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440 Forums _ Mac Intel _ What Mac To Buy?
Posted by: JonRaven Sun 16 Sep 2007, 20:05
Hello there,
first time visiter, first time poster here...
I am currently using a powerbook 1.25 and I want to move into the ability to use some robust virtual instruments like toon track's "ezdrummer" and spek's "atmosphere", along with interested in the new east west quantum leap app called "gypsy" and the like.
My powerbook just wont cut it of course so I am thinking about getting a desktop mac.
Can anyone tell me from real world knowledge whether I could do everything I want with a used dual g5 or whether I really need to bite the bullet and get the new quad 2.66 intel?
I know ram is a big thing so I will upgrade either machine wiith atleast 4 gig ram.
I will be looking to do realistic backing tracks for my songs with virtual instruments and then adding say 16 tracks of audio tracks as well to the track.
Any ideas? Of course the music stores and the mac store are just out to sell the newest greatest of everything so you can't really get any honest opinions based on personal experience so I came here.
Can anyone discuss this with me?
Thanks and glad to be part of the group.
Posted by: ironhead Mon 17 Sep 2007, 05:30
well a dual power mac g5 not an imac can of course runs really good but it all depends and how much your you will be buying it for .
You can also network two any two mac computer in node for more power
but if your planning to to sell your mac book and buy another i think it's best to buy the latest model like a mac pro because technology moves fast and each day the softare will put more burding on your processor .
And computer gets old fast.
i hope that helps let me know.
Posted by: JonRaven Mon 17 Sep 2007, 15:25
Hello there and thank you for replying with your thoughts.
I intend on keeping my powerbook to do web design and such on as that is my day job right now and this way I can leave all that stuff off my audio production machine and make it only for audio to hopefully avoid any issues that using one machine for everything sometimes will cause.
I am currently thinking about any powermac between say a dual g5 2.0 with 4 gig ram all the way up to the new quad intel 2.66 with 4 gig ram.
I have indeed heard of this nodeing thing and I hear it is amazing but only if your using logic. Which right now i have pro tools 6.7 and have been using logic pro 7 for my midi stuff.
Any thoughts now that I have given more info?
Thanks again.
You can also network two any two mac computer in node for more power
but if your planning to to sell your mac book and buy another i think it's best to buy the latest model like a mac pro because technology moves fast and each day the softare will put more burding on your processor .
And computer gets old fast.
i hope that helps let me know.
Posted by: hahaworld Tue 18 Sep 2007, 04:37
Hello, friend!
I have had lots of problems with my G5 pre-Intel 2.5GHz Quad. Slow disk errors, out-of-memory problems, etc. I run Logic 7.2.3 with 6.5G RAM. From what I gather, the pre-Intel Mac Quads don't cooperate well with Logic 7 because of a 32 vs. 64 bit phenomenon. Apparently, Logic doesn't recognize all the power in the Quad, nor does it recognize or necessarily care how much RAM you have installed. To give you some perspective, I scored an entire movie on my 1.33GHz G4 laptop with 2G RAM last year without a hitch using EastWest's Platinum Symphony, Spectrasonics Stylus RMX and the built-in instruments that come with Logic. When I fire up my Quad, I can barely have 2 virtual instruments going at once. This is heartbreaking, but I unfortunately did not consult the forums before I bought the Quad. Hence my current pathetic story. You are doing the right thing by consulting this forum, because these users rock! Unfortunately, I have no experience with Intel Macs, but I'm sure someone 'round here will. Good luck!
HaHaWorld
Posted by: mortalengines Tue 18 Sep 2007, 05:00
Definitely make sure that ANY Mac (or PC) you buy has been tested and approved for use by the digidesign developers (they will often mention which ones they HAVEN'T YET tested and can't recommend them for use). If you are on 6.7, I am not sure that that is even Univeral Binary compatible and therefore you may want to budget for the PT 7 point-whatever-it-is-now.
Posted by: JonRaven Tue 18 Sep 2007, 05:46
wow you guys are awesome. I am sooo sorry your pre intel quad doesn't do anything for you my friend.
