Expansion chassis for a MIX24 system

[troncomac]

Hi i'm currently working with a MAC G4 Dual 1Ghz (MDD model) with 3 MIXFARM and a MIXCORE (Mix24+++ system) installed inside. Depending on what i have to mix, I switch from 10.3.4 where Protools 6.4.1 is installed to 9.2.2 and PT 5.1 where i have tons of TDM plugins. I was thinking of buying some used Expansion Chassis (7 or 13 slot) just for PROTOOLS in order to free some PCI slot in my G4 for additional USB2 and Video Cards and to install some more MIX or DSP cards. Furthermore i have some problems trying to boot my system now: i have to switch it on and then off and finally on again in order to make the G4 start....and i would hope to solve also this problem with a Chassis. Now the question is: is every chassis certified by Digidesign compatible with my system?? Is there any risk if i buy the chassis on ebay without even trying it (i mean compatibility problems...)?? Should i look for some specific model??? Some friend of mine told me i have to try it out before buying because chassis compatibility is a very delicate question....is it true???????

TIA

[Jeff Ulmer]

Chassis are very finicky even when compatible. You need specific bridge chips to work with the G4, the chassis must have PCI 2.1 compliance, it must have the right power supply... I don't think a chassis is going to solve your problems, in my experience they only add to them. I would only consider a chassis that is known to work on your specific machine, otherwise you will be spending a great deal more buying the correct components to make it work.

[songman]

I had exactly that configuration when I was still on mix and never had a single problem with my expansion chassis. It housed mix and samplecell cards. I don't use it anymore, it is in perfect condition, if you're interested let me know.

[FOH]

If troncomac is not interested, let me know, I might be!!

[troncomac]

yes i could be interested....if u want please contact me at the address [email protected]! We can discuss privately about that

[sucker002]

i use same as u.G4 Protool 5 ton of os9 Plugins Mix 3.i use Magma PCI- EXP Chassis (7 slots)..Raid 4 HardDisk totall 10000 G..UAD1- Card Etc.never have problem Run over 3 year now.but i gonna Switch to HD PCie with Macpro.

[Ted Spencer]

I ran a G4 exactly like yours (Dual 1GHz MDD) for many many years with both a mix+ and an HD Accel system in a Magma 7 slot 32 bit chassis with no problems. I'm still using it now with a dual 2.7 G5 and HD Accel 2. Works just fine. I'll bet 32 bit 7 slot Magmas are available pretty cheap these days.

It should be noted that the 64 bit versions are required for higher track counts at 192K rates (see Digi's compatibility docs for details) but that has never been a limiting factor for me.

[subwoof]

I know this isn't the buy/sell forum, but I have a Magma expansion chasis I used on my Mix/24 system with 4 cards and I'd love to sell it. It worked great for 5 years with P.T. 5.1.3

Mike