Looking to go with a New Mac / Software Upgrad

[zarmattathustra]

First, I'm using the Mac for things other then sound.. video, graphics, animation.. oh and sound to, but not just sound.

Depending on what happens at MacWorld tomorrow, I have two choices to consider: A MacBook Pro or a Mac Pro. It turns out the way I'd configure them they'd likely cost just about the same amount of money (The MacBook Pro amounting including an AirPort Base Station and whatnot)

So I've got my heart set on a 17" MacBook Pro, with the upgraded high resolution screen, and a 250 GB Drive. For a Mac Pro I'm more or less looking at a standard configuration with maybe a video card upgrade.

So here's where the advice questions come in.

If the MacBook Pro doesn't get bumped tomorrow.. I hate to buy a computer that's towards the end of it's cycle, especially one as expensive as this one! So I'm looking at the Mac Pro as an alternative, not entirely sure if I want to give up my dreams of portability but.. the dreams of power are nice to.

So I've been trying to do research on multi core support in software but it often seems to take a little digging, and there's much I haven't dug up yet.

By default I'll be running Komplete 3 with Kore 2. It may be that some of Komplete 3 wont run under Leopard, in which case I'll have to upgrade sooner rather then latter, but I figure Kore 2 ought to help me out here.

So does anyone have any sense of what multi core support looks like under programs like Guitar Rig 3, Reaktor, and Kontakt? I was going to ask on the Native Instruments forums but I couldn't find my login information *sigh.*

What do things look like as far as different DAWs support of Multi Core? I'm in the position of owning both Cubase and DP. But my version of DP is very old.. was a competitive upgrade, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to register it / find the registration information. I emailed MOTU a few weeks ago and still haven't heard back. I was planning to upgrade DP instead of Cubase because my Cubase dongle broke, do to how it was connected to a lap top I was using at the time. I was thinking that if I went with a MacBook Pro I'd rather not have to deal with the fear of loosing the dongle or having it break again. That and it took them ages to get back to me about fixing the problem, and its still not solved! The other issue I've heard is Cubase doesn't work well with Leopard.

But then I hear interesting things about Cubase to, about it's multi core support, support for surround sound (which I'm obsessed about going crazy with.) I've recently read, in this months SOS, about MP3 distribution for 5.1 mixing and I don't know if I heard it there or elsewhere.. but something that sounded like Cubase might be able to compress stuff to that format without having to use some crazy command line thing.. This and something about being able to run PowerPC pluggins? Somewhere I heard something bout this including OS9 era stuff? I doubt it, but thought someone might know.

If it turns out that I can't upgrade DP, and Cubase is a definite no go as far as Leopoard is concerned, I was debating going to Logic. Though I can't really afford this spending spree...

I suppose if I must go the way of the Mac Pro, and multi core support is a little iffy as of this time, at least in the long term it'll probably get better.

So I don't know.. I've been poking around this forum a bit and it's clear that a lot of you folks are a lot more knowledgeable about a lot of this stuff then I so.. .

Oh I suppose the other thing is... if an intervention is in order.. another words, if I'm insane or at least ill advised to spend money like this.. other ideas are surely welcome.

To further facilitate such a conversation I mostly do electronic music, and I'm interested in moving in a direction that's more sophisticated in terms of mix engineering. At the present time I don't own any plugs for such things, just what comes with my DAWs. I figure a DAW upgrade, whichever way I go, would take me pretty far along this line (I'm on DP 4 on an 867 G4 PowerMac) The Waves plugs seem expensive to me... but I have been eying Liquid Mix a bit. Though if I upgrade my system as I'm planning it'll be a long while before I'll be able to entertain the idea of these kinds of plugs.

So any thoughts are greatly appreciated

thanks

matt

[monkey man]

There are a lot of questions there, Matt, and I'm afraid I'm as much in the dark on most of this stuff as you are.

FWIMBW, I've taken the plunge and ordered my first upgrade in 4 years.
I went for the dual 2.8 quad as opposed to the usual mid-range selection, mainly because, for once, all the machines appear to be practically identical except for the CPU speeds.
To me this means the lower spec'd offerings represent some of the best Mac value (or is that McValue? Hmm... McValue Burger•„• - has a definite commercial ring to it!) ever.

I too have found it difficult to ascertain how comprehensive DP's multiprocessor support is, but have nevertheless taken said plunge on the assumption that all the DAWs (especially DP!) will have to take advantage of the additional cores.
My reasoning is twofold: Firstly, the fastest computers are configured this way, and secondly, given the challenges quantum computing experimentation has presented, I fear Moore's Law is in danger lest progressively more cores are added.

In other words, the industry is up against a speed and size barrier that doesn't look like being significantly broken any time soon.
In the meantime, apps will have to become savvy to the configurations out there, lest they become redundant.

Hope this helps in some way.
At least you know you won't be the only one with mud on his face should you purchase one and DP does not do this - I'll order the soap now.

[zarmattathustra]

yeah, that's more or less what I figure. I mean audio work pushes the computer as hard as anything, so you'd figure software dedicated to that task would have to evolve to take advantage of that over time.. and not only that but If I'm doing general media as well as sound, I'm sure many of the other programs will be supporting it. Apple highlighting After Effects on the Mac Pro page would be a good sign.

After years of suffering with an underpowered computer it'll be pretty nice to not have to worry about that for while!

But I still have kinda cold feet.

