Mac Pro Upgrading Questions!

Hello,
I have a 2007 model mac Pro with these specs:
2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor
6GB 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM Memory
I work with a lot of AVCHD video footage and graphics, there is a lot of rendering involved and my computer can no longer handle such things without an inordinate amount of slowdown and waiting!
So! Do I upgrade my current machine or get a new Mac pro? Or an iMac? Refurbished or new? Quad core or eight? Forgive my basic Mac knowledge I would be hugely grateful for any insights or advice.
Thank you all.
(Also I wish to use FCP7 and Motion 4, I understand there are some problems using Final Cut Studio 2 with Lion, is this true?)

You can find a long thread on putting a pair of 5355s to get 8-core and nearly double performance. Some time and paitience but very popular and cheap to do now.
MacRumors Mac Pro
Mac Pro 2010 6-core 3.33GHz would be in $3500 ball park but I'd hold off and wait.
SSD boot drive
4 x 4GB RAM minimum
ATI 5770

Similar Messages

Zipper007: Mac Pro 2010 question

zipper007
*Mac Pro 2010 question*
I'm interested in Quad Core 2.8 model.
I cant find the details I want on it right now.
If in the future I decide to upgrade (couple of years)
If the parts are available, yes. But not a supported option.
You are on your own.
I use the daughter card and (2) processors from an 8 Core in my machine. Pull mine and add the upgrade?
You can't change from single to dual though.
My personal feeling is it may not make as much sense cost-wise or performance, and buy what you need. Or build PC of course.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-MacProWestmere-Estimates.html
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html

I know it can be done and has been... but I still think
A) you bought something less than retail that slanted the real cost
B) no warranty
C) due to other changes might not be worth it
Guy posted on Accelerateyourmac how they (and others, but not a lot really) upped 5100 to 5355 (taken from his HP server). Or that one person is having fan and temp problems.
If you want, go for it with the risks, or build a PC for goodness sake. But you have to do your own leg work, stepping, firmware, and Apple will never issue firmware updates for say 2008 to support anything new; or 2009. That is their business model, it isn't my model, and what I do is my business. I just can't see running OS X anymore.

New mac pro upgrade advice needed or keep the old clunker

I have a 2008 mac pro with only 8gb ram
I am use the computer for FCP and Logic as well
as photo editing. It is not my livelihood I am just a serious hobbiest.
My option is to go with a new Mac Pro probably 8 core with 1 TB
I would have to get an enclosure for my 4 thunderbolt internal drives.
I also have 2 firewire 800 2T external drives.
My monitor is a 30 inch cinema display
so an 8 core with 64gb plus 4k monitor and upped graphics card is $11,600 add my buisness discount i am probably
looking at around $11,000
My other option is to keep the clunker add a 1TB SSD PCIe card form owc and add 8gb ram this will
cost me $1,400. I am really only throwing away the $200 for increasing the ram as
the PCIe ssd drive can be salveged and used in the new mac pro if I bought an pcie/ thunderbolt enclosure.
Tha advantage of going this route is I could use the clunker for another year allowing time
for the kinks in the new mac pro to be ironed out as well as the advantage of faster chips in next years model.
The other issue I have is a use a Universal Audio PCI card with 4 sharc processors to run specific plugins that need that
card in logic. That card will no be compatible with the new Mac pro and the replacement cards are over $1000 that are compatibe
Just looking for some advice do you think the SSD PCI card and ram will keep me happy with the performance to hold off upgrading for
a year or shoul I just put the clumker out of its misery?

radman wrote:
Just looking for some advice do you think the SSD PCI card and ram will keep me happy with the performance to hold off upgrading for
a year or shoul I just put the clumker out of its misery?
On this page Apple compares the 2012 Mac Pro (12-core) to a 2013 Mac Pro (12-core). The new Mac Pro performs about 3x faster at rendering. You didn't say how many cores your Mac Pro has but you could expect about a 4-5x faster performance increase.
I would have some questions for you:
How much time do you spend waiting on your current Mac Pro?
How much money are you willing to spend for a 4-5x increase?
I have a 2010 Mac Pro with a 960 GB OWC Mercury Accelsior E2 PCIe SSD, program launches and computer restarts are much faster. Compressing video takes the same amount of time as it did when I booted from a hard drive. I can't read or type email any faster, iTunes plays music just as fast as it always has with a hard drive.
I would use Activity Monitor to monitor your computer's memory use while you work with FCP and Logic to see if you are maxing out your memory then adding more may be the way to go.
I use my Mac Pro for recording over-the-air TV and compressing that video into an Apple TV usable format. I've found that having a dedicated drive for capture works well. Also, when I compress the video my capture drive becomes a dedicated source drive for Compressor and I write the output file to a separate dedicated drive. This ensures I maximize data flow and keep all my cores nearly fully utilized. I tend to do the processor intensive tasks (compressing video which can take hours) at the end of the day when I know I won't be using the computer (or only doing light work on it such as email or web surfing).

