New Mac Pro..opinions?

[r.grandmaison]

I've been following the threads on the MacRumors forums regarding the new Mac Pro. I'm really interested in getting my first Mac and think this machine might be a real nice one to have. However, I'm concerned about what I've read from users regarding the video cards that are baked into the device. Specifically because they seem to use OpenCL instead of OpenGL. I'm not super tech savvy about such matters. All I really want to know is if the machine will work well for using Windows in bootcamp/parallels or using with Revit. There are not a lot of users, apparently, using Revit on a mac..yet. But I do know there are plenty of firms who run it that way on iMacs and earlier models. Here's a link to some, somewhat, discouraging talk: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1699942

So, anyone from the Revit community using a new Mac Pro for Revit? Opinions?

[krzystoff]

I have used Revit on a Mac for the last year. I have been using it under Parallels, which allows using Mac and Windows software on virtual screens, in a Windowed Desktop or Coherence which runs your Windows programs directly on the Mac Desktop -- the last of these looks great but sucks all the power out of your CPU. Running Revit\3DS\AutoCAD\type programs on Parallels has one huge performance drawback -- it doesn't properly support the Windows hardware drivers, but instead uses a generic graphics card driver with basic 3D features and so would not be able to make much use of the Mac Pro's graphics power when running Windows programs (though the Mac Pro is awesome for OSX programs).
The Mac keyboard and mouse are also super frustrating to adapt to -- it takes weeks to get up to speed on the keyboard if you're a long time Windows user and familiar with standard Windows commands and shortcuts; the Mac Smart Mouse is optimized for sideways scrolling, no scroll-wheel\middle-button to give feedback and has low resolution sensors compared to most modern Windows mice -- you will find a $30 Microsoft\Logitech pack works far better than Apple's keyboard and mice for any real CAD\3D use (though not as stylish as those from Apple).
Running Windows under Bootcamp runs vastly better, and provides excellent driver support for the Mac hardware, but obviously lacks the convenience of task switching if you have a need to use OSX programs. So it can be done, but the benefits of the Mac Pro will depend on how you set it up.
Generally I would have to admit, Macs are great if you either have an unqualified or brainless IT department (piece of cake to setup\administer), or if you are using any software that requires you to use OSX.

[dhurtubise]

I've been using a MBP with Bootcamp for years now. Stay away from Parallel if you want to use Revit.
Why would you want to use a mac... (even if you don't run OS X)?
1 - They look absolutely stunning. In a world where clients are asking for beautiful building why would i work with ugly tools?
2 - They are lightweight, so is the power supply.
3 - Service is insanely good, anywhere in the world.
4 - No driver issues since there's not a million possibilities

It's worth spending the money and wait until you attach it to that wonderful 27" Thunderbolt display :)

[blads]

I've a MacPro (mid 2009 model) which I use in my home office which generally runs Parallel VM and a MacBookPro (Retina 2011 model) - used mainly for training purposes, utilising bootcamp. Whilst I've generally had had no issues, the video driver under Parallels, as previously mentioned isn't recognised as a Autodesk certified video card/hardware.

[nhatzi]

I have an imac 2011 model with the quad core i5 processor, 12gb ram running Revit 2014 through bootcamp. For most tasks it works just as good as my dell dual quad core xeon at work, the only issue I have come across is file size of revit files. Ram plays a big part when opening large revit files ie. 150+ mb files struggle on the imac with only 12 gb ram. I have just ordered my new Mac Pro 6 core model with 32 gb ram which should be a big improvement. I did opt for the dual fire pro d500 graphics cards but I am not sure Revit will make good use of them, am hoping in future Revit may utilise GPU processing.

[nhatzi]

New Mac Pro running bootcamp on windows 8 with Revit and Autocad 2014 for about a week now, no issues so far.

[BomberAIA]

Revit does not take advantage of multi-cores, only multi-threading, i7 chips. I used Revit on a 2006 Mac Pro in Boot Camp and decided to upgrade, After research, I decided to buy a Boxx Workstation instead of the Mac Pro which are built for Revit. After using the Boxx for a month, the speed is amazing. I also updated my MacBook Pro, i7, 16 GB ram. I'm running Revit on Parallels. It's a least 3 times faster than my 2010 MBP with 8 GB rams. Revit Forum did a review of the nMP running Revit. http://www.revitforum.org/hardware-infrastructure/18644-new-mac-pro-late-2013-tested-revit.html