Buying Used 2008 Mac Pro for Audio Production?

[samth3mancgp]

Hello, I am interested in upgrading my current rig(s) for mixing/editing in ProTools and found that the 2008 ver 3,1 Mac Pros (8 core) are in the same price range as a new i7 Ivy Bridge Hackintosh build I was looking at putting together.. however, I kind of don't want to deal with troubleshooting etc so the Mac Pro would be a one stop shop.

A little background:
Right now the main computer that I have is a 2010 Macbook Pro (Dual Core i5 w/HT) and that thing has had tons of problems. It is actually at an Apple Store right now just getting done with repairs. It is capable of doing a lot of the work that I need to do, but definitely reaches its peak on larger sessions running 32+ tracks all heavy with plugins. The CPU is what seems to be capping out on these sessions more than the RAM.

My current desktop is an AMD Dual Core build from 2007 running Win 7. It was outdated when I built it! I'm pretty sure AMD Quad Core CPUs were already out then.. The Macbook smokes it, and even that isn't enough power for me. Let's just not even talk about this thing..

I go to MTSU, majoring in Audio Production. Every computer on that campus is a slightly dated mac pro (probably 2007-2008 Quad and 8 cores), and the studio I am working at off campus has Mac Pros in all the studios as well. ProTools runs better on mac.. simply because AVID is able to keep up with the small number of machines to test and qualify as supported.

Aside from my friends who have the latest iMac (which I don't even want to approach considering how many problems my Macbook has been having.. Coming from a PC background, I like the serviceability etc of a full tower), every computer I have been around lately is an older mac pro and they all seem to perform SIGNIFICANTLY better than any of my current machines, and remain fully compatible with ProTools, and Every version of OSX!

I am seeing them go for around $1000-1200 on eBay for 2.8 eight core machines with 8-12GB of RAM. It seems so wrong to be buying into older tech.. but every one that I have been around seems to be a pretty darn capable machine for working with Audio, and should be pretty stable for years to come *knock on wood*

 

[spoonie1972]

3,1 are pretty good with logic (even still) - and if you're running PTHD the fact is, the PT hardware is doing most of the work for you.

the main concern with the 3,1 platform is the cost of the FB-DIMM ram. It is far from cheap. Also, 32gb, iirc, is the max.

 

[samth3mancgp]

I am not running any version of ProTools HD (just ProTools 9 Native) and most of the plugins that I own are for native processors only. I feel like this is a wise move considering that every studio I have been to lately and my university are running these machines.

Since the RAM is expensive I am looking for a minimum of 10GB, but 12GB is preferable. Unless I load up a very substantial number of Virtual Instruments that load samples into RAM (which I rarely do) then my RAM usually doesn't even use all of the 4GB my Macbook has. It seems like audio mixing (not to be confused with creating from scratch with virtual instruments/samplers) uses mostly heavy amounts of Processing, which the old Mac Pros have plenty of at a good price

I am also not super concerned with video performance since I don't do a whole lot of video stuff. I might get an SSD to use as my boot drive though since many people say it really improves performance.

 

[spoonie1972]

Apologies - I assumed HD/HDX.

if you can find a 3,1 2.8x2 or 3.0x2 for a great price, it may be worth it. I see them here varying in price from CDN $650-$2,500 depending on how sane/insane the seller is.

4,1 single-processor machines have dropped in price significantly as leasing houses are selling them all over the place. It may be worthwhile to find one of those and throw an upgraded CPU in there when you have the extra $.

if CPU power is your main concern, check all the benchmark scores for each generation/cpu and figure out which best fits your real-time CPU use.

The 3,1 is an end-of-line machine, while the 4,1 can be flashed, upgraded, etc, to the best of the 5,1 machines (albeit at a much higher price-point).

YMMV - best luck.

 

[J&JPolangin]

Hello, I am interested in upgrading my current rig(s) for mixing/editing in ProTools and found that the 2008 ver 3,1 Mac Pros (8 core) are in the same price range as a new i7 Ivy Bridge Hackintosh build I was looking at putting together.. however, I kind of don't want to deal with troubleshooting etc so the Mac Pro would be a one stop shop.

A little background:
Right now the main computer that I have is a 2010 Macbook Pro (Dual Core i5 w/HT) and that thing has had tons of problems. It is actually at an Apple Store right now just getting done with repairs. It is capable of doing a lot of the work that I need to do, but definitely reaches its peak on larger sessions running 32+ tracks all heavy with plugins. The CPU is what seems to be capping out on these sessions more than the RAM.

