Pro Tools 12 How to best time the switchover

[jjgordon]

I currently am running Pro Tools 10 on a late 2009 Imac I5 with 12 gigs of RAM, under the latest Mavericks OS. Whats the best plan for either sticking with this whole setup or transitioning to PT 12? Going to Yosemite has its limitations on older software, but not upgrading eventually will cost me dearly. Just hard to know what to do.
Also, how well will PT 12 run on my older Imac? Do I need a new, faster machine? Will Yosemite itself strain the speed limit on my system?

Thanks
Jeremy

[Craig F]

I don't think there is a lot of load difference between Mavericks and Yosemite
You will always be hampered by the i5 vs an i7 difference in total potential but depending on what you do it may not matter
12GB of RAM, mixed pairs or tri-channel config

[V5V]

Originally Posted by jjgordon

I currently am running Pro Tools 10 on a late 2009 Imac I5 with 12 gigs of RAM, under the latest Mavericks OS. Whats the best plan for either sticking with this whole setup or transitioning to PT 12? Going to Yosemite has its limitations on older software, but not upgrading eventually will cost me dearly. Just hard to know what to do.
Also, how well will PT 12 run on my older Imac? Do I need a new, faster machine? Will Yosemite itself strain the speed limit on my system?

Thanks
Jeremy

I've got Yosemite on my Mid-2009 MacBook Pro (3.06 Ghz C2D, 8GB RAM) and I am not able to detect any difference in performance compared to Mavericks.

I discovered through a demo of PT12 that I can't use it because I work to picture and the way Avid wrote the code prevents the Video Engine from working with some C2D CPU's, but during the evaluation period I opened up some audio-only sessions and they ran fine, no hiccups or pauses or anything. Note that the sessions in question were all fairly simple with low track count (24 or less), moderate plug-in use and no VI's. I didn't bother stress testing it since the video issue meant I wasn't going to buy it anyway.

[jjgordon]

Thanks for the reply. Not quite sure why you couldn't run video with PT 12. What re C2D CPUs for example? I'm a little uneasy about what I will do for my future use of Pro Tools, after support for earlier versions go away...

[V5V]

Originally Posted by jjgordon

Thanks for the reply. Not quite sure why you couldn't run video with PT 12. What re C2D CPUs for example?

According to Avid, the AVE (Avid Video Engine) is not compatible with the Core 2 Duo CPU's in certain older Macs. That's as specific as they get. No further details or explanation.

The AVE issue only applies to Pro Tools versions 11 and 12 so video still works with the affected CPU's when using Pro Tools 10, but PT10 doesn't work with Yosemite.

I don't understand what kind of coding voodoo is going on at Avid that their software is so picky about third-party drivers and seemingly generic hardware when we don't see issues like these with anyone else's software, but obviously some combinations work just fine. Your machine may not have any problems at all. Try the demo version and see.

[john1192]

Originally Posted by V5V

According to Avid, the AVE (Avid Video Engine) is not compatible with the Core 2 Duo CPU's in certain older Macs. That's as specific as they get. No further details or explanation.

The AVE issue only applies to Pro Tools versions 11 and 12 so video still works with the affected CPU's when using Pro Tools 10, but PT10 doesn't work with Yosemite.

I don't understand what kind of coding voodoo is going on at Avid that their software is so picky about third-party drivers and seemingly generic hardware when we don't see issues like these with anyone else's software, but obviously some combinations work just fine. Your machine may not have any problems at all. Try the demo version and see.

... they would really like you to use Their Hardware .. always have, nothing hew .. they made the mistake (to our good fortune) of allowing us to use 3rd party interfaces and control surfaces (albeit - via HUI - up there with Midi for the old age home) .. just sayin'

[V5V]

Originally Posted by john1192

... they would really like you to use Their Hardware .. always have, nothing hew .. they made the mistake (to our good fortune) of allowing us to use 3rd party interfaces and control surfaces (albeit - via HUI - up there with Midi for the old age home) .. just sayin'

All true, but that has nothing to do with the problem at hand, which is that part of Avid's software (the AVE) doesn't work with certain older Intel CPUs. Unless Avid is now selling computers, using "Their Hardware" isn't an option.

[john1192]

lorin, posted in wrong thread .. sorry about that .. no wonder it looked weird .. LOL

could this be a VideoCard issue in the older intel computer not playing well with the Avid Video Engine ??? i seem to remember video issues when PT11 came out as well .. someone else may be able to speak more intelligently to this ..

[V5V]

Originally Posted by john1192

lorin, posted in wrong thread .. sorry about that .. no wonder it looked weird .. LOL

Too many conversations to keep track of these days. I keep sending text messages intended for my wife to clients and co-workers. Usually that's embarrassing, but it did land me a date with the guy who bought my old keyboard. I don't know how that'll go since neither of us is gay, but backing out now would be awkward...

Originally Posted by john1192

could this be a VideoCard issue in the older intel computer not playing well with the Avid Video Engine ??? i seem to remember video issues when PT11 came out as well .. someone else may be able to speak more intelligently to this ..

I don't know, but being an Avid product, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that Pro Tools won't work unless I change my shampoo.