Recording Studio 2.0: Core i7 3770K | GA-Z77X-UP5 TH | 32GB | HD4000

[Autocrat]

No, I have not. And will not probably for another 4-6 months. I've been doing the computer/music thing for a long time (since late 80's) - and one thing we learned very early: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Translation: don't be in a hurry to upgrade to the latest OS... "just because you can"... Only in the past few weeks has Pro Tools 11 (I have HD|Native system) been tested & certified. But I also have 4 AVID Artist Series control surfaces (3 Artist Mix units; 1 Artist Control). EUCON is still not supporting Yosemite.

I probably won't even consider it (or even have all my plugs & apps updated to support Yosemite) until 10.10.3 (whenever that comes out). Apple is still working out some bugs, and I'd prefer to wait until all that settles down some....

Hi BoomR - I did a clean install to Mavericks last week and everything's running great. I'm use DP8.07 and Logic 10.1 with a Symphony i/o over usb. I'm thinking of going with the Symphony 64pcie for better latency and stability.

You went w/ the Avid card at the beginning due to issues w/ the Apogee card. I've seen success at gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mus...64-pcie-compatible.html?highlight=symphony+64 with the Apogee card.

Have you seen others get the Apogee card to work?

Thanks!

 

[StoicMeerkat]

So glad I found this thread, such a wealth of information here. Thanks for all the info, BoomR!

Has anyone had confirmed results with a more up-to-date mobo and CPU? I am considering the following build:

GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD5H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I74790K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600

Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLT2KIT8G3D1608DT1TX0

(x2) SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-75E120B/AM 2.5" 120GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

EVGA 02G-P4-2742-KR GeForce GT 740 Superclocked 2GB 128-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card

TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter, 2.4GHz 450Mbps/5GHz 450Mbps, IEEE 802.1a/b/g/n, WEP/WPA/WPA2

Syba Low Profile PCI-Express 1394b/1394a (2B1A) Card, TI Chipset, Extra Regular Bracket SD-PEX30009


I plan on running PT11 with my Digi 003 rack (FW). I will use my existing 1000 Watt PSU and 7200RPM spinning disc HDD's to write to, and 1 SSD for the OS and 1 SSD for the program files.

I'm concerned that a new mobo will have a different bios version from the settings BoomR lays out so well in this thread, which will affect the compatibility/functionality. I am looking for build a machine that has no bugs or errors of any kind. I don't mind putting in time and tweaking, but I don't ever want to get to a point where there is some kind of bug, graphics or otherwise, that I am forced to "live with".

I would really love to hear from anyone who has built a hackintosh for running Pro Tools with recent components.

Thanks in advance guys!

Best,

James

 

[Fokke]

It's already old, my mobo. But it runs fine with ProTools11 (and PT12 too which is more or less the same as 11).
I would suggest a thunderbolt connection for maybe one day you want an Avid Omni or maybe another kind of interface that has thunderbolt. But it is not a MUST. Some say that TB is on its way back already.

If you have a working hackintosh you have it working with ProTools although they will never support it of course.

 

[StoicMeerkat]

Thanks for the response Fokke. Are you running glitch free? So basically I get the same support from PT with a hackintosh as I do right now...not a hell of a lot!! haha...But in all seriousness, if it runs without errors, isn't it supported in the true sense of the word? I understand AVID is never going to put "hackintosh" on the side of their boxes next to recommended specs.

Would you recommend the build I have suggested?

I'm also wondering if the CD player/writer needs to be the model listed on the site or if any will work.

Cheers,

James

 

[Fokke]

Thanks for the response Fokke. Are you running glitch free? So basically I get the same support from PT with a hackintosh as I do right now...not a hell of a lot!! haha...But in all seriousness, if it runs without errors, isn't it supported in the true sense of the word? I understand AVID is never going to put "hackintosh" on the side of their boxes next to recommended specs.

Would you recommend the build I have suggested?

I'm also wondering if the CD player/writer needs to be the model listed on the site or if any will work.

Cheers,

James

I have a lot of support from Avid! But that is because i tell them on an almost daily basis everything what is wrong with their builds. Sometimes i have to tell them the same bug happens on my rMBP
to convince them it is not my Hackintosh.

I am not going to say i have zero issues with a Hackintosh. There are USB3 things that still puzzles me but that i cannot put my finger on so i cannot tell where the culprit is. Some USB3 ports on my machine don't work with all drives or peripherals. Some of these are USB2, some USB3. If i plug them on another port they do work. So, i found my way around.
Sometimes my puter won't shut down. I keep a grey screen. Then i just turn it off.
But all the issues are related to how software connects to the hardware. Within the software there is not any issue. That's what i mean that if you have a working Hackintosch you have a working computer for ProTools. The 003 is supported until 2016 but it doesn't mean they stop working after that date.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/faq/End-of-support-dates It even doesn't mean that the software builds after that date will drop it. I think even the 002 works with a separately installed driver.

If your build is ok i cannot say. It's been two years since i build mine and i am not up to date on the current hardware. But many others here on the board are. Generally Gigabyte boards are fine for Hackintoshes. If i had to make a new one today i think i would start investigating this build.