I have a close friend who runs a g5 1.6 and that is a single processor and he says he runs multiple instances of kontakt and multiple instances of eastwest silver and even higher end sample based virtual instruments and he told me tonight he has tried many times to tax his system but it just keeps giving him more and more power. He told me he has 3 gigs of ram and multiple high end libraries and even though he never converts his midi to audio.... he can run multiple instruments in logic and protools and his 1.6 still keeps on spinning away.
Now I have talked with numerous others in the supposed biz and they keep telling me...newest and greatest. They obviously think the newest and greatest are the newest and greatest but not base don actual proof or personal use.
I found out today my "day job" company bought a quad 2.66 intel and maxed out the ram at 10 gigs and so I snuck into the studio and fired it up on my lunch break. It didn't have anything installed really so as the only app I could think of I fired up garageband. It took quite a while and it worried me instantly. I mean on my powerbook 1.25 I can fire up garageband quite quickly...shouldn't I be able to use it on a quad intel wiith heck loads of ram? Once loaded it was ok... I guess... based on my limited testing of apple only instruments installed... but come on... should there be any wait whatsoever?
I want to have 16-24 tracks audio playback that I record in a bigger studio, with a few plugins on each...and then be able to fatten up the mix with some killer realistic virtual instrument tracks. why at this late in the game wiith all the technology we have and the price of the new macs... does this seem troublesome????
Thanks so much for feedback... I think this posting will help a lot of people looking to buy a new production system so everyone please keep adding their thoughts.
Thanks.
Posted by: Mac Daddy Wed 19 Sep 2007, 11:21
hahaworld,
I have followed your story regarding "The Quad" from the very beginning. You were the first in 440 Forum to purchase one. I remember you saying: "It's smooth"... I asked what you meant by, "Smooth". You never answered, so I did some research, because I wanted one too.
True, 440 Forum has members who "Rock", however, they don't have access to "ALL" the Hardware and
Software that is 'out there'. Sound On Sound Magazine gives the best "Professional" advice about gear, the Pros and Cons.
I posted a review to 440 Forum about "The Quad" by Sound On Sound. The review said: "The Quad showed no advantage or benefits to musicians".
If it's any consolation, you can sell your Quad to a Graphics Company where they, "The Quad" is in very high demand. Please don't sell it to a musician, please....
Posted by: JonRaven Wed 19 Sep 2007, 14:33
Hello macdaddy, I am a little confused here. I haven't bought a quad yet. I am looking at buying a new audio production machine and I was here to see if anyone had any working knowledge of the quad intel compared to the dual g5 machine so that i could make an educated design when purchasing.
I will check out your article you posted though as that might be the answers to all my questions.
Thanks. I think you must have been referring to someone else prior.
Cheers.
I have followed your story regarding "The Quad" from the very beginning. You were the first in 440 Forum to purchase one. I remember you saying: "It's smooth"... I asked what you meant by, "Smooth". You never answered, so I did some research, because I wanted one too.
True, 440 Forum has members who "Rock", however, they don't have access to "ALL" the Hardware and
Software that is 'out there'. Sound On Sound Magazine gives the best "Professional" advice about gear, the Pros and Cons.
I posted a review to 440 Forum about "The Quad" by Sound On Sound. The review said: "The Quad showed no advantage or benefits to musicians".
If it's any consolation, you can sell your Quad to a Graphics Company where they, "The Quad" is in very high demand. Please don't sell it to a musician, please....
Posted by: JonRaven Wed 19 Sep 2007, 21:17
Wait a minute... I am confused. I checked out the article you were speaking of in sound on sound and it actually says the new quad intel is good for music... so why did you say it was a bad system for musicians and that everyone should stay away from it?
I have come to the understanding over the last few days that not only does a lot of our music software not really have the ability to use all 4 processor cores at the same time...but that nodeing 2 older g5 duals together would be much better then 1 quad intel, if you are using logic anyways. even a g5 dual and then a macmini would be a robust system. But by the time you go to all that work to find and buy those systems you would be in the same price range as one new quad intel machine.
