Picking a Pro Tools version

[Vaselinessa]

I've had LE 6.4 for a number of years, and I'm wondering whether there's any value in moving up to 7.4 or 8.0.

Has anyone out there been following along from version to version such as you could explain in what ways the higher versions differ from 6.4?

[albee1952]

It depends entirely on your computer. If you have an older system with a single core cpu, I would not make a change. After ver.7 you get multi-core support and 7.4 gave us Elastic Audio. PT8 added a boatload of stuff and is a worthwhile upgrade, but only if you have a fairly new computer that is up to the task(all the extra goodies tax the system more). If in doubt, post a Sandra report on your system so we can offer better advice. Of course, you could always leave the old rig as is, and build a new i7 monster.

[spkguitar]

Yeah, the differences in 6.4 and the latest version really are too numerous to list.

Even the list of documents that include lists of the changes is too numerous to list, but here ya go: ( )

• What's new in LE 6.7
• What's new in LE 6.9
• What's new in LE 7.0
• What's new in LE 7.3
• What's new in LE 7.4
• What's new in LE 8.0
• LE 8.0.3 release Notes
• LE 8.0.4 Release Notes

The "value" of whether it is worth it to upgrade is really up to you. Keep in mind that any other plugins that you may be using are going to need upgraded as well, and might incur additional expense.

Here's my take on it though; the upgrade to 7.x is going to cost you as much as the upgrade to 8, and might actually be kind of hard to find these days, so if you're going to upgrade, go for 8.
I also agree with Albee; if you are going to upgrade, really upgrade. New computer, new version, the whole shebang.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by spkguitar

I also agree with Albee; if you are going to upgrade, really upgrade. New computer, new version, the whole shebang.

Absolutely.

[The Weed]

6.4 is stable and was the first version to include the mouse scroll wheel shortcuts. They are the one thing I probably wouldn't give up.

Except for Windows 7 64 bit support, Elastic Audio, expanded playlists, a refreshed GUI and a lot more free plug-ins, most of the improvements from 6.4 to 8.0.4 have been on the MIDI side of things.

If you don't use MIDI and virtual instruments, don't need Elastic Audio or use any plug-ins, don't want to upgrade your operating system, computer and third party software, I really wouldn't bother. On the other hand, support for the original M Box ended at 8.0.1 and support for Windows XP and Vista ended with 8.0.4. Eventually you will have to upgrade your computer and Pro Tools and your third party applications. It's up to you to decide when you need to do that if the new features aren't anything you need and you don't have the strong urge, like many of us, to be up-to-date with, or in some cases, even ahead of, Avid/Digidesign and Pro Tools. (You people know who you are )

Cheers,

[Mr. Kelly]

I was/am in the same place you are. I have 6.4 and a 001, and it's worked flawlessly on my single cpu system for 6 years.

I decided, for the time being, to build my new i7 "supercomputer" now, and perhaps add the 003, 8.xx, and W7 64 in a year or so.

I did this because I'm able to do almost anything I want with my current setup, and my time is limited right now to get everything up and running (anticipating the typical problems this kind of upgrade seems to be incurring). I also deterred spending $1000... no small amount of change.

So, I was really drawn to upgrading everything, and I was almost a mouse click away from doing that. But, I had to think... what do I really want...??? The most important part of the answer was... to make uninterrupted music - sooner rather than later. I can do that now without any problems w. my new computer.

I'll upgrade the PT later!

[ondruspat]

As the other guys have stated, it depends on your computer. When I went from 6.4 to the 7.x world I built a new machine. My old one was a single core, new one a dual core. The old one will run all the 7.x versions but without that much of a processing advantage of course. That being said I don't plan on updating to the 8.x world until I can built a new computer just for that version series (my machine has been rocking with 7.4cs10).

I figure the plus side of waiting to build (I should say until I can afford to build) an new computer for the latest version of PT is that all the bugs should be worked out of it by the time I can get to it.

[Vaselinessa]

Wow. Thanks for all the input.

Originally Posted by albee1952

If in doubt, post a Sandra report on your system so we can offer better advice. Of course, you could always leave the old rig as is, and build a new i7 monster.

(I'm not sure what a Sandra report is---I'm interested to know---but here are the specs on my box:)
Dell Inspiron
Dual core 2.8 GHz
3 GB RAM
Running XP (have Vista but dislike it)
It's 4 or 5 years old, but I like it.

Thanks to your input, I'm leaning on the idea of getting 7.4 used (not too pricey since 8.0 came out) so that I can make use of the dual core support.

[albee1952]

Those specs are close to meaningless(other than to say its a Dell, which is not promising). Read here
Help us help you - what you need to know before posting!

[Murt]

Originally Posted by The Weed

If you don't use MIDI and virtual instruments, don't need Elastic Audio or use any plug-ins, don't want to upgrade your operating system, computer and third party software, I really wouldn't bother.

Elastic Audio alone is worth it IMO.