So going to buy a MP

[Tonytownsend]

I Need to know would it be more to my advantage to buy a dual 2.26 or single 2.66 I will be running Ableton live and logic 9 on the machine any suggestions?

[Icaras]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

I Need to know would it be more to my advantage to buy a dual 2.26 or single 2.66 I will be running Ableton live and logic 9 on the machine any suggestions?

I'll be using the MP for the same exact apps, so I'm curious about this too.

[tekboi]

I say, you are both foolish to pay that much money for an out of date piece of hardware..

[Tonytownsend]

I say, you are both foolish to pay that much money for an out of date piece of hardware..
At this piont I need a machine. I dont care. I need to get work done. Its really hard to work smoothly when you have to freeze every track. Plus I run UAD and Powercore stuff I have enough Dsp to hold through any session. I really believe I will not be able to hit more that 50 percent in the cpu bar with a huge session.

[hakuryuu]

I say, you are both foolish to pay that much money for an out of date piece of hardware..




The current Mac Pros are not really that out of date. So what if they don't use the latest six-core chips? Other than those chips there are no killer quad core chip changes other than cache since the current MPs were released and are still more than suitable for most tasks.

As for the question, if either program will use no more than 4 cores then go for the 2.66GHz. If they will use more you may be better off getting the octo-2.26GHz. I am not a user of either program. But since most software rarely uses more than 4 cores (that will change) the faster chip usually is a good thing.

Personally I would likely go for the faster chip for my uses.

[Halamolo]

Watch out for that October/September silent Mac Pro update. ;)

Then you´re gonna feel really miserable with a year and a 9 month old Mac Pro. :p

Or you could wait and there will be no update. :)

[Adam0306]

If you need it, GET IT! It will not hurt if they do release something within a few months. It will be a downer but at least you can work easier. Plus everyone knows that as soon as you buy something, it is already out of date because how fast technology is.

[natallica]

At this piont I need a machine. I dont care. I need to get work done. Its really hard to work smoothly when you have to freeze every track. Plus I run UAD and Powercore stuff I have enough Dsp to hold through any session. I really believe I will not be able to hit more that 50 percent in the cpu bar with a huge session.

I feel your pain. I've been waiting for a Mac Pro update to run Live and Logic and so I can use my UAD card. I was okay on my little Mac Mini until DCAM Synth Squad and Amplitube 3 came out and sucked my CPU dry! ;-)

-- N

[fletchmusic]

Hey guys, I'm in a similar boat - I found the following post useful for seeing how well the different configurations fair in Ableton (I think there is also a Logic equivalent out there somewhere too):

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=111880

I just did a CTRL + F / cmd + F search to find the Mac Pros.

At the moment I'm using a 5 year old PC and I want my next purchase (Mac Pro) to last me a similar length of time, which is why I'm holding out for the refresh, mainly just to get the best value for money :)

[Icaras]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

I say, you are both foolish to pay that much money for an out of date piece of hardware..




I never said I was going to buy the '09 MP. I just wanted to find out if single w/ higher clock or dual w/ lower clock would be better for those apps.

On the record, I'm still waiting for the '10.

[surferfromuk]

I Need to know would it be more to my advantage to buy a dual 2.26 or single 2.66 I will be running Ableton live and logic 9 on the machine any suggestions?

8-core 2.26 Nehelem

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/9253/logic9.jpg

53 instances of Sculptor with Space Designer - not yet maxed out!

(this isn't a composition btw - just to show the point)

[jessica.]

At this piont I need a machine. I dont care. I need to get work done. Its really hard to work smoothly when you have to freeze every track. Plus I run UAD and Powercore stuff I have enough Dsp to hold through any session. I really believe I will not be able to hit more that 50 percent in the cpu bar with a huge session.

I think you have the right frame of mind. People think they need more and yet they likely don't.
I think it would be more advantageous for you to buy the 8-core 2.26.

[Tonytownsend]

8-core 2.26 Nehelem

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/9253/logic9.jpg

53 instances of Sculptor with Space Designer - not yet maxed out!

(this isn't a composition btw - just to show the point)


Im Sold Im gonna buy one!!

[Halamolo]

That´s nothing! You guys settle for so less. Besides iMac 27" i7 can do that just as well. But it´s ok I guess if you don´t need more.

Try couple of heavy Omnisphere 8 patch multis and throw some East Weast Symphonic Orchestra and few other VST instruments + plugins and your Mac Pro is begging for mercy. Then you´re back freezing and bouncing again. :(

[Tonytownsend]

Try couple of heavy Omnisphere 8 patch multis and throw some East Weast Symphonic Orchestra and few other VST instruments + plugins and your Mac Pro is begging for mercy. Then you´re back freezing and bouncing again.


Those are sample based they require more hard drive speed than processor.

[tmacmo]

Im Sold Im gonna buy one!!

Good for you! The funny thing about everyone complaining about the Mac Pro value/price is that they haven't gone and priced a WORKSTATION from Dell or HP. Sit down for 30 minutes with the Dell configuration for a Precision 7500 dual processor. Plug in the exact same specs as the octo Mac Pro, the 2009 Mac Pro. You get the same price. For the same hardware.

In other words, Dell is selling the exact equivalent of a 2009 8 core Mac Pro TODAY, just like Apple is. At the same price. Sure, you can load the Dell Precision with dual 6-core Xeons, but you pay $4000 extra for them. Yep, Dell wants 4 grand for the fastest ones.

No way around it: the current 2009 Mac Pro is good buy. If Apple were to bring out a 12 core, they would have to charge $4500. Just like Dell. :eek:

So, buy the Mac Pro. I'm unboxing mine right now. It's beautiful.