New Mac Pro - some questions about setup and RAM

After debating between iMac and Mac Pro, I decided on a refurb SINGLE 2.8 quad-core Mac Pro.
Somewhere in these discussions (can't find it now) I thought I saw recommendations to zero out the hard drive and re-install the system when it arrives. Is this necessary?
Also, I plan to use the single processor savings to buy RAM. When I go to the Crucial site, they have a choice of RAM for 4-core or 8-core. Mine is only 4-core, but would I choose the 8-core option to get the correct RAM for 2008 models?
In general, when it comes to buying and installing RAM, should I follow the 8-core directions? Will having a single processor change anything to do with upgrades or expansion?
Thanks. Hope I didn't ask too much in one post.

Somewhere in these discussions (can't find it now) I thought I saw recommendations to zero out the hard drive and re-install the system when it arrives. Is this necessary?
No, that really isn't necessary. If you were prepping a new bare drive that had never been used or you were installing OS X on a drive that had once been used for Windows, then zeroing the drive is quite appropriate.
All the Mac Pros use the same type of RAM. The Late 2008 models use the faster PC2-6400 800 MHz RAM, but the other specs are the same - ECC, Fully buffered, heat sink. The RAM and installation is the same regardless of cores.
RAM should be installed minimally in matched pairs, optimally in matched quads. The following illustrations show how it should be installed:
Mac Pro memory arrangement photos
Mac Pro Memory Configuration

New Mac Pro setup questions..

Hi,
Just pulled the trigger on a Mac Pro 3gh, 4gb, ATI 1900. I am going to that from a dual 1.42 quicksilver and had some questions.
It seems migration assistant may not be the best way to go. Is this true, should I reinstall everything? Is it possible to drag and drop apps to the new machine?
Is it possible to get mail info from another machine to the new one? I have an iMac at home that I have been using Mail with and would like all the email addresses on the new machine at work. My old setup, I was still using Enterouge (sp) and would like to use Mail like at home.
I have the stock 250gb drive and I need to figure out different drive scenarios. I recently bought two external 500gb drives before even thinking about a new system. I am a commercial photographer and one drive is a backup that lives offsite from my studio for protection. Should I mirror with an external?
Thanks for any help!
HD

This FAQ may be helpful:
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3 or G4 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
Screensavers written for the PowerPC
System Preference add-ons
All Unsanity Haxies
Browser and other plug-ins
Contextual Menu Items
Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5
Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior (does not work), TechTool Pro (pre-4.5.1 versions do not work), SuperDuper (newest release works), and Drive Genius (untested) may not work properly on Intel-Macs. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.
Here is a list of where your important data is stored ("~" stands for "Home"):
Your Data in Documents:
~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in ~ / Library/ Application Support (copy whatever else you need)
~/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist (This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.)
~ / Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
~ / Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
~/ Pictures/iPhoto Library
If you want cookies:
~/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
~/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in ~ /Library/ Preferences/Microsoft
Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

