If you are looking for advice on buying a computer for audio recording with Pro Tools then we have lots of advice from both Pro Tools professionals and Pro Tools enthusiasts about getting the best Pro Tools computer for you.
We are not tied to any particular platform so you can find open-minded advice on both Mac and Windows PC for Pro Tools. We don't sell anything either so you can be sure of impartial advice from the largest independent Pro Tools user community in the world - even better all our Pro Tools computer advice is completely free.
If you are looking for a list of Windows computers approved for Pro Tools then Avid, the makers of Pro Tools, have produced one a of Pro Tools windows computers as well as a list of Apple macOS computer approved for Pro Tools.
Below are some recent articles but click here for the archive of articles on what computer to use for Pro Tools.
Lastly, this is a user community so if you would like to send in your thoughts and experiences of buying or building a Pro Tools computer than contact us with your buying a Pro Tools computer tips and tricks.
In this article, community member Chris Testa is going to share his recent transition from using Pro Tools natively with the Dolby Audio Bridge, to a Dolby Atmos HDX Hybrid Engine system. This new system allows him to utilise the power of the HDX DSP with the Hybrid Engine along with the computer’s native power while mixing in Atmos all on the same computer with the most recent version of ProTools Ultimate. Over to you Chris…
Korey Pereira whose Dolby Atmos upgrade we featured had to replace his Pro Tools computer in a hurry when his cheese-grater failed unexpectedly. This is the story of what he chose to replace it with so that he could continue working in audio post-production and Dolby Atmos.
In the first of two articles from Michael Carnes the man behind Exponential Audio, Michael suggests we should not pay too much attention to the System Usage Meter in Pro Tools. Over to you Michael…
In this article we are going to look at the different options for each Apple Mac computer model and explore which could be the most suitable as a Pro Tools computer. We will look at each Apple Mac computer, its strengths and weaknesses as a potential Pro Tools computer together two costed options, a basic option and a superior option.
A couple of weeks ago we repeated a poll from 2015 in which we wanted to learn more about what type and format of Pro Tools computer you use now. In this article we compare the results from the two polls and see how the choice of which computer you use for Pro Tools has changed over the last four years.
In this article we are going to look at the different options that will be available in the new cheese-grater style Mac Pro, which options would be most appropriate for a Mac Pro 7,1 Pro Tools computer and how much a new Mac Pro optimised for Pro Tools is likely to cost based on the information we have at this point.
With this poll we wanted to learn more about what type and format of Pro Tools computer you use now. We asked this question just under 4 years ago and it will interesting to see what differences there are now in what kind of computer you are using for Pro Tools now compared to 4 years ago.
It’s almost four years since I wrote Five Reasons I Use A Windows PC For Pro Tools. In this article, I’m going to review my original reasons for choosing Windows and see how they stack up now, and look at what has changed.
Jonah Walton is a producer, artist and mix engineer based out of Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He has been a professional Pro Tools user for over 20 years. In this article, Jonah shares his experience building a Windows PC for his Pro Tools computer and explains his choices for each of the technical components used to create his ultimate workstation machine running Windows 10.
Following on from our article The New Apple Mac Mini 2018 Is Described As Awesome But Is It A Good Pro Tools Machine? in which we looked at the suitability of the new Mac mini as a Pro Tools computer, we asked community member Simon Nakra to share his experiences.
Can a share of market switch so much in the space of 3 years? The shocking result of our Pro Tools computer poll…
Now we have teamed up with iZ Technology, the makers of RADAR and Windows audio gurus and Create Pro, custom build specialists and Mac gurus, we wanted to see how many Pro Tools users are on Windows PC and how many on Mac OS X?
Whilst I have been on vacation Apple went and released the new MacBook Pro machines and then Russ highlighted why he probably would not be buying one. My situation, on the other hand, is somewhat different as I have a 2012 MacBook Pro, which after 6 years is starting to misbehave, so I am looking at the new MacBook Pro as a replacement. Will the new 2018 MacBook Pro, tick all my boxes? Read on to find out…
In part 1 of series designed to help people get started with Pro Tools, we looked at choosing an interface and software. In part 2, we will look at choosing a Pro Tools computer and hard drives to put your sessions and media onto.
