topic Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues? in Installation & update

iMac Pro

PB — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 14:20:27 GMT

With Apple's latest announcements, what do you think of the proposed iMac Pro ?

':shock:'

Re: iMac Pro

Stephen Dolbee — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 01:29:44 GMT

The iMac pro is exciting without a doubt, and I tend to want to jump in to the latest/greatest. But, I think the iMac pro is probably overkill for Archicad (in most cases). A new high-end iMac would likely serve most users for many years to come.

Re: iMac Pro

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 23:14:57 GMT

Thinking about this now that they are out. The budget doesn't allow for one yet, but maybe ater this year...

Question though - what imac pro specs would be most important for 2d and 3d tasks?

Currently, the two items I'm most interested in speeding up are:

1. 2d views of 3d elements for elevations and sections in more detailed models.

2. Outputting bimx models with global illumination.

I'm just not sure how archicad uses gpu v. processor v. multiple cores v. ram for those functions so its hard to tell what the ideally specced machine would be.

Re: iMac Pro

PB — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 10:04:47 GMT

10 core iMac Pro arriving soon (touch wood): Very much looking forward to migrating across from the original retina MacBook Pro (2012).

Drastic workflow change being undertaken: MacBook Pro relegated to emergency backup & occasional sorties away from the office. iPad Pro now adopted as main tool away from the office, for conceptual sketching, client presentations, meetings, on-site activities, etc. iMac for AC21, BIMx, 3D viz generation.

iMac Pro hasn’t come too soon ! 2012 MacBook Pro now struggling, especially whilst also driving the 2005 30” Apple Cinema Display (both of which have proven to be great value over time).

Re: iMac Pro

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 03:45:22 GMT

Seriously looking at iMac Pro.
Trying to decide to on the specs.
Ghz, cores, Turbo boost GHz, Cache, RAM, Radeon 56 or 64, (8 or 16 GB HBM)size of SSD & HD storage
It would really be helpful to have input.
I've specd what I think I need......its coming out to $12,000.00 Alot of money and I dont want to buy unneeded items or upgrade things unnecessarily.

Jon Welker

Re: iMac Pro

PB — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 13:53:04 GMT

I've gone for what I perceive to be the best balance between performance & cost - as you mention, Jon, the price quickly escalates.

From my perspective it became a question of diminishing returns: I need the performance, but not all the time. When in ArchiCAD, the base configuration should be more than ample - and most of the time the slowest component is me thinking the project through...

But, when we move onto the CGI and visualisation we want as much performance as possible, hence the choice of: 10 cores, 64GB RAM, 1Tb SSD, upgraded video card.

My thinking was also that as soon as 14 or 18 cores are chosen, more RAM is required to feed them - hence big steps up in price.

iMac Pro arrived late yesterday: unpacking today...

Will let you know how we get on.

Re: iMac Pro

PB — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 13:57:25 GMT

Jon, I've just noticed your signature: Are you still on ArchiCAD 15?

Considerable performance benefits to your workflow, I would think, by moving to ArchiCAD 21....

Re: iMac Pro

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 19:17:18 GMT

I'm on 21, I have to edit my profile.
I'll be interested in hearing you take on the iMacPro

Re: iMac Pro

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:19:05 GMT

Hi Guys,

I have been using the iMac Pro with ArchiCad 21 for a few days now and all seems great until I imported a fairly simply RFA family/object into a very small and simple project (only a few walls and slabs at this stage) using the RFA and RVT Exchange Add-On and the system really struggled! Just selecting the object took many seconds and moving or copying was basically impossible. I am fairly new to both ArchiCad and the Mac platform so I hope I not missing some elementary setup, but I am extremely disappointed at this result.

North Vancouver
ARCHICAD 21
iMac Pro (2017)
3.2 GHz Intel Xeon W
32 GB 2666 MHz DDR4
Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB

Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Karl Ottenstein — Fri, 11 May 2018 19:25:38 GMT

Hi all,

Looking for feedback from anyone who has been using an iMac Pro for production work, as to any stability issues that they might have had - crashes, panics, etc.

The Apple forums have many posts from people who have had repeated kernel panics, crashes and more, some of which has been solved by erasing the SSD and reinstalling MacOS and then disabling all sleep functionality, disabling volume encryption, not connecting NAS or TB3 devices, and other unacceptable solutions. Some have had to return their machines.

This is all deja vu of when I got a 2008 Mac Pro and it took Apple a full year to release an OS update that eliminated my random crashes and wake from sleep issues. All the time, Apple support denied that there were any issues - just as they deny the issues reported in their forums now. That was so stressful (saving work every minute, not knowing when the next crash would happen) that I'm not sure I want to go through it again even though I really need a new system. [My old, updated/customized Mac Pro actually runs great - but Apple won't let an OS newer than El Capitan be installed on it.]

So... ARCHICAD users with iMac Pro - has your iMac Pro performed flawlessly?

Thanks!
Karl

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Karl Ottenstein — Fri, 18 May 2018 02:02:56 GMT

Bump. Anyone have an iMac Pro?

Here's the link to the Apple forums with the reports of random crashing.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/imac_pro

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Anonymous — Thu, 31 May 2018 18:00:16 GMT

I am very interested in responses as I am contemplating purchase of an iMac Pro.
And, interested in how many cores should I buy.
As the cores go up 8 to 18 the clock speed goes down. What is the right combo.

Appreciate input

Jon

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:44:39 GMT

Sorry for the late reply, I'm not often on here.
I'm using a 10 core imac pro with no problems. It has the fastest single core speeds in the lineup and 10 cores is enough for rendering. A bonus is the 16gb Vega GPU which works a treat with even big models.
No kps or any other issues.
Archicad doesn't yet work on Mojave (they've depreciated open GL). But I'm sure that'll come right with later betas.