I would focus on quiet coolers and fans. Most computers are much quieter then years ago but still there are differences.

I have chosen a Pioneer CD burner because they have a good history with Roxio. But i am not saying other won't work. They are cheap so if your choice is wrong; buy another one!

 

[StoicMeerkat]

Thanks again, Fokke. Aside from having more RAM and such, that build looks pretty similar to mine. Any reason to go for Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 over the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H? I see that it has thunderbolt, which I don't have any need for right now, but was wondering if there are any other advantages.

Slightly off topic, but is there a RAM restriction for Pro Tools (non-HD) on a mac? I know on Windows it can only recognize a certain amount of RAM without the DV Toolkit.

Interesting on the USB issue. Have you encountered a drive or peripherial that won't connect successfully in any of the ports?

The not shutting down thing scares me a bit, mainly just that if I have client in the room they might think something is wrong with the computer. Any idea what's causing it? Is it every time or every once in a while?

Aside from those issues, how's the performance? No freezes, extended pin-wheels-of-death, crashes, or glitches?

Thanks again for all your advice.

Cheers,

James

 

[Fokke]

Thanks again, Fokke. Aside from having more RAM and such, that build looks pretty similar to mine. Any reason to go for Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 over the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H? I see that it has thunderbolt, which I don't have any need for right now, but was wondering if there are any other advantages.

Do some research yourself on this forum. As i said, i am not up to date hardware wise. I already told you that thunderbolt is nice to have for future peripherals.

Slightly off topic, but is there a RAM restriction for Pro Tools (non-HD) on a mac? I know on Windows it can only recognize a certain amount of RAM without the DV Toolkit.

No, not with PT11. PT10 just uses 2GB of ram, 11 can use more. DV toolkit does not exist anymore.

Interesting on the USB issue. Have you encountered a drive or peripherial that won't connect successfully in any of the ports?

No, they all mount but some only on some ports. Has to do with the chipset.

The not shutting down thing scares me a bit, mainly just that if I have client in the room they might think something is wrong with the computer. Any idea what's causing it? Is it every time or every once in a while?

It's not seldom. But it's not scary if you know it. It might very well be specific for my motherboard. Your choice can have minor issues too, that is part of the Hack game. If you rent out your room to clients a Hackintsh might not the way to go as it might scare people that at boot you see i bios instead of a BOING and, although your system will run at the end there might be minor issues that you have to find workarounds for. I wouldn't call it a fool proof system for renting purposes.
I wouldn't rent a studio with ProTools that is not HD and has a 003 but that's another topic. How realistic is it that you won't be around?

Aside from those issues, how's the performance? No freezes, extended pin-wheels-of-death, crashes, or glitches?

Not more then i had on a genuine apple. But if you are afraid of system tweaking then buy the real thing.
I think your build will be much more powerful then you will need if you run non-HD and a 003.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Cheers,

James

Welcome. Happy building.

 

[StoicMeerkat]

Many thanks. I'll keep researching.

I wouldn't rent a studio with ProTools that is not HD and has a 003 but that's another topic. How realistic is it that you won't be around?

Not planning on renting it out, just worried about the "vibe" that it sends when clients are in the room with me working on their project. I don't think it would be a problem, but I know that if anything inevitable happens (like a hard drive crashes) the hackintosh would be the first thing brought up.

I've talked to several people in real life and on the web who say they have their hack build running perfectly with no issues whatsoever. Ideally, I like to find one of these people and copy their build exactly, but I also can't do that if the components are too old.

Cheers,

James

 

[Fokke]

Many thanks. I'll keep researching.



Not planning on renting it out, just worried about the "vibe" that it sends when clients are in the room with me working on their project. I don't think it would be a problem, but I know that if anything inevitable happens (like a hard drive crashes) the hackintosh would be the first thing brought up.

I've talked to several people in real life and on the web who say they have their hack build running perfectly with no issues whatsoever. Ideally, I like to find one of these people and copy their build exactly, but I also can't do that if the components are too old.

Cheers,

James

Follow this build too:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/music/141401-ga-z87x-ud7-th-avid-hdx-uad-2-cards.html

 

[BoomR]

Hi BoomR - I did a clean install to Mavericks last week and everything's running great. I'm use DP8.07 and Logic 10.1 with a Symphony i/o over usb. I'm thinking of going with the Symphony 64pcie for better latency and stability.

You went w/ the Avid card at the beginning due to issues w/ the Apogee card. I've seen success at gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mus...64-pcie-compatible.html?highlight=symphony+64 with the Apogee card.

Have you seen others get the Apogee card to work?

Thanks!

I have not seen any other Symphony 64 PCIe card users reporting anything. But then again, I've been a bit AWOL from the forums for a bit. Too much crazy-crazy going on in my "day job" that helps me support my CustoMac and music studio addiction

Try do a search on the thread in the Music forum on hobbyist/pro-sumer/pro audio interfaces & compatibility to see if there are any additional posts from other users using this card.

Cheers!
--B