With all the hype surrounding the latest iPhone, it’s easy to forget that Apple was once in the forefront of the professional workstation market. But nowadays, every time the name of the venerable corporation makes news, it’s focused on consumer devices.
The oft-discussed Apple shift from professional computer manufacturer to phone maker can be traced back to the 2011 intro of Final Cut X, which was both incompatible with previous Final Cut Pro versions and clearly redesigned for consumers. The move forced many professionals to migrate to Adobe Premiere Pro or Avid. In 2013, Apple once again put style over substance, replacing the Mac Pro tower with the cylinder-shaped Mac Pro. To make matters worse, the non-expandable Mac Pro hasn’t offered any significant hardware upgrades since 2013. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Autodesk announced in 2017 that it would no longer support 3ds Max in the Mac OS environment. But Apple’s turn to the consumer market may have reached its zenith with the iMac Pro, which, when compared to a BOXX workstation, looks like last year’s technology arriving today.
So what’s a loyal Mac user to do? Some, enamored with the Mac OS, will stay, regardless of performance loss. The more discerning, however, may be compelled to switch. Joe Matthews, a BOXX performance specialist who works exclusively with 3D designers, VFX artists, animators and film editors, says the migration is already underway.
“Not a day passes without a conversation with a frustrated Mac user looking to or having to make the switch,” he says. “With software applications becoming more complex, the supporting hardware has to keep pace. The cliché ‘time is money’ is true, and many Mac users are coming to the realization that they are wasting both.”
When choosing the ideal computer workstation for your creative workflow, software application benchmarks provide the best indicators of system performance. So, in an effort to illustrate the key performance advantages BOXX holds over the Mac Pro, BOXX enlisted Thunder Powered Solutions’ Allan Barnwell to conduct some head-to-head benchmarking. Barnwell pit the BOXX APEXX 4 against Apple’s Mac Pro using Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Cinema 4D. Joined by colorist and DI editor Parke Gregg from Stuck On On, an award-winning audio and visual finishing house (Boyhood and Everybody Wants Some), Barnwell’s tests reveal some fascinating results.
Download the BOXX vs. Apple benchmarks here and watch the video BOXX vs. Apple: Battle of the Benchmarks.
It would be a more even comparison if it was done by someone who was neutral and both devices mirrored screen setups and branding of said screens.