My current desktop is an AMD Dual Core build from 2007 running Win 7. It was outdated when I built it! I'm pretty sure AMD Quad Core CPUs were already out then.. The Macbook smokes it, and even that isn't enough power for me. Let's just not even talk about this thing..

I go to MTSU, majoring in Audio Production. Every computer on that campus is a slightly dated mac pro (probably 2007-2008 Quad and 8 cores), and the studio I am working at off campus has Mac Pros in all the studios as well. ProTools runs better on mac.. simply because AVID is able to keep up with the small number of machines to test and qualify as supported.

Aside from my friends who have the latest iMac (which I don't even want to approach considering how many problems my Macbook has been having.. Coming from a PC background, I like the serviceability etc of a full tower), every computer I have been around lately is an older mac pro and they all seem to perform SIGNIFICANTLY better than any of my current machines, and remain fully compatible with ProTools, and Every version of OSX!

I am seeing them go for around $1000-1200 on eBay for 2.8 eight core machines with 8-12GB of RAM. It seems so wrong to be buying into older tech.. but every one that I have been around seems to be a pretty darn capable machine for working with Audio, and should be pretty stable for years to come *knock on wood*

What's wrong with your MBP?

What type of audio production are you doing?

I can't remember the last time I saw anyone doing other than graphic arts on anything more than 15 - 17" MBP's...(just looking for a little bit more background info).

 

[samth3mancgp]

The MBP works pretty well but it isn't powerful enough to run many of my larger sessions. I am doing a lot of Heavy rock/pop/metal music, as well as hip hop. I use tons of plugins which eat up CPU and often mix through a mastering chain (absolutely killer on CPU).

It also doesn't have enough FireWire ports I need at least 2 to run my interface and my external drive. And they can't be chained because the interface gets clicking errors when chained from the Hard drive. I thought about getting a FireWire hub so the interface could be connected without chaining things together, but in all reality I need a machine that can handle MORE than what I throw at it. The MBP is barely scraping by sometimes.

I have a thread going on the tonymacx86 forum since I am also considering a Hackintosh build.. But the real deal Mac Pro at the right price, even if it is an old one.. Will hopefully be a viable alternative. Some people have benchmarks of their 2008 Mac pros (with SSDs, and other light upgrades) keeping up with the current sandy bridge iMacs I think? It's a tough decision. I hate buying computers because I know they will eventually need to be replaced. Many people seem very happy with their '08 Mac pros and don't see much reason to replace it anytime soon. The perk of doin the Hackintosh build would be the ability to do upgrades to the latest greatest if needed.

-Sam

 

[J&JPolangin]

The MBP works pretty well but it isn't powerful enough to run many of my larger sessions. I am doing a lot of Heavy rock/pop/metal music, as well as hip hop. I use tons of plugins which eat up CPU and often mix through a mastering chain (absolutely killer on CPU).

It also doesn't have enough FireWire ports I need at least 2 to run my interface and my external drive. And they can't be chained because the interface gets clicking errors when chained from the Hard drive. I thought about getting a FireWire hub so the interface could be connected without chaining things together, but in all reality I need a machine that can handle MORE than what I throw at it. The MBP is barely scraping by sometimes.

I have a thread going on the tonymacx86 forum since I am also considering a Hackintosh build.. But the real deal Mac Pro at the right price, even if it is an old one.. Will hopefully be a viable alternative. Some people have benchmarks of their 2008 Mac pros (with SSDs, and other light upgrades) keeping up with the current sandy bridge iMacs I think? It's a tough decision. I hate buying computers because I know they will eventually need to be replaced. Many people seem very happy with their '08 Mac pros and don't see much reason to replace it anytime soon. The perk of doin the Hackintosh build would be the ability to do upgrades to the latest greatest if needed.

-Sam

I'd sell your repaired MBP when it comes back from and put the $$ towards a 15" cMBP and upgrade it with a SSD and RAM = the quad CPU should provide the extra boost you need...

I just decided to wait for Broadwell before jumping back into the 11" MBA that I really want (due to the portable form factor) and went with a NIB 2011 MBP...I snagged a 512Gb Crucial M4 SSD and had 8Gb RAM avail so the whole package cost me $1154 and while its not as light, its plenty portable faster than either the 11" or 13" MBA and I have plenty of RAM and plenty of internal SSD space now - the only thing I miss is not having USB3 but it will easily keep up with what I want until 2014 when Broadwell hits the MBA line (and hopefully brings the battery life I need with it)

Good luck with your choice!

 

[Phrygian]

Don't forget that the 3.1 uses IDE format on the optical bay, and only runs sata 2 off the sleds. Not to mention the way things are going, the next OS-X may not work for the 2008 model.