Pro Tools 9

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Terrik

Terrik

Alright, so I'm trying to put something together for my girlfriend.

She's a music composer and she wants a system designed for music writing and mixing programs. In particular we're looking at sibelius and Pro Tools 9.

Now, I know little about apple PCs. She wants a laptop so I guess we gotta go with a Macbook Pro. Now, I can't make a lot of sense out of the Protools 9 system requirements which will really determine the kind of laptop we'll be getting.

According to the system requirements, it requires a PCI express slot. However, I don't know if that is for Pro tools hardware to plug on, or if thats to even let the program run. My girlfriend wants to use t he program to compose and mix electronic music, and doesn't really intend to use it for recording purposes so she won't be needing to plug in an instrument or anything. I'm a bit confused and there's no way to contact the Pro tools people directly, so I was curious if anyone has had any experience with the program before that can help me out.
 
Terrik

Terrik

Damn, nice work Stienman. Now I just gotta figure out how glitzy I want the laptop. I'm guessing higher processor speed and ram would be a must for this kind of thing.
 
strawman

strawman

Espy can give you a good idea here, but if it's just audio then any dual core machine with 4GB ram or better will be plenty to run everything at the same time.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

No (current) MacBook Pro (or any other portable) has a PCIe slot (though the new Thunderbolt port comes close), they might have meant the Mac Pro. The 17in MBP might have an express slot for an external card, depending on model. None of the versions of PT9 say that they require a PCIe, where were you getting this info? They probably assume you will be needing an internal audio interface (if you don't already have one) and so put that in there.

Having PCIe slots will allow for extra DSP hardware to be added on later (UAD/TC if you lean that way) as well as faster drive arrays or higher quality audio interfaces. Otherwise you're limited to just the one external FW800 port to expand.

Probably the most important accessory you're going to want to get is a good-sized external monitor.

--Patrick
 
Terrik

Terrik

This is what I got from the website:

Laptops
MacBook Pro with ExpressCard/34 slot and Magma ExpressCard to PCIe Expansion Chassis Required (Magma Expansion Chassis Details)
  • MacBook Pro 17-inch with Core i5 and i7 processors*
  • MacBook Pro 17-inch "Unibody" with Core 2 Duo "Penryn" processors
  • MacBook Pro 15-inch "Unibody" (introduced late 2008) w/ExpressCard slot**
  • MacBook Pro 17-inch and 15-inch Core 2 Duo "Penryn" models (introduced early 2008, replacing "Santa Rosa" models)

*Avid has identified an incompatibility with Pro Tools HD Native systems with the early 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro (model MC725LL/A with Thunderbolt port). For additional details, see article 396031.

*The following models do not have an ExpressCard slot, and therefore cannot be used with Pro Tools|HD systems:

  • All MacBook Pro 15-inch mid-2009 and newer models (ExpressCard slot replaced by SD slot)
  • All MacBook Pro 13-inch models

I assume as you said then, its for the hardware, but not the software?
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Ah, I see. They're asking you to get what is basically a CPU-less PC case (the PCIe expansion chassis) to house the PCIe cards, and then use an ExpressCard-based adapter to allow you to connect the whole thing to the laptop. And according to their site, the ProTools|HD systems do require at least one PCIe slot for an interface card. There may be a new expansion chassis someday that connects via Thunderbolt (it would actually be easier to implement than ExpressCard) but the tech is still probably too new.

--Patrick
 
Espy

Espy

I guess I don't understand why you are going for protools and not Logic Studio for what you want to do. Getting Pro-Tools is like... hiring the US Army to go get back your pool from the neighbors.

If you want to do live music (?) then Mainstage (which is what I use for my keyboards and mics, and so does Nine Inch Nails) will be perfect and is part of Logic. So maybe explain a little more what you and your ladyfriend want to do? Sorry if I missed it, it's late and I'm tired.
 
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