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PRO-TOOLS RIG....

D

Dustinvavak

Jan 17, 2006
41
0
Kansas City
#1
I am purchasing a MAC this week, I know the minimum requirements for all the pro- tools versions out there, but would like some input on advised processor size and RAM amount since Digi doesn't like to say anything more than you need more to do extensive automation/mixing/use plug-ins. Someone let me know....
 
#3
I honestly don't know tons about Pro Tools, but I would suggest either:

1) Configuring your machine with as much RAM and HD space possible/affordable.
2) Ordering your machine with as little as possible and dumping tons in afterwards.

I'm sure most processor speeds will work, just get the fastest you can.

In case anyone couldn't tell, I'm a firm believer in buying as much computer as you can... and hoping it lasts for quite a while! :-)
 
#4
Hi Dustin,

How much processing you need is entirelly related to what kind of work you will be doing.
I think you will be fine with any of the configurations of the Power macs, ir mac book pros. Just make sure you have at least 1 gig of ram, and make sure you get a second hard drive to run all your audio.
I have a few external firewire drives that work fantastic and I deal with pretty intensive sessions.
Think of it like this:
The more processing power - the more plug ins and automation you will be able to handle.
The more ram - the more plug ins and virtual instruments and etc.

What kind of stuff you are planning on doing?? A lot of midi with VI? or just some tracks of audio?

Let me know and I'll point you to the right direction..

Peace

Gil
 
#5
Dustinvavak said:
I am purchasing a MAC this week, I know the minimum requirements for all the pro- tools versions out there, but would like some input on advised processor size and RAM amount since Digi doesn't like to say anything more than you need more to do extensive automation/mixing/use plug-ins. Someone let me know....
Click to expand...

Hi Dustin,

It really does boil down to what you are planning on doing with the computer. If you plan on running lots of samplers, you will need lots of RAM. Although you can stream samples from hard drives with most programs, the RAM will assist in getting a larger number of plug ins going. The Manufacturers "recommended" is a "minimum" in my mind. Also, plug ins take differing amounts of processing power and computer resources. For instance, I use BFD quite a bit but it is a resource hog. I often will print the audio from it to tracks so I can remove the plug in and regain the CPU for other mixing plugins.

I would always recommend getting a dedicated drive for audio recording other then the system drive. I've got three drives that I use. An 80 gig system drive, a 200 GB sample/backup drive, and an 80 gig tracking drive. Ideally, I should have a larger tracking drive and a dedicated backup drive.

Thanks
Dan
 
#6
thanks guys....

It will be used entirely for tracking bands, especially my own. But it will also be used to use pretty much everythiing out their because I work in retail so I have to become familiar with all different typs of programs and such. I was a bass/guitar/drums guy and just got put in charge of pro audio and studio gear for my company and I am scrambling to play catch up. I will be tracking bands, then mixing and applying automation, and trying to slowly work my way into being able to do all of this at a pro level. Thanks genltleman, please feel free to add more.

I am getting this as of now
17 inch mac book pro 2.16 gig pc
2.0 gigs of ram

200 gig glyph drive

Digi 002 Studio

and evenually monitors and other pres and such

for now I will just borrow the rest of it from my company...
 
#10
Hi Dustin,

I would recomend you getting the 15" instead. Its way cheaper and doesn't heat up as much. I sometimes use my brother's 17" and him and I always complain on how heavy they are and how hot they get.
I also use my friend's 15" and that thing rocks. Never had trouble with the 15" screen. Remeber you can always connect a LCD screen on the DVI output.
Since you are using mainly for tracking, you really don't need that much screen realstate.
I would also recomend getting maybe a Lacie or even a Maxtor external and save some money as well. Glyph is good, but at the end of the day, its just a Seagate drive inside an enclosure.
I bought an enclosure from newegg.com for $35 and stuck some of my drives inside and it has never crashed.

With the money you save, you can buy some mics, DI, stuff like that.

Just my 2cents.
 
#11
BR Audio said:
Glyph is good, but at the end of the day, its just a Seagate drive inside an enclosure.
Click to expand...

I don't want to get in a hard drive argument here, but do want to make sure that there is no mis-information. There IS more to Glyph than just putting a drive into an enclosure. They also use very high quality efficient internal power supplies with both AC Power input filtering and DC power filtering. They use a very quiet fan and with the QuietMetal, it is the least noisy hard drive I have used. They also use the best bridge controllers.

I've been using Glyph Enclosures, first SCSI and now Firewire, for over 8 years and have never had one go down on me. I can't say the same for other drives.

Most of my customers also have the same experience. It is very rare that a Glyph drive goes down, but if it does, they have an overnight replacement warranty in the first year, and a three year total warranty. If your drive goes down, they will do data recovery if possible (software only - they won't crack the drive) for free for 2 years. I am not aware of another hard drive company that will provide this level of after-sale service to the end user.

If you build an enclosure, get the same power supply, use the quiet metal, and do all of the same AC/DC power filtering, use the same fan and bridge controller set, and all the other stuff that they do to their enclosures to build an identical drive on your own, you would most likely have a similar performing drive at a similar or higher cost without all of the warranty support and service that Glyph will provide you.

Slapping a Seagate drive in any old enclosure is not going to be as reliable or as good a performing option. Granted, many folks are not pushing drives to the limit so the extra performance from the filtering, power supply, and bridge controller may not be critical to you, but these things also make the drive more reliable, and NONE of us want to loose our recordings due to a hard drive failure. In my book, Glyph drives are worth the money.

Thanks,
Dan
 
#12
Hi There,

Maybe I hit a sore subject here. Please allow me to clarify..

I realize that I wasn't so clear on my previous post. I agree with Dan when it comes to the quality of the enclosure. Very close attention has to be given to the choice of enclosure you are going to get. Power stability, Controller, Noise, etc.. etc. I happened to stumble upon a enclosure that had the Oxford 911 chip and it was pretty quiet and very stable.

Back in the SCSI days glyph used StoreCase enclosures with Seagate drives, which could be purchased separetely for about 1/2 of the price. Also, the service that glyph offered about replacement, was also offered by seagate. By no means I am bad mouthing Glyph and their products. They have been proven to be efficient and reliable. I was just mentioning a way to save money that worked very well for me. I actually had Glyph drives crash and my doesn't. I've had this drive for about 3 years and absolutely no crashes. At the end of the day, there are no perfect drives and you should always back up your sessions to at least 2 other places (being another drive, DVDs, etc )

Sorry for not being clear on the previous post.

peace

Gil
 

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