native vs. hdx

[JTC111]

I'm trying to figure out which way to go. I have a 2008 eight core Mac Pro with 32gb of ram. I use a mix of aax and uad plugins. As I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the hdx card doesn't help reduce the load from aax plugins. I do primarily singer/songwriter stuff and rarely go higher than 20 tracks.

Some of my favored plugins must be working my processor pretty hard because I get the processor overload message on my bigger mixes. So I guess I'm wondering will the native version take a significant load off my processor?

[jre3132]

If your plugs are aax native, then the hdx card won't really help. If the plugs are aax dsp, then the card will take on the processing.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by jre3132

If your plugs are aax native, then the hdx card won't really help. If the plugs are aax dsp, then the card will take on the processing.

Exactly^^^. Now, factor in the cost difference and crunch some numbers. The money you save by going HDN would buy you a later 12-core Mac Pro

Some of this comes down to individual needs. If you do more mixing and less tracking, then latency is less of an issue(score for HDN). But if you do lots of tracking and need the absolute lowest latency, score for HDX. Lastly, if you want to track with low latency AND use UAD plugins while tracking, you might consider moving to a loaded iMac i7 with an Apollo

[JTC111]

Originally Posted by jre3132

If your plugs are aax native, then the hdx card won't really help. If the plugs are aax dsp, then the card will take on the processing.

But there would be some processor relief in going from my current 003 system to an HD native system, yes?

[JFreak]

Please read the end of "HDN why 96k" thread. I just wrote the answer to your question.

[JTC111]

I just read it but I'm still fuzzy on one point: If I switch from my 003 system to HDN, will the native card take some of the load off my computer's cpu?

[Extreme Mixing]

No. It won't. You would be better served to just get a modern computer, and stop investing into the 2008 computer. After all, it's 9 years old. Make sure you get the newest versions of Pro Tools. I have been very pleased with everything after version 12.5.2. I don't see how you could possibly run out of processing with 20 tracks! I can run triple that on my OLD-ass macbook, and it's only an i5.

[JTC111]

A new computer is not possible right now. If I bouhgt one, I'd have to also get new UA hardware to replace my three pcie cards. I was just exploring this option and curious as to whether there was any benefit to going in this direction and retiring my PT 003 system. I have PT 12.6 btw.

[Justin1524]

Consider a used 2010 12-core Mac - great computers and can be had relatively inexpensive often with tons of RAM. An HD Native card with Used Digidesign 192 interfaces offers a lot of bang for the buck IMHO. Also find a used Samsung sm951 256 GB AHCI ssd m.2 drive on a PCIe card for your boot drive and you'll have a great fast boot for around $150.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Extreme Mixing

I can run triple that on my OLD-ass macbook, and it's only an i5.

That's funny you think an i5 is old....

My Core 2 Duo Mac Book would disagree

I however don't even bother to run PT on it anymore, I do think everyone should invest in a SSD For a boot drive (if they don't have one already)