I am still very confused on what system to buy in order to handle all my audio and midi sequencing needs at this time... it almost makes more sense in a sad sad way better to go with a pc in some ways.
I don't know.... is the whole apple franchise moving toward a ipod world and not into production level machines anymore?
Grrr
I have followed your story regarding "The Quad" from the very beginning. You were the first in 440 Forum to purchase one. I remember you saying: "It's smooth"... I asked what you meant by, "Smooth". You never answered, so I did some research, because I wanted one too.
True, 440 Forum has members who "Rock", however, they don't have access to "ALL" the Hardware and
Software that is 'out there'. Sound On Sound Magazine gives the best "Professional" advice about gear, the Pros and Cons.
I posted a review to 440 Forum about "The Quad" by Sound On Sound. The review said: "The Quad showed no advantage or benefits to musicians".
If it's any consolation, you can sell your Quad to a Graphics Company where they, "The Quad" is in very high demand. Please don't sell it to a musician, please....
Posted by: lepetitmartien Thu 20 Sep 2007, 04:23
I think the most important point is to decide if you want to move the software update road or not… Check what you are using that you have already in UB or not.
If you lack in the UB department, maybe a G5 or 2 would be better. If not… Now, I personally lack of much feedback from Mac Pro users, the only one I know has more issues than with the G5 he had before. The question is, is it a special case or common situation? I don't know. I've found my brand new refurbished macbook to be prone to more little hiccups than my first gen G5 on day to day non music use, and I'm a monster at maintenance and stability. So I'm in doubt for the time being.
Posted by: JonRaven Thu 20 Sep 2007, 04:45
Yes that is a very valid point my friend. As for the software road... I don't really have much alreayd so I would have to purchase the virtual instruments I want to use anyways. I currently own protools 6.7x and logic pro 7 so I will have to see if they are UB but either way,... I am looking to christmas gifts for the software I need either way. right now I am just trying to see what machine would do what I need it to more smoothly.
Now on an updated note to my story and research.
My company that I do web design for during the day while not doing music... uggg day job... anyways... sorry for the side track of sorrow haha. Just purchased a quad intel 2.66 and actually splurged and added 10 gigs...yes you heard me...10 gigs of ram to it. They have a pretty impressive 30" apple screen too.
Anyways... so today upon my suprise we had one... I went into the "video suite" room where it found it's new home. I took the ezdrummer installer disk I recently purchased for my new system and I sat down at the impressive screen. I popped the disc in and beyond my belief... I waited 10 minutes for it to install without it completing. Now I thought...oh wait it might not be binary... but I checked and yes it is... so why wouldn't it install after oooh so long? I waited a while longer and then eventually gave up. It just worried me... cause yeah they say this machine should be lightning fast and here it is loaded with way more ram then I could ever put in mine if I bought one... and it still was sort of not noticeably lightning?
Any thoughts? i am looking for a quad intel owner out ther to tell me their actual real world sequencing and recording experience with their machine... and then also... older g5 dual 2 and above owners with their thoughts.. so that we can all decide whether the price of the quad intel makes any sense for now... or for another year for that matter.
Thanks so much.
If you lack in the UB department, maybe a G5 or 2 would be better. If not… Now, I personally lack of much feedback from Mac Pro users, the only one I know has more issues than with the G5 he had before. The question is, is it a special case or common situation? I don't know. I've found my brand new refurbished macbook to be prone to more little hiccups than my first gen G5 on day to day non music use, and I'm a monster at maintenance and stability. So I'm in doubt for the time being.
Posted by: Mac Daddy Thu 20 Sep 2007, 06:08
JonRaven...
Sorry for any confusion. When hahaworld first purchased the Quad, I'm not sure of how long ago it was, whenever the Quad was first introduced, year and a half ago, can't remember, however, I do have a copy of the SOS (Sound On Sound) Review.
