Best Audio I/o For Mac G5 Options

[CanadaRAM]

Don't confuse RAM with processing power.

Having too little RAM will slow you down because the machine has to swap out information to the hard drive. Once you have "enough" RAM, your machine will run at full potential, and adding more RAM will not speed it up further. Of course, "enough" is a variable number that depends on what you are running for programs and how large your sessions are.

Improving the DSP/VST performance depends on adding processing power. One way is starting with a powerful computer, dual G5 2 GHz or 2,5 GHz.

Another way is to move some tasks (samplers, etc.) to another computer and run them in parallel. Logic 7 has added some features for this, also check out Cubase's VST Stack and research what if any ability it has to integrate with your main setup. Some people run one or more Intel PC's as dedicated Gigastudio playback stations.

There are also effect/VST co-processors available from TC (the Powercore series, both internal PCI and external Firewire) and Universal Audio (UAD- series internal PCI). These provide additional CPU(s) to run effects and instruments, reducing the load on the computer's CPU. They only run the VST devices programmed for them, however, you can't arbitrarily assign your favorite soft synth to a Powercore for example.

Here's one thing to keep in mind: once you start running multiple hard drives, Firewire A/D-D/A devices, Firewire Powercore(s) you are going to have a major traffic jam on your Firewire bus.

Install two internal hard drives. Put your system and applications on one, reserve the other for audio data, then ONLY use the internal audio drive for your current work. Archive and backup to the Firewire drives of course, but don't use them for live capture/playback/mixing. This is to keep the data traffic away from your Firewire interface and/or Powercore.

Alternatively, install one or more Firewire 800 PCI cards, and or a SATA PCI card with external connections, so that each hard drive/ Powercore/ A/D-D/A can be given its own channel to run at full bandwidth.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[istiban]

Hello,
I am building up my modest home studio, so unfortunately money will be a big factor. I've just bought a 1.8 DP G5.

The problem: I've an apparently incompatible Delta44 i/o I bought way back in 2001. From posts, I've gathered that the Delta44 is noisy when used with 1.8 DP & that Apple/M-audio aren't dealing with the issue (ugh).

so...here are my questions:

1) What are the top contenders in the $200-300 range AD/DA converter and Audio I/O that is compatible with MAC G5 1.8 dp (o/s: Panther).

2) What's the smartest way to go with the power a g4 1.8dp's got onboard...firewire perhaps?

I'm quite the newbie here, so I'd really appreciate some help

Thanks in advance.

((steveo)))

[The Guitar God]

my fave audio I/O is the m-audio mobile-pre and it is quite cheap. Its small and practical and isnt going to blow the bank. I couldnt reccomend a store because your american. But you could type it into froogle to get a cheap price, i found it for £119.

[Billy T]

Hi folks

anybody using an MBox with logic and a G5 in their studio? If so, has it been an enjoyable experience? I've had for a while and its caused me nothing but grief. If its possible to get it stable then I'd like to stick with it (for financial reasons) but don't want to be wasting my time.

Thanks

[jeffca]

Since you asked, check out the Prism Sound ADA-8XR. It is the ultimate hook up. It also costs about $9,000. If that's too much, any of the stuff by Apogee Digital kicks ass. If that's still too pricey, check out MOTU's stuff.

All of the stuff I mentioned is THE stuff to have at their price points, but what you need for your studio and the type of music you're producing will dictate how important and feature rich your I/O has to be.

To future proof your purchase, you'll probably want to stay with Firewire as opposed to a PCI card solution. I have a MOTU 2408/308 rig hooked to my G5. When I bought it, Firewire was in its infancy and there were no I/O's available. As it stands, though, I'd still need this system so that I could connect all of my digital effects to my DAW.

Let me offer one bit of specific advice since I'm already in the boat you're boarding: load your G5 with an extra 2gb of RAM and spend the money you'd have spent on the rest of the RAM on a Powercore or UAD-1, some plug ins (the Sony Oxford plugs are fantastic) and a fast Firewire drive such as a Medea G-Raid.

Even now, most apps can't access more than 2 gigs of RAM. While this may not be the case with Logic, you'd have to be running ridiculously large samples in an absurd number of soft synths to run a G5 out of steam that has 2.5gb of memory. Considering Logic's powerful Freeze function, you'd be seeing little or no benefit from the extra RAM.

I would seriously suggest a G-Raid as your project drive. It has G5 cosmetics and Medea is a real player in AV storage solutions. While a second S-ATA drive in the G5 will be good as extra storage and on-line back up, drives get unbelievably hot in that cramped drive bay. Both the OEM and the second Hitachi drives that I have in my G5 fried in less than 6 months when I was running audio projects on the internals. Ever since I got the array, everything is running smooth.

That's my 2 cents.
Jeff

This post has been edited by jeffca: Tue 11 Jan 2005, 16:48