Wow, HD|3 to HDX, let me see if I've got this right...

[dsstudio]

If $$ is a subject, buy:
- a used Mac Pro, any version will smokes your G5 and should be as cheap as 1000-1500$
- a Magma, around $2600
- Wait until HDx to come out then tons of people will sell their Protools 9 because PT10 will include in their upgrade. (I don't think Avid will ask for PT9 license back)

I think that's the cheapest way.

I am in the same boat but even thought I already bought Harpertown Macpro and a Magma, I still have to go all the way, I had enough nightmare with PCIx, hopefully HDX will not a new nightmare :)
Hope this help
Sonny

[Lumin]

If you're looking into a long term investment go with the straight exchange to HDX...
...as TDM will not be supported by third party plugin developers down the line.
Realistically HDX Hardware/software upgrade/update will be inevitable down the line if you decide to stay with the HD platform.

[Jamshied]

I've been a Pro Tools owner since 1994 (and using it since 1990, when it was Sound Tools), and every upgrade has been financially painful, but has offered significant performance improvements. Going from the original 4-track system to an 8-track system was a big jump; from there to a MixPlus was a whole different world (actually competitive with real studios); moving to HD gave enough power to do sophisticated mixes with complex processing, and my most recent upgrade to an HD3 Accel gives roughly double the performance of the HD3. And herein lies the rub.

Upgrading to an HDX with Avid's new interface will cost me $7K, plus plugin upgrade costs (no small number, I'm sure). I'm fortunate to have a Nehalem Mac, so I can avoid that cost this time. But for that $7K I get a system that does...less than the HD3 Accel, if I'm reading the numbers correctly. One HDX card offers slightly more DSP (about 17% more) than three Accel cards, but will need to work on 32-bit files, which seems like it will more than offset the potential gain. Avid claims "3-7 times" the performance of an Accel, but their own numbers put that figure at the lower end of that range.

Aside from keeping up with the Jones' (and I get that), and maintaining compatibility with other studios (get that, too), why should I lay out close to $10K for essentially no gain in performance? Not to mention the loss of plugins and VIs that for whatever reason don't make the jump to AAX (thinking of Arturia here). Digi, if I'm missing something, please enlighten me.

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by dsstudio

If $$ is a subject, buy:
- a used Mac Pro, any version will smokes your G5 and should be as cheap as 1000-1500$
- a Magma, around $2600
- Wait until HDx to come out then tons of people will sell their Protools 9 because PT10 will include in their upgrade. (I don't think Avid will ask for PT9 license back)

I think that's the cheapest way.

I am in the same boat but even thought I already bought Harpertown Macpro and a Magma, I still have to go all the way, I had enough nightmare with PCIx, hopefully HDX will not a new nightmare :)
Hope this help
Sonny

No way on Magma, PCIe cards are dropping fast, Magma's are not even getting bids on eBay!

[chocoholic]

For those of you considering Magma, they did announce a sale price of $1749 for the 6 slot. It was $2499 a few weeks ago. May be even less at the dealer level.

http://www.magma.com/6slot.asp

[Chris Coleman]

Reviving my old thread. I just posted a WTB post in the Buy/Sell section. Even though the Magma option is EOL'd with PT10, I'll still be supported for a few years.

With my G5 and HD3 rig, I'm able to put together big mixes with tons of plugins, etc., but now I'm hitting the wall with buying new plugins and software that only runs on Intel chips.

I've already got a Mac Pro sitting idle, doing nothing. Now, I've got to upgrade PT and all my plugins. Ouch.

[tonepad]

Originally Posted by Chris Coleman

Reviving my old thread. I just posted a WTB post in the Buy/Sell section. Even though the Magma option is EOL'd with PT10, I'll still be supported for a few years.

With my G5 and HD3 rig, I'm able to put together big mixes with tons of plugins, etc., but now I'm hitting the wall with buying new plugins and software that only runs on Intel chips.

I've already got a Mac Pro sitting idle, doing nothing. Now, I've got to upgrade PT and all my plugins. Ouch.

Chris,
I replied to your post over in BUY & SELL.