Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

We need to run another PCIe audio card next to our Accel cards in our Mac Pros. Will Avid Native cards and Accel cards both work when next to each other in the same Mac Pro? What about Accel cards next to one of the ADAT optical lightpipe PCIe cards out there? Will any other PCIe audio card work next to Accel cards?

Why this is required:
Having three Pro Tools Accel Mac Pros that need to run 8+ channels of audio in both PT10 TDM and PT11 is excruciating. We can't even run PT 11 via 8 ch of Core Audio through the Accel cards, so now when running PT11, we lose our expensive, gorgeous sounding Avid HD IOs which are only connected to the Accel cards! So so so messed up. We take out the Accel cards and we lose 1/2 of our clients instantly that need Accel cards for TDM plugin-based sessions. The Accel cards must stay, yet we need to get 8+ channels of near zero latency audio when running PT11 out of the same machine.

Can't get Firewire or USB interfaces due to unusable latency. Can't go Thunderbolt interface because Accel Mac Pros don't have Thunderbolt. Must be some PCIe audio card next to the Accel cards.

Griping:
And please don't suggest any crazy ideas, having two Mac Pros in each room is not viable on any level for us. It's bad enough buying three more high-end ADDA interfaces with three new PCIe cards, AND WIRING THEM INTO THREE NEW PATCHBAYS. ($15k-$20k) Avid, please enable us to simply run PT with Accel cards via 8 channels Core Audio (like Logic and all other DAWs can.) Hundreds (thousands?) of loyal PT studios need Accel cards for years to come to keep guest engineer clients that mostly have PT7-10 sessions with never-AAX EchoFarms, etc galore...and the other half of clients are demanding PT11. This in such a horrible and unnecessary situation.

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

I think you knew the answer before you typed. TDM will simply not work with PT11, native or HDX.

I don't know if you can mix TDM cards and an HD native card in the same computer. If you could, that would be your only option when you require the use if your avid I/O's.

You could use a Universal Audio boxes to allow you to track through plugs with close to no latency. But not through you HD I/O's.

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

It seems the only reasonable solution costs a little money.

What you need is two expansion chassis, one with HD|Accel and another with HD|Native. Then set up a dual-boot system drive (two partitions, two separate installs, one with PT10 and another with PT11).

And naturally, you swap expansion chassis cable before you re-boot to another system. That is the only way to be able to use both in same Mac Pro.

That said;

I would strongly suggest that instead what I just said, buy a new top-of-the-line and fully loaded MBP + HD|Native Thunderbolt. Doesn't cost any more than the expansion chassis route but gives you another separate system (that you can put out of sight easily). You only need to swap the DigiLink cable from the native box to the Mac Pro when you swap systems.

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

Anyone? Will Avid Native cards and Accel cards both work when next to each other in the same Mac Pro? What about Accel cards next to one of the ADAT optical lightpipe PCIe cards out there? Will any other PCIe audio card work next to Accel cards?

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

Still hoping for an answer for this one.

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

I've been using MOTU firewire next to accel and hdx systems for core audio.
Maybe get a loaner motu, ua, focusrite or other firewire and give it a try.
If you currently have hd10 and hd11 hd11 could use the fw i/o

You would need a way to at least change monitor a to moitor b for listening.
(Bay or switch)
......
If you did get an hd native demo on a backup clone only install the hd11 driver.
Do not install hd 10 for HD/HDX but only tdm.
Going between the two would require moving the i/o cable.

I have read some other posts that have addressed this type of setup.

T

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

Still still hoping for an answer for this one.

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

Anyone? Will Avid Native cards and Accel cards both work when next to each other in the same Mac Pro? What about Accel cards next to one of the ADAT optical lightpipe PCIe cards out there? Will any other PCIe audio card work next to Accel cards?

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

Given the lack of response, I suggest actually doing it on a single system to see if it will work:o. Most of us here have either decided to stay at 1-HD and keep using the old hardware, OR, have made the move to newer systems. The key to experimenting(and I am all for it:D) is to always have a good backup plan. For me, that would be to pull the system drive and pop in a fresh drive, load up your dual-boot OSX versions, install some cards and give it a run. If it were me, I would probably update 1 system at a time to either HDX or HD/Native(PCIe) and move things ahead:o

Given the number of slots in the Mac Pro, would I be correct in guessing you have HD1 or HD2? From my experience with HD3, a native-based system with decent cpu and RAM may turn better performance than HD1 or HD2(indeed, I had projects choke my friend's HD3 rig that ran with ease on my native rig):o

BTW, your old IO boxes will likely work dandy with HD/Native cards(my current setup uses a pair of HD IO boxes and an older 192 for extra IO and hardware inserts).

Re: Accel Cards next to other PCIe Audio Cards in the same Mac Pro for PT 10+11?
 

I finally put a PCIe Native card into my 2010 Mac Pro with my Accel 2 card system still installed. Fail. Did not work.