minimal HD setup

[CrazyBeast]

Greetings and thanks in advance for any help..

So, I have been running a suped-up Digi 001 for many years, ordered a 003 factory (trade-in) recently, which is taking forever to arrive. I am considering bagging on this and trying to get a minimal HD setup going.

I am quite busy and occasionally get a 96k session that makes it hard to work with my setup. So, I'm not interested in "get a radar", "cubase", etc type responses - I appreciate diversity and all, but "I yam what i yam" as they say..

I don't use a ton of plugins (although I mix ITB a fair amount of the time), and I have external convertors that I would prefer to continue to use..

All the various Accel/Process/Hd1/2/3, PCI(e) stuff makes my head hurt. Here is what I have and use currently and would love to keep and use as much of it as possible.

G4 (PCI)
Digi 001 - PT 6.4
HEDD (older 44/48) only - currently used for D/A. AES or ADAT
Spider (96k), 8 channels of A/D, also AES or ADAT
Mytek 8x96 AD - not really using currently, except for connecting up to fx via AES
Mytek 8x96 DA


I know there is the direct connection option with the newer Apogee and Lynx boxes?

So, long story short - if anyone could give me a solid answer on what the minimal hardware/software I could use to get an HD setup going, keeping as much of the above as possible, that would be swell. I'd prefer not to change the computer for now, and do another upgrade in a while to update the computer, switch to PCIe and maybe add some more firepower.

Again, thanks for any and all help. Cheers!

[bhp]

If you're going to spend the money on a HD system, you should spend the extra $2k and get a new computer, not so much for the power, but for the newer PCIe slots.
You could probably find a refurb G5 or go new with Intel. That G4 will work fine, but you're going to have to replace it soon and if you get digi cards to work in that computer, they will be obsolete when you change it. The loss of money to upgrade your cards later is more than the cost of a new computer now.

I have small portable system with HD Core, accel, process.
1 Apogee AD 16x, 1 Rosetta (24inx8out)
The Apogees connect straight to the Digi cards.
It works and sounds great.

As for the other gear I'd sell it and get Apogees, models depend on your I/O needs. Keep the Spider and go into half of an AD 16x via AES. If you keep the other gear you'll need to get a 192 digital and that just adds more hardware.

One large upgrade now makes more sense to me and should save you money in the long run.

[CrazyBeast]

Thx for your reponse.

So what is the minimal card set? Can you get by with just the core card? I'm not familiar with what the various cards do and whether I would need them at the moment.

[bhp]

I would get al least an HD2. As a package, the cards are cheaper and you usually get extra plugs.
If you get PCIe cards (for your new computer), your core will be Accel and more powerful.

[blackcatdigi]

Originally Posted by CrazyBeast

I am considering bagging on this and trying to get a minimal HD setup going. All the various Accel/Process/Hd1/2/3, PCI(e) stuff makes my head hurt. Here is what I have and use currently and would love to keep and use as much of it as possible.

G4 (PCI)
Digi 001 - PT 6.4
HEDD (older 44/48) only - currently used for D/A. AES or ADAT
Spider (96k), 8 channels of A/D, also AES or ADAT
Mytek 8x96 AD - not really using currently, except for connecting up to fx via AES
Mytek 8x96 DA

IIRC, the PCI slots were changed from 3.5v to 5v (or vice-versa), so your G4 isn't compatible with current PCI-X HD cards.

Other than that, you could use a HD Core with a Digital 192 interface. This would allow you to use all your outboard converters (up to 16 ins and outs).

So, long story short - if anyone could give me a solid answer on what the minimal hardware/software I could use to get an HD setup going, keeping as much of the above as possible, that would be swell. I'd prefer not to change the computer for now, and do another upgrade in a while to update the computer, switch to PCIe and maybe add some more firepower.

Honestly, since your computer is incompatible with HD and you're buying new (to you) cards anyway, I'd recommend you go ahead and 'bite the bullet' and buy a new Mac Pro desktop and get the PCIe (Accel) Core card. You'll get a lot more horsepower out of the newer CPU that can be utilized for R/TAS processing.

BTW- AFAIK, the so-called Accel Core offers no additional processing power over the regular Core; The Accel 'definition' is purely for defined identification purposes.

[bhp]

the so-called Accel Core offers no additional processing power over the regular Core

Anybody want to clarify this?
I've been told by Digi that the Accel core does have more power.