Jun 25, 2007 01:00 pm applecare :)
the Perfect Mac Pro ?!
Posted on Jun 25, 2007 12:34 pm
Johannes
Court Cmposer
Member Since: Jun 25, 2007
I am about to purchase a MAc Pro.
What will all the Pros here recomend me on having as a MUST on this MAC pro?
I am going to record, Compose Produce etc etc on this system.
many thanks.
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Jun 25, 2007 01:00 pm applecare :)
Jun 25, 2007 01:46 pm as much RAM and hard drive space as possible...cd/dvd burner...don't worry about the soundcard, you'll replace whatever they give you.
Jun 25, 2007 06:04 pm That ain't so funny...
I've had my Mac Mini for about a year, and I've used my AppleCare twice!!
Back to Dell for me next time!
Jun 25, 2007 06:06 pm is applecare like tech support?
Jun 25, 2007 08:13 pm it's the warranty... basically if you have applecare they take pretty good care of you... though repairs take too long IMO... without applecare you are SOL if something breaks... a motherboard for an iBook G4 is $600 just for parts for example...with applecare it's free... and calling apple techsupport is $50 per question...also free with applecare.
Jun 25, 2007 11:12 pm so basically, as much hard drive, and ram?!?!?! that sounds good. any one else?
Jun 25, 2007 11:33 pm What software do you plan on using?
Jun 26, 2007 12:16 am yeah, as far as performance goes.
Jun 28, 2007 01:31 pm I am planning on using, LOGIC PRO 7.2...Final Cut Pro
and a bunch of EAST WEST libraries, maybe just maybe Protools.
Jun 28, 2007 03:06 pm well to do anything with video you need harddrive space... shitloads of it... my feature was around 1.5 Terabytes... and thats just DV25 footage... so you'll want a RAID5 external tower that uses USB2 or Firewire if this is going to be the main editing computer... if you have a Desktop that will be the main editing computer you can just get a crap load of SATA and SCSI towers...and just have some external drives for working between the laptop and desktop...
Jun 29, 2007 12:22 pm Loads of RAM
Quad-Core Intel processor
Hard drive isn't as important as an external HD
I dont know why these guys arent saying it but get yourself a couple ati video cards with 250+ or 512 MB video ram, it really speeds up rendering and any video demanding applications, maya, cinema 4d etc....
Yeah as far as sound, just do a minimal upgrade to live a soundblaster and make sure there's at least a few pci slots incase you want a nice one for producing.
Also, buy me one and throw in a widescreen cinema display. lol
Jun 29, 2007 12:36 pm Lex, people likely didn't say it because he didn't say he was doing any video, unless you are doing video production, a huge video card (like over 64MB) gains an audio producer virtually nothing. Zek mentioned video, likely because of the mention of final cut pro, but the OP never mentioned video production.
Also, the hard drive is every bit as important as any external drive, if you have one, the system drive is where a lot of activity goes on as well...and not everybody (myself being one) has an external hard drive, they are not required...I hate external anything.
Sound Blaster is not an upgrade...it's a lateral move. If one wants to do any semi-serious audio work a Sound Blaster often times becomes a weak link.
Jun 29, 2007 01:44 pm Honestly, those Mac Pros are monsters. I would upgrade the ram to 2 GB at least, and if money isn't an object upgrade the processor. If you need more than 250gigs for the internal drive, add another drive. Applecare is cool too. But honestly a stock Mac Pro will rock. Then add what you need. I would also get a video card that can support dual monitors. But that's a personal thing.
Jun 29, 2007 01:59 pm Many thanks guys, but still it sounds a bit gigy.
I am going to use it to produce music, that will be the main use and only use. I will be using Logic Pro 7.2, so I will have to but music to image, so image will be used there in Logic. I will record Mix etc etc.
I will have a mixer a tube amp to record with mic, and all that studio equipment. So far I am getting the idea from all of you that RAM is a must ok, so so far from what I am gathering from all your guys and lady if any around is this I made this list an please opinions are welcome.
• Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core
• 4GB 667MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics card
• Two 500GB SATA 3Gb/s hard drives
• 16x SuperDrive
What do you think?
Jun 29, 2007 02:04 pm hey thanks, most definatly I will have at least 2, 30 inch monitors.
so thats what the video card is for rigth to be able to sustain Monitors?! nice nice.. sorry I am new to TEchnology, I am an old Pencil and paper music creator.