[VirtuallyReal]

Watch out for that October/September silent Mac Pro update. ;)

Then you´re gonna feel really miserable with a year and a 9 month old Mac Pro. :p

Or you could wait and there will be no update. :)

That was just mean.

If i have to wait untill October, i'll hang myself!:eek:

Steve please, gimme my MP, NOW!

[Halamolo]

Those are sample based they require more hard drive speed than processor.

My understanding is that they load the samples into RAM. Plus lot of Omnisphere´s sounds don´t even use samples at all. That instrument can really give even a Mac Pro really hard time.

Bottom line, the Mac Pro is wayyyy outdated. I mean 18 months old and still the same price. Gimme a break! :eek:

[Halamolo]

That was just mean.

If i have to wait untill October, i'll hang myself!:eek:

Steve please, gimme my MP, NOW!

Hehehe, tell me about it! But really the Apple is the bad guy here.

Let´s kill all ourselves to protest this Mac Pro situation! (Some dark humor there). :)

[ReanimationLP]

Buy the cheapest Mac Pro Quad and replace the quad processor with a Core i7 980X.

There, 6 cores at 3.33 GHz.

[Octobot]

There, 6 cores at 3.33 GHz.
mmm.

[Umbongo]

Buy the cheapest Mac Pro Quad and replace the quad processor with a Core i7 980X.

There, 6 cores at 3.33 GHz.

Doesn't work.

[bzollinger]

Bottom line, the Mac Pro is wayyyy outdated. I mean 18 months old and still the same price. Gimme a break! :eek:

Yep the 09 MP is still a fast good computer, but it should be $1000 less! WTF! Or they should change it so that 4GB or 6GB be base memory, 1TB drive, and 2.93Ghz all be entry/base model components for the $2499 price. If you build one now with those specs it's up to $3149!

[Techhie]

Doesn't work.

With the right amount of coaxing and duct tape, that missing microcode will take care of itself :rolleyes:

[ReanimationLP]

With the right amount of coaxing and duct tape, that missing microcode will take care of itself :rolleyes:

Pretty certain the OSX86 community has developed the code to get it to work. Dunno if it carries over from Hacks to real MPs though.

[VirtualRain]

Logic is one app that can actually take advantage of multiple cores and it can have a dramatic impact (from what I've read - no first hand experience). This is one app where the 8 core x 2.26GHz makes sense.

Buy refurb to take the sting out of the price.

[alust2013]

Pretty certain the OSX86 community has developed the code to get it to work. Dunno if it carries over from Hacks to real MPs though.

Hacking a MP to run OSX... Ironic, eh? Would be nice if you could build your own Mac, mostly because I am sick of all this discussion about the MP being weak. I'll stick with my MB though :D

[Umbongo]

Pretty certain the OSX86 community has developed the code to get it to work. Dunno if it carries over from Hacks to real MPs though.

You can get it working on a Hackintosh sure, that is done by editing the OS. To get it to work on a Mac Pro you would need to update the logicboard.

[Tonytownsend]

In other words, Dell is selling the exact equivalent of a 2009 8 core Mac Pro TODAY, just like Apple is. At the same price. Sure, you can load the Dell Precision with dual 6-core Xeons, but you pay $4000 extra for them. Yep, Dell wants 4 grand for the fastest ones.
Why is everyone bitching then. I did not know that. Why is Mac Pro a bad deal then?

[Techhie]

Why is everyone bitching then. I did not know that. Why is Mac Pro a bad deal then?

Because Apple isn't using those more expensive chips on the SP Mac Pros, so they are taking in enormous profit margins. If you look at the historic chip to system prices, the 2009 models are a rip-off. That, and its been a while since an update (which used underpowered components to begin with, to maximize profit.)

[Tonytownsend]

Because Apple isn't using those more expensive chips on the SP Mac Pros, so they are taking in enormous profit margins. If you look at the historic chip to system prices, the 2009 models are a rip-off. That, and its been a while since an update (which used underpowered components to begin with, to maximize profit.)
Yeah but dell is charging the same just checked there site.
Also yeah they are making money. You think an Iphone doesnt cost 5 dollars to make? How is that not a rip off?

[deconstruct60]

Because Apple isn't using those more expensive chips on the SP Mac Pros, so they are taking in enormous profit margins. If you look at the historic chip to system prices, the 2009 models are a rip-off.

Only on the 3500 series. For the 5500 series (dual processor packages) it is about the same. In fact as going higher into range Apple isn't as high as some of the other larger vendors. Other larger vendors take lower margins on low end machines and then try to make it up with with higher margins on high end machines. Apple pretty much tries to make about the same margins across the board. No loss leaders or cross product line subsidies.

The margin on the single processor package ones is high, but what is unknown is whether the historic volume is still there or not. If it is dropping then the move to is make the lower end Mac Pros have the same margin amount as the higher priced brethren.

The closer to edge get with iMacs the more folks are jumping off the Mac Pro line up. The pricing certainly doesn't discourage that. Whether that makes it a "rip off" or not depends upon what different in utility place on iMac feature set versus low end Mac Pro feature set.


It is also the case that Intel hasn't released a full series of replacement for the 3500 range that covers the 3600 class parts. Similarly Intel hasn't dropped the prices on the old parts (that's why not surprising all the other vendors haven't dropped their system pricing).



That, and its been a while since an update (which used underpowered components to begin with, to maximize profit.)

The 3500/5500 and 3600/5600 parts have the same number of transistors respectively. Yet Intel charges a broad spectrum of prices for the parts. This layered squeeze for more profits goes deeper than just Apple.