Anyone using 6 core Mac Pro?

[Eric Schultheis]

I'm planning to upgrade my studio with the new 6 core Mac Pro w/ 8 GB RAM (current CPU is an old PowerBook G4.) I use DP with an 896 HD BlackLionAudio mod and the MicroClock II. I’m mostly recording audio at 88.2 kHz. and using AltiVerb but want power for VIs too. Anyone out there have one of these new Macs yet and care to share your advice?

Thanks!

[Eric Schultheis]

New 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon is on the way, picked up in Shenzhen yesterday in Hong Kong today, should be delivered on Monday... oh boy!

[HCMarkus]

Sweet! Please report back on how it works for you.

[mhschmieder]

Hmm, $1200 extra, but it does seem a better buy overall than the base 8-core model, by a long shot.

In fact, from what we've read so far about the various models out there, the 6-core seems the ideal version for DP.

[Eric Schultheis]

OK so the MacPro 6 core is a dream machine. Recording 8 channels 24 bit 88.2kHz and playing back with MasterWorks EQ,Leveler, and ProVerb on all channels plus the master stereo bus. This baby is super solid and stable. I'm in heaven!!!

[mhschmieder]

Good to hear!

Hopefully I'll be just as happy with my 4-core when it arrives tomorrow.

I'm hoping the SSD upgrade will accomplish some of the gains that I'm missing from sticking with four cores and Nehalem.

[HCMarkus]

Great.... how many VIs?

[Frodo]

Hopefully I'll be just as happy with my 4-core when it arrives tomorrow.

OK-- that was posted yesterday which means today is "tomorrow"-- which means NOW.

Do tell!!! Inquiring hobbits want to know!!

[mhschmieder]

UPS seems to give my neighbourhood last priority, so it probably won't arrive until right around 7pm.

The extra hard drives should arrive tomorrow. I'll wait until I install the SSD in the optical bay to turn it on.

Oh, I think it might be possible to upgrade this model to the six-core later on, but haven't looked into that thoroughly.

[Eric Schultheis]

Great.... how many VIs?

I will try to max it out with VIs this weekend and report back on the results

[HCMarkus]

Thanks Eric. I just ordered an LA-610, thus likely pushing my new Mac window out a while, but I couldn't pass up the free UAD2-Duo card offer. I always liked the UA mic pre, and figure the preamp/compressor combo will be a sweet studio addition, and could well keep my G5 Quad in action for a little longer. Plaus I will be able to use those sweet UA plugins.

Still looking forward to your report, however. Thanks for the kindness.

Also loking forward to mh's breakthru. Whee hah! So you really think you can hold off on turning the new Mac on until the SSD arrives, mh?

[mhschmieder]

Considering that UPS didn't deliver it today (after a long wait), I have no choice.

[n2mpujack]

UPS seems to give my neighbourhood last priority, so it probably won't arrive until right around 7pm.

The extra hard drives should arrive tomorrow. I'll wait until I install the SSD in the optical bay to turn it on.

Oh, I think it might be possible to upgrade this model to the six-core later on, but haven't looked into that thoroughly.

Are you going to use the ssd as a boot drive?
If so, could you do us a favor and boot the machine up on it's stock drive first and then do it with the ssd and let us know what the boot times were? I'd think the ssd would be faster for booting but how much faster?

[HCMarkus]

Jack, OWC has a video on their site demonstrating the difference between HD and SSD on boot. I stumble across it the other day when looking at their SSDs. Barefeats.com has some comparisons, too in the "Fastest 2 TB of 2010" thread.

[mhschmieder]

Sorry, but I don't want to boot the computer up with the stock drive. I'm nervous about this as it is my first tower for home use; especially of the Apple brand. I want a clean history from initial bootup with the SSD.

I am hoping to start setting it up in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I still have some deadlines I have to meet, and as I'll be in Boston visiting family for a week, my window of time for setting up the new computer is extremely narrow.

I am hoping to at least get the initial setup done tonight, even if no applications get installed beyond the ones that come with OS X. As I am new to so much of this, including Time Machine and the newer file systems, I am going to be cross-referencing a LOT of materials to make sure I don't make any mistakes.