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  #1  
Old 06-22-2012, 07:45 AM
Niglopte Niglopte is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 13
Default PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Hello guys,

I've been shopping for a computer lately as my macbook pro has pretty much bit the dust. I originally wanted to build a PC, but looking into it,it's a real headache!

Problem is, I DONT have 2000$ to buy a crazy i7 mac. I would like to run PT9, and I stumbled across someone selling a used imac for pretty cheap.
The specs are the following:
Intel Core 2 duo, 3.06GHz

8GB Ram
256MB Radeon HD 4670 Graphics
1 TB Drive (I also have an external GLYX HD which I will use)
I have a DIGI 002 and PT8 at this point. I want to upgrade to atleast 9 because I LOVE the Idea of standalone.

If I can buy this computer for about 800$ and get to avoid hours upon hours of research to build a computer which may not even be stable in the end, I will be one happy camper.

What do you guys think - will this computer be powerful enough?
I only do music - never video.

(I really hope I am posting this in the right place)
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  #2  
Old 06-22-2012, 12:53 PM
jhamrick jhamrick is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 153
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Should be fine for Music, but... I'm runnging a dual core 2.0GHz iMac and have been able to mix up-to 48 tracks with plug-ins populated. But, I am hitting a wall(cpu utilization)... If you can swing $400+ more for new iMac I would do that for the Quad cores.
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  #3  
Old 06-23-2012, 07:03 AM
Niglopte Niglopte is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 13
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Thanks for your reply Jesse!
Unfortunately I can't swing the extra bucks, but fortunately, I have never in my life have to run a 48 track session, which means I should be good!
Respect!
Nic
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  #4  
Old 06-24-2012, 03:07 PM
JazzyJ JazzyJ is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 798
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Built a Hackpro for $1000 (£700)

i7 quad 2600k 4.0Ghz
16GB Ram
2 x 1 TB HD's (Caviar Black Sata III 64MB cache)
256MB GT8600
R3 Tower
3 x Firewire Busses
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
Coolermaster Silent fan
OSX 10.6.8
PT 8.0.3 CS2

40+ voices, 4 or 5 Kontakt open, Superior Drummer x2, X-pand x2 or 3, loads of EQ's and Comp, 2 or 3 different reverbs auxed = 6% to 9% CPU.

Happy! Enough said. Best move I've ever made.
__________________
Hack Pro (4.2Ghz i7 Quad/16GB)
PT11 / OSX 10.8.5
TC Electronic Konnekt 24D

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  #5  
Old 06-25-2012, 09:27 AM
Niglopte Niglopte is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 13
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

I dont understand how.. that processor alone is 300$ + tax.
add a MOBO of at least 300$, then all the rest...
did you gets some of the parts used or something?

Sounds like a killer setup though!
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  #6  
Old 06-27-2012, 12:57 AM
JazzyJ JazzyJ is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 798
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Quote:
I dont understand how.. that processor alone is 300$ + tax.
add a MOBO of at least 300$, then all the rest...
did you gets some of the parts used or something?
2 of the Firewire cards were second hand but the rest was new.

Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz Socket 1155 8MB Cache CPU: £209 +£4.99
Gigabyte P67A-UD3P-B3: £99.99
eVGA 8600GT 256MB DDR3 Graphics: £23.19 +£4.00
WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 64MB: £71.99 + £7.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB SATA2 32MB: £67.49
Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600Mhz: £82.08 + £2.79
PCIe Firewire 2 ports + internal Header: £7.99 +1.99

Sony Optiarc AD-7280S DVD: £13.98
Fractal Design R3 Tower: £69.69
Coolermaster Silent Pro 500W Modular PSU: £59.21

= £726.37 / $1,135.08

Already had 2 x monitors and a mouse but decided to add the following as well:

Mini Bluetooth 2.0 Adapter: £6.15
BNIB Apple Keyboard (sealed): £32.50
KW 4 Port Firewire PCI with internal port: £8.99
HP 3 port Firewire PCI: 7.99
FrontX.com CPX105 IEEE 1394 -6 pin
FrontX.com CPX088 Front £13.70 (for the two items)

= £795 / $1,242.33

I went with this guide:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic....=26911&start=0

but used Caviar Black and Spinpoint F3 drives, an i7 2600K and GT8600 instead. The Mobo was the same and the method identical.