Jun 29, 2007 02:05 pm 2 30" monitors? Jeezuz, you plan on sitting back a few feet from it or what?
Jun 29, 2007 02:52 pm hahahaha....they are preatty easy on the eyes. It will just give me more space to handel multiple windows per screen. since the mixing now a days is in the production programs on computers.
plus handeling all the other instruments and monitoring EQ levels , you know this stuff. hehe
Jul 01, 2007 01:52 am Yep, if your going to run serious console set ups while on the computer the duals have worked out well for me here. 19" wide screens here though, no 30" monster's. Although that would be really nice.
The computer specs look great for what your getting into for sure.
Jul 01, 2007 07:53 am yeah, I have 8 virtual desktops going... How I managed anything in one is beyond me :)
Jul 02, 2007 01:20 pm so, I am in th erigth path with th eone I hav ein mind an dmentioned above?
Jul 02, 2007 06:16 pm You know, my thumb bounces off the space bar like that too sometimes. :-)
Anyway, yep that is one decent set of spec's and should get the job done nicely. And should be more then enough memory, although I'm not all that familiar with how Mac utilizes ram but 4 gig should be plenty.
Jul 02, 2007 07:49 pm hehehe I am sorry about the jumpy finger, hehe woops. nice thanks for the hand on this Mac stuff
Jul 02, 2007 08:12 pm since you're gonna drop that kinda money...i'd back off the huge monitors and go for a really nice soundcard and pre's and mics and room treatment, and monitors, and cables, and headphones, and...after all...looking cool and sounding good are two different things.
Jul 03, 2007 01:33 am hey Mud, thats a good point, most surtently sounding good is my priority no tlooking cool, many thanks fo rthat reminder. do you think that this sound card that comes with the system that I mentioned is not good enough for a Powerfull system? what will you change from this syste? and why? I am open for anything.
• Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core
• 4GB 667MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics card
• Two 500GB SATA 3Gb/s hard drives
• 16x SuperDrive
Jul 03, 2007 02:54 am no no no no no....get an "audio interface" that is designed for recording. if you can, don't even bother getting a soundcard with your computer....what's your budget and how many tracks do you want to record at once?
nice av, that's one of my favorite movies of all time!
Jul 03, 2007 12:07 pm hahah, thanks for the AV note, he is my hero, an dthe movie simply ROCKS!
My Budget is squizing the $6000 dlls
I will need at least 35 tracks available to record.
I will be using the Project Mix I/0 from M-Audio, it has been highly recommendet by many pros. what do you think?
Jul 04, 2007 09:42 pm I've only puttered around with one for a few moments but thought it was a decent unit for sure. They seem to be holding their price even in the used market so that will tell you something as well. I have heard a few people state they found the unit to work pretty well. A slight learning curve, but worth the time apparently. I would say it is a good investment and will give you many options you would not get with some other interfaces.
Jul 04, 2007 10:24 pm Thanks Noize2u, what do you think abou the Specifications I am planning on?!
Jul 05, 2007 12:03 am i say buy it, build it and fly my booty out there to run it! hehe
Jul 05, 2007 01:56 am hahahah ok, got it, Deal!! thanks Brah, everything aims to buying it, so that shall do, but now, if any one out there thinks otherwise, say now or be silent for ever ! ! !
Jul 05, 2007 03:03 am don't sing it, bring it!
Jul 08, 2007 05:47 pm Johannes, the system specs look killer and should run what you need with no problem. I'm glad to see you using two separate HD's as well. Most people don't give that any thought when building a DAW system. I'm not sure that you need a 500 gig system drive though, but it doesn't hurt to have the extra space. Just make sure you don't store any playback type material such as samples or anything the music project will need in the way of audio or video on it as that can slow the system down a bit. Only have the OS and programs on it. Although you can use it for storage of data that will not be searched or playback during a session.
But other then that the system looks like it should have no problem keeping up with 35 tracks or so.
Jul 08, 2007 08:35 pm Noize2u and all that helped me decide on this machine, many thanks, you all hit a very mature point, and I am thankful for that. The machine its on his way!!, many thanks again, for your support on this topic.
Nov 06, 2007 11:58 am Hi all.
