HD|Native on Mac Pro 12 Core VS 6 or 8 Core + UAD-2 DUO Neve?

[Belegur]

Ok...

Last minute advice before I pull the trigger on this gear next week.

From my previous post... and from reading others I have determined I am getting HD|Native (PT 10 HD)+ OMNI and a new Mac Pro (I know there may be new models coming, but I need to do this now). It looks as though any of the Westmere machines with 24GB RAM have been working pretty well for most users.

For around the same money I have two main options, so my question is which would you folk recommend. See options below:

1 - Mac Pro 6 Core (3.33GHz) or 8 Core (2.4GHz) 24GB RAM + UAD-2 DUO NEVE.

2 - Mac Pro 12 Core (2.66GHz) 24GB RAM

I want to be able to run high plugin counts, and I use VI's a fair bit too. Might add Vienna Ensemble Pro at a later date as well, to have more available RAM for VI's. I've not used Universal Audio gear before, but seems like it would make my rig more versatile.

Advice greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Brad.

[midnightrambler]

I'm guessing no one's answered as no one has had the experience of using both the setups you're suggesting.

I can only tell you what I did : I bought a 12-core with the aim of running as many plug-ins as humanly possible. I haven't managed to get the CPU usage over 30% yet, and I can be pretty heavy duty on the plugs sometimes. The UAD-card does comes with some lovely plug-ins, but having never used them in a "real word" situation, I can't speculate on whether these are good enough to warrant the purchase. Also, I'm not sure how much a UAD card is "worth" in terms of "cores" and if it you would be getting more bang for your buck.

Maybe someone else will be kind enough to chime in with their thoughts here....

[Belegur]

Thanks for the input rambler...

Trigger officially pulled... going with the 6 Core 3.33GHz Mac Pro, 24GB RAM. HD|Native + OMNI, Presonus FaderPort, UAD-2 QUAD (got an offer I couldn't refuse). Will probably buy the Neve plugin bundle for the UAD.

Still looking at Vienna Ensemble Pro to help spread the load too. I also only just found out about the Kontakt Memory Server last night... why wasn't I using this before? :/

Will post a new thread detailing my experience once I have it all running, and hopefully not too many troubleshooting threads

Cheers,

Brad.

[Barry Johns]

I would have gone with the UAD Apollo, vice the Native Card and Omni.

[tomhartman]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

I would have gone with the UAD Apollo, vice the Native Card and Omni.

This whole Apollo thing is such a turn off to me. People on GS are acting like it's the second coming. To me, it looks like an Ensemble with a deal with the devil to help UA sell plug ins, that's all. You got people talking about it being better than the Symphony, etc, asking how the mic pres compare to standalone mic pres, etc, etc. It's like the worst fanboy thing I've seen in a long time. Maybe since the Great River mic pre.

I like the UA stuff in general, but ....I don't trust any company that points out how cool the dials are on their gear (as they do for the Apollo) I'm sure it's a fine interface, but I REALLY doubt it sounds as good as the Avid interfaces. Just my hunch.

TH