computer for hd and hdx

[nvtmusic]

Hi folks,
i have a hd2 system protools 10
my dell t7400 died
i am looking to get a computer
that can run the hd system
and if possible when i can update
run hdx (have software in my account (2019.12)
is there possibly any computer that can do this ?
thanks for any help
mike

[Darryl Ramm]

What Windows version are you running now? Hopefully Windows 7 SP1?

Your HD2 system presumably uses PCIe TDM cards (you don't have an PCI chassis hanging off the Dell?).

The issues here are not going to only be about the PC hardware, more critical will be your management of the process and how good you are with administering Windows.

So just about any PC with enough physically full length PCIe slots to handle your PCIe TDM cards and any other cards you need. Just about any PC should support running whatever old version of Windows you need to support those cards and old Pro Tools HD version... but don't expect all manufactures to promote/claim/document/support old Windows versions and it may require you to do more work to get stuff working. If vendors do claim support installing say Windows 7 and provide driver packs and info on what does not work etc. then that might be great. HP and Lenovo for example provide help/documentation on some of their Z series and Thinkstation workstations, HP has detailed hardware compatibility tables etc.. but you might find other vendors with helpful info as well. You should find that online and have a read. The Z series are well regarded, but I also prefer some of the Lenovo Thinkstations more in general (I'm not running HD or HDX in any), or maybe better for technical folks to build a PC. You do pay for the marketing efforts when you buy Z Series or Thinkstations. A lot depends on your budget... which is????, if it's tight then be careful of backing into a corner here picking a more expensive workstation to make stuff easier (e.g. known/well documented Windows 7 support, more PCIs slots so you can dual-boot TDM and HDX systems, "Avid approved marketing", etc) and that pushes you to buy a not-low-cost Workstation to meet your goals, when it might be better to just repair the current system. And later on buy a new PC for HDX.

The challenge will be things like GPU driver support on older versions and any support for newer generation hardware in that PC. If you were going to do this yourself without vendor instructions/help there are lots of blog posts and videos that you can fine online about old Windows installs on current PCS. You need to do your own research on the details there. You will want to make sure your GPU has both Windows 7 and 10/11 support, which should not be hard to do, but you do have to think about it.

And later on you'll likely need to install Windows 10 or 11 and maybe (likely?) need to swap out the TDM cards for HDX cards and run a modern version of Pro Tools.

Another option, especially if stuff was working well before, is to just repair the computer you have and later on buy another PC for HDX. Maybe it only needs a service or a few parts, or maybe you can pick up a used model or equivalent on eBay (they go as low as a few hundred dollars). And later on buy a PC for HDX... that way at least you could still keep a backup HD2 system running. Do Do you have time to deal with a new system, more complexity etc. now or do you need to just get going asap?

If going though what will be some pain and disruption and expense, the absolute last thing I'd be driven by is having a 2019.12 license. I'd be getting on the most recent/known good version of Pro Tools Ultimate with a current support/upgrade plan, on Windows 11. And if the cost to do that is too much then I'd also not be spending money now on fancier PCs for future stuff... I'd save money now and buy a used PC/repair the current one. Of course if the current systems is not performing well, has other issues besides the PC dying then everything may change.

You might also find a custom builder (be careful they understand Pro Tools needs) or Pro Tools specialist builder who can set up a custom system for you, including maybe dual-booting Windows 7 and Windows 11.

[nvtmusic]

Hi,
thanks for responding - i appreciate it.i am running windows 7 have hd2 (inside the computer) -lot to think about, i think you are right may be better of just picking up another cheap t7400 to get me threw until i can afford to upgrade properly,
thanks again
mike