Clocked the i7 to 4.0Ghz with no problems and run OSX 10.6.8 with PT8.03 cs2 with Mbox2 Pro. I'm really happy with the build and have had no problems.

The FrontX stuff was to add a firewire port in the extra 5.25' bay in the tower as I couldn't find a tower with a firewire port at the front for using with external firewire drives when needed etc. You can connect it via an internal header or internal port. Was cheap as chips as well! The R3 tower has 2x USB2 and 1 x USB 3 on the front/top.

You could do it all cheaper but I went for 16GB ram, Caviar Black, R3 soundproof tower, silent fan, wireless apple keyboard etc....

I initially wanted 2 x PCI firewire cards so that my Mbox 2 Pro would always be on it's own Buss even if I plugged in a FW external drive (I use with a Macbook) but then got a 3rd (PCIe x1 slot) Firewire card on top to see if that would work - and it does. This means that for a friend with PTHD we could lose the 2 xPCI and insert the HD cards there. We need to check if it will run on my system and if so, then we'll build one for him.

If you want it even faster then what a lot of people are doing is using SSD for a system drive.
__________________
Hack Pro (4.2Ghz i7 Quad/16GB)
PT11 / OSX 10.8.5
TC Electronic Konnekt 24D

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  #7  
Old 06-27-2012, 03:34 AM
Dism Dism is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 6,154
Default Re: PT9/10 on imac Core 2 duo 3.06 + 8GB RAM... good enough?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JazzyJ View Post
2 of the Firewire cards were second hand but the rest was new.

Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz Socket 1155 8MB Cache CPU: £209 +£4.99
Gigabyte P67A-UD3P-B3: £99.99
eVGA 8600GT 256MB DDR3 Graphics: £23.19 +£4.00
WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 64MB: £71.99 + £7.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB SATA2 32MB: £67.49
Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600Mhz: £82.08 + £2.79
PCIe Firewire 2 ports + internal Header: £7.99 +1.99

Sony Optiarc AD-7280S DVD: £13.98
Fractal Design R3 Tower: £69.69
Coolermaster Silent Pro 500W Modular PSU: £59.21

= £726.37 / $1,135.08

Already had 2 x monitors and a mouse but decided to add the following as well:

Mini Bluetooth 2.0 Adapter: £6.15
BNIB Apple Keyboard (sealed): £32.50
KW 4 Port Firewire PCI with internal port: £8.99
HP 3 port Firewire PCI: 7.99
FrontX.com CPX105 IEEE 1394 -6 pin
FrontX.com CPX088 Front £13.70 (for the two items)

= £795 / $1,242.33

I went with this guide:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic....=26911&start=0

but used Caviar Black and Spinpoint F3 drives, an i7 2600K and GT8600 instead. The Mobo was the same and the method identical.

Clocked the i7 to 4.0Ghz with no problems and run OSX 10.6.8 with PT8.03 cs2 with Mbox2 Pro. I'm really happy with the build and have had no problems.

The FrontX stuff was to add a firewire port in the extra 5.25' bay in the tower as I couldn't find a tower with a firewire port at the front for using with external firewire drives when needed etc. You can connect it via an internal header or internal port. Was cheap as chips as well! The R3 tower has 2x USB2 and 1 x USB 3 on the front/top.

You could do it all cheaper but I went for 16GB ram, Caviar Black, R3 soundproof tower, silent fan, wireless apple keyboard etc....

I initially wanted 2 x PCI firewire cards so that my Mbox 2 Pro would always be on it's own Buss even if I plugged in a FW external drive (I use with a Macbook) but then got a 3rd (PCIe x1 slot) Firewire card on top to see if that would work - and it does. This means that for a friend with PTHD we could lose the 2 xPCI and insert the HD cards there. We need to check if it will run on my system and if so, then we'll build one for him.

If you want it even faster then what a lot of people are doing is using SSD for a system drive.
I vote for the Hackintosh, as well. :)

Tonymacx86 has great and easy tutorials on how to get OSX installed on PC components.

BTW: Don't get a P67 motherboard. Get a Z68. Much much better, and can be had for around $100 as well.
__________________

D
a n t h e I n c r e d i b l e S o u n d M a n

"Svetlana" v1 - 4.2GHz i7, 16GB RAM, OSX 10.7.4
Liquid Saffire 56 - PT10.2 - BFD2, VCC, Duende Native, Play 3.0

_C U R R E N T-D V E R B-S C O R E:515
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