Advce on Mac Pro for Pro Tools

[borism]

Hello
I am in a situation My current Mac Pro, a Dual 3Ghz Quad core (8 processor) is 5 years old and suddenly is presenting a random Shut Down and Reboot.
Is not related to Protools, looks like a Hardware issue of the Desktop
Tomorrow I will leave it at another tech, and i am contemplating the fact that I might have to buy a new computer
\
I am running PT 7.4 still with a 4 Accell Card System
I will be then upgrading to PT 10 (because the new machine comes with Lion), that is 1500$, plus plug ins upgrades like Altiverb 7 , McDSP Sony Oxford etc, so quite a bit of money
Plus the cost of the new computer off course

My question is: There are two options, a Dual Quad Core 2.66 (8 processor Nehalem) plus memory etc
Or go All the way for a 12 core 2.66 Nehalem

Obviously the 12 processor is more power, but realistically, shoud, would you spend the 1500$ extra for the 12 procesor machine

Bonus question: How much "power" or Faster will these two machines compared wo my current "broken" machine

Thank you in advance for your help

[lblstudio]

Have you recently updated to Lion? A buddy of mine has the 8core 3.0 and started having the same symptoms after upgrading to Lion. He's running Avid on his quite heavily.

[borism]

Originally Posted by lblstudio

Have you recently updated to Lion? A buddy of mine has the 8core 3.0 and started having the same symptoms after upgrading to Lion. He's running Avid on his quite heavily.

NO NO!
I am still at OSX 10.4.11 with PT 7.4
The system has been working beautifully for a few years already, (one of the reasons I never upgraded to 8 or 9)
All of the sudden I am getting these random Shut down - Reeboot
O took the desktop to a Tech and could not isolate the failure, I will take the computer to another Mac tech tomorrow as a last resort
Both techs mention that these type of failures could be anything, and guessing repairs could be a waist of money and I should be thinking in purchasing a new Computer

Any who, everything indicates that is a Hardware Failure of the computer itself as I ve found other users with similar symptoms

What would you do?
things to consider:
Money is an issue but value is more important as this is my living.
The Mac Pro should be looking at a refresh of the line as is 1 year and half old


Thank you!

[lblstudio]

Have you come close to maxing out your current machine with a PT session?

If not, I wouldn't pour the extra cash into more processor with the 12 core. I am on an 8 core 2.8 running Logic 9 and PT 9 with an Apogee Symphony and haven't hit the wall of processing power yet. I have a UAD2 handling some of the plugin load, but with the PT HD system, you're doing essentially the same thing.

[borism]

Originally Posted by lblstudio

Have you come close to maxing out your current machine with a PT session?

If not, I wouldn't pour the extra cash into more processor with the 12 core. I am on an 8 core 2.8 running Logic 9 and PT 9 with an Apogee Symphony and haven't hit the wall of processing power yet. I have a UAD2 handling some of the plug in load, but with the PT HD system, you're doing essentially the same thing.

Thank you
I have come close to "feel" that my machine is heavy on some session even with TDM running, but I think that More Ram could solve this
In reality as I am Today , i could still working
This dilemma is related to the fact that My machine is failing and I cant work like this
I am leaning towards a 8 core 2.4 ghz and put more cash on Ram

[beatlogik]

I am in a situation My current Mac Pro, a Dual 3Ghz Quad core (8 processor) is 5 years old and suddenly is presenting a random Shut Down and Reboot.
Is not related to Protools, looks like a Hardware issue of the Desktop

Any feedback as to why this is happening? I'd be curious to know as I have the same machine (Mac Pro 1,1) and have just recently been experiencing the same issues, although I am running an MBox2.

[borism]

It has been a nightmare to pinpoint what is wrong.
So far my tech discovered that the internal main HD is giving errors and even after repair with disk util after a while it shows errors again.
The computer has passed ok most of the hardware diagnostics and the only true error looks to be coming from the HD.
I am trying to clone the original OS system with protools on a new hard drive and will test it tomorrow with a new fresh HD running my PT 7.4.
The Internet is filled with reports of spontaneous shut and reboot, but none clearly shows a definitive cause.
I really hope the new HD fixes this issue.

[beatlogik]

Bummer...keep us posted. The issue is recurring on both OS drives I have running in the tower (both 10.6.8) so I'm afraid it may be more of an issue than an HD clone and swap.

I am still running an Mbox 2 via USB which has created some nasty little problems via the drivers in the past. Looking into IO upgrade options now in hopes of combating the issue and to step things up in my project studio.

Any idea as to whether or not the MacPro 1,1 supports the HD Native Card?

[borism]

Well is not the internal drive
i cloned my old OS drive and the issue continues

Apparently I am at a point of no return and will have to buy a new computer and upgrade to PT 10

Any suggestions are appreciated

[beatlogik]

Did you try a clean install of Snow Leopard onto a new drive and booting from there? You would need to manually reinstall the 10.6.8 combo update and your version of Protools but it would be better than shelling out the $$$ for a new comp.

That would be my last resort advice...would be worth the try IMO before the upgrade.