Considering a Mac Pro - Few Question

I am disappointed with my Intel iMac due to lack of USB ports (hubs don't work with some of my usb hardware) and the ridiculous audio/optical combo port. So I think I may go Mac Pro when Leopard is released. A few questions need to be answered if you would be so kind. A few caveats first...
A) Mac Pros are expensive for me, so I need to save money where I am able.
B) The Mac Pro will double as a media player for my Home Theater system. I have a connection for DVI and Toslink
OK, now the questions...
1. Does the Mac Pro come with the trays for the extra hard drives? I would like to purchase more drives separately. Can I do this, and what type of drives are used, SATA?
2. RAM from Apple is expensive. Is there a less costly alternative? It must be a dependable brand. Please include part number if available. Thanks!
3. Will reduction from 2.66 to 2.0 ghz make that much difference? I like grinding MP2 videos to H.264. Really, will it be worth the additional $264?
4. I can use both DVI or HDMI to go to my Home Theater system. Currently, starting the Home Theater changes the resolution on my iMac. I would like to avoid this. Should I get another NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, or will the dual port on the one card be able to be set to a different resolution output? I would like to be able to still work on my Mac while the kids are watching something in the theater.
5. As for audio, will I be able to run headphones, external speakers and optical out all at the same time? I am assuming yes, but just want to make sure.
6. I am also assuming the Mac Pros are quiet. Noise is one of my biggest enemies since I do quite a bit of audio work. I have not heard a single complaint regarding noise from Mac Pros. Are they that quiet?
Thanks in advance everyone!

4. I can use both DVI or HDMI to go to my Home
Theater system. Currently, starting the Home Theater
changes the resolution on my iMac.
You should be able to run different resolutions on the built-in display and external display if Mirroring is turned off in "Displays" System Preference.
I would like to
avoid this. Should I get another NVIDIA GeForce 7300
GT, or will the dual port on the one card be able to
be set to a different resolution output? I would like
to be able to still work on my Mac while the kids are
watching something in the theater.
The two DVI ports can run at different resolutions.
5. As for audio, will I be able to run headphones,
external speakers and optical out all at the same
time? I am assuming yes, but just want to make sure.
The optical out uses the same socket al the audio out, so you can't use both at once. You could add an iMic <http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/> to get an additional audio output. There are also other PCI-Express, FireWire, or USB audio interfaces available.
You can also use an AirPort Express for audio output. It is designed for iTunes, but Airfoil <http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/> will send any audio to it.
You may need Audio Hijack Pro <http://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/> for different applications to send audio to different, or multiple, outputs simultaneously.
You may also want to consider the Apple TV <http://www.apple.com/appletv/> for audio and video connections to your home theater.

2009 Mac Pro upgrading graphics card to GTX 680 mac. What is the best version of AE and PP and OSX to have?

Hello,
I have a 2009 Mac Pro 4.1
Mac OSX version 10.6.8
Processor - 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Memory - 24GB
Graphics Card - ATI Radeon HD 4870
I use After Effects and Premiere Pro daily for my work. I am not too technically minded. I want to update and improve my machine as much as possible and am thinking of buying an SSD drive to replace my current start up disk. I also am thinking about getting the GTX 680 mac version graphics card. I have read many online discussions regarding OpenCL and CUDA, many discussions with mixed feelings about the improvements the 680 gives an older Mac Pro - some people say it is amazing others say the improvements seem minimal or worse.
What I want to know is if I purchase the SSD and 680 graphics card what is the optimal OSX - 10.8 or 10.9? and what is the optimal versions of AE and PP to have - CS6 or CC? Also what settings and what additional drivers would I need to consider?
I contacted an independent authorised mac reseller and he thought it was a bad idea to put a new graphics card and get the latest OSX in an old machine and tried to sell me a used 2010 Mac Pro, but I think it would be more cost effective to get the SSD and 680 instead, it's just I read the occasional horror story on a forum and I worry about making the wrong choice, I rely on my Mac Pro to make a living!
Thanks in advance

Thank you for the valuable information Eric, I think I will go with the 680 but I understand that it wont be fully utilised on my old Mac Pro.
Perhaps I will replace my startup/applications hard drive with a 480GB SSD. My other 3 bays are full with 3 x 2TB Hard drives that have media on them so I have no spare room for a dedicated SSD drive for AE cache. But could I put a 250GB SSD into one of the PCI-E slots using something like - SSD SuperSpeed Upgrade Kit for Apple Mac Pro 2008 2009 2010 2012 | eBay
Would this be my best solution? Is it a relatively simple installation, does anyone have any experience of a similar setup?
cc_merchant, thank you for the reply, I am aware you have to pay monthly payments for CC, that is no problem.

