looking for hardware specs for a system to run Logic Pro 9 or 10

[Jamesbond007]

I will need to provide some instructions as far as downloading the OS since I won't be doing that myself. I guess I will need an .iso or something I can burn on a disk or flash drive as opposed to triggering something that would try to update the system on the computer making the download.

I have never been to the Mac store. Once you get to the Mac store, is it obvious how to download the OS as an .iso or some Mac equivalent?

LMHmedchem

The App Store link to download High Sierra is available in this document : https://support.apple.com/HT208969

 

[LMHmedchem]

The App Store link to download High Sierra is available in this document : https://support.apple.com/HT208969

According to the documentation at this link, "After downloading, the installer opens automatically."

Should he just close out the automatically opened installer window and send me the installer file?

LMHmedchem

 

[Jamesbond007]

According to the documentation at this link, "After downloading, the installer opens automatically."

Should he just close out the automatically opened installer window and send me the installer file?

LMHmedchem

Yes, just close the window and copy the installer file to you.

 

[LMHmedchem]

I am still having an issue with the motherboard.

I definitely want to use this processor,
Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake 3.6 GHz LGA 1151

but I need a motherboard with 2 M.2 SSD slots. I am not sure that this motherboard,

Gigabyte Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI LGA 1151 ATX ($155)

has 2 M.2 slots. I would like a Gigabyte board that can run an 8th generation CPU like the 8600K but also has 2 M.2 slots but I am having trouble confirming the specs of what I am looking at. Is there a board listed in your buying guide that meets those requirements?

It looks like it would be an H370, Z370, H390, Z390?

Possibly one of these?
Gigabyte H370 AORUS Gaming 3 WiFi LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard ($140)
Gigabyte Z390 Gaming SLI LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard ($160)

LMHmedchem

 

[Jamesbond007]

I am still having an issue with the motherboard.

I definitely want to use this processor,
Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake 3.6 GHz LGA 1151

but I need a motherboard with 2 M.2 SSD slots. I am not sure that this motherboard,

Gigabyte Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI LGA 1151 ATX ($155)

has 2 M.2 slots. I would like a Gigabyte board that can run an 8th generation CPU like the 8600K but also has 2 M.2 slots but I am having trouble confirming the specs of what I am looking at. Is there a board listed in your buying guide that meets those requirements?

It looks like it would be an H370, Z370, H390, Z390?

Possibly one of these?
Gigabyte H370 AORUS Gaming 3 WiFi LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard ($140)
Gigabyte Z390 Gaming SLI LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard ($160)

LMHmedchem

The first link is linking to the H370 Aorus Gaming 3 motherboard and not the Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming Wifi.

Anyway, according to Gigabyte : https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-AORUS-ULTRA-GAMING-WIFI-rev-10#kf

The Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming Wifi does have 2 M.2 slots on the motherboard.

 

[LMHmedchem]

Alright,

It looks like it is between these two,

Store link: Gigabyte Z390 Gaming SLI LGA 1151 Intel ATX ($160)
GA link: Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI

Store link: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI LGA 1151 Intel ATX ($150)
GA link: Z390 GAMING SLI

As far as I can tell, both have 2 M.2 ports. It looks like both have 2 PCIE3 x16 slots, but since there are only 24 PCIE lanes on the chipset I don't think you can use both at the same time at 16x. It would have to be 8x and 8x, or something like that. It looks like the major difference is that the z390 has USB 3.1 ports.

I guess I would lean toward the z370 since all of the motherboards on your buyers guide have the z370 chipset and I would prefer something that has been well tested. Does that make sense?

Both boards have on-board WIFI. Will that work on the apple system or will an expansion card be required? I don't think I will need WIFI but it wouldn't hurt to know.

LMHmedchem

 

[Jamesbond007]

Alright,

It looks like it is between these two,

Store link: Gigabyte Z390 Gaming SLI LGA 1151 Intel ATX ($160)
GA link: Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI

Store link: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI LGA 1151 Intel ATX ($150)
GA link: Z390 GAMING SLI

As far as I can tell, both have 2 M.2 ports. It looks like both have 2 PCIE3 x16 slots, but since there are only 24 PCIE lanes on the chipset I don't think you can use both at the same time at 16x. It would have to be 8x and 8x, or something like that. It looks like the major difference is that the z390 has USB 3.1 ports.

