need help upgrading DP, OS, etc.

[billfiler]

I need to upgrade my system but I need some advice. In what order should I upgrade?
Here is my current setup:
2X2.4G Quad core Xeon Mac pro
OS 10.6.8
DP 7.24
Waves 8.0 still using ilock
Autotune 7.0.8
My main concern is upgrading the OS, DP, and Waves and still having all of my current projects function.
The reason I haven't upgraded is that current system is rock solid. DP has crashed maybe 3 times in the last 2 years. But I would like some of the features of DP 8 and some of the new software I want requires a newer OS.
I don't know how many of you run a recording studio for a living. It is what I do but unfortunately business is down probably 75% of what it was 2 or 3 years ago. Initially I hadn't upgraded because I was too busy. Now I'm so slow that I need things to go smoothly because I can't afford to cancel the small amount of work I have.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Bill

[Radiogal]

I usually buy a new OSX drive when upgrading. Rhat way you can always get back to stability and find files yoy may need.

[Radiogal]

I will update to Mountain Lion soon too. At least I will buy it before Apple releases the new one within some weeks.
I run a studio too. Stability comes first!

[magicd]

You can upgrade to DP8 without changing anything on your system. If you run DP8 in 32 bit mode, it will still see all your older 32 bit plug-ins and will open the DP7 files directly. You can download the DP8 demo and give it a try.

Personally, I hate to upgrade operating systems. Usually I only upgrade an OS when I get a new computer. My suggestion is that you only upgrade the OS if you have to, for example if a new plug-in or application requires a newer OS.

4GB of RAM is really minimal for a DP system. I run 8 GB on my own system and am very happy with that. If you want to use more and larger virtual instruments additional RAM can help with that.

Dave

[Michael Canavan]

In regards to upgrading OS, I would if you're on Leopard or Lion. Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion are like the mature builds of those two IMO inferior versions.

[Basstrup]

I always buy two new hard drives before upgrading - then use carbon copy cloner to make two clones of the existing drive. Original drive then goes into storage. I use one clone as is and upgrade the other. Today I have two drives, one with a "DP 7.24 system" and one with "DP 8.04" and can switch back and forth as needed by rebooting the mac.

[Kubi]

Also keep in mind that DP7.24 will be working just fine. I was in the same situation, had to finish out an old project in DP7.24 while starting a new one I wanted to do in DP8.04 (64bit)

It was flawless. In your case, however, do NOT update Waves 8 until you have closed out old projects. I don't know how reliable the old version would open in Waves 9 (it may work just fine.)

In my case, I waited with the Altiverb 7 update until the DP7 project was finished. Good thing I did, too, because Altiverb 7 was piss-poor at opening old projects with the settings intact. And as opposed to DP8, which lives alongside DP7, even has its own preferences folder (brilliant move, MOTU!!), Altiverb 7 *replaces* Altiverb 6. So there's no going back, other than starting up off of a cloned HD.

So, to sum it up: If you can wait with updating Waves, you're definitely safe. Otherwise, get some testimonials from Waves users (I have recently given up on Waves and won't update them any longer.)

Re. OS: Mountain Lion is awesome. I recommend it if you can run your legacy software. (Any PowerPC apps will no longer work. No more Rosetta since Lion.)

BUT: Definitely get more RAM! I have 20G, and since I am running everything in 64bit (DP and OS and all plug-ins) I definitely use the space. Nice n roomy!

If I were you, this is what I'd do, in this order:

1. Get more RAM. Lots more.

2. Get an SSD as a startup drive. Your startup speed and general speed will make you think you have a new computer, between the RAM and the SSD.

3. Get DP8, run it in 64 bit if you can (in 64bit you won't be able to run 32bit plug-ins, so no more Waves 8. you *can* run DP8 in 32bit, I have never tried that...) If you run in 64bit, suddenly you won't run out of RAM anymore -like, ever. Provided you bought enough RAM. And DP8 runs like a dream in 64bit. Keep DP7.24 around for safety. Doesn't hurt.

4. Last, worry about upgrading OS. Be sure to buy Mountain Lion before Maverick comes out, though. Once they go there, there will be no more ML. You can download and not install yet.

[HCMarkus]

I'd buy a 120 or 240 GB SSD and install the latest OS and DP on it, maintaining your current OS drive as a backup. You can always start from it for legacy projects. DP8.04 has been extremely solid for me in 64 bit mode under 10.8.3. Waves 9 is perfect with DP8; no more iLok with the Waves cloud auth system.

[mikehalloran]

I'd buy a 120 or 240 GB SSD and install the latest OS and DP on it, maintaining your current OS drive as a backup. You can always start from it for legacy projects. DP8.04 has been extremely solid for me in 64 bit mode under 10.8.3. Waves 9 is perfect with DP8; no more iLok with the Waves cloud auth system.

This makes the most sense. I have an eSATA drive I use to test new OS before I let it go "live" - same with DP 8.

For those of us who use our Macs for other than DP, 10.8 is rock solid and offers significant improvements over 10.6. Certain functionality that I use got screwed up in 10.5, worse in 10.6, broke completely in 10.7 and wasn't restored till 10.8.2 - but worked much better finally.

OS 10.9 promisles no compatibility issues - if it worked in 10.8, it will work in 10.9.

[billfiler]

I'd buy a 120 or 240 GB SSD and install the latest OS and DP on it, maintaining your current OS drive as a backup. You can always start from it for legacy projects. DP8.04 has been extremely solid for me in 64 bit mode under 10.8.3. Waves 9 is perfect with DP8; no more iLok with the Waves cloud auth system.

Thanks for all the advice. This seems like the best plan. Did you then also install the upgraded waves etc on ssd?... I guess if everything works the ssd drive can become your permanent startup disk and I can install my other applications on it.

Where did you get the ssd?

Thanks
Bill