solaar Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 With my hack - see specs in sig - and 10.5.6 it behaves basically like a stable Mac Pro Quad. Apart from the keyboard shortcuts which can take a bit of time to get used to on a PC oriented KB, the workflow feels the same as on a real Mac. BTW a two button mouse comes in really handy, especially in Cubase. As for audio interfaces, Firewire 400 is still the best option IMHO. Rock solid. I'm not a big Logic user but I've heard that there are issues now with 8.1 under 10.5.7. I was too impatient (and blindly trusting) this time and just installed the 10.5.7 update on my main partition without thoroughly testing beforehand, which I regret now. Real Macs are having issues too btw... Speaking for myself I wouldn't invest in a G5 anymore. The time that it'll be hopelessly outdated is coming very close. If you mean a new Intel Mac Pro, well, that depends on your bank account. If I was running a commercial studio now there wouldn't be any hesitation to get a Mac Pro, also for the Apple service. I don't know if they have an on-site service plan but when you're making music on a pro level you don't have time, energy and the mind to fiddle with tech stuff. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logicpro9_user Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Hi Guys, Just a quick question some of you might be able to answer for me! How stable is osx86 for making music (with Logic etc etc) Is it the same as say a Power Mac G5 quad with 10.5.6? My system (below) seems stable enough just now apart from the odd kernel panic due to the emu-0404 with the kx 1.21b driver sound card I have. This could be fixed with a new sound card (firewire) I just want to know if I am wasting my time building a osx86 system? Or would I be better getting a new mac G5? My System is: IPC PPF5 OSX86 10.5.6 ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard (nForce 650i SLI - LGA775 Socket) NVIDIA GeForce 7300 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6660 Kentsfield 2.4GHz CPU 3gb Ram EM-U 0404 PCI Sound Card (some kernel panics with KX Driver 1.21b) Working On Board sound (disabled now though) Working Network Card Firewire (not tested) USB (Very slow speeds with external hard drives USB 1 speeds 12mb/s) Working PCI-E Graphics Card Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164214 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logicpro9_user Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks Solaar, I will keep it at 10.5.6 for the moment then, Would a mac keyboard work on a osx86 system?.... So my osx86 system is just like a G5 Quad, apart from the sound card problem. any suggestion on a Firewire 400 soundcard for £50 - £100? thanks again Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164228 Share on other sites More sharing options...
solaar Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks Solaar, I will keep it at 10.5.6 for the moment then, Would a mac keyboard work on a osx86 system?.... So my osx86 system is just like a G5 Quad, apart from the sound card problem. any suggestion on a Firewire 400 soundcard for £50 - £100? thanks again Your rig is similar to mine. If it's running smoothly it should actually have that old PPC G5 for breakfast (a benchmark tests can give you some hints if at least you're way off). My hack scores 5200 on geekbench for instance. Better than most G5 reported there. I've never tried a Mac KB on a hack but I've read it works. A FW interface for 50-100 quid? Hmm that's where you'll run into issues unless you're lucky and ebay a used one for that price. The m-audio stuff is very decent. Clean pres, solid built and intuitive. We've got a FW410 for our mobile unit and it's just brilliant. If you need just audio and no external MIDI, the FW solo is good too and much cheaper. My next choice would be anything by RME but they tend to break the bank. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164237 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logicpro9_user Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Your rig is similar to mine. If it's running smoothly it should actually have that old PPC G5 for breakfast (a benchmark tests can give you some hints if at least you're way off). My hack scores 5200 on geekbench for instance. Better than most G5 reported there. I've never tried a Mac KB on a hack but I've read it works. A FW interface for 50-100 quid? Hmm that's where you'll run into issues unless you're lucky and ebay a used one for that price. The m-audio stuff is very decent. Clean pres, solid built and intuitive. We've got a FW410 for our mobile unit and it's just brilliant. If you need just audio and no external MIDI, the FW solo is good too and much cheaper. My next choice would be anything by RME but they tend to break the bank. Thanks again for your advice solaar, lifesaver! I dont have much time to run about trying new things etc, just want to make music! I knew my system was close to yours, its good news that it would rip apart an older mac G5! a maybe even some of the slower Intel G5's! Gonna do a test when i get it up and running. Ok down to sound! I havent used Firewire before, always older PCI on PC, but used my macbook pro 2.5 with built in audio, but its time to get a good desktop rig going now. I will look into the M-Audio firewire gear now, they seem to be good and fairly cheap, used a few of their PCI cards in the past. I am sure their Firewire will be just as good! but faster! Gonna sell up my EMU0404 ones question about drivers, if i were to get a m-audio firewire sound interface will I be ok to use the Mac OS X drivers from the M-Audio site to run it on my osx86 system? does this go for any hardware i use on osx86? just use Mac drivers and it will work kindathing. Must test the firewire tonight! make sure its a-ok! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164245 Share on other sites More sharing options...
