Apple Mac Pro Customized for:
Audio Production

We found that majority of audio production professionals utilize Avid Pro Tools or Apple Logic Pro as their main recording software. These recommendations are based on experience and research after speaking with hundreds of audio recording professionals.

We participated in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Los Angeles and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, where we were fortunate to meet the head on-site technical representative at AVID who sets up systems for major companies such as NBC and Disney. He spent an hour with us discussing the ideal hardware for an efficient Pro Tools system.

Component Recommendations

Processor

According to AVID, the more cores, the better. The more tracks you run, the more cores you want to have. As a test, we performed an upgrade on the 2010 Model 5,1 Mac Pro from a Quad-Core to a 12-core while keeping an eye on the Pro Tools CPU Usage Monitor. The CPU usage decreased by 30% which is great because it improves performance and allows you to perform more intensive tasks.

RAM

For recording, the default memory configuration is fine. However, virtual instruments require a lot of memory. Since memory is low cost these days, upgrading is a good idea. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend 3-6GB of RAM per CPU core.

Storage

In general, we recommend a two to four hard drive configuration depending on your budget and desired performance level:

Primary Drive - OS/Software (SSD) - Includes your operating system, the base Pro Tools / Logic Pro installation, and your plug-ins. An SSD is highly recommended as it will greatly improve how fast the OS and programs startup.
Secondary Drive - Sessions (SSD/Hard Drive) - If possible, it is a good idea to separate your project files and disk cache onto a secondary drive.
Optional Tertiary Drive - Samples (SSD/ Hard Drive) - The performance of one SSD can support both the sessions and samples. For traditional spindle hard drives, having your sessions and samples on separate drives can at times improve performance.
Optional Storage Drive (Hard Drive) - For the larger sound libraries, the traditional platter hard drive is a good choice as they are still much cheaper per GB than SSDs.

Hard Drive = Standard spindle technology @ 7,200rpm
- Hard Drive Bay = ~175MB/s
Solid-State Drive - connectivity via SATA3 controller
- Hard Drive Bay = ~250MB/s
- PCIe Slot = ~500MB/s
NVMe Storage = connectivity via PCIe controller
- PCIe Slot = ~1250MB/s

Graphics

Since the Mac Pro will be primarily focusing on audio, the standard graphics card is fine. However, they generally support only two displays. If you will utilize the video engine for syncing audio and video, we recommend at least a 2GB graphics card.

Compatibility

Logic X Compatibility List
http://www.apple.com/logic-pro/specs/

Logic 9 Compatibility List
https://support.apple.com/kb/SP673?

Avid Pro Tools compatibility list:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Compatibility/Pro-Tools-Operating-System-Compatibility-Chart

Generation Comparison

	Tower (Original) Production: 2010 to 2013 Model 5,1	Cylinder Production: 2013 to 2019 Model 6,1	Tower (New) Production: 2019 to current Model 7,1
Processors	Intel Xeon X5600 series 'Westmere' Launch Q1 2011	Intel Xeon E5-2600 series 'Ivy Bridge' Launch Q3 2012	Intel Xeon W-3200 series 'Cascade Lake' Launch Q2 2019
Memory	DDR3 ECC 1333MHz Up to 64GB per processor	DDR3 ECC 1866MHz Up to 128GB per processor	DDR4 ECC 2666MHz / 2933MHz Up to 768GB / 1.5TB per processor
Graphics	Can upgrade to newer models for macOS support and increased performance	AMD FirePro D300 / D500 / D700 Launch 2013 - Upgrade not possible	Latest AMD Radeon Pro with PCIe 3.0 x16 slots for expansion
Storage	Can upgrade to latest SATA and NVMe SSDs for increased performance. SATA SSDs limited to SATA2 speeds and NVMe limited to PCIe 2.0 speeds	Can upgrade to latest NVMe SSDs for increased performance. SATA external expansion	PCIe NVMe SSDs without performance limiting factors. SATA and NVMe internal expansion
macOS	Apple support discontinued in 2018 Latest macOS - Mojave 10.14	Apple support estimated until 2024 to 2026 Supports latest macOS	Current generation Supports latest macOS
USB	Onboard USB 2.0 USB 3.0 and 3.1 optional upgrade	Onboard USB 3.0 USB Type-A only	Onboard USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C - Latest
Thunderbolt	Not available	Thunderbolt 2	Thunderbolt 3
Performance	Outdated technology, but excellent performance considering the cost. Cost effective solution if on a budget and okay with macOS Mojave limitation.	Supports latest macOS with considerable performance. Cost effective solution if new Mac Pro is not within budget.	Latest technology. Highest performing Mac currently available. Max longevity for macOS support.