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Frustrated Audio Guy

I'm running the 2014 model.

Specs: 4 ghz - Core i7 processor - M290X video / 32 gigs of ram / 1 TB fusion drive
Lots of externals (6 tb, 5 tb, multiple 1.5s, multiple 1.0s).

I'm an audio guy and my OLD i7 Mac from 2009 did great with 16 gigs with logic.

This one is insane - my most insane sessions (72-120 tracks, lots of plug ins and virtual synths) seem like it's not breaking a sweat at all for it. Like hardly ticking over the cpu meter.

If you want I can test a session for you to show the cpu usage.

I watched the video - it's still a great machine but if you can get the new one.

I'd also recommend setting aside the original ram it came with "just in case". So I have 8 gigs I can use in a laptop or something.
 
aliensporebomb said:
I'm running the 2014 model.

Specs: 4 ghz - Core i7 processor - M290X video / 32 gigs of ram / 1 TB fusion drive
Lots of externals (6 tb, 5 tb, multiple 1.5s, multiple 1.0s).

I'm an audio guy and my OLD i7 Mac from 2009 did great with 16 gigs with logic.

This one is insane - my most insane sessions (72-120 tracks, lots of plug ins and virtual synths) seem like it's not breaking a sweat at all for it. Like hardly ticking over the cpu meter.

If you want I can test a session for you to show the cpu usage.

I watched the video - it's still a great machine but if you can get the new one.

I'd also recommend setting aside the original ram it came with "just in case". So I have 8 gigs I can use in a laptop or something.
Click to expand...

Oh I don't doubt it. Just realised something I should have mentioned though, see response below...

12CoreMP said:
Instead of buying the Apple trash can why don't you have a look at Create Pro's website they can build a Mac Pro to the spec you require. http://create.pro hope this helps.
Click to expand...

That's a really cool idea. Thanks for the link but I should say... I already have one. My recording studio has a mac pro from when they were the bees knees for me. This new machine I am looking for is for the music room in my house. It's actually at home that I do all the big sample stuff. In the studio the Mac Pro has a good few years in it yet.

It does seem like quite the price for 6/7 year old tech on that site but... with the spec you can max on there it is a beast of a machine for Audio still.
 
Sketches said:
Thanks for input from a professional. You are right of course and I may well go down that route as after some research the thermal compensation and throttling by design due to the iMac case could become extremely problematic for me. Oh and you absolutely hit the nail on the head about more time on work less worry. That is exactly why I went Apple in the first place (well not the only reason) and exactly why this is so frustrating.

Like I said above i don't need it until renovation is completed in March and I did a little digging on the hackinstosh state of play. I have actually played with this years ago to try out the platform before i dived into my first MBP. After a couple of hours reading yesterday I came to a pretty startling discovery which I am going to have a play with as a hobby project in the mean time if only because I am a geek and think i have the basic knowledge to try pretty easily (I was a VR programmer in a past life and head of an ironically Microsoft development house now). I can also use the resultant build as an entertainment system/hobby 3D projects if it all falls to pieces without too much of a loss.

This could get a wee bit long but bear with me as you may find this interesting. It seems there is a platform which runs completely stable on El Capitan if you pick the tried and tested components, namely the z97. So you can build your own 4970k "Mac" without too much difficulty. That seems a bit useless for me though. Although you could build a monster Gaming rig from that there is zero upgrade path now and although it would easily compete and often defeat my second discovery at gaming, door number two smashes it at mix downs, etc, there is a much better option for Audio users...

The X99 platform has mixed reviews as a hackintosh. Stability reports are variable. However, it will run Yosemite fine (which is what i am currently on) and El Capitan in some cases fine and some cases with niggles. It occurred to me however the common problems across the board for Hackintoshes are actually of no real consequence to people seeking an Audio Workstation! Sorry visual media guys (I understand that could include film/games scorers but they would need to be wearing other hats too for it to be a real problem)

The things which create by far the most problems are GFX card drivers, there are a load which can and will run out of the box no problem. So for audio guys this doesn't matter, get the most decent 100% stable card to meet your minamalistic needs and you are set. You even have many dual card options. Granted I do work with GPUs through Max/MSP but that should be easily handled.

Next thing people struggle with is on board sound. Don't think I need to elaborate on why that falls into the who cares camp for Audio users.

Bluetooth can also be problematic but that is live-withable with the obvious exception of the Magic Mouse/Trackpad but this is actually resolvable and I wouldn't anticipate many issues.

Onboard wifi and networking can be problematic but that can be avoided with good component planning.

There are of course other issues which can be encountered but the main headache seems to come when you are using onboard sound and need the latest and greatest GFX set up.

So I did some component investigation (an eye opener after delegating it to apple for a decade) and realised for under 1200 euros I could get a i7 hex core (5820k), 32gb DDR4 RAM, liquid cooling system with a 250gb SSD boot device with Thunderbolt (for My Apollos and UAD cards) running stable on Yosemite and when my plug-ins are compatible El Capitan. I am pretty confident I could put it through another major version too with no problems that I currently have waiting on fixes with my legit Mac for El Capitan.

This would give me an upgrade path right up to 128gb DDR4, 8 core i7 5960x in the current gen and possibly even the new Broadwell-e chips in future. Not to mention I can throw a ton of storage into this in RAID, SSHD or SSD at my whim and even look at overclocking too.

Now of course, I might find this doesn't work out but like I said I am a software guy too and could easily get tons of use out a beastly Linux/Windows box regardless. Plus I am a geek and I quite enjoyed hunting round specs and the prospect of hacking around with this.

This is of course just and experiment, hence why I am trying with the lowest base model possible for the base model on this potential upgrade path. I will more than likely end up with an official Mac Pro at some point very soon especially if they upgrade and sort some of my gripes (one can dream). I will of course follow my current upgrade plans on my MBPs, apple are still knocking it out of the park for my mobile needs.

I would also really not recommend anyone tries this unless like me the have other usage for the system and an official back up plan/route and will enjoy the experience in a geeky way. I aslo have the 4K monitors, keyboard and Magic mouse already so don't need to buy those. Like the old saying 'don't bet what you aren't prepared to lose'.
Click to expand...

Ok, best of luck on your Hackintosh journey.
 
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