solaar Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Oh I see now where you're coming from. The G5 as a model type was discontinued since the Intel Macs came out. There is no such thing as an Intel G5. Never mind. Sorry I meant to say mine scores 5020 on geekbench. That's still in the region of a new quad mac pro for 2 grand and way above the PPC G5. Concerning the drivers, yes the driver for Intel Mac that comes standard with the interface will do. It's really hassle-free once your OS is stable. No hacking required here Of course they're only as good as they can be on real Mac. If real macs have issues you're likely to have them too. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164249 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logicpro9_user Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Oh I see now where you're coming from. The G5 as a model type was discontinued since the Intel Macs came out. There is no such thing as an Intel G5. Never mind. Sorry I meant to say mine scores 5020 on geekbench. That's still in the region of a new quad mac pro for 2 grand and way above the PPC G5. Concerning the drivers, yes the driver for Intel Mac that comes standard with the interface will do. It's really hassle-free once your OS is stable. No hacking required here Of course they're only as good as they can be on real Mac. If real macs have issues you're likely to have them too. Thnaks again solaar! its all clear to me now! Ok gonna set out to get a firewire sound interface, gonna test it 2night 1st! make sure the firewire works etc. get rid of the emu 0404 card. and hopefully it will sort my problems out! with this kernel panic working with sound now and again. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164259 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logicpro9_user Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Got my eye on a M-Audio Frirewire 410 and a M-Audio FireWire Audiophile. Any comments on thes 2? good bad? please let me know! thanks Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164328 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dysanfel Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 M-audio is {censored}, don't buy it. I suggest MOTU, Apogee, Presonus, RME, or Metric Halo. I run a P5WDH using iDeneb 10.5.5 using Ableton Live 7.014 and Logic 8. My audio interface is a Apogee Duet for mobile use and a Presonus FP10 for Live use. I also run a UAD-1 PCIe and a Siig FW400 PCI card. I have crashed only once since I installed it. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164638 Share on other sites More sharing options...
solaar Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 M-audio is {censored}, don't buy it. I suggest MOTU, Apogee, Presonus, RME, or Metric Halo. I run a P5WDH using iDeneb 10.5.5 using Ableton Live 7.014 and Logic 8. My audio interface is a Apogee Duet for mobile use and a Presonus FP10 for Live use. I also run a UAD-1 PCIe and a Siig FW400 PCI card. I have crashed only once since I installed it. I don't want to start a gear battle here but first of all, all the FW interfaces you've mentioned are way above 300 quid and quite honestly... not worth it. Presonus pres at that price range sound flat, lifeless and noisy (especially when cranked up with dynamic mics) compared to the much cheaper m-audio. Apogee is also overrated and like Digidesign, MOTU, Focusrite and the other 'big studio names', their bottom of the line products are overpriced and simply not worth the money you pay mainly for the name. Especially the preamps and the A/D converters which will eventually determine the quality of everything you record from an analogue source are in the same league or even lower than the M-audio 410 or 610 for instance. For 100 quid more, that is. Go figure, but use your ears, not the marketing hype.... RME are excellent as I mentioned before but you'd have to pay the price. At least you'd get what you pay for. btw I never had a crash with m-audio FW hardware. btw2, I'm not associated with or endorsing any brand, just speaking from experience. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/168144-how-stable-is-osx86-for-music-production/#findComment-1164977 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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