powerbook g4 with protools digi 002 rack users

georgedk · 8th July 2004

I have searched to the end of the internet for insight on this issue and only have received half answered answers. I'm considering investing in a 1.33 ghz powerbook g4 laptop to run protools. With an external firewire drive (7200 rpm) and 512 megs of ram or a gig what kind of performance should I expect? Will it be sufficient to run protools with 32 tracks with plugins going? I know I expect too much from the powerbook but I plan to do live recordings, so would the powerbook handle recording 16 tracks (8 in from the digi 002 rack and 8 via lightpipe, stand alone from a motu 828) at 48 k? and since the 12' powerbook g4 only has one firewire 400 port and I may have the digi 002 rack and two firewire drives daisy chained should i suspect problems in performance.

remo · 9th July 2004

Best to ask this kind of thing HERE

gsharp · 9th July 2004

512 on the ram is fine. Unless you're running soft synths (which I'm guessing you're not) you won't need that much. It's cpu horsepower all the way that matters (softsynths and the like use a bunch of ram, regular fx type stuff don't).

The other key is the firewire drive. You'll be fine, especially with the 32 track limitation on a 002. I run 40-50 tracks on an internal IDE drive (essentially the same as your external) w/ my Mix+ all the time.

The real cpu hogs are reverb plugs. On a 1.33 you'll be able to run eq's and dynamics for days. Throw up a couple verbs and things start to bog down. Just keep it in mind.

I have a client who hangs 2 drives off his 002R running on a 1.5ghz and the only real issue is when he needs serious polyphony from his Kontakt sampler plug-in. Otherwise things are super smooth.

Best of luck.

g

8th July 2004	#1
georgedk Gear interested Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Koreatown, Los Angeles CA Posts: 1 Thread Starter	powerbook g4 with protools digi 002 rack users I have searched to the end of the internet for insight on this issue and only have received half answered answers. I'm considering investing in a 1.33 ghz powerbook g4 laptop to run protools. With an external firewire drive (7200 rpm) and 512 megs of ram or a gig what kind of performance should I expect? Will it be sufficient to run protools with 32 tracks with plugins going? I know I expect too much from the powerbook but I plan to do live recordings, so would the powerbook handle recording 16 tracks (8 in from the digi 002 rack and 8 via lightpipe, stand alone from a motu 828) at 48 k? and since the 12' powerbook g4 only has one firewire 400 port and I may have the digi 002 rack and two firewire drives daisy chained should i suspect problems in performance.

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9th July 2004	#2
remo Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 545	Best to ask this kind of thing HERE

9th July 2004	#3
gsharp Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 722	512 on the ram is fine. Unless you're running soft synths (which I'm guessing you're not) you won't need that much. It's cpu horsepower all the way that matters (softsynths and the like use a bunch of ram, regular fx type stuff don't). The other key is the firewire drive. You'll be fine, especially with the 32 track limitation on a 002. I run 40-50 tracks on an internal IDE drive (essentially the same as your external) w/ my Mix+ all the time. The real cpu hogs are reverb plugs. On a 1.33 you'll be able to run eq's and dynamics for days. Throw up a couple verbs and things start to bog down. Just keep it in mind. I have a client who hangs 2 drives off his 002R running on a 1.5ghz and the only real issue is when he needs serious polyphony from his Kontakt sampler plug-in. Otherwise things are super smooth. Best of luck. g