Advice for update to system...?

[Clarke]

Hi,

I must start by saying that I'm not the most technically minded of people but am about to update my system with a budget of £7000.

I feel that I need more 'voices' so will be going up to HD2 (I'm currently only using HD1) but also, i certainly need to be able run more RTAS plug ins than I'm currently able to do so with my MacG5 (2.5GHz) before is has a fit!

I suppose my questions are this:

What spec powerMac - i think it's important to go up to 64bit and for £4500 what's the best combination of processor and Ram spec I should aim for (assuming on a 1TB hard drive as standard)?
I'm currently using Protools 8 - do I need to upgrade to Protools9?

All thoughts and opinions will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Clarke.

[suicune]

First and most important question is - what form factor is your existing HD core card? Is it PCIe or PCI?

If you're not sure - to put it another way - is your G5 the dual 2.5GHz 2004 model or the quad 2.5GHz 2005 model?

[Clarke]

Ay up Suicune, thanks for getting back to me.

My G5 is sadly the earlier version. Luckily, I've got someone who'll have it off me so I'm all set to purchase a more modern PowerMac and trade in my single PCI-X card for the PCI-E HD2 set up.

I'm hoping to be able to pick up my HD2 cards for about £2000 (i am right in saying that I'll be able to use these with my existing 192 audio interface?) which will leave me with £5000 for the best Mac for the job - whatever that turns out to be.

Due to some quite intense work constraints (and pressures) at the moment, I've got get this upgrade done, but, can't afford for it go wrong and hence I'm doing as much digging about as possible before i take the plunge. My thinking i suppose, is that it seems (especially now protools has been taken over by avid) that there's so many changes underfoot with protools, that my best bet for now is to invest in the Mac side of things for now and sort better protools gear out later(!?) For instance, there's a couple of questions i can't seem to get to the absolute bottom of:

Has protools gone over to 64 bit yet - will it make any difference when it does (or if it has) do you think? Is it worth me going down that avenue?

What's the deal with protools native? I generally need to work in 192 (that's another long story) with maybe up to twelve RTAS plug ins running simultaneously using up to 36 voices being used up. Latency has definately been a problem (and something that has slowed down my work rate considerably in the past). I'm thinking loads of processing power and loads of Ram is the answer but could 'native' be another option?

Loads of questions I know - and apologies for my obviously limited technical knowledge - so thanks loads for this,

Clarke.

[suicune]

Shame. I assume you're talking in terms of a part-exchange price there, as going rate for HD2 PCIe is at least £4-5k. Yes the new cards will work with your existing interface.

You don't have to go to PT9 as PT8.0.3 and higher will work on Snow Leopard which would come with a new mac. But bear in mind that under the terms of the transfer of ownership of HD systems you are required to transfer your software license with the card. Therefore theoretically you should send off your existing PT license when you sell the card and make sure you are receiving a new one with your PCIe system. Although if it's the same person buying your old system as selling you the new one you should discuss this with them to avoid potentially unnecessary ilok transfer fees.

I wouldn't bother with Pro Tools HD Native. You can pick up 2nd hand PCIe cards for less, and since you're coming from an HD system you've probably got a few TDM plugs you don't want to wave goodbye to.

No Pro Tools is not yet 64-bit. If you do or are intending to do a lot of RAM intensive work (ie high end samples/virtual instruments) it's worth investing in VEPro to slave out the work. If you don't do much of that sort of work I doubt you'll ever hit the RAM limit.

I'm a bit confused about what you're saying about your current setup - why is latency an issue? Are you trying to record through RTAS plugins? Are they VIs and you're having trouble with the old 'can't record MIDI with ADC on' problem?

BTW Pro Tools was never 'taken over' by Avid, it always belonged to Avid as a parent company, they just decided to drop the name digidesign.