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Old 08-04-2015, 12:05 PM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

I'm thinking about buying a Mac Pro however currently the Six-Core is a bit too expensive. Anyone using the Quad-Core Late 2013 Mac Pro? If you are, how good is it with Pro Tools sessions and would you recommend it for its current 3000$ price-tag? I ask this here because anywhere I go to watch or read reviews, it's always about how the Mac Pro can handle video rendering. Nothing about how it can handle sessions with many plugins in an Audio Production software, especially Pro Tools.
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Old 08-04-2015, 07:15 PM
mattrixx mattrixx is online now
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

They are a great machine indeed. I have the 6 core and I can say for sure that the 4 core would be plenty in most cases. Get as much RAM as you can afford (32GB seems to be a sweet spot).
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Old 08-04-2015, 07:26 PM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

Yes it seems many people are going with the 6-Core. That machine is definitely remarkable, however it seems the Quad-Core is disappointing a lot of people. For what it's worth the benchmark test showed a huge difference between the Quad-Core and the 6-Core, and I'm afraid I'll end up buying something that's barely faster than my Mid 2012 MacBook Pro Quad-Core i7 2.3 GHz with 16GB of RAM, taking into consideration that I'll be keeping the MacBook Pro.
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Old 08-04-2015, 09:31 PM
propower propower is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

I tested both with HDN a year ago. Performance was exactly the same. But the Hex core has 50% more cores and hence can run 50% more plugins. Take the stock Quad and for $500 upgrade the CPU. I personally would take the RAM to 32G and the HD to at least 512... uhhh .. that's exactly what I did!

BUT - if you don't NEED the Hex core the Quad is simply a great machine too.

PS - go to the Apple store and tell them about your pro audio business. They will set you up with an Apple Business account. Instant 5% discount.
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Old 08-04-2015, 09:57 PM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

Thank you for clearing this up. I shall go with the Quad-Core then and maybe someday, if need be, upgrade it to the 6-Core.
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Old 08-05-2015, 01:33 AM
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V5V V5V is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jcalla View Post
I'm thinking about buying a Mac Pro however currently the Six-Core is a bit too expensive. Anyone using the Quad-Core Late 2013 Mac Pro? If you are, how good is it with Pro Tools sessions and would you recommend it for its current 3000$ price-tag? I ask this here because anywhere I go to watch or read reviews, it's always about how the Mac Pro can handle video rendering. Nothing about how it can handle sessions with many plugins in an Audio Production software, especially Pro Tools.

We use a quad with 32GB RAM for an HDX rig and it's perfect.

Save a few bucks on the CPU and use the money to buy RAM.
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Old 08-05-2015, 01:39 AM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

This is great to hear, will do! Thank you
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Old 08-05-2015, 01:57 AM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

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We use a quad with 32GB RAM for an HDX rig and it's perfect..
Are you using OS X Mavericks or yosemite? In case you're using the latter are you encountering any annoying bugs?
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Old 08-05-2015, 07:57 AM
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

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Are you using OS X Mavericks or yosemite? In case you're using the latter are you encountering any annoying bugs?
Mavericks. The policy in our plant is not to alter working systems unless there's a compelling reason to do so. Since we don't use the machine for anything besides Pro Tools there's no reason to update to Yosemite.

I should probably add that when I said the Quad is "perfect" I meant the computer. Pro Tools still has some issues, but they have nothing to do with the machine.
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Old 08-05-2015, 09:21 AM
Jcalla Jcalla is offline
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Default Re: Anyone using the Late 2013 Quad-Core Mac Pro?

Right, we're talking solely about the machine. Good on you for not upgrading to yosemite (if even deserves to be called that), I tried my best to find a store near me that has an old shipment of Mac Pros 6,1 that came with Mavericks but alas, no luck there. They either ran out or returned the older ones for the new. Gonna have to go with yosemite if I want a brand new machine, which I do...
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