Consulting computer purchase

Support
1

Hello Chris,

My name is Michael Yoo, a postdoc working with Mehrdad. I plan to buy a MacPro for a new primate rig, and Mehrdad advised me to consult with you before the purchase.

The main reason we want MacPro is the PCIe connector (though special order may be required for PCIe), which will give faster and robust communication between the stimulus-presenting computer and NI-DAQ card. Though I heard Hansem (senior postdoc in our lab) resolved compatibility between Mworks and USB-based NI-DAQ card by installing NI-DAQmx Base 15.0, I wonder whether there are any other issues using PCIe-based NI-DAQ with Mworks. If I understand correctly, the hardware would not matter, but NI-DAQmx Base does.

Thank you for your input.

Best regards,
Michael

2

Hi Michael,

National Instruments has ended support for macOS. They say that NI-DAQmx Base 15.0 is not compatible with macOS 10.15 or later. Since 10.15 is the oldest macOS release supported by the current Mac Pro, I expect that you won’t be able to use any NI hardware (PCIe or USB) with that system.

I’m not aware of any other manufacturers producing Mac-compatible, PCIe DAQ hardware, so I think you’ll have to use a USB device even if you do buy a Mac Pro.

Cheers,
Chris