Can you help with some basic questions from a non techie?

[rosiegsm]

I have already posted two threads on the Pro Tools Windows forum that describe the "journey " I have followed to deciding to buy a MacBook Pro for my daughter to run Pro Tools 9. Please bear with me as I am no techie!

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?p=1777404#post177740
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=29925

So, before launching ahead and purchasing a system ,I would really appreciate any feedback on my questions. Here is my quest. My daughter is 17, studying "A" level music and "A" level Music technology. She hopes to gain a place at University to study Music Technology. We have already visited numerous universities and found that without exception they all use Pro Tools on Mac based equipment.

We have therefore decided to now purchase a new MacBook Pro laptop of the following spec in the hope that this specification should be relatively future proofed for the next five years:-

a) 2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
b) 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB
c) 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 RPM
d) 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display
e) FireWire 800, 3xUSB 2.0, Thunderbolt, Audio in, Audio out, N WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, Express card

Question 1 : Is 4Gb enough, should I go straight for 8Mb?

Question 2 : She will initially want to use Pro Tools 9 as a stand alone system. I believe I would need to run ASIO4ALL to allow Pro Tools to communicate with the lap top audio.

From the Avid Website I have found the following information:-
http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/self...p?DocId=380567

Pro Tools 9 Hard Drive Requirements [380567] External Drives

( Avastor HDX/SDX or OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro™ drives recommended for best performance )
• eSATA
• USB 2.0 (Windows Only)
• FireWire (Mac Only) with FireWire interface using these chipsets:
o Oxford 934 - FW 400
o Oxford 924 - FW 400
o Oxford 924 - FW 800
o Oxford 911 - FW 400
o Oxford 912 - FW 400
o Oxford 912 - FW 800

Question 3 : As I have said, I am no techie. Can anyone specify an external hard drive, easily sourced in the UK, that fits the bill? What size would be a sensible investment for her requirements.

Pro Tools Optimisations for MAc OS X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1sTq...x=2&playnext=1

Question 4 : I have read the details on optimisation and viewed the YouTube video on the subject. I assume that these are followed each time you wish to have a PT9 session, then re-set these parameters when exiting the session? I ask this from the point of view that students will obviously be running other software.

Question 5 : I notice that automatic updating is switched off to ensure that no updates are installed that alter the operating system. You would obviously need to leave this switched off until Avid eventually give updates and guidance on updating the operating system? If this is so, how quickly to Avid respond t operating system updates. I have read that a new operating system called "Lion" will be released by Apple this summer. Are Avid sluggish in responding to such changes? What is the current platform operating system for Pro Tools 9, is it 10.6.6?

Question 6 : I've always used windows based products, always used internet security, never had a problem. BullGuard, who supply my windows based internet security, do not cater for Mac. What, if any, security do I need to purchase?

Many thanks in anticipation for your replies,

Graham Morris

[promixr]

Originally Posted by rosiegsm

I have already posted two threads on the Pro Tools Windows forum that describe the "journey " I have followed to deciding to buy a MacBook Pro for my daughter to run Pro Tools 9. Please bear with me as I am no techie!

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?p=1777404#post177740
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=29925

So, before launching ahead and purchasing a system ,I would really appreciate any feedback on my questions. Here is my quest. My daughter is 17, studying "A" level music and "A" level Music technology. She hopes to gain a place at University to study Music Technology. We have already visited numerous universities and found that without exception they all use Pro Tools on Mac based equipment.

We have therefore decided to now purchase a new MacBook Pro laptop of the following spec in the hope that this specification should be relatively future proofed for the next five years:-

Five years is a bit long to expect any computer, PC or MAC, to be viable. If you were to look back five years and think about how much hardware and software has changed you'd see what I mean.

a) 2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
b) 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB
c) 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 RPM
d) 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display
e) FireWire 800, 3xUSB 2.0, Thunderbolt, Audio in, Audio out, N WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, Express card

Question 1 : Is 4Gb enough, should I go straight for 8Mb?

4GB should be plenty

Question 2 : She will initially want to use Pro Tools 9 as a stand alone system. I believe I would need to run ASIO4ALL to allow Pro Tools to communicate with the lap top audio.

ASIO4ALL is a generic Windows Audio driver. You do not need anything like this on a Mac.

Question 3 : As I have said, I am no techie. Can anyone specify an external hard drive, easily sourced in the UK, that fits the bill? What size would be a sensible investment for her requirements.

Hard drive space is cheap, you want to make sure that the drive is 7200 RPM for recording. If you can afford it you might think about a small fast portable FW 800 drive for recording and then a large USB drive (or RAID) for backup.

Question 4 : I have read the details on optimisation and viewed the YouTube video on the subject. I assume that these are followed each time you wish to have a PT9 session, then re-set these parameters when exiting the session? I ask this from the point of view that students will obviously be running other software.

Probably not, unless she is really doing some serious sessions in school she shouldn't have to worry about constantly changing or optimizing ProTools. The Mac OS is pretty forgiving. It really depends on what she ends up doing in reality. She will probably learn about a lot of these 'under the hood' tweaks in school though.

Question 5 : I notice that automatic updating is switched off to ensure that no updates are installed that alter the operating system. You would obviously need to leave this switched off until Avid eventually give updates and guidance on updating the operating system? If this is so, how quickly to Avid respond t operating system updates. I have read that a new operating system called "Lion" will be released by Apple this summer. Are Avid sluggish in responding to such changes? What is the current platform operating system for Pro Tools 9, is it 10.6.6?

You should not worry about updating until you have an actual need to update. If the Music Technology program is any good, she will receive guidance on this as she progresses through the program.

Question 6 : I've always used windows based products, always used internet security, never had a problem. BullGuard, who supply my windows based internet security, do not cater for Mac. What, if any, security do I need to purchase?

Internet Security is not the problem on the Mac that it is on Windows. If you are really worried Kaspersky makes a very good Mac Solution for Security:

http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-se...-virus-for-mac

but it's not really that necessary...

Here are AVID Educational options- your daughter can save money on her software:

http://imsproav.com/main/Get-Pro-Too...-Versions.html

[carlone]

Excellent reply Promixr!

[nst7]

As for hard drives in the UK, you could try Dolphin Music, they have some on their site, but they seem like the more expensive brands.

You still may be better off ordering something like this from the U.S., even after paying shipping and VAT:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

You want the ones in the column on the left, with the triple interface.

[promixr]

I really like Rocstor drives. There is nothing special about their performance or the hard disk itself, but the cases and power supplies are very robust and well designed at a very reasonable price:


http://imsproav.com/main/Rocstor.html

[rosiegsm]

Thank you, one and all, for taking the trouble to respond to my questions.

It is appreciated!

Graham Morris

[sunburst79]

All good advice. Down the road you may want to upgrade the RAM to 8GB. Don't buy Aples RAM which is extremely over priced but seek out some Apple compatible quality RAM from a reputable supplier.