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 19:11:22 GMT

Duplicate post deleted by moderator. (Please do not post the same content in more than one place, or start a new topic when one already exists.)

Do Not Buy iMac Pro

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 19:23:26 GMT

I am posting this to hopefully help others avoid the nightmare I'm dealing with. I have been working with ArchiCad 21 for Mac on an old 2013 MacBook Pro with no issues for a year. In late April 2018 I purchased a new iMac Pro, 8 core, standard build with the exception of a 2T SSD HD added to the configuration.

I have owned and used Apple computers since 1983 and have migrated data many times from older Apple computers to newer ones. The new iMac Pro purchased in April has had issues since day 1. Migration failed. Restoring the lost files from Time Machine backups did not work.

I just lost 30 hours of work due to the ArchiCad project files not saving when commanded to. Graphisoft library files and logs show that I saved, however Time Machine backups have no corresponding saved files.

I have lost ArchiCad functions numerous times since trying to work on this iMac Pro. Orbit failed. There are 2 xyz vertices showing in 3D views. The renovation filter failed and all work saved under 'existing' in renovation disappeared. Dimensioning disappeared. Attempting to 'fix' the project files via manual 'open' did not work and resulted in error messages saying there was data loss.

I spoke at length and screen shared with a great ArchiCad tech and he cannot explain, nor fix, the issues I'm having.

I spoke with an authorized Apple tech and he told me he's seeing massive, hardware related issues with all the iMac Pros. He recommended I demand a full refund from Apple and buy a different computer.

So I'm posting this to hopefully help others avoid this type of nightmare.

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Karl Ottenstein — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 04:14:56 GMT

Anna wrote:
I am posting this to hopefully help others avoid the nightmare I'm dealing with.

Thank you, Anna. Incredibly sorry to hear about your experience!

Since I started this thread, I broke down and purchased an iMac Pro and (knock on wood) have not had any issues running anything on it. ARCHICAD 21 and 22 run smoothly for me. I did purchase from the Apple Refurbished Store online, which may have resulted with me getting a machine that was more thoroughly tested in the US after return (as well as a hefty discount). I had one kernel panic the second day I had the iMac Pro and have had none since OS 10.13.5 was released 3 days after I received the machine, and may have something to do with the stability I've experienced.

Anna's experience - with heartbreaking loss of work and productivity - should serve as a warning though. I continue to follow the iMac Pro forums almost daily and there are dozens of people with a variety of problems. 10.13 5 has not solved things for any of them. Many of the problems are related to external storage devices. None of us know how many iMac Pros have been sold, so it is impossible to guess at the percentage odds of getting a bad machine when only 30 or so people are complaining online. Some people report having exchanged their machine several times, or having their logic board replaced multiple times. Some have sent theirs back for a refund, as Anna is considering. The overall sentiment in the forums at this point is that Apple has no clue as to what is wrong with the iMac Pros that are malfunctioning (or even if it is a hardware or a software issue).

I'm happy with mine at this point ... but given reported negative experiences, I could not in good conscience recommend a purchase at this time to anyone for whom this expensive machine would be the only one available for production. Definitely a gamble until Apple takes public responsibility for what is going wrong with some of these machines and offers a solution. Their silence is not surprising, but is really stupid customer relations.

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Ralph Wessel — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 16:18:23 GMT

I follow a number of tech forums. Without fail, there are always a certain number of people who are experiencing weird issues with hardware/software (just look at this forum for example).

I haven't noticed an unusual level of problems with iMac Pros. Notable problems rise above a certain threshold and – if large enough – attract a response from Apple. A recent example is the more recent MacBook Pro keyboards, which can easily be crippled by a tiny piece of grit and can't be sorted out by the owner. Apple are now repairing them for free.

The problem is that current tech problems can be extremely difficult to diagnose. Component failures aren't necessarily a black and white "it either works or doesn't". Failures in RAM or storage devices can be like this, where even a single switch or block is intermittently failing.

A good technician can often narrow down the cause, but it can be time-consuming. Have you taken it to an Apple Store (or equivalent) for diagnosis?

Re: iMac Pro

PB — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:41:10 GMT

A brief update (it’s been hectic here):

iMac Pro is working very well - performance jump from the MBP retina is enormous.
For AC it works well for me, with the exception that sometimes the screen will not fully refresh and the view needs to be nudged over a little before being able to continue working (video driver issue?)
The ease with which numerous AC projects can be open at the same time is a real help (5 to 7 projects is not unusual).
3D output in AC is still slow - view generating seems to still be single thread, or feels like it !
Screen size and quality should not be ignored: it’s a genuine pleasure to work with: This alone has convinced a colleague and more than one client to migrate from their PC to an iMac.
Performance with Twinmotion is an absolute delight: high quality and very, very fast.
Purchased with Apple finance: As a monthly cost of doing our work, the decision was quickly made, and not regretted for an instant since...

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

PB — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:50:27 GMT

iMac Pro working very well for us (two of them), but I feel for Anna - a truly horrible experience.

Re: Anyone using an iMac Pro in production? Stability issues?

Stress Co_ — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 05:01:25 GMT

Karl Ottenstein:

Karl wrote:
I'm happy with mine at this point ... but given reported negative experiences, I could not in good conscience recommend a purchase at this time to anyone for whom this expensive machine would be the only one available for production.

PB:

PB wrote:
iMac Pro working very well for us (two of them).

Anyone have fresh input?