Upgrade from Mix System - Need advice?

[starburst]

Hey guys,

I have a mix system on a g4 running pro tools 6.4 - still runs great. I also have a 2007 imac which runs pro tools 8 and an Mbox.

The mix system is my main recording/mixing daw but I use the imac system for plugins like abbey road drums and a couple of other instruments.

While this works I hate having my sessions fragmented across two systems. I want to upgrade and keep things simple.

So this is just for my own use and I can't justify spending thousands but what are my options? I'll go down the 2nd hand route. I am keen to have an HD1/2 system, I just can't be doing with buffer errors. My imac system isn't in the same league as the mix system in terms of reliability.

Is it worth going for a G5 system? What's the latest version of pro tools that will run on that? I guess anything between 8 and 10 would do me for a few years.
Or am I looking at a pro mac? Or would a newer imac running a native system be more reliable than I suspect?

Any tips appreciated.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by starburst

Is it worth going for a G5 system? What's the latest version of pro tools that will run on that? I guess anything between 8 and 10 would do me for a few years. Or am I looking at a pro mac? Or would a newer imac running a native system be more reliable than I suspect?

Yes, if you can find workstation, cards and interfaces for the price that suits you. Latest version would be 8.0.1 -- it has the new gui and lots of plugins state that as compatible version for "current" plugin versions. But if you can (check plugins' compatibility docs!) you would do better staying in OSX 10.4 (tiger) and PT 7.2 as it is much more reliable and stable than the PT8 which was a little sluggish due to the new gui.

If you can find pci-express card(s) for a good price, a Mac Pro would be better choice as you can upgrade to latest PT 10.3 if you want to.

I don't think iMac can run loads of plugins for long times without a meltdown. It has become *very* thin and cannot (IMO) dissipate the heat properly, for long runs that is. At the very least its fan would be constantly at full power which may be very annoying.

Remember that if you want to keep using those MIX interfaces (connected to HD interface legacy port) you need to choose that G5 route...

[Craig F]

how many input do you need?
the newer i7s can do quite a bit if you don't need a ton of I/O

[starburst]

Originally Posted by Craig F

how many input do you need?
the newer i7s can do quite a bit if you don't need a ton of I/O

8 would be good. Are you thinking a native system?

[starburst]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Yes, if you can find workstation, cards and interfaces for the price that suits you. Latest version would be 8.0.1 -- it has the new gui and lots of plugins state that as compatible version for "current" plugin versions. But if you can (check plugins' compatibility docs!) you would do better staying in OSX 10.4 (tiger) and PT 7.2 as it is much more reliable and stable than the PT8 which was a little sluggish due to the new gui.

If you can find pci-express card(s) for a good price, a Mac Pro would be better choice as you can upgrade to latest PT 10.3 if you want to.

I don't think iMac can run loads of plugins for long times without a meltdown. It has become *very* thin and cannot (IMO) dissipate the heat properly, for long runs that is. At the very least its fan would be constantly at full power which may be very annoying.

Remember that if you want to keep using those MIX interfaces (connected to HD interface legacy port) you need to choose that G5 route...

Thanks! The G5 route seems the cheapest option. It would certainly get me a better version 8 system which will run some of the plugin instruments I use.
Regarding the legacy interfaces; do they connect to the HD cards or do you need an HD interface to connect to?

[Craig F]

a properly set up computer w/ an i7 running native should outperform a G4 Mix3
look at your plugs to see if there is anything that has not been updated (ideally to AAX) or is still DSP only

[moonmusic]

I just bought a dual 2Ghz G5 HD system the other week....I also run 2 Macs and have Abbey Road Modern Drums...I run it on my MB Pro which is a dual core i5 2010 model with 4 gig ram...That system uses a Mbox Pro box....It takes the MB Pro all it can just to run that one instance of drums....I can't imagine trying to install it on the HD system and run it successfully along with everything else....I just record the midi in the HD system and record the audio coming back on playback....I know that's what your trying to avoid....That's the only way I've found I can use all the VIs that I like: Omnisphere,Trillian,etc....I can't afford a new mega multicore machine so this is the cheapest option I know....I agree it would be awesome to have it all in one machine but unless the powerball or one hit wonder song comes my way, It isn't going to happen for me anyway...LOL.....I've also got Addictive Drums and Steven Slate Drums....Neither sounds as big and open as NI Modern Drums or Studio Drums but they don't bog the CPU down nearly as much either....If you do decide to try to get everything in one box, check all your VI's minimum spec requirements....They might not support the older system....I know I had to do alot of research when buying plugs to make sure they would support PT 8.0.1 and Mac OSX 10.5.8...I even had to find alternative downloads because the Digidesign site had newer downloads that I couldn't use....moon

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by starburst

Regarding the legacy interfaces; do they connect to the HD cards or do you need an HD interface to connect to?

HD card always connects to HD interface. So no, you always need at least one HD interface.

One HD card can handle 32 i/o, of which first 1-16 i/o are always HD interface itself but last 17-32 i/o can be either another daisy-chained HD interface or legacy i/o connected to legacy port.

[starburst]

Originally Posted by moonmusic

I just bought a dual 2Ghz G5 HD system the other week....I also run 2 Macs and have Abbey Road Modern Drums...I run it on my MB Pro which is a dual core i5 2010 model with 4 gig ram...That system uses a Mbox Pro box....It takes the MB Pro all it can just to run that one instance of drums....I can't imagine trying to install it on the HD system and run it successfully along with everything else....I just record the midi in the HD system and record the audio coming back on playback....I know that's what your trying to avoid....That's the only way I've found I can use all the VIs that I like: Omnisphere,Trillian,etc....I can't afford a new mega multicore machine so this is the cheapest option I know....I agree it would be awesome to have it all in one machine but unless the powerball or one hit wonder song comes my way, It isn't going to happen for me anyway...LOL.....I've also got Addictive Drums and Steven Slate Drums....Neither sounds as big and open as NI Modern Drums or Studio Drums but they don't bog the CPU down nearly as much either....If you do decide to try to get everything in one box, check all your VI's minimum spec requirements....They might not support the older system....I know I had to do alot of research when buying plugs to make sure they would support PT 8.0.1 and Mac OSX 10.5.8...I even had to find alternative downloads because the Digidesign site had newer downloads that I couldn't use....moon

Mmm...... So with your G5/HD handling all your audio are you saying the G5 won't handle Abbey Road Drums? Even with all the audio/mix being taken care of by the HD card?

What you're doing is the same as me except you have a G5/HD + Laptop and I have a Mix system + imac.

Now I could go for a more modern computer like a pro mac or a newer imac and then stick a native version of pro tools but I remember the days of the 001 and my current imac/mbox which is much much newer than the 001 still suffers from unreliable performance. My Mix system on the other hands just works and in terms of its audio/mixing its absolutely fine but won't run the instrument plugins I want.
This is why I like the idea of an HD system, even just a core card to run the audio - I really don't want to bother with buffer errors and all that [bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep], i'd rather go back to tape!

You would think that the latest most powerful mac could offer Superior performance on a native system but I'm not convinced. Maybe I'm wrong?

[Craig F]

one could not pay me enough to take a G5 off of there hands