Mac Pro Motherboard question

Hi, folks. I am new to the Apple community. I just ordered a Mac Pro and I am anxiously awaiting its delivery.
From my discussion with my salesperson, I came away with a question about the Mac Pro motherboard.
I ordered my Mac Pro with one quad 2.8 chip. I asked the salesperson if I would install another quad core chip at a later time. His answer was no; the motherboard is different when you order a single quad core vs dual quad cores.
I hope this is not the correct answer.
Thanks, in advance....

are you in the US? I think, it might be best to telephone Apple direct, as their offers and recycling and refund policies vary from country to country to comply with trading standards and other (e.g. EU regulations).
If it was EU law, the following applies:
1) the "shopkeeper" (Apple) offered a machine at a certain price.
2) you like the good and advise the shopkeeper that you are prepared to pay as asked and purchase the machine.
3) Apple accept your offer and sell the machine.
4) You accept the machine at the conditions of the sales offer and take it home
5) contract complete and UNLESS you were knowingly misled or the machine was not the one on offer as per 1, you are the legal owner and have no recourse to complaint.
Secondly, there is psychology: you will never ever be happy if you always look for better (my washing machine is 20 years old, but washes - and that is all I expect from a washing machine). Is your machine performing? Are you happy as such? If not, there is always something "better" and "improved". That is what the market economy want to make us believe.
I hope you achieve what you desire. The very best of luck.

2009 Mac Pro upgrade to Yosemite failed

Hi,
Seven days in and my 2009 Mac Pro is still dead. Very frustrated. It had a 4x3TB AppleRAID array in RAID1+0 giving 6TB. I initially did an upgrade to Yosemite and it got stuck at the half-way point after the restart. Yes, I did patiently wait ... but gave up after 12 hours (left it overnight). I assume the upgrade was supposed to finish sooner than that?
Found one stripe in the RAID array was 'degraded' - replaced that disk (seems they had 11000 hours on them) but it was impossible (for me) to see how to get the new disk back into the RAID scheme under Disk Utility (booted up using an upgraded MacBook). Once all the disks were removed from the array, Disk Utility gave no option to create a new RAID scheme, so I downloaded SoftRAID - yay, my RAID array was back (seems Apple gave up on their software RAID in 2009?).
However, still no joy. Created a Yosemite install USB drive - seems to run but then fails at the end ... "couldn't bless installation disk: /Volumes/Image Volume".
Okay, so downloaded the Mavericks installer and created an install USB drive - same as Yosemite ... can't bless the installation disk.
What else can I try? The Yosemite upgrade seems to have well and truly screwed my poor Mac Pro. I'd already successfully upgraded two of our four Macs successfully to Yosemite (one upgrade and one clean install) so thought it was okay.
I might try booting off one of the Macs again, with the Mac Pro in target disk mode, and try to run the installer to install Mavericks or Yosemite onto the Mac Pro's RAID array as an external disk ...
Otherwise ... ?

