's 8K display and a 1080p display. One PC included the newly released Radeon Vega Frontier edition PCI-E card and the other sported the GeForce Titan Xp card released in April.
The workflow generated was a "simulated workflow in a design firm" according to the testers. Evaluation showed the Vega card outperform the Titan Xp by 50 percent in SolidWorks, and 28 percent in competing 3D rendering package Catia.
In Maxon's Cinebench OpenGL benchmark, the test showed the Vega Frontier edition beating out the Titan Xp by 14 percent.
Testing wasn't limited to OpenGL workflows alone. Given that augmented reality and virtual reality developers have used the Unreal Engine for visualizations, the 8K display was swapped out for a pair of 3440x1440 panels, with testing performed on the lower resolution displays.
PC World claimed to not be able to tell the difference between the Titan Xp and the Radeon Vega Frontier PCI-E card in Direct X gaming and similar applications.
Further testing outside of AMD's labs performed by the testers showed essentially the same results, if not a bit higher.
The tests aren't of entirely similar cards. The Radeon Vega Frontier is optimized for commercial workflows, and the Titan Xp is a consumer-level card. However, the pricing is the same at $1,200.
Relevancy to the iMac Pro?
The test is actually very similar to the workflows that Apple would like to see its users focus on. Apple's software is tailored for Metal, and as such, OpenGL.The iMac Pro won't have a PCI-E card slot. But, the Vega Frontier PCI-E card has identical hardware to the Vega Pro 64 chipset, but if the speeds are the same between the iMac and the lower priced air-cooled $1,200 PCI-E card isn't known.
The Vega Pro 56, in the "default" $4,999 iMac Pro configuration is roughly 75 percent of everything in the Pro 64 -- about the same level as how the Nvidia Titan Xp performed.
For Mac users relying on Photoshop, there will be notable gains -- as evidenced by the speed boost in the Titan Xp over the Nvidia 1080ti -- they just won't be as pronounced as the gains from the AMD offering for Final Cut users.
Comments
The batter solution is one that Apple has already offered which are products that last and have a long, useable lifespan. In fact, many Macs from 10 years ago are still in use today and those that are no longer much good, can be recycled. The value of the product holds well so users can sell the whole product and upgrade, just like you do a car. When a video card, CPU or RAM is upgraded, you are still stuck with the technology available for the architecture of the motherboard. Apple has allowed components that can be easily reused to be upgradeable.
Another issue with upgradable components is RELIABILITY. The more moving parts you have, the last reliable the system will be overall.
I like what the EU did in regards to interchangeable chargers, but it kind of stops short of being effective if they're now just collecting in a billion drawers instead of collecting in a million landfills.
I completely disagree with this comment. I am not really sure what you mean by: "Apple has allowed components that can be easily reused to be upgradeable." This makes no sense at all. Most of their components are one-time use. The RAM in my Macbook is soldered to the mother board, which is fine by me but this argument is less valid in desktops. To upgrade my CPU in my PC, I am looking at new RAM, motherboard, and CPU. GPUs require new motherboards less often. However, I can reuse the case, monitors, power supply, and hard drives, in addition to other miscellaneous components. Whereas, on an iMac, I would be buying new everything, particularly the pricey 5K LCD panel which takes much longer to become "unusable." I expect my monitors to last twice as long as my computer components. So in one case, I have bought maybe half of a computer and in the other, I bought the entire computer. Which ultimately introduces less waste? The one that uses less materials; assuming equal life which is fair if you don't buy garbage Windows computers.
You can argue reliability but you are fooling yourself if you really think that the iMac's design leads to less waste.......... Recycling and resell applies to both cases and assumptions on how the end user handles old parts isn't an argumentative point.
That said, I just didn't buy an iMac because it wasn't worth $3,500 for outdated technology (December 2016) and I need windows to run heavy programs not available on MacOS anyway. Plus the options on mass storage were much more flexible. My only pains are windows 10. I will, however, continue using Macbooks, iPhones, and finally upgraded my iPad 2.
In a nut shell i dont buy this BS about pros and the need for upgradeable GPU cards. That is a very small segment of thhe oveall market.
One of the features of Frontier is hot switching between workstation and gaming drivers:
http://images.anandtech.com/doci/11583/radeon-vega-frontier-edition-software-blog-game-development_575px.jpg
The iMac Pro will have up to an 11TFLOP GPU. This is equivalent to a 1080ti that was launched this year. NVidia is supposedly launching Volta later this year. They have already released a server version:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/data-center/tesla-v100/
The single precision there is 15TFLOPs at 300W. That's still around 50GFLOPs/Watt like Vega. There won't be anything else this year to significantly improve on what Apple will use in the iMac Pro (11TFLOPs ~200W).
If someone buys an iMac Pro this year with the highest-end GPU option, it will likely be $5500. This will be 8-core, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Vega 64 11TFLOP.
GPU performance has gone:
680 = 3TFLOP at 195W (2012), 15 GFLOPs/W (28nm)
780 = 4TFLOP at 250W (2013), 16 GFLOPs/W (28nm)
980 = 5TFLOP at 165W (2014), 30 GFLOPs/W (28nm)
980ti = 6TFLOP at 250W (2015), 24 GFLOPs/W (28nm)
1080 = 9TFLOP at 180W (2016), 50 GFLOPs/W (16nm)
1080ti = 11TFLOP at 220W (2017), 50 GFLOPs/W (16nm)
Tesla V100 = 15TFLOP at 300W (2017), 50 GFLOPs/W (12nm/16nm)
They use some tricks for new GPUs like releasing a lower power model initially and then newer ones aren't always more efficient, they just use more power. Intel does this too. 7nm Navi is planned for 2019 and NVidia will have to move to 7nm too, so potentially another doubling in performance per watt in 2 years. This is going to run out eventually. They talk about 4nm, 2nm even 1nm but they may not be able to manufacture that small and it will still run out. The move to 7nm in 2019 would be the best time for the next Mac Pro but by that time, the iMac Pro can get a 22TFLOP GPU so few people will bother about higher GPU performance.
If we assume that GPUs will double in performance in 3 years and someone wants a 22TFLOP GPU option, the iMac Pro at that point would be $5500 or maybe less if the 8-core CPU prices drop. They would be able to sell their existing iMac Pro for ~$4000 so the upgrade price would be $1500. Buying a $500 GPU upgrade is more cost-effective but you get a brand new machine the other way.