I guess I would lean toward the z370 since all of the motherboards on your buyers guide have the z370 chipset and I would prefer something that has been well tested. Does that make sense?

Both boards have on-board WIFI. Will that work on the apple system or will an expansion card be required? I don't think I will need WIFI but it wouldn't hurt to know.

LMHmedchem

The two PCIe x16 slots both obtain their PCIe lanes from the CPU, not from the chipset. And the CPU only has 16 PCIe lanes available, so to use 2 graphics card both will be at x8.

If you prefer something well tested then of course the Z370 is a better choice.

The onboard Wifi are not compatible with MacOS.

 

[Gigamaxx]

The onboard WiFi card can be changed out for one that will work on the Z370, some of the Z390 boards may have a intel WiFi chipset m.2 and may require a pcie expansion card for WiFi. Some of the z390 boards have successfully used a m.2 WiFi card compatible with OS. Not sure which ones but if you read through some of these testing threads you can find out.

 

[e-troc]

Thread count is vital for running DAWs like Logic! All DSP involved in a signal chain is computed in a single thread. This means if you have a track with just one plug-in, it will still occupy a full thread until the output can be aligned with other channels. There is lots of info about multithreading in DAWs online. Here's some about Logic: https://www.cras.edu/optimizing-logic-use-multiple-cores/

Single core performance determines the amount of processing possible in a single signal chain. The amount of threads determines how many signal chains (i.e. channels) can be processed at any given time. If you run out of threads, the audio buffer (latency) has to be increased in order to complete and align all computations. So you really need to balance out single core performance and thread count based on your workflow.

I've recently posted an interesting article that includes DAWbench testing of 9th gen Intel CPUs. The results confirm the theory: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/digital-audio-workstations-8700k-9700k.265582/
The below graph is from this article, showing how for example the 9700K is outperformed by the 8700K. It also shows that i5 is really not the way to go for audio workstations, weak cores without hyperthreading don't cut it. I would highly recommend to go with the 8700K and delid it to be able to overclock a little bit at reasonable temperatures.

 

[LMHmedchem]

Thread count is vital for running DAWs like Logic! All DSP involved in a signal chain is computed in a single thread.

Thanks for the tip, I have upgraded to the i7 8700K. It is only $100 more than the the i5 8600K and the rig is still less than 1/3 the cost of a comparable iMac.

This is the final list that I ordered,
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake 3.7 GHz LGA 1151 ($340)
MOBO: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS ULTRA GAMING WIFI LGA 1151 Intel ATX ($140)
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V 2x8GB DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 F4-2400C15D-16GVR ($105)
OS drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB NVMe MLC SSD MZ-V7E250BW ($78)
data drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB NVMe MLC SSD MZ-V7E250BW ($78)
archive drive: Seagate BarraCuda ST4000DM004 4TB 5400 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($85)
optical: Lite-On DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS124-14 ($14)
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-650RM 650W ATX12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Power Supply ($75)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 SC GAMING 03G-P4-6153-KR 3GB GDDR5 ($120)
case: FSP CMT230 ATX Mid Tower PC Computer Gaming Case ($65)
card reader: Rosewill RDCR-11004 5.25" Data Hub ($27)
CPU cooler: Corsair Hydro H110i 280mm CPU Cooler CW-9060026-WW ($110)
fan control: Sunbeam Rheosmart 3 Fan Controller ($17)
display: LG 32MP58HQ-P Black 31.5" FHD IPS Widescreen LED Backlight Monitor ($170)

This comes to right around $1400. I always get extended warranty on the motherboard and display since it lets me just take them back to the store and get a new one if there is any issue. The motherboard is the most likely candidate for that in my experience and I pay the extra $18 for the convenience.

This is replacing an old Core 2 Duo, 2.0GHz with 4GB of RAM, so I think going from 2 threads at 2.0GHz to 12 threads at 4.7GHz turbo it will be quite an upgrade.

I will post back once it's altogether and I am ready to install software.

Does anyone use a third party sound card with one of these?

LMHmedchem