Booted the Mac Pro from the MacBook Air running Yosemite in target disk mode. Ran the Yosemite installer on the MBA to install on the Mac Pro's SoftRAID array "Hollie" - when the installer tells me it's going to restart I see the final logs written at 04:50 below:
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: @(#)PROGRAM:Install PROJECT:Install-920
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: @(#)PROGRAM:IA PROJECT:InstallAssistant-532
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Hardware: MacPro4,1 @ 2.66 GHz (x 16), 24576 MB RAM
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Running OS Build: Mac OS X 10.10 (14A389)
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: USER=brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: LOGNAME=brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.AzaK6cdqED/Listeners
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: Apple_PubSub_Socket_Render=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.o7DsCKSkcX/Render
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: HOME=/Users/brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: SHELL=/bin/bash
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: __CF_USER_TEXT_ENCODING=0x1F5:0x0:0x0
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: TMPDIR=/var/folders/r9/vckptcb10fxgj44jppfcg04h0000gn/T/
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: XPC_SERVICE_NAME=com.apple.InstallAssistant.Yosemite.158788
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.AzaK6cdqED/Listeners
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: Apple_PubSub_Socket_Render=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.o7DsCKSkcX/Render
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: XPC_FLAGS=0x0
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: LOGNAME=brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: USER=brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: HOME=/Users/brett
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: SHELL=/bin/bash
Nov 1 04:45:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Env: TMPDIR=/var/folders/r9/vckptcb10fxgj44jppfcg04h0000gn/T/
Nov 1 04:45:20 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using distribution archive from /Users/brett/Desktop/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/OSInstall.mpkg
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Configuring products from SharedSupport folder
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Install is double-dmg. Not adding chunklist to download list.
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using product <OSInstallDVDProduct> based on media at /Users/brett/Desktop/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport at distance 5
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using product <OSInstallESDProduct> based on distribution at /Users/brett/Desktop/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/OSInstall.mpkg at distance 5
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Checking Software Update catalog URL https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-l ion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: No available package ref for compatibility update. Ignoring.
Nov 1 04:45:21 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: No available package ref for compatibility update. Ignoring.
Nov 1 04:45:23 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using product <OSSoftwareUpdateCatalogProduct> from product keys (null) at distance 25
Nov 1 04:45:30 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: LSExceptions [0x6300000bee40] unloaded
Nov 1 04:49:16 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: IATool launched
Nov 1 04:49:16 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Connected to IATool 26fa80
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Preventing machine sleep.
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using product IA_PKSecureNetEnabledProduct <file:///Volumes/Hollie/OS%20X%20Install%20Data/> at distance 5
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistantTool[738]: Using existing boot files dir at /.IABootFiles
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using mutable product path: /Volumes/Hollie/OS X Install Data
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Using boot files path: /.IABootFiles
Nov 1 04:49:17 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Retrieving 1 packages (0.000 GB)
Nov 1 04:49:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Retrieved package com.apple.pkg.CompatibilityUpdate (http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/14/57/031-11010/vhdn34frx9suyfcrslj0xyx n3t0dafhkn8/OSX_10_10_IncompatibleAppList.pkg)
Nov 1 04:49:19 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Verifying InstallMacOSX.pkg/InstallESD.dmg
Nov 1 04:49:33 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Finished operation queue
Nov 1 04:50:10 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistantTool[738]: Failed to set prev-lang:kbd
Nov 1 04:50:10 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistantTool[738]: hdiejectd already disabled.
Nov 1 04:50:12 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistantTool[738]: Failed to prep /Volumes/OS X Install ESD for brtool
Nov 1 04:50:12 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistantTool[738]: Failed to prep /Volumes/OS X Base System for brtool
Nov 1 04:50:13 192-168-1-11.tpgi.com.au InstallAssistant[721]: Failed to write mutable product url to NVRAM

G5 User wanting to Move to a Mac PRO but questions

My G5 1.8Gz single processor mac still works but i can't do anything that I want. Specifically, 3D Graphics and animation. All the programs nowadays want a better Graphics card and better processor.
Even the Free DAZ Studio 3, needs a much better computer than i have.
My computer is quite old now i recognize that. And i'm really ready to upgrade but I don't want to spend tooo much money aside from the near 2400 for the mac pro.
1. Would i be able to keep my Current monitor?? I have an ACER flat screen and is connected to the G5 Tower. I bought it about 1 year ago, so it's not too old and it works perfectly.
2. Will programs that i use in the G5 work fine in the mac pro( which will have Snow Leopard?Utilities, MS Office,3D Graphics Poser 6 and DAZ Studio 3. i don't really use any CLASSIC ( macos 9) stuff. Just OS X programs.
and will all the files I have work ? I mean, i don't want to have my mac not recognize files
3. Since i don't really want to spend extra money. Will the base Quad Core mac pro which has 3 GB RAM be sufficient even though my current G5 has 4GB??? Will the Mac pro run better even though it's less GBytes than my current G5?
Ok I'm not a scientist or professional, just a hobbyest. Some may say that it would be better to just get an iMac. i know imacs are great and cheaper but i already have a monitor and i don't want to waste it and not use it.
Or would a Mac mini be better for me???? I"m attracted to the mac mini price.. But would i be able to connect my monitor and have enough options for connecting Firewire drives etc?( There's only one Firewire port)
And is the mac mini good enough for a 3D Graphics/animation hobbyetst?

1. You can definitely keep your current monitor when you move to a Mac Mini/Mac Pro. A DVI or VGA connection is standard and available from either with included adapters.
2. Programs should run fine using Rosetta on Snow Leopard. However, you will have to try your individual programs to find out. Many older programs have a few bugs running in Leopard/Snow Leopard, and any current machine will run Snow Leopard only.
3. Mac Mini versus Mac Pro: you're looking at two different classes of machine. 3D rendering requires powerful hardware unless you are very patient. Only you can decide if a Mini is fast "enough". I encourage you to go to an Apple store. They will (probably) be willing to let you install one of the programs you use on both a Mini and a Mac Pro to see how they run, or they may have something pre-loaded you can try. Then you can decide if the speed difference is worth the $ to you.
Since you're still using a G5 1.8 GHz, it sounds like you get long use out of your machines. The Mac Pro is much better positioned to last a long time. Minis tend to be more "a good solution until the next hardware upgrade" devices or home theater PCs.
Good luck; let us know what you choose and how it goes!