I too doing the daw thing.
after much debate have decided on the mac.
was looking for info on configuration?
how quiet are these units? (recording with open mic or mixing within same room)
I'm going with the apogee rosetta 800. is there a place to plug in or should I get the sympony PCIe card?
Is this post even looked at anymore.
Did you get your mac pro yet and how is it working out.
I noticed with the pc(creation station)there where two 320 gig drives and a 80 gig system drive. wheres the system drive on the mac or is there none ?
003 ptle on the way.
should the mac be windows based or vista?
all comments welcome ,
thank you,
rich
Nov 06, 2007 03:10 pm I'm not familiar with the rosetta 800, but after doing some reading, it sounds like you'll need the x-firewire expansion card to connect to a computer at all.
www.digitalprosound.com/2...ws/zkwhaadj.htm
Then you'd just connect via firewire to the Mac Pro or windows machine.
If you want to connect directly to a protools HD PCI card, you need the X-HD expansion card for the rosetta 800 (AND the protools HD pci card in the Mac).
Otherwise, you're only buying a A/D D/A converter box and it won't work as an audio interface.
The mac uses part of one of the main drives as its system drives. This is typical for purchased computers not specifically set up for audio or video production, simply because its cheaper.
Nov 06, 2007 05:57 pm Thanks Ken.
Briefly they operated on my left rotator cuff last month and will being doing my right next month(years of overhead construction). Getting things together, will be out of it 6 months to a yr. so I figured it be a good time for that learning curve.
List.
Degidesign 003 rack
digidesign command 8
apogee rosetta 800
focusrite isa 828
rode k2
au 106
furman It 20.II
jbl lsr 8" pak
digidesign strike
digidesign producers toolkit
digidesign factory bundle
digidesign velvet
vienna special addition
waves gold
20x20 rugged room.
been playing live stuff past 17 yrs.
20 yrs ago dabbled with tascam 388(8track 1/4 " tape)
would like to get those songs on the computer and start writing again.
Up in the air with pc or mac.
what size? I think the mac so I don't have to worry about viruses, also if things go well , may want to do some type of video. Also my oldest boy may be going to school for graphic arts.
been looking at dell and hp video monitors 20" wide screen.
003 and some plug ins are on the way .
rest of the list will be ordered to get before they take out my right arm. It don't come easy(ringo).
still have to decide on a computer, and get a wire list together. I don't know what I need,( toe bones connected to the foot bone, the footbones connected to the ankle bone,etc...)
?003 to comp?
?command8 to comp?
?comp to video monitors?
?003 or command 8 to audio monitors?
what about the apogee, la106, isa 828,?
been doing one armed insulateing and sheetrock getting the room together for this equipment and been flying around the net giveing myself a crash course on it. Any suggestions and advice is much appreciated.
The computer is the issue at this point and yes ken I think you may be right about that x-symphany card.
thanks
rich
Nov 06, 2007 10:29 pm Rich... how many simultaneous inputs are you looking for?
It appears that a few of the items you've listed are crossover duty, for example, the Rosetta only functions as an A/D D/A converter for 8 channels, while the Digi 003 rack has 8 A/D D/A converters plus digital inputs. Between the two you'd have 16 channels analog input to the computer (and you wouldn't need the firewire card if you went through the digi 003 to the computer). And, I'm assuming the the isa 828 is an 8 channel mic preamp, so you'd have 12 of the 16 channels that could handle mic level inputs. Not sure what the UA 106 is... universal audio 610?
If you're set on using protools with that many inputs, in my opinion, I think you'd better go the mac pro route. If you have money to burn, get the dual quad core model and load it up on ram and hard drive space. I don't know how loud that machine is, but it will be smoking fast and should handle about anything you throw at it (cept a sledgehammer). It will probably be a whole lot more reasonable to purchase the RAM and HD upgrades separately than from Apple, unless you want them covered under applecare (which may be a good idea if you aren't enthralled with replacing components if they don't work/need replacement eventually). As to the viruses, I was told Leopard has a lousy firewall, so you may want to get yourself another separate firewall if you're going to connect the computer to the internet.
