Jump to content

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


6 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

I have a friend who uses Logic Pro 9 for his home recording studio. He has a an older iMac with 8GB of RAM that cannot be upgraded. 8GB RAM places limitations on what he can do with the software but a newer iMac is out of his price range.

 

I have built PCs for years, so I thought I would look into the specs for an Intel based system that could run OSX and Logic Pro 9. I am thinking that running OSX in a VM would not provide the required performance. Please let me know if I am not right about that.

 

In the past I have looked at an OSX compatible system using a Gigabyte board, but that has been quit a while ago (Wolfdale, socket 775) so I need to start fresh. I would be looking at skylake or kaby lake.

 

As far as details go details, I need to put together a hardware list, accumulate the necessary drivers, and find a place to buy the software that I need a license for. If someone here can give me some pointers or direct me to a good place to start looking, I would appreciate it.

 

It would also be great to get some advice from someone who uses Logic Pro and can comment on hardware utilization. Is it helpful to have more than 4 cores, or is the max GHz per core more important? How much RAM is too much, especially since RAM can cost double the combined CPU and motherboard cost? Thoughts on a sound card, other peripherals,etc.

 

Thanks for the input,

 

LMHmedchem

Edited by LMHmedchem
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After some reading, I have come up with this as a starting point,
 
 
After a $30 Microcenter rebate, the above comes to $1004. Can anyone see any issues with this as a parts list?
 
I have a few other questions if anyone can help.
 
Does a rig like this need a motherboard with thunderbolt video output and a thunderbolt monitor? This is very important as it completely changes the price structure. Are there any other suggestions about the video card and monitor?
 
I would really like to add a second m.2 SSD for current project files but there aren't any Gigabyte H270 boards listed at newegg that have 2x m.2 slots. Can someone recommend another board? Otherwise I would need to go ATX.
 
Is there anyone who uses Logic Pro who can tell me if there is an advantage to going with an i7 hyper-threading chip over the i5 listed above? Does it make sense to wait a bit until the new Intel hexacore chips come out in October or is the i5 quad above plenty of CPU? Not every application is multi-threaded to use every available core.
 
This rig has 16GB of RAM, will Logic Pro utilize more than that if it is available? RAM is so expensive now that I don't want to waste budget on RAM if the software is not set up to use it.
 
I am not sure about a sound card. I would guess Logic Pro could run off of the onboard card but if there are advantages to using an aftermarket card, I would appreciate advice on that.
 
Thanks,
 
LMHmedchem

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you can go another $40-50 for the graphics card a AMD RX 460-560, or Nvidia 1050-1050ti will be much better for any video work and or multi screen work.

 

Thunderbolt you need to have a thunderbolt header on the motherboard (like a USB 3.0 slot) and a Thunderbolt pcie card so a micro ATX or ITX board will need the pcie slots onboard if you want to use it. It is not really necessary for monitors as DisplayPort and HDMI can supply them well enough.

 

The i7 7700k is the per dollar performer and beats everything in its class right now. Waiting for more cores will also mean a new mobo design so price will shoot up a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

It would also be great to get some advice from someone who uses Logic Pro and can comment on hardware utilization. Is it helpful to have more than 4 cores, or is the max GHz per core more important? How much RAM is too much, especially since RAM can cost double the combined CPU and motherboard cost? Thoughts on a sound card, other peripherals,etc.

 

Logic Pro (X at least) will happily use multiple cores. In that sense it's more important than single-core GHz.

 

I've been running LPX on a 13" Retina MBP (Late 2013) which has a 2.4GHz dual-core i5 and 8G of RAM. Planning to upgrade ASAP as I'm hitting the limits of this machine all the time even with relatively moderate use. I would say 4 cores/threads is the absolute minimum (in 2017/2018) and more will not hurt. I would imagine 16G of RAM would do unless you're planning to use huge sample libraries and/or running other software at the same time as Logic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

After some modifications, this is my current build list. This will run Logic Pro 10 under MacOS High Sierra.

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake Hexacore 3.6 GHz LGA 1151 ($220)

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

RAM: G.SKILL Sniper X 2x8GB DDR4 3000 F4-3000C16D-16GSXFB  ($130)

OS drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 250GB PCIe Gen3. X, NVMe SSD ($88)

data drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 250GB PCIe Gen3. X, NVMe SSD ($88)

archive drive: WD Blue 4TB Desktop HDD SATA 6Gb/s WD40EZRZ ($98)

optical: Lite-On DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS124-14 ($20)

PSU: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W 80 PLUS GOLD Modular PSU ($70)

case: FSP CMT230 ATX Mid Tower PC Computer Gaming Case ($70)

card readerRosewill RDCR-11004 5.25" Data Hub ($27)

CPU cooler: Corsair Hydro H110i CW-9060026-WW 280mm ($75)

fan control: Sunbeam Rheosmart 3 Fan Controller ($17)

monitor: LG 32MP58HQ-P Black 31.5" FHD IPS LED Backlight Monitor ($170)

 

After a $30 microcenter rebate, this comes to just under $1200.

 

At the moment, there is not a video card in the build. Is there a problem in using the onboard video? If so, I would probably add an Nvidia 1050 which goes for about $130. There may need to be dual monitors at some point but I'm not sure. This is for sound editing not video editing.

 

-Does anyone see anything here that will not work, such as the card reader or optical?

-Is 16GB enough RAM for Logic Pro 10?

-Will there be any issues booting from the NVMe SSD drive?

-Is a third party sound card useful for sound editing purposes?

 

Thanks for all the advice.

 

LMHmedchem

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 2400 F4-2400C15D-16GVR ($105)
OS drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB SSD MZ-V7E250BW ($78)
data drive: SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB M.2 SSD MZ-V7E250BW ($78)
archive drive: Seagate BarraCuda ST4000DM004 4TB SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD ($85)
optical: Lite-On DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS124-14 ($14)
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-650RM 650W ATX12V 80 PLUS GOLD Modular PSU ($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 31.5" FHD IPS Widescreen LED Backlight Monitor ($170)

This comes to right around $1450 after $40 in in-store rebates and two extended warranties. I always get an extended warranty for the motherboard and display. Those are the two components that are most likely to have an issue that isn't immediately apparent. The EW lets me just take them back to the store and get a new one if there is any issue and I pay the extra $18 for the convenience. This even covers dead pixels in the monitor that aren't covered by the factory warranty.

 

I went with the i7 8700K because of this article,

http://www.scanproaudio.info/2018/10/19/intels-i9-9900k-and-the-coffee-lake-refresh/

that clearly shows that DAW software requires as many threads as possible to work efficiently. The i7 was only $100 more than the i5 and this rig is still less than 1/2 the price of a comparable iMac, which wouldn't have the M.2 SSDs, a 4TB archive drive, proper cooling, or a 32" display.

 

I am still interested to know if anyone uses a third party sound card with one of these systems.

 

I will post back when I have it together.

 

LMHmedchem

Edited by LMHmedchem
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...