Slave machine advice w/VE Pro. Mac Mini?

[Justin_K]

Hello all.

I'd very much appreciate some advice regarding my setup.

My main machine is a Mac Pro 2 x 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 28 GB RAM (OS Yosemite 10.10.1) with samples spread across 2 drives (not SSD). I'm using the latest DP 8 and VE Pro with large orchestral libraries. Things are beginning to overload in DP since I'm playing video too.

I'm not sure where the overload problem lies- RAM, Disks, or CPU.

So I'm thinking I have 3 options.

Add more RAM (something I might do anyway)
Upgrade to SSDs
or, add a slave or two.

Possibly a 4th option, upgrade my main machine and keep it as a 'One Mac studio'.

If I choose to add slaves, would Mac Minis be a good choice? If so, what am I looking for? Are they all 64 bit? Any recommendations?

I'm a little ignorant when it comes to things other than music so I'd love some advice from a seasoned Mac person

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

[HCMarkus]

What model number is your Mac Pro? If it is a 4,1 (2009) or 5,1 (2010/2012), CPU upgrades that will significantly enhance performance are possible. They are easy to perform on a 5,1 dual, not so easy on the 4,1.

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=58848

And DO try an SSD or two. You will love the quick boot times (10-15 seconds from post) if you use one as a system drive.

[Justin_K]

Thanks for your reply.

I just looked it up and I have a 5,1 mid 2010

[Justin_K]

I've just looked at your link.

It seems like a daunting task for me.

I wouldn't know if I was buying the right thing or even how to install it. I'm educating myself slowly

[HCMarkus]

Thanks for your reply.

I just looked it up and I have a 5,1 mid 2010

OMG… you have the perfect Mac Pro to upgrade. Read the whole thread I linked to, and note no de-lidding or EFI hack is required for your machine. Add two x5680s @ $200 each and your machine will rival the 6,1 12 core in CPU horsepower (which is what you need for DP and VIs.) You can buy the CPUs on Ebay and have a friend who builds PCs do the swap for you.

Our site Mod James Steele just swapped the CPU his single core 4,1 a few days back. I did mine over two years ago, and it cost me a lot more, but has been a workhorse ever since.

Also, as I edited into my first post, go SSD! I run everything from SSDs in my MP now and use spinners for backup and archiving only. Tremendous improvement in responsiveness.

[Justin_K]

Great news. Thanks for the 'heads up'.

I'll get studying and do it. Sounds like the best and cheapest solution.

thank you so much.

[HCMarkus]

New $260:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-INTEL-XEON- ... 566edf34a6

They bumped the price from $220 to $260. KG got his at $220 a week or two ago form the same vendor.

Used $200:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-X568 ... 418df82c17

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-X568 ... 2c93261f87

And you are certainly welcome!

[Justin_K]

Should I be wary of purchasing used products?

I'm happy to pay the extra for new, but they may not want to ship to Australia, or if they do they may overcharge like many sellers do.

[HCMarkus]

I have heard no complaints with used. I guess the ones to avoid would be CPUs used by an extreme overclocker who pushed them hard. You may be able to find a local seller offering CPUs pulled from a server that is being updated; this is where most Xeons on Ebay are coming from these days.

[mikehalloran]

Your most likely immediate boost will come from running an SSD as your system drive. Until you do, you just have no idea.

The Crucial M500 at OWC is a great bang for the buck.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Crucial/CT960M500S7M/

There are ways to mount without the adapter but this makes it pretty easy
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/ADPTADRV/

The fastest drive performance is to be had with a PCIe blade. These are about 2.7x faster than the above in your Mac Pro:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/PCIe ... lsior/RAID

As HC points out, there are other ways to turn your machine into a rocket ship and none of them are expensive anymore. I won't disagree on a CPU upgrade but the effect won't be as dramatic as getting an SSD or PCIe blade.

Of course, you should do both.

More RAM never hurts, of course, but 28G is certainly fine for most DP users unless you are doing video editing.

[Justin_K]

Thanks for your input.

So, replacing ONLY the system drive with a SSD? What about the drives containing my samples?

Obviously replacing them all would be ideal, but that is beyond my budget at the moment.

[mikehalloran]

So, replacing ONLY the system drive with a SSD? What about the drives containing my samples?

You are limited only by desire and budget. There are four (or 6 incl optical) drive bays, 3 PCIe slots.

Many will have Time Machine running on a large spinner unless you have it connected wireless or over ethernet. Capacity is valued over speed here and 5T drives are now available under $150.

[HCMarkus]

As HC points out, there are other ways to turn your machine into a rocket ship and none of them are expensive anymore. I won't disagree on a CPU upgrade but the effect won't be as dramatic as getting an SSD or PCIe blade.

Until your machine has booted and you run your first big DP Project with a responsive buffer…

Mike is right; an SSD boot drive will bring unbeatable immediate gratification. However, once the thrill of 10-15 second boots has worn off, the CPU upgrade will allow you to do a lot more work within DP before your Mac chokes. SSD boot, samples, and work drives just make getting started and saving quicker.

If buying a single SSD, use it for your Boot/Working Project drive. Depending on your workflow, the second SSD should be either Working Project or Samples; the first drive for Boot. Depending on the size of your sample sets, it could take a fair amount of SSD storage to fit 'em all, but that luxury is far more affordable today than it was a few years ago.

RAM should be fine at 28g.

If I had to choose, and needed to run projects that were bogging down my Mac, I'd choose the CPU upgrade first. But, as Mike notes, that first SSD is not so expensive, and highly recommended. Ultimately, use spinners for backup and long term storage only.

PS: Learn about SSD TRIM and use it; very important, especially on Boot and Work drives. Trim Enabler from Cindori is great. Read his web page on Trim under Yosemite if you run that version of OSX.

[James Steele]

If buying a single SSD, use it for your Boot/Working Project drive. Depending on your workflow, the second SSD should be either Working Project or Samples; the first drive for Boot.

When you say "Boot/Working Project drive" do you mean having the project on the same SSD you boot from? Makes me wonder off shouldn't copy over a project and see how it works.

Friend of mine found that he got really big boost by having SSD for sample drive and then hosting VIs using VEP (on the same machine) versus in DP

[HCMarkus]

If buying a single SSD, use it for your Boot/Working Project drive. Depending on your workflow, the second SSD should be either Working Project or Samples; the first drive for Boot.

When you say "Boot/Working Project drive" do you mean having the project on the same SSD you boot from? Makes me wonder off shouldn't copy over a project and see how it works.

Why not try it? As long as you leave some spare area and have Trim enabled, might be good.