Any advice on monitors? I'm thinking at or under $800? give or take.

and thanks
matt

[monkey man]

I hear you, Matt. It'll be wierd, I reckon, to not even have to consider checking the CPU load.
That is, until one day (far, far away!) I buy into the whole VI thing (I use MIDI h'ware only).
If anything could find a way (in the audio arena) to chew up those cycles it'd be modelling VIs and those that render their own oscillators alias-free to 30kHz, as well as those with sophisticated effects.
Korg Legacy's analog models immediately come to mind.

Incredibly, I've still got cold feet and it's a week since I ordered it!
Usually I at least wait for user reports and for Apple to receive feedback on the first run, then I buy in once it's had time to update firmware and make whatever tweaks it deems necessary.

The facts that these aren't the first Intel machines and that an 8 core model was released last year, both give me comfort though.

EDIT: I forgot to address your monitor enquiry, Matt.
By all accounts here in the various threads on the topic, the Samsung and Dell models look like the next best things to the Apples.
James (Steele) is very happy with his Dells at last count (I think he has 2 x 24" or larger).
Many others have bought Dells and Samsungs too.

I believe both brands have 24" or larger models in your price range.
Samsung also has an $1800 (Australian) 30" offering if I'm not mistaken.
This could be around a grand USD if you wanted to go the extra mile.
Dell has (I think) two 30" models, but I'm never sure about Dell's pricing, as it can vary a great deal. James, for instance, saved $400 US or something then stumbled across a refurb price that blew him away.

FWIW, I'm still using an old Sony CRT, but when I finally am able to afford an LCD I'll likely look at the Dells and Samsungs.

[zarmattathustra]

I was recently reading a consumer reports issue that said dell had some reliability issues.

30" for around a grand is very very very tempting.

Here's a question for you.. if you had a Blue Ray player, you need to have inscription from the player all the way out to the monitor.. Given, such things haven't come to the Mac yet.. but I could see thinking about getting such a device in the future, in which case future proofing the monitor might not be a bad idea.... Do you know anything about this sort of thing?

I have 2 hardware synths in my studio, an old G-Mega and an Korg NS5R.. they are not without there virtues but It's hard to get into using them when they only have stereo outs so that I can't mix all there stuff in the computer using my computers effects without creating work flows that compromise my process.

The thing I like about software instruments is every time you upgrade you're computer it feels like your upgrading all your software. In theory, from a media artist perspective, I figure I should be upgrading every 2 years or so, which is a great idea.. but being the starving artist sort, I don't get to do that quite enough.. and worse still, its now causing me to have to upgrade my software to!

Still, some of the software upgrades are pretty exciting, and I probably would have upgraded by now if it weren't that my computer couldn't really take advantage of them.

[monkey man]

I was recently reading a consumer reports issue that said dell had some reliability issues.

Haven't heard this, but I've heard their screens are second only to Apple's.

30" for around a grand is very very very tempting.

Just guessing - they're around $1800 Australian, but RRP prices vary wildly between the States and here.

Here's a question for you.. if you had a Blue Ray player, you need to have inscription from the player all the way out to the monitor..

I'd love a Blue Ray machine.
Inscription? I'm seriously out of my depth there.

Still, some of the software upgrades are pretty exciting, and I probably would have upgraded by now if it weren't that my computer couldn't really take advantage of them.

Perhaps DP6, with its VI pre-rendering, will save the day for you and negate the need to upgrade just yet?

[zarmattathustra]

opps, I meant encryption on the Blue Ray stuff

Well.. I have software on this computer that lets you render VIs to disk, but its a little on the ridiculous side: Depending on what VIs I'm running I can maybe 2 or 3 instances.. those tend to be the less expensive processor wise. A lot of stuff you can't even get one instance of.. and this is before you get into the issue of effects!

I own Komplete 3.. I have a cheesy PC laptop that I use to.. which has a faster processor in it.. enough to run the NI stuff.. though it doesn't have the hard disk space for all the samples, and it doesn't really have enough RAM for Kontakt... And because the screen is so small.. its like you can only see so many measures at a time.. and you know.. you'd like to have multiple editors open at one time so that you could see all those different sorts of relationships in the project you are working.. since this old mac has 2 17" monitors connected to it, I tend to use it more then the cheesy laptop.. that and I like Macs better.. even with its weaker performance because I just feel liike I'm able to do a better quality of work on here.

I bought Kore 1 a couple weeks ago in preperation for the computer upgrade. If you bought before Dec 31 the upgrade to Kore 2 was free.. which includes engines to Massive, along with newer versions of the other tools.. Kore 1 was under $300, plus it's an audio interface.. which they sorta took out of 2.. So I can't wait to give that a try.

In the mean time it still remains to be seen if I'll be able to upgrade to the new DP. I have to clean my studio out and see if I can find my registration information.. and then go through my mom's records to see if I can find a reciet.. or however you spell that..

lol, I'm still excited about DP 5, never mind 6!

Anyway, I just bought the Mac Pro off Apple's website.. so I've taken the plunge.. still need to buy a monitor.. I had no luck finding said monitor.. but have found some others..

anyway, thanks for all your help

[monkey man]

Ripper Matt - you took the plunge!

Well done. It takes guts sometimes I reckon.
If DP doesn't support those processors, I'll accept partial responsibility for your jumping in.
Now, I'd better email Apple and organise my commission.

Good luck man.