What computer specs would be perfect for Finale?

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MikeHalloran
Posts: 706
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2017 2:56 am
Finale Version: 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by MikeHalloran » Fri May 11, 2018 1:21 pm

Hector Pascal wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm the OP. I am pleased to have read all the input from the forum, which is appreciated. I thought I'd update you on my circumstances:

So, originally I complained about the slow speed of Finale. Not long ago, I was using it when all of a sudden the screen started to look funny and the computer turned off. I successfully booted it up again, then I wisely transferred my files to another computer for safe keeping. Having done that, I could not get the computer to boot up properly. I did extensive research and tried many tricks pertaining to rebooting and even reinstalling OS etc, but nothing worked. I took it to Apple and they said that the model of iMac that I bought (iMac 27in mid-2011) had a graphics card manufacturing fault. For a couple of years, they replaced the graphics cards for free, but I was too late to participate in the replacement program as mine didn't konk out until recently. They said they could replace it for $1000 if I hurried, adding that my machine was soon to be considered as "legacy" and therefore not repairable by Apple Centre even for any price. I was unsure what to. The faulty card was an AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5. The computers other vital statistics were a 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM 4x4GB, 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB SSD.

PS: MikeHalloran, some people "baked" their faulty cards in the oven and claimed that it fixed the issue. But I didn't try it because i think it is too risky to use it afterwards for things like my work.
I agree. The big problem with iMacs is that they’re ovens. Putting a very hot motor inside makes it worse and the WD Caviar Black is one of the hottest. My electric bill went down and my office is more comfortable after I replaced it with a 2T SSD (piece of cake). Heat is te enemy. My wife’s 2011 has that same card but I pulled the HHD from it and my 2010 three years ago now. Knock on wood.
Mike Halloran

Finale 27.3, SmartScore X2 Pro, GPO5 & World Instruments
MacOS Ventura 13.2.1; 2017 iMac Pro 18 Core, 128G RAM, 4TB; 2021 MBAir M1
NotePerformer3, Dorico 4, Overture, Notion 6, DP 11, Logic Pro


Midibim
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:57 pm
Finale Version: 25
Operating System: Mac

Post by Midibim » Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:19 pm

Finale now makes use of hyper threading... multiuse of cores. I called Apple to check, and he checked with Finale. I do not know how many cores. I’m here, myself to figure out which iMac pro to get. I am using a 16 go ram 2015 iMac and it does work well until I get a full orchestra at 60 measures. Then it crashes. According to Mac and Finale, the more ram you have, the more it can remember at once. I do not know how many cores to get though. There is a limit every program with hyper threading can manage. If you are running other programs other than Finale it can help. Also running finales scrolling feature can be a separate core. Garritan can be one, and the main program too.

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