Most "New" machines have bugs to work out... The SOS Review I mentioned, was when the Quad was first introduced...
I followed hahaworld's Posts and he had heaps of problems, Macintosh has obviously lifted their game and fixed "things". I don't understand, or have time to learn the Technical ins and outs, I'm a musician and still trying to understand music, I really don't care about specs as long as the gear works.
I have a G5 Dual 2GHz and it has functioned flawlessly for several years, I did have to replace the CD/DVD Player.
Posted by: JonRaven Thu 20 Sep 2007, 15:30
After my little test on the company quad intel with it's maxed ram... and after all this research... i think i would be better off staying away from the new intels altogether and find myself a dual g5 2.5 and max the ram in it. I know it wont be the newest and greatest but I have tonnes of reports of people doing tonnes of work on that type of machine and having way less issues then with the people I have talked to who spent similar money but got a intel quad.
Thanks to all for your help. I will keep you posted.
Sorry for any confusion. When hahaworld first purchased the Quad, I'm not sure of how long ago it was, whenever the Quad was first introduced, year and a half ago, can't remember, however, I do have a copy of the SOS (Sound On Sound) Review.
Most "New" machines have bugs to work out... The SOS Review I mentioned, was when the Quad was first introduced...
I followed hahaworld's Posts and he had heaps of problems, Macintosh has obviously lifted their game and fixed "things". I don't understand, or have time to learn the Technical ins and outs, I'm a musician and still trying to understand music, I really don't care about specs as long as the gear works.
I have a G5 Dual 2GHz and it has functioned flawlessly for several years, I did have to replace the CD/DVD Player.
Posted by: lepetitmartien Thu 20 Sep 2007, 15:45
Yup G5 are now rock solid, the only problem remaining is the liquid system on the Quads which can leak after some time. All other issues have been cleared AFAIK.
On the Mac Pro, there's some hiccups. I'd then stick to a second generation but it's still first gen… 
And their RAM is awfully expensive… 
On the EZdrummer issue, was it latest version?
Posted by: JonRaven Fri 21 Sep 2007, 00:26
For now I have talked to a few friends and they say I could do everything I would want with even a dual 2.5 g5 as long as I have the 4 gigs of ram I have been planning to get anyway. So I may even stay away from the quad g5 even though the extra processor cores make me want it haha.
I guess in a few months or at least after November when it is rumored that apple will update the quad core line that these machines will start be work better but I don't know if I can wait that long to start working on my productions again.
As for the ezdrummer I installed using my installer disc... I will have to check to see what version is on the disc... I guess I would have to install updates for it but it wouldn't even finish the install procedure.
Weirdness.
On the Mac Pro, there's some hiccups. I'd then stick to a second generation but it's still first gen…
And their RAM is awfully expensive…
On the EZdrummer issue, was it latest version?
Posted by: lepetitmartien Fri 21 Sep 2007, 04:16
Talk about coincidence… A member on the French side just told us today about his watercooled Quad that leaks…
It's not an issue for most of them, but I'd stay away of Quads at least until Apple recognize the problem.
Posted by: emgcarra Fri 21 Sep 2007, 14:07
Well. here goes my two cents...participation wise, as we were asked for.
I was using a G4 800 dual/1.25 GB Ram for a lot of time with LP 7 during the last year and a half.
was more than happy...a little slow sometimes, but bearable.
Now I´ve got this new shining Mac Pro 2.66/3GB Ram and I am just waiting for my also new Logic Studio,
What can I say ?. I am as happy as I was before, but faster.....! I hope that new ideas keep coming too...
in order to pay for these toys...!!
Regards
emgcarra
Posted by: DANO10 Fri 21 Sep 2007, 14:46
Hi Guys,
Is this what you mean by a quad?
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
If so, I've been running this computer with out any problems for about two months now. I am interested in keeping up with software updates, but I've kept my G5 just in case....... 
Posted by: JonRaven Fri 21 Sep 2007, 14:49
I will await your reports on the quad pro with 3 gig ram and logic pro 8. I still think i will find an older used machine but I am interested in what your findings are on your new quad and using it for audio. Like track counts are one thing... quality plugin counts are another... but virtual instruments running while you are tracking is another.
