PT 12 and Windows and Sam ASH Warning.

[Jimmyboy7]

Windows users that give Mac users crap are probably fed up with arrogant comments from Mac users. I'm not sure about the " spend just as much " comment. Not if you build your own. For example. I just finished building a new PC. It has an Asus X99-E WS motherboard, Intel Xeon E5 v3 processor with 10 cores ( 20 virtual ), 64 gig of ECC Ram. 500 gig SSD. Easily accessible large case with 5 fans a Glyph external drive. That was about 3 grand and I cannibalized my old system for the optical drive.

Look up a Mac with that kind of horse power and tell me they cost about the same



Just to clarify... That's 2 less cores than mine and the Ram is is slower and DDR3. Mine is DDR4 and 2133. Not to mention the processor Lithography is probably 32 nm where mine is 22nm. This is why you get snotty comments. This Mac is much less powerful, is an older generation chipset, has less expand ability and is more than double the price. To someone who doesn't mind or enjoys building and tinkering it makes no sense to pay that kind of money just to have a Mac. I can understand a Hackintosh, but buying a new one for the studio? No way.

BTW, I also have a Mac book Pro so I don't hate Mac's I just thought your comment about pricing was dead wrong.

[NewdestinyX]

Don't know where you got that number.. But I have 6 cores (12 virtual) (little less than yours) then a 1:1 match on all your other specs and paid $3199 for it refurbished straight from Apple. You must have selected some other features - to get it up to $6999.

As a general rule of thumb.. Building your own machine from scratch as a PC you can usually beat a Mac's price - but not by 50%. Those days are gone.

And all the settings you have to defeat in a PC to get it to give you the same audio performance in PT for audio, is just not worth it to me.. I don't want to have to turn off my text smoothing and defeat my wifi and Bluetooth cards every time I launch PT. Seems silly to me just to save a few $. But that's me. I respect your decision for you.. But every client I consult for who tells me they want a PC, I tell them they'll regret it and they'll be calling me several times a month with issues related to PT performance on a PC. In my last 20 years of designing audio systems for clients I have had exactly "3" service calls based on PT performance issues running on a Mac. I can't even tell you how many service calls I've had about PT performance issues using a PC. And that's just in the last several years since PT was available on the PC.

Each to his own.. Not interested in a debate on the topic. We all have years and years of experience and we can just share what we've seen and give the best advice possible to the OP.

But I didn't pay anywhere near 6999 for a computer that nearly matches your specs.

[Jimmyboy7]

That link was copied directly from the Apple online store for a new Mac Pro. I understand if that has been your experience. I just thought your comments about PC users was out of line. I admit there is a lot of tweaking and learning to do with a custom PC build and PT but for those willing and able to do it its worth it. Especially when I need to fix something on a Saturday night and no tech support is available. As far as never needing to help Mac users.... This and many other threads are chock full of Mac people needing help. And from what I can tell.. It seems most of those problems have the same root cause as those for PC users...lack of knowledge and usually doing things or using peripherals that aren't supported by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, none of us are immune to these things. With my new system I had a few hiccups and I purposely change things around to find out what would cause instability in my system. I recently discovered something I just never knew or overlooked. I was getting some weird BSODs with my new install and I didn't understand why, when I looked at my BSOD checker The culprit was an avid 11 rack driver. I had not read enough about the use of the 11 rack with ProTools 11 HD and discovered it's unsupported in USB 3.0. I just assumed it would be fine because it's an avid piece of hardware. I also have Avid Converters ( HD I/O) and control surfaces. After plugging it into the USB 2.0 port no problems.

[Emcha_audio]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

Don't know where you got that number.. But I have 6 cores (12 virtual) (little less than yours) then a 1:1 match on all your other specs and paid $3199 for it refurbished

Not to debate but please be open minded a moment.

Refurbished = used and put back into condition.
12 virtual cores vs 20 virtual cores that's 4 physical cores missing
You're system is also using older technology components, cpu topology, 32 nm vs 22 nm cpus. Slower ram. Etc

You do not have a computer that matches his specs. You have a computer that have the same amount of ram maybe, but not the same speed nor the same number of lanes for the ram which equate to speed. Your cpu is under-powered compared to the one he has on his pc, not only because it has four cores less but because of the difference in generation that brings more computing power independently to the number of cores of the cpu.

Now go and build a mac pro to the same configuration (if you are even able to) he has and make sure it's not a refurbished and look at the price jump. Let's not forget the fact that the new mac pro have no internal expansion available, which means it costs a lot more to get the external expansion chassis (sonnet and others), which in his case, he won't have to spend a dime more to buy the expansion space he needs, as his tower case is more than appropriate to fit what he needs in it for a while.

Also those who are careful to build or buy a system that is known to work usually do not have problems with their systems. I have built my last 3 pc's for pro tools, and I have had very little problems in the last 8 years. But those system are dedicated to audio production, I don't use it for personal gaming and stuff like that.

[deepsouthguitar]

You right my bad

[Bob Olhsson]

Refurbished sounds a lot worse than it is. In modern computer-speak, it means the box was unsealed for some reason after leaving the original factory in the country of origin such as China. It does not mean it was used beyond a brief test to make sure it works but can mean it was returned by a customer who received the wrong product.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Refurbished sounds a lot worse than it is. In modern computer-speak, it means the box was unsealed for some reason after leaving the original factory in the country of origin such as China. It does not mean it was used beyond a brief test to make sure it works but can mean it was returned by a customer who received the wrong product.

Refurbished can also mean what Manny said about being used and put back into good condition. This is the defintion Apple used to use (I don't know if they still use it) for their refurbs. An opened box item is a different thing altogether. Those are never sold as refurbs but as 'open box' in a reputable dealer's listing. An unused item returned by a customer is not sold as a refurb but as a restocked item or labeled as 'customer returned' in some cases.

[Bob Olhsson]

That was true at one time but I understand today those must be called used.