I need suggestions on what Mac Pro and OS works best.

[Ben Jenssen]

If you're staying on 10, you'll also have to be staying on older OS X.

I say PT10 is best run on a Mac pro cheesegrater xeon processor 2008-2012, the later the better, and OS X 10.6.8 to 10.9.5. Anything within this range will have a very good price/value score.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by 1redvettefor2

Well I hadn't gotten too deep into plugins and virtual instruments but when I attempted to record is where it started to freeze and pop. I'm totally willing to spend what I need to this time around rather than cheaping out. I read that certain OS will not work with PT10 so I'm not sure I want a newer machine. My concern now is how new of an OS and system will suit PT10.

What *exact* DAE errors did you get? (turn ignore errors off in the playback engine dialog).

Talking about "cheaping out" tells us _nothing_ useful. What is your actual budget? Are you OK on spending that on a system that will likely be replaced with a radically different new Mac Pro in about a year?

[panamajack]

Originally Posted by 1redvettefor2

. . . My concern now is how new of an OS and system will suit PT10.

Mountain Lion 10.8.5 (or Win7 on a PC).

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by panamajack

Mountain Lion 10.8.5 (or Win7 on a PC).

OSX 10.9.5 also is a solid match except the PT uninstaller doesn't work. There are well-know steps on how to do that though on the Avid site and also found via Google.

[1redvettefor2]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

What *exact* DAE errors did you get? (turn ignore errors off in the playback engine dialog).

Talking about "cheaping out" tells us _nothing_ useful. What is your actual budget? Are you OK on spending that on a system that will likely be replaced with a radically different new Mac Pro in about a year?

My budget isn't a specific dollar amount but dictated by what set up (Mac Pro+OS)works best with PT10. At that point I will seek out a machine with said specs.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by 1redvettefor2

My budget isn't a specific dollar amount but dictated by what set up (Mac Pro+OS)works best with PT10. At that point I will seek out a machine with said specs.

So you really don't have a budget and the sky's the limit then right
That's not a good philosophy as posters here could spec out a machine with all the bells and whistles and be something you couldn't begin to afford. Unless you have what show business people call an 'angel' with very deep pockets.
At least give us a max dollar amount you're willing to spend.

[1redvettefor2]

Originally Posted by musicman691

So you really don't have a budget and the sky's the limit then right
That's not a good philosophy as posters here could spec out a machine with all the bells and whistles and be something you couldn't begin to afford. Unless you have what show business people call an 'angel' with very deep pockets.
At least give us a max dollar amount you're willing to spend.

I'd like to think I could get a really well suited machine for $1500 or considerably less, that would be a good fit for PT10. I'm using that as a starting place. I tried putting myself under a budget before and that seemed to be the wrong way to look at the situation and ended up not getting a very well suited machine. I'm willing to entertain a higher budget if it's necessary. I thought it was best to get "ideal" specs and see what I could find from there. Either way I appreciate all of the advice.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by 1redvettefor2

I'd like to think I could get a really well suited machine for $1500 or considerably less, that would be a good fit for PT10. I'm using that as a starting place. I tried putting myself under a budget before and that seemed to be the wrong way to look at the situation and ended up not getting a very well suited machine. I'm willing to entertain a higher budget if it's necessary. I thought it was best to get "ideal" specs and see what I could find from there. Either way I appreciate all of the advice.

There's a difference between 'ideal' specs and what is possible given one's budget. As I wrote earlier we could give you what would be the ideal system if money is no object or we could give you specs on something a lot less pricey that will work just as well (or close enough). Given your proposed budget buying new is out of the question and even if you had the money PT10 will not run on the current OSX Sierra. You're going to need a machine that has OSX 10.9.5 or OSX 10.8.5 to be able to run PT10. Keep that requirement in mind

[1redvettefor2]

I could buy a new machine and would but I'm not planning on updating my PT nor can I afford both so it would, in my eyes, not make sense to get an up-to-date computer that will likely be out-of -date by the time I may want to upgrade PT. If I could get to a stable reliable operation I would be more than happy. I see a lot of Mac Pros for sale on eBay that have been upgraded and often look like they are surpassing brand new machines by my interpretation.

I'd like to know the following (and more if it's necessary)

1-A year range of Mac Pro that works well with PT10 (unless specs are more useful than a year range)
2-Processor speed, number of cores, brand if it's important?
3-Amount of Ram and what MHz (I assume the more and the faster the better)?
4-Is firmware important and is there an ideal version of firmware, OS, and hardware combination for PT10?
5- OS recommendations? (its been answered i believe)
6-HDD (I realize 2 is best or more) should I have all SSDs? What MHz?
7- Is bus speed important(If the processor and ram have been upgraded) and will it affect processor and ram performance?
8- Is there even such a thing as too much speed and processing power for PT10?

I have some computer build/repair experience and I'm not afraid to do a lot of the work that may be necessary to make a good computer great or even excellent. I'm also willing to accept buying a computer that would be "good" as long as I knew it was a solid foundation to build from. I say this because the Mac mini is essentially non-buildable.

That's what I can think of for now. If I should be asking other questions non-budget related please let me know.

Thanks!

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by 1redvettefor2

I could buy a new machine and would but I'm not planning on updating my PT nor can I afford both so it would, in my eyes, not make sense to get an up-to-date computer that will likely be out-of -date by the time I may want to upgrade PT. If I could get to a stable reliable operation I would be more than happy. I see a lot of Mac Pros for sale on eBay that have been upgraded and often look like they are surpassing brand new machines by my interpretation.

I'd like to know the following (and more if it's necessary)

1-A year range of Mac Pro that works well with PT10; basically any cheesegrater from 2009 until the end of that line are good machines
2-Processor speed, number of cores, brand if it's important
3-Amount of Ram and what MHz
4-is firmware important and is there an ideal version of firmware, OS, and hardware combination?
5- OS recommendations? (its been answered i believe)
6-HDD (I realize 2 is best or more) should I have all SSDs? What MHz?
7- Is bus speed important and will it affect processor and ram performance?

That's what I can think of for now. If I should be asking other questions non-budget related please let me know.

Thanks!

#1 - doesn't mean all that much; there are some that swear by certain years/models
#2 - you have no choice of cpu brand for a Mac - they're all Intel cpu's
#3 - as much ram as you can afford and speed is dictated by what specific Mac you get
#4 - firmware doesn't mean anything in the Mac world like it does in Windoze land; if it boots and works - that's all you need to know
#5 - for PT10 either OSX 10.8.5 or OSX 10.9.5
#6 - ssd if you can afford it; MHz means nothing with respect to drives. If you're looking at a spinner you want 7200 rpm non-green drives
#7 - irrelevant in Mac world - see #4 above