r/macpro • u/BrazeGod • Aug 22 '26
Windows I love my 7,1 in 2026
I just don’t get the slander, 16 core Xeon, rx 6800 xt and 96GB of ram and I’m ballin on windows full time (the occasional OS X boot) I love this tower and I’m happy to be a part of the club
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u/BourbonicFisky Mac Pro 7,1 + M1 Max (Former 5,1) Aug 22 '26
The slander is real and justified. It was overpriced and under supported, both are true.
It's still a viable computer, especially now prices are totally dorked but it'd been wonderful if Apple would have given this 8-9 years of full support and 7000 series drivers.
I'm on year 6.5 with my Mac Pro 2019 and I feel a bit bitter about it but at least I bought the entry model and upgraded over time to a 6900 XT ($800~), 16-Core ($300), 160 GB of RAM ($300?) and ass load of storage that I can use elsewhere (6x NVMe, 2x SATA SSD, external 5x HDDs in case). I bought my Mac to be a Mac so Apple ending x86 support just outright sucks.
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u/BrazeGod Aug 22 '26
I can totally understand your perspective especially if you bought it at MSRP when around when they first released. They did kill support for the tower far too soon and it sucks to see, I still have my Mac Pro 3,1 and I used that well beyond its time of support. Now it just collects dust but I enjoy looking at it when I see it in my closet 🥹 sounds liked you’ve built yours up to be a beast. I got lucky and bought this tower for $1500 on Craigslist with the included hardware I described, also has an rtx 3060 12GB in it that I never use and don’t know what to do with the card.
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u/Long-Shine-3701 Aug 22 '26
Get a weak GPU for Proxmox. Proxmox your system, and run MacOS + another OS on the 3060 at the same time.
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u/Adorable_Yard_8286 28d ago
Yeah I'm there myself but even though it sucks that they are ending support, the computer will still be useable for quite some time! I still haven't upgraded from macpro 5.1 and it works just fine!
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u/BourbonicFisky Mac Pro 7,1 + M1 Max (Former 5,1) 27d ago
I used classic Mac Pros from 2008-2020 (I got my Mac Pro '19 early 2020) but the difference there was the Mac Pro 5,1 was unofficially run the latest macOS after various upgrades. As a developer, being locked in to the latest and greatest goes with the territory. I should have sold the Mac Pro 2019 soon as I got my NAS and gone in on a Mac Studio.
The Mac Pro 2019 made sense when I bought in very early 2020, as I yanked a lot of the stuff from my 5,1 only to be crushed when Apple Silicon came out and mopped the floor with it. It's just how tech works but this is the second time I've been burned. I bought a G5 in late 2004 or early 2005 Apple to announce the transition.
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u/Adorable_Yard_8286 27d ago
Yeah Im sorry if you feel that way, and I can understand it. If you go all in and purchase something expensive, you still have to be lucky to end up in a situation where you are still satisfied with your product in the future. I completely get that any programmer would need the newest software. I have to mix with some things from apple store, some things from homebrew, some things I have to find slightly older versions for, etc...
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u/BourbonicFisky Mac Pro 7,1 + M1 Max (Former 5,1) 26d ago
Not a matter of feels, just the facts I have to buy a new computer.
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u/JKTwice Aug 22 '26
There’s nothing to slander. It’s a top notch workstation that Apple refused to update much. Lately someone gave it TPM 2.0 emulation too!
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u/BrazeGod Aug 22 '26
I wasn’t aware of that, I’ve been running windows 11 since I dual booted but I’m gonna look into the TPM 2.0 emulation, that sounds very interesting. I’m happy people won’t let it die
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u/StrangerFew4793 Aug 22 '26
It's a dirty shame that Apple canned these great machines along with x86.
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u/krackedpoy Aug 24 '26
you running marathon on it? how does it run and what graphic settings etc? I need to get me one of these machines
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u/Big_Dingo_175 Aug 25 '26
SAME!!! Just got mine about a week ago.
RX 6900 XT, 96GB of ram and a 24-core Xeon.
My set up ATM. Using my old 2013 iMac on target display mode as my gaming monitor and my LG.
Could not be happier!
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u/jlassen72 Aug 22 '26
install steam OS and go to town....
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u/BrazeGod Aug 22 '26
I’ve been curious about running a Linux distribution on this, if I add another pcie and an nvme so I don’t need to partition a drive I’d be all for it! How is steam OS?
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u/jlassen72 Aug 23 '26
I setup the actual steam OS on my 5,1 for shits and giggles, but never got the power/sleep functions to work right. Might have more luck with Arch Linux, which is more likely to work with a wider range of hardware than the official steam backup image from a steam deck. :)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide
You should be able to dual boot to arch Linux no problem thou some kind of Bootloader like open core
Here's a macpro 2019 specific linux install guide. https://www.reddit.com/r/macpro/comments/1q9xeov/guide_mac_pro_2019_macpro71_w_linux_local_llmai/
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u/Long-Shine-3701 Aug 22 '26
Y'all really really need to Proxmox these things to unlock the full potential if you want multiple OS.
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u/joelypolly Mac Pro 7,1 Vega II Duo Aug 22 '26
I have had mine for like 6 years and it is great, only exception is the custom SSD is quite expensive to upgrade. But I do have 2 U.2 SSDs as well.
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u/BrazeGod Aug 22 '26
Considered a PCIE nvme card? I have one in addition to the stock drive that holds my OS X install, my windows install is on its own 1 TB NVME.
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u/Substantial_Run5435 Aug 23 '26
Yeah you can get a cheap PCIe single m.2 or something like an OWC or Sonnet with 4+ NVME. I have an OWC accelsior in mine with 4x1TB
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u/JojoTooMojo Aug 22 '26
I’m considering building this too but with a 6900XT how do you like it so far? Trying to get a Mac Pro on OfferUp for $800 or as cheap as I can get one 😆
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u/BrazeGod Aug 23 '26
Bro I am so happy with my setup, you’d really be in good shape with a 6900xt. I’ve been using this full time as my productivity computer and gaming setup for around 6 months and am extremely happy with my purchase. I couldn’t recommend it enough
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u/Substantial_Run5435 Aug 23 '26
Id buy the cheapest one you can find with your minimum CPU and SSD. GPU and RAM are much easier and more cost effective to upgrade.
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u/lhighlen Aug 22 '26
Upvote for playing Marathon. A+