Track count for a G4 550 Powerbook?

Kevin Kitchel · 1st March 2005

I am interested in doing some scratch recordings with an older powerbook that I think I found a good deal on. Its a TiBook GigE 550. With 256M RAM would I be able to record 8 tracks at once with a low end firewire interface (828)? I would not use this for mixing at all. I would probably use Audiodesk, or some other free or cheap software.

theblue1 · 2nd March 2005

Which OS? X won't be a happy fit in 256 MB.

Ruairi · 3rd March 2005

Hi Kevin,

I ran a 550 mhz Powerbook with PT LE and a Magma chassis for a year. I happily recorded 24 tracks of 24 bit/44.1 khz at a time onto an external firewire. I never tried to max out the internal drive but I remember recording 8 tracks regularly. Add some RAM, I had a gig in that powerbook, it makes a big difference to the performance,

cheers,
Ruairi

Kevin Kitchel · 4th March 2005

thanks for the replys guys!

I will probably bump the RAM up to 512, and find a good deal on a 7200 RPM 2.5" drive provided I can work with heat issues.

I am a systems engineer at a print company, and I know a lot about mac hardware/software. I know a lot of OS X specific and Unix tweaks to get OS X a little leaner, and have got it running with 32M on a iMac rev a. Running lean and fast on that machine with 128M! (YMMV)

One of the craziest things about OS X is that 10.3 is faster on lower end machines than 10.1 and 10.2!

1st March 2005	#1
Kevin Kitchel Gear interested Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 21 Thread Starter	Track count for a G4 550 Powerbook? I am interested in doing some scratch recordings with an older powerbook that I think I found a good deal on. Its a TiBook GigE 550. With 256M RAM would I be able to record 8 tracks at once with a low end firewire interface (828)? I would not use this for mixing at all. I would probably use Audiodesk, or some other free or cheap software. __________________ music.kitchel.net

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2nd March 2005	#2
theblue1 Gear Guru Joined: Mar 2005 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 15,095	Which OS? X won't be a happy fit in 256 MB.

3rd March 2005	#3
Ruairi Gear addict Joined: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 465	Hi Kevin, I ran a 550 mhz Powerbook with PT LE and a Magma chassis for a year. I happily recorded 24 tracks of 24 bit/44.1 khz at a time onto an external firewire. I never tried to max out the internal drive but I remember recording 8 tracks regularly. Add some RAM, I had a gig in that powerbook, it makes a big difference to the performance, cheers, Ruairi

4th March 2005	#4
Kevin Kitchel Gear interested Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 21 Thread Starter	thanks for the replys guys! I will probably bump the RAM up to 512, and find a good deal on a 7200 RPM 2.5" drive provided I can work with heat issues. I am a systems engineer at a print company, and I know a lot about mac hardware/software. I know a lot of OS X specific and Unix tweaks to get OS X a little leaner, and have got it running with 32M on a iMac rev a. Running lean and fast on that machine with 128M! (YMMV) One of the craziest things about OS X is that 10.3 is faster on lower end machines than 10.1 and 10.2!