I'm not sure if UAD has mac support, check it up at mackie.com.
Are you happy with the plugins you've got?
The UAD is about 1000$(in sweden) so if it's more processing power you need you should go for a new cpu. BUT from what I've heard the plugins on UAD sounds really great. I would buy a UAD for the sound not for the extra cpu power.

hey there eskimo.....i like the waves plug sounds and the logic ones are ok on the smaller stuff but i wonder if it is more the hard drive issue, slow seek times ...i have been tweaking the extensions and got it to nothing basically but when you hit the big drums and everything in at once place....it crashes, frozen solid.....do you use scsi drives or ide...(yes the uad is supported on mac) thanks

I've just built myself a PCsystem and am in the works trying it out:
p4-2,4 Ghz
512Mb DDR
20gb OS
120Gb Audio

So far so good. haven't recorded much yet.
No need for SCSI and I really don't think that's your issue either(except if you're recording on 5400rpm drives?).
I could get far more tracks out of my 7200 rpm disk than I'll ever need.

thanks for the info eskimo, i took the mix over to my partners place and he has an new 1ghz dual and the thing was shutting down at the same place with the waves ren verb on it....that thing is a pig.....do you know of any other plugin verbs that are good but not so heavy on the diet...thanks

You could always get a nice hardware-reverb. REALLY easy on the CPU :D

hardware stuff ....yeah but then i need a mixer and a good reverb....and also i have tried it with my dep5 and comps and art tube pre/comp and i get latency and put loads on the bus for the aux imputs....same thing applies......cpu freeze.....I am looking into the uad 1 card because it sounds good i hear and allows you to at least run some good verbs and comps without spending the money on a 1.25 dp.....and the big thing is .....i got the money in digital now...i need to work in digital....grow some ears and ideas for it......my apartment is too small for analog! thanks for the reply

I say do both. ha ha ha. If it's with-in your budget of course being the holidays. But even though you get the UAD card and if it works with your mac, wouldn't a faster CPU be cheaper and give you more overhead for the buck?

i don't know, if going large in the macworld is worth it. I work with a dual ghz at the studio and i bring mixes home and can survive most of the plugs, except those darn reverbs.....!!!!!but who uses reverbs nowadays.... maybe i should just get a 480 and get it over with....do you guys still mix and match daw with analog gear....ie into mixer and use the outboard effects? cheers mark

Investing in the right analog equipment is the real deal.
I use the digi001 on a 733mHz pc, mix all with plugins except the reverb. For that I bought a Lexicon PCM 91 and use it's s/pdif capabilities and get mixes that sound a lot more professionnal. That machine sounds so clear compared to all the reverb plugins that I tried before, and it's got 2 lexichip that I can use as 2 simultaneous reverbs !!! What a deal !!
Not afraid anymore to put a small room on drums, it sounds natural and my CPU loves it..

Nothing but the best, forget all the rest.

Hi,

Just thought I'd throw in my 2cents here.

I have a dual Powermac G4 800 + UAD-1 card, TC Powercore card, full set of waves plug ins, etc.

I love and use the Waves stuff but to be honest I use if only for special lo track count situations.

I would reccommend getting the powercore card for reverb, their new compressor, and the ability to use the Oxford eqs ( $500 extra). The classic verb is really hardware quality and is part of the powercore suite. I'm adding a second powercore for the Oxford EQ's (killer, I used em last week). The UAD card also allows you access to some really nice plug ins (Nigel, Pultec, 1176, LA2a emulations, etc.)

I wouldn't even try to mix with less than a couple of these cards. This is especially true if you use many VST virtual instruments (another CPU load killer). For a 24 track mix I feel 2 Powercores and a UAD1 is a pretty powerful combo. Universal audio says they are adding multiple card capability to their line soon (powercore cards already have this). I can see getting a pci expansion chassis as a good move as one fills up those slots.

For the record I'm using Logic 5.5, Nuendo 1.6, Metric Halo 2882+ interface, Eventide Orville (for some outboard fx).

good luck,

raregroove