I have been seriously looking at windows simply due to cost savings… and being able to build a dead silent machine that won’t throttle under load as well as having much better temps than imac pro… 7900X is basically where my mind was at…
Now due to all the FLS slot issues and multithread issues with Cubase… I am just thinking of biting the bullet and getting the 10 core iMac pro (64gb ram, 2TB SSD and standard vega 56 GPU).
Apple has interest free for 18 months so basically 600 a month for 18 months and I can have it. I will be very tight financially for a while but i plan to keep my next computer at least 8 years.
The thing is, I want two screens… and i’ll get pittance for my imac 2011 if i sell it anyway… so i was thinking to just keep it and use it in target display mode as a second screen side by side with imac pro… but then i thought, why not use it as a slave for VSTI’s and get VE pro?
So the question is…can I use the imac as a second display but still use it’s power for extra VSTI’s with VE Pro? If so, any tips how to set it up? I have never had an answer to anything I have ever asked at the VSL forums, so thought I would try here… Cubase is now my main compositional DAW, i still use PT but for audio only projects.
Hello for the price of an IMac Pro you can build 2x 12 Core i9-7920X slaves with VEP6 FLS slot is not a issue then.
If you need maximum VSTi power this is a good way to go, and VEP have no problems with multithread things like mmcss there is no core limits.This software is genius i love it, total recall all over the slaves wonderful.
I have tested VE pro with 5 DAWs on the same machines, and it does NOT, in my case, allow maximum VSTi at all… It actually causes latency and performance issues and it’s much better hosting the VST’s in the DAW… I would use it, as it’s a solution, on my spare machine…but regardless the latency SUCKS, especially since I can only work at 128 to begin with… VE becomes at least 256 or higher for any vsti.
I don’t understand your answer at all…
I basically asked about keeping my mac and if it would work as a slave whilst also being used as a second monitor. That’s what i am interested in. Not to be “taught” to go to windows and how much money I can save. Windows is an option maybe, anyway, for other reasons, but I would run into the FLS problem immediately as i heavily use UAD and Arturia plugins… VE pro is pointless to try use it for just fx inserts so that’s not an option.
If it wasn’t for ridiculous (and it IS ridiculous) FLS issue, yes i would have migrated to windows, probably. I will investigate the j bridge solution of using my arturia plugins and UAD ones through jbridge so they are in their own process.
The other problem is forced updates on windows 10 and an x299 platform needs windows 10 now. Windows 10 is a very problematic OS and people that swear by windows are screaming black and blue as a forced update happens and breaks everything… I know people still using release 1511 from 2015 and just never connect to the net.
Anyway, back to what i actually asked…
Regarding the imac pro…
I priced HP and dell workstations as well as a build my own, using the exact same xeon parts and ECC memory, vega 64 graphics, etc, and sorry, but in every single case, they came more expensive… and people keep forgetting you get THE BEST 5k screen with the imac.
So part for part, the imac pro is not overpriced at all.
Where they get you is memory and hard drive expansion unfortunately, but still, for some reason, when monitors are added (comparable panel is LG 5K), the imac still wins on price vs a windows system.
I LIKE the idea of a xeon processor and ecc memory… They will last longer.
Anyway…
Can i use a new imac pro with a 27" imac? They both have ethernet, they will work for VE Pro… but my issue is the screen… I want to control everything from the imac pro and not need two keyboards, mice, etc. In fact i want to harness the power of my old imac but use the screen for cubase.
I priced HP and dell workstations as well as a build my own, using the exact same xeon parts and ECC memory, vega 64 graphics, etc, and sorry, but in every single case, they came more expensive… and people keep forgetting you get THE BEST 5k screen with the imac.
I agree with you that HP and Dell workstations are not cheaper than a iMac. The thing to keep in mind is the fact that most of the iMac parts are not removable. If there’s a problem with anything, you’ll have a considerable downtime and a quite expensive repair bill. That said, the iMac Pro is a beautiful and powerful computer !
yeah it seems so, that’s great! It means i will have a second screen and the i7 2600 in my imac will never go to waste… if i ever need to edit the VI on the imac, i just need to quickly take it out of target display mode… no problem at all! Getting excited about this…
The mmcss issue has a permanent registry fix, you can now use cubase with up to 32 cores i was told (total virtual and real)… So a nice 14 or 16 core x299 would work great (or a threadripper).
However, the FLS issue is dong my head in… I guess it never mattered 10 years ago cause our computers weren’t powerful enough to hit the limit…
But now i’ve been used to adding any plugin i choose in any amount on mac, so, i doubt i could lose that.
Just for example, since i have 30 UAD dsp chips total, I just kept adding a DIFFERENT plugin in cubase, unlike windows, my dsp ran out before any issues…
THEN, after every type of uad plugin had been inserted, i instantiated analog lab, the one known to take over 40 FLS slots in windows.
Then for good measure, i added every different soundtoys plugin, and so on… Zero issue.
That would actually be impossible to do on windows unless
1)Using Ve Pro to save FLS slots of VI’s
2) Using Jbridge to wrap my UAD plugins
or
3) Steinberg create a cubase update where once the FLS limit is hit, the next plugin opens up in a new separate process, and every plugin thereafter until the next limit is hit, and so on. A sandbox of sorts. That would work.
I will get 3 year applecare, for $199 AUD i would have to be an idiot not to…
I will get 3 solid years out of the machine without worry, then i will simply use it till it dies. If i can’t make back 10 grand in 3 years there is something wrong with me (want to get into some small video editing jobs and a little audio mastering, just a little here and there).
This is what I did with my i7 imac, i said i would keep it till it dies once out of warranty, and it’s now been 7 years one month LOL!
It still works just fine.
In fact, I am upgrading it internally, removing the slow 256GB toshiba factory installed SSD, and 2TB 7200 very hot running HDD, and installing 2x1TB Samsung 960 evo drives (the apple certified service guy does it with the correct thermal sensor etc so it will just work). I upgraded it to 32gb ram a few months back…
He is also going to give it a service for me, clean all the parts etc… So it will be like new.
The only problem i might have one day, is the ATI 6970M issue, but i even bought one of those, part number confirmed not to have the issue, and with the correct apple boot rom on it already, so if i am ever that unlucky, the gpu can simply be swapped and my imac will live for another day. It was worth the peace of mind for $300 just to have the part here.
So my 2011 imac will become a 2 terbayte SSD (i will soft raid the 2 ssd on board, raid 0, so i should get 1000 mb/s throughput even through the sata 6gb/s of my old mac, with the samsung 960’s) sample streaming machine slaved to the new mac.
An imac pro 10 core, 30 UAD dsps, 25 midi synths, and a slave VE Pro machine… if i can’t get ANY production I want done between those two machines, I will be shocked! I am sure i will be able to do insanely large projects, even full orchestral work. I am really excited.
Thanks
PS going for the “sweet spot” imac pro after reading and watching everything on the net about them.
the 10 core, 64Gb ram, 2TB SSD, vega 64 (final cut uses ALL the 16GB, it would use more if it could).
[quotAn imac pro 10 core, 30 UAD dsps, 25 midi synths, and a slave VE Pro machine… if i can’t get ANY production I want done between those two machines, I will be shocked! I am sure i will be able to do insanely large projects, even full orchestral work. I am really excited.e][/quote]
That sounds good! I wish you a lot of good times! (don’t forget to go outside sometimes )
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