6 core Mac Pro w/ DP--any users? core issues?

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:14 pm

I have been reading of a now known glitch with the new 6 core Mac Pros and Logic 9 where only 4 of the 6 cores are useable in Logic 9. It's an issue limited to the 6 core MP's. Is anyone using the new 6 core machine with DP7.2 and are all cores available? Thanks. -R

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:48 pm

Rusty Shackleford wrote:I have been reading of a now known glitch with the new 6 core Mac Pros and Logic 9 where only 4 of the 6 cores are useable in Logic 9. It's an issue limited to the 6 core MP's. Is anyone using the new 6 core machine with DP7.2 and are all cores available? Thanks. -R

I'm not sure how many 6-core users you'll find here since, from what I gather, a 6-core machine is a special order option added on the the cost of the base machine and may not be cost effective compared to the 8-core machine.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 7:05 pm

The 6-core 3.33 machine (loaded with aftermarket 8GB RAM sticks) actually looks to be a very strong contender in the bang-for-the-buck department in the latest offerings from Apple.

DP has always seemed to use multiple cores quite efficiently. I have heard many complaints over the years about Logic's poor use of multiple cores. I, too, am anxious to hear from some 6-core users on this point.

Anyone? Anyone? Ferris?

burn em · Post by **burn em** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:12 pm

After being absolutely floored what a Macbook Pro can do compared to a Dual 2gz G5. I too am pretty keen to hear about DP's use of six cores.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:24 pm

HCMarkus wrote:The 6-core 3.33 machine (loaded with aftermarket 8GB RAM sticks) actually looks to be a very strong contender in the bang-for-the-buck department in the latest offerings from Apple.

DP has always seemed to use multiple cores quite efficiently. I have heard many complaints over the years about Logic's poor use of multiple cores. I, too, am anxious to hear from some 6-core users on this point.

Anyone? Anyone? Ferris?

Thanks for correcting me on that. Rusty also nipped me to that privately. My bad.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:09 pm

No worries, James. Until I saw the price tags on the new MacPros, I was gung-ho for 12 cores. Unless something magical happens to my personal finances, I will have to live with lowered expectations.

One interesting development, however, is OWC's recently announced processor upgrades... leaving the door open for 12 cores at 3.33gHz as an upgrade when the proverbial ship comes in. I'm sure THAT upgrade will cost plenty, though!

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:37 pm

Yes they're too rich for my blood. I think used Nehalems are the way to go for a while.

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:40 pm

Well, gentlemen, I just pulled the trigger on a 6 core, 3.33ghz. After reading all the online posts, reviews, bench marks, etc. as well as talking to some great engineers I decided this would be the best machine for me to run DP7.2 for composing compared to the new 8 core 2.4ghz--the other machine I seriously considered. MOTU suggested more cores is better, but they were unfamiliar with the 6 core and in the end, I believed the big speed difference would compensate for 2 less cores. The most comprehensive review of the new Mac Pro's at macperformanceguide.com showed the only performance advantage the 8 core had over the 6 core in all its tests was with audio-tested with Logic Pro; but LP9 has a glitch now where only 3 cores in the 6 core machine are functional and its test results were tainted as such. So, with DP7 hopefully accessing all 6 cores, it seems there should be a marginal difference in speed if any with the 8 core. MOTU said there are no known issues of now with the 6 core, but it is untested. Posts by Nick Batzdorf, editor/publisher of Virtual Instruments Magazine, and Eric Persing also asserted the virtues of fast clock speeds over slower ones with more cores. The fewer RAM slots(4) in the 6 core is a drag and will incur a bit more expense buying larger chips in order to have lots of RAM; the machine itself is $200 more than the 8 core. For composers looking to buy a new machine now, I think this debate between the current 8 and 6 core offerings will be a popular one. I don't expect my conclusion to be right for everyone, but perhaps this post will be relevant to another composer toiling over a similar decision. If I had an extra $1k+ to buy a 12-core, I probably would've; but $ is an object and what the best machine is is not obvious.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:11 am

Here's hoping your six core rocks, Rusty! I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to a report once you get things rolling.

labman · Post by **labman** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:14 am

Thanks for being a guinea pig for all us of. Or should I say 'pioneer'. Please keep us posted on the progress with DP

jloeb · Post by **jloeb** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:27 pm

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:46 pm

I thought I recalled the 6-core as being the most powerful CPU of the current batch, but I guess I'll have to review that info once again based on this discussion. It's the reason I thought it would be a better buy than the 8-core, for most applications that don't take advantage of all of the cores and thus benefit from raw CPU power ratings.

jloeb · Post by **jloeb** » Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:22 pm

mhschmieder wrote:the reason I thought it would be a better buy than the 8-core, for most applications that don't take advantage of all of the cores and thus benefit from raw CPU power ratings.

For most applications, that's true.
DP is one of the exceptions though, in that it really uses as many cores as there are.

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:47 pm

jloeb wrote:
mhschmieder wrote:the reason I thought it would be a better buy than the 8-core, for most applications that don't take advantage of all of the cores and thus benefit from raw CPU power ratings.
For most applications, that's true.
DP is one of the exceptions though, in that it really uses as many cores as there are.

True. The wildcard though is will significant clock speed difference compensate for a couple cores in actual DP track/VI performance. The macperformanceguide.com results(http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews- ... tudio.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) were interesting with Logic; the 8 core(2.4ghz) yielded 78 tracks(9.75 tracks per core) vs. the 6's 46 tracks, but only 3 cores(15.3 tracks per core) of the 6 core machine were used by Logic. That leads me to assume that with all 6 cores firing in DP7 the speed advantage over the 8 will bring the track counts near even. We'll see....

leoheiblum · Post by **leoheiblum** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:27 pm

Hola!
well, here is another guinea pig for testing DP with the 8 core...
I too had a long debate between the 6 core and the 8 core, and even though i concluded the 6 core was a faster machine today, 4 things made me buy the 8 core (it arrived today!):
-the ram issue. less expensive and ability to have more ram
-motu saying more cores are better than faster cores
-the possibility of upgrading the processors to 2 six cores in the future
-ok, the 6 core is faster, but am i really going to use up all the power in my 8 core? i think i should have enough to knock myself out with plugins and virtual instruments... we will see...

Is there a way of knowing in DP if all the cores are evenly used? i see the CPU usage window on the activity monitor. is that the best way?
greetings to all...

MOTUnation.com