Mac pro video questions

I'm thinking about getting one or more of the mac pro videos to supplement the logic manual in my attempt to get a better grasp of the program and its capabilities and am looking for some advice. Although I'm partially temped to just buy the whole bundle, adding $200 to the amount I'm spending on music gear in the next couple months (I'll be buying monitors and a firewire interface) is probably not a good idea, and there are some videos that I don't expect I'd use at all (at least not any time soon). Addionally, I am aware that a great deal can be learned through experimentation, but that a good course or reference guide will provide a much faster learning process for me, and teach me things I won't figure out on my own.
Basically, I'm trying to decide whether to simply get the 101 video or the producer's bundle. Here's a basic overview of what I've used Logic for so far, and what I expect to do in the near future:
-primarliy small projects--only a few minutes in length, no more than 12 tracks
-exclusively Logic's plugin instruments and effects thus far, but intend to start using some live audio as well (though VIs will still make up the majority of the music)
-I've started to work on a couple short student film projects, and plan to do more in the future--for right now, I'm content with scoring for smaller instrumentation while still developing compositional skills.
My big question is about use of the environment and whether or not I should get the corresponding video. I know that this is an extremely useful tool, and yet with what I've been doing so far, I haven't needed to deal with it. Perhaps I'm missing things that I could be doing using it for, but so far I've found that everything I've needed can be found in the audio mixer. I'm sure that somewhere down the road I'll want to be familiar with the environment's functions, but I'm not certain that I need it now with my current setup. If someone could clarify some of the environments uses that would be beneficial to my current needs, that would be super. This may determine whether or not I go for the producer's bundle.
I know the obvious answer is most likely "the bundles are worth the added expense," and would certainly agree, but I'm going into poor/in debt student mode soon, so I need to be careful. Thanks.

I guess the main issue here is whether I should get them all now or get them gradually. Obviously, the general feeling here is that I should just go for it, and given the money I'd save all around by getting the main bundle, it makes sense. However, I feel that, for the projects I've been working on until now and will have in the near future, there are videos I could do without. And given my financial situation (aka I work at a video store and will soon have massive student debt), it might be best to wait on those.
So I'm wondering how essential certain elements are to general versatility in using Logic, so I can decide whether or not I need them right away. For example, I'm planning on using the native instruments bundle for samples, so I'm not sure that I really need the EXS tutorial. And I've just realized that I do actually use the environment all the time, I just forgot that the audio mixer is technically part of it--so that tutorial would probably be very useful.
Hypothetically, if I were to choose 1 or 2 tutorials (in addition to 101) to buy, and given the general overview of how I've been using Logic, which ones should they be?

Early 2009 Mac Pro Memory Question.

I currently upgraded to 4GBx3 from OWC. I want to fill the last slot and contacted OWC. They told me that I had to purchase 2 modules as they are in pairs. Went to crucial and they said I could add a single 4GB. I am a little confused about this so looking to the community for assistance.
Stephen

Your sales rep at OWC needs to be sent back for re-training.
The 2009 and later Mac Pros have optimum memory performance when memories are installed in trios. The penalty for installing only two, in real-world performance terms, is about five percent. The penalty for installing four is smaller than five percent, and is generally swamped by the general increase in performance from having more memory.

Mac Pro Upgradable from one core to two cores?

If I were to buy a Mac Pro with One 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” would I be able to get a second One 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” and put it in later?

From what I could grasp at this forum and general googling, you can totally upgrade the Mac Pro with another processor later. People have done it to 2006, 2008 and 2009 models. Take a look at AnandTech and also www.o0o.it.
It doesn't seem to be an easy procedure, but if you had some experience with computer parts before it would not be a too much of a trouble.
There are two main issues you can face:
1. You need to make sure that your Mac Pro will have two processor slots on the motherboard. I wasn't able to find an exact confirmation of that on the net.
2. You will most definitely have only one heatsink installed, so you will need to buy a second one. Apparently, they are not identical, as in Apple's parts list they are listed as "A" and "B", but I'm not sure about that. Check the www.welovemacs.com they seem to have one on sale. Btw, it also looks like the 2010 model and 2009 models have the identical heatsinks, so you should be able to find it on eBay.
I'm looking at the Mac Pro myself at the moment, and it seems that there is literally no reason to buy more dual-CPU models. Xeons will not cost peanuts in the future, but they will definitely be cheaper than now.