Let us know as soon as you have fully tested and can give the rest of us some idea as to performance.
Thanks.
I was using a G4 800 dual/1.25 GB Ram for a lot of time with LP 7 during the last year and a half.
was more than happy...a little slow sometimes, but bearable.
Now I´ve got this new shining Mac Pro 2.66/3GB Ram and I am just waiting for my also new Logic Studio,
What can I say ?. I am as happy as I was before, but faster.....! I hope that new ideas keep coming too...
in order to pay for these toys...!!
Regards
emgcarra
Posted by: lepetitmartien Fri 21 Sep 2007, 16:43
Quads are the last G5, 4 cores, liquid cooling.
G5 Quad (PPC) are not Mac Pro (Intel Xeon). BTW, Apple should revamp the mac pro one of these days…
Posted by: JonRaven Fri 21 Sep 2007, 17:05
Yes I understand that there was amac g5 quad and a newer mac intel g5. I have looked at them both as options but as you said I have found a few g5 quads with coolent damage already so I am staying far away from them for sure. As for the intel quad I have heard good and bad things. As for older dual g5 machines I have only heard great things about them.
thanks for your help
G5 Quad (PPC) are not Mac Pro (Intel Xeon). BTW, Apple should revamp the mac pro one of these days…
Posted by: Jim Hoyland Sat 22 Sep 2007, 11:57
We have 8 dual G5s and 7 MacPros running in various studios with 2 G5 quads running FCP / Photoshop in a separate area.
The dual G5s have been awesomely reliable with the exception of one early model (with PCI-X) which is sluggish. By adding RAM we've been able to keep up with increasing demands of software and users, so we have no real plans to update any time soon. The only real annoyance with these machines is the restriction to 2 internal drive bays and the comparative lack of ports when compared with newer models. This has meant that we've had to look at external storage for sample libraries etc.
The MacPros were a nightmare to begin with, as we use ProTools in all studios and the initial Intel releases from Digidesign were horribly buggy. The more recent versions (and CS updates for version 7.1) have addressed this and we now appear to have some smooth machines with an endless supply of power. The four drive bays enable us to keep everything local and they run so quietly that we have no qualms about leaving them in the studio.
One issue you have to consider tho' is the cost of RAM for the MacPro. We bought ours loaded with 4Gb each, which added hundreds to the initial cost, whereas additional RAM for the G5s is easy to come by, at very reasonable prices.
The G5 quads are absolutely hopeless with large audio projects (fine for simple editing within Soundtrack Pro tho'), but killer for video editing and encoding. We've also installed Logic Nodes on these machines as they're often idle.
One other quick thought, our 3 newest MPs have 1.5TB of non-System Hard Disk space which we formatted as a RAID array so we didn't confuse some of our simpler students. Whilst this works fine in general operation, I've found that the system takes much longer to wake from sleep than our other set-ups.
So I guess I'd probably recommend getting a 2nd hand dual G5 with as much RAM as you can afford and a decent amount of external storage. I've heard really good things about using eSATA drives with a PCIe adaptor for the Mac but haven't tried this... and the FireWire option works fine anyway.
Best of luck!
Posted by: lepetitmartien Sun 23 Sep 2007, 03:28
Thanks Jim, more mac pro input than I've heard in months 
thumbs up!
Posted by: JonRaven Sun 23 Sep 2007, 06:55
Yes this is a grreat posting reply Jim. Thanks so very much for your first person actual work experience witht not only the new quad intel mac pros but also with the buggy quad g5 and also the seems to be very stable dual g5. Wow this is definitely what I was looking for when i posted to find out everyone's thoughts.
Thanks so very much.
Anyone else have similar or different experience?
This is all very very helpful.
thumbs up!Posted by: Mac Daddy Sun 23 Sep 2007, 14:56
Jim Hoyland,
I knew there was a reason I liked you! You really "Do know your stuff" 8 G5's!!!
