Upgrade Help needed

[ThatDigiGuy]

Hello,

I have been going back and forth between whether or not to upgrade my system. I currently run PT LE 8.0 with a Digi 003 and Mac PPC 2.0ghz. I am looking to upgrade to an HD 1 system possibly a 2. However, with all the talk of Snow Leopard not supporting PPC's etc and the need to upgrade again to PT 9.0 whenever that is released is kind of shying me away from it. Would it be beneficial for me to continue using my PPC and upgrade to HD using 8.0 until everything is stable on Snow Leopard and so forth before I have to purchase an Intel Based Mac Pro? I do not have too much to spend at the moment on an entirely new system so I was hoping to get into HD somewhat cheap. Sessions are coming in at a steady pace, but not enough to fund a full rig.

The other thing is that LE is becoming more powerful with each update. Do you think I should just hold out on getting an HD and stick with LE? Sorry for the long post, I'm just having a hard time deciding what to invest in.

Thanks in advance!

[BradLyons]

There are clearly benefits to a PTHD system, but the reality is that an LE rig on a MacPro with some killer converters is quite awesome too. Why do you want to go PTHD? Is it for latency? The summing bus? ARe you not happy with being in LE right now? Seriously---- the cost that you spend on HD can take away from other more important factors, such as converters, plugins, mics, pres, monitors, etc. Are those items covered already?

[ThatDigiGuy]

yes... mainly the latency and the buss issuses. i have been able to get around the latency by splitting the audio to an external mixer and feeding the already recorded material to the board as well. However, the delay compensation has been throwing me off as well since the click is 10ms behind. It has just been frustrating doing all of the steps trying to figure out delay compensation etc etc jsut to record. To mix... wow, well its even more intense. The buss issues are annoying due to the loss of bit depth and again, the delay compensation. I guess I am talking myself into HD, but my question still remains... would it be worth it to upgrade with the upcoming Operating system changes and the fact that my Mac is a PPC? thanks for your reply!

[Craig F]

G5s are on the bottom of the compato list
you don't have to upgrade when 9 comes out (there are still guys running Mix on OS9/Power Mac 9600s, they are getting rare)
maybe try and find a deal on used HD hardware (how many I/O do you want?) that could take some of the upgrade sting out if/when you do want to upgrade

[nod25]

Originally Posted by Craig F

G5s are on the bottom of the compato list

But seem to be far less affected by "performance issues" compared to Intel Mac's at present from what I seen/read here and over at GS.

IOW Non-intel (Mac) users are getting better performance. Go figure

[ThatDigiGuy]

well... as far as I/O's... my ultimate goal is to purchase an ATB 32 and do some hybrid mixing. A little in the box and a little out. Plus, I really like the inline monitoring feature. It seems like I'm talking myself into an HD system. My only issue with it, is should I update now with a PCI HD1 possibly a 2 and use my current Mac with PT8.0 or would I be investing in something that will put me even further back? Frankly I feel that its more about the final product that people look for rather than the latest version of a piece of gear. Agreed? The only thing I do not like about LE is all of the extra stuff you have to do to deal with the latency, delay compensation, and bit loss when bussing. I bought the production kit etc etc but I still am not happy with it and my workflow. I guess again, the question is, "Is it worth it to upgrade to a PCI HD system right now with my current Mac or would I be setting myself back more?" Sorry for the rambling, this is just a big investment and is really eating at me. Thanks again for your responses.

[Shifted Music]

personally if I was to buy a hd rig now I would upgrade my computer first then get the best deal used as I could find on the PCie... this way whatever happens having a fast computer to start will help keep you in the running for a few years regardless of Digis hardware path...

I use a G5 dual 2.7 and this is the fastest computer available for the old PCI cards. and although with a HD3 it would be a nice set up. .I would rather go for a newer/faster computer and start with a hd1 or 2.