Keep in mind, the dual quad Mac Pro will set you back about $4.5k with figuring another grand for upgrades. If you wanted to build a single quad-core PC that would probably handle everything too (but may not be ideal for your son's needs), you'd be about $2k. You can get a quad core dell for under that, but with less choice in your components. I don't know how the 003 would work with vista. Considering Vista and Digidesign's reputations for compatibility: perhaps not very well. XP might be a better choice for compatibility purposes right now.
As to your individual components. Way out of my league. I can look at the specs, but have no idea on their quality, usability, compatibility, etc. Looks like a musician's wishlist though. Should be a good time while you're recovering!
Nov 06, 2007 11:35 pm As far as the MacPro, you can run the 003/Command8/LE system with a 2.0GHz iMac or even a macbook, with no issues at all. Just make sure you have at least 3 GB Ram if you plan on going labor intensive with it though. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you dont really need a MacPro in my opinion.
Impressive gear lineup BTW; good luck with your studio project, let me know when it's all done, and take some pictures; I'd like to see it when it's done.
Nov 07, 2007 02:54 am I was wondering if a lesser mac would work. Take Keith's advice and get an imac instead. haha. I'd be curious as to just how much a mac pro could handle and if it's worth the cost. I wonder if Johannes got his yet?
Nov 07, 2007 08:38 am hey guys thank you for the imput,
? I've had several"tech-salesman" that comment how the rosetta improves ad/da on motu's and the digidesign.word clock latency . As you say it may be redundent.shoot this is confuseing. and the 106 is a 610. for k2 cond. mic. original list had the octopre for the drum and misc. mics but the 828 sits alittle better with me. the octopre aalso had built in compressor/limiter but I read some mixed reviews about it. looking at a 8 channel presonus compressor/limiter/gate. could I loose the la610 and use the 828. Firewall on the mac? so your saying it can get infected? Thought macs at this time where immune to viruses.
I'll be around.
Thanks again.
rich
Nov 07, 2007 01:46 pm MY advice is get the highest speed processor you can afford...
you can max out the memory but if you have a crappy processor speed, your still not going to get the full speed....(can only go as fast as the processor)
plus - you can always swap out memory and sell your old memory... its cheaper to upgrade the memory later than the processor...
RAM - random access memory
Its important to realize that modern CPUs are often idle - starving for work - because of the significant latency between it and memory, and also waiting for work from the user.
Hope that helps some
Nov 07, 2007 02:36 pm Nothing is "immune to viruses" anymore.. haha. You probably have much less chance of getting something with a mac, but no, it's not immune.
If you do a search for apple and viruses, there's an increasing number of viruses out there targeted at the apples as their marketshare increases. Linux boxes aren't immune either, but they don't seem to be "on the rise" for targeted viruses and whatnot.
Nov 07, 2007 02:39 pm I'm guessing that there is a direct relationship between the amount of virii and the amount of users. More users of a OS = more virii written for that OS.
Nov 07, 2007 03:50 pm BH has that spot on. Only reason you see more viri for PC is that there are far more PC users out there.
And don't think for a minute that the Mac is an impenetrable fortress. Fact is that a Mac can be hacked in less then 3 minutes. And even the newest OX X version has already been proven to have its security hacked within less then 5 minutes.
So don't ever let your guard down and think because their commercial says it is true that it is.
Nov 07, 2007 07:09 pm ok, you guys are the best, thanks for all the imput.
I talked to my swe-twater buddy about other prices and he came down 2 k. believe it? so I'm going with the focusrite isa 828.
turned the 003 into a 003 factory.
added pluggins and a external glyph drive. all wiring,snake and wiring diagram not to mention support.(I think I done good, maybe great.)(but you know they still made money) canning the mac and going for the creation station extreme. back to the original 17k number. now I'm researching the presonus acp 8(compressor,limiter,gate) trying to figureout how that plugs in but if I get it(which I probably will) I recon he'll diagram that for me also.
OH, and the 003 I ordered monday with 3 digidesign plug ins where delivered today.
hopeing a guy I play with(accually he's a very old and dear friend also)will take that order off my hands for his musical home work. or I'll use it as a paper weight.
as far as my son with the graphics, now he wants to be a lawyer.lol.......gotta love it.
I'll be around. thanks again for the imput.
Rich
oh. and here it is nov.7 3 years without a drop.
Nov 08, 2007 02:00 pm he came down 2k?? dang, I might have looked elsewhere for all that gear... or is that normal practice?
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