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Upgrade 2010 Mac Pro, or invest in new computer?


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Hey everyone, im in need of some advice on whether I should upgrade my 2010 mac pro or invest in a new machine.

 

My current setup is:

Mac Pro 5,1 (mid 2010)

2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon

32 GB 1066 MHz DDR3

 

My system drive is SSD as well as my session drive. I keep all my samples on a HDD.

 

Im looking into a turnkey OWC processor tray upgrade which has a lot of options ranging from a 6 core 2.93GHz ($250) all the way to a dual 6 core 3.46GHz ($1380)

 

My computer does surprisingly well considering its age, its only when im doing heavy mixing when it really starts to give me trouble.

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Have you taken into consideration future Logic versions vs OSX compatibility?

 

Not at this point. Im still running Logic 10.4 with no desire to upgrade to 10.5 (yet). Im also still on Seirra. Ill probably upgrade my graphics card at some point but my work is primarily producing and mixing bands. Im sure ill need to bit the bullet and fork out the cash and get a new computer within the next 5 years but I would love to get the most out of my current machine without a large money investment. I just spent about 60 bucks getting a new 6 core processor. We will see if that is a noticeable improvement to what im doing. 95% of the time my computer can handle rather large sessions with heavy plugin count. I use a lot of UAD which takes off some strain from my CPU but I was struggling a bit on a recent mix session and figured its time to upgrade.

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Hey everyone, im in need of some advice on whether I should upgrade my 2010 mac pro or invest in a new machine.

 

The million dollar question.

Couple of things to consider:

 

1 - On a 2010 Mac Pro, the only thing that helps is dual-CPUs. So spending 1400 bucks on a dual tray might not be worth it when considering what other options you might have for that money.

2 - You have to spend another 200 bucks or more on a metal-capable graphics card if you want to install Mojave and get to later Logic versions.

3 - USB 3.0 thru PCIe card is the fastest external connectivity you can get. Thunderbolt hacks, which are out there, are not plug and play at all.

4 - You're limited by the PCI 2.0 bandwidth on those machines and ram won't get faster than 1333 Mhz after the CPU upgrade.

5 - Storage is no problem on those machines, you could have four 6TB internal hard drives if you wanted. You can install SSDs as well.

6 - Single-core performance is weak on these old Xeon CPUs, so heavy plugins might bring the computer down quicker.

7 - I'm typing this on a 2010 upgraded 12-core with Mojave and Logic 10.4.8 and it's great. I use FW UAD Apollo Quad and can't use too many plugins because of the FW bandwidth cap. I record and mix audio mainly and not too much midi, or at least not Kontakt-heavy midi.

 

So in your case, to get the last drop of juice out of your mac pro, you need to go dual CPU and Mojave. You're talking over 1000 bucks. Worth it?

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Hey everyone, im in need of some advice on whether I should upgrade my 2010 mac pro or invest in a new machine.

 

The million dollar question.

 

7 - I'm typing this on a 2010 upgraded 12-core with Mojave and Logic 10.4.8 and it's great. I use FW UAD Apollo Quad and can't use too many plugins because of the FW bandwidth cap. I record and mix audio mainly and not too much midi, or at least not Kontakt-heavy midi.

 

So in your case, to get the last drop of juice out of your mac pro, you need to go dual CPU and Mojave. You're talking over 1000 bucks. Worth it?

 

I find myself in a similar situation. I have a 2012 MP 5,1, 64gb, several internal SSDs... My issues is with the Video Card. Thinking I might upgrade to a RX580 to have Metal compatibility.Also thinking of updating the WIFI/Bluetooth card.

 

Wondering, Triplets - what vid card do you have and did it make any difference in the CPU use/Heat of the MP? I have heard that a newer video Card will help the Mac run cooler. I can upgrade for around $500- thinking it would be worth it to keep my machine another 3-4 years before the Apple Chip Macs really come to their own.

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