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is it still worth it to get a mac pro?

gdeusthewhizkid

gdeusthewhizkid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 14, 2008
753
41
NY|NJ
hey guys,

Im a music producer on my spare time. I already own a mac mini and a macbook pro. I use logic express 9 on macbook pro and logic 8 on mac mini. I have a ton of virtual instruments I use and it seems to choke up my systems. Thinking of upgrading to a mac pro refurbished. One of my photographer buddies swears by the new mac mini for his photo studio. What would you guys suggest. I was thinking of staying portable with macbook air or new macbook pro..
 
It depends on which one you get. There are a lot of times when the new Mac Mini would outrun one of the older ones. However, good luck with expandability with the Mini.
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
hey guys,

Im a music producer on my spare time. I already own a mac mini and a macbook pro. I use logic express 9 on macbook pro and logic 8 on mac mini. I have a ton of virtual instruments I use and it seems to choke up my systems. Thinking of upgrading to a mac pro refurbished. One of my photographer buddies swears by the new mac mini for his photo studio. What would you guys suggest. I was thinking of staying portable with macbook air or new macbook pro..
Click to expand...

Someone will correct me if Im wrong but afaik. Photography = disk intensive, Audio = processor intensive. So the point your friend makes is basically invalid for your needs. If you can get your hands on a 2009 Mac Pro and upgrade it to Hex processores by flashing the firmware.

My 2 cents.
 
In my knowledge....

a big array of instruments requiere big datasets, hence, lots of RAM. And if you want the capacity to customize a computer with multiple setups, the Pro can be for you. But I conceded, outdated....

Regarding to RAM, by example, my Pro can go up to 64 GB (Apple supported) and 128 GB (unsupported). Low end Pros as the Quad Core can go up to 32 GB (Apple) and 48 GB (non Apple), with the Hexa Core up to the same quantities.

If needed, no point in waiting for the hypothetical "Mac Pro 2013"


:):apple:
 
MisterKeeks said:
It depends on which one you get. There are a lot of times when the new Mac Mini would outrun one of the older ones. However, good luck with expandability with the Mini.
Click to expand...

"Older Ones" = Mac Pro 1,1?

If that's what you meant, you are dead wrong. I have a new mini here next to my 1,1 (mod CPU) and I can say there is NOTHING the mini does as fast as the Mac Pro 1,1.

Minis aren't bad, but they are single processor cheapies. Those devices jam and wait as you do anything. The Pro will let you work far more smooth than a mini ever could.

Unless you have little money, get the Pro. However, the Pros might upgrade to something akin to a new generation of computers in about 6-12 months.
 
You would be much better off getting a 15-Inch MacBook Pro. Make sure that it has a 2nd or 3rd Generation Intel Quad-Core i7 and fit it with at least 8GB, but preferably 16GB of RAM and you have a great system.

If hard drive speed ever becomes an issue you can add an external USB 3.0 or TB drive.

I am running Logic Pro 9 and Ableton Suite 8 on a 17-Inch MBP (early 2011) and it runs fine and I use at least 100 plug-ins per song of those maybe 16-24 are CPU intensive Virtual Instruments.

The Mac Pro is a waste of money for what you want to do.


Postscript: if you ask in this forum most people will tell you to buy a Mac Pro!
 
Postscript: If you ask in this forum most people with MacBook Pros will tell you to buy a MacBook Pro!
 
24Frames said:
Postscript: if you ask in this forum most people will tell you to buy a Mac Pro!
Click to expand...

Had to end it with an ass troll.

Mac Pro > MacBook Pro. Sure, you can run Logic Pro on any Mac. It will work. It will work better on a Mac Pro, no competition.

Unless you want USB3 and TB. In that case, use another Mac or wait up to a year to get the upgrade. If he doesn't have the cash or needs mobility, he shouldn't get a Pro.
 
beto2k7 said:
Someone will correct me if Im wrong but afaik. Photography = disk intensive, Audio = processor intensive. So the point your friend makes is basically invalid for your needs. If you can get your hands on a 2009 Mac Pro and upgrade it to Hex processores by flashing the firmware.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

That's basically correct, although I'd check the price of a refurbished hex prior to flashing a used machine. It's $2500 for a refurbished unit now. The cpu is $600. If the difference was only a few hundred, I'd just purchase the refurb unit rather than one with unknown history.
 
If you can afford the current MacPros, then sure, why not. However, new (redesigned?) MacPros are rumoured next year, and the 2012 MacMinis, MBPs and iMacs have impressive benchmarks that match or better some recent MacPros. (Except the 8 and 12-core, but they are very expensive.)

Use Activity Monitor to see whether it is the CPU or the RAM -- or even the disk -- which is causing the choking in Logic. I've got 16Gb and a Fusion drive in my new 2.6Ghz i7 mini, and Logic 8 absolutely screams.
 
I saw this for refurbished unit for $700. what do you guys think?

Mac Pro 2.66GHz Two Dual-Core 2GB 250GB Super Drive Intel Xeon 2007

should i pull the plug and get this...
 
That sounds like it's a Mac Pro 1,1 (which came out in 2006, but continued to sell in 2007). Note that this machine is not supported by Mountain Lion. You can hack Mountain Lion to run, but who knows if the next version of OS X will work. Also, what video card is important. If it is a nVidia GeForce 7300 GT you will more than likely want to upgrade it, because it will be a drag even if you don't do anything graphically heavy (I had that card, and I upgraded to the unsupported $250 ATI 5770 and it made a huge difference). The OS X drivers for the 7300GT don't even support OpenGL which was part of the problem. You will probably also want to upgrade the CPUs to get the most out of it (would be a different story if this was the 2 x quad 3.0GHz CPUs). Also, how much RAM? If it has something minuscule like 1 or 2GB, you'll want to spend money on RAM, and it's not that cheap for this machine.

So, to me it's sounding like it's more trouble than it's worth. I have a Mac Pro 1,1 that is running strong, but I've done some unsupported upgrades and hacks to keep it going. About to do a CPU upgrade.
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
I saw this for refurbished unit for $700. what do you guys think?

Mac Pro 2.66GHz Two Dual-Core 2GB 250GB Super Drive Intel Xeon 2007

should i pull the plug and get this...
Click to expand...

I have seen 2008 8-core Mac pro's go on ebay for only a couple hundred more than that, so no I don't think you should get this.
 
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