Neil Parfitt – Someone who is actually using a Mac Pro correctly

There has been a lot of talk about the Mac Pro since it came out. Most of it drivel. There's been admonishment that it's too expensive, it's too powerful, no one has a need for a machine like that. Meanwhile, people like Linus and Jay, build $20k computers, who's sole purpose is to play games, with (multiple) $3000+ video cards and declare what they've done is awesome.

Despite this, the Mac Pro is an amazing machine, and several companies have already rushed to make Windows based systems that compete. Linus is practically screaming with joy as he snaps 2TB of ram into a machine so he can open tabs in Google Chrome. A stupid experiment, but the hardware shows other companies are taking the technology of the Mac Pro very seriously.

Ironically, it was Linus that pointed me to Neil Parfitt, who actually uses a Mac Pro for work. Real work. Not just someone on YouTube who happened to get one so they could unbox it on camera and swoon over the black keyboard.

Neil is an audio professional, who works on Hollywood movies and television (not YouTube videos), and the Mac Pro isn't the most expensive piece of gear in his audio setup.

It starts with the unboxing of the rack mount edition, and why he chose that config. He then goes into the multiple pieces of hardware that need to fit inside the Mac Pro. His goal is to replace two Mac Pro 2013s with 12 cores and 128GB ram, with a Mac Pro of 28 cores and 384GB ram.

This isn't about playing games. It has nothing to do with frame rate. There are no Cinebench scores.

What he documents is a fascinating journey of putting the machine together, installing a massive amount of hardware, getting the Mac Pro into the rack cabinet, and hooking it into the system with all the other audio hardware. He comments on both the good and bad things of the process.

Neil uses a Mac for sure, but he's not being a fan boy. He points out several places where Apple's setup for audio professionals is not set up for audio professionals. There are obstacles to be overcome and this machine needs to be set up and working for his real business and putting together a score for a real television show, not some 10 minute video on YouTube.

Honestly, this is some of the best tech documentary I have seen in a long time. He's not running around with a Red camera, or using a robotic arm, or waxing poetic about how shiny something is. Although he does make a few comments about the case clicking into place. I can't fault him though, it does sound cool.

When you see the rest of his studio gear, you will quickly realize, this Mac isn't about vanity, but performance. And it's merely one tool, in a very expensive collection of tools, that make up his workflow.

If you want to see a Mac Pro used correctly, by someone who knows what they're doing, and see a high powered machine used for something other than games and frame rate, check out what Neil Parfitt has going on.

I can't wait to see the full workflow in action.

Neil Parfitt – Unbox and commenting on the Mac Pro rack mount edition

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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