Avid Pro Audio Community

Carl Fuehrer · #1 10-30-2012, 08:29 AM

I am at the point where I am ready to update from 8LE to 10 and move from my quad-core G5 PowerMac and interested in getting a used Mac Pro. Budget is my main concern and for the machine, RAM and OS I'd like to keep it very close to $2000. My questions are:

What is my advantage in getting an 8-core over a 4-core for Pro Tools?

Would I have better performance getting a Harpetown, Nehalem or Westmere CPU 4-core versus a Woodcrest or Clovertown 8-core CPU?

Thanks so much for your help in advance.

shotgunndunn · #2 10-30-2012, 08:54 AM

I cannot comment specifically on the CPU's you mentioned. However, the more cores the better as far as I'm concerned. More RAM too. Maybe get an SSD drive and use an external drive for your audio. I actually removed my optical (DVD) drive and installed an optibay converter an put a 1TB HDD in place of it. If I should ever need the optical drive (yeah right!!! Who uses physical mediums anymore...) I have it in an external drive enclosure.

Dism · #3 10-30-2012, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Fuehrer

I am at the point where I am ready to update from 8LE to 10 and move from my quad-core G5 PowerMac and interested in getting a used Mac Pro. Budget is my main concern and for the machine, RAM and OS I'd like to keep it very close to $2000. My questions are:

What is my advantage in getting an 8-core over a 4-core for Pro Tools?

Would I have better performance getting a Harpetown, Nehalem or Westmere CPU 4-core versus a Woodcrest or Clovertown 8-core CPU?

Thanks so much for your help in advance.

A single quad is a waste of money at this point. Just about any modern laptop (at least with an i7 in it) will be more powerful than any quad Mac Pro.

Mac Pros are aging faster every day. At this point, you'd be better off investing in a Macbook or building your own machine with OSX on it.

OddsAre · #4 10-30-2012, 09:06 AM

For some real world perspective, I just sold my 2007 Mac Pro, 2.66GHz Quad Core XEON, 3GB of RAM and that thing screamed. One of the best purchases I ever made. Just last week I had a session going with 60+ tracks with a ton of Digi and Waves plugins going. I feel like no matter what you get, you will be happy. Just remember the older the machine, the less time Apple will support it with OS updates. That particular Mac Pro would not run Mountain Lion unless I upgraded the graphics card and did a few code tweaks to open up the 64bit firmware. I would rather take a newer Quad Core machine over an older 8 Core machine, because I know for my needs, the Quad was plenty strong enough. If you are planning to work heavily with Video as well, go as big and as much RAM as you can afford. Also remember RAM is easy and cheap to upgrade. Processors... not so much. If you can get a faster CPU and hold off on RAM for a few months until you save up a few more pennies, that might be the route to go.

I'm writing this on my freshly delivered MBP Retina with 2.6GHz i7 Quad Core. I'm anxious to put it through it's paces and to see how it stacks up against the Mac Pro. Mobility was more important to me than horsepower this time around, so I opted for the Laptop. With Thunderbolt I feel like this machine will be a great asset for years to come.

Hope this helps...

Carl Fuehrer · #5 10-30-2012, 09:13 AM

A laptop would not be a good match for my studio and photo editing setup. I plan on putting at least 16Gb if not 24Gb of RAM in it. I plan to run Pro Tools 10 with plenty of plug-ins, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, which will be nearly the only intensive programs I will use. No video production or gaming. I am currently using external drive for audio but I am seriously considering an SSD for samples/library and another SSD for audio recording only.

NHH · #6 10-30-2012, 09:33 AM

Carl,
have you considered the quad-core MacMini?

The Server is notable for its 2 x 1TB drives installed (albeit 5,400rpm). Expandable to 16GB of RAM.

It's also USB 3 (four ports).

Newer and quicker than some of the more ageing MacPro's.

Just a thought.

Carl Fuehrer · #7 10-30-2012, 10:01 AM

I have thought about a Mini but I eventually want to add a UAD-2 card and install multiple internal hard drives so Mac Pro is my direction.

Dism · #8 10-30-2012, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Fuehrer

I have thought about a Mini but I eventually want to add a UAD-2 card and install multiple internal hard drives so Mac Pro is my direction.

It's just hard to justify the cost for how old they are.

I do empathize with the need for a tower, however, which is why I built my own machine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OddsAre

I'm writing this on my freshly delivered MBP Retina with 2.6GHz i7 Quad Core. I'm anxious to put it through it's paces and to see how it stacks up against the Mac Pro. Mobility was more important to me than horsepower this time around, so I opted for the Laptop. With Thunderbolt I feel like this machine will be a great asset for years to come.

Hope this helps...

That MBP is going to blow away your previous machine. It's more powerful in just about every way. I am still skeptical about longevity, as everything inside is brand new and glued together. It has 0 modular parts, and that is a bit of a concern for me. However, that thing will dominate in performance next to any quad Mac Pro, "new" or old.

The problem with Mac Pros right now is they are living in the past, which is concerning for an Apple product. SATA2, USB2, PCIe2, no Thunderbolt, old video cards, 1333 MHz RAM, and the Xeons have mostly lost ground to the latest Sandy/Ivy Bridge i7s.

If you absolutely have to get a Mac Pro, you'll want an 8-core minimum, and as new as you can possibly afford to avoid the axe from OSX compatibility.

Carl Fuehrer · #9 10-30-2012, 10:40 AM

Dism, now you got me thinking. I am trying to save money by combining my studio setup with my home computer that I do photography stuff on. If I could still have the power to run Photoshop and Lightroom (obviously not at the same time as Pro Tools) I guess a new Mac Mini could work. When you mention you built a machine, are you referring to a Windows machine or Mac machine?

nst7 · #10 10-30-2012, 10:42 AM

Carl, rather than going used, get a refurbished Mac Pro from the Apple Store. It's just like buying a new one, with full 1 year warrantee, and the option of getting the extended Applecare (you can get it anytime within the first year).

They've got some great prices. You can get a 2.8 Quad for $1819, and a 2.4 8 core for $2649. These are the most current models. They also have the 3.2 quad for $2139.

I grabbed the 2.8 quad for my HD Native and I'm happy with it.

Get your Ram and SSD's from OWC.

When the new Mac Pros come out next year, you can sell these and not lose much money.