Flavio Buonerba wrote into the Pro Tools Expert podcast, telling us all about his incredible self-build cross-platform Pro Tools host computer. Flavio gave so much detail and great tips, that we decided that it would best serve the community to publish his experience in full detail, for everyone to enjoy and learn from.
Post Production Specialist Alan Sallabank looks into building a "Plan B" Pro Tools Host Computer, on a budget.
Following reports that indicate Intel processors from the last 10 years suffer from a severe chip-level security bug that The Register reports the fix must be undertaken at the OS level. We now know that Apple's recent High Sierra updates are safe from the Meltdown bug, and a fix for the Spectre bug is in the works and Microsoft has released fixes too. We will bring you more as we get it.
We get a lot of people asking us what we think is going to be happening in the world of recording during any given year. First, we look back at our predictions for 2017 before offering our 5 audio recording industry predictions for 2018.
Community member Knut Richard Vanderloock decided to take on the challenge to see if he could get his older machine with Thunderbolt 1 to work with his UAD hardware, even though it is not supported by UAD. In part 1, he ended up having to reinstall Windows 10, In this second part, he has more success and covers preparing the system, the system settings including BIOS, the correct installation routine, and shares a video of his working setup.
Late last year UAD announced Apollo Windows 10 Thunderbolt Compatibility but with the caveat that PCs must be equipped with Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C and that older Thunderbolt systems will NOT be supported. However, maybe an older computer with Thunderbolt 1 could be persuaded to work? Community member Knut Richard Vanderloock decided to take on the challenge
Apple has already announced that there will be new iMacs released later this year, but rumours are now circulating that towards the end of 2017 Apple will also release an iMac with ‘server-grade’ components and the upgrades to the existing iMacs Now expected in September 2017.
Last week in the second of our series of articles and polls on looking at what Apple Mac Pro Tools computers, you own, when you will replace them and now in the 3rd and final article in the series, we ask what will you replace your Apple Mac Pro Tools computer with? Will it be another Mac or could it be a Windows computer?
Richard Rogers, founder of Workstation Pros and one of our partners, attended NAMM 2017 and has come away with some interesting thoughts about the computers we use in the Pro Audio Industry. He makes a case for the service of Workstation Pro in a world more an more reliant on laptop computers for audio production.
The RADAR recording and playback system is well known as a tool for commercial audio, creative composing and recording, scoring stages, sound editing, post-production, video game sound design, and mix down. Now iZ Technology want to make RADAR the system of choice for live event capture and multi-channel playback as well.
Thinking of specifying a Windows Pro Tools computer with the latest 7th generation Intel (Kaby Lake) or AMD processors? Well Microsoft have some news for you - Windows versions older than 10, so 7 and 8.1, will not be supported by the latest processors.
For those who asked here is the transcription of our exclusive interview with Tony Cariddi from Avid, the makers of Pro Tools, to discuss a lot of Pro Tools related subjects.
Got One Of These In Your Windows 7 Pro Tools Computer? Then be VERY careful about installing the recent Microsoft Windows 7 update - KB3133977.
Our friends at Avid, the makers of Pro Tools, have announced that Pro Tools 12.5 is now supported on Windows 10 but there are specific Hardware Buffer limitations for Pro Tools HD on Windows 10.
Some might argue that Apple has left behind Pro Tools and other professional audio users a long time ago when they dropped the 'cheesegrater' Mac Pro 5,1, Their pursuit of power-saving features and the disabling of under-the-hood options, together with a change in hardware choices with the 6,1 Mac Pro ‘Trash Can’ and then with the announcement of the Mac Pro 7,1 new-style cheese-grater is Apple still making life hard for Professional Audio users?
We are starting to see a growth in what are described as super wide seamless monitor screens and we wondered if this was something that would appeal to Pro Tools users. We take a look at the benefits and drawbacks.