New Audio Workstation - Thunderbolt a MUST

[Orks]

Hey guys

First time posting here, but am a long time trawler, so be gentle!

Having worked in recording studios across NYC that all utilize trash-can Mac Pros with moderate success, I've decided it's time to upgrade my home-studio machine. I've been looking into the option of building a machine that would be considerably far outside of my price range in the Mac world and this is extremely appealing, but am worried about stability issues, and losing the equivalent money in time spent on days of maintenance and subsequent down time.

One issue is that I work in film scoring/commercials, with inflexible and tight deadlines and no room for distractions caused by intermittent issues, this makes me quite tentative. BUT! having seen and read about stable systems I do feel that it is possible to achieve, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Being a complete newbie to this I figured a recommended system would be the way to go. tonymac's CustomacPro seems appealing as it's probably super stable through trial and error. One outstanding question I do have is about Thunderbolt in his configuration. I use 3 pieces of UAD Hardware - an Apollo twin, a quad satellite and an Apollo 16 MKII. These are the centerpiece of my setup and having thes bug out or be intermittent is just not an option in my workflow. Does anyone have any experience with the mobo used in the current CustomCacPro and Apollo gear? The Startek adapter for TB 2 seems to work for most people, but would love any tips or pointers!

Another question, to relate to the "buyers guide" nature of the post - are the any upgrades to tonymacs current template that would give me substantial gains for audio work? I compose in Logic and ProTools so multiple cores with multithreading are the name of the game. Also topping out on RAM is a lifesaver for bigger sessions. Video performance is not really important at all, so I'd stick with the recommended GTX 1060 with the allowing me the option if I ever felt the need to dabble in light gaming.

Your advice and pointers are so appreciated - especially as I enter into this uncharted territory!

 

[joevt]

The Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter is cheaper than the Startech adapter and also works in the reverse direction (you can use Thunderbolt 2 devices with Thunderbolt 3 computers or Thunderbolt 3 devices with Thunderbolt 2 computers). I have both adapters and I've used them both in the same Thunderbolt chain: Computer Thunderbolt 3 port -> Startech TB3 to TB2 adapter -> OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock -> Apple TB2 to TB3 adapter -> AKitiO Thunder3 Duo Pro -> Star tech TB32DP2 Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter.

I would choose a motherboard that had a DisplayPort input so it could use Thunderbolt from your discrete graphics card (GTX 1060) instead of just Intel graphics, in case you want to try a Thunderbolt display or Thunderbolt display adapter in the future. I wonder if the LG Ultrafine 5K would work at full resolution? 5K requires two DisplayPort inputs.

Thunderbolt is not hot swappable on Hackintoshes. Your equipment should be plugged in before startup, and you can't disconnect or connect afterward.

I'm not sure how the devices behave with System Sleep. I keep sleep disabled because of issues. I haven't tried it lately to see if the behavior has improved.

There are many Thunderbolt threads. Here's one which has some threads to others
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/skylake-thunderbolt-3-for-music-production.186733/

 

[trs96]

Because of your need for stability with minimal downtime I would go with the I7-6700K and a Z170 motherboard that is Thunderbolt capable. Skylake has full support now and is very affordable as well. If you need some extra CPU performance it's very easy to implement a moderate overclock to get performance on par with a 6 core system. Look through the Golden/User builds that utilize that I7 CPU and find one that will best fit your needs, copy it and you're on your way. Also see the Music/Audio section for more info relevant to your work. https://www.tonymacx86.com/forums/music.21/ Ask BoomR any specific audio related questions as he has lots of experience in the field and knows all the fine details.

Here's an example User Build you should read over to get an idea of what this kind of build involves.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...designare-6700k-hd530-tb3-960-evo-m-2.213113/