HD native better with I Mac or Mac Book Pro ?

[hart07]

i don't know if i go with a I Mac 21" or Mac book pro 15" for my Hd native card?
sure i will need a Magma PCIE express box through the thnuderbolt plug

Mac book pro 15" I5 or I7 with how many ram ?
I Mac 21" I5 or I7 with how many ram ?

before i was under windows 7 now i really want to go on Mac.
thks for your advices.

regards

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by hart07

i don't know if i go with a I Mac 21" or Mac book pro 15" for my Hd native card?
sure i will need a Magma PCIE express box through the thnuderbolt plug

Mac book pro 15" I5 or I7 with how many ram ?
I Mac 21" I5 or I7 with how many ram ?

before i was under windows 7 now i really want to go on Mac.
thks for your advices.

regards

Get an i7 (some plugins/workloads will benefit from the i7 's hyper threading. At least 8 GB of RAM. You need at least two disk drives. I would go for a large SSD system drive plus external FW 800 disk on the MBP (non-retina or use the Thunderbolt to FW adapter on the Retina) or the SSD+ hard drive on the iMac. Make sure that FW800 drive meets the requirement specs for a Pro Tools audio drive (7200 rpm or faster, oxford USB chipset, not a "green" drive).

If you have grand ambitions of running huge numbers of tracks and VIs etc then these systems can run out of steam esp. vs. a 6, 8 or 12 CPU Mac Pro.

If getting a Retina MBP max out the RAM and disk options because you effectively cannot upgrade them later.

All these screens will seem small compared to a 27" iMac (the retina has resolution but will still seem small). The retina may still have glitches, e.g. In plugin GUI rendering.

Proper setup of these systems following Avid's optimization guides (currently follow the instructions for Lion even though you will be on Mountain Lion) is critical.

Darryl

[nst7]

Either machine will do fine. Unless you need the portability, you'll always get more bang for buck with a desktop, because with laptops, you're paying partly for the portability.

[hart07]

ok thks but with an Imac no problem after to connect a Express Box 3T Magma to put my hd native card ?

The thunderbolt Imac is ok to receive the Express Box 3T ?

And really better to get an Imac I7 quad core 2.7ghz + 16 gb ram + expressbox 3t ( with hd native)

or

Mac Book Pro retina 15" I7 quad core 2.6 ghz + 8 gb ram + expressbox 3t ( with hd native)

regards

[nst7]

Either one will be plenty of power for what you need.

You just need to decide if you want the portability or not, vs. a desktop and bigger screen.

And you don't need to get the Magma if you're just using HD Native. That's overkill. Just get the OWC Helios, much cheaper and works great:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thund...ercury_Helios/


Also, if you're leaning toward the Imac, they are about to release new ones in the next few weeks, so try to hold off. Info is here:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...___report.html

[digimidi]

Actually, if you are going with HD Native, you can now go with this;

Pro Tools HD Native Thunderbolt

No need for an expansion chassis.

[nst7]

In his post it sounded like he already had the card.

[hart07]

Ok thks
Yes I got a hd native already

The actual IMac is full compatible with the hellios chassis?
I really don't know if I go with mac book pro retina 15" 2.3 GHz 8gb ram or
IMac 2.7GHz with 16gb ram

[nst7]

Again, I recommend the Imac, unless you need the portability. You will always get more for your money with a desktop.

And as mentioned, if you can hold off for a few weeks or a month, you can get one of the new Imacs coming out, which will have Ivy bridge processors and USB 3.0 ports.

And yes, the Helios is compatible with the thunderbolt ports on the Imac.


I noticed you're in France. OWC does ship overseas, but you also might consider the unit from Sonnet, as they have dealers in your area. Info is here:

http://www.sonnettech.fr/product/echoexpressse.html