Problems with Pro-Tools card and G5?

[kman12681]

Hi,

I am going to be purchasing a powermac in the near future and have a question that I hope someone might know the answer to. I am going to be running FCP4 and pro-tools LE (mbox) and will probably go for the dual 1.25 G4. However, since i need to wait till the end of this month at least, the possibility exists that I might be able to afford a dual G5. But I've heard of problems with the pro-tools card and the G5 - granted, I won't be using a card with mbox, but I want the option to upgrade to PT 24 or HD in the future. I've only heard of vague problems and i'm not sure what the symptoms are, but does anyone know what the problem is or was with the powermac G5 and protools cards, if indeed there is one. And is this problem cleared up by now in the newer models? Thanks for any insight.

- Keith

 

[g30ffr3y]

i know the digi001 card will never be supported, but im sure digidesign need to get something together if they dont already for their TDM systems... how is the mbox anyway???

 

[kman12681]

Mbox is great, if you have a fast enough setup to take care of the processing for pro-tools rather than digidesign hardware. for the money and uses, mbox is probably comparable to digi001-002 - provided your system is decently equipped in processing. plus it's very portable. and i just looked through the digidesign website and found the compatability. so i guess everything is generally cool. i have heard stories from a friend of a friend that something is a little sketchy about the cards. But it's totally unfounded, and I have no further ideas about it. Thanks for your help

keith

 

[kman12681]

so it appears that pro-tools 24/mix systems are not really compatible with G5's.. looks like they want you to go straight to HD. that's probably why i've heard about problems with the cards - not a lot of people have HD yet. but I'm sure that will change soon

 

[kman12681]

so it appears that pro-tools 24/mix systems are not really compatible with G5's.. looks like they want you to go straight to HD. that's probably why i've heard about problems with the cards - not a lot of people have HD yet. but I'm sure that will change soon

 

[g30ffr3y]

isnt there a general dissatisfaction with digidesign anyhow... with logic, DP, live, cubase and countless other programs that dont demand proprietary hardware... i want a g5 one day, but ill be damned if i trade digidesign back my digi001 and 1700 bucks just so i can get back to a working rig...

 

[legion]

HD Accel runs fine in a 2x2 G5 (plus with the limited slots in a G5, it's helpful an HD card runs like 3 mix cards) An expansion chassis becomes necessary, though, if you need to have a powerful ProTools system (damn Apple and the limited slots!)

 

[legion]

Originally posted by g30ffr3y
isnt there a general dissatisfaction with digidesign anyhow... with logic, DP, live, cubase and countless other programs that dont demand proprietary hardware... i want a g5 one day, but ill be damned if i trade digidesign back my digi001 and 1700 bucks just so i can get back to a working rig...

The angst towards proprietary hardware from a Mac user is rich... Wouldn't the "proprietary hardware" for Logic be a Macintosh system? True the Digidesign lack of a means to make the digi001 usable in a G5 is annoying, but it was Apple who changed the rules. All the qualified systems for the 001 still work as when you bought the card. Digidesign attempts to guarantee a certain level of performance from their "solutions" which is only possible when using their software and hardware. A similar level of thinking is applied by another company we all know. One way or another, if you're trying to do heavy lifting in music production you'll end up needing DSP chip boards (Powercore, UAD/1, etc); digi is just telling you to use their hardware in order to eliminate potential problems.

Personally, I'm not a ProTools fan (I only use it when necessary even though I have a rig)-- but the "proprietary hardware" argument doesn't hold water with me. I'm more annoyed about Digidesign being stagnate in development and overpricing.

 

[kanker]

Originally posted by legion
but the "proprietary hardware" argument doesn't hold water with me. I'm more annoyed about Digidesign being stagnate in development and overpricing.

Yeah, that's the main knock on Digidesign right now. There customer support ain't the greatest when it comes to updates for new OS's, and their drivers still don't support Core Audio in any meaningful way.