You be's da Mac Daddy in dis house... I'm going to change my name. Seriously.
I would like to hear the music you are involved with. Sounds like a lot of music is happening in your realm. Wow! Whew! Whoa! Whoop! Wam! Damn!
I'm sitting in front of one machine mixin' and fixin', learnin' and burnin' so I can only imagine what your world must be like musically. Heaven. That's if the music is good, if it's not, then it could be a nightmare. Smile.
I agree with you 100% regarding the G5. I've actually have had die hard PC users say: "My PC could never do all this". Good Sound Cards are a must! I can't remember the last time I had a crash?
Dual G5's are great. If any Member has an opportunity to purchase one do so. The people that are selling G5's are not musicians and don't have any idea of their value and are selling them "Cheap" to upgrade. I saw a G5 for sale in Hamburg for 1,000 Euros!!! I wanted to buy it but don't need it. 1,000 Euros!!!! A "Maxed Out" Dual G5, 1,000 Euros!
Sound On Sound calls the G5 the best music production computer and they are not paid to say so... Mac doesn't even advertise in Sound On Sound. Companies that sell Macs do advertise however.
Posted by: JonRaven Sun 23 Sep 2007, 19:59
ok so now that I know i want a dual g5 2.5 machine with 4 gigs of ram. How do i know if one is the slower pcix machine or if it is the faster pci machine? and either way... is this pcix being slower common in them all or just in the one talked about here? Does the one spoke of here have dual 2.0 or 2.5 processors? If the 2.5 dual doesn't have this problem then I am all set to purchase the first one that makes sense financially... if it is common in the 2,5 I need more research.
Posted by: lepetitmartien Mon 24 Sep 2007, 04:28
errhhhhhh
http://nav.440network.com/out.php?mmsc=forums&url=http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/index-powermac-g5.html 
Posted by: Mac Daddy Mon 24 Sep 2007, 08:31
lepetitmartien.... "errhhhhhh. Maybe some reading over the G5 family would help"
lepetitmartien, you're so smart, funny too... Oh alright, knowledgeable, talented, musical and errhhhhhh, French...
Posted by: JonRaven Mon 24 Sep 2007, 14:17
in that case... merci
Posted by: lepetitmartien Tue 25 Sep 2007, 02:56
I point the solution to cover the basics and more, is that an issue?
Jon, now I have 2 guys with Mac Pro making music in my environnement, I'll investigate and tell you more (the first who was so-so as I said and no seems happy since yesterday, and the second awaits his beast from Apple. I should saw him during the week as it's the Apple Expo Paris from tomorrow on here and he'll pass by our booth). So more news to come. Both are Logic users.
Posted by: JonRaven Tue 25 Sep 2007, 03:04
tres' bien, merci
I look very forward to hearing from you again about this and what you found out from the users you will be speaking with.
I am anxious to buy my new studio setup but I am not desperate enough to jump in with this type of investment without doing my research well in advance and Am greatful for people like the people on this board who have been helping with their real world un-biased experience.
Till i hear from you again... have a great time at the expo... wish i was there.
Cheers.
Posted by: lepetitmartien Tue 25 Sep 2007, 22:57
Well, no Leopard, no iPhone, no keynote, not very exciting for now…
As soon as I can grab a mac pro user or two and abduct him, I'll tell you. 
funny stuff, one of the guys who came on the booth for hints today, was exactly on the same premises as you… buy a G5 and which one or a mac pro? Seems to be the question of the day:D
Posted by: mishmashmole Wed 26 Sep 2007, 12:57
I have seen referrals to this thread when people ask about upgrades but I don't really seen any answers here. I myself have a Powerbook 1.5Ghz with 1.5G RAM. I am thinking of upgrading as I use Ableton Live 5.2 and I have problems once I get a few plug ins etc going. I've been reseraching for a while now and I guess what I'm looking for is a system that will allow me to do music with Ableton 6 for the next few years. iMac is a possibility and when when you look at
http://nav.440network.com/out.php?mmsc=forums&url=http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2007/08/mac-performance-august-2007/
the latest one shows good performance. When I bought my powerbook 3 years ago I had hoped it would last me 5 years. I almost can't believe the price I paid for it back then. But I guess that's just the way it is with computers. It's out of date by the time you open the box.
