Gaming and Music Production: Mac Pro(windows/OSX).

[blobb5]

hi,

i'm thinking of getting a Mac Pro to use with either Logic or Pro Tools for music production..
i don't really know about the system requirements but i believe they can be pretty intensive on ram and cpu at least..

and then gaming needs a good Graphics card on top of this..


so, i've read you can get two different cards; a Mac one and a PC one.
and have one running for each OS. (using bootcamp)

if so, what kind of specs should i be looking at? i'm very confused.
if i broke it down, (if applicable) into the mac component and the pc component.
:
how much does a mac pro good enough to run pro tools/logic properly cost?
and what kind of PC GPU would i need to bump it up into a games machine; when bootcamped into windows mode.


The most intensive game i have interest in playing is probably; Counter strike Go.
i also intend to play Tiberium Wars 3...
but seeing as pc cards are much cheaper i'm hoping i might be able to splash out on a powerful PC GPU and play more graphically demanding games in the future too.
although i'm not sure if you can put a 'Super' pc GPU into a not 'super' mac pro...??

how to achieve a balance, cheaply?
thanks for replies.
B

 

[bixbyt]

C&C 3 runs on my Core2Duo 2Ghz Mac Mini with 2GB RAM and Intel 950 graphics and it runs well. Any Mac Pro will surely play this natively, even first generation ones.

That's all I have to offer.

 

[jlehman]

Suggestion

Mac Pros are not cheap. Even used ones are over priced. I think you are going to end up spending way more on a machine than you probably should to learn recording and play games.

I would suggest 2 machines.

If you are new to recording I would buy a Mac Mini. (even the base 2012 is great)
The games you listed should also run on a Mac Mini however I'd build a gaming PC or buy one for actual gaming. Casual games seem to be great on Mac but OSX, Open GL, and drivers still are not as good as DirectX on a PC.

If you are comfortable with buying an older Mac Pro or new one and/or comfortable building a machine let me know and maybe we can find some more information out. Alot depends on the model/ year you buy. Also the Mac Pro Power supply's may not supply some of the bigger cards for the PC side. Depending on the year you will be stuck to old cards anyway. Again, older Mac Pros can mean expensive parts to replace and expensive memory.