Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be ...

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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
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zandurian
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Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be ...

Post by zandurian »

I'm hoping I can keep my Black Lion modded 24 i/o in service for awhile, it does everything I need except to get a post 2012 MAC would mean the PCIe card, around which the unit is based, would no longer work. I'm wanting a newer mac pro so....

Does anyone hear have experience with running any of the thunderbolt to PCIe adapters? If so - recommendations? Working well? Problems?
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Mac Pro (early 2009 - originally 4,1 - flashed to 5,1) 2 x 3.42 GHz 6-Core Xeon X5690, 64 gigs PC3-10600 RAM, OS 10.13.3, DP9.52, UAD2 duo, UAD2 solo,
Superior drummer 2, Mach 5-3, Ivory, PCIe 424, BL modded 24i/o, MIDI express XT, unisyn, Melodyne 2, Izotope RX2, Addictive Drums, Pianoteq
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mikehalloran
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Re: Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be

Post by mikehalloran »

It cannot work. Period. There are many, many old threads on this beginning in 2011. Take a little time to find and read them before you spend a dime chasing this rabbit down the hole.

Other threads on how to upgrade your Mac Pro will allow you to keep working with a piece of hardware you like.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
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HCMarkus
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Re: Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be

Post by HCMarkus »

Why not do the 5,1 flash and CPU upgrade* instead of spending money on a "new" Mac Pro that was actually last updated in 2013?

If you buy two used Xeon X5680s and have them de-lidded, you are looking at about a $350 investment that will take your current Mac to a level of performance nearly double that which you currently have. If you are really brave, like Michael Canavan, you can do the de-lidding yourself and save $150, or you can install with thicker thermal pads and great care without de-lidding.

Of course, if you are not running your system from an SSD, a nominal investment there will greatly enhance your computer's responsiveness.

Once you flash your MP, you can download and install Sierra without any issue.

Running Sierra, I did a $90 GPU upgrade (AMD RX460) that totally outperforms the AMD5770 that my studio Mac previously housed and am running a $300 4k TV as a monitor with stunning results.

Just sayin'. :smash:

*Just in case anyone here thinks I get a commission from a magical 4,1>5,1 Upgrade God, I offer this advice (as I have many times before) only in the interest of mo' better DP performance for my friends here at MOTUNation.
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M1 Mac Studio Ultra • 64GB RAM • 828es • macOS 13.6.4 • DP 11.31
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mikehalloran
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Re: Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be

Post by mikehalloran »

HCMarkus wrote:Why not do the 5,1 flash and CPU upgrade* instead of spending money on a "new" Mac Pro that was actually last updated in 2013?
...[/size]
Come to think of it, last I checked, this was way less expensive than any TB-PCIe system out there ... which is moot since that can't work anyway. MOTU would have to build a new 424-PCIe card to incorporate the necessary firmware and that ship has sailed.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
zandurian
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Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2005 10:01 pm
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Re: Can my trusty great sounding Black Lion modded 24 i/o be

Post by zandurian »

Great advice there guys! Thanks.
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Mac Pro (early 2009 - originally 4,1 - flashed to 5,1) 2 x 3.42 GHz 6-Core Xeon X5690, 64 gigs PC3-10600 RAM, OS 10.13.3, DP9.52, UAD2 duo, UAD2 solo,
Superior drummer 2, Mach 5-3, Ivory, PCIe 424, BL modded 24i/o, MIDI express XT, unisyn, Melodyne 2, Izotope RX2, Addictive Drums, Pianoteq
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