Posted by: mortalengines Thu 27 Sep 2007, 04:55
Go ahead and upgrade to Live 6. I did and I have the same Powerbook as you (with a little less RAM even) and 10.3.9 as an operating system. Live 6 allows you to do a fair amount of editing of frozen tracks which has TOTALLY improved my workflow. You will like some other things about 6 as well: Their instrument racks and Dynamic Tube plug rock.....You won't be disappointed. I bought my powerbook 3 years ago and don't plan on getting anything new for a while. BTW: if your loops aren't on a separate FW drive I would suggest you do that and get a drive with a Sony Oxford 900 chipset. www.pacificproaudio.com has some great deals on Firewire drives that fit almost any budget.
Posted by: mishmashmole Thu 27 Sep 2007, 09:36
Wow, it's nice to know someone out there has the same setup as me. I won't go off topic but instead send you a pm. Thanks.
I will however, keep a lookout for the G5 Mac Pro.....
Let's not forget that the latest iMac is rated pretty much the same as the Power mac G5...
http://nav.440network.com/out.php?mmsc=forums&url=http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2007/08/mac-performance-august-2007/
Posted by: lepetitmartien Wed 10 Oct 2007, 23:58
Ttt G5 are either mono, MP or dual cores, with the top being the Quad but were never labelled as "mac pro", it's the G5 desktop line, the Mac Pro is only Intel inside. So G5 mac pro has no sense.
Now, I've had feedback, from audio professionals having a Mac Pro at "home", it runs now fine, the software issues are gone. Only a few plug-ins are missing, but they live very happy without them anyway.
Sorry to have been that long to get back on this.
Posted by: JonRaven Thu 11 Oct 2007, 00:07
thank you so very much for your collective help.
I have since last post... found a used dual 2.0ghz machine and put 4 gigs of ram in it as well as a couple 500gig sata drives. I am sure that the new mac pro intel machines are lightning fast but due to some unforseen financial reasons I have opted to go for the cheaper machine for now and upgrade later to the pro when I have more money and they have gone into several versions guarantee their bug free. I am only in this machine for $900 US and so I have plenty of power for home use and yet have saved quite a bit in my wallet for saving for the big machine if I need it. So far no issues.
Thanks.
Posted by: Mac Daddy Thu 11 Oct 2007, 13:54
[thank you so very much for your collective help.
I have since last post... found a used dual 2.0ghz machine and put 4 gigs of ram in it as well as a couple 500gig sata drives. I am sure that the new mac pro intel machines are lightning fast but due to some unforseen financial reasons I have opted to go for the cheaper machine for now and upgrade later to the pro when I have more money and they have gone into several versions guarantee their bug free. I am only in this machine for $900 US and so I have plenty of power for home use and yet have saved quite a bit in my wallet for saving for the big machine if I need it. So far no issues. Thanks."
JonRaven... You secured a "Great Deal"!!! Some guys have all the luck... Mmmm-mmmm-mmmph!
Posted by: lepetitmartien Fri 12 Oct 2007, 14:18
Yeah cool deal you got! the most important is that you can work, tools are tools, an eventual limitations is creative, now you can anyway do quite some job on this G5.
It's cool i've been able to put here that Mac Pro are fine now, it'll help too.
Happy DAWing!
Posted by: JonRaven Sat 13 Oct 2007, 11:30
Yeah i feel i got an amazing deal as well. And it leaves me open to buy a great preamp or something if I choose that this is enough power for everything I want to do. As i go to a bigger studio anyways to do real drums... I wont even need a huge track count in real time so seeing as this is a pretty powerful machine just the way it is... I am sure i will be happy for a few years to come so I have plenty of time to start saving or for getting myself some awesome pres and vocal mics.