G5 to Mac pro upgrade/transfer/cannibal advice needed

My Mac g5 (2.5 dual) was dead this morning, (PMU or the motherboard ???). Rather than putting more money into it, I purchased a new Mac Pro today. Since I can't start up my old computer at all, I need some upgrade/transfer/cannibalize advice.
1) Can I just put my drives from the G5 into the new drive slots? (I will really need to get to my files ASAP when it gets here)
2) Do you recommend using Migration Assistant or clean installs of all programs? Obviously, MA would be so much faster but I am not sure how dependable it is
3) Can I use the NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256MB) card from the G5 as an extra? Or just sell it with the G5 for parts?
4) Is there a list somewhere that shows compatible hardware and software? I'm using 10.5 so Snow Leopard is new to me. I'd like to keep from spending money on peripherals.
5) Did I forget anything? Any additional tips would be appreciated
TIA

Hi-
There is a list of SL compatible software here:
http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/
More here:
http://www.macintouch.com/specialreports/snowleopard/slcompat.html
Here is an article on incompatible apps:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3258
Another:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Listof_Applications_Not_Compatible_with_SnowLeopard
Hardware-wise, peripherals shouldn't be much of an issue unless they require third party drivers that weren't updated.
Your G5 internal parts are limited to hard drives for compatibility.
You do want to be aware of hard drive format differences for Intel Macs and PPC Macs regarding GPT (GUID Partition Table) and Apple Partition Map (APM).
Intel Macs boot to either, but PPC Macs only boot to APM.
Intel Mac software (OS) installer only want to install and update to GPT, so if you want to use existing drives to install OS X SL to, you will need to reformat the drive.

PowerMac G5 to Mac Pro Upgrade?

Hello everyone,
I am using my PowerMac:
Model Name: Power Mac G5
Model Identifier: PowerMac7,3
Processor Name: PowerPC G5 (2.2)
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz
GeForce 6800 Ultra with 256 MB RAM
mostly for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign (all CS2), work with MS Office 2008 and play World Of Warcraft and other Blizzard games. As I work from home and use this as my main computer (Skype, iPhoto, iTunes, Internet surfing, Streaming content to my Playstation 3 etc.) it sometimes gets a bit slower.
Would you recommend a new desktop machine (Mac Pro 3.2 GHz) or will the advantage be not that noticable and more RAM (I have 2GB at the moment) would give me some speed up so I can work with it for another year or so?

I think going from 2 x 2GHz to an 8-core 2.8GHz would be more than adequate and nice upgrade, no need for spending a fortune extra for minor improvement when you'll need RAM and disk drives.
2GB falls in the "malnourished" department
Some articles and benchmarks, mostly Barefeats:
http://www.barefeats.com/octopro3.html 4 vs 8 cores
http://www.barefeats.com/harper2.html GPU tests
http://www.barefeats.com/harper.html CPU crunching
Photoshop:
http://www.adobe.com/go/kb401089
http://homepage.mac.com/boots911/.Public/PhotoshopAccelerationBasics2.4W.pdf
And of course well-suited for CS3/4 (you NEED CS3 on Mac Pro). And of course there are Radeon 2600 OEM or 8800GT, or there is a retail ATI Radeon 3870, better options in video.
Memory. Look for at least 8 x 1GB to get ideal bandwidth of memory performance, and if you work with large files, even more memory.
http://www.barefeats.com/harper3.html
If you want to stay where you are for now and wait/save for a year, I'd upgrade your RAM to 4-6GB, and invest in disk drives, anywhere from $150 up, which will help now and tomorrow, now that 100MB/sec is doable with single drives.
http://www.barefeats.com/harper14.html
http://www.barefeats.com/hard103.html
One person put in three WD VelociRaptors, one for boot system, and two for stripped RAID for data and editing (using Sonnet Jive for two of them along with SATA controller). Instantly launch and open large files and applications.
Shop the Apple Store Specials. You can walk away and save on ref'd Mac Pros.

Mac Pro Upgrading Questions!

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