HDX on MacPro5.1 Westmere,Xeon W3690, PT12.8.3 HD?

[alonper]

Hello Experts!

We will be glad to get your help.
Currently, we are running PT10 HD on Mac Pro 4.1, Nahlem, 16GB 1033Mhz using 2 PCIe cards with 3 IOs. There are a lot of reasons why upgrading our PT, some of them are because of bugs and really slow flow.
So we bought HDX system, 1 PCIe and two IOs, and new PT12 license.
We found that our old Mac isn't good for the HDX hardware (and PT12 HD) and we must buy a new hardware.
So, before buying a new Mac Pro, I would like to get your advice regarding this Mac :
Mac Pro 5.1 Westmere, 3.46Ghz (W3690), 32GB DDR1333Mhz, 480SSD PCIe.
we will install High Sierra, But we've got to be sure that this Mac is good for the HDX system and PT12.8.3 and even for the PT2018...

Thanks in advance,
Alon

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by alonper

Mac Pro 5.1 Westmere, 3.46Ghz (W3690), 32GB DDR1333Mhz, 480SSD PCIe.
we will install High Sierra, But we've got to be sure that this Mac is good for the HDX system and PT12.8.3 and even for the PT2018...

That processor speed is not constant, unless this is a modified Mac Pro. The fastest, continuous processor speed for that model was 3.33GHz.

Why does your MacPro4,1 not work for HDX? I understand that it may be a bit sluggish, though I have users with 2.93GHz MacPro4,1 with HDX (1 card) and two I/Os that are able to work without incident. One person I used to work with complained about a 4,1 being sluggish when I upgraded him to PT12.3.1 and OS X Mavericks.

The 5,1 can run High Sierra. Whether or not it will run PT2018 on High Sierra in a way that you deem acceptable is another matter. I haven't tried that combination yet.

The one thing you want to look out for on any Mac Pro tower is the RAM configuration. The 4,1 and 5,1 use triple-channel memory. This means that you get maximum performance with 6 RAM chips installed, not the maximum of 8 RAM chips.

Also, I have seen the ATI HD5770 on 5,1 towers fail. Its not a definitive failure either. Sometimes the computer would work for minutes, other times for hours, and then BAM! Instant restart. This is a sign that the ATI HD5770 graphics card is failing. I spent several days tracking that down. Don't trust Apple Hardware Test to catch it either. I had to swap out the ATI HD5770 graphics card to confirm that it was at fault.

[Fidelis]

A lot of us here upgraded our Mac Pro 4.1 to 5.1 via firmware and upgraded its processors to newer and faster ones. There are some topics here about that. I did it and my Mac Pro is flying with HDX. I also upgraded the video card. Very happy with it.

[Extreme Mixing]

Yes. Upgrading the tower Macs is a very viable option these days. Costs about $1K. If you have a spare slot, you can get a USB 3 card, which you will love.

Steve

[Samanthas Dream]

Upgrade your Mac immediately!!!!!

[DetroitT]

Video Cards and SSD's in 5,1 mac solid here in HS OS / HDX

[off the wall]

Originally Posted by alonper

Hello Experts!

We will be glad to get your help.
Currently, we are running PT10 HD on Mac Pro 4.1, Nahlem, 16GB 1033Mhz using 2 PCIe cards with 3 IOs. There are a lot of reasons why upgrading our PT, some of them are because of bugs and really slow flow.
So we bought HDX system, 1 PCIe and two IOs, and new PT12 license.
We found that our old Mac isn't good for the HDX hardware (and PT12 HD) and we must buy a new hardware.
So, before buying a new Mac Pro, I would like to get your advice regarding this Mac :
Mac Pro 5.1 Westmere, 3.46Ghz (W3690), 32GB DDR1333Mhz, 480SSD PCIe.
we will install High Sierra, But we've got to be sure that this Mac is good for the HDX system and PT12.8.3 and even for the PT2018...

Thanks in advance,
Alon

I'm running Pro Tools 2018.4 on an upgraded 12 core 3.46 2010 Mac Pro. No complaints.

[s.d. finley]

Originally Posted by Fidelis

A lot of us here upgraded our Mac Pro 4.1 to 5.1 via firmware and upgraded its processors to newer and faster ones. There are some topics here about that. I did it and my Mac Pro is flying with HDX. I also upgraded the video card. Very happy with it.

which video card did you update to? I have a 4.1 that was flashed to a 5.1, runs pretty good with a SATA3 PCIe accelerator.

[Samanthas Dream]

Originally Posted by s.d. finley

which video card did you update to? I have a 4.1 that was flashed to a 5.1, runs pretty good with a SATA3 PCIe accelerator.

You should not need to change your Video Card unless you buy new monitors that require a new/more powerful video card. After I updated my 2009 8 core to a 12 core, I was running twin 27 inch monitors for my DAW, and my existing video card handle that no problem. I then switched to two 34 inch ultra widescreen monitors, and to get the resolution I needed, required a video card upgrade. That would’ve happened, regardless of the CPU upgrade.

[Fidelis]

Originally Posted by s.d. finley

which video card did you update to? I have a 4.1 that was flashed to a 5.1, runs pretty good with a SATA3 PCIe accelerator.

Hi, it's a GTX 970 flashed for mac. I just upgraded because the original one was behaving strangely and I was afraid that it would break anytime. But, its was not easy because it needs two power connections and one it is used for the HDX... so I had to built a split power cable to connect both the HDX and the video card. Now it works like a charm.