I'm a Windows user, and been curious about Logic Pro for a number of years now, as well as Mac machines generally. I have dabbled previously, but not really with much commitment as the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro I previously purchased were swiftly returned during cooling off period due to feeling uncomfortable committing to the huge expense at the time.

A friend has offered me a late 2013 Mac Pro trash can for $250 (MacPro 6,1/A1481). The specs look good, and are:

CPU: Intel Xeon E5 3.5GHz 6 core/12 thread (boost up to 3.9GHz)
RAM: 64GB DDR3 ECC memory
GPU: AMD FirePro D500 3GB GDDR5 VRAM
Storage: 512GB SSD
4 x USB 3.0
6 x Thunderbolt 2
2 x 1GbE
HDMI 1.4
802.11ac WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0​

Just wondering if this is usable at all in modern day, as on the face of it 64GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and 6 core/12 thread CPU appears more than decent for most use cases in music production?

Will use something like Open Legacy Patcher allow for it to be upgraded to Ventura/Sonoma?

I'm obviously not expecting comparisons with M1/2/3 processors and so on, but I'd be expecting a pretty decent system capable of most things based on the above.

 

Last edited: May 28, 2024

yes. every machine is still perfectly capable (unless obviously there was an inherent flaw)...

 

No, you'll have to stay with Monterey and Logic 10.7.7 as the AMD GPU is no longer supported.

 

I did check, but it seems to suggest it is supported, but having never user OLP, I'm not too savvy on what this means:

 

I tried it some time ago on a Hackintosh with an AMD 7750, Monterey worked perfectly, but I couldn't get it to work on Ventura. So Logic had no play head and other graphics issues. But there are people claiming it works on an AMD D500, so just try it.

Otherwise, Logic 10.7.7 is also fine. Some new functions in 10.8 or 11.0 like the stem separation or mastering assistant don't work on Intel CPUs, so you would not just need Ventura, but also an M1 or newer CPU.

 

Yeah, I had noticed some features of Loci Pro 11 were Apple silicone only.

How would things like Ableton 12 run on this?

 

ironically i just bought one. same spec accept its got a 1 TB ssd in it. a great deal for the spec. i wont be using it for audio though just my internet machine and light pipe so i can use some mac only plugins on my PC

 

Sorry, I don't have any experience with Ableton Live 12 yet. But as you say you're a Windows user I assume you already have a PC that at least meets the specs and runs Ableton fine. Remember this is an 11 year old machine.

 

I currently have that machine with those characteristics, I just replaced the SSD with a 4TB one. This last year I have been running sessions of between 40 and 60 midi tracks in Pro Tools because I have been studying music composition for audiovisuals. so I haven't had any problems.

Regarding opencore, I can install sonoma without any problem, it continued to work correctly, after a while I returned to Monterrey because opencore needs System Integrity Protection to be disabled to start the system, so I did not feel comfortable with that option.

I hope this can help you make a decision, for $250 I think it's a good buy.

 

I run Opencore on a mid 2010 and it runs flawlessly. I'm on Monterey but will be updating to Sonoma soon. I don't know about your video card but I got a 580 in mine for needed metal compatibility. These are workhorse machines and that is a very good price.

(Registered it wrong when reading the original post. Sorry for the mixup. This info is ng.)

 

Last edited: May 29, 2024

Totally different thing. The "trashcan" Mac Pro's GPU can't be upgraded. You are stuck with either AMD D300, D500 or D700, but OpenCore Legacy Patcher claims to make it work with Ventura, worth a try for that price (and for nostalgia).

Also the very old gen CPU doesn't support AVX2 instructions, which makes it very slow or incompatible with some modern software.

 

You'll be just fine with that MACPRO. My friend runs a pretty busy recording studio with that same unit as his main computer. Like others have said, you'll be stuck on Logic 10.7 but other than that it's fine.

One other thing to consider is having a quiet fan to keep fresh air circulating around the unit as it does generate a good amount of heat.

 

it's an old Xeon E5-1650v2 (3rd gen Intel Ivy Bridge EP), uses old DDR3 (but ECC) memory, roughly on par with my old i7-5820K (4th gen Haswell EP, which uses newer DDR4 though), I'd say main problem is lack of any user upgradability for internal storage, being stuck with external Thunderbolt enclosures,
also as @Myfanwy pointed out, it lacks newer instruction sets, so modern applications won't work properly,

I'm using my old good PC (and previously also as a hackintosh) just fine, I guess it depends how big your projects are and what kind of software you use...

yes, but don't count on 100% reliable operation, you'll be basically making a hackintosh...

honestly, I wouldn't buy it for that price - unless you want that bin look - because you could find similar-performing PCs from newer generations on used market already, and often even more up-to-date-hackintosh-friendly:
if you want latest MacOS, then you'd be doing hackintosh anyway, last natively supported Intel CPU is fairly old 10th gen (10700K for ex.), and best AMD GPUs with proper support are 6800XT and 6900XT (or weaker cards from same series)

 

I do currently have a Windows 11 Pro machine that is my main system running an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with 128GB RAM. I also have 2 laptops, both with 8th gen Core i7 (one 4C/8T and other with 6C/12T) and 16GB and 32GB RAM respectively (quad and 16GB used as DJing laptop and other as mobile production laptop).

Therefore, this would solely be for experimenting with Mac environment and Logic Pro to get a feel if I like it before contemplating migrating over without the hefty cost.

 

CPU is too old, program won't even load on it. The only fix is not to purchase it. :|

 

Wow, so you have a pretty decent machine that beats this old Mac Pro in ANY way... No need to consider running Ableton on any other system. And every system has it's pros and cons.

If you want to dive into macOS and the latest Logic Pro, (nearly) any M1 or later Mini or MacBook is the way to go.

For example, I'm using an Intel 12700k Windows 11 machine with Nvidia 4070 Ti Super GPU. Perfect for any audio task in Reaper, 4K 60p video editing in Resolve, gaming and running AI tools like UVR5 MDX23 very fast. It's less than 2000 Euros and the GPU beats EVERY available Mac that's several times the price.

For every day work and Logic Pro, I use a MacBook Air M1 2020 16GB 1TB, 1600 Euros. Silent, mobile, powerful enough for any of my Logic projects and any app that uses the neural engines, but nearly unusable for anything GPU related. Apple silicon GPUs still can't compete with Nvidia in any way.

So it's mostly a matter of usage scenario.

 

if you couldn't figure out what to do with a macbook pro, you should just stick to windows.

 

Oof I mean, that IS a really cheap Mac Pro, but I don't know if I would recommend it to 'get the feel' of things. At this point, I would not recommend an Intel anything for someone looking to check out MacOS. Intel is dead and gone as far as Apple is concerned. No matter how you get the later OS's on it, you can guarantee it's focused and optimized for later chipsets, and Apple's own now. I'd just look for a cheap first gen M1 Mini or MBP. They cant be THAT expensive, and it's capable of actually migrating to it if you decide to go with it. Just don't buy an overpriced one, and you can turn around and sell it for what you bought it for and break even.

 

tbh, now that i see this coupled with the original post, i would say it is not really worth it. better get a newer mac mini/imac or straight up save money and get a used m1, cause all in all you have a lot of power already

 

Even if you only run Logic 10.7.7 and a few dated but great plugins, this machine could still be of good use.
I haven't tried Ableton 12 on my older Mac but a few of the new functions can be done by Max4Live creations.

Another plus of an older Mac: More and more great but old audio interfaces only support older MacOS versions and I keep using two Edirol UA-1000 under MacOS 10.14 with low latency and great stability.