Optimizing MacPro for PT9HD

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Craig F

HDN will not run TDM plugs

Blue 192s are not supported in 11, they may work/they may not. Do you want to risk it?

And if you do want to risk it - know that going into it that your investing in a system that will have to run as is.... For several years and then it will probably be going about the same price as a Mix system cards are going for right now (ie: worthless)

[Mista Min]

Originally Posted by 11miles

Hi,

This might be a complete wrong forum to ask this typo of questions, since it is not software related per se.
Is it more of a hardware based inquiry to all of you MAc users, who are in the same/similar boat as me or were once, and can give me some pointers.

I got a chance to try out an older Intel Xeon MAc Pro with HD9 installed.
2x3GHz, 2x500gb 7200 3,5 disks. 10.6.8.
It ran relatively smooth, compared to my i7 Mini Server with pt9 installed.
10.7.4, on a ssd disk.

I was pretty impressed about how it handled 2 instances of Omnishpere fully loaded, and 16 aux tracks with at least eq and dynamic insert , with Ozone 5 on the master.
FYI, just changing the preset with similar setup on my Mini (though i was never able to do more than 1 omni) causes spikes on CPU.

So i might be selling the mini, and buying the MacPro, especially since my MAc dealer (which will not sell me the Pro) said it could get even more optimized.
Running OSX from an SSD disk, perhaps even Samples?
Than putting 2x2 disks in raid for backup...

But what i am really keen on is having a Pro for eventually buying a HD1 Core card with used 192, and go to PT10HD.
As i read the compatibility great on avid site, if i am not mistaken i could get the system running on 10.6.8?
I heard it is far more stable than Lion.
I am aware about not being able to install ML on this machine.


Although my first impressions are good about the MAc Pro, i would like to here from your experience if my plan to optimize (RAM aswell, now running 9gb) the MacPro will benefit my CPU workload even more.


Thanks for your input and i apologize to admin for trashing the wrong forum.

BEst,
Matt


www.moraus.tv

Hey Matt,

I posted some info on Gearslutz as well, but I will also post something here.

You should take one of the biggest and heaviest sessions you have that makes your mini act up and open it in the Pro and see how it acts. You will more than likely get an out CPU error. Also, concerning your Mini, why doesn't it run as smoothly?

Cheers!
Min

[11miles]

Min thank for responding, and thanks for all your info regarding the new upgrade of PT Hardware.

I dont want to be a PITA, but what i was trying to find out was not if buying an old MAc pro is worth the money, but what steps should i take optimizing it.
Perhaps i was not thorough with my questions, i apologize.

For instance;
How will putting an SSD disk instead of a normal 3.5 7200rpm, influence PT alone?
from your experience is it worth it. I know it makes booting the computer a lost faster, and so on, but i was only referring to working with and beside ProTools.
Same question appliesto loading samples.
What are your experience?


How will Upgrading RAM benefit working inside the PT?



Thank you,

[groundcontrol]

Both upgrades are worth it to a point, more so if you're on HD10 with the RAM caching feature.

[11miles]

Interesting..

Care to indulge me with some more info?
I was thinking only SSD for OS and pas, but then my mac dealer advised putting it into some sort of RAID config?

Alos he mentioend a better Graphic Card.

I tried the MAc Pro and it did have some trouble with dual screen.
I guess that is the workload of the graphic card solely.

I hear lots of good opinions on BM Intensity Pro.
Only for Playback 720p QT on separate HD Screen.

[Mista Min]

An SSD will only provide better boot times and programs and any audio libraries on those drives will open quickly as well. Pro Tools itself will not benefit, except it opening faster and your Kontakt libraries loading faster.

With PT 10 you will only need 4 gigs of ram for Pro Tools, but you also have disk cache. With 9 gigs you are pretty well off because you can set aside 3 gigs of ram for Diskcach and you still have 6 more for OS and Pro Tools.

Personally I run 16 gigs, but that's because I bought two 8 gig sticks. The more ram the better, but how much ram you actually need is determined by what you actually do and your workflow.

If you get that Mac Pro, get yourself an HD3 while you're at it or a UAD quad card because you will need it. That's just my personal experience.

[11miles]

Thanks a lot for the info.

I like sSd speed, also its quiet! I also like the idea of putting disks into raid for backup purposes.

What about graphic card?

I do a lot of post production for TV ads, nothing big on CPU, but a dedicated monitor is a must. I was thinking getting a BM intensity Pro as a second monitor.

I will think about the HD3 options, thanks again for mentioning.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by 11miles

What about graphic card?

I always choose the one without a fan :)

[groundcontrol]

You could get a Thunderbolt or USB3 BM for your mini too.

Consider that the type of QT codec used in your sessions has a huge impact on the cpu hit therefore on system responsiveness, independently of the machine or card you use.

Maybe do a search/go look in the Post section. This has been discussed a lot.

Also, RAID arrays are not for recording. They're best used in a NAS/SAN.