Thanks to you all for your support and such expertise that you have offered.
All the best to you all. Looking forward to contribute to the rest of the forum.
Posted by: hahaworld Fri 26 Oct 2007, 22:25
Hello, everyone!
HaHaWorld here. I'm the guy who's been living in G5 Quad hell for the past year and a half. Thanks to all who gave me advice. I just wanted you to know that I've been to the Genius Bar 4 times in the past month. I took my entire MIDI setup with me and demonstrated the slow disk errors and dropouts that have been plaguing me from day one. Each Genius (save one), made me feel like I was an intruder, even though I have a ProCare card. A great Genius named Charles is the only one who gave me undivided attention and did not keep reminding me that my fifteen minutes were almost up. Here are the steps I have taken in the past month, per the Apple Store Genius Bar instructions:
The first visit: Re-install all your audio software, samples and loops (I did this, and the problem persisted)
The second visit: Do an archive and re-install (I did this, and the problem persisted)
The third visit: They checked it in for a diagnostic. They called me and said, "It must be your RAM. We took out the additional 6G of RAM you installed yourself, and GarageBand and Logic Pro 8 are running fine now!" (I picked up the machine and tried to start Logic 8 with only the original 512MB RAM. Logic 8 will barely run without 1024, so that didn't work either. I don't know what the guy who took my RAM out was smoking, but 512MB just ain't enough, folks.)
The fourth visit: Here's the (partial) good news: They finally agreed that my G5 Quad is a lemon, and are replacing it with a 2.66GHz Dual Core Intel machine. It's only partially good news, because I'm trading a Quad for a Dual (albeit a Quad that isn't worth the cardboard it came in).
I just wanted you all to know what's been going on. I'll keep you posted and let you know how the Dual Core fires up. I hate to say it, but I'm not optimistic. This is the first time in my life I've been tempted to move into the world of PCs.
HaHaWorld
Posted by: lepetitmartien Fri 26 Oct 2007, 23:25
512 MB of RAM is a laugh, OS X to start being alive needs 768 MB, then the more the better with a definitive sweet spot starting at 1.5 or 2 GB.
On the RAM diagnosis, if the RAM is bad, the test tells it, You can do the tests by yourslef with the Apple Hardware Tools on the original install DVD, or by using AppleJack with Memtest, or Memtest alone.
At which applestore you went? Geniuses are supposed to help, especially when it's difficult.
The most important is still you can work now ! I'm happy for you haha
And Apple is one of the best companies in records for reliability still… (for what this kind of surveys are worth…)
Posted by: rcross73 Sat 27 Oct 2007, 15:16
And actually, your dual-core 2.66 Intel machine? That's a MacPro dual-core Core2Duo -- so it's still four processors, just two on each chip. It will run circles around what your Quad Core G5 would have been able to do had it not been so much of a, shall we say, citrus rather than pomme.
Posted by: hahaworld Sat 27 Oct 2007, 15:41
Thanks for the good words, friends! I'm picking up the replacement Dual-Core on Monday. Like I said, I'll let you know how it goes!
Yours Truly,
JtO
Posted by: Mac Daddy Sun 28 Oct 2007, 13:58
hahaworld,
Bravo! Hurray! Yippeeeee! Great! Your experience with the Quad has finally been resolved. Whew! Damn!
It will be great for you to create music once again, you are much too good a player and composer to have to waste your time with faulty EXPENSIVE gear... I remember the first day you Posted you had just purchased the Quad. I told my partner: "One of the 440 Members just got a Quad"!
It was cool that Macintosh Replaced it for you, it was the RIGHT thing to do. I'm really happy for you. If it was me I think I would have been serving time in prison for throwing it through my Mac Retailers Front Window or punching Steve Jobs in the nose. "I get crazy when my 'Blue Tooth' acts up! (I really need to learn to "Chillax". Must be a New York Thang.)
You have chosen the right name for certain: "hahaworld" mine should be: "bigasscrybaby".
Congratulations.
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