Digital Audio Workstation & MIDI > Cubase/Nuendo by Steinberg

Which mac is the best for Cubase VST 5.1?

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supernova777:
basically there are a few different product lines (subcategories) within the powermac g4 product line:
we are simplifying just a bit to reduce this to 3 when in reality there could be more seperation between the groups of models
but we will present our picks for which is best for each of the product lines

this thread revisits some info that was originally presented on : http://www.macos9lives.com/mac%20os%209%20lives_002.htm

how to tell which product line of g4 graphite model you have:


firstly: heres a link to the list of all machines that are capable of running os9:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_capability/macs-that-support-macos-9-classic.html

it seems the best performing + most reliable models are those with the best on chip cache/backside cache
that are also SINGLE PROCESSOR! not DUAL PROCESSOR models!
(we have reports that dual processor g4s can cause program crashes and be less reliable compared to single processor chips when running os9 software)

lets look at some of the facts regarding model + cache specs



Which mdd is the best for Cubase VST 5.1  music production??
answer: The 1.25 MDD FW400 single proccessor model
the undoubted king of the hill in the os9 arena, the mdd packs the most punch for any os9 applications, because of its high bus speed + cache + use of DDR memory, this will always make it the fastest os9 machine you can get. The only issue with them is they tend to be somewhat noisey, depending on where u place the computer. Alot of this noise is reduced by replacing both the power supply fans (2) and the interior fan which is between where the cpu is when the case is closed, and the hard drive bays. Once this modification is done, the mdd is very quiet. Some people go as far as to add additional fans attached to the inside of the case in the small space between the cpu heatsink+ the rear.

SP= Single processor!!!!!!
DP= Dual processor

G4 1.25 SP (MDD)    256k (on chip), 2 MB backside stable best of the best, but loud system fans may need replacing to achieve less noise in studio
G4 1.25 DP (MDD)        256k (on chip), 2 MB backside
G4 1.0 DP (MDD)             256k (on chip), 1 MB backside
G4 867 DP (MDD)       256k (on chip), 1 MB backside

at 12 lbs heavier the mdd 1.25 truely is the heavyweight!!
compare mdds
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Which quicksilver is the best for Cubase VST 5.1 music production?
answer: the quicksilver 933mhz
for those not willing to do noise reduction modifications on their mdd systems, the quicksilver model offers the next best performance to the mdd! combining performance with low noise opeartion, which makes any quicksilver is a great machine, but we have reccommeneded these specific single processor models due to experience +stability within some of the best daw applications! the dual processor models will undoubtedly provide a higher benchmark for processing power, which comes in handy under osx  moreso then os 9!

G4 933 SP (Quicksilver)       256k (on chip), 2 MB backside best performing quicksilver, stable, quiet + powerful
G4 1.0 DP (Quicksilver)   256k (on chip), 2 MB backside
G4 867 SP (Quicksilver)       256k (on chip), 2 MB backside (next best thing to the 933, high cache & single processor)
G4 800 SP(QS 2002)         256k, 0 mb backside (poor choice)
G4 800 DP (Quicksilver)    256k (on chip), 2 MB backside
G4 733 SP (Quicksilver)      256k, 0 mb backside (poor choice)

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Which digital audio is the best for Cubase VST 5.1 music production?
answer: the digital audio 733mhz
the 733 digital audio is the big daddy of all the graphite/blue first + second wave of g4 macs and can provide impressive performance for audio applications like cubase 5 vst. Despite its mid range Mhz it can run effects + processing on a good number of audio tracks without missing a beat!! we can attribute its kick ass performance to its higher specs re: cpu L2 cache + backside cache. Adding a pci sata adapter to this unit should give very satisfactory disk speed to go hand in hand with the satisfactory cpu performance!

G4 733 (Digital Audio)     256k (on chip), 1 MB backside (reportedly performs fairly well for its slow cpu due to its cache, stable)
G4 667 (Digital Audio)    256k (on chip), 1 MB backside  (same cache as the 733, less cpu, may work nearly aswell?)

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ibook G4 titanium 1ghz  SP    256k (on chip), 1 MB backside
iBook G3 900mhz SP              512k (on chip) 0 MB backside
imac g4 800mhz SP               256k (on-chip) 0 mb backside (poor choice)
emac G4 1ghz SP                   256k (on chip) 0 mb backside (poor choice)

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g4 cube 500mhz SP               0mb (on chip) 1 MB backside (low cpu speed, no on chip cache, but does have backside cache + is silent 0db noise)

note that the best case scenarios for each product line (mdd, quicksilver, digital audio)
have been set in bold... note that these are SINGLE PROCESSOR machines for stability
os9 software has reportedly made little use of the 2nd processor

pc133 ram vs ddr1
http://hardforum.com/archive/index.php/t-710148.html

comparison of our 3 top choice picks for cubase vst 5:


a note on different types of cache: Typically there are now 3 layers of cache on modern CPU cores:

L1 cache is very small and very tightly bound to the actual processing units of the CPU, it can typically fulfil data requests within 3 CPU clock ticks.

L2 cache is generally larger but a bit slower and is generally tied to a CPU core. Recent processors tend to have 512KB of cache per core and this cache has no distinction between instruction and data caches, it is a unified cache. I believe the response time for in-cache data is typically under 20 CPU "ticks"

L3 (or backside) cache tends to be shared by all the cores present on the CPU and is much larger and slower again, but it is still a lot faster than going to main memory.


DieHard:
Food for thought...

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-163392.html

supernova777:
POWERMAC G4 CHART
(excluding fw800 models that cannot boot os9)


grey horizontal lines dont mean anything other then those are the particular models that i acquired

IIO:
why would you suggest the single processor model? besides photoshop, cubase and nuendo belong to the very few programs with proper multiprocessor support.

supernova777:

--- Quote from: 110 on March 07, 2014, 07:52:57 PM ---why would you suggest the single processor model? besides photoshop, cubase and nuendo belong to the very few programs with proper multiprocessor support.

--- End quote ---

this suggestion was made by diehard due to real world experience...
in his experience he found that that single cpu models were very much so less prone to errors or crashes
but yes a dual would be technically more powerful , but the single high end model provides both power + stability

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