DP 6 and Mac G5

[bass4usall]

I'm considering upgrading from DP5, but I don't want to buy a new Mac.

Anyone have any experiences with the new DP 6 and a Mac G5?

Thanks

[bayswater]

You will find several threads here talking about experience with DP 6 and they all contain posts from people with G5s. The experience is mixed. It works for me, and several others, but not for everyone. No one has figured out what makes the difference, but there is some suspicion that whether it works for you will depend on the plugins you use.

[hammerman]

I am still running an original Dual 2GHz G5 now on Leopard (16 months after it was introduced, just upgraded) and DP 6.02. It works beautifully. By far the best version of the program. I have been running it since version 2. 3.5 Gigs of RAM. I'll probably upgrade later this year though 'cause Omnisphere is a CPU hog but oh, so amazing!

[jpiscitello]

I'm using it. I can say that it's usable, but I am doing a large project with a small set of just 2-3 VIs running. Not breaking the bank with Omnispheres and EWQLSO' running around.

However I do believe that the memory usage is less efficient, in that I think I am experiencing more OS virtual memory swapping happening on 6.02 than 5.13. (However, the culprit could be that I also updated to Kontakt 3).

Some aspects of performance is better - I think the general drawing and refreshing of the UI during editing is for the most part faster (as long as you don't experience a VM swap).

I needed one big feature - namely 23.976 support - otherwise I would say there is no rush to update. The UI changes are a wash for my efficiency - you can manage screen real estate a little bit better, but then some critical things are much slower, namely the universal track selector (the thing is slow as all get out). And there are still some annoying bugs like click countoff stuttering, not being able to double-click and show the conductor track.

But overall, it's usable. Only recommended however if you absolutely need a feature.

[David Polich]

I truly believe DP6 is best for Intel Macs running Leopard. I've decided to keep things at
DP 5.13 on my G5 Dual 2.3Ghz running 10.4.11. It's solid, reliable, and I know it's
limitations.

[James Steele]

I am still running an original Dual 2GHz G5 now on Leopard (16 months after it was introduced, just upgraded) and DP 6.02. It works beautifully. By far the best version of the program. I have been running it since version 2. 3.5 Gigs of RAM. I'll probably upgrade later this year though 'cause Omnisphere is a CPU hog but oh, so amazing!

I'm assuming you aren't using FM7, FM8, or KontaktPlayer2, etc., right? The only problem with the G5/Leopard/DP6 combination is some problems with some of the Native Instruments VIs. I downgraded to Tiger (10.4.11) and they work again. Overall, I recommend people who wish to use DP6 on a G5 to stay with Tiger.

[hammerman]

Overall, I recommend people who wish to use DP6 on a G5 to stay with Tiger.

Yes James. It killed Garritan Personal Orchestra using Kontakt 2. I have found no way to use Kontakt 2. I HAVE found a way to use Trilogy thought with the Audio Ease VST Wrapper. It actually works with Trilogy and Atmosphere. I am waiting for that new ARIA thing from Garritan with GPO.

Leopard also killed Jam. I am on Toast 10 but miss some of the features of Jam, like printing out detailed track sheets. But overall, I am happy with DP and Leopard.

I would heed Jame's advice though if you are unsure. And thank you James for your posts as I found them very helpful before making the Leopard leap.

[James Steele]

I have heard that Kontakt 3 works on G5/Leopard/DP6 however. I just didn't want to have to pop for that myself.

[airtime]

My old G5 is still delivering the goods. It may be a little light in RAM, but it rarely chokes on anything in DP6.02. I'm not changing anything until I have to.

Wayne

[hammerman]

Yeah Wayne, I'm with you. I'm running a busy studio here and I like things working! G5's have really held up over these past few years. Upgrading is a PITA. Something I don't like to do too often! (Unless I can afford to, that is)

[HCMarkus]

DP6.02 and TIger on a Quad G5 here, working nicely, but I have been doing more studio construction than recording lately, so my usage has been mostly light. I have run thru all my VI's and most of my plugins, and all seems well. Had to upgrade Kontakt 2 to the latest version to work with DP6. I've heard PodFarm 1.3 breaks DP6, but haven't tried it 'cause 1.2 is fine except for a redraw issue that doesn't crash anything.

By the way, I run a Leopard partition for everything but DP, and Jam works fine for me under either Tiger or Leo.

[zed]

DP6.02 and TIger on a Quad G5 here, working nicely...
By the way, I run a Leopard partition for everything but DP, and Jam works fine for me under either Tiger or Leo.

I just got a new Mac and am now using DP 5.13 with Leopard. I am having a few issues, so I wonder if Leopard may be partly responsible. Can you please remind me what the reasons are why you are using Tiger with DP instead of Leopard.

I also remember reading a post from James (our leader in that hilarious Easter Bunny outfit ) saying that he had downgraded to Tiger despite really loving Leopard. Again, can you please quickly refresh my memory on what was the main reason why you had to do that?

[bayswater]

I just got a new Mac and am now using DP 5.13 with Leopard. I am having a few issues, so I wonder if Leopard may be partly responsible. Can you please remind me what the reasons are why you are using Tiger with DP instead of Leopard.

I also remember reading a post from James (our leader in that hilarious Easter Bunny outfit ) saying that he had downgraded to Tiger despite really loving Leopard. Again, can you please quickly refresh my memory on what was the main reason why you had to do that?

The move back to Tiger from Leopard was done by some with G5s because of plugins that didn't work with PPC on Leopard, but none of this will necessarily apply to you. But I notice you are using 10.5.6. This has been tagged by some as having the longest list of unresolved bugs of any OSX release, most of which are to be addressed in 10.5.7. I have two Intels and a PPC, and was not able to get a stable setup on any of them post 10.5.4.

[HCMarkus]

The move back to Tiger from Leopard was done by some with G5s because of plugins that didn't work with PPC on Leopard, but none of this will necessarily apply to you. But I notice you are using 10.5.6. This has been tagged by some as having the longest list of unresolved bugs of any OSX release, most of which are to be addressed in 10.5.7. I have two Intels and a PPC, and was not able to get a stable setup on any of them post 10.5.4.

+1

[BobK]

I tried DP 6 on my G5(with Leopard) last summer, and eventually trashed it and went back to 5.13. Why? Well, I had the Kontakt Player 2 problem too, but since I had Kontakt 3 that wasn't a deal-killer. (However, I think it's noteworthy that 9 months later the problem still hasn't been resolved, even though at the time we were told (I forget by whom) that a fix was imminent.)
More importantly, I also had a number of crashes when doing really basic operations like dragging the wiper in the SE or TO windows with playback stopped. This was completely unacceptable. I also really disliked the GUI.

A few months ago I did a test comparing the CPU load of DP 6.02 and 5.13 on my Intel Mac Book Pro (posted in another thread), and DP 6 clearly put a heavier load on the machine with the same project. After years of users here urging MOTU to focus on efficiency, this is very disappointing.

I realize others have had good results with DP 6 on a G5 - even with Leopard - but I dislike this version enough that I haven't tried 6.02 on my G5. I plan to keep using 5.13 and to keep my eye on DP 6 updates. But I'm also considering using Pro Tools LE more, at least for mixing.