Pro Tools LE 7 update

[JoeLouis]

Hi, I have a veeeery old setup, and I'll appreciate you advices for update it. (Non too expensive stuff please)

My old stuff:
Mac G5 Dual 2.3 Power PC (To iMac or Mac Mini?)
Mac OS X 10.4.11
Pro Tools LE 7.4
MBox 2 Pro (the blue one, from around 2007)

Thanks so much in advance.

[Craig F]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PT11LEup-e

confirm with your preferred dealer that 7 is qualified

MB2P should work with legacy drivers but there are so many more options available now

[VRW]

At first, as you are from the States, you can take advantage of one of the last LE-to-PT12 incl. the Upgrade Plan-offers I have found so far.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/daw-s...ctivation-card
They ship to the US only so customers from other parts of the world cannot buy it from them anymore unfortunately.
Those will have to buy the LE-to-PT11 first, then get the PT12 Upgrade incl. the Ugrade and Support Plan for PT9/10/11 users.

Secondly there are of course a lot of options out there for a low budget/entry level Pro Tools computer but I only will post you 2 different kind
of solutions.
Although Avid also have put computers with i5 or i7 Dual Core processors on the qualified for PT12 list recently it is a fact and proven by lots of
pro users that PT11/12 does work as its best with i7 Quad processors.
So I will post you 1 Mac Mini and 1 iMac with i7 Quad Core processors, 16GB Ram (which you will want for PT11/12+Yosemite) which are still
affordable in a way.

Lets start with the machine you can buy as a new product, a
2014 iMac 21.5" 3.1GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 256GB Flash Drive
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/im.../A&step=config
You need to configure it that way yourself and it will be $2100.- all together, incl. keyboard, mouse etc.
The only thing you will have to get additionally will be a separate, external drive for your Pro Tools sessions/audio files.
The most affordable solution for that will be a large 7200rpm HDD in an USB3 enclosure.
For example put such a one
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...ck+2.5+7200rpm
into such a one
http://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Extern...+enclosure+2.5
This will be about $75.- for both which is really affordable.
So if you are on a budget this will be a cheap yet good, useable solution for Pro Tools.
If you use a lot of VIs with large sample libraries, just get 2 of these, 1 for the audio, 1 for your samples and you will be good to go.

If you can afford a bit more, just put a large SSD in the same USB3 enclosure.
Such a one
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-In...amsung+850+Evo
or such a one
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-In...ng+850+pro+1tb

If you need a large amount of storage space this one might be an affordable yet fast enough solution for Pro Tools as well.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Lacie/9000492U/

Now lets get to the 2nd variant with a Mac Mini. This time I am going to post you a set up with an used 2012 i7 Quad Core Mac Mini.
Just because none of the new 2014 Mac Minis offers an i7 Quad Core processor anymore, only i7 Dual Cores and, even if those 2014 i7 Dual
Core Minis have been put on the qualified list recently, the 2012 i7 Quad Core models offer a much better performance particularly with Pro Tools.
Whats the point of that is that Pro Tools needs a good Multicore Performance and that is where there is a big difference (the 2nd graphic on this site).
http://barefeats.com/macmin14.html

There are some interesting offers on Ebay.
1) 2012 Mac Mini 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 240GB SSD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Mac-Min...item4199151a20
2) 2012 Mac Mini 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 240GB SSD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Mac-Min...item4d34b48369
3) 2012 Mac Mini 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 1TB SSD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Late-2012-Ap...item2354172da8

4) 2012 Mac Mini 2.6GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 1TB Fusion drive
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Late-2012-Ma...item25a94c1093
5) 2012 Mac Mini 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core, 16GB Ram, 1TB Fusion drive
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-mi...item3cfdaaf6cd

4) and 5) are good offers too but those Minis come with Fusion drives and Pro Tools does not work properly with Fusion drives!
However what you could do would be to split up the Fusion into its 2 parts, 1 128GB Flash drive for the very basic OS and Pro Tools, 1 larger HDD for backups etc.
You still would need a separate external drive for your Pro Tools sessions/audio files because this drive has to be a fast one to work properly, 7200rpm at the least.
The HDD of the Fusion drive in a Mini probably is only 5400rpm which will be too slow for Pro Tools audio but appropriate for any kinds of backups for sure.
Its no big deal actually to split up the Fusion drive, check it out there.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2015...ion-drive.html

You further of course will need a monitor for your Mac Mini system. This one would be an affordable yet good quality one for example.
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VS248H-P-...s=asus+monitor
Its got a very fast 2ms response time which is important for Pro Tools as well.
Finally the 2012 Mac Mini variant would be around $1500-1800.- all together (depending on the final price of the 2012 Mini), incl. this monitor etc.
which is a very affordable solution indeed yet very powerful and perfectly useable for Pro Tools. Of course there is a small risk buying used gear but many people
use to do that anyway.

Its up to you if you only want a new computer and a very compact solution which the 2014 iMac would be or if you are definitely on a tight budget still wanting
a professionally useable, powerful Pro Tools machine for relatively less money.

I hope I could give you some food for thought at least and you will find the best suitable solution for your needs.

All the best, VRW




PS: I forgot about the audio interface. I highly would recommend to replace your MBox 2 Pro as those guys are not really working well with all the latest computers
(Firewire issues etc.), latest versions of Mac OSX and latest versions of Pro Tools anymore. As Craig has mentioned already there are only legacy drivers for it, no
official drivers for Yosemite anymore! You won´t get happy on trying to use it with current stuff I am afraid.
Again if you are on a budget you may just look into the Focusrite Saffire series which offer quite the same stuff your MBox did but are working well even with the latest
versions of Pro Tools and Mac OS.

The Saffire Pro 26 for example would be an adequate replacement for your MBox 2 Pro yet quite affordable imo.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffPro26
The Saffire Pro 40 has been widley used among professionals successfully with Pro Tools 11/12, OSX Mavericks+Yosemite and offers lots of I/Os for the price.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffPro40

If you can afford more and would not need more than 2 Mic pres, the Apollo Twin series offers fantastic quality for below 1k.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ApolloTwinS
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ApolloTwinD

Again the best of success to you.