A Mac Pro 2013 hater finally uses one

Oh boy.... I finally did it. I bought a Mac Pro 2013. This is the first time I've had hands on a Mac Pro 2013, despite being somewhat of an expert on them. I don't know them like classic Mac Pro for obvious reasons.

I figured what better way to get acquainted with a Mac Pro 2013 than to edit a video using one. This is the result. It's running Monterey and ready to go, 12-cores and all.

I have a lot of thoughts on this computer coming in and I'm hoping to have some changed.

[dmug]

Is there any other videos you want to see with the Mac Pro 2013? Let me know.
I'll probably never hear the end of it if I don't post it here: I realize I probably could have gotten 4k60 to work with the correct adapter if I was willing to buy another one.

[manitobasky]

I use an eight core 2013 as the world’s least efficient but most beautiful media centre and I regret nothing.

[broccoli]

Honesty, this machine is more customizable than the current Mac Pro. Apple really doesn’t know how to make a machine for professionals.

[undergroundian]

I use a 2013 12 core/ 128gb ram/ D700 running OS Ventura and have no problems running Logic Pro 10.8.1. It works for me. The internal SSD is a now unavailable OWCAura 4tb. I needed an Apple SSD to install the firmware update using open core patcher, I could install Sonoma but I’m waiting till all my 3rd party plugins catch up with Apple. It is still a great machine.
Thanks for your video, as they say “You learn something new every day”.

[idubzh]

Of all the Macs ever built, this one is my absolute favourite design. It is so beautiful. I bought mine last year, base model 12 Go ; I upgraded it to 32 (2x16), put a 10 core cpu in it, and kept the rest (256 Go / D300 gpu). It runs under Big Sur, and it's a marvel to use, very good for Photoshop for example. As you said, my M1/2 are here when I need to go further, aka video editing.

For your video, as usual : love the opposition tech vs nature, especially with beautiful landscapes you have. special mention for the shooting black monolyth and rusty old mechanic, works great.

Thanks, and welcome into the club ! :p

[whophd]

The Mac Pro 2013 does output 4K at 60 Hz, but you need a DisplayPort monitor with Dual Stream Transport (DST), like the Dell UP2414Q. It was a really high-end Dell monitor with great USB hubs, and I ran two of them dual-screen for several years. These monitors pre-date HDR but they are definitely HDR level of brightness. You have to either turn them down from 100%, or if you use dark mode everywhere, it's possible to edit HDR on Final Cut Pro with the settings tweaked right.

[miguimau]

Big fan of your reviews in marvelous places.

[brafya]

honestly i love this machine, i still use one at work and it does 4k just fine in davinci, and somewhat servicable as long as you have a screwdriver and can be completely taken apart in 45 mins.
oh also the reason you're getting 30hz on 4k is cus youre using the hdmi port, its only 1.4, im not sure hdmi 2.0 devices actually existed in 2013 since it wasnt spec completed until the very end of that year, but all the thunderbolt ports do 4k 60hz

[mrnuleaf]

I bought the same listing a few months back and was excited to find it had the d700. It's wild how much they have come down in price within the last two years.

[hackexpert]

This Mac Pro is so beautiful and runs quiet, I bought one on eBay in October 2023 (Mac Pro 2013 12-cores Xeon Processor / 64GB DDR3 of 1866MHz RAM / AMD D700 Dual GPU).
*You can make this computer runs faster by using eGPU, also under Windows (BootCamp) it can utilize both GPU in most programmers*

[turbo-ynle]

I have one! I got it for $250 lol. I have 2 4Ks… I got (2) TB2 (Mini DP) to HDMI adapters. Runs great at 60 Hz on each.

[ryguyver]

Oh man, I manage technology at a production company and remember when I ended up purchasing a few of these back in 2017. At the time we were still running the 2010 Mac Pro's and I was not happy about buying these, but there was nothing else available at the time. Oddly enough, we never ran into any hardware issues despite pushing the GPU's with heavy After Effects usage. Definitely ran into a lot of performance bottlenecks within a year or so before we transitioned to iMac Pro's.

[dannyknox]

I ran through a couple of adapters after getting hurricane like fan speeds to where I now have a 4TB stick of storage and its never gone back to hurricane mode. I did the exact same thing - using a smaller Apple SSD with an OS already on it - bouncing back and forth until I got the right adapter. I use Logic Pro on it with the maxed out 64 gigs of ram. After opening a few plugins it will drop down to upper 40's of available ram and as some point get down into the 20's. After a scoring project before mastering I'll reboot and start clean. Kind of a goofy reason but I had 2 Thunderbolt monitors and an external Lacie Thunderbolt drive that I wanted to use and didn't want to mess around with OpenCore and configuring a Titan Ridge card on my 4, 1 to 5, 1. I picked up a Rocstore under desk mount and have it tucked up under my desk with the air intake (bottom) open to the side I sit on and the exhaust side dumping out under the desk. Apple has already started making distinctions on their upgrade path for Logic Pro - making the M Series Mac a priority for features they won't update for the Intel versions. The day of obsolescence is coming.

[nickwhite]

I’ve been on the fence with this Mac, and finally decided to get it. I found the 6-core with D500’s and 16gb RAM for $200 without the SSD. So I’ll get it in a few days and see how it is. Great Video and look forward to seeing anything else you post.

[richarddcrossley]

I had the same issue with boot. As long as the firmware is updated it will probably be your adapter. Weirdly my adapter was fine under 2TB. I bought the Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card, for Upgrade 2013-2015 Year Macs(Not Fit Early 2013 MacBook Pro) and now have a 4TB P3 running faultlessly. Also you have to install the OS from a USB because you can’t do recovery on a none Apple drive.

[FinneganMohrbacher]

Did not know you wrote that guide but I love you.

[chadlawson]

For me, it’s a hobby Mac. I do love it, got bare bones one for about $200. I got a 3rd party fan app and turned it max. Upgraded cpu to 10 core version, it needed new paste all around. It’s mainly a simple home computer as I can’t pay bills etc. on my work computer. I have HighPoint RapidStor 6328L thunderbolt 2 to SAS for backing up data to LTO5 tapes. Mainly for pics and videos of the kids. That’s as far as I want to go with it. Good enough for a year or two then I’ll pick up a Mac mini .

[DBLCreations]

I have the 2013 Mac Pro with the D700's. Yes, the ports on the back are very loose! Great video man! I would love to see some more video's on your 2019 Mac Pro as i have that one as well and now it seems that the GPU's can't be upgraded anymore... I'm stuck with one W5700XT...

[CtrlAltPrint]

ive got one of these running OCLP 1.4.1 on Sonoma 14.4 and it runs smooth af. don't be scared to upgrade to the newer versions of MacOS. im running the 2.7ghz 12 core, D500, 64gb ram. I haven't ran in to any apps that just crash due to the GPUs, I have tested Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, compressor and all of those run well, the only consistent issue I've noticed is in safari and its just the tab preview of YouTube having a green view on the player,

[maladjustedtv]

You b-roll is always on point!
edit: could the 2013 MP be somewhat considered a precursor to the Mac Studio? Or perhaps some kind of glorified "pro" Mac Mini all pre Apple silicon of course...?
Also surely Apple was at least in the design phase of what would end up being the M series studio machine...so perhaps this was a form-factor test/proof of concept...?
3:38 My God what a view!!!